SWNOVELS Chapter 241-250
Chapter 241
These 23 designs were obviously Molly’s original work, but in such a short time, she improved on the original designs. With a few simple steps, she made the dresses look even more beautiful than before.
There must be a mastermind guiding her from behind the scenes.
Otherwise, with her skills, there’s no way she could have designed such stunning clothes.
“Jason, do you think her design style is similar to Maestro Stylish’s?”
I had the same feeling just now. If Maestro Stylish wasn’t only known online and we’d never met him, I would seriously suspect he’s giving her advice! Look at each design she’s improved; each one has leveled up.”
“Indeed, these designs could easily sell for hundreds of dollars; they look like the high–end dresses you’d find in upscale stores, but she’s only charging a few bucks.”
Won’t this cause a shopping frenzy?
“How could a junior designer create such exceptional pieces? Is it her talent, or is there someone guiding her?”
“Their company probably doesn’t have other outstanding talents.”
Monica slapped the table in frustration. “We’re having this emergency meeting to discuss our strategy, not to study designs! Who has a better suggestion? Speak up! We can’t just watch as their orders keep increasing and ours keep decreasing.”
As she said this, she glanced at the live broadcast room. The number of viewers had already reached 980,000. She could hardly bear it; her chest felt tight, as if she were gasping for breath.
“We could sue them for defaming our designs and causing us significant financial loss.” Jason suggested, “They’re openly poaching our customers, obviously targeting SY Fashion. In that case, we don’t need to care about their feelings.”
“But their head office is the Collins Group. If things get too ugly, the Collins family won’t let us off the hook.” Monica was still somewhat afraid of the power of the Collins family.
“But they were the ones who first insulted our designs.” Jason said, then glanced at Molly in the live broadcast room, who was turning a pair of jean shorts into two adorable phone cases.
One of the senior managers couldn’t help but say, “This can’t really be considered an insult. They never said anything bad about us from beginning to end; they just innovated on our designs.”
This can’t be considered plagiarism.
It’s far from plagiarism.
“Regardless, we must sue them! We can’t let them get away with it!” Jason insisted on suing them.
Monica called in the legal department, and they quickly sent out a lawyer’s letter, determined to make them pay.
“Monica, we’re in big trouble; we’ve already had 34,000 orders cancelled in the backend, including some manufacturers, partners, and physical store orders.”
They said Collins Corporation’s clothes are priced lower and the designs are more appealing. Once orders are placed, they can immediately ship out.”
“They’re using express delivery. Place an order now, receive it tomorrow.”
This undoubtedly met the needs of online shoppers. The quicker the delivery, the more satisfied they were.
Chapter 242
Monica was already livid, and then someone came in to report.
“Monica, our backend stats show that 83,000 dresses have been cancelled by customers, some of which we had already shipped. The customers didn’t want them, so we had to intercept the packages. Not only did we not make any profit, but we also lost the shipping cost.”
Monica felt a headache coming on, massaging her temples and struggling to breathe.
83,000 dresses–if they all end up unsold and just pile up in the warehouse, the losses will be huge.
Monica didn’t dare to think about it any further.
“Monica, some bad news. The manager of a company that promised to order 10,000 dresses from us backed out at the last minute and placed the order with Collins Corporation instead. We trusted them and didn’t ask for a deposit.”
Monica felt like she was about to collapse.
Monica, we’ve released a bunch of coupons on our official online store, but they didn’t keep the customers.”
“Our online customer service tried their best to persuade them, but customers are still canceling their orders.” “Monica, what should we do next?”
Arabella entered the live stream room to see Molly adjusting the design. This was today’s seventeenth new product.
Seeing her, Molly’s eyes crinkled in a sweet smile. Arabella gave a small smile in return and then went to check the data, not showing her face to the
camera.
Dean whispered excitedly, “Ms. Bennett, we’ve got over 1.06 million viewers on the live stream. This is an unprecedented turnout!”
