Dinta stayed speechless for a while, half happy that At didn't seem to care much, half disgusted by the scumbag Damian. But no matter what, Autumn was what mattered most. She didn't want to pay attention; then they wouldn't talk about it anymore. Altering, a longer, more modulated call.

Autumn no longer cared about Damien and Emilia. But she still opened the trending topics page, only to completely skip over their names. She scrolled from top to bottom but didn’t see Dawson’s name anywhere. The mate expounded on the charity project—the betties. Viral yet, there wasn’t a single picture of him better. Then, the Pearson family would definitely promote it heavily. And with Dawn’s looks, even a casually leaked photo would no doubt go viral. It could only mean this was Dawson’s mum's doing.

Even though many media outlets had attended the banquet, any photos or videos they put out would have been carefully staged—presented to keep a low profile. Otherwise, the Pearson family had no reason to give up on such a hoped-for publicity boost. In other words, Damien and Emilia trending online must have been with Damien’s approval as well. They clearly warned the whole world how much he loved Emilia.

Autumn respected and wished them well. After turning off her phone, she removed her makeup and brushed her teeth. She had already put away the dress Britney had rained on. After slipping off her dress, she tossed it into the washing machine and headed into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, she changed into her loungewear and walked over to her study to do some work. Rico had set the tennis match from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Autumn hadn’t played in a long time and didn’t have any gear. So, she went early to the store near the tennis courts to buy a racket and an outfit. She chose a lime-green racket and a white one-piece tennis dress. As she was about to pick out a headband, she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her. “Autumn, what a coincidence.”

Autumn turned around and saw it was Barry. He was dressed in a white tennis outfit, his handsome face carrying a faint smile. He had the same kind of deep, charming, and seductive eyes as before. His air was roguish yet refined, and many people in the store couldn’t help but glance his way.

“You here to play tennis too?” Barry asked. The way he said “oo” made it clear he was also here to play and had just happened to run into her. Barry was a friend of Damien’s, so logically speaking, Autumn should have kept her distance. But at the last summit, he had helped her out and even given her a graceful way to disentangle herself.

Thinking back carefully, Autumn realized that, as far as she could remember, Barry had never given her the cold shoulder or ignored her the way Jayden did. In fact, when she called Damien on her birthday this year, it was Barry who had answered. Moreover, he was the very first to wish her a happy birthday.

With that in mind, Autumn gave a polite nod and said, “Yes, I’m meeting a friend for tennis.”

“I never heard you mention you could play tennis,” Barry sounded genuinely surprised. “I just didn’t get a chance to play before.”

To avoid continuing the chat, Autumn lifted the items in her hand lightly to signal that she was going to check out. Though Barry was playful, he had always been measured. She figured he would understand once she made her intentions clear. To her surprise, he suddenly blocked her path. Since he was a head taller than her, he lowered his eyes to look at her and said, “It’s not every day we get to run into each other like this, so…” He nodded his chin toward the items she had picked out. Autumn wasn’t about to take advantage of him, so she declined his offer. Big, if he insisted, he didn’t press it and simply stepped aside.

She thought he would leave after he finished paying, but he was still there, just waiting for her to notice him. As soon as their eyes met, he asked, “What time are you meeting your friend?”

Barry glanced at his watch, “It’s been ages, so how about a little catch-up?” He slicked back his hair with amusement still in his eyes. “That’s still half an hour away, and this place is close to the courts. Let me buy you a coffee. We haven’t sat down and talked properly in ages.”

Wait, that couldn’t be right. She didn't realize their previous relationship had ever involved chatting regularly.