"And you," Victor finally addressed Seraphina, "You’re not allowed in this area. I can handle everything here, so you can go back to your seat."
"Really?" Seraphina smiled sweetly, her presence exuding a calming aura. "If I hadn’t intervened, things could have easily escalated."
"I’ve got it under control. With here, nothing will happen to Xiaxia," said Victor seriously, his voice firm and reassuring.
Seraphina chuckled softly. "Then explain to Xin what happened to her face and hair. By the way, he’s here with ."
At that mont, Victor finally took a closer look at Xiaxia and noticed the scratches on her face and her disheveled hair.
If Xin found out about this . . . Victor’s heart sank at the thought.
Xin would be greatly disappointed in him, and their friendship might suffer because of this incident.
He had promised that he would take care of Xiaxia, and look what happened to her under his watch!
"You . . ." Victor’s eyes narrowed at Maxine, his anger simring beneath the surface. He had to resist the urge to lash out at her in retaliation in front of this many people.
Taking a deep breath, Victor tried to calm himself. There was still ti to fix Xiaxia’s hair, cover her scars, and co up with an explanation for Xin.
Just when he thought he had everything under control, he spotted Xin not far from where they stood, his expression blank as usual.
"X-Xin?!" Victor almost jumped out of his skin in shock.
What was Xin doing backstage?
More importantly, when did he arrive?! Did he see the whole thing?!
At Victor’s surprised reaction, all eyes turned to Xin, who stood silently observing the scene with his signature poker face.
Xiaxia frowned and muttered, "What are you doing here? You’re not allowed in here."
Caught red handed, Xin could do nothing but step forward and raise his hand in greeting. "Ah. So–!"
"Xin, sorry!"
Before Xin could finish his sentence, Victor dropped to his knees, begging Xin for forgiveness.
"I didn’t keep my promise that I wouldn’t let anything happen to Xiaxia. This is all my fault. I will take full responsibility, but I hope this won’t strain our friendship! And don’t worry, I will severely punish the one who hurt Xiaxia. Severely!"
Maxine’s world seed to blur as she succumbed to unconsciousness, overwheld by the gravity of the situation. Not only had she angered Valentine and Seraphina Fey, but now Victor was also clearly displeased with her.
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks –– she could kiss her career and future goodbye.
anwhile, Lisa and the other onlookers were left in disbelief at the turn of events. Three influential figures in their society were all rallying to protect Xiaxia.
The question lingered in their minds: just who was Xiaxia to warrant such powerful allies?
Was she a hidden tycoon or perhaps even royalty?
Lisa paled at the thought.
"N-no . . . Victor, it’s not your fault," Xiaxia murmured softly, her tone tinged with sha.
She was beginning to feel remorseful for her impulsive actions. In her haste, she hadn’t fully considered the consequences of her behavior, and now she was making Victor looked bad.
Sha on her.
On the sidelines, Xin felt a surge of regret. He had rushed here to apologize for Xiaxia’s misbehavior, hoping to defuse the situation before it escalated. He had witnessed the entire ordeal and knew Xiaxia well enough to anticipate her reaction to being provoked.
With Seraphina’s assistance, they had gained access to the backstage area, but Xin arrived too late to prevent the altercation. He watched helplessly as his sister unleashed her fury upon Maxine.
But now, apologizing for Xiaxia’s actions would likely only result in further punishnt for the poor girl.
To swiftly bring an end to the turmoil, Xin spoke up.
"Don’t worry about it. Xiaxia shares so responsibility in this, so let’s just forget the whole thing," he suggested, his voice calm.
Victor rose to his feet, a smile spreading across his face. "Of course. But Maxine still needs to be held accountable for pushing people around. Xiaxia may have gotten off lightly, but what if she had broken an ankle?"
At Victor’s words, Xin felt a surge of anger bubbling within him. His usually impassive expression darkened, and his eyes narrowed to slits as he turned his gaze towards Maxine, who had just regained consciousness from her shock-induced faint.
"Actually, banning her from your shows might just be the punishnt she needs," Xin suggested, his tone asured yet firm.
Maxine felt as though her soul had once again left her body. Just as she was clinging to hope of salvaging her career, Xin dropped the bombshell. His words felt like a death sentence, and she succumbed to unconsciousness once more.
While the crowd clamored around the scene, most unwilling to be implicated by Maxine’s misfortune, and chose to leave the poor girl on the ground, Victor ushered Xin and Xiaxia away from the drama.
"Now that the show is finished, why don’t the three of us celebrate by eating wagyu? My treat, of course!" Victor suggested, a hint of excitent in his voice.
"Whoa, Wagyu at?! I’m in!" Xiaxia exclaid, her enthusiasm evident. All of the recent drama faded into the back of her mind in the face of delicious food.
Xin glanced over his shoulder, and said, "Are you coming, Seraphina?"
Seraphina bead in response, nodding eagerly, while Victor couldn’t help but grumble secretly to himself.
"Ah! Wait! Lady Seraphina, if you’re coming, then I will eat wagyu with you too!" Valentine interjected eagerly, but her brother quickly dismissed her.
"You still have to take care of your guest. You stay there," he said firmly.
At the ntion of her guest, Valentine’s deanor shifted, and that’s when she was back in reality. She still had an after show to attend to!
She reluctantly acquiesced, though inwardly frustrated.
She watched as Seraphina walked away, unable to shake off the feeling of missed opportunity.
It was such an important opportunity for her to finally converse with Seraphina Fey, but she couldn’t simply leave her guest, especially since she was still expected to end the show with a speech and join them later for cocktails and dinner.
Damn it! Valentine wanted to cry out in frustration.
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