Before, when they live streamed, only a few thousand fans would watch, and very few would place orders. But now, orders were coming in non–stop! “Guess how many dresses we’ve sold in total?” Dean couldn’t contain his excitement, his eyes shining brightly.
“100,000?”
“You’re right!” Dean said it enthusiastically. The total is already at 102,000, and it’s still climbing! Ms. Bennett, at this rate, we won’t have enough stock in the warehouse!”
“Then let’s have the workers put in extra hours and keep producing.” Arabella finished checking the data and started heading towards the office.
Dean followed closely behind, saying, “Ms. Bennett, you are amazing! Just like you said, the company didn’t lose money; we actually made some. If the viewers knew that these 23 designs are all yours,”
Arabella just gave Molly a chance to show herself, like giving a leg up to the younger generation.
In reality, all 23 designs were hers.
“Why should they know?” Arabella was now the company’s manager. To her, it didn’t matter who designed these 23 pieces; what mattered was that the company was profitable.
The Collins Group
When Julian saw that the clothing company was launching new designs through a live stream, he immediately informed Hans Collins.
“The live stream now has 1.14 million viewers, and they’ve sold 106,000 dresses.‘
‘Just like Ms. Bennett said, it’s not a loss; it doesn’t damage our reputation, and we even make a profit. It’s truly unexpected.”
“Boss, look at how they designed the clothes; they look much better than SY Fashion’s! And most importantly, they’re cheaper!”
Chapter 243
“I heard that the whole plan was cooked up by Ms. Bennett, and she designed all these styles. SY Fashion has swiped our design sketches. Ms. Bennett’s strategy is to tweak the designs and sell them at a lower price. It’s like giving them a taste of their own medicine. SY Fashion’s products will probably pile up, they’ll have a hard time selling them, and they’ll definitely come barking up our tree.”
Watching the live broadcast, Hans Collins noticed that many of the modified designs were top–notch. His little sister–what kind of whiz kid was she to have such talent?
“Boss, I’ve got an idea.” Julian hesitated a bit before speaking up: “Ms. Bennett, maybe we should consider giving her a bonus as a pat on the back? She’s made a huge contribution since joining the company.”
“So you’re suggesting I give my sister a bonus?”
“Sister?” Julian’s eyes popped open. Had he misheard? Ms. Bennett was the boss’s sister?
The boss must be pulling his leg.
But the boss didn’t seem to be joking at all.
Ms. Bennett, could she be the sister he just found?
“Give a bonus to my sister.” Hans Collins mused, “How much would be appropriate?”
“Huh?” Julian was genuinely surprised. Ms. Bennett really was the boss’s sister, but if that was the case, she surely wasn’t short of cash!
“Fifty grand.” Hans Collins pondered, “Would that be too stingy?”
“Fifty grand?” Julian’s eyes bulged out. He worked his tail off all month, and sometimes his bonus was just over ten grand. Sisters were indeed special.
She’s only been working a few days, and she’s getting fifty grand.
Julian felt like he was bleeding internally.
“Boss, is Ms. Bennett really your sister? Fifty grand is more than enough, really! This is unprecedented in our company’s history! I’m sure Ms. Bennett will be thrilled to receive the bonus! It’s not only the company’s recognition but also a brother’s approval.”
“Make it happen.”
“Sure thing.” Julian hastily went to arrange it.
When Arabella heard that the company was giving her a bonus, she thought it was her parents‘ doing and didn’t give it a second thought. After a while of being busy in the office, she got the news that SY Fashion was suing them, and she raised an eyebrow. Finally, the moment came!
She told Dean at her side, “Proceed as planned.”
“Got it.”
Dean quickly rushed to the live broadcast room. By then, Molly had completed the modifications to the last design, and the viewers had reached 1.29 million!
Molly, seeing Dean’s signal, smiled at the camera and said, “That’s all for our new releases today. I saw many of you asking in the comments, Why are we modifying SY Fashion’s new releases? Here, I have security footage to show you.”
