And for her? Not even a single phone call.


    Had they forgotten their own birthdays? No, how could they forget when she shared her birthday with Urs?


    In the end, it boiled down to simple apathy.


    But that was okay, she hadn''t cared about them for the longest time either.


    Yet, why was Cloudia now hesitating to sign the agreement?


    "What''s on your mind?"


    Ronald caught her being quiet and drifting further into her thoughts; he decided to pull her back to reality.


    Ste confessed, "Nothing much, just that it''s been years since Ist received a birthday present."


    Ever since she stepped out of Ronald''s life, birthday presents had be a thing of the past.


    As soon as the words left her mouth, Ronald pulled her into an embrace. She could instantly feel his uneven breath against her, his maic voice tinged with a certain depth, "Promise me you won''t wander off again?" Tears unbiddenly welled up in Ste''s eyes.


    "I promise, never again."


    Damn the Schultz family for being decimated; now, she had no reason to stray from Ronald''s side anymore.


    Ronald''s embrace tightened.


    "Ronald, I''m sorry." Ste wrapped her arms around his lean waist, nuzzling her head against his chest.


    Ronald responded by gently rubbing the top of her head, an unspoken forgiveness.


    Apologies were unnecessary; back then, he was swamped managing the family''s assets, leaving him unable to protect her from the clutches of the Schultz scum.


    ...


    When Ste returned to her office, it was already half an hourter.


    Tabitha noticed the striking ne adorning her boss''s neck.


    "Wow, Boss, that ne is stunning. Looks familiar...wasn''t it featured on the cover of..."


    "Aurora," Ste cut in.


    Tabitha gasped in disbelief. Hearing the name of the ne, she took a sharp breath.


    Aurora, of all things...


    What kind of person was their boss to own such a priceless piece?


    The value of this diamond was overhyped to over ten million! Even the Larkin family might not afford it. Could it have been that man?


    Ste gave Tabitha a nce, "Is it pretty?"


    Tabitha nodded, "It''s pretty, truly."


    How could such a valuable piece not be? Ste smiled; she thought so too.


    "Is Cloudia still around?"


    "Yes!"


    The brief joy at mentioning Cloudia quickly faded from Ste''s face.


    In Ste''s office.


    Cloudia''s impatience at waiting for Ste for too long was evident on her face, and as the door opened, it was unable for her to mask it quickly enough.


    She forced a smile, "Where have you


    been? I''ve been waiting for a while. People in the studio have been trying


    to reach you but you didn''t answer."


    The matter of phone calls irked Cloudia. To reach her, they had borrowed dozens of phones from the hospital, all to be blocked by Ste. Such cold-heartedness was rare.


    Once Urs''s health improved, she


    resolved to have a stern talk with the family that raised Ste. How had they nurtured her to be this way? Did they even know how to raise a child?


    Ste tossed her bag onto the desk, "Out with it. What do you want?"


    It had to be about Urs; what else could it be?


    As she sat down, the Aurora caught


    the sunlighting through the


    window, incredibly stunning,


    dazzling enough to draw Cloudia''s


    attention, "Your ne, is it..."


    Aurora, it had to be!


    Cloudia remembered seeing it at an auction once. But how could such an astronomically priced piece end up around Ste''s neck?