Leila Jennings took a sip of juice. "One meal," she said.

Nathaniel Cole pressed, "And what else?"

Leila Jennings was stumped.

’I can’t just treat him to a meal every time.’

Since she couldn’t think of anything, she asked, "What do you want, President Cole?"

Nathaniel Cole looked away. "We’ll talk about it later."

Leila also looked away and continued to eat. She watched as Nathaniel Cole raised his glass of juice and toasted each of the three elders in turn. He didn’t say much, offering only a simple, "To you."

’All in all, this really doesn’t fit Nathaniel Cole’s cold and ruthless persona.’

’But then again, remembering that the reasonable, gentle, and kind Ms. Neville is his mother, it doesn’t seem so strange after all.’

After dinner, Chloe and Butler Duncan started clearing the table. Professor Cheney intended to help wash the dishes before they left—they couldn’t just eat and run, leaving a pile of chores for the younger generation.

Sean Sinclair might have been fine with it, but they were not.

"You don’t have to wash them," Leila said.

"There’s a dishwasher," Nathaniel Cole added.

They spoke one after the other, sounding a bit like a husband echoing his wife.

Professor Cheney asked his wife, "Did you buy it?"

Lydia Jarvis shook her head. "I’ve never even lived here."

The house was just one part of her dowry.

She had always lived with her husband and child in state-assigned housing. While it couldn’t compare to a grand villa, she felt their life was warm and full of happiness.

’But these things come down to fate. If you’re fated for good things, you end up like her and Cheney, living a happy and harmonious life.’

’If you’re not, you get a social climber who drains his wife’s family of everything they have.’

’If anyone were to ask her if they should marry down, she wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a gamble, and losing means the utter ruin of your family.’

’Not every man is a Cheney, and not every woman is her.’

Lydia Jarvis said, "Leila must have bought it herself. Good for her, knowing to get a dishwasher."

Her expression was full of approval.

Leila looked a little sheepish. "I didn’t buy it. President Cole did."

"Mr. Cole?" Lydia Jarvis’s eyes darted between the two of them. She simply smiled, saying nothing more.

They loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, Chloe wiped the table clean, and only then did the group prepare to leave.

Butler Duncan and Professor Cheney went down to the underground garage to get the cars.

Leila saw each of them off to their cars.

"Mrs. Warren, Mr. Duncan, let me know when you get home," Leila said.

"Leila, get a good night’s rest," Rhea Warren said, squeezing Leila’s hand. Her eyes misted over again, because there was one more thing she couldn’t say in front of Nathaniel Cole.

’Tomorrow, you must witness it for Thorne. The proprietary chip project can finally be announced as a success!’

Leila understood her meaning, and her own eyes burned with intensity. "I know, Mrs. Warren."

Butler Duncan said, "Miss Jennings, there’s something in the bag for you to use tomorrow. Remember to take a look."

"Thank you, Mr. Duncan."

With that, Rhea Warren signaled for Butler Duncan to drive away.

Leila then saw Mrs. Cheney and Chloe to their car.

Lydia Jarvis gave Leila a hug and teased, "Looks like the value of my house is about to go up."

’People are always scrambling to rent houses where top scholars have lived. Now that a research titan has stayed here, won’t its value skyrocket?’

Leila gave a resigned smile. "Mrs. Cheney, your house is a villa in a prime location. It’s already worth a fortune."

"You sweet-talker," Lydia Jarvis said with a smile as she got into the car.

Chloe leaned against the back window, waving. "See you tomorrow, Leila!"

"See you tomorrow." Leila waved, watching as the two cars drove off.

She turned. "President Cole, I’ll see you out."

"It’s too cold," Nathaniel Cole refused.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to, but that the weather was simply too cold.

In less than a minute, Nathaniel Cole’s car pulled up in front of them. The driver called out, "Miss Jennings."

The driver opened the door.

Nathaniel Cole got in. After the door closed, he rolled down the window, his cool, handsome face turning toward Leila.

"Will you agree to anything I ask?"

He was referring to the two remaining favors.

