Maeve probably hadn''t seen Byron tearing into people during the meeting earlier. It was a bloodbath, to put it mildly.


    Otherwise, the nning director wouldn''t have been acting like he''d just dodged a bullet, relieved that he wasn''t the one getting chewed out.


    Byron pressed his thin lips together and, seeing her chattering away, grabbed a slice of eggnt and popped it into her


    mouth


    "Shut up and eat," he said.


    Maeve red at him but swallowed the food. To her surprise, it didn''t taste as bad as he''d made it out to be. It was actually quite refreshing and had a subtle sweetness,


    After finishing her meal, Maeve headed to the restroom.


    d


    a


    Byron sent a message to Archer, telling him to prepare the materials needed for the afternoon meeting and send them to his phone.


    Just then, a message from Karen popped up on his screen.


    He swiped it away without much thought, but in his haste, he identally opened it.


    Karen: [Byron, did you know your mother''sing back to the country today?]


    Karen: Il saw her at a café near First Hospital. You''ve probably already met with her, right? I hope you two can have a good talk. Your mom really cares about you; she even asked someone to check in on how you''re doing-l Karen:


    Byron skimmed through the messages, his gaze lingering on the photo she had sent


    In the photo, Alexis was sitting in a booth, with someone across from her holding a gold-edged bank card.


    The person wasn''t fully visible in the frame, just their hand and the silver ginkgo bracelet on their wrist. It looked familiar.


    "Ding" Mae


    "Maeve''s phone, which she''d just ced on the table, suddenly lit up.


    His thoughts interrupted. Byron''s attention shifted to the screen


    Valda: [Mr. Graves just told us that the 200 thousand dors engagement gift can be paid back gradually. You can start by sending me 40 thousand dors each month. That shouldn''t be a problem for you, right?] Byron''s dark eyes narrowed slightly.


    Just then, Maeve walked out of the restroom, grabbed a tissue from the table, and began wiping her hands. The silver ginkgo bracelet on her wrist was now fully visible, matching the one in the photo exactly.Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    A cold edge crept into Byron''s strikingly handsome face as he asked casually. "Did you see anyone today besides going home 10 make soup?"


    Maeve paused mid-wipe. "I went to the Graves family to take care of some things, but after that... no, I didn''t see anyone


    else."


    She hesitated, deciding not to mention that Alexis had sought her out.


    Given how strained the rtionship between mother and son already was, and since she''d already turned down Alexis''s


    request, she didn''t see my point in bringing it up and causing more tension..


    But to Byron, her brief hesitation looked like she was hiding something


    "Someone told me you met with my mother, Byron said, his gaze probing. "Why would you lie about that?"


    Marve''s breath caught. She thought, He already knew?"


    After a moment''s thought, Macve carefully exined, "Your mother mistook me for your maid and asked me a few questions about you. I know your rtionship with her isn''t grea, and I was worried you''d be upset if I told you, so I left it out." out. She didn''t say a word about Alexis''s harsh remarks.


    Byron''s expression remained steady. "That''s it?"


    He thought. If Alexis was only asking about me, why would she give her a card, and why would she ept it? ufortable with lying, lowered her gaze to hide her feelings. "That''s all."


    Maeve,


    Seeing that she was determined to keep something from him, Byron''s expression turned cold, irritation shing in his eyes.


    The hospital room was unusually quiet that night.


    Even when Maeve tried to make small talk with Byron while helping him freshen up, he didn''t say a word, his expression remaining cold and distant.


    Maeve figured it probably had something to do with what happened earlief.


    She thought, ''Maybe Mr. Mcdaniel doesn''t want me interacting with his mother, just like he doesn''t want anyone knowing


    we are married''


    But she was already upset from being mistaken for a maid and looked down upon by Alexis, and now he was icing her out as if she''d done something wrong. Her mood sank even further.


    Her moo


    The


    next morning, after a restless night, Maeve got ready and left without even saying goodbye to Byron.


    she had to report to work at Eternal Hope.


    Today, she had


    As she reached the building, a warm voice called out from behind her, "Good morning, Maeve."


    She turned I to see Alexa approaching in a sleek silver-gray suit. She smiled and nodded, "Good morning, Mr. Brown."


    Alex walked with


    Alex


    her into the building.


    That would be great, thank you, Mr. Since you''re new and might not know your way around yet, how about I show you to your office?"


    Brown."


    The elevator stopped on the twenty-first floor, and Alex led Maeve to an office at the end of the hallway, swiping his ess. card to open the door.


    "This is the designers'' exclusive office on this floor," Alex exined. "You''ll need a card to get in and out, to make sure no unauthorized people can enter and potentially mess with or leak any of the designs." Maeve nodded, impressed. A top-tier fashionpany really was on another level-she''d already been wowed several times just on the way here.


    UB


    Inside, four designers looked up as Alex entered, greeting him with a chorus of "Good morning, Mr. Brown."


    He nodded slightly and said, ''I''d like to introduce you to Maeve She''s our new designer and will be working with you from now on."


    "Hello, Maeve said with a polite smile. I''m looking forward to working with you


    all


    all


    The designers exchanged nces, and after a moment, one of them-a woman with light brown curls and a burgundy leather skirt-spoke up.


    "Mr. Brown, we''re almost done with the spring collection we''ve been working on. Now that she''s joining us, should we add her name to the list of designers?"


    The room instantly tensed, and the other designers didn''t look pleased.


    "No, the credits for that collection will stay as they are," Alex replied after a brief pause. "Maeve will be working on the Morningstar gown series."


    The Morningstar series?" The female designer''s displeasure deepened. ''How can a neer, who hasn''t even passed the probationary period, be handed such a prestigious project, one of Eternal Hope''s signature collections? But despite her frustration, she knew better than to challenge Alex''s decision. He was known for sticking to his word.


    Alex then turned to Maeve and said, "Consider this series a test of your abilities. If you do well, you''ll pass the probationary period right away. How does that sound? Think you can handle it?" Maeve didn''t hesitate. In fact, she felt a sense of relief ''Of course, I''ll do


    my


    best."


    I''m looking forward to seeing what you can do," Alex said before leaving the office.


    As soon as he was gone, the atmosphere turned even colder. The other designers clearly weren''t happy.


    It wasn''t surprising-a neer swooping in and snagging such a big project would put anyone in a bad mood.


    Maeve found an empty desk and began to settle in.


    As she was organizing her things, the short-haired girl next to her asked, "Maeve, are you close with Mr. Brown? Why did he personally bring you to the office?


    She thought, ''Mr. Brown is usually so busy that he rarely evenes to the office, spending most of his time traveling for inspiration. But this time...


    The other designers exchanged wary nces, thinking, "Could she have some sort of special connection?"