The sound of honking horns outside the window suddenly shattered the vision of victory in Celine's mind. She jolted awake, staring at the line of red taillights of the cars in front of her, completely frozen in the middle of the city traffic. Her breath came in short, rapid gasps. Celine realized that the sweet scenario of her successfully seizing all of Valerius Group's assets in front of Mark was merely a fictional daydream she had created for herself inside this stuffy car.
Twenty minutes passed; after enduring the exhausting traffic, Celine finally arrived at the location specified in the invitation. With a few graceful steps, she walked into the private room of the luxurious restaurant. Her gaze immediately fell on the back of a man who was already sitting politely, waiting for her across the round table. The man seemed to have been waiting quite a while, evident from the long, slow exhale that escaped him as he turned his body and looked toward Celine's arrival.
