Chapter 4

Lydia Lane pov

On Friday night, Ethan Hayes brought Nora Wells to the Ruins Restoration Association’s private dinner.

To keep Nora from making a fool of herself, he used an ordering tone to summon me over too, even though I had been about to get off work and pack my things.

I went—not for him, but to give my own hard work one final proper ending.

At North City Club, the courtyard was filled with birch trees.

The moment Nora entered, she couldn’t wait to belittle me in front of the various people in charge. “This is Ethan’s assistant. She’s best at cleaning up messes. Wherever things get chaotic, just call her over, and she’ll tidy it up immediately.”

A knowing chuckle broke out around the table. I lowered my eyes and remained unmoved.

After a few rounds of drinks, Nora, in an effort to show off, actually described the ancient Greek artifact restoration overseen by one chairman as a commercial street renovation.

The chairman’s face darkened on the spot. “Mr. Hayes, is your ruins restoration project about culture, or is it about putting on a show?”

Nora panicked and looked to Ethan for help.

Just as the atmosphere dropped to freezing point, I set down my teacup.

I didn’t use any flowery language. In only three minutes, I clearly explained the origins of ancient Greek artifacts, the taboos involved in artifact preservation, and the spiritual core of the project.

Not only did I smooth things over, I also brought out the full depth of the cultural foundation.

The chairman’s expression turned from cloudy to clear, and he nodded in approval. “Now that is someone who has truly done her homework.”

Nora’s face instantly flushed bright red, and she was so jealous she looked like she might go insane.

Ethan had just opened his mouth to save face when two crisp claps suddenly came from the corner.

It was a man in a dark gray shirt, with a refined, clean presence and the calm ease of someone in a position of power.

The person in charge of Shanhai Company, Nathan Grant.

His gaze passed over the crowd and landed directly on me. “The cultural substance Ms. Lane mentioned just now is something I reviewed a few days ago as well. Your judgment is very accurate. If the project followed your original proposal, it could be saved. If it follows the version currently made public—”

He gave a soft laugh, not even glancing at Nora. “I’m afraid all that’s left is a pile of flashy but useless garbage.”

The entire room fell dead silent.

Nora’s tears spilled from her eyes. “Mr. Grant, are you saying I don’t understand anything?”

“I’m talking about the proposal,” Nathan said in an extremely calm tone. “This project isn’t some trinket you can wave to cheer up your lover. Whoever poured their heart into writing it should be the one standing in the spotlight.”

Those words were like a loud slap, striking Ethan and Nora hard across the face.

When the private dinner ended, Nathan stopped me and handed me a business card.

“After you leave Hayes Group, you can come to Shanhai Company. The pay isn’t much, but your name will be written cleanly on every piece of work you do.”

For some reason, my eyes heated. I accepted the card with both hands.

That scene fell into Ethan’s eyes. His gaze abruptly turned dark and hostile as he strode forward. “Since when are you two this close? You want to go to Los Angeles?”

He laughed coldly. “Some lousy company is worth giving up Hayes Group for?”

I carefully put the business card into my bag, then lifted my head and looked at Ethan’s stunned face. My voice was soft, but resolute.

“At least there, they won’t put the name of the woman you love on work I poured my heart into.”

With that, I turned and stepped into the night.

Ethan froze where he stood, his expression ugly to the extreme.

He suddenly realized that this time, I was truly walking forever toward the light that belonged to me.