Chapter Five

By the next morning, Liora was feeling refreshed. She had taken her time to write down everything she remembered from her past life, everyone that hurt her, embarrassed her, took her for granted, she wasn’t going to let even one of them go, they were going to pay for what they did. 

Unlike before she didn’t rush to work. She worked around the kitchen trying to make breakfast for herself. Because of her overwork and neglecting herself in her past life, she had developed stomach issues that had to be managed with drugs and tasteless porridge but she wouldn’t choose that path now. 

By the time she arrived at the office, work was already in full mode. Everyone was still clearly surprised that she came late. She had left early the previous day and they had all concluded that maybe she had an external engagement, helping the group settle some issues. 

Penelope walked in moments after carrying a huge bag, “Miss Seraphina sent you this. One of the staff at the house came to deliver it personally” she said and Liora nodded as Penelope headed towards the lounge in the office and placed the box on the table. 

“Is this for the Dawnson ball?” She followed up and Liora stood up from her seat, dropping the files in her head and smiled dazzlingly. 

“Of course” 

Penelope clapped her hands together, “I’m so jealous of the relationship the two of you share, everyone is jealous” 

Liora burst into laughter at Penelope words startling the other lady for a few seconds. 

“Is there a problem? Did I say something wrong?” She asked and Liora shook her head. 

“You are good Penelope” she muttered as she walked towards the box. The box had a ribbon tied to it and it was looking expensive, thoughtful even but it was a lie, it was a package meant to ruin her just as it did in her past life. 

She untied the ribbon and lifted the lid, there it was.

The same dress.

The exact same one as her past life.

A purple gown with really soft fabrics, shimmering within the light. It was beautiful, truly. 

Liora laughed inwardly while staring at the dress. Only Seraphina and her family knew how to use kindness as a weapon, a weapon that had been used brutally to kill her in last life, a weapon she didn’t know about until it was the end. 

“It’s so beautiful” Penelope replied and then paused. 

“But did Miss Seraphina make a mistake?” She asked and Liora turned to her. 

“Why?”

Penelope swallowed before answering, “This is an old season outfit. It’s outdated, even I wouldn’t wear it” she muttered and it took Liora a minute before she reacted. She burst into a low and soft laughter. 

Even Penolope had noticed, how had she not noticed? 

She was the one who had been raised as the Morgan family daughter for more than ten years, raised in luxury and in everything a rich family had and yet she had somehow forgotten to see an outdated office. 

The people in her last life were right to have mocked her. She had been so stupid. 

She slowly turned back to the dress, “…So this is what fooled me?” she asked and then clicked her tongue. 

“And I still don’t like it,” she added.

“Unfortunately Seraphina, you are bound to fail. Your little game? You lost to me already” she muttered as she turned back to Penelope. 

“Get the Azure to send me one of their latest pieces, I want a gown that hasn’t been in public yet” she informed her and Penelope raised her eyebrow. 

“The Azure?” She asked and Liora nodded confirming. 

“They released a collection recently. Tell them to send you the catalogue and pick out a dress for me. Shoes as well, also tell them to send a stylist” Liora commanded as she walked out of the lounge back into her office.

Penelope nodded as she moved to walk out of the room, “Wait” she said and Penelope turned back to Liora. 

“Any other instructions?” She asked and Liora nodded. 

“Yes. Don’t use my cards to pay” she replied and Penelope looked even confused. 

“Errrm…” she trailed off and Liora just chuckled as she grabbed her phone and dialed a number.

Using that card to pay for the gown, Seraphina would notice her making a purchase. She didn’t need her to know, she needed to surprise her, surprise her so much that her jaw was left on the floor. She needed to make sure that Seraphina believed she was wearing that outdated dress. .

The phone rang once.

Twice.

And just as the call was going to drop after the third ring, there was a connecting sound and the voice came through. 

“Miss Morgan,” Damien’s voice was deep and smooth and with a tinge of surprise. 

“How may I help you?” He asked and Liora couldn’t help but notice how nice his voice sounded. 

She chuckled and stared at the sheets of sales on her desktop, the other hand, tapping slightly on the table. 

“I need a favour.” She replied and Damien paused for a few seconds. 

“What do you want?.” His question almost made Liora smile.

“A dress.”

Damien went silent for a longer period of time than the first time.

“A… dress?” Damien repeated, slower this time.

“Yes.” Liora confirmed and Damien’s chuckle slithered from the call into her ears. Her spine shivered unconsciously.

“…Are you telling me the Morgan family cannot afford to buy you one?” He asked, “I didn’t know they were broke”

Liora tried to hold back the laughter in her throat, “Is President Frost telling me he can’t afford to buy his wife one?” She shot back and Damien laughed. 

“And here I thought you would at least pretend to be independent for a little longer.” He replied.

“You can’t blame me really. You have so much money, if I don’t help you spend it, who will?” She asked. 

“Mm.” Damien replied. 

“Where?” He asked and Liora smiled again. 

Damien was too smart. A normal person would ask them what kind of dress they wanted or say that they would send them the dress but he already knew that she had put things in place, all he had to do was pay.

“I already sent you the details.” Liora replied and she could hear him speaking to someone in the background. 

“Done,” he replied.

“Thank you, President Frost.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied smoothly.

“See you" she said and  the call ended. She turned to Penelope who was dazed at the door. 

“Who was that?” She asked carefully.  She had heard Liora call the person ‘President Frost’ but the only President Frost she knew was mortal enemies with the Morgans. 

Besides, did the Manager Liora she knew really call someone and asked them to buy her a dress?

