A Journey from Bitterness to Truth

Someone? To be honest, Matilda was already surprised when Willow approached her on her own initiative today. But to think that there was someone else behind Willow…

At that moment, a masculine scent crept closer, and she felt arms wrapping around her from behind, a voice tinged with laughter coming from above her head as someone casually played with a lock of her hair.

Matilda turned around to meet those piercing blue–green eyes, her heart skipping a beat before she promptly wriggled out of the man’s embrace and put some distance between them.

The blond man clicked his tongue and turned to Willow, “Didn’t you tell her who ! This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - ©.

am?”

Willow looked like she was about to roll her eyes to the heavens, “Bro, the moment you showed up, you were all over her. I haven’t even had a proper chat with her…”

Bro? Willow called this man bro?

Confused, Matilda glanced at the man before her. His face might be strikingly attractive in a devil–may– care way, but it was still… utterly unfamiliar.

Willow explained, “You shouldn’t be surprised. My brother has been living abroad, out of the scene, for like five or six years now, so it’s normal that you don’t know him.”

Matilda, still trying to process her shock, said, “You mean your brother wanted to meet me today?”

“Yeah,” Willow flicked her hair back. “He has his own fashion label overseas and wants to collaborate with you on a limited edition line.”

A thrill went through Matilda, but then she quickly became wary, “What’s the catch?”

“There is one condition,” the man said, his smile narrowing his eyes, yet they held no warmth, as cold as a glacial pond. He had shown such enthusiasm for Matilda, yet his eyes were like still water. Such a deceitful man was… really…

“Come work with our company. If you need, we can put your studio under our company’s name. You’ll have full autonomy, but we’ll take a cut–a partnership deal, essentially.”

Matilda stared at the man in astonishment. “Why… would you do that? What’s in it for you?”

He gave a soft chuckle. “Firstly, your work is exceptional, so having you on board is definitely a win for us. Secondly…”

He leaned in close to Matilda’s ear, “You’re Yvan’s ex–wife, and, to be frank, you’re

just my type. Standing by me. I can help you get under Yvan’s skin. Sounds like a fair deal, right?”

Matilda scoffed. “Yeah, seems like I can’t lose either way.”

“If that’s the case, shall we sit down inside and talk more?”

His eyes narrowed, gleaming like fine gemstones yet predatory like a wolf, causing Matilda to clench her fists.

He said, “I think I have all night to discuss this properly with you.”

Willow chimed in, “Bro, I’ve brought her here. Can I head back now?”

“Scram,” the man turned on a dime, face–changing in a second, “If I catch you in a bar again, I’ll break your damn legs, you little runt!”

Willow hopped back, “If it wasn’t for Matilda, I wouldn’t bother helping you at all!”

The man faced Matilda again and slipped back into his charming demeanor, “Oh right, introductions. My name’s Adrian Simpson. The eldest son of the Simpson family. Did a five–year stretch. I don’t know if that scares you.”

Matilda felt oddly moved by his mention of jail time, her eyes misting over, which somehow broke down her defenses. She extended her hand and said, “I’m Matilda… just like you.”

Matilda hung out with Adrian at the bar until 2 in the morning. Eventually, she laughed and said to him, “At first, I thought you were a creep.‘