Chapter 270: Sheâs No Lamb to the Slaughter These ten design sketchesâfrom the brushwork to the handwritingâwere unmistakably the work of the renowned designer Rowan.
Rileyâs face turned visibly sour.
Selina didnât bother with what they were thinking. She smiled slowly.
"Sorry, Miss Nelson. Itâs not that I donât appreciate your offerâitâs just that I have a better option."
"After all, with Rowan on board, who would even spare Mr. Bryant a glance?"
Mateoâs face flushed bright red, on the brink of exploding, yet forced to hold it in.
He wanted to argue, but the worst part wasâSelina was right.
Riley clenched her fists.
She wanted to deny it, but looking closely at the sketches, she knewâthese were Rowanâs.
But why? Someone as untouchable as Rowanâheâd even turned down a commission from a Country Y princess.
And yet he designed ten custom wedding ring drafts... for Selina?
"Selina, I didnât think you..."
"I actually came here today to ask for your help picking out a ring," Selina cut her off with a half-smile.
"After all, you did say youâd help me choose. That still holds, right?"
The very words Riley had once used now came back to slap her in the face.
Sheâd said them only to mock Selinaânever expecting this.
"Oh, and why is Mr. Bryant still here?" Selina blinked innocently.
"Arenât you embarrassed? Miss Nelson and I have businessâwe wonât be entertaining you."
Mateo nearly exploded with rage.
Fine, fine. Just a spoiled little brat. So Rowan backed her this timeâwhat about next time?
Word was, Selina would soon enter a design competition. He was a known designer.
Taking down a rookie would be childâs play.
Outside the semi-private booth, people had overheard bits of what happened.
As Mateo walked out, they stared at him with contempt.
"Thatâs the designer who plagiarized, right?"
"And he had the nerve to compare himself to Rowan..."
Mateo gritted his teeth.
SelinaâIâll remember this!
...
Inside the booth:
Selina let out a drawn-out sigh.
"Oh no, looks like I upset Mr. Bryant. Canât help it, thatâs just my personality. Youâre not mad I embarrassed your friend, are you, Miss Nelson?"
The scorn outside hadnât let up.
Even Riley wasnât dumb enough to admit now that she was friends with a plagiarist.
"Selina, I misjudged him. I had no idea he plagiarized."
She put on a look of guilt. "Iâm sorryâI canât believe I almost introduced you to someone like that. Good thing you already knew Rowan."
"Exactly," Selina replied calmly.
"So no need to worry that Iâll embarrass myself by not finding a designer. Now, shall we pick a ring, Miss Nelson?"
Rileyâs face turned every shade of redâmostly from sheer humiliation.
She had come to humiliate Selina, to remind her she didnât belong in Loganâs worldâafter all, even a decent designer was out of her reach.
But instead, Selina had pulled out Rowanâslapping her hard, and twice.
Still, Riley was adaptable. For the sake of the end goal, sheâd swallow this.
Swallowing her jealousy, she pointed to two of the designs and said, word by word, "These two look... fine."
"Great," Selina smiled, completely refreshed by Rileyâs bitter expression.
She gathered up the designs and stood casually.
"Thanks for your input, Miss Nelson. The coffeeâs on me today. And when Logan and I get marriedâyouâll definitely get an invite."
With that, Selina turned and walked away.
Riley: "!"
That bitch!
She was so furious her face turned redâshe wanted to kill Selina on the spot.
Meanwhile, Jack, who had quietly witnessed the whole scene: "..."
And here Mr. Reid was worried about Mrs. Reid getting bullied? Sheâs the one dishing it out!
...
Sapphire Valley Villa Selina walked into the villa in an excellent mood, ready to share everything that had just gone down at the café with Loganâonly to find him on the phone.
She could only make out a few words.
The voice on the other end was calm but firm.
"Logan, donât spoil her. If Riley stirs up trouble while sheâs in the country, let her handle it herself."
Logan glanced at Selina, then said into the phone, "Mm."
"Iâll be back in a while. Riley used to cling to you all the time as a kidâIâve told her off more than once, and she still hasnât changed. If she starts annoying you, donât worry about me. Just ignore her."
Selina picked up enough to guess that it was Rileyâs brother, Hunter, on the call.
She couldnât hear everything, just the name Riley popping up more than once.
freÄwÄbnovel.com She scoffed. Her excitement to share instantly evaporated.
Logan still wasnât off the phone.
Selina huffed and marched upstairs with a cold expression.
Share? What share? Mr. Reid is busy chatting with Rileyâs big brother.
Like he cares about her ranting about Riley.
Logan: "..."
The man lowered his voice.
"Hunter, Iâve got something to deal with. Iâll call you later."
But by the time he hung upâMrs. Reid was gone.
He thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and logged into an old email account.
He switched to the one under the name Rowan.
...
Upstairs.
Selina sulked a littleâjust a little.
But then again, Logan hadnât done anything wrong. He had no idea what Riley had pulled today.
And besides, sheâd already made Riley lose faceâbetter not rub salt in the wound.
Still, the urge to share everything just wouldnât go away.
Then her eyes fell on the ten design sketches on the desk.
Suddenly, she thought of someoneâ
Right... Rowan!
She couldnât just accept someoneâs custom work without even saying thanks, right?
But she hadnât contacted Rowan in agesâtheir last exchange was over email.
She had no idea if he still used that address, but courtesy mattered.
Selina logged into her email, found the old thread with Rowan, and sat up straight.
What should she write?
Long time no see?
Thank you for the designs?
Are you back in the country?
Do you still remember me?
She thought long and hard. Then, after a deep breath and some serious hand-rubbing prep, she carefully typed out a short message:
Subject: Thank You Rowan Laoshi, this is Selina.
Iâm not sure if you remember me, or if you even still use this email, but I wanted to thank you for designing the wedding rings.
If youâre in City A and have some time, Iâd love the chance to thank you in person.
She hit send, then instantly wondered if her message came off too casualâ
Was it respectful enough?
Just as she debated whether to recall the emailâding.
Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle'
ï¤Chapter 269: The One Without Connections Is You Apocalypse: The Supporting Actress Made a Comeback ï¤Chapter 739 - 395 Bite back Shadow Slave ï¤Chapter 2468 Home Bitter Home Selinaâs eyes widened.
WaitâRowan actually replied?
From: Rowan Rarely check this inbox. Just happened to today.
As long as you like the rings, thatâs what matters.
What were the odds?
He just happened to be checking his inbox right now?
Sheâd assumed it would be lost in the void forever.