Chapter 9 Is She Desperately Looking for a Jobb? /b

At the mention of freezing Ste’s credit bcards/b, a glint of satisfaction shed through Lillian’s eyes.

Ste, nothing in the Reed family belongs to you. There can only be one daughter here, and that’s me.

Despite her delight, she put on ba /bconcerned bact/b. b“/bbBut /bif you freeze Ste’s bcards/b, how will she survive? She’s been living off the Reed family for the past btwo /byears–she doesn’t even have a job.”

Jonathan said firmly, “Lillian, stop speaking up for her. bThis /btime, she needs to be taught a lessonb.” /b

Lillian hesitated bas /bif she wanted to argue but then turned to bSusan/b.

Susan nodded in agreement. “bYour /bbrother’s right. It’s time she learned how to behave like a properdy.”

Just thinking about Ste’s temperament gave bSusan /ba headache. She refused to believe Ste had truly let go of her feelings for Ethan. In her eyes, all the trouble Ste caused two years ago bwas /bbbecause /bof Ethan. That nonsense about Lillian orchestrating the car ident? Just an excuse–Ste was obsessed with Ethan, and that bwas /bthe real issue.

Lillian shifted her gaze to bEthan/b.

Ethan frowned but said nothing, clearly agreeing with Susan and Jonathan’s decision.

Susan turned her attention back to Lillian’s ankle. “How’s the injury? Is it serious?”

Lillian shook her head. “Not too bad. Ethan insisted on taking me to the hospital.”

Susan nodded approvingly. “It’s better to be careful. Your father arranged the best specialist for you. We’ll have them check byou /bagain.”

“bThank /byou, Mom.

“Silly girl, there’s no need to thank me.”

Hearing Lillian call her ‘Mom‘ so sweetly made Susan’s heart ache with affection.

bAnd /bbso/b, while fussing over Lillian’s injury, they balso /bfinalized Ste’s punishment.

The consensus? Cut off her $2,700 monthly allowance to force her into submission. They believed that without financial support, Ste would eventually have no choice but to drop the whole thing about Lillian’s involvement in the car ident.

At the root of it all, they were certain of one thing: Ste loved Ethan btoo /bmuch to actually walk away.

This time, they weren’t even giving her the bchance /bto throw a btantrum/b,

Ste spent the bentire /bafternoon in meetings at the studio.

A massive project–a record–bbreaking /bdeal in the design industryb. /bOf course, she had to give it her all.

A golden–ticket client like this? No way she was letting go.

By the time she left the studio, it was already six o’clock.

“Steb?/b”

Hearing her bname/b, she turned to see Tessa standing a few steps away, looking utterly shocked.

Chapter 9 Is She Desperately Looking for a Job?

Finished

Before Ste could answer, Tessa jumped to her bown /bconclusions. “I told you to take my money, but you refused. Now you’re out here scrambling for a job?”

Ste sighed. “Let’s grab dinner first. I’ll exin while we eat.”

Her studio was something Tessa had no idea about, and it wasn’t something that could be bexined /bin just a few words.

This time, they picked a restaurant known for its soups.

Half an hourter, after hearing the full story. Tessa was stunned. “You’ve been hiding this from me? I had no ideal”

If even she didn’t know, then the Reed family and Ethan definitely had no clue.

Ste shrugged. “It’s not like it ever came up.”

Tessa thought about it. That bwas /bbtrue/b.

She band /bSte had met abroad, and their conversations were always about casual things.

Even when they did talk about work, it was usually just in passing

“You’ve been running it for a year?” Tessa asked.

Ste bnodded/b. “Yeahb, /ba year

now.”

“Are you making good moneyb?/b”

That was the key question.

As long as Ste had financial independence, she could say no to the Reed family and Ethan whenever she wanted.

Ste casually replied. “A couple hundred thousand, give or take”

Tessa’s mouth dropped open.

Her definition of a little money and mine are we even talking about the same numbers?

b-Wait/b–you’re telling me a tourism design studio makes this much? In just its first year?”

Most small studios struggled just to break even in their first year, and yet here Ste was, bmaking /bbserious /bprofit.

Ste smirked. “If you’re good at what you do, of course, you’ll bmake /bmoney. bJust /bkeep it to yourself.”

“Got it.” Tessa nodded, fully understanding bwhat /bSte bmeant/b,

That wretched Lillian would want to steal banything /bSte bhad/b.

And Tessa distinctly remembered–Lillian had majored in this field btoo/bb. /b

Then there was Ethan. bThat /bguy had already proven he had no bottom line. Now that things were turning ugly between them. he’d probably resort to underhanded tricks.

Tessa scoffed. “Then you don’t need to pay any attention to them. Right bnow/b, they’re bjust /btrying to use money to force byou /binto submission.”

Freezing her bcard/b? The message was obvious to anyone.

bThey /bwanted Ste to personally say she bwas /bletting go of the car ident issue.

All that effort just to protect ban /badopted daughter. That bfamily /breally bent over bhackward /bfor Lillian

6:20 PM

Chapter 9 Is She Desperately Looking for a Job?

Rianne King–Ste and Tessa’s mutual best friend and a renowned genius bin /bgynecology.

Naturally, she was also the busiest among the three of them.

Tessa nodded. “Makes sense. I haven’t seen her in a month either.”