Desires Die Hard

: To Sydney's Surprise

Anya took a deep breath and collected herself. She made her way down the other end of the aisle. No one was around. The young woman pulled her phone out and called Ellie.

The call was picked up instantly. Ellie’s gentle voice sounded on the other end of the line. Anya felt herself calm down at her aunt’s voice. “Anya, is there something wrong?”

“Ellie, I’ll be back for lunch in a while. I got milk for the kids,” Anya whispered. She kept her voice down so that no one could hear her.

“Okay,” Ellie said. “I’ll be taking the kids to the supermarket to get some groceries. I’ll see you for lunch then.”

“Yup,” Anya replied. “I have to get back to work now, Ellie. I’ll see you later. Bye.”

“See you later.”

Anya ended the call, then hurried back to JK Couture with her tote bag.

She sneaked into the pantry, stuffed the bag of milk into a bento box and shoved it in the fridge while no one was noticing. Her heart finally set at ease, she returned to her desk and threw herself back into work.

Meanwhile, in Jake’s office, Evan had made himself comfortable in Jake’s seat. The managing director kindly allowed him to take his chair behind the desk. His long legs were folded across the other as he listened quietly to Jake share his plans for the company’s expansion.

Jake reported JK Couture’s plans sternly. “Mr. Welton, we have plans to expand our target audience to luxury consumers. We are looking at bespoke services for celebrities and socialites and collaborations with international designers. We intend to expand to the global market and achieve global reach. That’s our current plans for JK Couture’s expansion.”

“And?” Evan asked. His knuckles rapped against the smooth surface of Jake’s desk.

It was driving Jake into a panic.

What did Evan mean by that?

Was the man displeased with the plans that Jake had just shared with him?

Jake was honestly worried that the plans that he had worked on for six months might go down the drain with a simple rejection from Evan.

“That’s all we have now.”

Evan scoffed. “We’ll proceed according to your plans. I want an update every three months. I’m going to withdraw my support for your initiative for bespoke services if the results are not ideal.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Welton, we’ll do our best to build our brand and enhance the Welton’s brand as well,” Jake said confidently.

Evan wasn’t interested in listening to Jake's ramblings about his ideas. He unfolded his legs and stood up. Then, suddenly, he said. “I heard you got a new hire.”

“Yes, we’re short of designers. We hired one today. She’s Anya MacMillan,” Jake replied. “Do you happen to know her, Mr. Welton?”

So, it seemed that the woman hadn’t been lying. She was working at JK Couture.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Maybe she had gotten a job here because she hadn’t given up on him yet.

Evan fell into a deep silence. Then, after a moment, he said nonchalantly. “No, I don’t.”

Having said that, he marched out of the office briskly with his personal assistants followed hurriedly after him.

*

Soon, it was time for lunch.

The staff working at JK Couture headed to the canteen in the building. Anya couldn’t. She had to go home and get her milk back to her kids.

As everyone headed off to the canteen, she hurried to the pantry and grabbed her milk. Then, she shoved it into her bag and raced downstairs to catch the bus.

Fortunately, Ellie’s apartment was only a short distance away from Welton Group Tower.

The bus ride back home took only fifteen minutes.

It was extremely convenient.

Anya clutched her bag to her chest and raced out of the elevator. She sped past the hall and accidentally ran into a young woman tottering on high heels. It was Sydney.

She hadn’t seen Sydney for a year.

Anya stared at her stepsister, the woman who had set her up. Rage burned inside her.

Sydney stared right back.

Her eyes widened in shock. She seemed to have forgotten where she was. The young woman stepped forward and into Anya’s face. Her voice was dripping with derision. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, dear sister? Where have you been? You honestly have no shame, do you? This is Welton Group Tower. Evan’s office, for goodness’ sake!”

Anya couldn’t be bothered with her. But she wasn’t going to let herself be pushed around by her stepsister either. She spoke indifferently, “That’s none of your business. I’m no longer part of the MacMillan family, so stay out of my business.”

“Naturally, I can’t tell you what to do. I’m just shocked that you would dare turn up at Welton Group Tower after what you did to Mr. Welton. Are you trying to seduce him again?” That was all Sydney wanted to know. She needed to know if Anya was interested in Evan too.

The young woman had vanished for a year.

Now, she had suddenly turned up.

Sydney was truly worried that Anya might have cast aside all propriety and shame and decided to seduce Evan into marrying her!