The next morning, Liyami was walking toward Kolin’s room. She was still thinking about what Lavinia had said the day before. She was curious—what exactly had happened in Lavinia’s past?
However, curiosity was one thing, but Liyami hadn’t forgotten Lavinia’s parting words. There was a high probability that the woman wouldn’t help Liyami anymore. After all, she liked Kolin too, and she wasn’t about to help a rival who threatened her own position.
But that was fine. After everything that had happened two nights ago, Liyami had gained a lot of confidence in herself. She wouldn’t worry about such things so easily anymore, especially when it came to Lavinia.
It certainly wasn’t the first time Lavinia had tried to win Kolin over. Liyami still hadn’t forgotten those dates of hers that had ended in disaster.
Therefore, even though Lavinia had made such a declaration, Liyami didn’t view her as much of a threat. As long as Liyami didn’t hand Kolin over on a silver platter, how far could Lavinia really get?
Full of confidence, Liyami soon arrived at Kolin’s door. She reached out and knocked gently, waiting for him to come and open it.
The reason she had rushed to his room so early in the morning was to invite him out for a walk.
While she didn’t think Lavinia was a threat, Eleanor was a different story. She was undoubtedly a major danger. Therefore, to seize the initiative, Liyami decided to monopolize Kolin’s schedule and keep him right where she could see him.
Going for a walk was a perfectly normal activity. Kolin had done it with her many times before, so he wouldn’t be able to refuse the invitation! As long as she moved faster than Eleanor, she wouldn’t have to care about whatever “promise” Eleanor had mentioned. If she maintained a steady offensive on top of that, she would surely win him over!
Of course, if things had gone according to Liyami’s plan, she should have talked to Kolin about this yesterday.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to find a trace of him all day. She figured that after the events of that morning, he had gone into hiding to process everything and would only return once he had calmed down.
While Liyami regretted not being able to talk to him yesterday, she was relieved that Eleanor hadn’t found him either. It seemed their relationship wasn’t as close as Eleanor had claimed.
At that thought, Liyami couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth curl up. She felt the scales of victory tipping in her favor, and her ego was beginning to swell.
‘But where did Lavinia go?’
Liyami suddenly remembered that Kolin wasn’t the only one who had vanished yesterday. Lavinia had also disappeared from the mansion after their conversation. At least, Liyami hadn’t seen her around the mansion at all before she went to bed.
‘Why did Lavinia disappear too? Did she have something to do?’
Liyami was a bit puzzled by Lavinia’s movements, but she soon couldn’t be bothered to think about it further.
‘Whatever, it doesn’t matter where she went. No matter what she does, can she really overtake me instantly? I’ve already made my confession! Maybe Kolin is already prepared to say yes!’
Casting aside thoughts of Lavinia’s whereabouts, Liyami began to fantasize about the scene where Kolin accepted her feelings.
As she daydreamed, however, she realized something was off. Kolin was being too slow. Why hadn’t he opened the door yet?
Liyami looked up at the door in confusion. The faint sounds coming from inside convinced her that Kolin was definitely there and hadn’t gone out.
‘Then why hasn’t he opened the door? Did he not hear me?’
Regardless of whether he had heard or not, Liyami decided to knock again. This time, she knocked significantly harder than before, and a voice quickly drifted out from the room.
“Wait, wait! I—I’m coming! Just wait a second, just one second!”
As soon as Kolin finished speaking, the sound of movement came from the room, seemingly accompanied by another sound. It sounded a bit like… a woman’s voice?
Before Liyami could even begin to wonder why there was a woman’s voice in Kolin’s room, he opened the door.
Liyami was about to speak, but she froze at the sight revealed behind the door.
Kolin stood there wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, looking no different than usual. However, there was one major difference: someone else was standing beside him.
It was Lavinia, and she was wearing nothing but her underwear! She was even leaning her chest against Kolin’s arm! ‘What a shameless woman!!!’
Liyami was so shocked she was speechless. Although her first instinct was to scream at Lavinia in her mind, she was quickly overwhelmed by a sense of profound sadness.
‘I can’t believe it… Lavinia, you moved that fast?! You’ve already… eaten Kolin up entirely?! That’s… that’s totally playing dirty! I haven’t even properly touched him yet!!!’
Liyami’s heart was filled with nothing but grief. She didn’t even hear Kolin and Lavinia’s greetings.
She only regretted that her own actions had been too slow. If she had been faster, just a little faster! If she had just pinned Kolin down herself, she wouldn’t be facing this situation! ‘The pain… it’s too much!!!’
It wasn’t until Lavinia saw Liyami’s expression—which looked like she had lost her very soul—and finally spoke up that Liyami snapped out of her “heartbreak” fantasy.
“Look closely. Does this look like underwear to you?!”
At Lavinia’s words, Liyami regained her senses and took a closer look. Upon further inspection, she realized Lavinia was right. It wasn’t underwear; it was a swimsuit meant for the beach.
Liyami had been so overstimulated by that first glance that she hadn’t been able to distinguish between the two in time.
She had to admit, Lavinia looked stunning in the outfit. If she were to walk around outside, men would definitely try to hit on her. Combined with those Big White Rabbits that were no smaller than Liyami’s own and her beautiful face, her feminine charm was practically maxed out.
Liyami had to acknowledge that if she were still a man, she would have been full of praise for this look. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a man anymore; she was a woman. Consequently, she only found the sight an eyesore, without feeling any excitement at all.
While the swimsuit was indeed quite revealing, it wasn’t actual underwear, and the things Liyami had imagined hadn’t actually happened.
Once she realized this, the heavy stone pressing on Liyami’s chest finally lifted. A look of relief appeared on her face, and the cold sweat stopped dripping from her forehead.
Seeing Liyami’s look of relief, Lavinia originally wanted to brag about her speed, but she ultimately kept her mouth shut. She simply waited quietly for Liyami to return to normal.
In the middle of this scene, only Kolin remained completely bewildered, looking as though he had no idea what had just transpired.