Alia found more and more joy in verbal sparring with a certain soone.
Especially when she managed to win a round—it filled her with pure delight, as if she were rejuvenated and feeling younger!
After successfully exasperating said soone into cutting off the call, she pursed her lips and laughed cheekily to herself.
But after the laughter subsided, she started wondering if she had gone too far—so she picked up her phone again and sent a WhatsApp ssage to smooth things over.
A slap first, then a date—she seed to have unlocked the secret to handling him with finesse.
[I’ll head over earlier tomorrow and cook personally. Let know what you want to eat and send the nu.]
Monts later, he replied with just one word—
[You.]
She frowned, froze for a second, then grasped his aning, imdiately cursing him as a scoundrel, her cheeks flushing red.
Seriously... Couldn’t he behave himself for once?
Just then, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Kane calling, she temporarily set aside thoughts of a certain soone and answered the call imdiately.
"Kane, what’s up?" Kane had stopped speaking Chinese since he decided to let go, and his deanor had changed quietly over ti.
Alia naturally switched to English, maintaining a polite tone as she spoke, "Kane, sorry to bother you. I wanted to ask—do you know what’s going on with Betty? She arrived in River City, claiming she ran away from ho. She contacted right after getting off the plane."
"Betty?" Kane sounded surprised, clearly in the dark himself. "I haven’t been in touch with her lately, so I’m not sure."
"Oh, alright then..."
"But I can help you inquire and get back to you later."
"That’d be great. Thank you."
Sensing Alia’s overly polite tone, Kane remarked, "Alia, there’s no need for thank-yous between us ever."
Alia smiled faintly while holding the phone, unsure how to respond.
As the end of the workday approached, Alia still hadn’t decided whether to have dinner with Betty. Then ca a call from the store manager: "President Norton, that foreign woman showed up again. She said she’s looking for you."
Alia imdiately realized who it was and reassured him, "Don’t worry, she won’t cause trouble again. Bring her upstairs to ."
"Alright."
It seed she couldn’t avoid this enigmatic "goddess" after all.
Betty walked in, decked out in Hers’ latest season collection, her handbag estimated to be worth no less than a million RMB when paired with other accessories. She radiated opulence—hardly resembling a troubled heiress running away from ho.
Alia shut her folder, sat up slightly, and fixed her gaze squarely on Betty. "So, you really ca to River City."
Betty appeared relaxed, directly taking the seat opposite Alia’s desk. "I thought you wouldn’t even see ."
"I wouldn’t dare. What if you wreck my store again? Sure, you can afford to pay for the damages, but my custors would be scared off, and my brand’s reputation would be wrecked."
Betty showed a flicker of remorse. "I’m sorry. I was wrong last ti."
"???" Alia’s face was a portrait of disbelief.
What the heck was this heiress up to?
"Don’t look at like that, as if I’m conspiring sothing. I swear, I an well. When I heard about your plane crash, I was terrified, thinking that you... Thankfully, you’re alright."
"Thanks for your concern."
"So, how about having dinner with tonight? Help figure out... how I can make a place for myself here."
"Make a place for yourself?"
"Yes, I want to be like you—stand firm on my own abilities."
Alia looked at her, genuinely astounded once again.
What could have possibly triggered this kind of motivation in a pampered heiress?
Unable to decline her insistence, and having already inford the family tyrant, Alia relented and accompanied Betty to dinner.
Betty chose the restaurant, but Alia quickly stated after sitting down, "Since you ca to River City, I should show my hospitality. This al is on . Order whatever you like."
"Aweso!" Betty wasn’t shy at all, flipping open the nu, earnestly choosing dishes.
The Michelin restaurant’s servers were fluent in English, making their discussion of the nu effortless.
Alia’s phone rang—a call from Kane. She glanced at Betty before saying, "Go ahead and finish ordering. I’ll take this call."
"Okay, okay."
Walking a few steps away, Alia answered the call.
"Alia, I found out Betty ran away to avoid a marriage. She left without informing her family."
"Ran away from a marriage?" She was stunned. "...Was it with you?"
"Of course not. Betty and I already cleared things up between us."
"Oh, so it was arranged by her family with soone else?"
"Exactly. It’s one of those matches between powerful families, alliances of equals. But she wasn’t into it."
"Alright, got it. She’s here with right now, having dinner."
