Chapter 144

Roman Vale had no idea that Damian Cross was planning to visit his grandfather—otherwise, he would have bolted right then and there.

He would’ve also cursed Damian out in his mind—that scheming bastard was definitely up to no good!

At the moment, however, he was too intrigued by Aria Bennett’s abilities. "Master Aria, could you read my fortune again?"

He asked urgently, "Is that peach-blossom hex still there?"

He felt utterly wronged. He had zero interest in that woman and had rejected her multiple times. Yet she had stalked him relentlessly, following him abroad and back. And now, Julian Valmont—that lunatic—couldn’t get to her, so he was coming after Roman instead.

Before Aria could respond, Damian cut in, "Do you know the rules of fortune-telling?"

Roman blinked in confusion. "What rules?"

He had never believed in this stuff before—how would he know any rules?

Damian spoke leisurely, "Divination isn’t free. A metaphysician can’t offer readings without compensation—it’s bad luck for them."

Roman’s eyes widened in realization. "Ah, I see! Of course, Master Aria should be compensated."

He asked earnestly, "Do you prefer cash or something else, Master Aria?"

Damian interjected again, "Don’t you own an antique company? Why not take Aria there someday and let her pick a few pieces as payment?"

He knew Aria had been searching for ancient artifacts that could be used as talismans.

Aria’s eyes lit up. "You own an antique company?"

Damian leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Not just that—his older brother runs an auction house. There’s a special event next month."

Roman: "..." Did they think he couldn’t hear them?

That traitor Damian was practically spilling all his family secrets just to impress a girl!

But seeing how seriously Damian regarded Aria—and now that Roman himself believed in her abilities—he nodded.

"Yes, I do. If you’re interested, you can come by tomorrow and pick out a few pieces."

He added, "Next month’s auction will have some rare items. I’ll send you an invitation."

It was clear Aria was intrigued.

Might as well give Damian a chance to win her over sooner.

A faint smile played on Aria’s lips. "Is it the one at the Sixfold Club in the suburbs?"

The club had opened last year—an ultra-exclusive members-only venue.

Roman was stunned. "You know about it?"

His brother had invested in the club, so naturally, the auction would be held there.

Aria nodded. "I was already planning to attend."

She grinned. "Then I’ll take you up on that invitation."

She had been wondering how to get in—now Roman had handed her the solution.

Damian really was her lucky charm!

Roman waved it off. "No problem at all! I’ll have Damian escort you."

He shot Damian a look that said, You owe me one.

Damian sipped his water, hiding a smirk.

Fine. He’d postpone his visit to the Vale family for now.

Aria agreed, "Sounds good."

"Now, let’s take a look at your fortune."

She studied Roman’s face intently, then asked him to extend his hand.

"Your family is influential—you have three older brothers. At ten, you survived an accident—likely a kidnapping."

"At sixteen, you narrowly escaped death again—a car crash."

"Because of these two incidents, your family dotes on you."

"After that, life was smooth sailing—until today, when a toxic romance turned into a peach-blossom hex, bringing blood calamity."

Roman was speechless. Marcus Sterling and Elias Vaughn were equally stunned.

This was unbelievable!

They had met by chance—Aria couldn’t have researched Roman beforehand. And Damian would never share such personal details.

Those two near-death experiences had made the Vale family treat Roman like fragile glass, just wanting him safe and happy.

And Aria had nailed every detail.

Roman urged eagerly, "Please continue, Master Aria."

Aria grew serious. "The peach-blossom hex isn’t severe yet, but one misstep could turn it into a romantic doom—life-threatening."

Roman frowned. "Wait, does Julian actually want to kill me?"

He didn’t understand what "romantic doom" meant, but it sounded ominous.

Aria shook her head. "He’s locked up now—he won’t be a threat anytime soon."

She gave Roman a meaningful look. "Your real danger comes from that toxic romance."

"The woman chasing you—isn’t she obsessive?"

"Hasn’t she sabotaged other girls who liked you? Extreme methods?"

Roman slapped his thigh. "Damn, you’re good! How did you know?"

"Exactly! That woman is insane—no matter how many times I reject her, she won’t stop."

"In high school, she harassed any girl who showed interest in me."

"I went abroad to escape her, but she followed me!"

"Recently, she demanded I marry her, so I fled back home. And guess what? She’s here too!"

He groaned, "Master Aria, do I just attract crazy people?"

Aria chuckled. "Your aura’s fine—but yes, this all stems from that toxic romance."

Suddenly, she asked, "When you were kidnapped, did you save a girl?"

Roman thought back. "Now that you mention it… yeah."

"There were three of us—two boys and a girl."

"When the kidnappers realized rescuers were coming, they took the girl hostage, threatening to kill her."

"I grabbed a chair, knocked one out, and dragged her to safety."

"After we were rescued, I never saw her again."