Chapter 180

The rain had finally faded, leaving the sky a clean,endless dark shade. Millie sipped on her cocktail, her gaze drifting over the waves.

Myron's voice came, soft but steady-he wanted to know if she'd care if people found out about them dating.

She let out an airy laugh. "Why would I? Sooner or later, everyone's going to know."

Her eyes drifted to the sea, and with the alcohol lightening her mood, a sudden urge to step into the waves stirred inside her.

With those thoughts, she gave in to the moment and moved without hesitation.

Kicking off her heels and clutching them loosely,she wandered barefoot across the sand, drawn to the playful dance of the waves.

Myron trailed after her, hands in his pockets,a fond smile lingering on his lips.

Without warning,Millie tossed her shoes into the sand, crouched, and flung a sparkling arc of seawater right at him, laughter bubbling from her chest.

Caught off guard, he took the splash head-on,blinking in surprise for just a heartbeat before his lips curled into a warm, forgiving smile.

With a playful gleam in his eye, he knelt by the water's edge, scooped up a handful, and sent a sparkling arc right back at her.

Millie laughed, sidestepping his retaliation with practiced agility. "Nice try!" she called, darting along the shoreline, nimble as a child as she kicked up bursts of foam in her wake.

The two of them chased each other through the shallows, water droplets flying as laughter tangled with the sound of the waves. Myron's usually sleek hair was soon a dripping, tangled mess, dark strands plastered to his forehead and cheeks.

Millie flashed a mischievous grin, but then out of nowhere...

For a moment, a distant memory tugged at her-a different day, the same face, only then, his expression had been somber, his smile nowhere to be found.

"What's on your mind?" Myron caught the shift in her expression and strolled over, her heels dangling from his hand.

Millie shook off the old memories with an easy smile.Right now, all she wanted was to savor the moment.

She couldn't recall the last time she'd felt so unburdened,so light and playful.

Lately, it felt as if responsibility was welded to her shoulders.

Since losing her father, she'd barely allowed herself to breathe.

There was always something clamoring for her attention, always another crisis, another duty. The weight of it all never let up.

Instead of rejoining the splash fight, she wandered over to a weathered piano she'd spotted near the shore.

After drying her hands on her skirt, she let her fingers dance across the keys in a spontaneous melody.

Salt in the air, wild locks tossed by the wind, and a faint chill slipping through the quiet seaside dusk-she sat at the weathered piano, its keys untouched beneath the open sky. Beside her, the presence of someone who made her feel wholly herself made the moment luminous, something she wished she could keep forever.

For the first time in years, she felt a familiar lightness,as if she'd tumbled back into the bright,uncomplicated days of her youth.

When she finished playing, gentle applause drew her from her reverie.

She glanced over, catching his eyes,and answered his silent admiration with a soft, grateful smile.

The night breeze ruffled her hair, and for a beat,he simply watched her-captivated by the spark of joy and freedom she radiated.

In that small, ordinary instant, Myron realized he loved her in every version of herself.

Elsewhere, Jayceon lounged at home, determinedly coaching the cat.

"Kiki, you're the bravest hero in this house now," he declared, eyeing the chubby ragdoll cat with mock seriousness. "You can't just coast by on backflips if you want to win over Ari. We need to teach you more tricks," Jayceon said, trying not to laugh at the cat's sulky expression.

"Meow..." Kiki flicked her tail and turned away with a dismissive meow.

Undeterred,Jayceon gently spun the ragdoll back around to face him.

"That's what Myron's been saying all along. Listen up and start learning," Jayceon advised with a knowing look. He paused, tilting his head. "And don't pretend you don't adore Millie and Ari as much as the rest of us."

Kiki shot him a sideways glance, then let out a soft,begrudging chirp.

"That's more like it." Jayceon smirked as he tapped play on a video. "You see this? Come on, impress me -let's see what you've got!"

In the past, the cat would stubbornly resist whenever Jayceon tried to teach it this trick. This time, though,it seemed unusually motivated-ears perked and whiskers twitching with anticipation,even flashing its tiny teeth as if already practicing.

Before he could react, Jayceon's phone started buzzing.

He glanced down to see an unfamiliar number lighting up his screen.

His brother's warnings before he left home earlier tonight echoed in Jayceon's mind. He took a steadying breath and picked up.

"Yeah? Who is this?" he asked, keeping his tone casual.

