Chapter 1268: Quadrilateral

Whatever Hugo had in mind was not part of Lily’s plan. She had planned to use Hugo as decoration in this love triangle. After all, Max and Hugo had been competing for years, and even now, there was always tension between them.

In her mind, if Max found out that Ginnie had been in love with Hugo, it would hit his ego enough to make him pursue her. Max was the type to let go of things, even if it hurt. He had given up basketball and found joy in owning a team instead. She didn’t want him to suppress his feelings until they faded away—she wanted to push him into action.

But Hugo? He somehow thought Max had feelings for him. Where had he even gotten that idea?

"Are you talking about me?" Max frowned at the group, having had just enough drinks to stay composed. Unlike them, who were obviously drunk, he could still take himself home.

"Uh, no!" Lily perked up, flashing him a smile. "We were just talking about something else! That’s all!"

"Why don’t you join us?" Grace suggested, rising from her seat and offering her hand. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name’s Grace, from..."

Knowing Max’s reputation, she casually introduced herself. Max gave her a cold glance, making her eyebrows rise at the sharpness in his eyes.

’Someone’s not in a good mood,’ Grace thought, about to withdraw her hand when he suddenly clasped it.

"Just call me Max," he said with a smile, confusing her even more with his sudden shift in attitude. When he let go of her hand, his gaze landed on Hugo.

"Hey, why are you hiding so pathetically? Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you?"

Hugo, still covering the side of his face, awkwardly looked up. "Hey," he laughed nervously. "Good to see you, Max."

"Tch." Max clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed. "Move."

"Uh, yes!" Hugo cleared his throat, signaling Grace to scoot over. She kindly did, but instead of sitting beside him, Max took a huge step forward and walked over Hugo to sit between them.

Grace: "..."

Hugo: "..."

Ginnie: "???"

Lily: "!!!!"

The four of them stared at Max, each with a different reaction—mostly confusion and surprise. Lily, however, felt an uneasy chill creeping up her spine.

’This isn’t... going to get worse, right?’ she wondered. ’It’s not like Senior Hugo would outright confront Max about his supposed feelings for him... right?’

Lily studied Grace, Max, and Hugo across from her. Hugo awkwardly grabbed his drink and downed it in one go. Meanwhile, Max flashed Grace a charming smile. Although Grace was still a bit confused, she smiled back.

Slowly, Lily’s gaze shifted to Ginnie, who sat beside her. Ginnie blinked a few times before chuckling at the sight of the three across from her.

"Nice to see you here, Max," Ginnie said with a smile, making Max turn to her. "I didn’t know you’d be here tonight."

"Well..." Max cleared his throat and shot Lily a look.

"I invited him because we really bonded back on the island!" Lily declared.

Hugo and Ginnie immediately furrowed their brows.

Bonded?

The two of them thought back to the island. All they remembered was Max seething in anger while Lily bossed him around. Was that how people bonded nowadays? Surely, frustration was also a form of love language.

"Really?" Ginnie blurted out.

"Yes!" Lily nodded enthusiastically. "Let’s just have fun!" She called for a server and ordered more drinks. "Let’s drink, let’s drink!"

"Uh..." Ginnie shrugged while the others exchanged subtle glances, each thinking something different.

"Anyway..." Grace started, but Max suddenly turned to her.

"You said you work at a firm..." He smiled. "Do you take consultations?"

"I do, but I don’t think this is the place for business."

"I know," Max said knowingly. "I just thought I’d break the ice."

Grace smirked and briefly glanced at Lily, who was visibly souring. Then, she met Max’s eyes again and chuckled. "I like you."

"Can I say the same?" he returned, his expression carrying intrigue. At first glance, anyone would believe he was genuinely interested in Grace. But for someone like Grace, it was easy to see the subtle hints of something else lurking beneath.

Not that she intended to expose it.

"Anyway, I didn’t know Hugo knew such a lovely woman," Max said, leaning back and glancing at Hugo. "You two seem pretty close."

Then, he turned to Grace. "Are you two dating?"

"No." Grace shook her head. "But—"

"Then, that means showing interest in you isn’t all that bad, huh?" Max cut in before she could finish.

Hugo blinked at Max. ’Was I wrong?’He studied Max’s expression. Just as he did, Max looked back at him.

"What?" Max arched a brow. "Were you planning to pursue her?"

"What? No! I mean, if you like her, then good for you!" Hugo laughed awkwardly and slapped Max’s back. "Good for you! Haha! Good, good! Grace is pretty, you should go after her!"

"What?!" Lily gasped in horror. "No, you can’t do that—hey, Max! Don’t tell me you fell for Grace at first sight?!"

This traitor!

"Pfft—" Grace covered her mouth, stifling laughter. She didn’t even need Lily’s explanation to piece everything together.

Surely, the people around Penny were too honest.

If she was right, Hugo was encouraging Max simply because he thought Max had feelings for him. Meanwhile, Lily had been setting up a love triangle, but it was now turning into a quadrilateral. And Ginnie? She was just sitting there, smiling, completely entertained without any knowledge of what was truly going on.

Grace wouldn’t have minded getting dragged into their little drama, except she didn’t want to complicate things further for Ginnie and Lily.

"I’m sorry, Max," she finally said, smiling at him. "But I’m not available."

"Oh? You have a boyfriend?"

"No." She shook her head. "I just have my eyes set on someone."

"Right!" Hugo nodded, bumping Max’s side with his elbow. "She’s not available. She’s going to be my aunt."

"Aunt?" Max frowned, glancing between Hugo and Grace. "Oh."

’I misunderstood,’he thought to himself, his gaze shifting to Ginnie, who was still smiling. He let out a small sigh of relief—only for it to be cut short.

Now that he knew Hugo and Grace weren’t romantically involved, that meant...

He was back to square one.

The possibility of Hugo and Ginnie being together was back on the table.

Damn it!