Chapter 162

"What?" The gentle smile on Douglas's face faded. "Eliminated?"

"Yes. My work probably wasn't good enough, so I didn't make it past the preliminary round," Liliana said, keeping the behind-the-scenes drama to herself.

She forced a smile, trying to act as if it didn't bother her. "I wasn't really holding out much hope anyway."

Douglas saw right through her forced composure. He took her by the wrist and led her through the crowd to a quiet corner of the hall.

"You don't have to hold out hope, but you should demand absolute fairness in the competition. You don't have to tell me what happened, but you can't just give up like this."

Not give up?

Liliana bit her lip gently and looked away.

She didn't have the courage to pursue fairness, and so she didn't have the courage to look at him.

And she didn't want to reveal her vulnerability in front of Douglas.

"Fairness isn't something everyone has the right to chase after."

Douglas was even more confused. "But you're different. You have Cedric, so how—"

How could she not have the right to demand fairness?

But halfway through his sentence, Douglas suddenly realized something, and his voice trailed off.

A hint of disbelief flickered in his warm eyes.

From his expression, Liliana knew he must have guessed what was going on.

A faint blush crept up her cheeks, the embarrassment of having her predicament exposed.

"I'm sorry. This is your business. I shouldn't have pried."

She lowered her head, and all Douglas could see was the top of her fluffy hair, bathed in sunlight.

Even though the warm sun was shining on her, it couldn't dispel the heavy sadness that clung to her.

He raised his hand, intending to pat her head, but then thought better of it. Instead, he gently tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

Being with him, Liliana always seemed to pull herself out of bad moods quickly.

She looked up, even managing a smile. "You don't have to pry. Some things are an open secret. He probably just wants me to settle down and be Mrs. Forrest."

In the end, she still preserved a shred of dignity for herself.

She didn't tell him that Cedric had handed her over to Sylvia to appease her.

"So, do you want to just be Mrs. Forrest?" Douglas asked her seriously.

Her throat

head.bghtened. She shook her

smile turning more

helpless. I don't have a choice. Gontent

One night was enough time for her to compose herself.

For Hale's medical bills, she had to bow her head.

This job, this competition... she would just let them go.

Sooner or later, Hale would get better.

Sooner or later... she would be free. It was just a matter of time.

"Well, you

least have the choice to

decide whether to finish seeing this exhibition right?" content

Douglas changed the subject, his gaze shifting toward the crowd. "Do you want to continue?"

"Yes," Liliana said without hesitation.

The competition was a lost cause.

But she still had her job, and she needed to keep learning.

Even if... she lost her job, she wouldn't give up working in the design industry.

She could always find another one.

"Then let's continue," Douglas said, leading her back into the crowd to resume their tour.

Liliana tried her best to clear her mind and focus on learning.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a location pin for a restaurant from Timothy.

And a message.

[Mrs. Forrest, 6 p.m. tonight.]

Confused, she sent back a question mark.

Timothy kindly explained: [Because

of Hale's Situation, Mr. Forrest

knows you're in a bad mood, so he specifically canceled a dinner

peeting to take you out / Hexants">

to cheer you up!]

The restaurant was a renowned establishment in Riverbend City.

And the excuse about wanting to cheer her up seemed genuine enough.

Liliana recognized every word in the WhatsApp message individually.

But when put together, she couldn't make any sense of them.