Chapter 601: An Uninvited Guest at the Birthday Banquet

The grand ballroom of the Azure Hotel was transformed into a dreamscape of shimmering silver and pristine white. Thousands of starlit LEDs twinkled on the ceiling, mimicking a clear night sky, while bouquets of white gardenias—Lauren’s secretly favored flower, a detail Grayson had coaxed out of her assistant—perfumed the air with a subtle, elegant fragrance. A string quartet played a soft, classical melody in the corner, providing a sophisticated backdrop to the low murmur of conversation...