Page 4 of King of Pride

Rose was silent for a brief moment.

Then she swallowed and said, “I’m coming over in a minute. I will be there in half an hour.”

“Yay!” Zoe exploded with happiness, her excitement practically burning through her voice as she continued, “I’m waiting for you.”

Rose managed a faint smile despite the ache in her chest.

The call ended.

She went down the elevator and into the car that was waiting outside. As she got inside, she slammed the door and immediately told the driver to head toward the Aurelia Palace, where a very popular party for the richest people in the city was being held by Zoe Bishop’s family.

The party was mainly for business reasons—to mingle and have an excuse to meet. The main reason stated on the invitation was that the party was being held for the upcoming product launch of one of their fragrances, which was going to be one of the most expensive ones on the market in recent years.

Zoe’s family owned one of the most expensive fragrance companies in the world, Imperium Fragrances, catering to the wealthiest people with expensive shampoos, perfumes, and everything related to fragrances. Basically, everyone knew about them, from the beginning of their business to the present day.

It wasn’t hard for people to know about them with such a huge business. Their family wasn’t exactly hidden from the public or the market. Being one of the richest families in the city meant that very little about them could remain private.

By the time the car came to a stop in front of the Aurelia Palace, Rose could already hear music flowing out from inside.

The entire palace was lit up, glowing beneath countless lights, while decorations made entirely of real flowers covered the entrance and stretched along the grounds. It was clear that a fortune had been spent decorating the palace just for the guests.

At the same time, there was strict security at the entrance.

Rose pushed open the car door and stepped out. Before she could even shut it herself, one of the security guards immediately jogged over and reached for the keys from her.

She handed them over without a second thought and headed toward the entrance.

When she showed them the VVIP gold invitation card Zoe had given her, the security immediately let her into the palace and personally escorted her inside before pointing her toward Zoe.

The moment Rose entered, she stopped briefly. The palace suddenly seemed even more stunning than she had expected.

She looked around, her eyes moving across the bright, extravagant room filled with people. There were so many of them that, for a moment, she simply stood there taking it all in.

And then she became painfully aware of what she was wearing.

Rose had come wearing just shorts and a white oversized T-shirt. Standing among guests dressed in fancy suits and elegant dresses, she looked very different from everyone else.

But it was the first time Rose didn’t fuss about her clothing or worry about dressing up.

Even though a burning sense of intimidation crawled through her as many people turned around to glance at her after she entered wearing casual clothes, she refused to let it bother her.

She simply roamed around the palace, looking in the direction the security guard had pointed her, searching for Zoe.

And then she spotted her.

Zoe was standing near one of the bar counters, drinking and laughing with someone beside her. Rose immediately headed toward her, picking up her pace as she crossed the room.

Just as Rose got closer, Zoe’s eyes lifted and landed on her.

Her entire expression changed instantly.

She straightened, a wide smile spreading across her face. But the moment she broke away from her friend and got a better look at Rose, a frown of confusion quickly replaced it. She set down her champagne glass and immediately hurried toward her.

Her small face, framed by short hair, was delicate and charming, but as she came closer to Rose, the smile slowly faded from her lips. The amusement disappeared completely, replaced by a deepening frown.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking Rose over in confusion. “Why aren’t you dressed up?”

Her voice faltered as her eyes suddenly fell on Rose’s cheek.