Molly showed the audience a surveillance video of Oscar sneaking into Arabella’s office; “This man is our deputy; when our director Arabella was away, he sneaked into her office, took pictures of my design drafts, and sent them to SY Fashion.”
After that, she switched the screen, and when the audience saw the chat logs and voice conversations between Oscar and Jason, they were all shocked.
Who knew there was such under–the–table collusion between companies?
Most people loved a good gossip, and the number of viewers in the live broadcast room skyrocketed once again.
“SY Fashion promised our deputy a 30% commission, so he sent all the designs I worked hard on to SY Fashion and then turned around and accused me of plagiarism.”
Chapter 244
She spilled the beans about everything, and people started to drop comments criticizing Oscar, Jason, and SY Fashion,
They even went to their personal Twitter accounts, their official Twitter account, and their official live streams to bash them.
Lots of fans started boycotting SY Fashion, which even became a trending topic.
Some eager beavers even called the cops.
SY Fashion thought they could win the case against Collins Fashion by sending their best legal eagles.
They never expected their dirty laundry to be aired out like this. Faced with the damning evidence, the bigwigs at SY Fashion demanded an explanation from Monica and Jason,
Monica and Jason were up the creek without a paddle.
Before long, the cops showed up and hauled them away.
After the live stream ended, the entire design department threw a party. They chipped in to treat everyone in the company to coffee, celebrating their victory.
They even sent the best, most expensive coffee to Arabella’s office.
“Ms. Bennett, you really saved our bacon this time. Without you, the company’s losses would’ve been in the millions!”
“I can’t believe you just tweaked a few steps and turned the design into a stunner!”
“No wonder you kept everything hush–hush yesterday; you didn’t let Oscar’s arrest leak. You were planning to take down SY Fashion today!”
“This time, not only did we take down SY Fashion, but we also sent a warning to other companies. Our company is not one to be messed with!” Seeing her team so happy, Arabella smiled and said, “Okay, get back to work. You can clock out an hour early today.“.
That was their reward.
Everyone was over the moon.
Since Arabella took over, the company had really turned a new leaf! No more being a stick in the mud.
By evening.
Attlee Murphy, all by himself, showed up at Collins Corporation headquarters, cheerfully saying to the receptionist, “Hello, I’m Attlee from Murphy Fashion. I’d like to see your CEO.”
“Hello, do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
The receptionist was taken aback for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, “Sorry, our CEO doesn’t see anyone without an appointment.” Attlee started to panic: “I have something very important to discuss with your CEO. Please, could you let him know?”
The receptionist politely declined, saying, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with that.”
Whether or not someone could see the CEO was not up to her. If she disturbed the CEO because of this, she’d be in hot water!
“Miss, it’s really urgent. I need to see your CEO. Could you do me a favor, please? Here’s a small token of my appreciation.”
Attlee took out an envelope he had prepared earlier, trying to press it into the receptionist’s hands.
The receptionist was scared stiff. She felt all eyes were on her. She quickly pushed it back, saying, “You’re mistaken! It’s not about money. By coming here, you must follow our rules.”
“Please take this!” Attlee stubbornly pushed the envelope into her hands, not caring whether anyone was watching.
In his persistence, he accidentally touched her hand.
The receptionist was startled. She had just graduated from university and had just started her internship. This was the first time she had encountered something like this.
She immediately pressed the panic button.
Chapter 245
The two security guards standing at the door immediately approached and grabbed Attlee’s hand. “What are you up to?” “Please escort this gentleman out,” the receptionist stammered, her face pale with fear.
“Let go of me. I need to see Mr. Collins. I have something to say.”
The two guards grabbed his arms and shoved him out the door, barring him from re–entering the company.
Through the towering glass door, Attlee saw a few receptionists comforting the girl, who was still pale from fright.
Innocent, speechless, and helpless, Attlee pleaded, “Guys, I mean no harm. Have you heard of Murphy Fashion? I’m the CEO. Here’s my business card.”
