I was engrossed in the news on my phone and had completely lost track of ti. When Damon stepped out of the shower, I was still awake.
"What are you so engrossed in?" He asked, still slling of my favorite shower gel as he walked over.
I quickly hid my phone under the pillow, pretending to sleep, "Just watching so sleep-aid videos. I was having trouble sleeping."
Damon climbed into bed from the other side and cuddled , "What’s on your mind?"
Thoughts of Jones were swirling in my mind, but I couldn’t tell him.
"Nothing much. Just thinking about my dad and Joshua and when my mom might wake up." I made up so believable excuses to deflect Damon’s question.
"Everything will be alright." Damon comforted , his voice was soft and caring.
"Mm-hmm." I responded.
I gradually fell asleep in Damon’s arms.
Hannah was an early riser. In the morning, I was awakened by the sound of her descending the stairs; she seed to be on a rather urgent phone call.
I opened my eyes groggily.
Damon, noticing that I was awake, spoke up with a voice that was lazy and husky from sleep. "Up so early?"
I answered, "Sounds like Hannah’s downstairs."
Damon imdiately frowned, "I told you we should’ve asked her to leave. Now you see why, right?"
"Aren’t you going to the office today? I was planning to get up early for work." I untangled myself from Damon’s hold, got up, and started getting dressed.
Damon glanced at his phone and furrowed his brows. "This early? What are you going to the office for?"
I didn’t answer Damon and quickly finished dressing, then headed to the bathroom to freshen up and put on makeup.
While I was doing my makeup. Damon got up. He walked into the walk-in closet shirtless and ca out all dressed up. He had transford from a sexy hunk to a suave gentleman.
Even though I got up before Damon, he made it downstairs before .
Breakfast was ready in the dining room, but Hannah was nowhere to be seen. I asked the housemaid, "Where’s Hannah?"
"She went out. She didn’t say where or when she’d be back". The maid replied.
"She’s an adult, she won’t get lost." Damon, sitting at the dining table and enjoying his breakfast, didn’t seem worried about Hannah at all.
Starlight Estates was a massive property. If Hannah did venture outside, there was a good chance she could get lost.
But she had my contact. If she ran into trouble, she’d likely reach out to .
After breakfast, I headed to the office. As I was leaving Starlight Estates, there was still no sign of Hannah.
I was a bit worried, but I couldn’t ddle too much.
It was the end of the year, and the company was nearing holiday closure, so I had a lot of work to wrap up. I didn’t have ti to think about anything else the mont I stepped into the office.
"Ms. Nancy and Ms. Ariel from Soul Enterprises are here to see you." My assistant inford just before the end of the workday
"Tell them I’m unavailable." I didn’t hesitate to decline.
"They say they have important matters to discuss with you." My assistant reported.
I didn’t believe they had anything truly important to discuss with . So | Instructed my assistant to send them away.
I thought Nancy and Ariel would leave after being turned down, but they waited for outside the office.
Nancy’s car was blocking mine. She asked , "Ms. Brooks, would you be interested in collaborating with us?"
"Not interested," I answered coldly.
"After the holidays, my company will receive a big order, but I can’t handle it alone. I hope our two companies can work together. What do you think?" Nancy asked again.
"As I’ve said, I’m not interested. If you can’t handle the order, then don’t accept it." I found their attitudes repulsive; even a single word spent on them felt like a waste of ti.
"You should separate work from personal matters. Eliana, how can you run a company if you’re going to be petty?" Ariel tried to provoke , "If your mother were in charge, she would definitely consider
working with us. Your company could use the order, no?"
But I wasn’t going to be swayed by their words.
Nancy and Ariel were the ones who couldn’t separate business from personal matters, so trying to convince otherwise was futile.
I quickly reversed my car and drove off.
"Eliana!" Ariel yelled out in anger
I saw Nancy’s car following in the rear-view mirror. I wasn’t sure what they were up to
I stepped on the gas to try and lose them. I thought once I got back to Starlight Estates, they wouldn’t be able to follow
But then I saw Hannah near Starlight Estates. She looked upset.
’Had she not gone ho all day?’ I imdiately pulled over.
Nancy and Ariel also stopped. Ariel got out of the car and walked towards . When she reached , she suddenly froze and had a look of panic on her face.
Hannah’s gaze shifted from to Ariel, "Ariel?"
"Hannah" Ariel quickly hid her panic and smiled, "Long ti no see."
Hannah glared at Ariel with eyes filled with resentnt.
"Who’s she?" Her gaze landed on Nancy, her voice full of sarcasm, "Is she your new mom?"
Nancy didn’t respond.
Ariel nodded, "Yes. My biological parents died in a car crash. She’s my godmother."
"Oh, you’re living the high life now. Breaking up with Joshua was a good move. How else could you be living so well?" Hannah’s words were quite harsh, but understandable.
Seeing her brother’s ex-girlfriend living a good life must’ve been hard for her.
A look of embarrassnt flashed across Ariel’s face. She seed a bit scared and uneasy in front of Hannah.
There were only two possibilities, either Joshua’s death had sothing to do with her, or Hannah had so dirt on her.
Otherwise, there was no way she’d be acting so timid.
"Hannah, what are you doing here?" Ariel tried to change the subject.
"I’m here to take care of Joshua’s affairs. Ms. Brooks has been a great help. Didn’t you go to see him?" Hannah challenged
Ariel.
Ariel avoided Hannah’s gaze, "I’ve been super busy lately... Plus, Joshua and I have been done for a long ti. I only heard about his accident from mutual friends..."
"Really?" Hannah wasn’t entirely convinced. But she knew it was pointless to argue with Ariel. They had indeed broken up a long ti ago, so she couldn’t exactly guilt-trip Ariel about it.
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