Her parents kept asking why she hadn’t brought Trevor along. In their eyes, the two had a strong relationship, and Trevor was Tawana’s longest-lasting boyfriend. They thought the couple had a good chance of making it long-term, so they were a bit worried that they weren’t vacationing together.
Tawana’s excuse was that Trevor had missed some training recently and was catching up.
Though she desperately wanted to break up with Trevor, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it after much thought.
It wasn’t that she still cared for Trevor deeply, but they’d been together so long that they knew too much about each other’s secrets. Trevor was well aware of her feelings for Ye Chen. Without a breakup, they could maintain an unspoken understanding, but breaking up would mean tearing everything apart.
Moreover, her millions of fans worldwide had accepted their relationship, believing that after countless romances, Tawana had finally found “the one.” If she suddenly broke up, fans would question her, and if Trevor stirred the pot, she could end up in a messy situation.
But humans are complicated creatures.
Once you stop loving someone, maintaining the relationship becomes increasingly unbearable. It’s like the greasy smell left on your hands after eating fried chicken. While eating, you don’t care and even enjoy the flavour, but once you’re done and full, the grease feels revolting.
As she wallowed in her frustration, the doorbell rang.
Through the peephole, she saw it was the renowned luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault and his wife.
Tawana opened the door, smiling, “Mr and Mrs Arnault, it’s been a while!”
Bernard Arnault laughed heartily, “Tawana, I didn’t expect you’d come all the way to the Maldives for a holiday. If you’d told me earlier, I could’ve had the whole island cleared for you.”
His wife mentally rolled her eyes, thinking, “Do you even believe that yourself? You didn’t clear the island for your own visit, so why would you do it for Tawana? She’s not a fool.”
Tawana wasn’t a fool, but she wasn’t exactly sharp either.
She didn’t pick up on the insincerity and said respectfully, “Mr Arnault, you’re too kind. I’ve long wanted to experience this famous island of yours. It’s such a small matter, I didn’t want to trouble you. I never imagined you’d be here too, what a coincidence.”
Bernard Arnault laughed, “As the Chinese say, meeting is fate! We’re destined to cross paths. We must have a few drinks at tonight’s party. What’s that Chinese saying? A thousand cups are too few when drinking with a true friend.”
Tawana asked in surprise, “Mr Arnault, you seem quite interested in Chinese culture?”
His wife chimed in, “He went to China on a business trip and came back in much better spirits. He said he learned to cultivate his mind there. Since then, he’s been obsessed with Chinese history, reading all sorts of Chinese books and documents, even poring over *The Travels of MarcoAstronomy* every day.”
Bernard Arnault waved his hand awkwardly, “Let’s not talk about *Marco Polo*. It’s a sore subject.”
Tawana exclaimed, “What a coincidence! I’ve been fascinated by Chinese culture lately too. For this holiday, I brought a silk-embroidered qipao that I absolutely love.”
Bernard Arnault laughed, “Great minds think alike! Why don’t you wear the qipao to the party tonight, Ms Sweet? They say a third of the guests on the island are Chinese.”
Tawana thought to herself, since a third of the guests are Chinese, news of her arriving on the island and wearing a qipao to the party would surely spread quickly to Chinese social media. Not only would it endear her to Chinese netizens, but when it reached Ye Chen’s ears, it would surely show him her intentions!
Without hesitation, she agreed, “No problem! I’ll wear the qipao to the party tonight!”
