NovelUpdateChapter 77
-Ava’s POV-
“And then what happened?” Isabella grinned so widely that | instantly regretted calling her. If | thought telling
her was a bad idea before, | now knew it was ten times worse.
| shook my head, willing myself not to explode from the embarrassment still simmering from this morning. It
hadn’t helped that he'd just walked out without saying a word. Why couldn't he have said something? Anything?
Even a sarcastic “Thanks for the show” would have been better than the deafening silence. Not that Grayson
Blackwood would ever utter a phrase like that. The thought of it still almost madefeel better. Aimost.
After spending the entire day obsessing over the moment, | decided to call Isabella after work. | figured she
might have advice, given her vastly more colorful experience compared to mine. At the very least, I'd hoped
she’d make the situation feel less soul-crushing. But as always, I'd made one critical mistake-I warned her not to
interrupt until | was finished.
That decision was hauntingnow. Because she had packed it all up in this one grin.
She raised her hands in mock surrender when I didn’t answer, but her grin never faltered. “Con, Lilian, you
can’t drop a bomb like that and leavehanging! You had your first sex dream, and Grayson Blackwood was
the star? Did he make it a reality?” She gasped tically. “Oh my goddess, you finally
“No!” | snapped, cutting her off before she could finish. My cheeks burned as | glared at her. “No, we did not
have sex. And you promised to behave, so knock it off and don’t make this worse.” | dropped my gaze to my
plate and muttered. “He just walked away.”
“He what?” she practically shouted, her voice loud enough to turn heads at the surrounding tables.
1 glared at her, but she only waved dismissively at the curious stares and leaned in, lowering her voice to a
whisper. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry, | won't shout again. But seriously... he walked away?”
“Yes,” | repeated, slumping in defeat.
“Are you sure he knew you were dreaming about him? You know drilling into you?”
“Stop being so crude!” | hissed, but the heat in my cheeks betrayed me. “We didn’t even have sex! He just
kissed me, and then... well, things escalated then he went down on me. But that’s not the point.” My voice
dropped even lower. “He knows | was dreaming about him. I'm sure of it. And now, | have no idea how I'm
supposed to face him again. He probably thinks I'm skind of. of sex-crazed woman or something.”
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Isabella burst into laughter so loud | thought she might fall off her chair. “Oh, honey,” she wheezed between
giggles, “there is no denying that you're ridiculously hot. But letbreak it to you-you give off zero sex vibes.
Like, none. You have the aura of a serious, uptight doctor.”
| glared at her, though I could feel the corners of my lips twitching. First of all, | am not uptight and secon of all, |
am a serious doctor. It’s literally my job.”
“Exactly my point!” she teased, taking a sip of her drink with a grin.
| huffed and pushed my food around on my plate. “Let's just forget about it, okay? I'll avoid him until this all
blows over, and then I-can focus on whatever... this is between us.” | groaned, burying my face in my hands.
“He’s drivingso crazy, | just want to pull my hair out. First, he’s cold and pushesaway, then he’s writing
not even sure he knows what that means!”
“Whoa, slow down,” Isabella said, her voice softening. “Take a deep breath. Calm, deep breaths, Lilian.”
| exhaled shakily, following her advice. “What am | going to do, Bels?”
08:51 Tue, Dec 17 G.
Chapter 77
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“Honestly?” She frowned in thought. “I don’t know why he’s shuiding you out again, but one thing is clear:
Grayson Blackwood is the king of pride. And yet, that man swallowed every ounce of it to ask for my help getting
you back. The way he kissed you outside that boutique? He clearly feels something for you. He wants you, Lilian.
| just don’t understand why he’s making this so difficult.” She shook her head in exasperation “Men. Someone
really needs to write a guidebook on them
Her frustrated tone madelaugh despite myself, and for a moment, the tension in my chest eased. But her
words also remindedof something Id noticed earlier-she seemed distracted tonight. “Things with Rickon
aren't going well, are they?”
