บททั้งหมดของ Aretha Hawthorne: The Rise Of The Phoenix: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚The airport is already buzzing when I arrive—suitcase in hand, coat slung over my arm, and a knot of mild anxiety sitting in my chest. I barely slept last night. My thoughts kept circling back to Cameron’s smug face, the glint in his eyes when he said “I’ll take that as a yes.” It irritated me more than I care to admit.Still, I’m here. Against my better judgment, I’m here.I pull out my phone to check my itinerary again when a sharp ding draws my attention. A new notification.My brows knit together as I stare at the screen.A credit alert?The amount is exact—down to the cent—of my flight ticket.What the…?I spin around and march to the nearest cashier window. “Hi, sorry—can I ask about a refund I just received? I don’t remember requesting one.”The woman behind the glass taps a few keys on her terminal, blinking at her monitor. “Yes, ma’am. It says here the refund was requested and approved on your behalf.”“By who?”I hear it before I see it.“Well, well,” comes a dr

𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧The next morning, we hit the road.Our driver, an older man with warm eyes and an encyclopedic knowledge of Armenian history, doubles as a tour guide. As the SUV glides through the countryside, he tells us about the Barsamians—how their lineage traces back centuries, how they built an empire from silk and spice and sheer force of will.Aretha listens, chin resting in her palm, her gaze drifting between the window and me. I catch her watching me from the corner of her eye for the fifth time.“What?” I ask, smiling. “You’re staring.”“I’m calculating.”“Calculating what?” I stretch my arm along the back of her seat, not touching her but close enough that her hair brushes my fingers.“Whether this trip is worth enduring your company for another forty-eight hours.”“Ouch.” I clutch my chest with exaggerated pain. “You wound me. And here I thought we were starting to bond.”“I don’t bond with trouble.”“You sat next to me. That makes you complicit.”She snorts and turns back

𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚By the time we arrive, the estate looks like something out of an oil painting—ornate gates, lush grounds, cobblestone paths winding toward a home that could easily double as a museum. The sky has softened into a lazy afternoon haze, and I still haven’t fully shaken the image of that gun pointed at our driver. But Cameron and I are both dressed in our game faces now, and like good little liars, we smile.A housekeeper ushers us into a sitting room where the matriarch waits.She’s nothing like I expected.Older, yes, with the kind of face carved by time and quiet power, but there’s nothing soft about her. Her posture is steel, her eyes sharp behind thin, gold-rimmed glasses. She wears a high-necked black dress and sits with the kind of stillness that makes you feel like you’re the one being examined.“Mr. Lancaster,” she says to Cameron, voice low and smooth like aged whiskey. “And Miss…”“Hawthorne,” I offer with a polite smile, extending my hand. She doesn’t take it. She j

𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧The moment I shut the door to my suite, I loosen my collar and finally let the smile fall from my face.I’ve been wearing it like armor all day—through the suffocating politeness, the backhanded compliments, the curt dismissal of logic from a spoilt heir with too much money and too little sense. The matriarch was composed, yes. Graceful even. But her silence when her son spat that sexist garbage…That silence said more than I liked.I sink into the armchair by the window, the city of Yerevan sprawled beneath me like a glittering mosaic. I should let it go. But the tension stays, coiled tight between my shoulder blades.With a sigh, I reach for my phone and dial.“Hey,” I say when my marketing manager answers. “I need you to pull up alternatives. If the Barsamians don’t get back to us, we need other options for that stone.”“You’re thinking they’ll back out?”“I’m thinking their prince of a son might poison the whole deal. I just want to be ready.”We talk logistics, pro

𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚The familiar buzz of activities at the GemsThorne company headquarters feels like a warm hug after days of unpredictable terrain, ancient jewels, and family feuds that felt like something out of a historical thriller. London’s cloudy sky greets me with its usual moody charm, and for once, I don’t mind. There’s something grounding about being back. About knowing exactly where I stand.My heels click softly against the marble as I step out of the elevator and onto topmost floor where my office is located, a genuine smile lighting up my face.“Ms. Hawthorne!” Winnie, my long-suffering and endlessly efficient personal assistant, pops out of her glass-walled office like a meerkat. She looks impeccably put-together as always, in a lilac blouse and black pencil skirt, with her work tablet in hand.“Winnie!” I greet her in a similar fashion, sweeping her into a brief, exaggerated hug that makes her squeak.“Welcome back, ma'am. I must say though, you seem to be in a good mood tod