Sinful: Whatcha up to? Got some minutes to spare?Mark read the message over and over while looking from his computer to the mountain of files he had to work on, courtesy of Federick and his father who had begun stirring troubles in the group after their one-time success.After their last meeting at the tea house, Mark was able to confirm one of his suspicions. And that is that Sinful is a lady hiding under the disguise of a man. Having an understanding of how their business world works, he could understand why she needed to hide her identity, especially her gender. Females are easily ostracised in the kind of work she does.However, one thing he could find an answer to, no matter how much he asked, is why his mind randomly drifts to her as of late. ‘I am indeed in awe of her intelligence but why do I get curious about her personal life?’ That's been one of the questions bugging him without anyone to answer.His hands hovered over the keyboard as he thought about the response to giv
"We haven't been able to decide which one of you owns the last design, we will have to hold a competition between both of you." The host announced this as Merissa and Daisy sat side by side amongst the judges and tutors."Did you not go through the evidence I sent to you? That's enough to prove that the design is mine!" Merrisa remarked, her voice sounding as haughty as the expression on her face."Well, you aren't the only one who provided evidence. She did too, and in such cases, that evidence isn't enough to prove that you both own it. Except you have video evidence of it," the hostess joined in while trying to keep the glare away from her eyes."There is no need to throw tantrums. Whether or not you own the design will be revealed in this segment. And like other stages, this will be broadcast live for everyone to see," the host announced.Hearing his words, Merissa felt a bad premonition in her heart as her hands began to fidget with the belt of her dress."So this stage is going
"BREAKING NEWS.""The Smith Corporation, a leading provider of consumer goods, is currently under investigation by federal authorities for allegedly selling products with questionable sources to the public."'According to our sources, the investigation was launched after multiple consumer complaints and whistleblowers came forward, raising concerns about the origin and authenticity of certain products being sold by the company."Investigators are analysing the corporation's supply chain, seeking to uncover any potential links to unethical or illegal practices. The company's business operations, financial transactions, and internal communications are also being thoroughly examined to determine if any wrongdoing has occurred by a report submitted by an ex-worker of the corporation,”"The Smith Corporation has stated in response to the allegations, asserting that they have always prioritised transparency and ethical practices in their business dealings. They claim to be fully cooperating
"Hello, Lily, can I have a word with you?" Mrs Smith, who had been standing around the backstage area of the competition in disguise, asked as Lily walked out to get some fresh air.Hearing the voice, Lily groaned inwardly, already dreading the conversation they would have. She could already imagine how the whole thing would play out.Her week had been so stressful. Being a victim of Merrisa Smith's plagiarism and assault case, she had to travel back and forth from the competition venue to the police station almost every day to give her statements and provide evidence to help the case progress smoothly.Although the major reason why she decided to go every day was to rile Merissa up. But that is just by the way.Meeting one of the Smiths right now would only add to her stress. However, she could tell there was no way she'd be getting out of the whole situation without having to meet them. "Hello, Mrs Smith. How can I help you?" She replied curtly, startling Mrs Smith."Do you have a
"I can't believe she has the nerve to threaten the victim in this situation. How shameless!""I've long heard about how unreasonable and selfish rich people are; this is taking it to another level! How can you tell her she's ruining your daughter's career when your daughter pushed her down the goddamn stairs? Both mother and daughter deserve to rot in jail!""@Upstairs, this is the wrong representation of the aristocrats. On behalf of all aristocrats, we deny ever knowing them!""Oh, bless my heart! Where are these people from? The daughter is crazy, and the mother is an asylum escapee! They need therapy behind bars!""Why is murder a crime? For this, should we remove murder as a crime? The only reason I haven't gone on a human hunt is because I'm scared my pretty ass will have to go to jail! Boycott this family!""Poor little Lily was probably too scared to speak up against the Smith family. Who knows how long she has been bullied by that scum family? #Justice for Lily""Justice for
Despite the ongoing scandal in the fashion world, the national competitions continued as planned; however, the semi-finals of the competition were redone, with one of the losing teams brought back to the game. It was the one closest to the Merissa team's marks. All four groups were reshuffled. Wilson still maintained first place, with Lily in second, Fairies in third, Funray in fourth, and GV Fashion, who had replaced Yellow Hills, in fifth. According to the previous arrangements, Wilson gets a pass to the finals, while the rest of the team competes against each other. This time, Lily's was matched with Fairies Fashion School, and both will have to compete for a spot in the finals. The host walked onto the stage with a bright smile, almost as bright as the light in the hall. "Hello everyone!" He greeted me with a wave of his hands and a cheer. "As you all know, due to some circumstances, we have to replace a team in the semi-finals so that we all can have a fair competition." He
