AUTHOR’S POV.

    Days passed, and Alina gradually forgot about the folder she had seen in Lucian’s study.

    I mean, how could she not? Lucian had been nothing short of sweet these past few days.

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    Alina couldn’t help but wonder why she’d hated him so much in the past. Lucian was the best man anyone could ever ask for. He knew how to pay attention to the smallest details.

    “Had lunch yet?” Lucian’s voice came through the phone.

    Alina was currently at work. She’d been ckingtely, and the result of that was the pile of iplete sketches scattered across her desk.

    “Not yet.” Alina responded, still focused on sketching.

    She had her phone on speaker mode, resting beside her pencil case.

    “Alina.” Lucian’s disapproving voice filtered through the speaker.

    “I’ll eat soon, I promise. I just need to get some work done.” She assured him.

    “Ughhh, I shouldn’t have listened to you when you asked me to take those days off.” She whined in agony, shoulders slumping dramatically.

    Lucian chuckled. That low, velvety sound of his always stirred something in her.

    “Sorry, doll. But you’ll be fine, I trust you.”

    His tone held so much encouragement that Alina could literally feel herself gathering strength from it.

    “Anyway, food is already on its way. Make sure you eat.”

    Thatst sentence was definitely an order.

    “You ordered for me?” Alina asked, her heart swelling, lips curving into a soft smile.

    “No. I told Emilio ito /imake lunch for you earlier before I left the house. Somehow, I knew you’d forget to feed yourself.” He said, voice thick with disapproval.

    “Awwnn, whatever would I do without you?” Alina ced her hand over her heart even though he couldn’t see

    her.

    “Let’s not find out, shall we?” He replied smoothly.

    “I’m fine with that.” She said warmly.

    “Alright, doll. I’ve got to get back to work. Make sure you eat. I’ll ask your assistant.” He warned.

    “Yes, Daddy.” Alina responded yfully, rolling her eyes with a teasing grin.

    The words were said innocently, but they were anything but innocent to Lucian’s ears.

    “Alina…” Lucian said, sounding utterly tortured.

    “What? Are you okay?” She asked, genuinely confused by the shift in his tone.

    “I’m fine.” He replied, amused by how sweetly clueless she could be.

    “I have to go now, doll. Talk to you soon.”

    After their goodbyes, the call ended.

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    Alina sat there, pencil in hand, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling, smiling at how peaceful things seemed to be.

    If only she knew how quickly that peace was about to unravel and things were about to take a dark turn.

    She went back to work, and by the time the food arrived, she was nearly finished with the pile on her desk.

    “Your food is here, ma’am.” Mia said, walking into the office with a lunch basket.

    “How about Chef Emilio?” Alina asked, noting that he wasn’t with her.

    “He left already. I offered to bring the food to you,” Mia replied politely. “Did you need him for something?”

    “Not at all. Thanks, Mia. You can ce it on the table.” Alina said without lifting her head, still focused on the sketch she was working on.

    Mia walked over to the leisure table in the corner and began unpacking the dishes.

    “Time ito /ieat, ma’am.” She announced.

    “Just a minute, Mia. I just need to put a final touch to this design.” Alina replied, her brows furrowed in concentration.

    “It’s the boss’s order, ma’am.” Mia added, her tone gentle but firm.

    Alina raised her head and saw Mia pointing to the earpiece in her ear.

    “You’re on the phone with Lucian?” Alina whispered, ncing at the earpiece.

    Mia nodded.

    Alina sighed in resignation before cing her pencil down and standing up.

    “Sit and eat with me.”She told Mia as she took a seat, eyeing the beautifully presented dishes she knew she wouldn’tbe able to finish alone.

    Mia hesitated.

    “Sit, Mia.” Alina said more sternly, rolling her eyes.

    No matter how much like family she treated Mia, the woman always remained professional.

    It frustrated Alina, and impressed her at the same time.

    “Thank you, ma’am.” Mia said quietly, finally taking a seat.

    “Did I get any calls?” Alina asked as Mia helped ce some food on her te.

    After her earlier call with Lucian, she’d handed her phone over to Mia to avoid distractions.

    “Yes, ma’am.” Mia nodded.

    “You received a call from your ex, Miss Talia, and your father called a couple of times too.”

    Alina frowned.

    Why the heck was Adrian calling her?

    Deciding not to even bother about that moron, she turned her focus elsewhere.

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    “Did Talia say what she wanted?” she asked, suppressing a moan as the food burst with vor on her tongue.

    “Yeah, she said it was about Jacobi and that you should call her as soon as you can.” Mia answered.

    “Alright, I will.”

    She didn’t need to ask why Ss was calling. She already had a pretty good idea.

    And just like the saying goes, speak of the devil, Ss’s call came in again.

    “I’ll just take this.” Alina said to Mia, grabbing her phone and stepping into the inner room inside her office.

    “Alina, I’ve been calling you.” Ss’s annoyed voice came through the line.

    ‘So I’ve been told? Alina wanted to say in response but bit her tongue at thest minute.

    “Good afternoon, Fatheri.” /iAlina rolled her eyes. “How are you?”

    “Why haven’t you been answering my calls?” He demanded instead.

    He wasn’t even pretending to be nice at this point.

    His tone was harsh, but if you listened closely, you could hear the desperation beneath it.

    “I was busy with work, Father, and my phone wasn’t with me. I was going toe over to the house tomorrow to see you, though.” Alina exined.

    Truth was, she’d been so caught up in her little bubble that she’dpletely forgotten about the project she was supposed to deliver days ago.

    “Oh, really?” Ss asked, clearly not buying it.

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    “Yes, Father. Lucian finally approved the project, and I was going to bring it to you first thing tomorrow morning.” She told him.

    “He signed the project? That’s amazing, Alina. Good job.” His voice flipped into an unnatural enthusiasm.

    Alina held back a scoff.

    “Thank you, Father.” She said with forced politeness.

    “I mean, I could always have it delivered to you if you need it urgently.”

    “No!” Ss quickly disagreed.”No rush. It’s a very sensitive document, and we wouldn’t want anything happening, now would we? You can drop it off tomorrow,it’s fine.”

    “Alright, Father. I’ll bring it first thing tomorrow morning before you head out.” She assured him.

    “Good. See you tomorrow then.” He said before abruptly ending the call.

    Alina stared at her phone screen in disbelief.

    He didn’t even ask how she was doing.

    All he cared about was the damn project.

    How had she never noticed the passive–aggressive behavior from both Ss and Elena before?

    How had she ever believed they truly loved her?

    Sighing, she returned back to work and byte afternoon, she was done with her work.

    Alina decided she might as well take the file over to Ss today, save herself the trouble tomorrow.

    She grabbed her purse, slipped the file inside, picked up her phone from the desk, and headed out.

    “Just the person I wanted to see.” Alina said as she met Mia by the elevator.

    “Are you going out, ma’am?” Mia asked, having just returned from an errand.

    “Yes, Mia. Just a quick run to my parents‘ ce.” Alina replied.

    “Would you be returning to the office afterwards or would you be closing for the day?” Mia inquired, her pen and notepad, already ready to make an adjustment on Alina’s schedule.

    “I am not sure, I might drop by Talia’s. I would definitely let you know if I won’t being back.” Alina said. “Meanwhile, the design drafts have beenpleted and are in the file cab. Go through them, and if everything looks good, send them to the production team so they can start ASAP”

    “Alright, ma’am. See you when you return.” Mia gave a quick nod before walking off.

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    …

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    The moment Alina stepped outside the buildingplex, a strange chill blew over her.

    Her heart began to race. Palms sweaty. She was visibly shaking.

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