Seeing Mason's doubtful look, Damon coughed lightly to cover his unease."What nonsense are you talking? I'm just a bit tired from work today. It's getting late. Let's tidy up the toys, go upstairs, take a shower, and get some sleep," he replied."Okay," Mason agreed readily.After they finished cleaning up the toys, Damon asked Lydia to take Mason upstairs for a bath while he went to his study.Once seated, he picked up a document to read. However, thoughts of Nyla's words from that evening kept flashing through his mind, making him feel restless. He suspected she might know he was lying to her but wasn't sure.After considering it further, Damon realized he couldn't hide the truth forever. It might be better to probe Nyla's feelings toward Harrison the next morning.If Nyla wanted to see Harrison, he would tell her the truth. If she was still resistant to the idea of meeting him, then he'd wait until Harrison was feeling better before gradually bringing it up.Upstairs…After
As Valarie and Zayn arrived at her house, they saw Brandon waiting at the gate.Brandon thought about how he had treated Zayn like a brother, only to have Zayn go after Valarie—stealing his girl. The urge to punch Zayn in the face surged within him."She's my girlfriend. Anything that pertains to her involves me too," Zayn told Brandon.Brandon's fists clenched at his sides, his body tense and his face cold enough to freeze.Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he asked Valarie, "What did your call earlier mean?"Before Valarie could answer, Zayn chimed in with a smile, "You came all the way here to ask about that call? We were just playing Truth or Dare at the club. Valarie lost and chose Dare. It was to call you and confess her feelings. I didn't think you'd rush here just over a phone call."The color drained from Brandon's face, turning pale in an instant. He stared at Valarie as he asked, "Is what Zayn said true?"Valarie bit her lip, unable to meet his gaze. "Yes…""Gr
The dining room fell silent.After a long pause, Nyla finally asked, "Where is he now?""Do you want to see him?" Damon responded, his gaze fixed on Nyla's face, determined not to miss any hint of emotion.Nyla looked away, her tone cold. "No. If he's in the hospital, I can help pay his medical bills or find him a caretaker. If he's living alone, I can hire a caregiver.""His biggest wish is probably just to see you again," Damon suggested.Nyla set down the bread and knife, pushed her chair back, and stood up. "I'm going outside to wait for you."As she turned to leave, her eyes were reddened.By the time Damon stepped out of the villa, Nyla had managed to calm herself, her expression returning to normal. Seeing him, she opened the car door and got in.On the way to the office, Damon tried to start a conversation with Nyla several times but held back in response to her indifference.It wasn't until the car stopped in the underground parking and Nyla reached for the door to ge
Brandon shook his head. "No, the Weir Group is at the end of its rope. Instead of selling off my shares in the Sumner Group and losing everything, I'd rather work hard to lead the Sumner Group and help rebuild the company."Damon replied, "As long as you're sure.""Uncle Damon, I came here today to ask you for a favor," Brandon said."What is it?" Damon asked."I remember that Prospectus Technology has been negotiating a few big deals with the Updike Group lately. I hope you won't work with them," Brandon stated.He looked at Damon with a pleading gaze, but Damon showed no signs of being swayed. Instead, he questioned, "You want me to compromise my business for personal reasons?"The intimidation from Damon made Brandon lower his head in fear, unable to meet his gaze. Still, he willed himself to say, "It's not just about my own interests.""Oh?" Damon inquired with a smirk, though there was no warmth in his eyes. "Then tell me, what else is there besides wanting to take personal
The two of them were pressed closely together, and Damon's suit was already half-drenched. Meanwhile, Nyla was completely naked.Just thinking about the scene made Nyla feel a mix of embarrassment and frustration.If she had known it was Damon outside, she definitely wouldn't have asked him to bring her pajamas.Biting her lip, she instinctively tried to push him away.Just as her hands pressed against his chest, however, his low voice rumbled from above, "Do you want to fall again?"Nyla froze for a moment, then lowered her eyes and said, "Y-You can let go of me now. I've steadied myself…"Damon looked down at her. She had her head slightly bowed, her face flushed, and her long hair was still dripping water.They were so close that the rising and falling of their chests stirred some unbidden thoughts. She had no idea just how tempting she looked in that moment.Damon's breath quickened, and he struggled to control himself, trying not to act on his desires. Despite that, his bo
Feeling Damon's warm fingers running through her hair, Nyla instinctively clenched her hands on the table and tensed up."Maybe I should just do it myself," she said, starting to turn away.Damon placed his hand on her shoulder."I'll do it." His voice was deep, carrying an irresistible authority.Nyla bit her lip and stopped insisting.The only sound in the bedroom was the hairdryer.After about ten minutes, the noise finally ceased."All done. Take a look," Damon said.Nyla reached up to feel her hair. It felt smooth and dry. She turned to look at Damon. "Thank you."Damon glanced down at her, but his eyes quickly shifted away when they caught a glimpse of the V-neck of her nightgown."Let's head downstairs for dinner," he said."It's too late. I won't be eating tonight," Nyla replied.She wanted to maintain her figure and had a rule about not eating anything after 8:00 p.m."Lydia said you've been too tired lately and made all your favorite dishes. Are you sure you want
Noticing something off in Valarie's tone, Nyla quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?""Let's talk when we meet. I'll come to your office around noon," Valarie replied."Okay," Nyla said.After confirming the time and place, Valarie quickly hung up."Did something happen? You look tense," Damon asked with concern.Nyla shook her head. "I'm not sure. Valarie wants to meet me at noon."From Valarie's tone, it sounded like something serious was going on.Damon's gaze turned serious as he studied Nyla's expression.Lowering his voice, he asked, "Nyla, if I help the Weirs through this crisis, will you give me a chance for a fresh start? What do you think?"Nyla bit her lip, feeling the urge to scold him for taking advantage of the situation.However, she knew the Weirs' survival wasn't Damon's responsibility. She could leverage his feelings to get him to help, but that wouldn't be fair to him.After spending time together recently, she realized she still had feelings
Back at the office, Nyla was getting ready for her lunch break when she received a call from Caroline."Hey, Nyla, try to schedule your experiment reports during work hours from now on," Caroline requested.Nyla was taken aback. "Why? Isn't everyone busy with experiments during work?""Mr. Sumner said he'll be present for future progress reports, so we need to arrange them during office hours," Caroline explained.Nyla finally understood. Damon must have requested this for her sake. However, changing the reporting time just for her might delay everyone else's experiments.With that thought, she replied, "I'll talk to Mr. Sumner about it and see if we can adjust the schedule.""Don't push yourself too hard. After everything that happened with Mr. Sumner, didn't you say you didn't want too much contact with him?" Caroline asked.Caroline had previously objected when Edgar suggested assigning the experiment project to Nyla. But since she had her own unfinished project, she ultimate