Liliana had been wearing a mask to ensure she was not recognized. As luck would have it - her father, Lester Aprice, and her step-sister, Lydia Aprice, happened to arrive at the same time. Ironically, it was Lydia and not her biological father who had recognized her. Lydia berated and called her names, but Liliana only looked at her father. Lester, however, treated her like foul air. Lydia had always been impatient, and in less than two minutes, she was infuriated by Liliana’s indifference. She rushed toward her, but Liliana sidestepped, and she fell on the ground due to inertia. Lester finally reacted as he slapped her in the face. That was what Jonathan saw as he exited the lift with his assistant. “What’s going on here?” He asked coldly. He did not seem to like the Aprice family either. Before Liliana or the receptionist could reply, Lester said, “This shameless shank pushed Lydia, causing her to bleed so much. She kicked a fuss out of nowhere and hurt her.” The receptioni
Three months after their encounter in the mall, Liliana packed up and flew back to P city with her twins. She had returned. This time, she would not leave her home or her heritage. A week later, she showed up in the Smith Group again. This time she gave Vincent’s card to the receptionist and asked for a meeting. The receptionist was surprised to see the old worn-out card. But she nonetheless called Vincent and asked for his confirmation. Vincent, having known Liliana in Maple City, came downstairs to pick her up personally. Jonathan pretended to go out to ask Vincent for something and ‘accidentally’ met Liliana. Vincent and Liliana’s mouths twitched as they saw through him. Vincent coughed to save his boss from embarrassment. “Miss Green, this way, please.” Liliana nodded and followed. As soon as they were seated, she said, “Please call me Mrs. Liliana, and don’t mention my last name from now on.” Vincent was stunned. “May I ask why?” Liliana curled her lips, “Because I am
Liliana looked at Jonathan in surprise. Ever since they met in Maple city, his reactions had been weird. “Am I missing something here?” She asked in a neutral tone. Jonathan gulped a glass full of water to keep himself from choking. “I am sorry about that day. It was my fault.” He did not know what to do other than give empty apologies. “What exactly are you apologizing for?” She asked him straightforwardly. “For not protecting you, for not seeking justice for you, for letting you get hurt in my turf, for letting them walk away Scott free.” He listed his reasons. ‘For not recognizing you, for not finding you sooner,’ he added in his heart. “As long as you are not apologizing for them, we are fine.” Liliana smiled sadly. “What does that mean?” Vincent asked. “That brings me to our conditions - I have a history with the Aprice family and Vivian Stone. That episode seven years ago had nothing to do with you. The same goes for what happened in the mall in Maple City. While your p
Jonathan looked at the girl in front of him. She was most certainly the girl from his childhood, one he had wanted to cherish and marry. He did not know how to tell her that someone pretended to be her to hurt her. “Lydia Aprice pretended to be someone I once knew as a kid and came to claim an acquaintance. I felt she was lying, but she had all the proof that she was indeed the person I knew. I have never had any relationship whatsoever with her. The only thing is I let her hover around me until she got in my way or my nerves. And that was because I had no proof that she was fake.” Liliana looked at him quizzically. Jonathan did not want to strain their relationship and thus kept things vague and concise. He drank some water and confirmed, “You can rest assured that I won’t be helping her out. I have a score to settle with her as well.” Liliana nodded with a blank face, “Alright!” Jonathan added, “Vivian Stone is someone I despise from the bottom of my heart. She initially coer
A few days later, a sensation broke out in P city. Smith Group had partnered with L&L Designs. L&L Designs was a sophisticated luxury brand in Maple city that had spread around the world in the past, but they had refused to enter P city. Many big brands were trying to collaborate with them but had failed. The netizens and the socialites in P city went crazy. No one had seen the mystery founder and designer behind L&L Designs. Everyone wondered how the Smith Group managed to get the partnership. L&L Designs had always had its private studio and had never cooperated with anyone before. This time L&L Designs ventured to open a branch in the central mall owned by Smith Group. Vivian went blue reading the news. She was supposed to be Jonathan’s girlfriend, but he had mercilessly rejected her proposal to open her boutique in one of Smith Group Malls. Now he signed up her competitor in such a high-profile manner. It was a slap in the face. Even worse, she heard it on the news and w
The day went exceedingly well for Vivian, despite it being the grand opening of her competitor. However, in the chasms of the internet, a small titbit had gone viral. “Does Miss Vivian know the founder of L&L Design?” “All designers know each other professionally.” “Founder of L&L has won numerous awards in the annual Fashion week successively for the last five years. There is no way the insiders don’t know who she is.” “Did you say ‘she’? Does that mean it’s a girl?” “Indeed, Miss Vivian is too conscientious to go around divulging others' secrets. She sure knows the founder of L&L Design.” “I bet both the women are best friends given the similar age.” Between hundreds of thousands of comments and threads, these stood out though not by much. However, by mid-afternoon, the netizens were convinced that Vivian knew the founder of L&L Design and they were on good terms. It became a viral topic, and the social media of Vivian’s boutique got flooded with questions. Vivian felt it
Jonathan looked up from his table to the woman standing in front of him with a huge grin on her immaculate face. He instantly knew she did not have anything to do with the L&L Group. He asked her in resignation. “Who are you?” “Jennifer Cox. I am a nurse. Henry said you were his friend.” She answered, grinning. “Care to explain!” Jonathan sighed, wondering what game Lil was playing. “Henry called you a few times, but you did not answer. He sent me to enquire when you are throwing a bash to celebrate the collaboration with L&L Design. He said the celebration must be equally grand based on L&L Design’s reputation. And you must make it - a couple-entry only.” She continued as Jonathan did not speak. “Lil told me to act like this and dressed me up. It is my first time dressing like this. I think I did great. What do you think? Oh, and she also asked me to pass this to you.” Jennifer chippered away happily. Jonathan had a hard time thinking of her as a nurse. But he got the note a
Jonathan looked at Vincent and Jennifer and sighed, “Just go with her.” Before Vincent could reply, Jenn snapped, “This is an abuse of power. How can you choose his date for him?” Vincent finally managed to get his head around it and immediately answered. “He thought I was embarrassed because of his presence, so he answered like that. I would love to be your date.” “Oh! Good.” Jennifer sat back on the chair, sipping her drink. “You were saying something?” She asked Jonathan. He replied, “Well, please tell Henry that he won’t be disappointed with the bash if he makes it to the guest list. I will also consider his suggestion. Can we take a profile picture of you for the teaser?” Jennifer nodded repeatedly and looked around the office. She walked straight to the window and leaned against it while sipping her drink. Then as if she remembered something, she switched to the left profile. Jonathan took the picture with his phone. He immediately sent it to Liliana for review, who ok