Soon after Charles and Camille had left Oceania Villa, Stanley dropped by to visit Stephen.Stephen sat on his bed while gazing at the blue sky outside the window, clearly immersed in his own thoughts. He didn't even bother to glance at Ariel, who sat next to him. Ariel was hesitantly holding a glass of water for him. She'd noticed how cold and distant Stephen was toward her and didn't know what to say in order to break the silence.When she heard Stanley's footsteps approaching her, she turned around to look at him. Then she shot him a gentle smile. Stanley nodded his head at her as a form of acknowledgment before grabbing the glass of water from Ariel's hands. After that, he sat on the chair in front of Stephen and passed it to him."Have some water. No matter how long you stare at the sky, you can't magically wish for her to appear in front of you right now."Stephen glanced at his friend upon hearing his voice. His eyes were completely devoid of any light or hope, as though he'
Rachel rushed toward Yvonne angrily before moving to step in front of her protectively. If she hadn't happened to drop by with a latte for Yvonne, she wouldn't have known that Stanley had such a warped outlook on life. Stanley started panicking right away. "Rachel, I was just—""Zip it!" Rachel glared at the man angrily. "Since you're on Stephen's side, that means we don't share the same views! It's best if we don't speak to each other ever again!"With that, she dragged Yvonne toward Miller Villa. "Vonnie, there's no need for us to waste our time talking to people like him and Stephen!""Rachel, I didn't—" Before Stanley could finish his sentence, Rachel pushed him to the sidewalk and slammed the iron gates in his face.Once she entered the villa, she pulled out her phone angrily and blocked Stanley on all messaging apps and social media platforms, cursing at him."I thought he was a good guy! It turns out that he and Stephen are the same! Both of them are massive jerks!""Hon
Soon, Yvonne found out the answer to her question.After the winners were announced, the large screen started showcasing the design drafts that they had submitted. Yvonne's eyes darkened considerably when Kayla's draft came on the screen.Green agates and golden metallic threads were woven into a flower crown. The goldsmithing technique used to craft the piece of jewelry was very intricate. Little details were hidden in the design; if one were attentive enough to spot them, it showed the designer's crafty and brilliant mind.That draft lived rent-free inside Yvonne's mind. After all, it was one of Tara's designs that had never been publicized. A contemptuous smile curled on her lips at the realization. So, Tara's designs had indeed been in the Joneses' clutches this entire time.Yvonne remembered that despicable family burning those drafts right before her eyes years ago. Yet now, Kayla had used one of those very designs to participate in the competition. Every single detail was dr
Xavier led Kayle to a secluded corridor before shoving her against the wall and slamming a palm on the spot next to her face, effectively trapping her in. Realizing that she was cornered, Kayla felt her heartbeat start to accelerate as she asked shyly, "What question do you have in mind, Xav?""What's with the draft?" Xavier asked in a low tone."I—I designed it. What's wrong with it?"Kayla seemed to have prepared for the scenario in advance. She blinked innocently at Xavier with doe eyes. "Don't you want me to become the winner of the competition? Aren't you happy for me now that I snagged third place in the preliminary round?"Xavier just stared at Kayla wordlessly. He'd seen her portfolio before; regardless of skill and style, it was completely different from the draft that had been shown on the screen today. The only possible explanation was that Kayla had found herself a ghost designer.Meanwhile, Kayla felt uneasy and guilty. She couldn't help but tense up when she noticed
The jewelry design competition was a highly anticipated event. Once the results of the preliminary round were announced, netizens began discussing them excitedly.Kayla's design was more delicate and intricate compared to the winning draft, which showcased a fancy design. Many of the netizens preferred Kayla's design. Hence, many netizens started encouraging Kayla to mass produce her design and release it on the market as soon as possible.Yvonne scanned the comments on the internet before shooting Andy a lazy look. He must have known that she would look for him right away because he hadn't dared to look her in the eye since he'd entered the study. Yvonne pushed the printed draft toward Andy before gently tapping a slender finger on it. "You can surprise the consumers by decorating this section with micro-paves. Also, there's no need to decorate this part with blue gems."She pointed out all the flaws in the design in a relaxed manner. Yet each time her finger moved to a new spot
Xavier approached Caleb before pulling him into a tight hug. "You jerk! You're finally back, huh?"The latter chuckled softly in response. "I'd wanted to return here for a very long time, but something urgent suddenly came up, so I had to deal with it."Xavier punched Caleb's chest lightly. "You better tell me everything. I want to know what the hell you've been up to over the past year."The two used to be schoolmates when they were studying abroad. They had gotten acquainted with each other thanks to a fateful encounter and ended up becoming best friends. After that, they returned to their home country to expand their respective businesses. It was safe to say that their friendship was still as strong as ever.After Caleb went missing, Xavier did everything he could to track down his friend. Two months ago, he'd finally received a phone call from his missing friend. After ensuring that Caleb was doing fine, Xavier kept in touch with him online.Now that he could finally see Caleb
Meanwhile, Andy covered Ariel's mouth hastily. "I told you, Vonnie's not home! Why are you still yelling?"The latter hated being touched by male strangers the most, so she forcefully removed Andy's hand from her mouth before backing away from him in alarm."What is it?" Yvonne stood at the top of the stairs while gazing down at Ariel with a cold and disinterested look."You really are living with another man!" Ariel shot Andy a look before frowning at Yvonne. "Do you really not care about Stephen at all?""You're the second person to ask me that." The latter shrugged nonchalantly. "You people are really weird, aren't you? I'm the victim here, yet all of you insist on coming here and asking me why I don't give a fuck about the culprit. Do you seriously think that I have Stockholm syndrome? The one who's really sick in the head is Stephen, alright?"Yvonne's mocking tone made Ariel feel uneasy. All she could do was frown deeply. Now that she'd seen the other woman's true colors wit
Naturally, Yvonne didn't know that someone had set their sights on Old Jim the moment he'd gotten off the airplane. Right now, she was completely elated to reunite with her beloved mentor.She took Old Jim to the fanciest restaurant in Northena City to give him a proper welcome. The server brought the duo a bottle of wine and two glasses before the food was ready. Old Jim inhaled the fragrance coming from his glass, his eyes already closed in satisfaction. "This vintage wine hails from 50 years ago! You sure are generous, young lady!""It's your favorite, after all. How could I ever forget that?" Yvonne poured a glass of wine before passing it to her mentor. "Besides, I'm asking you for a favor. You'd chastise me for not being courteous if I'd stopped you from savoring your favorite wine."Old Jim shot her a look while grinning from ear to ear. "You make it sound like I'd rather drink than chat with you." He picked up the glass of wine and downed it in one go as he spoke. Almost imm