Since their meeting with an investor three days ago, Liora had been acting really weird. Nothing serious but it was weird, like something was off. It was clear, especially when she had asked her to pack her things and go home earlier the previous day. She had just assumed that Liora wanted to do something she didn’t want her to know.

Liora set her phone down slowly and chuckled, “You’ll find out soonest, put a call to Azure. That payment has been taken care of” she replied and Penelope nodded before walking out of the office. 

Liora stood up and walked towards the glass in her office and her reflection stared back at her. Her gaze was hard and amused and her eyes cold.

“I can’t wait to see your face Serephina” she murmured, a smile crossing her lips. 

—————————————-

Liora didn’t ever remember entering the Frost Corporation in her last life, not for any reason but because there was absolutely no reason for her to be there but in this life, this was her second time and she knew that she would be entering even more times. 

She needed to talk to Damien about the ball. Her heels clicked on the marble floors as she walked in, heads turned in the lobby as she walked towards the front desk. 

“Am I seeing right?”

“Isn’t that Liora Morgan?” 

“The adopted daughter of the Morgans?”

“Don’t call her that. The Morgans told the world that no matter what she’s their daughter and have treated her the same ever since” 

Despite the whispers flying around, Liora didn’t pause or stop till she got to the front desk. 

“Good afternoon ma’am” the receptionist greeted, clearly startled as everyone. She definitely knew who Liora was. 

The question was what she was doing at the Frost Corporation. 

“I’m here to see President Frost,” Liora replied and the receptionist blinked, shocked but quickly recovered.

“Do you have an appointment, Miss Morgan?” she asked and Liora shook her head. 

The receptionist would have usually told her that she needed an appointment to see him and that she should fill a form but instead chose to do something else. .

“…One moment, please.” She mumbled as she grabbed the telephone on the desk and made a call. 

The call lasted less than a minute. She dropped the call and turned back to Liora.

“You may go up, Miss Morgan.” She said and Liora nodded, turning and walking towards the elevator. She stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor she was going to. .

When the doors opened, she was immediately greeted by a man as tall as Damien. He had a calm expression yet a sharper gaze.

“Miss Morgan,” he said. “I’m Kilhon, President Frost’s assistant.”

She nodded at him watching as Kilhon stepped aside.

“This way.” He said and Liora started walking towards the office. She remembered the way easily. More heads on the floor turned as they walked but neither of them paid any attention to them. 

The whispers were the same. Everyone was wondering what Liora Morgan wanted in the Frost Corporation.

Kilhon stopped in front of the door and knocked slightly before opening the door. Liora stepped in first and then froze for a second.

There was a meeting in progress. Silence fell instantly.

Damien sat at the head of the table, his expression unreadable but Liora could easily catch the small frown in his expression.

Their eyes met for a few seconds but Damien slowly turned to the people seated. 

“Meeting dismissed,” Damien said calmly.

They didn’t try to argue, they immediately started packing their files and trailed out. Curiosity and surprise fully written on their faces. 

Liora was no witch or seer but she knew what they all wanted to ask. 

“I hate gossip the most,” Damien suddenly spoke.

Kilhon nodded. “Understood.” He replied before exiting the room. .

Liora walked forward, stopping across from Damien.

“Did you come over to show me the dress?” He asked and Liora laughed. 

“There’s even a better way for you to see it” she replied and Damien raised a brow. 

“The Dawson Ball.”

“And?”

“I want you to attend.”

Damien didn’t respond immediately. A small smile spread across his lips. 

“What role am I supposed to play?” He asked. 

“My dance partner” Liora responded flawlessly. 

Damien lowered his head in an amused chuckle. 

“And your fiancée?”

Liora chuckled. In her last life, Leonard had danced with Seraphina, she didn’t think she could change that in this life, she would rather not dance than dance with him. 

At the thought of Leonard, her lips twitched. 

Four days.

It had been four days since she woke up in this life.

And in those four days—Leonard hadn’t called once. 

She would have usually called him, tried to make arrangements and all of that. She had always thought that he was just too busy and that was why she had to do more to sustain their relationship. She didn’t realize that the moment it was revealed that she wasn’t their real daughter, he had checked out of the relationship. 

He only wanted to use her for his own gain. 

“He’s not dancing with me,” she finally responded. 

“Well that’s unfortunate. I have a prior engagement,” Damien replied and Liora sighed softly. 

She couldn’t totally change things but the one she could change, it was enough for her. There was time for her to get revenge on the duo. 

“Alright. I’ll manage,” she muttered. 

“How do you plan to tell your parents about our arrangement ?” he asked.

“What’s the plan?” He added and Liora smiled. 

“You’ll find out soon” she replied and Damien chuckled. 

“Mrs Frost, I’m not a fan of games. So be very careful the kind of games you play with me or drag me into” he said firmly and Liora couldn’t help but swallow at the hint of threat in his tone. 

“Be rest assured, I don’t play games I’ll lose” she reassured him. 

“We’ll need to get the marriage certificate soon,” he said. “Prefablly, This week.” He added and Liora swallowed nodding his head. 

“Understood.” She replied and then got to her feet. 

“See you soon husband” she added with a smile and Damien chuckled watching as walked towards the door and walked out. 

Kilhon entered moments later. He placed several files on the tables while Damien just stared at the files not saying anything.

“Are you really going to marry Miss Morgan?” He asked and Damien smiled. 

“What do you think?” He asked and Kilhon shrugged. 

“She’s really different from the rumors” he said plainly and Damien grinned. 

It had been since forever since anyone had made him strongly curious, strongly amazed, the kind of impression she left on him, he couldn’t place a hand on it but it was unshakeable. 

He could never forget the look in her eyes when she had come to propose marriage to him. 

“Liora Morgan…” he trailed off and then smiled.