**Chapter 80: The Indirect Kiss**
Mason shot Tim an icy glare, his voice laced with incredulity. “Missing one meal is going to kill you?”
Under the weight of that unspoken threat, Tim felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine. He clamped his mouth shut, the words he wanted to say dying on his lips. With a reluctant sigh, he pushed himself up from his seat and followed Mason, his feet dragging as if they were made of lead.
As they walked further away, ensuring Amelia couldn’t overhear their conversation, Tim elbowed Mason sharply, a spark of mischief igniting in his eyes. “Hey, come on, spill the beans. You’ve got a soft spot for that shy beauty sitting next to you, don’t you? And what about the feelings you’ve been burying deep down?”
Mason didn’t even break his stride. He grunted out a single word, his tone dismissive. “Busybody.”
Yet, despite his words, his eyes betrayed him, darting involuntarily to the table behind them. There sat Amelia, her gaze fixed on her plate, shoulders hunched as if trying to shrink into the very fabric of her clothes. She looked painfully aware of her surroundings, wishing desperately to vanish beneath the table.
For reasons he couldn’t quite articulate, that timid posture tugged at something within Mason, and the corner of his usually stoic mouth twitched upward just a fraction. It was a fleeting smile, barely noticeable, but it was there—a crack in his icy demeanor.
Once the two men had finally strolled away, Amelia released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The tension that had coiled tightly in her chest dissipated, and she turned to Lily with a mix of indignation and embarrassment bubbling inside her. “This is all your fault! You’re the one who claimed we were a couple! If not for that, I wouldn’t have… Wouldn’t have made such a fool of myself!”
Lily, however, had already shaken off her earlier anxiety, a playful grin spreading across her face like sunlight breaking through clouds.
Leaning closer, she whispered teasingly, “Okay, forget all that. Just answer me this. Did you or did you not just have an indirect kiss with Mason?”
“You little brat!”
Amelia’s cheeks flared crimson, a deeper shade than before, as she straightened her posture, attempting to project an air of seriousness. “Stop spouting nonsense! He’s my older brother!”
“Not by blood,” Lily countered with a casual shrug. “And your divorce waiting period is almost over. You’ll be completely single again. What’s holding you back?”
Lily couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. She had yet to reveal the most amusing part of the entire encounter—the way Mason had smoothly handed her the glass of water, as if he had rehearsed the move a thousand times.
In that very moment, just as he passed the glass, she noticed his hand hesitate for a brief second, as if he wanted to reach out and comfort Amelia but thought better of it at the last moment.
If Amelia ever found out about that little detail, she would likely turn beet red and wish she could disappear entirely.
So, Lily decided to keep that nugget of information to herself.
But one thing was certain: if Amelia continued to cross paths with Mason, there would undoubtedly be a spectacle worth witnessing.



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