Plans for the Night

Mantis Tower, Metro City

The night felt like a slow, torturous crawl for Scott.

He stood still, barely moving.

His expression was as empty as his heart.

Even as the grand hall sparkled with golden chandeliers and the clinking of champagne glasses, he remained unmoved, as though he were nothing more than a statue lost in time.

Speeches were made, announcements delivered—things that, on any other day, he might have cared about.

But tonight? They all blurred into white noise.

In her usual persistence, Bella tried to pull him out of whatever abyss he had fallen into.

『He seems dull now… hmph! As if any man could resist my infectious smile and devilish charms!』

She waved a drink in front of him, brushing the rim against his lips in an attempt to make him sip.

Nothing.