"Obviously with me!" Karina rolled her eyes at her. "Who do you think you are? Maybe you just saw Xavier on the news and now you're here pretending to know him!"
Serena didn't argue. She simply tugged hard, yanking Karina's suitcase away and dragged it toward the exit.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Seeing she couldn't intimidate her, Karina stomped her feet in frustration.
She was wearing ten-centimeter high heels, while Serena had on flat shoes.
Even biting her lip and running hard, she couldn't catch up.
Half a minute later, Serena had already reached the hotel entrance.
Just as she was about to throw the suitcase out, a gentle voice called out beside her, "Serena, what are you doing?!"
Serena turned her head and responded coolly, "Mr. Blaze, done parking your car?"
Xavier looked at her, confused. "What's going on? I leave for just a few minutes, and now I'm 'Mr. Blaze' instead of Xavier?"
"With so many romantic entanglements, I wouldn't dare call you so intimately. What if I get caught in the crossfire?" she said sarcastically.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing down at the suitcase in her hand. "That's not yours. Where'd it come from?"
At that moment, Karina finally caught up.
Seeing Xavier through the glass doors, her eyes lit up. She quickly approached and called out sweetly, "Xavier, you're finally here!"
"Miss Carter," Xavier greeted her with a distant smile. "You arrived quite early."
"I had a few days free, and I had nothing better to do, so I figured I'd come early," she said, lowering her head shyly like a demure lady.
A far cry from the arrogant and overbearing person who had just slapped the receptionist.
Xavier didn't say much to her. He simply advised coolly, "You must be tired from the journey. Go check in and rest."
At those words, Karina suddenly remembered the situation and quickly pointed at Serena. "Xavier, this crazy woman came out of nowhere and tried to steal my luggage! See? If you hadn't stopped her, she'd have run off with my things! Let's call the police-I think she's trying to rob me!"
Xavier glanced down again at the suitcase Serena was about to toss. Understanding dawned on him immediately.
He leaned in quietly and whispered near Serena's ear, "Serena, it's just a misunderstanding. I'll explain later."
Serena remained silent, clearly not planning to respond.
"Xavier!" Karina called out bitterly, seeing he hadn't taken any action. "Say something! In broad daylight, she tried to steal my stuff at your family hotel. You have to stand up for me!"
Xavier frowned subtly. Then, looking up, his face wore a carefree smile. "Miss Carter, are you sure she tried to take your suitcase without reason?"
Karina froze and asked in shock, "Xavier, what do you mean? I-I was just checking in, and she suddenly came over and grabbed my stuff! She's either crazy or trying to steal-what else could it be?!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Xavier narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her, making her skin crawl.
Serena stood to the side with a mocking expression, watching the scene silently.
She was curious to see how this man would handle things.
"Xavier, why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you don't believe me and actually believe that crazy woman?!"
"She's not crazy!" he blurted out instinctively, defending Serena.
Karina was stunned. "You two... really know each other?!"
Wanting to protect Serena, Xavier didn't answer directly. "The hotel has surveillance everywhere. We can check the footage and see exactly what happened."
At that, Karina immediately felt guilty.
She had always portrayed herself as a classy socialite in front of Xavier.
If he saw the footage, he'd know how unreasonable she'd been-refusing to show ID and slapping the receptionist.
Blinking rapidly, she quickly changed her tone and pretended to be understanding. "Forget it, it's not a big deal. She didn't actually take my suitcase in the end. No need to make a fuss. As long as she gives it back and apologizes, I won't make a scene."
"Apologize?!" Serena sneered. "I'm afraid the one who should apologize isn't me."
"You-!" Karina was shocked. She had already backed down, and yet Serena still refused to yield. "I've given you an out. Don't push your luck!"
"Hmph!" Serena turned her face away, refusing to even look at her. Instead, she looked straight at Xavier. "Mr. Blaze, Miss Carter claims she's your friend. Someone this hypocritical and dishonest-how blind were you to make friends with her?!"
Her tone was sourer than vinegar.
Xavier chuckled instead.
His Serena was jealous! That meant... she cared about him, right?
"You still have the nerve to laugh?!" Seeing his smirk only made Serena even more frustrated.
He raised his hand. "Alright, I won't laugh. I'll be the impartial judge here and handle this seriously!"
Then he dropped his smile and said sternly, "The hotel isn't officially open yet, but we're in trial operations and do have guests. Standing here arguing doesn't look good. Let's go inside and talk."
Karina obediently turned to go, but seeing Serena still standing stubbornly at the door, she scowled and pointed. "Xavier, look at her! She's totally disrespecting you and the Blaze family!"
Xavier turned back, pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then walked over to Serena.
Karina smirked, thinking he was angry and going to scold Serena.
But instead, he stopped beside Serena, bent down slightly, and whispered softly to her with a gentle look.
At the end, he even smiled pleadingly and gave her a hopeful look like a puppy.
Serena hesitated, but eventually gave in to his coaxing and turned to follow him.
Karina's eyes darkened. Suspicion rose in her heart.
Who was this woman really?
She clearly not only knew Xavier, but had an unusually close relationship with him...
***