The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Joen's actions were a textbook example of "cutting off your nose to spite your face." His assistant stood there, eyes wide, as Joen ripped up the check. It happened so fast, he didn't even have a chance to intervene. "Dr. Joen, you..." he started, disbelief coloring his voice.

Joen looked at the confetti of paper in his hands, momentarily stunned by his own rashness. But he quickly pulled himself together and said with a cool detachment, "Just note it down to be deducted from my account."

The assistant hesitated, nervously scratching the tip of his nose. "But sir, your account doesn't have that kind of cash flow," he mumbled.

A million dollars, gone in a blink.

Torn to bits.noveldrama

Truly reckless.

Joen: "..."

Meanwhile, Mirabella and her crew were making their way to the hotel when someone suggested grabbing dinner together and maybe swinging by a well- known jazz bar nearby. Mirabella was busy texting, lost in her own world, so Blaze nudged her for her thoughts.

Since Dylan found out she was in Merrywoods, he'd been bombarding her with messages, trying to find a time to meet up. With the DO Group's HQ also in town, she was juggling her schedule.

Mirabella looked up to find everyone watching her and said, "I'll pass on the jazz bar, but you all go ahead and have a blast."

"Why not join us, Mira? It'll be a good time with everyone," Blaze said, sounding puzzled.

Mirabella raised an eyebrow, "It's just not my thing."

Before Blaze could push further, Patrick gave him a nudge. Blaze glanced over at Patrick, who cleared his throat and said, "Mira's in a different boat than the rest of us."

Blaze blinked, still not getting it, "How so?"

Patrick leaned in and whispered, "Mira's got a boyfriend. You don't."

Blaze felt the sting of realization: "..."

"Why not bring your boyfriend along, Mira?" Blaze suggested, tilting his head. "You're abroad; it could be a nice little getaway."

As Blaze mentioned the boyfriend, Yara, who was chatting quietly with a classmate, gave Mirabella a quick look. Her grip on her friend's arm <.

tightened slightly at the word "boyfriend."

Mirabella shook her head, a smile playing on her lips, "He's tied up tonight."

Blaze seemed a bit let down but didn't push it, "Alright then."

Mirabella nodded, "Have a great time, everyone."

With that, she returned her focus to her phone, fingers dancing over the screen.

Yara watched, her gaze dropping in thought. After all, someone from the illustrious Shepherd family wasn't likely to join a bunch of students at a bar.

She gave herself a small, self-aware smile.

Before long, the group caught a cab to the restaurant. They snagged a large private room, perfect for over a dozen people, and in their high

spirits, splurged on a couple of bottles of wine.

Knowing her limits, Mirabella avoided the wine and stayed quiet through dinner, concentrating on her food and rarely joining in the chatter.

By the time dinner wrapped up, it was just about 7 PM local time. Mirabella had set a meet-up with Dylan around 7:30.

Once the bill was settled, Blaze and the others ordered three cars to take them to the jazz bar.

"Mira, how about I drop you off at the hotel first, then head to the bar?" Blaze offered after arranging the ride, wanting to make sure she got back safely.

With a laid-back ease, Mirabella

tucked her hands into the pockets of

her trench coat, her loosely curled

hair flowing freely. "No worries, a friend is swinging by to pick me up."