Chapter 69 Have a Girlfriend

As soon as Kaia stepped into the department, she heard Jude’s angry voice roaring from his office. “Ophelia, have you no shame? This is a client I brought in! Why the hell are you recing mywyers?”

“Jude, yelling at me won’t solve anything. It’s Mr. Miller’s decision. Why don’t you go ask him? Oh, right-you’re always so protective of your apprentice. Maybe your little apprentice ticked off some big shot.”

Vanessa turned around and spotted Kaia.

She quickly pulled her aside. “Kaia, don’t rush into this. Jude had no idea about it either. He just had a huge argument with Mr. Lambert, and then Ophelia came in and started a fight.”

Kaia’s gaze turned cold. “Where’s Mr. Miller?”

Vanessa hesitated before answering. “He’s on a business trip and hasn’t been answering his phone. Otherwise, Jude would’ve already gone after him.”

Just then, the sound of heels clicking echoed down the hallway. Ophelia stepped out, chin raised, her expression dripping with disdain the moment she saw Kaia.

She scoffed and strutted past, hips swaying like she owned the

ce.

Jude followed behind her, his face pale. When he caught sight of Kaia, guilt shed in his eyes.

“Kaia, don’t worry,” he said quickly. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. You deserve an exnation.”

Kaia didn’t respond. She just wasn’t in the mood.

Not long after, she left thew firm early.

On her way home, her phone buzzed with a message from Jason Meraz, the butler at Lucien’s vi: [Ms. Domont, the curtains were installed today. Would you like toe by and take a look?]

Kaia stared at the message for a second, then typed back a short reply: [Sure. I’ll head over now.]

When she arrived, she stepped into a space that felt- surprisingly-different. The walls, now painted in soft beige, warmed the entire room. The dark, impersonal vibe from before

was gone.

With the curtains, carpets, cushions, and bedding she’d picked out the day before, the vi finally looked like a home. A beautiful one.

Jason greeted her with a warm smile. “Ms. Domont, you really have an eye for design. The whole ce feels different now.”

He paused, then added, “Mr. Graves stayed at the officest night. Would you like to send him a photo? I’m sure he’d like to see the changes.”

Kaia hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

It made sense. After all, she’d used his card for everything. Might as well show him how she’d spent it.

Without even realizing it, she had started seeing Lucien as her… boss, in a way.

This didn’t feel like ying house.

It felt like a job.

And the payoff?

Being able to throw a little of Lucien Graves’ power back in her family’s smug faces.

*****

Over in his office, Lucien opened Kaia’s message.

It was a photo of the newly decorated living room, bathed in soft

beige light-and a simple note: [All done. Do you like it?]

A small smile tugged at his lips as he typed back: [Like it.]

But the truth?

He didn’t just like the curtains.

He liked the woman behind them even more.

A minuteter, Lucien did somethingpletely out of character.

He opened Instagram.

And posted.

His friends got the notification and clicked in out of pure curiosity—only to bepletely floored.

Lucien Graves had posted a photo of his vi, newly transformed into a warm, inviting space.

The caption?

[My girlfriend made our ce feel like home.]

It was like a bomb had gone off in their group chat.

Landon: [Girlfriend?!]

Calvin: [Is our Mr. Graves drunk or having a full-on daytime delusion?]

Wiley: [Time for the rest of us single guys to step up. Congrats, Mr. Graves!]

Kaia hadn’t seen the post.

She barely checked Instagram these days.

Still feeling a little low, she’d headed straight home after sending the photo to Lucien.

She had just stepped inside when her phone started ringing. It was Alyssa.

“Kaia! You are not going to believe this gossip!” Alyssa

practically shrieked. “You know my Uncle Lucien, right? The one so icy I was convinced he’d be a hermit? Guess what!”

A weird pit formed in Kaia’s stomach.

“What?” she asked, already uneasy.

“He just posted on Instagram that he has a girlfriend! Can you believe it?!”

“What?!” Kaia froze, then frantically unlocked her phone and started swiping through her apps.

They had agreed to keep things low-key. No public derations. No drama. When did he post it? What exactly did he say? Was

she in it?!

Alyssa, meanwhile, was practically bouncing with excitement. “Kaia, this is huge. My grandpa already asked about it in the family group chat-and there are over a hundredments!”

Kaia’s heart was pounding now.

Alyssa went on, oblivious. “I wonder who my future auntie is. I really hope she’s nice.

“Honestly, I used to joke that Uncle Lucien had a weird soft spot for you, ’cause he always seemed to look out for

“Hello? Kaia? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Kaia was too rattled to speak.

Her fingers finally found the post.

She let out a shaky breath.

you—

It was just the curtains. No photo of her. No name. No tag. Just… the curtains she’d picked out.

Thank God.

And, of course, she couldn’t see the hundred-plusments blowing up the Graves family group chat.

Regaining someposure, she cleared her throat.

“Alyssa, sorry-the signal cut out earlier. Well… congrats to your uncle, I guess.”

Alyssa didn’t catch the shift in her tone. “Right? It’s crazy! Everyone’s begging him to introduce his girlfriend!”

Kaia’s heart skipped a beat.

“What… what did your uncle say?”

“Oh, nothing at first—you know how cold he is. But wait—” Alyssa paused, reading something off her screen. “He just replied!”

Kaia gripped her phone tighter. “What did he say?”

Alyssa’s voice dropped an octave in disbelief.

“He said… she’s shy and doesn’t want to meet anyone yet.””

Kaia felt her ears go bright red.

Alyssaughed. “Kaia, I swear-he’s never been this mushy. Do you think my uncle’s been… bewitched?”

Kaia ended the call in aplete daze, her eyes glued to that Instagram post.

She stared at it, mind spinning. Then-without meaning to-her thumb slipped and tapped the like button.

Her breath caught.

Panic surged through her. She immediately unliked it, her hands trembling.

It felt like the entire world was closing in around her.

Heart pounding, she flung her phone onto the couch like it had burned her. She didn’t even dare look at the screen again.

Just then, the shrill ring of the phone sliced through the tense

silence.

Kaia inched towards it warily.