It was a stylishly woven straw hat that would suit many outfits. She could wear the hat to the beach or when sightseeing in Fairport. It was necessary to have a hat during the current weather.Rebecca immediately fell in love with it. Even her eyes twinkled. Yet, she wasn't sure if it was right to accept the gift, so she waved the man off. "It's okay, mister. You can sell it to us for its original price.""That won't do. I'm giving it to you because fate has made us cross paths again. If I sell it to you, our chance encounter today won't feel as meaningful. Don't you agree, kid?" the man refused. He grinned at David before patting his shoulder."I met you four years ago, and here we are four years later. I hope you two last a long time. This hat is the same kind from four years ago. We only have one in our shop. I'm giving it to you two. Consider it a present from a kindred soul."That pleased David. He initially hit the unknown man, who had interrupted his day with Rebecca, with a
Sam and Alex studied Rebecca's recent work in Fairport back at the Johnson residence. They had overhead some helpful information during dinner earlier. On top of that, they were also able to analyze data from the photos of that day's Golden Tiger Film Festival Awards.They soon concluded that Rebecca had attended the Golden Tiger Film Festival Awards because the organizer invited her. Yet, she was forced to leave because the psychopath, David, didn't allow her to go.Soon enough, Caleb found out why Rebecca received an invite. The event was in collaboration with a magazine that provided accessories to celebrities. The magazine had also set up an exhibition hall that accompanied the event.Not only had they showcased Rebecca's design samples, they also showed off clothing and jewelry from other designers. Of course, it also featured creations from other artists. It was an exhibition where celebrities could try on the design samples for photo opportunities. The exhibition took place
Rebecca received a collaboration invite from GN Jewelries. The email came the next day when most office workers would've gone to work. She washed up, came downstairs for breakfast, and clicked into her inbox. The email's contents surprised her so much that her eyes widened before she could bite into her toast. She couldn't help exclaiming mentally, "Holy shit!"Rebecca was an unknown designer who had just started joining design competitions. She couldn't believe a company was approaching me for a collaboration deal. So, she wondered if the opportunity had come because they were now in a big city.She wasn't sure if this was because of yesterday's Golden Tiger Film Festival Awards or if the email was a scam.Because she didn't know what it was, she couldn't eat her breakfast in peace. She held the slice of toast in her mouth while researching the company's history.GN Jewelries started as part of a company from Riverwood. Four years ago, they opened a branch in Fairport.The pare
David's eyebrows narrowed, surprised at how ridiculous he was being. Rebecca had already crossed paths with Daniel and the Johnson brothers. Yet, the men dared not do anything. So, why was David so afraid? After a self-deprecating laugh, he looked up into Rebecca's eyes. "When are you going? I'll drive you there."He wanted to see if Daniel and the Johnsons could refrain from making a move. After all, he shouldn't be the nervous one in that situation.Rebecca wasn't expecting him to agree without a fight. Her eyes widened in shock. "You'll drive me there? Really?"What? Don't you want me to?" David glanced up at her with an unreadable expression.Rebecca shook her head. "No, I'm just shocked. I didn't think you'd agree."A soft chuckle tumbled from David's lips. "Would you stay home if I disagreed?"Rebecca had snuck out to the award event on the first day after landing in Fairport. She didn't even say anything to David before leaving. Rebecca did all that just to look at her
Rebecca chuckled too. Her eyes left the contract briefly as she held her chin and pondered. "People like you might have nothing on their phones except for essential work-related apps. You'd probably look at stock market trends or the news and have no interest in the gossip column."Daniel chuckled upon hearing her accurate description. He couldn't help his deepening smile. As she said, he didn't have any other apps except those he used for work. Even his personal phone only had the necessary apps for communication purposes. The other app he had was for reading the news, but he didn't care about entertainment or gossip columns. Otherwise, Jessica wouldn't have fooled and kept him in the dark for so long. He had a disinterest and lack of attention to social affairs, so he only focused on company matters and ignored everything else.That habit stayed the same even now.However, last night, he was so happy to see Rebecca that he reacted in the spur of the moment. He asked someone
Daniel altered the initially fixed salary inclusive of performance bonuses into a profit-sharing arrangement. He offered Rebecca ten per cent of the profits.In simple terms, for every design she created, she would receive an additional ten per cent bonus on top of her regular salary, which was calculated after deducting operational costs from sales.This generous incentive was undoubtedly substantial if Rebecca had confidence in her work.Even if the designs didn't perform well, her base salary would still provide financial security.However, Rebecca couldn't help but feel like she might be taking advantage of the situation and felt somewhat self-conscious. She asked, "Would this adjustment potentially lead to losses for your company?"Daniel couldn't suppress his smile. "Ms. Sylvia, do you know how your current attitude might be described in the words of poets?"Rebecca blinked, appearing puzzled. "How?"Her innocent and clueless expression only heightened Daniel's amusement.
As soon as she heard Daniel’s first words, Rebecca lowered her gaze. Her initial excitement and joy had been tempered by the countless things she couldn't remember. She genuinely had no idea where she came from. Ever since waking up in the Seardale hospital, her memory was a blank slate. She was familiar with this world and knew all the things she should know. However, whenever she tried to recall people she should have been familiar with, her mind drew a complete blank. This feeling of not having an origin had once led her to contemplate disappearing from the world. She thought that it might be better to just disappear, as no one would mourn her absence, and she wouldn't feel sad.Yet, during her recovery, she received a bouquet of roses every day. A blend of diverse roses, each in varying colors and quantities, combined with other flowers, always created a unique ambiance for her. Eventually, it gave her a sense that life still held hope. That was a stark contrast to
On their way back to the villa, Rebecca made a conscious decision to keep certain details about her visit to GN Jewelries from David. She omitted any mention of her last name and her desire to meet Daniel's friend, who shared the same last name. Firstly, she wasn't entirely convinced that she had truly found her own family. What if it was a mistake or simply a coincidence? She worried that it might just be a random accident that she was in four years ago, and she was anxious that they shared a surname by chance. Secondly, she had an unexplainable gut feeling that led her to keep this coincidence to herself for the time being. She couldn't provide a concrete reason, but she chose to trust her instincts. Likewise, she didn't reveal that the person they had encountered during their previous dinner meeting was the same person she had signed a collaboration contract with today. Part of the reason was to prevent David from feeling uncomfortable. She had mentioned once before