"What exactly did you say?" Ste asked, her heart pounding in her chest.


    Please, not what she was thinking.


    Ronald chuckled, giving her a yful tweak on the nose before grabbing her coat to help her put it on. "What do you think I said?"


    Ste felt a flutter of panic. "Did you tell Mom?"


    Ronald just grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.


    "How did you tell her?"


    Oh boy... How on earth did he break the news to her mom?


    "Just like that. Hurry up and get dressed, I''ll take you out for a meal." he said, already helping her out of her pajamas. His casualness left Ste momentarily speechless.


    "What did Mom say?" she pressed, her curiosity getting the better of her.


    Ronald was still sticking to his nonchnt response. "Just like that."


    Ste was baffled.


    Just like that? What did that even mean?


    She was getting anxious. "So, what was her reaction?"


    Ever since the other night, she had been stressing over how to tell her mom about this whole situation.


    While she was lost in thought, Ronald had already dressed her and gotten her ready to go. Throughout the whole process, he did something, but Ste was too preupied to notice. He seemed quite pleased with himself, though. "Come on, spill it!" Ste urged, feeling a mix of frustration and nerves.


    Ronald squeezed her cheek affectionately. "Rx, she won''t bite your head off."


    Ste''s lips twitched in disbelief. What did that mean? Her mom had no reaction?


    That was impossible.


    Absolutely impossible!


    "Let''s go," Ronald said, grabbing his keys.


    Ste hesitated. "Where are we going for food? It''s freezing out, and Susanna''sing over soon."


    Susanna and Tabitha were both expected to drop by.


    Ronald raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don''t want to go?"


    "I have a lot to do."


    Ever since Ronald came to Portis City, her schedule at the studio had gotten pretty unpredictable. She was nning to head back to Ferrond soon and wanted to wrap things up at the studio quickly.


    "And hey, did you talk to the CEO of StarRiver Corp. for me yet?"


    Even though she was leaving, she wanted to secure her team''s future. They''d all worked so hard over the years.


    Ronald teased her. "You''re heading back to Ferrond, right? Are you sure you don''t want to close the studio?"


    Ste shook her head. "Close it? No way. There are too many people depending on it. I''m asking Susanna to take over."


    Her departure didn''t mean the end of


    the road for everyone else. Her


    studio had barely seen any stand neg


    turnover, not even at the receptionist level.


    Ronald ruffled her hair affectionately. "Got it."


    "Make sure to tell them that even though I''m leaving, my designers are top-notch. They won''t be


    sw novel bet


    disappointed," Ste insiste el.9%


    "Of course," Ronald assured her with a smile.


    It baffled him how the Larkin family had missed seeing this kind-hearted side of her, putting themselves in such a tough spot. During his time in Portis City, Ronald had noticed that Ste had little intention of maintaining ties with the Larkin family.


    ...


    Because Ste didn''t want to go out, Ronald left after taking a phone call.


    He had promised not to leave her side, yet here she was, eating alone when she found out that Skye had left.


    Finley, who shared the news, was full of sighs.


    Ste bit into her burger, surprised. "She left right afternding?"


    Finley nodded, sounding exhausted. "Yep."


    Ste shrugged. "Isn''t that a good thing? You know, if my brother''s angry, no one can save her."


    Ronald spoiled Ste, sure, but even she couldn''t always sway him with just a few words.