Immediately after the semi-finals, Lily was summoned to the police once again, where she met Mrs Smith, looking pale and unkempt while waiting for her.She scoffed, gave her a side glance and walked past her to the officer in charge of the case. "Hello, Miss Tuner, thank you for coming on such short notice," the officer greeted."Hello, I'm glad I could be of help in any way possible. Are there any developments with the case?" She replied, sitting down in front of the officer. "Well, like I said at the time, the investigation has been completed, and the testimony you gave matches up with everything, so you can proceed to press charges against Miss Smith.""But…. There’s uh…." The officer hesitated not knowing how to say his next words."But?" Lily asked with a raised brow, and the officer gave a tight smile. "Her parents are hoping you don't press charges. They want you to settle it without going to court, they are ready to pay any amount in compensation," the officer voiced. Lily
"Finally! It's the day we have all been waiting for!" The host announced. "It's the finals, and today, to get an overall winner, Wilson's fashion team will be going against Lily's!" Cheers of excitement erupted all over the hall as the fans of each team raised banners and lights to cheer the teams on. "I am as excited as you all are," the host laughed. "This year's competition has been the most exciting national competition in the fashion world so far. Not only do we get to witness talented individuals competing against one another, but we also get to witness some amazing drama. I can retire without regrets now." "Anyway, I don't want to bore you with my long talks. I can already feel all your impatience. So without wasting much time, we will invite both teams to the floor." He continued."The theme given by the team is a futuristic concept. We want our designers to bring the future into the present. We want to be carried away by the dreams and aspirations that involve the future,"
Lily's eyes sparkled as she boarded the private jet, Mark waiting with a warm smile. "Surprise time," he whispered, taking her hand. "You look beautiful as always." He complimented while kissing her gently on the cheek. "You don't look bad yourself," Lily replied with a blush as they stepped onto the jet. "Where are we headed?"Mark chuckled. "Patience, my love. You'll see. I'm sure you will like it." He assured her. "I personally made the arrangements." As they settled into their seats, Lily buckled up and turned to Mark, her smile widening as she realised his eyes were on her, gentle and full of love. "I'm so excited for this weekend! I needed this break." She breathed out. "Of course I was also looking forward to spending some time with you," she added with a wink, making Mark laugh. "Oh, of course. I'm feeling as if I got used by my girlfriend, who wants to get away from her work," he joked with his hand on his chest, feigning hurt. Lily laughed at his childishness. "I hope
"You are always all over the news recently," Mrs Turner breathed out in frustration. "It's either someone is suing you or you are releasing a new product; aren't you overworking yourself too much?""Look at you, you are all skin and bones! When was the last time you ate good food three times a day?" She complains while checking out Lily, going from one side to the other. "Mum, why are you here?" Lily asked in surprise as she allowed her mother to fuse about her wellbeing. She closed the door behind them and led the way to the living room.Mrs Turner's eyes widened as she took in the chaotic state of the living room. Papers, coffee cups, and takeaway boxes littered every surface, with Lily's laptop open on the couch, screen covered in codes."Good Lord, Lily! What's going on here?" Mrs Turner exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "You're not just overworking yourself; you're living in chaos! Do you even know what day it is? When was the last time you went out?"Lily chuckled sheepishly. "
"We are getting sued for plagiarism?" Mr. Wallace asked in bewilderment as he read the contents of the letter the lawyer had brought to him. "Why would we get sued for plagiarism? We didn't steal anything from your company.""Mr. Wallace, what you are getting sued for is right in there," the lawyer replied with a stoic expression. "Your latest software, 'Dream,' is a copy of our latest product, and it was released just a few days after our. The action is suspicious, and your company will need to prove you created your version." Sighing, Mr. Wallace frowned deeply, trying to make sense of the situation. There was no way they could have plagiarised their product when they were supposed to release the software a few weeks before their company released theirs.It was due to the delay from the team and Lily's absence that the release date was delayed. Besides, StarLite's product is way better than theirs; who should be the one suing for plagiarism?Massaging his temple, Mr. Wallace met t
