Trouble in Paradise by Three Way

On the plane, I was restless.

After an hour, the plane finally landed. I immediately called Pete the moment I could turn my phone on. No matter what the situation was, if we wanted to get Yasmine bailed out quickly, with my current abilities... Things would be a lot easier if Pete were around. I had never felt like I needed him more than at this moment.

For the past three days, he'd been acting all mysterious. I didn't know what he was planning against Marcus, but he kept telling me not to worry and to wait for him at home. But now, I couldn't reach him.

It wasn't until the cab pulled up at the hotel where Yasmine's parents were staying that I finally gave up trying to contact Pete.

Mrs. Warren pulled me inside, and the woman who had always treated me like her own daughter bowed deeply to me. The worry etched on her face momentarily lifted when she saw me as if she had found a pillar of support. "Ari, I know your family is different from ours, but I'm shamelessly asking you for a favor. Could you try reaching out to your husband?"

I took a deep breath, hiding my hands behind my back where my nails dug into my palms. It seemed that they didn't know about my divorce yet.

I forced a smile. "Nicholas has been pretty busy lately. I can reach out to some friends instead, which should work just as well. But first, you need to tell me exactly what happened."

At the mention of the situation, Mr. Warren, who had been trying to maintain a serious demeanor, was suddenly overtaken by his emotions. His anger surged like a pot boiling over, spilling everywhere.

"Ten thousand dollars! Ten thousand dollars!"

I forced myself to stay

accused us of accepting ten thousand dollars in exchange for guaranteeing a student's admission to our graduate program! Ariana, you

ten thousand, and

Yasmine wouldn't have attacked someone just

program. So, he confronted us in front of everyone, demanding to know why

agitated, and he rushed onto the stage with a knife. Yasmine was trying to protect me and

accidentally hurt the student

next words sent my

that woman the one pressing charges against

compensate her, but she refused anything we proposed.

and then try to talk

Yasmine's and the woman's room numbers.

the price

I reached the