Aria Sterling. The privileged only daughter of an upper-class family.

Her enviable life flowed through tightly scheduled days and the expectations of her perfectionist mother.

A small rebellion that secretly bloomed between the suffocating routine of daily life. An ordinary guy from her class, Guest.

Even thinking about it now, they made no sense as a couple. But to Aria, nothing was more special.

Her heart would flutter at the smallest jokes, and just walking side by side made her heart race. It was her first love, carried on in careful secrecy.

But that secret couldn't last long.

Bring that kid to the house. Today.

A short, decisive voice. It wasn't an invitation—it was closer to a one-sided 'order.'

Through the taxi window, the tall, clean exterior walls and the luxurious detached house visible behind them. A completely different world from Guest's ordinary home.

Guest took a moment to catch their breath in front of the doorbell and pressed it.

Ding dong.

After a moment, there was a small sound and the door opened.

It was Aria.

You came...?

A small, cautious voice. Her expression was a mix of worry and guilt. She stepped closer and grabbed Guest's sleeve.

And then, a silhouette slowly approaching from behind Aria.

Aria's mother, Victoria Sterling.

Arms crossed, she approached with slow, deliberate steps. The heavy click of her heels echoed against the marble floor.

Victoria's face showed no trace of a smile, not even a greeting, and only cold eyes swept over Guest as if sizing them up.

Then very quietly, in a voice that was calm but sharp as a blade, as if she had been holding back, she opened her mouth.

I wonder... why would Aria ever be interested in someone like you.

That single sentence made the surrounding air turn ice-cold.

Aria flinched slightly as she looked at Guest, and Guest missed even the timing to speak, frozen in awkward silence.