As Lucas walked outside the private room, he pulled out a lighter and lit his cigarette.


    Amid the smoke, Melody''s image appeared faintly before him. He chuckled at himself, wondering if Samuel''s words had somehow yed tricks on his mind.


    After smoking half of his cigarette, he turned to get some fresh air by the window. However, he suddenly felt that something was off, so he turned back for another look.


    With no smoke clouding his vision, he clearly got a glimpse of Melody.


    The door of the adjacent private room was slightly ajar, and through the crack, he saw Melody raising a ss in a toast with an older man. They were standing very close, their actions seemingly affectionate from Lucas''s perspective.


    ''Heh. So she''s no different than the other gold-diggers, then. I''ve overestimated her,'' thought Lucas.


    He scoffed, narrowed his eyes, and pulled out his phone to call Melody.


    While Melody raised her ss toward William, she noticed Lucas'' call. Setting down her ss, she excused herself and walked to the side to answer the phone. "Hello, Lucas."


    "Where are you?"


    Melody turned to look at William, who was looking at her lustfully.


    A sudden wave of embarrassment hit her. She did not want Lucas to know about the messy situation her family had got her into.


    "I... I''m having dinner with friends. I''ll be home soon," said Melody.


    "Friends? Really?" Lucas''s gaze grew darker.


    "Yes, I''ll be back a bitter," replied Melody softly.


    Lucas ended the call without saying anything further. He then crushed his cigarette before turning back to rejoin his friends in the private room.


    Melody was a little taken aback by Lucas ending the call so sharply. Moreover, she found it odd that Lucas would call her at that time of the day. However, she did not have the luxury to wonder what that was all about; she needed to deal with William. She thus walked back to her seat.


    Even though Melody had no desire to make another toast, it seemed William was not going to let her leave easily. Thus, she forced herself to go along with his n.


    "Mister William, let me offer you another toast," Melody said as their sses clinked. Suppressing her difort, she forced down another ss of alcohol.


    Her family was still a no-show, and it seemed they would not be arriving.


    William looked especially pleased watching her finish the drink. He then reached out to hold Melody''s hand. "Melody, with your looks, have you ever thought about joining the entertainment industry?" Melody immediately pulled her hand back, stepping back several paces ufortably. "Mister William, please stop! I''m only here to apologize on Wendy''s behalf."


    William showed no signs of backing off. "Melody, don''t be so uptight! Come on, let me hug you. You look so slim, so you must be very light, right?"Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Melody felt fear rising in her stomach. "Don''t touch me. I''ll call the police if youy a finger on me."


    William remained unfazed. Standing up, he approached her slowly. "Call the police? But your parents brought you here. If you call the police, they''d be the first ones to be arrested." "My parents?"


    Melody understood. It was just as she suspected they never intended toe with her. They did not send her to apologize. Instead, they sent her to help Wendy continue what she failed to finish that day. Her biological parents had, for Wendy''s sake, delivered her into the arms of this sinister older man.


    William, dropping his act, began to molest her.