A brisk, businesslike voice answered, "Mr. Elliott, we're with the press. We have exclusive footage that might interest you-if you're willing to make an offer."

Jayceon immediately pieced it together,remembering his brother's instructions. "What kind of footage are we talking about?" He pressed, keeping his voice steady.

"It's a video of Mr. Myron Elliott and Millie out together. A full-on date," the caller said, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Jayceon let out a dry laugh. "Oh, that? Myron told me not to do anything, so honestly, do whatever you want."

He ended the call without a second thought, and then turned his attention back to the cat, replaying the video and trying to teach it the new trick. With his other hand, he casually scrolled through trending entertainment news on a second phone, a smirk tugging at his lips. He could already picture the fallout and couldn't resist muttering, "Brandon's going to completely lose his mind over this."

The two paparazzi exchanged uneasy looks.

"So... what now?" one of them ventured, uncertainty in his voice.

"He said it's Myron's call, right? Myron probably saw this coming," the other replied with a shrug. Thney hesitated for only a moment longer before grinning."Screw it! Since we can't cash it, let's post the footage online. This explosive news comes from us, and it's still something."

"Agreed!"

"Just sit tight and take notes. I'll show you how it's done," the other replied with a cocky grin.

···

Meanwhile,as online speculation reached a fever pitch,a fresh video burst onto the scene.

The clip showed a couple goofing around on the beach-waves lapping at their feet, the woman launching playful splashes at the man, who never once lost his easygoing smile. Rather than retaliate, he simply gripped her heels and flicked water at her in gentle,harmless arcs, more teasing than truly trying to get her wet.

Anyone could see he was too smitten to ever actually

drench her, his every move full of affection and restraint.

But to the viewers' dismay, the camera work was maddeningly sly. Every angle managed to keep the woman's face hidden, her features always shielded as she darted away from the spray-leaving the public desperate for answers.

"These paparazzi are trolling us on purpose! Just give us a shot of her face already!"

"I'm losing my mind here! Where's the uncut footage with her face? Don't leave us hanging!"

Elsewhere, the poster gave a sly grin as he tapped out a new post-"100,000 likes to unlock the next video."

The top comment, racking up likes of its own, was dripping with disdain-"Unbelievable! What a shameless stunt!"

But the backlash only fueled the frenzy. Viewers hammered the like button anyway, blasting past a hundred thousand, then a million in no time, driving the hype into a frenzy.

"Damn, you really know how to work a crowd!" the other paparazzo blurted out, half impressed, half exasperated.

With a cocky little smile, his colleague dropped the next video. This time, it was Millie at the piano-but once again, her face stayed artfully hidden.

Unfazed,he posted a new message."When we hit 500,000 followers, I'll release every video-full face reveal and all."

Within seconds, the Internet exploded with a tidal wave of sarcastic comments and teasing memes.

The most upvoted comment shot straight to the point. "Cut the nonsense-just post the whole video already!"

Memes piled up in the replies. And speculation about the mystery woman's identity hit a fever pitch.

"I'm telling you, that's the McCoy heiress for sure."

"No way, it has to be someone from the Todd family."

"My guess? She's from some aristocrat family overseas!"

"Oh, please. Look at her style and figure. You can tell right away she's definitely not a foreigner."

Curiosity ran wild. People swarmed the account in droves, desperate to catch the first glimpse of the mysterious woman's face.

"Should we keep pushing this?" the man asked his colleague, practically vibrating with excitement as they milked every viral clip for clicks, securing a lucrative ad deal that required a commercial break right in the middle of the upcoming hotly anticipated face-reveal video. He was already rubbing his palms together, eager for the payout.

"If we drag this out any longer, we're bound to get burned." His colleague shot back, rolling his eyes.

At last, the long-awaited series of face-reveal videos dropped-triggering a nationwide frenzy.

"Wait-it's Millie!"

"The mystery's out-Millie was the one Myron was chasing all along!"

"Did I see that right? Oh, no-what about Brandon?"

The hashtag #MyronChasingMillie soon shot straight to the top of the trending charts, hijacking everyone's feeds.

Inside his apartment, Brandon sat rigidly in front of the glowing screen, watching as Millie's face flashed across every video, every headline. Fury snapped inside him-he swept his arm across the table, sending everything crashing to the floor, filling the air with a jarring racket.

Shards sliced his palm, and blood beaded, trailing down his trembling hand.

But the pain didn't seem to reach him-his eyes stayed locked on the video, unblinking and distant.