“That's an understatement,” she said, her shoulders slumping, “wear, the Moon Goddess and | need to have a
one-on-one about her matchmaking skills. First you and Dylan, nowand Alpha I've Slept With Them All,” She
sighed. “He asked to meet up to ‘talk, and guess where he took me? A restaurant where I'm positive he’s hooked
up with at least half the waitstaff. Who does that?”
| repeated her earlier advice with a smirk. “Take a deep breath. Calm, deep breaths.”
She laughed, tossing a fry at me, and we both sighed at the stime. For a moment, silence stretched
between us, comforting in its familiarity.
And then, her eyes lit up with a mischievous twinkle that instantly seton edge.
“Bels, | warned, “whatever you're thinking, don’t say it.”
Isabella's grin grew impossibly wider, the kind of grin that warnedtrouble was on the horizon. “I've got it!
The perfect solution: Operation Seduce the Stone-Hearted Alpha King”
| groaned, dropping my face into my hands. “First of all, you've always been terrible at naming things. Seriously,
where do you even cup with this stuff? Second, and more importantly, every single one of your so-called
‘operations’ has ended in complete disaster for me. So, no. Absolutely not.”
But of course. Isabella was undeterred. She leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table as she fixedwith
that overly enthusiastic sparkle in her eyes. | braced myself because | knew what was coming-a full-on pitch,
complete with her tics and exaggerated confidence.
“Lilian,” she began, her tone overly serious as if she were unveiling the cure to all my problems. “This is not just
an operation. This is the solution. Think about it. You've been driving yourself crazy trying to figure Grayson out,
right? He's hot, he’s cold, he’s kissing you one second and walking away the next-classic alpha indecision. But
you have something he doesn’t: a plan.”
| snorted. “A plan to humiliate myself, maybe.”
She waved off my comment as if it were entirely irrelevant. “No, a plan to break through that fortress he calls a
heart. You said it yourself-he wants to ‘give this a try, but he doesn’t know what that means. What he needs is a
little nudge.”
“A nudge?” | repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Isabella, do you remember hat happened the last t| follered one
of your nudges?”
“This is different.” Her voice rose with excitement, and | could practically see the gears turning in her head. “This
is about love. Or at least... intense mutual attraction. It has to be subtle. Nothing over the top No grand gestures
or obvious moves. Just small, calculated actions to remind him what he’s missing when he tries to pull away.”
“Small, calculated actions?” | echoed, narrowing my eyes. “You mean things like wearing exposing and teasing
outfits when
he is around
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She grinned. “I mean, that’s not a bad idea...”
“Isabella!” | snapped, half-laughing despite myself. “That is exactly what I'm talking about. These things always
spiral out of control with you. What's next? Seductively licking my spoon when we are eating together?”
08:51 Tue, Dec 17
Chapter 77
“Not bad options, honestly, she teased, winking and she as about ot say something else when her phone chimed
suddenly. cutting through the conversation, and she let out a long, exasperated sigh at the sound.
“What is it now?” | asked, already bracing myself for one of her tic responses.
She rolled her eyes so hard | thought they might get stuck. “It’s Rickon. He's decided to takeon a grand tour
of his life, apparently. He keeps sendingthese updates about what he’s doing, like | care. Pack meetings,
grabbing food, blah blah blah. It's so annoying.”
But even as she said it, her hand was already reaching for the phone, her thumb swiping across the screen with
practiced
case.
| smirked. “If it's so annoying, why are you checking it?”
She shota sharp look but didn’t stop reading. “Because,” she said with mock patience, “he’ll keep texting
until 1 acknowledge it.”
Her eyes scanned the message, and in an instant, her expression twisted into a fierce glare.
“What happened?” | asked, the shift in her demeanor making my stomach tighten.
Without a word, she turned the phone to me, her knuckles white as she gripped it.
“He’s informingabout an alliance he is about to seal,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain.
My gaze darted to the screen, and the second | saw the name, the words left my mouth at the stas
hers.
“With that bastard Dylan.”
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