At the sight of this, the people inside all wore expressions of eager anticipation, ready for a show.

They’d seen countless women throw themselves at Kaelan Vaughn, but this one had been brought by Julian Croft, which made things… interesting.

A shadow crossed Julian’s eyes. He quickly moved to Kaia’s side, pulling her away. "Don't talk nonsense. Kaia is my friend."

"Let me introduce you all. This is Kaia Storm, a star attorney at Sterling Law Group. If you ever need legal help, she's your woman."

The others glanced at Kaelan first. Seeing he wasn't angry, they laughed it off, changing the subject.

In their circle, some things were best left smoothed over on the surface. No one would be stupid enough to press the issue.

The lively atmosphere returned, but Kaelan picked up his overcoat and headed for the door.

Someone immediately asked, "Kaelan, where are you off to?"

"It's getting late. Going home to have Christmas Eve dinner with the old man." He gave a casual wave, not bothering to look back as he disappeared into the night.

Kaia stared after him, her gaze fixed on the spot where his silhouette had vanished.

With Kaelan gone, the party broke up.

Julian left with Kaia.

As they stepped out of the brownstone, snowflakes drifted down, landing on her eyebrows.

Kaia finally came back to herself. She looked at the silent Julian beside her and apologized. "Sorry about that. I caused you trouble back there."

Julian paused, stopping in his tracks. "It was no trouble. But Kaia… this is the one and only time."

"If you really piss off Kaelan Vaughn, I’m not sure I can protect you."

His grave expression silenced her.

When she didn't speak, he asked again, "Does he really look that much like your boyfriend? I've never seen you act like that before."

Kaia’s mind flashed with the two nearly identical faces. She didn't know how to explain it.

Finally, she just opened her phone's photo album and handed it to him.

"See how similar they are?"

Julian only needed one glance at the boy in the photo with her. He froze.

A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face. After a long moment, he looked away. "They do look alike. But there's no way they're the same person."

Kaia gave a bitter smile, taking her phone back. "I know he's not him."

Julian was baffled. "Then why did you…"

Staring at the warm smile of the man on her screen, Kaia's own lips twisted. "I just thought… what if?"

Julian opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing more.

…

They parted ways at the street corner. Kaia returned alone to her 600-square-foot rental out in Queens.

The apartment wasn't large, but it held all her beautiful memories with her Kaelan.

After he died in the crash, she couldn't bear to leave, so she kept renewing the lease, living there by herself.

On the console table by the door sat a framed photo of the two of them.

Kaia forced her lips into a smile, greeting the boy in the picture just as she had every day she came home. "Good evening. I'm back."

In her mind, Kaelan's face seemed to come alive.

He smiled, playfully tapping her nose and teasing her in his light, easy tone. "Our star lawyer is home."

Kaia smiled back, reaching out to hug him, only to embrace a fistful of cold, empty air.

The illusion shattered. Everything was as it had been.

No embrace. No Kaelan.

Kaia stood there, lost for a few seconds, before her arms fell limply to her sides. She feigned a casual tone. "Ky, you know what? I met someone today who looks so much like you… For a second, I almost thought it was you."

"But I know it wasn't."

Her Ky had left her five years ago.

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, the inky black sky outside the window exploded with a cascade of brilliant fireworks.

Kaia watched, transfixed, but all she felt was the crushing loneliness and sorrow of the empty room.

She didn't sleep a wink.

The next morning, her phone began to vibrate.

Kaia picked it up and saw a new case file her boss at the law firm had just posted in the group chat.

Her eyes froze on the words "Vaughn Corporation." Amidst the replies from her colleagues, she claimed the case for herself.

The file on Kaelan Vaughn matched what Julian had said. A scion of New York's elite, a stone-cold killer in the boardroom.

But Kaia's attention was glued to a single line—

【The Vaughn Corporation was founded five years ago. Before that, Kaelan Vaughn had never made a public appearance.】

"Five years." The timeline was a fishing line tightening around Kaia's neck, making it hard to breathe.

She felt an invisible fog shrouding the space between her and Kaelan Vaughn.

She couldn't let her thoughts run wild anymore. She went out for some air, but without realizing it, she found herself standing in front of the same brownstone from last night.

Just as she came to her senses and was about to leave, a man stepped out and called to her.

"Ms. Storm, Mr. Vaughn would like you to come inside."

Kaia was startled. She hadn't expected Kaelan to actually be here.

And how did he know she was outside?

Filled with questions, she followed the man into a room. The moment she entered, she saw Kaelan Vaughn leaning against a mahogany desk, toying with a vintage bronze lighter.

On the digital screen mounted on the wall behind him was a live feed of the surveillance cameras outside the brownstone.

So he had been watching her stand there, dazed?

Kaia felt a flush of embarrassment and was about to lower her eyes.

But then she heard Kaelan's ambiguous words. "Persistent, aren't you? Didn't Julian tell you this isn't a place you can just show up to?"

The danger in his tone sent a chill down her spine. Afraid of implicating Julian, she quickly explained, "This has nothing to do with him."

"So you just wanted to see me?"

Kaelan stopped fidgeting with the lighter. He brought it up casually. "Julian came to see me last night. He told me your dead boyfriend looks a lot like me."

Kaia froze, her mind going completely blank.

She never thought Julian would tell Kaelan something like that.

Before she could react, she saw Kaelan light a cigarette and hold it between his lips. "Too bad. I’m not interested in playing your replacement games."