Leila shook her head without a moment’s hesitation. She couldn’t make such a sweeping promise.

"I’ll do what I can."

"What I want is something you can do," Nathaniel Cole said, and with that, the window slowly rolled up, and the car drove off into the night.

Leila returned home. She had just closed the door when she received a message.

Nathaniel Cole: [Get a good night’s rest.]

Just a few simple words.

Leila stared at it for a moment. ’Nathaniel Cole must have guessed something.’ She replied in kind: [Get a good night’s rest.]

Sitting on the sofa, she opened the bag that had been placed there. Inside was a full outfit—clothes and shoes—prepared for her for the next day.

’It had to be Mr. Duncan’s doing.’ She didn’t even have to think about it. During her stay at the Thorne Residence, he had been engrossed in booking her appointments at salons, arranging for boutiques to make house calls, and even having models with her build put on a small fashion show so she could pick out clothes.

She had refused every time.

But she hadn’t been able to refuse his offer to fill the wardrobe in her room at the Thorne Residence.

’This outfit was probably one of those.’

The outfit was brown, and the shoes were a pair of black, chunky-heeled ankle boots.

Leila carried everything upstairs, showered, brushed her teeth, and applied the hand cream Secretary Gwen had given her.

Then, she quietly waited for morning to come.

...

「At the crack of dawn.」

Sean Sinclair was already up, washing his face and getting ready. He opened his closet to pick out a suit and tie for the day.

Suddenly, he noticed something was off.

His clothes usually hung crammed together, but today, each item was separated by a noticeable gap.

’The packed closet suddenly feels spacious. What’s going on?’

He walked toward the other end of the closet, to the section where Leila Jennings used to hang her clothes.

KNOCK, KNOCK. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The sound of knocking stopped him in his tracks.

"Sir, breakfast is ready." It was the housekeeper at the door.

His father, worried that a breakfast from outside might be unsanitary and affect the day’s important business, had asked the housekeeper to stay the night.

"Understood." Sean walked back to his bed, put on his clothes, knotted his tie, and opened the door to leave.

A wide array of breakfast dishes was already laid out on the dining table, including both Chinese and Western options.

Sean sat down, looked at the spread before him, and took only a few symbolic bites.

He still hadn’t gotten used to not having Leila’s breakfast. Lately, no matter where he ate, he could only manage a few bites.

The housekeeper asked nervously, "Sir, is that all you’re going to eat? Is it not to your liking?"

"It’s not your fault. I’m just more accustomed to Leila’s cooking," Sean said as he stood up and headed out.

He needed to go to the office first before heading to the bidding center.

Stellaxis Technologies.

His assistant, Charles Jordan, was waiting for him in the ground-floor lobby.

Sean was puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

Charles Jordan replied, "President Sinclair, Mr. Forrester is here. He’s waiting in your office."

Sean stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

"Who?"

The Forrester family had only one son, Chairman Forrester’s late-in-life child, Liam Forrester, who was twenty-three this year.

In other words, the Forrester family’s "Crown Prince"—the future heir to the Forrester corporation.

’The Crown Prince, showing up at Stellaxis Technologies, and on today of all days... Does Chairman Forrester not trust me? Or does he intend for the Crown Prince to take over Stellaxis?’

’Either way, it’s not good news for me.’

Sean asked his assistant, "Did Mr. Forrester say why he’s here?"

"Mr. Forrester didn’t say," Charles Jordan replied, his face etched with worry.

"It’s fine," Sean said as they walked.

As he entered his office, the young man sitting in his chair immediately grinned and waved. "Sean, long time no see."

"Mr. Forrester," Sean acknowledged, walking over.

Liam Forrester stood up. Dressed in casual clothes, he was the very picture of youthful exuberance. He smiled and explained his presence, "My dad said Stellaxis has a major project up for bidding today, and he told me that from now on, I should stick close to you and learn a thing or two, Sean."

Sean’s eyes flickered at the words "from now on," but he simply smiled and extended his hand. "Welcome, Mr. Forrester."

The two shook hands briefly.

Liam Forrester asked, "When are we heading out?"

Sean smiled. "Right away."