Chapter 93: A Silent Showdown

After wrestling with her thoughts for twenty minutes, Bella finally caved. She took a cup of coffee and went to Lan's office. He was busy with paperwork, so she waited at the door until he finished.

When Lan looked up and saw her, he didn't seem surprised. He put his papers aside and said, "Come in."

Bella placed the coffee on his desk. "When did it start?"

Lan smirked slightly. "You're curious, but pretending not to be. You probably already figured it out—it started while he was abroad. About six months after he left, they broke up right before he returned." Bella did the math. Dominic was gone for three years, meaning he and Amber had been together for two and a half.

Two and a half years wasn't as long as the nearly twenty years she'd spent with him, but Amber had been his girlfriend—and she'd already won. Bella wondered why she'd come to dig up this pain. She didn't even have the right to feel jealous. Amber was something she had never been. In that way, Amber had

Seeing Bella was silent, Lan leaned back in his chair. "Why stop asking now? If there's something you really want to know, just say it. I can't help if you don't ask." Bella hesitated, biting her lip. "I want to know if he loved Amber, but you probably can't answer that for him."

Lan chuckled. "Actually, I can. Dominic's not the type to fall in love easily. Sometimes there are other reasons he's with someone—things that are hard to explain."

Bella didn't fully understand, but she agreed. Dominic wasn't someone who fell in love easily. She had spent years trying to make him love her, but it never worked.

Lan took a sip of the coffee. "Dominic doesn't love Amber. She just wouldn't leave him alone, and now she's even followed him to Jovelle. I heard you're staying with a friend—keep it that way for now. Don't go back. Amber… you should avoid her. Just some friendly advice."

Bella didn't need Lan to tell her that. She already knew. She didn't have the courage to go back to the manor anyway.

This conversation made Bella feel worse, just as she'd feared. As she walked out of Lan's office with her head down, she was hit by a strong perfume and the sharp click of high heels on the floor. Bella's hand clenched in her coat pocket, and she slowed down. The perfume was unmistakable—Amber's.

Looking up, she saw Amber staring at her with a confident, smug expression. They locked eyes, and it felt like a silent showdown.

Bella noticed Amber was a bit taller, with a curvy figure and bold clothing. Her face was stunning, like a movie star's. Her hair—long, straight, and silky, with not a strand out of place and no bangs—was exactly like Bella's used to be.

Had Amber kept that glossy hair for Dominic? Had he ever run his fingers through it, showing the same kind of affection he once showed Bella?

When Amber walked into his office, Lan felt a headache coming on. He forced a smile. "Amber, what a surprise. This place isn't really for the faint of heart."

Amber, unfazed, sat down with her legs crossed. Her long legs and smooth, pale feet looked striking. With a charming smile, she asked, "Was that Bella Jones who just left?"

The final two lines about website access have been removed as they are not part of the story itself.