He pulled out his business card, but the guards didn’t even spare him a glance, completely ignoring him.
Attlee tried to move forward, but the two guards immediately blocked him. “What are you trying to do? Get embarrassed again?”
Attlee had never been so humble in his life. If not for the company’s crisis, he wouldn’t be wasting his time here with two security guards.
“Guys, let me pass. I really have business matters to discuss with your CEO.”
The guards eyed him up and down, his clothes in disarray, his demeanor downcast. He did not look like a client of their CEO!
Just then, the CEO’s private elevator door opened.
Hans Collins stepped out, glancing at the time. It was six in the afternoon; his sister should be home by now, right?
Just as he was about to step out of the building, he heard someone calling him.
“Mr. Collins, I’m Attlee from Murphy Fashion. You should know me, right?”
Attlee finally saw his target and tried to approach him, but was blocked by the two guards.
“Let me go, let go.” Unable to break free from the guards, Attlee could only yell, “I don’t know how I have offended you. If it’s about the Maestro Melody incident, I’m sorry. I’ll pay the compensation by midnight! We’ve already apologized to her!”
Hans Collins was confused.
“Can you give us a chance? Give us a break. To be honest, our company is in deep trouble, and with what you had your people do, our company is barely hanging on!”
“Mr. Collins, you must love the maestro’s piano pieces, right? You should know that the maestro was from our company. Can you be magnanimous and forgive us this once? Can we move on?”
Hans Collins was speechless.
What the hell was this man talking about? He didn’t understand a word.
Just then, Julian pulled up in front of Hans Collins and opened the door for him.
Hans Collins got into the car, completely ignoring Attlee behind him.
“Mr. Collins, please wait. Give me a chance. I promise I won’t make the same mistake.” Before Attlee could finish, he was choked by the car’s exhaust fumes.
The two security guards looked at him as if they were looking at a homeless dog who had lost its home.
“What are you looking at? Do you even have the right to gawk at the misfortunes of Tranquil City’s richest man?”
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Heh, what are you up to? Dare to hit me? ”
From the rear–view mirror, the driver, Julian, saw Attlee being beaten up by the two guards and thrown out of the door. He asked in confusion, “Boss, what happened?”
“I don’t know,” Hans Collins replied, looking straight ahead and sitting upright. He didn’t take this little incident seriously, thinking that Attlee had mistaken him for someone else. He just wanted to go home and see his sister.
Chapter 246
Attlee came home looking pretty bummed out.
Olga Murphy took one look at him and gasped, “What on earth happened to you? Did the Collins family lay hands on you?”
They’re all big shots. How could they stoop so low as to mess with the richest man in Tranquil City?
Talk about uncivilized!
“It was two security guards.” Attlee didn’t feel like elaborating.
“I can’t believe Arabella would dare to air Yoli’s dirty laundry in public!”
Attlee sighed heavily without saying a word. He knew Arabella’s character all too well. When push came to shove, she wouldn’t hesitate to throw her family under the bus.
It was nine o’clock at night, and Attlee’s 14 stores and four mansions were still on the market.
Melody’s lawyer called. “Sir, if we don’t receive your compensation by midnight, we’ll have no choice but to expose your daughter’s plagiarism of Melody’s work”
“Wait, give me some more time. I can’t control the fact that these properties aren’t selling.”
“You’ve got three hours left.” The lawyer said this before hanging up.
Attlee was freaking out. He had been trying to sell his properties for three days without any luck. How was he supposed to sell them in three hours? And who would househunt or shop for commercial properties in the middle of the night? And pay the full amount at once?
He hurriedly called the agent. “What’s the holdup? Why can’t we sell these properties?”
“Sir, it might be because the price is too high and you’re asking for full payment upfront.”
14 stores and four mansions valued at 18 million were hardly affordable to the average Joe.
“Well then, drop the price. We must sell these properties before midnight, no matter what!”
After hanging up, Attlee watched as the time ticked away.
10 o’clock.
