Of course he didn't want to switch houses. He wanted to be as close to Carla as possible.
Here, an even more alluring smile appeared on Zayn's lips. He turned around and walked straight into the villa.
Mr. Laco didn't dare to question his decision or ask even more questions. He had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and continue making arrangements for Zayn.
The master bedroom of the villa was huge. The last rays of the evening streamed through the floor- length windows and pooled into a golden spot on the ground.
Zayn took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his stifling shirt. Carrying a wine glass, he made his way to the balcony and sat down on the marble-Whyte recliner. Squinting in the sunlight, he turned to look at the balcony of the adjoining house.
Almost immediately, the balcony door slid opened and out stepped a familiar-looking person. The woman was barefoot and wore her hair down around her shoulders. In a long, flowing silk dress, she looked both relaxed and careless.
Without her aloof, arrogant façade, she appeared more like the innocent, simple Carla from the past.
"Well, I didn't expect to see you here, Mr. Giblo."
Carla sat down on the same marble-Whyte recliner. She stretched out her hand towards Rogan, who promptly passed her a glass of ready-made cocktail.
"I like admiring the beautiful scenery and beautiful women alike, " Zayn remarked.
He smiled at her and raised his eyebrows with an ambiguous look on his face.
"You're quite the playboy, Mr. Giblo, " Carla commented with a taunting laugh. "What happened to the frigid, ice-cold man that everyone knows?"
"I only show this side of me to certain people."
Zayn shot her a look. It had been two years, but she hadn't changed a bit. After taking off her makeup and letting her hair down, she looked quite the same as before. However, her eyes had taken on a rather arrogant quality, and for some reason, she looked sharper and more intelligent than she once had.
With status came great power!
"Are you making fun of me, Mr. Giblo?" Carla asked, laughing coldly. "I heard that you're a married man."
"Yes. In fact, you look a lot like my wife…" Zayn tried to provoke a reaction from her. "She has been missing for two years now. Could you possibly be her?"
"Hahaha…" Carla burst into mocking laughter immediately. "Mr. Giblo, your method of getting girls is quite pathetic, don't you think?"
"Do you really not recognize me?"
Zayn looked rather confused. Carla's response didn't seem fake— if it was fake, however, she had to be an exceptionally talented actress to pull it off.
She seemed neither flustered nor panicked. In fact, she seemed to have no recollection of the past, and neither was she displaying any sort of yearning towards it.
It was as if Zayn was a complete stranger to her. To Carla, he was nothing more than her business rival.
"Why would I know you?"
Carla raised her eyebrows provokingly, laughing frostily as she gazed at him.
Although she seemed to be full of mockery towards him, her heart was actually full of complicated emotions.
When he told her that she looked a lot like his wife, the needle in her heart had wedged itself a little deeper. The jolt of pain in her heart had been the most tormenting yet…
It was as though his words had truly cut her somehow…
She couldn't help but wonder if they had met each other before.
"Carla…" Just as Zayn was about to continue, there was a loud commotion downstairs. "You foolish people, don't you have eyes? Don't you know who I am? Let me in right now—I'm here to look for Zayn."
This voice sounded rather familiar.
Zayn turned around and spotted Shelley immediately.
They hadn't had a single interaction in the past two years. Why had she chosen to show up in front of him again today?
Benard hurried over and whispered in Zayn's ear. "She's probably here as one of Dorilo Group's representatives. She was informed that you were attending this conference and decided to pay you a visit."
Zayn waved his hands idly, signaling that Benard should go settle the matter for him.
Carla had seen everything. She snorted loudly and said, "What a way to play with a girl's feelings, Mr. Giblo. I wonder if this woman looks like your wife, too!"
"Ms. Lierger…"
Just as Zayn was going to explain himself, Carla turned and returned to her room.
Her female bodyguards slid the balcony door shut and tugged the curtains close. Zayn couldn't peek into the room at all.
He couldn't help but frown in disappointment. What a ruined opportunity!
However, Shelley's arrival gave him another idea. Seeing an old enemy of hers might make Carla give up this act of hers.
"Mr. Giblo, I've settled the matter, " Benard said, returning to Zayn's side. "She has returned to her room, but I wager that she'll come and harass you again tonight. Do you want me to put a stop to it first?"
"There will be no need for that." Zayn wanted to see how Carla would react when she finally laid eyes on Shelley again…
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