Thanks to his fighting experience, Maverick easily knocked my father to the ground.
But my mother couldn’t be saved.
She said she no longer had any dreams, that this was all life would ever be for her.
She told me: When you marry, keep your eyes open. Live for yourself.
Right after she spoke, my father, seizing the moment when we weren’t paying attention, drove the kitchen knife into her head.
That image became the nightmare I would never wake from.
As my mother lay dying, Maverick held my hand and swore. “As long as I’m alive, Eliana will be free. I’ll help her chase her dreams. She’ll never be trapped by blood.”
Only after hearing that, my mother closed her eyes forever.
She passed peacefully. I think, for her, it was a kind of release.
Later, my father was sent to prison by the Thomas family’s lawyer, and I was finally free.
That day, Maverick stood waiting beneath a tree and said he would pay for my entire education.
Naturally, we ended up together.
Because of his promise, I had agreed to all of the Thomas family’s unreasonable demands.
But now, even though his vow still echoed in my ears, that young man was long gone.
At five in the morning, Maverick sent a message.
[Tonight is the family dinner. If you still refuse to come back and see Isaac, then forget about ever seeing him again.]
[Eliana, I get that you’re angry. I get that you’re jealous. But try to understand me. I’m a man. I can’t revolve my entire life around a family.]
I wiped the dried tears from my face and replied coldly, [Okay.]
But before that, I wanted to retrieve every single design draft I had drawn for his company, free of charge.
At nine sharp, I arrived downstairs at the company.
Just as I stepped through the doors, I overheard the staff whispering.
“That draft, did Secretary Lainey really draw it? That’s insane! I thought she ran out of ideas ages ago, but she just keeps producing more.”
“She’s juggling two roles at once. No wonder the president keeps her close.”
“If I had talent like hers, I’d probably be lounging in the private suite, too. We’re just here to warm the chairs and ride the wave.”
“But seriously, he’s treating her like royalty. I heard he’s giving her half the company’s shares! That’s going from employee to boss overnight!”
My heart sank to the bottom.
I knew Lainey's background; she had studied finance and management, fields entirely unrelated to design.
Just as I reached the office door, I saw the design draft I had finished two days ago displayed openly on the table.
The collaborators were full of praise, showering compliments on the drawing.
Lainey accepted every word with a delighted smile, as if the work were her own.
A wave of fury surged through me, and I pushed the door open.
"Lainey's draft? Maverick, care to explain this?"
After personally escorting the collaborators out, he turned back with a dark expression, voice rising in anger.
"What are you doing? Do you have any idea how important this project is to the company? What kind of chaos are you trying to cause? Would you only be satisfied if the entire deal collapsed?"
"You're a housewife, what use is a signature to you? As long as the design benefits the company, does it really matter who gets the credit?"
With reddened eyes, I looked at the man before me clearly, perhaps for the first time.
"You knew design was my dream. I never objected to you using my drafts. But giving all the credit to Lainey, what was that supposed to mean?"
"I spent three days and nights working on that piece. And you erased me with a single sentence. What exactly am I to you?"
Lainey quickly stepped forward, looking pitiful as she grabbed my arm.
"Sister Eliana, I’m sorry. I used your draft, and I apologize. We’re family. Don’t be mad... If the employees see this, they’ll laugh at us..."
I flung her hand off without hesitation, my voice like ice.
"You’re just a secretary. Who gave you the right to speak here?"
Her eyes welled with tears, trembling pitifully, like she was the one wronged.
