After parting ways with Susanna, Ste had barely set foot in her studio when Idris sent over all the details on Jaxon''s mystery woman.


    Turned out she was indeed from Nocturne Hues. Back there, she imed to be serving the VIP rooms,plete with an address and phone number.


    Just as she was about to head back to her office, Tabitha stopped her in her tracks, "Boss, I called you three times. Why didn''t you pick up?"


    "Phone was on silent. What''s up?"


    Ste was notoriously averse to overtime, a trait she maintained since the inception of her studio. Tabitha was well aware that their boss was, in fact, quite the cker. Her instances of stayingte were few and far between. "That Cloudia stopped by."


    Ste was speechless.


    Cloudia? Again?


    Seemed like she needed to stir up trouble for the Larkin family, or else Cloudia would be constantly bugging her.


    And she still refused to sign the disownment agreement.


    How utterly annoying!


    "How long has she been here?"


    Tabitha responded, "Been waiting for you for two hours."


    That she had the patience to wait this long must be due to Urs''s antics. Recalling Urs''s taunts over the phone, Ste couldn''t help but snicker!


    Just as she was about to make her way to the office, her phone buzzed in her hand.


    Ste answered, and Ronald''s tender, indulgent voice came through, "What did you have for lunch?"


    "Steak!"


    Wasn''t great, so she didn''t eat much. She wasn''t a fan of that stuff, but since her favorite wasn''t avable, nothing else really mattered.


    Ronald asked, "I''m downstairs. Youing down, or should Ie up?"


    Ste said, "You''re here to see me now?"


    "Yeah, got something for you."


    "Then wait a sec."


    Cloudia''s presence wasn''t intimidating to her; she just didn''t want to spark any confrontations.


    More importantly, she didn''t want


    Ronald to witness firsthand how despicable her own kin could be. Despite her efforts to distance herself, the familial ties still made her somewhat ufortable.


    Stepping out of the building, Ste spotted Ronald''s custom ride from a distance. She strode over, and Idris respectfully opened the car door for her. Ste climbed in, "What''s this something you''ve got for me?"


    Meeting the man''s profound and noble gaze, Ste felt her heart flutter uncontrobly! It was as if she was being drawn into his world.


    Ronald pulled out a ne from a blue velvet box, its pendant so beautiful it was breathtaking.


    "Is that the ''Aurora''?"


    Ste recognized its quality at a


    nce! She had seen this diamond at an auction once and had


    marveled at its beauty. Its purity


    exceptional craftsmanship, and


    attention to detail were astonishing.


    Now, Ronald had turned it into a ne and presented it to her.


    "Your hair."He reminded her gently.


    Ste asked, "Is this for me?"


    "Yeah, let me put it on you."


    Ste was at loss for words. Wasn''t this a bit too pricey?


    But facing Ronald''s intense gaze, she dared not utter a word of refusal; knowing his temperament, she reckoned he might just toss it out of the car right then and there. She quickly swept her hair aside.


    As the man leaned in, his breath on her nape was warm, contrasting with the coolness of the ne, causing Ste''s heartbeat to nearly stop.


    Especially with his presence


    enveloping her, she felt a profound


    sense of being protected under his wings. This feeling was so familiar, so much so, that Ste almost felt moved to tears.


    Ronald secured the ne and admired it, "Beautiful."


    Ste sniffed, "Why suddenly give me this? And it''s so expensive."


    "Consider it a bted birthday gift."


    At that, Ste''s heart skipped a beat again.


    Birthday Gift.


    Her mind shed back to how lonely her birthday was this year at the Silk-River Residences. The Larkins and Yorick had all flown overseas to be with Urs.