On a rocking chair by the lake, a white–haired old man in glasse unched over his smartphone, swiping with surgical forus,
The fail tone 4 chimed, and his shoulders dropped. “Come
mover. I was one move short ”
Edwina walked up, resigned. If it’s that roughs, just buy the boosters
He set the phone down, tragic. “I already dropped a thousand bucks on this level.
“Yeah, a thousand bucks isn’t a big deal to me. It just makes me k like an idior”
Edwina’s expression said enough. At least you know!
She plucked the phone from his hand before he could relapse and set a glass jar in front of him.
The last owner left a lot of sick energy on this ruby,” she said. “Find me some lattice weed so we can cleanse and balance it”
Lattice Weed was an ultra–rare apothecary remedy, the kind of thing money could barely buy.
Tristan Hunt took the blood–red ruby, turned it in the light, and whistled. “Beautiful piece. Great color, great texture. No problem. I’ll handle it.”
He glanced up. “But, Edwina, you giving this away? That’s a scris gifi.
“Rare, too. Someone actually got you to put your heart into somthing
Gloria’s face floated up in Edwina’s mind, warm and bright with smile. She nodded slowly.
She could always feel it when someone treated her with real kiness.
“Edwina, you smiled. You actually smiled!” Tristian blurted out.
Tristian, once the country’s hottest name in holistic medicine, lup like a kid who just found a new planet.
No one would have guessed that after he vanished from the mecal world, he would quietly run the counter at Brewer Apothecary as the shop manager.
You should smile more,” she said.
He chuckled. I smile every day.
“From the heart. It’s been over ten years. It should be behind you
He let the words slide, eyes going distant. He never touched that abject.
Edwina shifted gears. “Any news on Golden Pearl Herb?”
Tristan shook his head. “It popped up once near Fairview, then thing. Don’t worry. I’ll keep my eyes on it
“Good”
She had left the Lennox family, but she still would not give up of the only elder there who had been good to her.
If they found Golden Pearl Herb, maybe Anton could come out the coma.
She left the shop and headed back to Serene Shore Villa.
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12:25. Thu, Jan 1 A GL
Chapter 8
4.57%
The moment she stepped inside. Gloria and Darius rushed her reling and her king her like she might fall apart.
Gloria fussed, “Oh, baby, why’d you go out alone? No bodyguard no driver. How’d you get back?”
“I took a cals,” Edwina replied:
“Cabs are uncomfortable. Nest time, just have the driver stick with you the whole time, Gloria said, all worry and soft eyes.
From the couch. Helene chimed in, sweet and side. “Maybe Edina had a lot of private business. Not exactly convenient to have our family staff tagging along.”
Mom and Dad definitely have no clue she met with the Gibsonmily, Helene thought. ‘Says she doesn’t care, doesn’t want the marriage, then she goes and plays chef in the Gibson kitcher Shameless.
Darius blinked, then softened. “So you had your own errands, Edwina. All right, no family escorts. Next time, call ahead. I’ll have them pick you up.”
Helene’s fingers clenched in her skirt.
Darius had always been suspicious, careful to the point of paranoia
And yet he trusts a girl who suddenly drops into the Simmons family out of nowhere? Helene thought. He dotes on her. More than he ever did on me‘
Edwina had already grown used to this level of enthusiasm yesterday. She nodded politely and didn’t add anything.
Gloria continued, clearly pleased with herself. I’ve arranged potions for both you and Helene at Gibson Group. Executive assistants to the general manager.
“Not too high, not too low. Perfect for getting your feet wet. You learn a lot.”
“And if it feels uncomfortable,” she added, softening, “Just tell Men. You’ll come straight home.”
“Okay,” Edwina said, nodding again.
‘It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do at home, she thought. Besides, she didn’t want to hurt Gloria’s feelings by arguing over something so trivial.
After all, Gloria was just trying to help, and she wasn’t about to crush her enthusiasm over a simple decision.
With her back turned to them, Helene let a cold smile creep onto her lips. ‘Executive assistant? Please
Some seats are mine by right. Edwina will never qualify. Walking into Gibson Group on equal footing with some stray girl? That would be humiliating
Back in her bedroom, Helene picked up her phone and dialed ofe of Gibson Group’s shareholders.
Vernon Stone had once been close friends with Darius. That ended the moment Vernon decided he wanted to divorce his wife and marry Helene instead.
Darius had exploded, cut him off completely, and the friendshiplied on the spot
Helene found Vernon revolting, but right now, he was useful.
When Vernon heard her request, he laughed loudly. “Baby, that nothing. You want that Edwina girl kicked down to the bottom? Say no more. I’ve got it handled.”
“Of course,” he added with a chuckle, “you’ll have to make it worth my while later.”
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12:26 Thu, Jan 1 AGU-
Chapter
“No problem, Helene replied sweetly, deliberately softening hervor.
***** The next morning. Helene and Edwina arrived together a he general manager’s office at Gibson Group
Rupert Hawkins handed out their assignments.
57%
Outside the office, employees whispered nonstop. Everyone knew how brutally competitive Cabison Group was Getting was no joke.
Now a privileged heiress had parachuted straight into the building with an unknown tagalong” at her side. It was hard not
to star
Rupert plastered on a flattering smile and cleared his throat, raising his voice deliberately. “Miss Simmons, for the time being you’ll be serving as operations lead for the Nocturne Designs brand.
If you run into any issues, come directly to me.
This arrangement came straight from Vernon. Rupert was just salaried manager. He followed orders.
His eyes, already brimming with impatience, flicked to Edwina. So, this is the Lennox girl, the one the Lennox family tossed aside. What kind of trick did she pull to end up standing next to Ms. Simmons?”
“Edwina,” Rupert said flatly, “you’ll be assigned to Maberly Fashion’s market research department. Mostly fieldwork. I looked over your file. No college degree. This role suits you.”
The office windows offered linle soundproofing. Anyone paying attention could hear the murmurs outside.
“Seriously? No college and she still got into Gibson Group? And market research? That’s generous. She should be doing janitorial work.”
“Guess standards are really slipping. Never thought Gibson Group would hire someone like that.”
“Hey, shut it. You want to offend the heiress?”
stop the chatter. It was an intentional ght, a quiet warning.
Rupert made no move to stop
Edwina’s expression didn’t change. Instead, she asked a question that seemed completely unrelated..
“If you’re running brand operations at Nocturne Designs,” she said calmly, “does that mean you get frequent access to Kelvin
Gibson?
Rupert’s face darkened. “Do you think you can just casually use CEO’s name?”
Tm asking yes or no.”
Something about her tone sent a chill through the room. Rupertiffened, then answered without thinking Yes You’d see
“Good, Edwina said. “Then I can take that role”
Helene’s shoulders tensed instantly.
Edwina glanced at her, unhurried. “I’ll take the market research sition at Maberly Fashion.”
I really don’t want to keep running into Kelvin. Better to hands amazing opportunity to my oh so “refined” little sister. she thought, satisfied.
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