Chapter 149

"So how do you plan to play?" Liliana asked, her lips pressed into a thin line. She had no choice but to negotiate. "What do you want?"

"Don't look so scared. All I want is for you to put your full effort into designing the Expo Manor villa. Go back and do it again. Properly this time."

Sylvia's demand was surprisingly simple. Pushing Liliana too far would do her no good.

Liliana was confused. "That's it?"

"Yes, that's it," Sylvia said with a dazzling smile.

The request was far less severe than Liliana had anticipated. She'd even thought Sylvia might use this to force her to divorce Cedric. But then she realized Sylvia probably knew that the decision to divorce wasn't hers to make.

"Fine," Liliana agreed. "I'll keep redesigning the house until you're satisfied."

Just as she finished speaking, Nina returned from ordering.

Sylvia stood up, grabbing her purse. "You two enjoy your meal. I've already discussed everything with Designer Preston, so I'll be going."

Nina, who had just sat down, immediately stood up again to see her out. "Sylvia, aren't you going to eat something?"

"No, thanks," Sylvia said as she walked away. "My boyfriend and I already ate..." Their voices faded down the hall. A few minutes later, Nina came back to the table.

"So, what were Ms. Woods's issues with your design?" she asked.

Nina knew Liliana hadn't designed a house in two years and couldn't possibly pour all her energy into this one project. Liliana's submission had been competent but uninspired, though some of the smaller details had pleasantly surprised Nina.

"She was unsatisfied with all of it," Liliana said, cutting the steak on her plate into small, precise pieces. It tasted like ash in her mouth.

Nina watched her, feeling a prickle of unease. She had seen how hard Liliana worked and was surprised she had agreed to a complete redesign so easily "Well, good luck then."

They ate the rest of the meal in a heavy, thoughtful silence. Nina checked her phone several more times, but no new messages appeared.

Liliana, on the other hand, received a message just as they were finishing. It was

from Timothy. He had sent a photo of a piece of paper with a phone number written on it.

[Ma'am, someone is very interested in the Expo Manor design. They were hoping you could connect with them on WhatsApp to discuss it.]

This was her r livelihood, and it was a

potential client. She immediately agreed. But when she tried to add the number, a notification popped up: This person is already in your contacts Then the profile appeared.

Liliana froze, her eyes drifting to Nina walking ahead of her.

It all clicked. She remembered their first visit to Expo Manor, how Nina had gushed

over the decor and had asked Sylvia who the designer was.

"Hurry up and get in the car, we're going to be late," Nina called impatiently, seeing her standing by the car door.

Liliana put her phone away and slid into the passenger seat. "Sorry."

"I've told you so many times, you can't keep spacing out when we're meeting with clients," Nina

grumbled, launching into a lecture that lasted the entire drive back to the office.

Back at her desk, Liliana thought for a moment, then registered a new WhatsApp account and added Nina's number. Nina accepted the request instantly and sent a message.

[Hello, are you the designer Ms. Woods recommended?]

So Sylvia was completely clueless that she designed Expo Manor. She must've assumed Liliana just brought in outside help and supervised.