Knowing Betty’s personality, Kane, though uninvolved, couldn’t entirely ignore the issue. He hesitated before asking, "Want to talk to her? Maybe I can convince her to go back so she doesn’t bother you too much."
"No need. As long as she doesn’t an harm to , I can handle it."
Returning to the table, Alia saw Betty had already finished ordering.
Sitting down, Betty imdiately asked, "Your assistant got hurt in the plane crash and hasn’t returned to work yet, right?"
"How do you know that?" Alia put down her phone, looked into Betty’s darting eyes with a slightly guarded tone, "What exactly are you planning?"
Betty didn’t answer outright and instead leaned forward with an eager look, "You don’t have an assistant right now, right? How about I be your assistant?"
Alia had just lifted her water glass and was grateful she hadn’t started drinking, or she surely would’ve spat it out.
This heiress, draped in millions’ worth of attire, wanted to work as her assistant?
Was she that significant?
"You... You want to work? I’m sure there are plenty of high-profile positions waiting for you elsewhere. Or you could start your own thing with funding from your family—it’s as easy as pie for you. Why bother making things difficult for ?"
"I don’t want to rely on my family. If I lean on them, I’ll have no say and everything will be dictated by them. I’m so sick of it!" Betty’s sudden frustration was accompanied by hand gestures, embodying an indisputably spoiled child.
Connecting Kane’s insights, Alia imdiately grasped the subtext behind Betty’s words.
So, even this heavenly princess born into the halls of Ro had her fair share of grievances.
"I’m serious! Your assistant isn’t here now, so I could fill in, right? No worries. Your field is fashion—I totally have expertise in that area!"
Alia frowned. "How is it that you know so much about ?"
"Oh, I asked Mr. Palr about it!"
Benny?
Alia rolled her eyes internally, "You seem close with him. Why not go work for him then?"
"He’s just an employee too! If I want to learn skills, naturally I’d follow soone like you, soone who built everything from scratch!"
"..." Alia chuckled dryly. So even Young Master Palr had monts of being dismissed and belittled.
She couldn’t help but wonder what Benny would make of these remarks.
Regardless of what Betty said, Alia had no desire to agree, ultimately coming up with nurous excuses to deter her—the imminent return of Shaw, potential communication hurdles, Betty’s unstable personality, her heiress temperant, and the low salary, among others.
But Betty countered every objection.
"When your assistant recovers and returns, I’ll move on to sothing else. I’m just trying to gain skills here—anything works!"
"I can learn the language! I’ve already started learning Chinese, and I can understand basic conversations!"
"I’m not acting on impulse; this is a deliberate decision. I won’t quit midway."
"I’ll tone down my temperant; I promise!"
"I’m only after professional skills. Salary is irrelevant since my personal savings are enough for years of splurging."
Alia: "I—I’ll think about it... Let’s eat first; the food’s getting cold otherwise."
After dinner, Alia drove Betty back to her hotel. On the way ho, she called Benny.
After hearing Alia’s story, Benny chuckled innocently. "She really idolizes you. Why not give her a helping hand? You and she were once rivals in love, but that connection doesn’t exist anymore. Helping her could be seen as a good deed."
Alia scoffed coldly, "You’re just doing this for revenge!"
"Ha, so you’ve figured it out? I’ve been bullied rcilessly by your man—let share my misery a little, will you?"
Back at her spacious villa, only Sister Jones was around.
"Miss Norton, now that the kids are staying at Mr. Hart’s place, I feel like I’m not really needed here anymore. Should I—" Sister Jones had been lounging about the house recently with little to do, and therefore felt sowhat guilty about her salary. She wondered whether she should look for other work.
Alia understood her aning instantly and replied warmly, "Sister Jones, my work keeps busy, so I can’t manage to keep up with the house. Stay on and help look after it. Plus, the kids will visit and stay here again."
"Oh, I see... Alright, then."
After bidding Sister Jones goodbye, Alia went upstairs to her room.
The rare tranquility allowed her to enjoy a long, luxurious bath followed by a facial mask while she relaxed into the night.
Christopher sent her a video call which, when she answered it, revealed the adorable faces of three children instead.
"Mommy, what’s that on your face?" Hope asked, unfamiliar with facial masks as she didn’t have any young female adults in her family circle.
Ethan imdiately piped up, "It’s a face mask! It makes Mommy look even prettier!"
