The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 543

"Today is just registration. The official meetings start tomorrow."

The two left the airport, headed to the symposium's hotel to drop off their luggage, and went out for lunch.

In the afternoon, Miles had plans to meet some friends to discuss academic topics and asked Riley if she wanted to join. She didn't know his friends, and their research didn't align with hers, so she declined and went back to the hotel to rest.

She had barely slept the night before. She spent the first half of the night tangled up with Sebastian in the bathroom and the second half staring at him. She had slipped away while he was deep asleep.

The moment her head hit the pillow, she passed out.

By the time she woke up, it was already dark. The neon lights outside filtered through the window, casting a hazy, colorful glow across the carpet.

Riley got out of bed, turned on the lights, and grabbed her phone. She finally turned off airplane mode and went to the bathroom to wash up. When she came back, she checked her phone again. It was completely silent—no calls, no messages.

She grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant. Back in her room, she started a video call with Mrs. Gable. Seeing her daughter sitting on the playmat, her chubby little hands holding a teething biscuit, drooling everywhere, all the negative emotions in Riley's heart instantly vanished.

Mrs. Gable pointed the camera at Alora, chatting with Riley about the cute things she did that day, what solid foods she ate, and how much. When she was almost done, she paused for a few seconds. "...Mr. St. John came by today."

Riley's grip on the phone tightened slightly, and she gave a soft, "Mhm."

"He looked really anxious. He was asking where you went."

"What did you tell him?"