“Aren’t you drinking a bit too much?”

 

Paul’s tone and expression were filled with concern. 

 

Unfortunately, it had no effect on Liliana.

 

“A few glasses of champagne won’t get me drunk. And besides, I don’t know anyone here anyway… What else is there for me to do besides drink?”

 

“…”

 

At her prickly reply, Paul pressed his lips together tightly. He found it very difficult to know how to respond to this version of her, so unlike her usual self.

 

Putting aside her cold tone for a moment… if this were the Liliana he knew, what would she be doing at this point?

 

She wasn’t a sociable woman, but wouldn’t she have been going around greeting people, saying she was building connections that would help Theodoro’s future?

 

‘Why is she acting like this…?’

 

He knew there was no special emotional exchange between Theodoro and Liliana.

 

‘Was that not the case…? No matter how I think about it, her current behavior only seems like she’s concerned about Theodoro.’

 

His lips itched, wanting to form a foolish smile. 

 

Paul used all his strength to press down the corners of his mouth, pretending to be calm.

 

“Please don’t worry. There shouldn’t be anything for you to be concerned about. You’ve seen for yourself for a long time, haven’t you?”

 

If he had known such an aggressive answer would come back immediately, he wouldn’t have said that.

 

“Concerned? What would I have to be concerned about?”

 

“Ah, well… yes… no, it’s nothing.”

 

If one were to assign blame, it was Theodoro who was at fault, so why was a mere secretary, not the person involved, being treated like this? 

 

Suppressing his feelings of unfairness with no one to appeal to, Paul forced a smile.

 

“Well… Miss Moretti, how about you stop drinking and dance one song with me? It may not be to your satisfaction, but I should be a suitable enough dance partner to help you pass the time.”

 

“Thank you, but I’m not interested right now. Please don’t do that next to me. Why don’t you just go upstairs and tend to your boss?”

 

By that point, a faint smirk was beginning to form on Paul’s face. 

 

Liliana couldn’t have heard it, but Paul was internally cursing up a storm.

 

‘Ah… Sucking up to a woman is so damn difficult… Damn Theodoro, sir, why am I cleaning up your mess? Please hurry up and get here already.’

 

At this point, wouldn’t it have been better not to talk to her at all? 

 

Dealing with a woman who sharply rebuffs anything you say is more Silvano’s forte, not Paul’s specialty.

 

He considered saying a few more words but then simply and cleanly gave up. Then, stealthily checking the mood, he went up to the third floor.

 

Before long, left alone, Liliana let out a sigh as deep as the earth. She felt sorry for Paul belatedly, but she couldn’t take back the words she had snapped in irritation.

 

‘Why am I really acting like this…’

 

Her gaze unconsciously turned towards the third floor. 

 

The door to the room Theodoro and Judith had entered was still firmly closed.

 

What were the two of them doing in there? Were they doing ‘that kind of thing’? 

 

She had a feeling they were, a thought she’d had since they went up to the third floor.

 

That Judith had feelings for Theodoro. 

 

If it’s a woman’s intuition, it must be intuition—she couldn’t not have known.

 

‘Plus, she said what she wanted to receive was something else… If they went so far as to prepare a place just for the two of them, well… It’s obvious even without looking.’

 

Without realizing it, Liliana bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. 

 

Perhaps the soft flesh burst, as a metallic taste of blood began to swirl on the tip of her tongue.

 

“Ugh…”

 

A faint pain twisted her brow.

It’s clearly the right thing to do. 

 

There’s nothing bad about it at all. If she gains a solid political shield, that should be all that matters. 

 

What does it matter what the process or method is?

But why does it feel so nauseating and unpleasant?

Liliana roughly downed another glass of champagne, having lost count of how many she’d had. She swallowed, along with the alcohol, any strange and terrible assumptions like ‘It can’t be…’.

‘What could it be? It’s just… because this might interfere with my plans. That’s why. There’s no other reason.’

What if Theodoro falls completely for Judith?

 

If it doesn’t end as a one-time affair but leads to continuous meetings in the future, then Liliana’s position could become precarious.

That must be it. She repeated it to herself numerous times, brainwashing herself, and tilted her glass once more.

 

Meanwhile, Paul was anxiously glancing at the door near the third-floor reception room…

Bam!

Suddenly the door swung open as if it might fly off its hinges, and a disheveled Theodoro abruptly burst out.

His somewhat messy hair. 

 

A few undone buttons on his shirt. Above all, the red stain on the collar of his white shirt. To anyone, it was clearly a woman’s lipstick mark.

Paul, unable to hide his shock, approached him.

“Th-Theodoro, sir? Is that—”

“Liliana.”

Theodoro cut him off sharply, pulling out a handkerchief. He then began wiping his neck ruthlessly, and a look of bewilderment flashed across Paul’s face.

“Uh… Miss Moretti is drinking on the first floor… But, sir, what happened in—”

“Drinking?”

“Ah, yes… I tried to dissuade her several times, but she was drinking heavily. But please, let me finish—”

“Why is she?”

 

This was already the third time he had been cut off, so the tone leaving Paul’s mouth wasn’t exactly pleasant.

 

“Haa… Well, how should I know? You seemed to be in a bad mood. Do you have any idea how hard I tried to cheer you up? Huh?”

 

However, his superior, from whom he expected a bland retort, instead made a strange expression… 

 

Was it a frown or a smile? It was a face he had never seen before.

 

But because Theodoro was looking down towards the first floor, he couldn’t get another look at that expression.

 

“Theodoro, sir…?”

 

A bewildered voice flowed out. 

 

Suddenly, he handed Paul a handkerchief, almost as if tossing it into his hand.

