The Platonic Trap novel Chapter 109

The man's long finger hovered over the screen.

—Resting perfectly on their photo together.

In the picture, the girl's features were soft and gentle. She looked at the lens with a sweet, obedient smile, her eyelashes still damp with tears.

Alistair didn't say a word.

His thumb slowly slid down the screen, resting over the tear at the corner of her eye.

Looking down, the man traced his thumb over the glass, as if wiping her tear away.

Why was she always crying?

As if only just processing Ken's shock, he spoke without looking up, his tone perfectly steady. "She said I took terrible photos, so I took more to make up for it."

It sounded like an excuse for why his phone was suddenly flooded with her pictures.

Ken: "..."

Forcing an awkward chuckle, Ken tread carefully. "Girls love taking pictures. Ms. Stafford is gorgeous, so it's only natural she'd want to be photographed."

Alistair didn't respond to that. His gaze shifted to his own figure in the photo.

He was standing slightly behind her. His dark suit made her look even more radiant and untouchable.

In the photo, he looked entirely unapproachable, his lips pressed into a severe line.

Staring at the image, Alistair frowned, his eyes darkening.

"Mr. Zucker?" Ken noticed the shift and asked tentatively. "Is something wrong?"

Alistair's voice was low, carrying a trace of frost. "I should have smiled."

"Excuse me?" Ken blinked, completely thrown off. "What did you say, sir?"

Alistair didn't bother repeating himself. He merely issued a cold command. "Accelerate the Forrester Group's ruin. I want to see results."

"Understood, sir. Right away."

--

The Aerie Manor.

Celia lounged on the massive bed in the third-floor guest room, swiping through the photos Alistair had sent her.

A quick count showed there were roughly seventy or eighty of them.

She honestly wondered if he would keep them on his phone after sending them.

Celia raised an eyebrow. "I didn't see it. He must have blocked me."

"Don't be sad, Celia! I had no idea he was such trash. He was just plotting his grand confession to you a few days ago, and now he's already with someone else!"

The girl paused before adding the kicker: "I heard she's from a different department. Also a wealthy heiress."

Celia let out a quiet scoff, her eyes gleaming with absolute clarity.

—Love at first sight, my ass. He was just looking for a sugar daddy ticket.

She couldn't care less about garbage like him.

Thinking Celia was heartbroken, the classmate offered a few more words of comfort before finally hanging up, reassured by Celia's perfectly normal tone.

Unbothered, Celia went right back to scrolling.

A moment later, Evelyn posted an update.

Also a photo carousel. Also at the graduation venue. But sitting dead center in her grid was a picture of her holding someone's hand.

[Happy Graduation.]

The exact same caption. Whether it was intentional or a blatant copycat move, Celia didn't know.