Emily watched with a mixture of disdain and apprehension as Hazel and Lily entered the café, their bodyguards stationed outside. Her lips curled into a mocking smirk at the sight of their ostentatious arrangements.

As Hazel settled into the seat across from her, Emily's expression remained cool and calculated.

 "I had never been treated like that. He had never treated me in this way," she remarked, her tone dripping with bitterness and resentment.

Hazel, undeterred by ...