The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 106

The Landon estate.

Listening to the steady dial tone on her phone, Beatrice stared at the screen in disbelief. Once she realized she had actually been hung up on, she seethed with indignant rage. "She actually hung up on me? She's lost her damn mind!"

Serena came downstairs dressed to the nines, having spent hours getting ready for Sebastian's dinner. "Mom, who hung up on you?"

Beatrice gritted her teeth. "Riley!"

The smile vanished from Serena's face. "She thinks just because my brother spoils her, she can do whatever she wants. Mom, you have to teach her a harsh lesson this time!"

Beatrice fully intended to. However... "Not tonight. Sebastian is here."

"Then we hold off for now. Don't make a scene. Once Sebastian leaves, we'll make her pay!"

Serena had always despised Riley, especially since Riley kept making her look like a fool in front of Sebastian—first with the tea incident, and then at the hospital a few days ago. She held onto those grudges tightly, and now that they finally had leverage over her, Serena wasn't about to let it go!

"Fine." Beatrice nodded in agreement. "But how exactly should I handle her? She's got skin thicker than a brick wall. Every time I lecture her, she just plays deaf and mute. It gives me nowhere to vent my anger."

Serena thought for a moment, leaned into her mother's ear, and whispered her plan.

Beatrice's eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Perfect. That's exactly what we'll do."

Dinner at the estate was set for six o'clock.

Riley arrived ten minutes early. As she walked into the living room, she saw Sebastian and Arthur playing chess. Beatrice and Serena were sitting on the sofa scrolling through their phones. When the mother and daughter saw her walk in, Beatrice acted like she didn't exist, while Serena blatantly rolled her eyes.

Riley ignored them entirely. She didn't interrupt Arthur and Sebastian's game either, opting instead to find a quiet corner to sit down. She glanced at the door, then at her watch, checking the time repeatedly.

Anyone watching would assume she was anxiously waiting for Pierce.

They all thought the couple was so madly in love they couldn't bear to be apart for a single moment.

Pale blue smoke swirled into the air.

Through the haze, Pierce looked at the cold, imposing man sitting across from him, feeling a tight knot of tension form in his stomach.

Sebastian had been brought back by Arthur when he was fifteen and accepted as Arthur's ward. Pierce had been thirteen at the time.

Before Sebastian's arrival, Arthur had been grooming Pierce as the sole heir to Landon Enterprises. But once Sebastian arrived, Arthur's focus shifted drastically, placing immense value on the older boy.

There were even rumors circulating that Sebastian would one day take over Landon Enterprises entirely.

For a long time, Pierce treated Sebastian as his ultimate rival. He never dared defy his grandfather openly, but in the shadows, he constantly tried to outmaneuver him.

Sebastian, however, never paid him any mind. He was quiet, did things exactly his way, and even when Pierce directly provoked him, Sebastian remained completely unbothered.

It wasn't until much later, when Sebastian formally reclaimed his birthright and became the eldest grandson of the St. John family—the pinnacle of Statenbury's elite—that Pierce began to understand. Perhaps his grandfather had known Sebastian's true identity all along.