"Perfect," I said, curling the corners of my lips into a smile. I was about to give a few more instructions when I bumped into Wendy before turning the corner of the staircase. Without missing a beat, I ended the call and turned to walk past her. But Wendy called out to me before I could slip by. "Rosaline, the party is starting soon. Why haven't you changed yet?" Her eyes swept over my outfit, and she frowned. "Don't tell me—you didn't prepare a gown?" For a moment, I genuinely worried about her intelligence. I lifted my eyes and glanced at her and urged darkly, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't force small talk. It just makes things awkward for both of us." Her face flushed and paled by turns, and the smile she wore faltered. As I started to walk away, she suddenly blurted out, "Rosaline, what did I ever do to make you hate me so much?" "You should figure that out for yourself. Maybe once you do, you'll stop bothering me." I couldn't be bothered to waste more breath on her. I'd assumed Wendy had some tricks up her sleeve, but now I saw she wasn't even worth the effort. Just then, a maid passed by. I gave a quick instruction. "Bring the blue box from my room down to the dressing room, the one with my gown in it." Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked away, leaving Wendy standing there, furious and stomping her foot in frustration. Caden's POV: Guests were arriving steadily in the grand hall. My grandfather sat at the head of the room, chatting with the many werewolves who had come to celebrate his birthday. After a while, he leaned toward me and asked in a low voice, "Where's Rosie? I haven't seen her yet." I glanced toward the stairs and said, "She should be down soon. I'll go check on her." I headed for the dressing room. When I opened the door, I found Rosaline sitting casually on the bed, scrolling through her phone. Next to her was the blue box. "What's going on?" I asked. Just from her posture and expression, I could tell something had happened. She didn't say anything right away, just gave me a look. I followed her gaze to the box—and my eyes narrowed. Inside was a gown, but it had been slashed in multiple places. It was completely ruined. "Do you know who did it?" I asked, my voice turning cold. Rosaline stood up and stretched lazily, nodding. "I didn't expect it to be this easy. All that effort I put into setting the trap—it was wasted. Turns out I didn't even need it." She looked genuinely disappointed. "Good thing this wasn't the dress you gave me," she added, her eyes gleaming with a sharp glint. "You go ahead to the party. I'll be down in a bit," she said, looking up at me. "Wendy did this, didn't she?" I brought up that name and remained seated. Rosaline wasn't surprised. She smiled slyly, resting her elbow on her knee and propping her chin in her palm. "Mr. Holbrook, any thoughts?" I shook my head but stayed silent. She walked over and, to my surprise, sat down on my lap. "Whatever Wendy tried to do to me—it's all because of you, you know. And I heard you two have known each other for years. If something happens to her later, you're not going to blame me, are you?" Rosaline's POV: I was just flirting with him. But Caden's expression darkened at this. He removed the hand that had been resting on my waist and said in a low voice, "Get up." I froze for a second. I knew I'd crossed a line. Biting my lip, I moved to sit beside him instead. Stealing a glance at him, I was about to apologize, but before I could speak, he cupped the back of my head, leaned in, and kissed me. The kiss was fierce—full of heat and a possessive intensity that caught me completely off guard. When Caden finally let me go, I was gasping for air, my chest rising and falling as I struggled to catch my breath. My eyes were watery as I looked up at him. His thumb brushed gently across my lips. His voice was low and steady, yet full of warning. "Rosaline, you're the only one I care about. I don't give a damn about the rest—and I don't want to hear you talk like that ever again." I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head gently on his shoulder. "Go on ahead. I'll be down in a minute." He nodded once and stood to leave.