It turned out that Neil wasn't the only one surprised to see Hawthorne—Elisa—here. Elisa was just as shocked. Her hand froze in midair, and her eyes widened at the sight of Neil, even though Lucas had already finished shaking her hand several seconds ago.

“Good. So you two already know each other,” Lucas said, his voice still carrying a trace of curiosity. “I'll go get ready. Feel free to chat.”

Lucas left the two of them in the garden, among the servants and event organizer staff hurrying back and forth to check the final preparations before the ceremony began.

“Lucas didn't tell me anything about a personal assistant.” Neil opened...