10:30.
11 o’clock.
Olga and Yolanda Murphy sat on the couch, too nervous to even breathe.
The agent still hadn’t called!
Yolanda clutched Olga’s sleeve, trembling with fear. “Mom, am I going to be publicly shamed?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Even though Olga tried to comfort her, she felt completely defeated. It was already 11 o’clock, and they probably wouldn’t be able to sell their properties.
Just then, Attlee’s phone rang. It was the agent.
He was over the moon, and even Olga and Yolanda perked up. Finally, someone’s interested!
“Did we sell them?” Attlee answered the phone with a sigh of relief, saying, “I knew my properties would sell. They’re in prime locations.”
“Sir, we’ve had a lot of inquiries, but only one person has made an offer.” The agent said awkwardly, “He said he would buy if the total price was 8 million.”
“8 million? Is he out of his mind? My properties are worth at least 18 million. He wants to buy them for 8 million? He thinks he can just swindle me out of my wealth?”
“Sir, it’s getting late. Maybe you should consider about it.”
“No way!” Attlee hung up in anger.
After hearing the conversation, Olga couldn’t suppress her rage. “He wants us to drop the price by 10 million? Is he insane? Even robbers aren’t that bold!”
“Let’s wait a little longer. No need to panic.” Attlee tried to calm everyone down, but he had a bad feeling.
Upon hearing that Attlee had refused to sell, Arabella smiled and discreetly issued some instructions.
It was 11 o’clock.
Attlee’s phone suddenly rang, and everyone’s hopes soared again. Without checking the caller ID, Attlee picked up, “Did we sell?”
“Sir, this is the lawyer. You have half an hour left. I’ve sent you the statement we’re going to release. If we don’t receive the payment by then, we’ll go public with it.”
“Wait.” Before Attlee could finish, the lawyer hung up.
The message painted Yolanda in a very unflattering light. If this information were leaked, the Murphy family would definitely get slammed.
Olga took the phone and read the message to Yolanda. Their faces turned somber.
It was 11:45.
Olga started to plead, “Should we just sell the properties for 8 million? Yolanda’s reputation is more important.”
Even though they knew it would be a huge loss, they had no other choice.
If Arabella went public with Yolanda’s misconduct, the whole country would know.
By then, the reputations of Yolanda’s parents and their company would be in jeopardy.
Attlee was extremely reluctant, his face twisted in agony.
“Money is just material possessions. Besides, if mom leaves her shares to Yolanda, our wealth would increase, right?”
“We should sell. Yolanda’s reputation is more important.”
‘Attlee, we’re running out of time! The buyer also needs time to arrange the full payment.”
“Stop hesitating!”
“Just sell them!”
Finally, under Olga’s pleading, Attlee picked up the phone and called the agent.
Upon hearing that he was willing to sell, the agent immediately contacted the buyer. A while later, he called Attlee back with an awkward tone: “Sir, the buyer said if the price drops to 7 million, he would buy.”
“What? I thought it was 8 million. Why is he lowering the price again?” Attlee was furious. “Tell him to check out the market price for similar properties in the area! He’s already getting a steal, and he still wants to haggle? Does he think we’re desperate to sell to him? Does he think we’re idiots?”
“Sir, please calm down.”
“I’m not selling!” Attlee said it angrily and hung up.
Upon hearing that he had refused to sell, Olga and Yolanda were frantic, trying to change his mind.
It’s already 11:50 p.m. right now. If they didn’t sell this off ASAP, once the news gets out, they won’t even have the chance to sell it!
“Mr. Dylan is just messing with us.” Attlee complained, frustrated and with nowhere to vent his anger.
Olga and Yolanda, with tear–streaked faces, pleaded with him. After some coaxing, Attlee’s fury finally subsided. He grabbed his phone and said, “Fine, seven million it is. But I want it in one lump sum, right now!”
Attlee had already drawn up contracts. As soon as the other party paid and signed it, the contract will be effective.