"Really? Then Hope wants one too! Hope wants to be prettier!"
"Sister, you’re already beautiful," Noah chid in, instantly soothing Hope, who bead with joy.
Looking at the kids chattering away excitedly without requiring her supervision for basic needs, Alia felt utterly relaxed.
So this is what they an by peace and quiet in life.
After chatting with the kids for a while, the screen suddenly shifted, replacing their cheerful little faces with the strikingly handso, utterly flawless visage of a mature man.
Her heartbeat skipped a beat for a mont, and she nearly had the impulse to duck away.
But upon reconsidering, she thought—why bother hiding?
Three years of marriage had shown him her bare face, her overly shiny skin, and even her least presentable quirks like nose-picking—why should a facial mask faze him?
So, she quickly assud a calm and collected deanor. "You haven’t gone to bed yet?"
The man narrowed his eyes at the cara but disregarded her comnt, instead asking outright, "You’re not wearing a bra?"
She froze, instinctively glanced down, then hurriedly grasped at her robe collar.
This scoundrel!
She was lying down, and naturally, her robe collar had opened slightly—revealing just a hint of her chest...
"Mind your own business! Why would I wear a bra after bathing in my own ho?"
Infuriated to the point her mask nearly fell off.
"Why are you trying to cover up?" Christopher teased, his gaze lingering on her chest with an air of mischief. "Don’t be so stingy. We can’t do anything, but looking is still allowed, isn’t it?"
"Christopher Hart! You’re such a pervert! And the kids are right there!"
"They’ve run off."
"That still doesn’t make it okay!" Unable to continue lying down, Alia sat up abruptly, holding her phone with one hand and clutching her robe neckline with the other. "Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up—I need to sleep!"
Seeing her petty defensiveness, Christopher lost interest. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, dumping all three kids on so you can relax at ho."
"I’m only trying to help you make up for lost ti."
"You’re so smooth-tongued."
"You’re ungrateful." She was clearly letting him savor family ti in peace.
"Forget it. I won’t argue with you. You’ve been working hard lately, so sleep tight tonight without worrying about the kids."
Though he was harsh with his words, Christopher cared deeply for her.
Since the plane crash, though she had been undergoing therapy, her sleeping pattern hadn’t recovered. Days packed with work tasks kept her spinning like a top, and she had visibly lost weight—her chin was almost tapering to a point.
If she trusted him enough to leave the kids in his hands, it delighted him secretly.
Given his current state of affairs, there wasn’t much more he could do for her. Letting her sleep soundly was possibly his way of showing love.
"Be sure to co by early tomorrow—you promised to cook personally."
"Got it!"
With the ntion of her WhatsApp ssage earlier that day, an ambiguous smile crossed Christopher’s handso face again. "Eating you is impossible. If you stay overnight, how about sharing one bed?"
Alia turned red again, relieved that her facial mask concealed it, and snapped, "Christopher Hart, can’t you ever think about normal things?"
"Nope. Think about how many years I’ve been living like a monk! If there’s anyone who should worry about inappropriate thoughts, it’s you!"
Understanding the underlying aning behind his words, Alia grew both embarrassed and annoyed. "Won’t it be better once you’ve lost interest? I don’t see why it’s worth holding onto such attachnts!"
Christopher laughed wickedly. "After all these years, you never entertained even a *little* nostalgia? Though I don’t recall much from those years, I imagine... I didn’t do too badly, did I? Surely you’ve missed it a bit?"
"..." Rolling her eyes dramatically, she paused before purposefully provoking him. "Good thing you don’t rember. Otherwise, it’d be mortifying for you to the point of finding a hole to crawl into."
"What do you an?"
"You had good looks but no stamina—too weak and young to handle much properly. Honestly, it was a relief we were only married for three years. Otherwise..."
Before she could finish, Christopher’s face darkened to the point of looking thunderous.
"You’re lying! That’s impossible!"
"You were the one who brought it up. I didn’t an to expose you, but since you insisted, don’t bla for your embarrassnt."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Alia Norton, mark my words—wait till I’m fully recovered, and then we’ll settle this!"
Christopher’s expression turned as dark as coal. He barked out a domineering threat and disconnected abruptly.
Alia gleefully tossed her phone aside, humming her way to the bathroom to peel off her facial mask and do her skincare routine before heading to sleep. Peaceful oblivion!
————
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