Marina’s gentle question floated in the air as she settled onto the swing beside Michael.
Under the night sky, scattered with stars, the two of them–one man and one woman–sat close together on the small swings. The scene looked as if it had been plucked from the pages of a dreamy romance comic.
“I stopped by Niamh’s studio today,” Michael said.
Marina feigned surprise, though the news was exactly what she’d expected.
The last time she’d seen Michael, she’d deliberately mentioned that Niamh was her main rival at the upcoming Luminous Divas Fashion Week, all to nudge Michael into causing Niamh some trouble.
“I brought Miranda with me.”
“Miranda… you mean the legendary Miranda, editor–in–chief of *Shine* magazine?” Marina blinked her wide, innocent eyes, even as she cheered inwardly.
Everyone in the industry knew Miranda’s reputation for being impossibly demanding. Marina could easily imagine Michael’s intentions: bring Miranda along so she’d find fault with Niamh’s designs, and thus have a reason to get Niamh. disqualified from Luminous Divas Fashion Week.
“So… what did Miranda say?” Marina asked, her voice carefully tentative.
Come on, say Niamh got disqualified… Say it!
Her anticipation surged inside her, wild and restless.”
It was true that Marina had prepared meticulously for this season’s Fashion Week and felt confident, but no competition at all would be the most advantageous–and the most secure–outcome for her. Especially with Jonathan watching.
If she dazzled at Fashion Week, and Niamh was out of the running, Jonathan would be sure to see her in a new light. That would put her ahead of Niamh in the race for shares in The Thomas Group.
She remembered the conversation she’d had with her mother that night.
Edna had learned from Marina that Jonathan had once considered transferring ten percent of The Thomas Group’s shares to Niamh after their divorce. The deal hadn’t gone through, but who knew what could happen down the line?
1/2
20-18
Chapter 251
Edna insisted that Marina must get her hands on those shares first–regardless of whether Jonathan divorced Niamh or married someone else.
Michael was silent for a long time.
“That Niamh… she’s not so easy to deal with. Miranda seemed to be quite impressed by her.”
“What?!”
The word burst from Marina before she could stop herself.
“Oh–sorry, that was rude of me.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to regain her composure, though inside she simmered with irritation at Michael.
Miranda was supposed to be Michael’s trump card, and yet not only had she failed to disqualify Niamh, she’d actually opened new doors for her! Was Michael completely useless?
Marina had tried, in a roundabout way, to ask if Michael had managed to sneak a look at Niamh’s designs for Fashion Week while he was in Niamh’s office. But Michael hadn’t seen a thing.
Utterly useless.
She decided there was no point wasting any more time on Michael tonight. With a flimsy excuse, she left him alone on the swing, shivering in the chilly night air.
The swing creaked back and forth.
Michael couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Marina had changed tonight. She wasn’t quite the girl he remembered.
Earlier, while Niamh had been in the workshop repairing the emerald piece, he’d sat at her desk. There had been sketches scattered across it. Though unfinished and still in progress, Michael guessed that “Chrysalis Reborn” must be the jewelry theme Niamh was preparing for Luminous Divas Fashion Week.
He could have told Marina/about it. But he hadn’t.
He wasn’t sure why.
That night, he never left the swing. He thought about it for hours, but no answers
came.
That same night, Jonathan never emerged from his office. The divorce papers that
Terence and the others submitted were still not up to standard, even after hours of
That night, Narzh never went home.
The next morning. Quentin was the first to arrive at the office.
He’d been out sourcing materials the previous day, and Niamh had told him there was no need to come back to the office–just head home and rest. He’d managed to catch up on sleep, and now feeling refreshed, he made it to work early.
As he clocked in, Quentin realized he wasn’t alone in the office