Chapter 247
“Dude. He’s saying that he’ll consider buying it only if it’s six million. Otherwise, he’s off to bed”
“Say what? Six million?” Attlee was almost jumping out of his skin.
“Yes, if it’s six million, he’ll pay in full. Otherwise, he’s calling it a night.”
Attlee was fit to be tied. Just when he was about to say ‘no deal‘, Olga fell to her knees, pleading quietly, “Six million is okay. As long as we have a glimmer of hope, we’re not dead in the water.”
The clock was ticking; it was already 11:55 p.m.
With a heavy heart, Attlee gritted his teeth and said, “Sold!”
“Thank God!” The agent heaved a sigh of relief and quickly arranged the deal.
By 11:58 p.m., Attlee’s phone pinged with a transfer of six million.
“Quick, transfer the money to that girl.” Olga hurriedly said, “Time is running out!”
Holding back tears, Attlee transferred the money just as the clock struck midnight.
Olga and Yolanda quickly checked online. No news. Arabella didn’t blow the whistle on the plagiarism!
They could finally breathe easy.
Attlee, however, was distraught. The property, initially worth eighteen million, had been sold for only six million!
What a rip–off!
He held his head in his hands in utter despair.
Olga knew they still had a debt of five million to repay and would have to sell more properties.
She moved to comfort Attlee, saying, “It’s all for our daughter. After all, she’s had a tough life out there for eighteen years. Consider this compensation for her.”
“I’m sorry, mom and dad, it’s my fault.” Yolanda teared up and apologized.
Seeing her tear–stained face, Attlee couldn’t bear to blame her further. He simply said, ‘Remember, if it’s not yours, don’t take it, okay?”
“Dad, I’ve learned my lesson. If it’s not mine, I won’t take it,” Yolanda said, biting her lip, her heart filled with hate for Arabella.
Just then, her phone rang.
She initially thought it was Zachary Panter, as he hadn’t called her for three days.
The moment she answered, her expression changed. “What? You’re QY’s customer service? You’re working so late? 24/7? Why are you calling me?” “Our customer service is indeed 24/7. You wore a QY dress, jewelry, and high heels at the award ceremony”
“Because you plagiarized someone else’s work, you’ve seriously damaged our brand, and you’ve been blacklisted. If you wear our products in the future, we’ll sue you.”
“You’re saying what? Hello? Hello?” Yolanda thought she heard wrong. Before she could ask for clarification, the call ended.
: རྩྭ རྒྱ རྩྭ རྩ རྒྱ ༤
Then her phone buzzed with a text message saying she’d been blacklisted by the brand and was no longer eligible to wear QY products.
“What happened?” Olga vaguely heard their conversation.
“Mom, somehow Arabella got QY to blacklist me! They said I tarnished their brand!” Yolanda cried out in frustration.
Why? She’d already lost so much money and endured so much embarrassment in front of her parents, boyfriend, and the public. Wasn’t that enough? Now she was blacklisted by QY? That was way over the top!
“It’s just a brand; what’s the big deal? They even called to tell you. They’re just trying to rub it in!” Olga was fuming. “A big international brand is picking on a customer. What’s the point?”
Chapter 248
“Mom, what am I going to do? I can’t wear QY products anymore.”
“It’s just a brand, hun. I can get you more limited editions later.” Olga tried to comfort her; “Stop crying already, kiddo. Is a brand really worth all these tears?”
“Mom, you don’t get me.”
QY was a top–tier international brand loved by many celebrities, socialites, and rich girls for its innovative designs.
Wearing QY products, she’d be the center of attention wherever she went.
But now, everything’s ruined by Arabella!
“Alright.” Olga could only continue to soothe.
Meanwhile.
Zachary hadn’t reached out to Yolanda in three days. He didn’t expect that he could actually hold out for three days without contacting her. Maybe he didn’t love her as much as he thought.
No matter what Yolanda said in these three days or how many calls she made, Zachary ignored them all. She felt a bit hurt.
