As they reached the entrance, Arwen swiftly pulled out her phone and dialled Alfred.
"The car will be here soon," she said after hanging up, turning to Mia with a small smile. "Thank you for helping me back there."
Mia shook her head politely. "Helping you out is part of my job, Ma'am. I didn't do anything extra. In fact, I wasn't prepared for that situation at all. When I said what I said, I almost thought I had made things worse."
"You didn't," Arwen reassured her with a smile. "Actually, you said exactly the right thing. It solved everything in an instant."
Mia nodded in understanding. She had only spoken up because she could tell Arwen had no intention of hiding her marriage. Arwen would have mentioned it herself if Mr. Darson hadn't rudely interrupted her.
After a moment, Mia hesitated before asking, "But Ma'am, weren't you offended? I mean, Mr. Darson was so persistent, even after you clearly refused him."
Arwen thought for a moment and her smile deepened. Looking into Mia's curious eyes, she asked, "Do you know who his son is?"
Mia blinked, trying to recall anyone she heard of, but then, shook her head.
Arwen had expected as much. The younger Darson was well-known —but not for anything remotely related to business.
"Mike Darson is the city's infamous playboy with zero interest in his family business. His goal in life is not to earn but to spend everything his family has accumulated over the years."
Mia's eyes widened in realization. "Then … doesn't that mean Mr. Darson wasn't really looking for a daughter-in-law but a —"
"A cash cow?" Arwen finished for her, a hint of amusement in her tone. "Exactly."
Mia gasped. "He was trying to secure his son's future by tying him to you so that he could leech off from both you and your wealth?"
"In high society, things work like this," Arwen said, nodding. This was one of the reasons why Catrin wanted her tied to Ryan. After all, Ryan was capable on his own.
At one point, she understood her mother's concern. But later, she simply couldn't make sense of it. It was so clear —being with Ryan might have given her the status and security, but the more she stood to gain, the greater she would have lost.
And when it came to relationship, Arwen didn't value status, but the respect and emotional security.
"Ma'am, if you don't mind can I ask you something?" Mia hesitated before asking.
Arwen glanced at her before nodding. frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Usually, you wouldn't come to wrap up such collaborations. Why did you volunteer this time?"
In the past, Arwen had always maintained a mysterious identity. People knew the Davies Empire had a very capable Vice President, but no one knew who it was. It was just a designation that had received all the credits and recognition, while Arwen remained behind the scenes.
But recently, Mia had noticed the change …
The question wasn't difficult, but Arwen didn't reply immediately. She took a brief pause before speaking.
"That's because I have no reason to show up before. But now, I have now reason to hide." As she said that, his lips curled up in a certain meaningful smile that was hard to decipher.
"Dad—!"
"You have half an hour to reach my office. If you don't, I will freeze all your cards. Don't test me."
Without waiting for his son's inevitable whining, Mr. Darson ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
Grumbling, he glanced at his secretary. "He is a waste. Thomas, we can't trust such a big collaboration with Winslow Global to him. Find someone else suitable and hand over the details."
The secretary was long expecting this. But then, thinking about something else, he hesitated and asked, "But Mr. Darson, are we sure about collaborating with Winslow Global right now? The news surrounding them hasn't been favourable. Even if we manage to secure the deal, there is high chance we will suffer loss if Winslow Global doesn't recover its reputation."
Mr. Darson's expression darkened —not at the potential loss, but the slim chances of securing the deal. "That's why we need to act quickly, Thomas. If Winslow Global collapses, our hard-earned deal will go to waste. But if it recovers, we will be among the first in line to profit. So, do as I said. I have full faith in young Winslow. He has a record of not making a single loss in a deal."
The secretary nodded, understanding.
But little were they aware that the certain 'common man' was the same man Mr. Darson was placing his faith.
However, that identity would no longer remain secret. With annual event approaching, the chances of them meeting was increasing.
But the question was —how favorbale would the encounter turn out to be for them?
After all, Mr. Darson was harboring the intention of coveting the Devil's pearl right before his eyes.
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