"We meet again," Lily chuckled as Roseline walked into her office. "I was surprised when my assistant said you are here to see me."Roseline smiled wryly, her eyes locked onto Lily's. "I'm sure you were. Even I was surprised that I'm seeking you out first. Be happy you are the first to make me bend like this." She snarled and sat down opposite Lily without being invited too.Lily's expression remained amused, but a hint of curiosity crept into her voice. "What brings you here, Roseline? I thought we settled our... differences last time."Roseline's smile faltered, and for a moment, Lily glimpsed a flicker of rage. "I would not call that settling differences," she replied. "However, I'm here to offer you a proposal."Raising a brow, Lily relaxed into her chair, eyes full of curiosity. "Proposal?" She echoed, and Roseline hummed while fishing out a small white envelope with the Anderson logo on it. "That's a fifty million dollar check and some sure investment links. I'm offering it
Lily pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes towards the document placed in front of her. She sighed, looking from the papers towards a solemn-looking Bryan on the other side of the table. "Say something," Bryan urged, feeling uncomfortable by her silence. "I'm not sure what exactly I'm supposed to say," Lily replied. "I've gone through all sorts of possibilities. Every possible scenario I could ever think of has played continuously in my mind while awaiting the result of the investigation. And now you are providing me with this?" She breathed out. "I swear it would be more believable if you said one of Henry's people betrayed him. Hell, it would have been more believable if you said it was his wife that decided to make his life miserable by threatening him with that information." She continued, her brows furrowing deeper as she continued to glare at the papers laid in front of her. "Honestly, I would have believed anything but the fact that all those threat notes and pictu
"I heard there is a new board member joining the company." Henry asked with a frown as he scanned through the company document Williams had brought. "Yes," Williams replied, preparing himself for the earful that he knew was coming. "How did it happen? Did I not tell you no more selling of shares? And definitely not to outsiders?!" Henry asked as his frown deepened in dissatisfaction. Williams pursed his lips, making no attempt to give excuses for his incompetence. How was he supposed to explain to his already angered father that he wasn't aware of the shares circulating underground until it was sold out? That would only expose him to more of his father's rage, and seeing the sore mood the man was already in, there is no way he would risk it. Henry's face reddened with anger, his voice rising. "Who is this person? What's their stake in our company?" Williams hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "The new board member's name is Lily Turner. She's a wealthy investor w
"What brings you here?" Frederick asked as Mark casually walked into his office. "What do you think?" Mark replied with a smirk. "I don't believe we are close enough for me to just stop by for a greeting, are we?" He added and took a seat opposite Frederick. Frederick glared at Mark, hating how the latter was talking to him so casually. Swallowing his anger, he relaxed into his seat and raised a brow. "I don't remember having an appointment with you. So it will save us both some time if you go straight to the point; we are both busy men after all." Mark hummed and brought out a flash drive from his inner pocket. "We did have an appointment, but I guess your subordinates are incompetent; they couldn't even inform you about such things. Anyways, I'm here to talk about the collaboration for the government project." He announced."As much as I would like to handle both the construction and security system installation, I do not have the time to do it now that I have another branch to
"Marry me, and we can use your family's influence to pressure him out," he offered. "In the end, you'll get what you want while I also get mine." Roseline paused, her eyes narrowing the longer she heard Frederick talk. By the end of his speech, she burst out laughing uncontrollably, making Frederick's eye twitch in annoyance. "What's so funny?" He gritted out as she forced herself to sober up from her hysterical laughter."Oh, it's not funny," she replied coldly. "I'm just laughing at the absurdity of the proposal you just made. "I may not want to get married to those old fools, but I'm not desperate enough to settle for you, Frederick." She announced.Frederick balled his hands against the table, his eyes twitching uncontrollably while his lips curled into a sneer at the insult thrown his way. "You are saying I'm comparable to those men with one leg in the grave; how remarkable, Miss Anderson," he snarled, and Roseline shrugged."You are free to interpret my words anyhow you want,
"What's wrong with you?" Frederick asked with a frown as Roseline stormed into his office with a flushed face, slamming the door behind her without a care.Roseline, not saying a thing in reply to his question, dropped her bag and walked towards his wine shelf to serve herself a drink. "I'm glad you are comfortable enough to waltz around here like you own the place," Frederick hissed, his tone full of sarcasm and annoyance."They spent last night together," Roseline gritted out after downing the whole glass of wine. Reaching to serve herself another glass, she decided against it and took the whole bottle with her as she sat on the couch opposite Frederick's working area."You are talking about Mark and Lily, right?" Frederick asked with raised brows as he relaxed into his chair, and Roseline nodded in reply before taking a big gulp of wine. She scowled as the pictures she had received resurfaced in her mind. "Mark hasn't slept outside his home, not even at his parent's since he move