Zachary’s mom sat on the couch, watching him come out of the bath, and coldly said, “Hold up.”
“Mom, what’s up?”
“I told you to break up with that Murphy family girl; did you do it?”
Zachary didn’t answer; although he didn’t say it, their relationship was pretty much over.
“I want you to chase after Arabella!”
Zachary’s eyes widened, thinking he’d heard wrong.
“Before, Arabella was a Murphy family girl; we had a betrothal with her; she must have considered you her fiance on some level and harbored feelings for you. But then Yolanda butted in, and with Yolanda being so scheming.”
“Mom, Yolanda’s not scheming.” Zachary couldn’t help but correct her.
“Which part of her doesn’t scream scheming? You think I’m too old to see?” Zachary’s mom had put up with Yolanda thinking she was talented because Attlee was the richest man in Tranquil City.
But now the Murphy family was in decline, and Yolanda’s talent turned out to be a sham.
Totally infuriating!
“You can tell Arabella you’re willing to be with her, regardless of whether she’s a Murphy family daughter or not; even if her birth family is dirt poor, the Panter family is willing to lower their status. As long as during the engagement, she publicly announces she’s Maestro Melody and performs a few piano pieces on the spot.”
“Mom, are you dreaming?” Zachary couldn’t help but interrupt her fantasy: “Do you know how much Maestro Melody makes? Just in taxes, she’s paying millions; all our family’s wealth added up probably isn’t even half of hers.”
Maestro Melody had always been low–key, not participating in rich list rankings; otherwise, she’d definitely be near the top!
The Murphy family and the Panter family were no match for her.
“She makes that much just playing a few pieces?”
“Absolutely!”
She fell into thought for a while: “Isn’t that even better? Marrying a woman who knows how to make money is better than marrying a phony woman, isn’t it?”
Zachary was somewhat speechless. Just because he was willing to pursue Arabella, would she accept him?
With Arabella’s personality, ordinary people could hardly handle her.
Chapter 249
Early the next morning.
Just as Arabella was about to head out, she heard Edith saying, “Ms. Bella, your bro has been waiting for you for two nights straight.”
“Bro?” Arabella was a bit surprised. “He’s back?”
“Yes, your brother rushed back to see you as soon as he finished all his business abroad. But you’ve been out early and back late these past two days; he hasn’t seen you yet.”
With that, Edith asked softly, “Can you make it home for dinner tonight?”
She could tell her brother really wanted to see his sister.
But Arabella remembered she had to tutor Molly in her professional knowledge after work: “I might be a bit late for dinner; I’ll try to get home as early as possible.”
“Great!” Edith smiled. “Your brother will be thrilled to see you.”
Lately, Arabella was swamped, which gave Serena an opening to cozy up to Hans Collins.
As Arabella stepped out of the house, she saw Romeo leaning against his car, on the phone from afar.
He was tall and elegant, and every move he made exuded a unique aristocratic vibe.
As Arabella approached, she heard him say, “Yeah, this afternoon.”
After hanging up, Romeo opened the passenger door for her; his aura naturally softened. “Have you had breakfast?”
“Yeah.” Arabella looked up and asked, “Got something on in the afternoon?”
“I have to make a quick overseas trip.” Romeo leaned down to fasten her seatbelt. “I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Take care of yourself while I’m away.” “I’m not a kid.”
A slight arch appeared in Romeo’s brows. “I’ll try to wrap things up and get back as soon as possible.”
“Uh–huh.”
“You’re going for just one day.” Arabella knew he was overly concerned about her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of myself.”
Hearing her say that, Romeo’s eyes softened. “The bag next to you is for you; take a look.”
Arabella opened it and found not only the things she needed for her period but also a hot water bottle and snacks.
Romeo was worried that the Collins family might not have prepared these for her since she had just returned.
“If they’re not good, I’ll get you something else.”
Arabella blushed slightly, understanding what he meant.
“The ginger tea is individually packed; have a bag when your period comes.”
