Chapter 54


    Matilda locked eyes with Yvan for a long moment before he let out a knowing, cold chuckle. “What’s the


    matter, scared I’ll gobble you up?”


    Matilda’s fist clenched suddenly, but she sat down all the same. She couldn’t escape this, so why not


    face it head–on?


    The bar lights cast a soft glow just then, and in the dimness, she saw in Yvan’s face those eyes that


    had haunted countless memories–cold, dismissive, carrying a chill that set her heart on


    edge.


    Taking her seat, Matilda shed a wry smile at Yvan and Bet. “I can’t stay long, though. There are


    people waiting for me at another booth.”


    Bet, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, probed, “Oh? Guys or girls?”


    Matilda didn’t specify, simply settling down to y games with Bet while Yvan’s gaze lingered on


    her, probing. Probing for whatever thoughts she was hiding.


    Matildaughed derisively to herself, thinking, “Yvan, back when I used to hover around you, you


    wouldn’t spare me a nce. And now, you’re suddenly all interested? What is this, ying games?”


    Herugh wasced with sarcasm, but Bet seemed entranced by the beauty before his eyes.


    Unconsciously, he reached out and caressed Matilda’s cheek.


    Taken aback by the forward gesture, Matilda looked up at Bet, then chuckled lightly. “Mr. Fuller,


    interested in your buddy’s ex–wife?”


    Bet’s gaze darkened, his voice husky as he said, “You should be d you’re Yvan’s ex…


    Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting so safely beside me right now.”


    Matilda’s heart skipped a beat; then sheughed it off. “I’m ttered by your attention, Mr. Fuller, but I’m


    just a humble woman now, hardly worthy of your notice…”


    Bet was taken aback, murmuring softly, “But back then…”


    “Yeah,” Matilda seemed lost in memory, her eyes glistening, “I used to be someone quite special…”


    Her voice trailed off, stirring up a storm of recollection as she winked at Bet. “All the glitz and


    mour of the world–they’re just passing clouds. I once had so much, and yet, in the end, what do I


    have left? They say time proves everything, but time also spares no one.”


    Bet was staring intently at Matilda, his look one of deep longing that even Yvan found irritating.


    Didn’t Bet know that Matilda was his ex–wife? Why was he looking at her with such heated


    interest?


    Chapter 54


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    Yvan scoffed to himself, underestimating Matilda’s talent for drawing men in.


    He signaled the waiter to fill Matilda’s ss to the brim, and with a casual lift of his hand, he toasted


    her.


    That simple gesture plunged Matilda into the depths of her past.


    It was in a bar just as wild and chaotic as she was in right now. She sat there, uninterested in the


    revelry, exuding an aloof elegance that kept men at bay. All except for Yvan, who, from across the


    room, had raised his eyebrows and toasted her with a smile,


    Like a line from a song, at that moment, under the flickering bar lights, their nces collided, and


    Matilda knew that she was not like the others there–only he stood out as extraordinary.


    Snapping back to the present, a tide of emotion caught her off guard, her eyes welling up as if the past


    was reying itself.


    Yvan, across the booth and past the others, toasted her with that same smile, and at that moment, her


    heart skipped a beat.


    She held back a tremble and raised her ss in return, then took a sip. The bite of the alcohol steadied


    her, and she regained a measure of control.