She looked up and saw Simon, dressed sharply in a suit.
Ariana, at twenty-five, had known Simon for as long as she could remember, seeing him again felt like a lifetime had passed.
"If you're struggling this much, stop pretending! Acting tough will only leave you homeless!" Simon scolded her.
Ariana felt a wave of sadness wash over her at his words.
"So, Simon, you slept with Claire on purpose because I'm not the real heiress of the Summer family, right?"
Simon's eyes darted away, but he still stood tall and firm.
Ariana let out a bitter laugh, she should have realized it earlier, when Claire returned, Simon must have felt insecure.
He wanted to marry the true heiress of the Summer family, not her the imposter.
It turned out that over twenty years of feelings could indeed be sacrificed for power.
"Go back and apologize, Claire and I are meant to be married, but I still love you Ariana, I'll take care of you," Simon said arrogantly.
Simon used to be completely different, in front of Ariana, he was like a little puppy, always agreeing with her, coaxing her and never daring to raise his voice.
Now, he acted all high and mighty, as if he was tossing scraps to a stray cat or dog.
Ariana found it increasingly amusing.
"How exactly do you plan to take care of me? make me your mistress?"
"Don't be ungrateful!" Simon snapped, a bit annoyed, "I'm doing this for the sake of our years together."
"That's not necessary! Our years together mean nothing to me."
"Ariana, you're always so arrogant!"
"Yes, I am arrogant, unlike you, who is a coward!"
"You—"
"Sis!" Claire's sugary voice interrupted and Simon immediately composed himself.
Claire approached, "Sis, it's so good to see you, please come home; Mom and Dad miss you so much and so do I. I know you're upset I took Simon, but Simon, you should be with my sister, I'll get rid of the baby."
Ariana rolled her eyes, "Claire, your act is really consistent."
"Sis, I'm being sincere."
Claire tried to grab Ariana's hand, but Ariana shook her off, Claire let out a sharp scream and stumbled back a couple of steps, Simon quickly caught her. "Ariana! What are you doing?!"
Watching Simon protect Claire like that, Ariana couldn't help but find it amusing.
"It's okay, Simon, I just lost my balance," Claire said.
Just then, a large hand suddenly wrapped around Ariana's waist.
"Darling, what's going on?"
Ariana instinctively tried to remove the hand from her waist, but the man held her tightly, when she looked up, she saw the "young master" from Dynasty Club, the one she had spent the night with.
Simon frowned instinctively and Claire was startled.
Seeing how close this man was with Ariana, it was clear their relationship was far from ordinary!
Ariana hadn't wanted to create such a dramatic scene, the past year had nearly driven her to the brink and all she wanted was to steer clear of all this drama.
Seeing Simon's defeated expression, Ariana felt a small sense of satisfaction.
"Sis, who is he?" Claire asked curiously.
The man smiled and said, "Sweetheart, aren't you going to introduce your boyfriend?"
She looked at the man, and he added, "call me Lucas."
Hearing the word "boyfriend," Simon's face grew even darker.
"Brother Lucas..."
Lucas quickly raised his hand,"hey, don't call me that, we're not that close."
Claire was taken aback, it was rare for a man not to fall for her charm.
Ariana wanted to laugh but held it in.
Lucas kept his arm around Ariana's waist.
"Lucas, where do you work?" Claire asked, trying to probe.
"SUN Group."
Hearing that name, Simon and Claire were both stunned.
SUN Group was one of the top companies in the country and the Firestone family, who ran it, was the most prestigious family in the capital!
The man exuded an air of elegance and sophistication, judging by his demeanor and the proud look he had when mentioning SUN, he was likely not just an ordinary employee.
If he was an executive at SUN, he was definitely someone to be reckoned with!
Ariana was taken aback, was he really boasting without any hesitation?
"Sis, it's great that you have a boyfriend, I'm happy for you, Simon and I are getting engaged, why don't you both come to our engagement party? Mom and Dad would be thrilled."
Ariana was about to decline when Lucas chimed in, "Sure, I'd love to come."
Ariana wished she could glare daggers at him,"we have things to do, you guys have fun, we're leaving now."
If they didn't leave, who knew what else this man would agree to.
Lucas, understanding the situation, took the shopping cart, pushing it with one hand while keeping his other arm around Ariana's waist.
Simon and Claire watched them walk away.
Claire noticed the anger in Simon's eyes and wrapped her arm around his.
"Simon, this might actually be a good thing, don't you think?"
Simon huffed but didn't respond.
"It's just that over the past year, my sister has been acting like it's the end of the world, but secretly she already has a boyfriend, I think..." Claire trailed off, but Simon understood what she meant.
Once they were away from Claire and Simon, Ariana quickly removed Lucas' hand from her waist.
Lucas, however, was still amused, "how are you going to thank me?"
"Thank you for getting me into a big trouble?" Ariana smiled lightly. she had no desire to attend Claire and Simon's engagement party.
Why would she put herself in such an awkward situation?
She wanted to completely sever ties with the past.
"How is it trouble?" Lucas frowned.
Ariana couldn't be bothered to explains, she had nothing to clarify with the young master from the Dynasty Club.
"With your looks and skills, I'm sure the rich ladies at the Dynasty Club would line up for you, why do you keep clinging to me?"
"Well, I've decided to stick with you," Lucas replied with a mischievous smile.
Ariana had to admit, this man was truly a sight to behold, the kind that could make any woman fall at first glance.
"Alright, let me treat you to dinner."
Ariana was in a good mood today, over the past three years, she had spent two feeling wronged and the last one in a state of collapse.
It had been a long time since she felt this happy.
Seeing Simon's true colors made her feel more at peace with the past.
Once they left, Claire stepped out from the corner, a smug smile on her lips.
What a joke, a supposed executive at SUN, yet Ariana found him at the Dynasty Club!
Claire found it amusing.
If he were truly an executive at SUN, she wouldn't let Ariana bring him to the engagement party, she wouldn't want Ariana to outshine her.
But if he was just a guy from the Dynasty Club, that was perfect!
If Charles and Fiona found out Ariana was seeing someone from the club, they'd be furious.
The thought of Ariana being embarrassed made Claire absolutely delighted!
She was determined to make sure this young master attended her engagement party!