 

“Huh?”

 

Then, he took the car keys from Paul’s jacket pocket, turned around, and started to leave.

 

“I’ll take the car. I have things to discuss. You find your own way.”

 

“Huh? No, Theodoro, sir…!”

 

The cold-hearted man didn’t look back even once at the urgent voice calling for him. He just descended the stairs without hesitation, heading straight for his target, Liliana.

 

Staring blankly at the back that was already far away, Paul muttered hollowly.

 

“If you’re leaving, you could at least wipe off that stain on your shirt…”

 

At the same time, Liliana was completely unaware that Theodoro had already left the room.

 

Trying to shake off the anxiety that wouldn’t go away no matter how much she drank, she grabbed another champagne glass from the table.

 

Just as the cool, bubbly liquid was about to go straight down her throat…

 

Thump!

 

The glass in her hand was snatched away in the blink of an eye by a large hand.

 

Liliana turned her head in surprise, and her eyes met Theodoro. The moment her gaze caught the stain on his collar, her round eyes suddenly narrowed with displeasure.

 

“…What is it?”

 

“Stop drinking. I already told you, you’ve had enough.”

 

“…That’s none of your business.”

 

“It is my business. I believe I’ve said it before—if you get drunk like last time, I’ll take it as you wanting to do something more with me.”

 

A faint, teasing laughter lingered in his muttering, making her anger flare.

 

Did he even have a clue how she felt? 

 

Theodoro, who had snatched her drink and was now sipping it himself, looked completely at ease. 

 

As she watched him, her gaze grew colder and colder.

 

“Maybe you should wipe off that lipstick stain or change your shirt before saying things like that. It’s unpleasant to hear.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Only then did he glance down at his shirt and let out a short sigh.

 

“…Ah.”

 

How could he not have noticed the lipstick mark? It must have been smeared on quite noticeably.

 

Suddenly, she felt short of breath, her chest tightening. Her thoughts tangled in a dizzying mess, and she couldn’t even figure out what to say.

 

Just then, Theodoro tilted his head and met her eyes.

 

His persistent gaze felt as if it were peering right through her. 

 

As his eyes narrowed slowly, her heart sank with a sudden dread—what if he saw through this inexplicable discomfort she couldn’t even understand herself?

 

“Why… are you looking at me like that…”

 

Liliana took a step back, already intimidated, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight of his lips slowly curling into a smirk.

 

“Theo…?”

 

“…”

 

“…Ack!”

 

Without warning, he grabbed her arm, and Liliana’s eyes scrunched up in pain. 

 

Even her soft whimper couldn’t have gone unnoticed, yet—Theodoro kept a firm grip on her arm and began pulling her along with overwhelming force.

 

“Theo! What are you doing…!”

 

“…”

 

“Where are you taking me all of a sudden…!”

 

“The car.”

 

That was his only explanation.

 

💫

 

A few minutes later. 

 

The door to the third-floor reception room, which Theodoro had exited first, was flung open violently, as if it might break off its hinges.

 

Emerging from it was Judith, her figure as stunningly beautiful as when she had first entered. 

 

But if someone were to look closely at her… they would notice her reddened eyes.

 

“This… fucking hell…”

 

Judith’s whole body trembled as she looked down at the first floor.

 

“Where are you, you son of a bitch…”

 

But no matter where she looked, she couldn’t see Theodoro, let alone the woman or the secretary he had brought with him.

 

There was no humiliation greater than this. How could he do this?

 

Even if he wasn’t interested, her body was one that no man had ever refused. 

 

Refused?… On the contrary, men would rush to try to hold her any way they could.

 

But Theodoro, why did he…

 

“Phew…”

 

It wouldn’t feel so humiliating if she had done something major. 

 

All she had done was kiss his neck.

 

But could she have ever imagined that Theodoro would suddenly grab her by the throat and throw her to the floor?

 

“I warned you. I told you to stop there.”

 

That chilling voice she wanted to forget flickered again in her ears.

 

“Uuugh…!”

 

Judith covered her ears and shook her head wildly, but his actions, his voice, wouldn’t leave her mind.

 

The thick envelope of money he had quietly placed on the table in front of the sofa. Then him standing up, looking down at her, taking out his wallet from his inner pocket.

 

“I thought you were just well-bred. Now I see you’re a real piece of work. You put mobsters to shame with your intimidation tactics.”

 

Theodoro muttered in a flat, uninflected voice, then tossed a wad of cash he had pulled from his wallet.

 

The bills scattering over her naked body as she lay fallen. 

 

None of it would fade—it all remained vivid.

 

“Ahhh…!”

 

Judith sank down as if falling, clutching her head. 

 

People who heard her scream came running, but none of their worried words reached her ears.

 

Only the terrible final conversation she had with him kept replaying in her mind.

 

“You… do you really think you can get away with this?”

 

“That line is so cliché.”

 

“I said, do you think you can get away with this?!”

 

“Then why don’t you go tell everyone. Go tell them you took your clothes off in front of some low-class thug and got completely rejected.”

 

“…”

 

“Don’t think you’ll get any sympathy.”

 

“Ha… Haha… Do you remember what you said to me when we first met?”

 

“Not really.”

 

It was the moment she truly realized that the night she had replayed in her mind countless times held no meaning for Theodoro at all.

 

With no room left in her heart for more pain, she let out a hollow laugh.

 

“You said it. You told me I shouldn’t get involved with an uneducated guy like you. Haha… You were so right. An uneducated guy.”

 

“Judith. If you remembered that, you should have stopped when I warned you.”

 

“Ahhh! Agh…!”

 

In the birthday party venue from which he had already vanished, only Judith’s desperate screams echoed.