After a brief pause, Beck said, “I’ll send byou /bmy ount detalls shortly.”

“Alright,” Celeste replied politely. “Sorry to trouble you, and thank you so much for your help today.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Beck replied coolly before ending the call.

Matthias, who had been sitting nearby and overheard the conversation, asked, “The person who helped with your car today?”

At that moment, Beck sent over his ount details along with a bphoto /bof the repair invoice.

ncing at the message, Celeste opened her payment app end replied, “Yes.”

From the way Celeste had spoken to Beck, bMatthias /bcould tell they weren’t particrly close.

Matthias knew Beck as well and was aware that Celeste balso /bknew him. However, to his knowledge, there was almost no connection between the two of them. Even when he heard Celeste address the person on the phone as Mr. Harper,” it hadn’t immediately urred to him that it was Beck

Celeste transferred the exact amount of the repair cost back to Beck. After sending him a brief message she finally turned her attention to the assignment Zachary bhad /bgiven them earlier that day.

of thanks,

Together, she and Matthias worked on summarizing the core technologies of the exhibits into a PowerPoint presentation. Even though they kept the content concise, the sheer number of exhibits meant it was past 2.00 am by the time they finished and sent it to Zachary.

exhausted by then, but since he didn’t have a change of clothes, Celeste didn’t ask him to stay the

Matthias was e

night.

After Matthias left, Celeste hobbled to the bathroom to take a shower before heading to bed.

Her injury wasn’t severe, but Matthias still insisted she rest at home for a few days before returning to the office.

The next morning, Celeste stayed home to work remotely.

Not long after she got up, she received ba /bcall from Jordyn.

“Mom, how’s your ankle? Is it feeling better now?” Jordyn asked.

Bncing on her good foot while bpreparing /bbreakfast in the kitchen, Celeste replied, “It’s a little better.”

“That’s good,” Jordyn said. She was also having breakfast but seerged unsure of what to say next.

bCelest /bcould bsense /bher hesitationb. /b

It hadn’t always been like bthis/bb. /b

In the past, Jordyn would always have a lot to say to her.

bOver /bthe past couple of years, btheir /bconversations had dwindled. Whenever Jordyn had something on her mind, she bwould /bgo to Wynn first. Gradually, their mother–daughter bond grew distant, leaving them with little to talk about.

This time, Jordyn seemed genuinely concerned about her injury–or at least, that’s how it sounded.

bThe /bbconcern /bwas real, but it only scratched the surface. It was there, but not enough to truly feel heartfelt.

It wasn’t like before. In bthe /bpast, even a minor injury or illness would bring Jordyn to tears. She would cling to

Celeste, refusing to let go. She would constantlyfort her and insist on staying by her side.

Back then, Jordyn had truly been her sweet little daughter.

But now, without her realizing when it had happened, all of Jordyn’s care and affection had shifted to Wynn. For instance, thest time Wynn had fallen ill, bTrevor /bhad rushed to her side after barely finishing his breakfast. Jordyn had secretly sent Wynn messages to check on her and, after school, immediately had the driver take her to visit Wynn

If Jordyn were genuinely bthat /bworried about Celeste, she could have insisted on getting her addressst night band /barranged for the driver to take her there.

But in the end, she hadn’tb. /b

Unsure of bwhat /belse to say to Celeste, Jordyn turned to Trevor, who was sitting across from her at the breakfast table. “Dad, do you want to talk to Mom on the phone?”