Maxwell implied that he wanted to pick Mona up to go home.


    Meanwhile, Mona was embroidering blossoms onto the dress and didn''t check her phone,pletely unaware that Maxwell had messaged her.


    When a knock sounded at the door, it brought Mona back to reality. She opened it to find Maxwell standing there, which filled her with joy. "What are you doing here?" she eximed. She opened the door and pulled him inside.


    Inside, both ra and Vespera were


    surprised to see Mona and Maxwell holding hands so tightly. It seemed that, contrary to the rumors, their marriage wasn''t just a political arrangement. They appeared to share genuine feelings for each other. "Let me introduce you, my husband, Maxwell! Mona said, looking into their eyes.


    "Mona, your... husb husband?" ra asked in shock. The term "husband" implied they were married ra thought, ''But haven''t they just gotten engaged not long ago? Confusion swirled in her mind. Vespera didn''t speak, but Mona could see the astonishment in her eyes as well. "Yes, my husband. We''ve ''ve already tied the knot, Mona confirmed


    She didn''t mind others knowing about her marriage to Maxwell. In fact, the more people who knew, the better.


    Maxwell met Mona''s bright, sparkling eyes and instinctively tightened his grip on her hand. Mona was finally willing to acknowledge him in front of others, and a smile crept onto his face as he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you. I''m Maxwell, Mona''s husband." In that that brief moment of f conversation, ra''s mind I was already spinning with a whirlwind of dramatic scenarios. She imagined that Mona and Maxwell''s marriage was an act of revenge against Teddy, that Maxwell had insisted on getting married because he had secretly loved Mona all along but never showed it. Over time, under Maxwell''s deep affection, their rtionship gradually blossomed. Hey, ra what are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought that you didn''t hear what I said. Mona waved her hand. in front of ra''s face. ra quickly snapped back to reality, grinning at Mona. "Oh, nothing, I just spaced out. What did you say?"


    Mona repeated herself, "I said it''s gettingte. You two should head back. We''ll pick up where we left off tomorrow, understood, Miss Whitlock?" ra nodded. "Got it!"


    Afterward, she quickly gathered her things and pulled Vespera along as they dashed out. She wanted to create some private time for the couple to let their feelings deepen.


    Once they left, Mona began packing her things, preparing to go home with Maxwell


    "Shall we head back?" Mona asked.


    "Yes." Ma Maxwell replied, taking a step forward to hold her hand.


    While they may not have expressed much verbally, their actions revealed a growing intimacy


    Over the past week, ra and Vespera had been working tirelessly, often staying upte. Mona only returnedte on the first day. After that, she returned on time or even earlier because Maxwell insisted she shouldn''t stay outte. They were too shy 76%)


    to say anything and just kept working hard.


    As time crept into the final day, the dress was almostplete, with just the finishing touch left, the white flowers around the waist. It was already past ten in the evening, and to their surprise, Mona hadn''t left yet, something both ra and Vespera found quite unexpected at thiste hour.


    "Mona, ra, you two should go home and rest. I''ll handle thest part, Vespera said.


    ra shook her head and said, "Mona, you should go rest. I''ll take care of the rest."


    The fire incident with the original dress had partly been her fault, and she felt it was unfair for Mona and Vespera to bear the consequences. She couldn''t just leave and let others do the work


    Mona looked at ra and could see that she was eager to start working. "ra, your eyes are red. You should go get some rest. If you take over now and make a mistake, it won''t be good. Let Vespera handle it instead."


    Upon hearing Mona''s words, ra instantly felt her words made sense. With Artemis scheduled to try on the dress. tomorrow, if she made a mistake, it would mean losing this opportunity altogether. Thinking it over, ra nodded in agreement, deciding to take on other tasks to make it up to themter. Mona,


    why don''t you go rest too? I can manage alone, Vespera asked after ra left.


    Mona feigned a yawn and stretched. "Alright, I''ll just take a quick nap in the back, and we can leave together once you''re done.


    "Okay, go ahead. I''ll finish up soon," Vespera said, forcing a smile


    Mona nodded and settled onto the sofa in the break room, ncing at her phone before closing her eyes. She saw a message from Maxwell and smiled


    After a while, as Vespera admired the finished dress, she realized she had underestimated Mona''s talent. With her design. skills, Mona would surely be a top figure in the industry one day. At that moment, Vespera held a pair of scissors, poised above the vibrant red dress, contemting a drastic cut. Although most of the work was hers, she feltpelled to destroy it. After all, it was a harsh reality that people could sometimes be driven to destroy for the sake of f profit.


    As long as she seeded today, her family would no longer have to worry about food and shelter.


    With resolve, Vespera plunged the scissors into the dress, and ra, returning at that moment, gasped in disbelief. She stared for a long time before shouting, "Vespera, what are you doing? Fuming, she stormped over, snatching the scissors from Vespera''s hands and ring at the ruined half of the dress. She felt like pping Vesper


    Faced with ra''s anger, Vespera replied nonchntly, "It''s nothing. I just didn''t like the dress and wanted to cut it. Then she seized the scissors back and swiftly made a few more cuts.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    As her words echoed, ra pped Vespera across the face. The sound startled Mona, who had been napping in the break


    TOONIL


    Mona groggily stepped out to see the two women facing off, along with the ruined dress on the floor, but she wasn''t particrly surprised.


    ra hade back because Mona had messaged her that she was resting in the break room. Knowing ra valued loyalty, Mona knew she would return.


    This also provided an opportunity for Vespera. Had she not ruined the dress, everything would have gone smoothly after a week of work. But if Vespera had indeed damaged the dress, ra would certainly see it upon her return. This would carry