Chapter 20

Zoe's legs were shaking when she left Mason's car. She tried her best to not let him notice it. She

did not want to be embarrassed further.

What was the big deal, really?

It was just sex. Mason had done it with her in countless embarrassing positions in the past three

years. It was merely one more embarrassing moment to add to the pile. Moreover, they did not

even go through with it in the end!

It was still pitch black on the staircase. She could almost smell the erotic odor of when they

intertwined with each other. Zoe picked up the food container and her violin. She shuffled back

home.

She was about to open the door when someone called her, “Zoe!”

The light at the staircase came on all of a sudden. She saw someone she knew and muttered, “Ella.”

Zoe came back to her senses after a while, "How did you find your way here?”

“I went to the hospital and got your address from Mia.” Ella lifted her chin. “I came here as soon as I

got off the plane. Hurry up and make me some food. I've been staving for twelve hours. Plane food

was unbearable!”

Zoe opened the door and let her friend in. Ella felt a lump in her throat when she went in with her

suitcase. At that moment, she turned about and gave Zoe a big hug.

Zoe knew what was on her friend's mind. She could not help herself but choked up a little, “It's fine,

Ella. Really. I got used to it.”

Ella did not say anything. She knew Zoe was lying. There was no way she would ever get used to a

place like this. She was born into a wealthy family. Her toilet used to be bigger than this dump.

It took Ella a long time to calm down. She tried to make light of the situation when she did. “Make

me some food. I'm going to take a bath! I'll be sleeping here tonight. It's been a long time since we

last saw each other and chatted.”

Zoe could not resist hugging her friend again. Cooking was something she was good at. Having

reheated the pizza, she proceeded to make two plates of spaghetti and a German-style sausage

while Ella was taking her bath.

Then, both of them had dinner together. Ella tried to break the ice by leaning in close and saying

softly, “Something happened at the staircase when I was waiting for you earlier.”

Zoe raised her eyebrows.

Ella put on an unfathomable expression and coughed lightly, “I'm talking about sex! It was too dark,

so I didn't get a good look at them. However, I think I had it right. The guy was panting heavily and

the girl moaned quite pleasurably. I'm willing to guess the guy has got a mean wiener!”

All of a sudden, it hit her. Ella was talking about her and Mason. She did not think Ella had hear all

of it. Needless to say, she was not going to admit it, but Ella had a keen sense of smell.

She read Zoe's expression, leaned forward, and sniffed. There was a whiff of aftershave. Ella looked

at her. “It was you and Mason!”

Zoe lowered her head and continued to eat her spaghetti. She did not answer until later. “You're

right. He was here earlier!”

Ella stabbed at the spaghetti. She was pissed off. “Was he still trying to have sex with you, despite

the mess you guys are in? He shouldn't have done it on the staircase, anyhow! He looked like he

had no interest in sex all the time. I didn’t expect him to be this wild!"

Zoe was too embarrassed to tell her about what went down in bed with Mason. Ella felt sorry for her

and went on to reprimand both Mason and Lilith.

She placed her hand on Zoe's back and said solemnly, “Mia told me all about what happened! You

can't keep playing violin at those places, Zoe. We have to take care of our reputation.”

Ella took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked it. She was a model, so she was exceptionally thin. She

looked somewhat charming when she was smoking. It was a captivating look.

She said after a brief pause, “You can work for Leslie! He runs a five-star hotel. The audience there is

of a higher social standing as well. I've talked to him. He'll pay you two thousand dollars every night.

Not a cent less. You'll get four day's break every month.”

Zoe knew about Ella's relationship with Leslie. She wanted to reject her, but Ella was unusually

adamant about it. Holding the slim cigarette between her lips, she breathed out grey smoke and

said nonchalantly, “I slept with him a long time ago. This isn't even a sacrifice!”

Zoe was too embarrassed to say anything.

Ella patted her hand, “There's something you should take heed oft Do you remember Mr. Aiden? I

heard that some tycoon in the nation set up some project funding and wanted him to host it. The

only condition the tycoon had was for him to mentor his mistress!”