“Use the hot water bottle if you feel uncomfortable.”
“You can also snack during your period.”
After dropping Arabella off near her office, Romeo opened the car door, hugging her reluctantly and saying, “I’ve already planted the marigold. I’ll take you to see it when I come back.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t stress too much about tomorrow’s competition. Do your best.” Romeo gazed at her, his expression filled with affection and tenderness. “I’ll try to be back before the competition starts.”
“Okay, no rush.”
Chapter 250
“See you tomorrow.” Romeo lifted her face and gave her a peck, then left.
She had a busy day at the company.
After work, Arabella taught Molly some design techniques and tips. Before they knew it, it was already past eight in the evening.
“Ms. Bennett, let me treat you to dinner.” Molly felt really guilty. “You’ve taught me so many methods and tricks, and you have a competition tomorrow. I have to treat you tonight.”
“Let’s just grab something quick.” Arabella checked the time; she still had to go home and see her brother. “What’s good around here?”
“The only thing nearby is a barbecue joint, but their food is super tasty.”
Molly was happily saying this when she suddenly realized something and quickly stopped herself. “Never mind, let’s go somewhere else.” “Let’s just go there.”
“Huh?” Molly felt that the environment there didn’t suit Ms. Bennett’s status.
But Arabella picked up the bag Romeo had prepared for her and said, “Let’s go.”
“Ms. Bennett, what’s in that bag?” Molly had never seen her carry such a cute bag, shaped like a little bunny.
Unexpectedly, it looked pretty good in Ms. Bennett’s hand.
“Personal items.” Arabella thought of that man, and her eyes softened.
From the company to the barbecue joint, it was only a ten–minute walk.
At this time of day, not many people were eating. Molly asked about Arabella’s preferences and ordered quite a bit of food. She sat at the small table, took out two tissues, and wiped Arabella’s table clean, then her own.
“Ms. Bennett, I’m a bit nervous about the competition tomorrow.” Molly was afraid she wouldn’t do well and embarrass Arabella.
“Just treat it like any other day.” Arabella’s gaze softened. “You’ll do great.”
In a while, the shopkeeper came over with a few small plates and said, “Miss, your barbecue is ready.”
“Thank you, Ms. Bennett. Can you smell how good it is?” Molly picked up a wing and handed it to Arabella, saying, “This one’s yours.”
“Thank you.” Arabella took it: “You come here often?”
It seemed like she was pretty familiar with the owner.
“Mm.” Molly smiled and said, “Sometimes when I work until eleven or twelve at night, I’d stop by here for some barbecue to satisfy my cravings, and I’d take some home for my mom too.”
REFFERS F 2 5 5 5 I så
The owner had been running this place for half a year. Molly often came, and they became friends after chatting for a while. Arabella was about to say something about her family background when suddenly, five or six cars pulled over, and more than twenty thugs with clubs jumped out and surrounded them.
“Who are you?” Molly was surprised and instinctively grabbed Arabella’s clothes. “You’ve got the wrong people, right?”
The leader of the men looked at Arabella and then at Molly, confirming it was them.
He waved his hand, and his men rushed forward with their clubs as if they were going to beat them to death.
In an instant,
Arabella quickly pulled Molly up. Several sticks fell where they were sitting. Luckily, they stood up immediately; otherwise, they would have been hit in the head.
“Did you guys mistake us for someone else?” Molly was being dragged along by Arabella, looking at the table being knocked over, with fallen barbecue and drinks dirtying Arabella’s bunny bag.
Just as Arabella was about to pick it up, several sticks were smashed towards their heads at the same time. Fortunately, she had quick reflexes, and she pulled Molly away from this sudden attack, even managing to knock out a few of the troublemakers in the process.
“Stop, please stop.” The stall owner was scared out of his wits and hurriedly came out to plead, “I’m just trying to do a little business here; please show some mercy; stop hitting. That chair is brand new, and so is the table. They’re just two young girls; could you please spare them?”