Zoey shook her head slowly, half amused and half astonished.

"If your father finds out who she is," she said carefully, her voice lowering now, "that woman won’t even be able to live a peaceful life in this city."

The atmosphere shifted immediately.

Riley stood from his seat. His movement was smooth and controlled, but the anger radiating from him was impossible to miss now.

"Don’t talk nonsense," he said flatly.

Zoey rose immediately after him, unwilling to let him walk away that easily.

"Only look at your reaction..." A smile softly played on her lips. "Do you really think I wouldn’t notice?"

"Your imagination is running wild."

"No, I know I’m not imagining things," Zoey replied softly. "You, mister, are hiding something from your family and from me."

His jaw tightened visibly. The tension around him became obvious by the second, as if he was forcing himself not to lose his temper completely.

"You came here angry because I asked them to remove you. But it was a calm and controlled anger." Zoey continued calmly, speaking to him with the same patient tone. "However, the moment I mentioned a woman, you reacted immediately. You snapped." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "That tells me enough."

"You don’t know anything," Riley shouted a little. His voice was sharper now, harsher than before. Finally, his emotional cracking.

But Zoey remained calm. Completely unintimidated by his anger.

"Then explain it to me," she said gently.

"I don’t owe you an explanation."

"No," she agreed softly. "You don’t."

That answer seemed to catch him off guard for a second.

Zoey watched him quietly before continuing.

"But I’ve known you long enough to recognize when you’re making reckless decisions because of emotions you refuse to admit out loud."

Riley laughed once, cold and humorless. "You always think you understand everything."

"No," Zoey said calmly. "I simply understand you better than you’d like me to."

His expression hardened further.

For several long moments, neither of them spoke.

Then Riley suddenly stepped closer.

The pressure in the room shifted instantly.

"You want to know why I’m angry?" he asked quietly.

Zoey didn’t move.

Riley’s eyes locked onto hers sharply.

"I’m angry because you made the decision for me," he said.

"Riley..." Zoey can’t finish her words as he interrupts.

"You always do this," he continued, frustration finally surfacing openly now. "You decide what’s best for everyone else without asking what they actually want. You just like him."

"I was protecting you."

"I never asked you to protect me." Riley’s voice rose this time. His breathing grew heavier as he looked away briefly, jaw tight with restraint.

And Zoey simply watched him silently, not with fear or annoyance, but with the quiet patience of someone dealing with a stubborn younger man who refused to admit the truth even to himself.

When she spoke again, her tone remained calm and mature.

"You’re angry at your father," she said softly. "You’re angry at yourself. And now you’re angry at me because I forced you to stop hiding here."

Riley’s eyes snapped back toward her immediately.

"I’m not hiding."

Zoey held his gaze steadily, calm despite the storm clearly raging inside him.

"Alright, stop being angry..." she said softly.

Her hand lifted naturally, patting his shoulder lightly.

"You will return home, right?" she asked gently.

Riley said nothing. His jaw remained tight.

Zoey studied him quietly for a moment before speaking again, her voice calm and mature, almost careful.

"Are you planning to do something reckless?" She asked.

Riley simply turned away from her and started walking toward the door, his movements controlled but cold, as if he was trying very hard to keep whatever frustration remained inside him from surfacing again.

Zoey watched his back silently.

However, just before his hand reached the door handle, Riley suddenly stopped.

For a brief moment, he simply stood there without moving, his back still facing her as if he were weighing something in his mind.

Then, slowly, he turned around.

"This is my last day in this place," he said at last, his voice calmer now, though exhaustion still lingered beneath it. "Please let me interact normally with my friends. I promise you I won’t return here..."

Zoey frowned immediately.

The response clearly wasn’t enough for her.

"But," Riley added before she could interrupt, "I won’t go back there. Not now."

"Riley Sterling!" Her voice rose before she could stop herself, sharp with frustration and disbelief.

The moment his full name left her mouth, Riley smiled.

And just like that, the tension in the room shifted strangely. It wasn’t a warm smile. Nor a particularly happy one.

It was the kind of smile someone gave when they were too emotionally drained to keep arguing meaningfully.

"Don’t call me that," he said lightly, though traces of irritation still lingered beneath his tone. "My last name is still Davis when I’m under this roof."

Zoey stared at him in complete silence, clearly unimpressed by his attempt to lighten the mood.

"And don’t worry," Riley continued, his voice easing slightly as he noticed the look on her face. "I will return there eventually..." He paused briefly before adding, "Just not now."

Zoey took another long, deep breath, her gaze never leaving him.

"Why? Are you going somewhere?" she replied calmly, though disappointment quietly threaded through her voice.

"Tomorrow, I’m going abroad," he said casually. "Think of it as a holiday."

Zoey blinked at him.

"A holiday?" she repeated, disbelief written plainly across her face. "But, your dad will—"

"No worries," Riley interrupted smoothly. This time, the smile on his face softened slightly, losing some of the bitterness from earlier. "I’ll go home, see my mom, and talk to her about it."

That stopped her immediately. The words hit with enough weight to silence whatever lecture had already formed in her mind.

Zoey’s expression shifted subtly. The frustration in her eyes softened, briefly replaced by understanding.

Then Riley lifted one hand lazily in farewell.

"Bye, Aunt Zoey..."

The title sounded strangely natural coming from him despite everything that had happened moments ago.

And before Zoey could respond, he turned and walked away.

The door closed softly behind him.

Silence immediately filled the office once again.

Zoey remained standing there for several long seconds, staring at the empty doorway.

Honestly, dealing with Riley sometimes felt more exhausting than handling the entire Imperial Hotel alone.

"William is going to be furious again," she murmured tiredly.

Her eyes drifted toward the door again, narrowing slightly in thought.

"Seriously, Riley..." she sighed quietly. "Why this hotel... of all places...?"