Chapter 227

The tense atmosphere was getting more unbearable by the second. The mounting suspense and

drama made Eliana feel depressed.

She knew she had to do something to get out of this mess this instant, or there would be severe

consequences.

“Enough of this nonsense, Eli. Let go of me.”

Eliana broke free from Eli’s arms and distanced herself from the men’s heated confrontation.

Her actions worked like a charm, suddenly extinguishing the anger in Maurice’s heart.

“Go on about your business.”

As soon as he finished his words, Maurice turned around and left the room.

It seemed the impending crisis was finally averted.

Now that she was free from Maurice’s icy stare, Eliana breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Well, what do we have here? It seems this woman has a deep relationship with the CEO of the Moran

Group. How interesting!’

With this realization in mind, Eli looked at Eliana with a mischievous grin and said, “I see you’ve been

busy entertaining a lot of men recently.”

Eliana ignored Eli’s remark, and her determined expression remained unchanged. She just wanted to

get Preston’s ring back.

“It’s none of your business. You have something that belongs to me. Give it back.”

“As I said earlier, as long as you can prove that the ring is yours, I will happily return it to you,” Eli

replied with a sneer.

Faced with this predicament, Eliana was speechless. She had no way to prove that the ring was hers.

In the first place, the ring’s rightful owner was Preston.

Just when the situation felt hopeless, an idea suddenly came to her mind.

“Eli, do you still remember the man who bore a striking resemblance to you?”

“You mean Preston?” Eli never forgot that man. He furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity. “What about

him?”

“The ring is actually his. If you still refuse to believe me, I can ask him to confront you.”

Without waiting for a reply, Eliana pulled out her phone and immediately dialed Preston’s number.

On the other side of the building, Maurice received a call from Eliana that was intended for Preston. He

narrowed his eyes as he stepped out of the elevator.

While spending time with another man, she even had the gall to call Preston. What did Eliana take him

for? Was he simply a toy she would play with whenever she desired his company?

Suppressing his anger, Maurice took a long look at his phone but didn’t answer it.

“Sorry, the subscriber cannot be reached for the time being. Please try again later.”

Eliana called several times, but Preston never answered.

Why did the enigmatic gigolo fail to be there for her when she needed him the most? If she couldn’t

reclaim the ring for him, he deserved it.

With flushed cheeks, Eliana put her phone down, feeling embarrassed.

“All you’ve proven to me so far is that you’re a fraud.”

Eli shook his head and sneered. He was sure that Eliana was making up the whole story.

Keeping such a deceitful woman by his side would only spell disaster. There was no place for her in his

life.

Staring at Eliana with contemptuous eyes, Eli pointed to the door. “Will you leave by yourself, or shall I

ask Inger to fire you? No sane artist would allow a crazed stalker to be their stylist.”

Eliana’s jaw dropped in utter disbelief.

She was hired by his team in great confidence. Why should she quit her job just because of Eli?

“I can quit, but then you have to pay a penalty. Even if you get me fired, you still have to pay me,”

Eliana said lightly.

“Are you out of your mind?” Eli snorted in disdain. Did he look like some fool who would spend money

for the benefit of this crazy woman?

“Well, it says so according to the contract.”

Unbeknownst to Eli, Eliana had arranged a backup plan before signing the agreement.

This was a lesson she had learned the hard way after being tricked by Maurice several times.

“This is outrageous! How could I not have seen this coming? It seems I underestimated you.”

Eli gritted his teeth in frustration. There was nothing he could do to dismiss her.

Only one option remained. He had to figure out a way to make Eliana quit on her own.

“Then you can stay. Let’s see how many days of hardship you can endure. I’m looking forward to the

day you finally choose to leave,” Eli said spitefully and turned his back on her.

‘The tables have finally turned. This arrogant man can’t seem to accept that I outsmarted him with the

contract.’ Eliana smiled to herself.

Not only did she want to take the ring back, but she also needed to get paid for her services.

This time, she must stay. If she missed this opportunity, it would be nearly impossible for her to get

close to Eli again.

Later on, Eliana devoted herself to her work. She selected several outfits that she thought were a good

match and drew sketches for Eli to see.

Eli reluctantly took the sketches from her and looked at each drawing with a bored face. After a few

seconds, he scoffed and aired his disapproval.

“These clothes won’t do. They are out of date. I want newer ones. Give me something modern and

refreshing.”

His assistant nodded and replied immediately, “Understood, sir. I’ll be back with the latest jewelry

collection and clothing line sponsored by the Moran Group. It will only take a short while.”

“Hold on a second.”

Eli stopped his assistant and turned to look at Eliana with a coy smile. “You go get it. After all, you are

my official stylist. You must know about fashion more than anyone in this room.”

The smile on Eli’s face seemed to have been perfected from plenty of practice in front of the mirror.

Even the arc at the corner of his mouth was just right and visually appealing, making people feel so

comfortable in his presence that they could not help but indulge themselves in his signature smile.

During this time, not a single person could possibly refuse him no matter what kind of request he made.

While everyone was immersed in Eli’s breathtaking smile, Eliana only felt a chill run down her spine.

‘Wasn’t this the smile of a devil?’

Eliana suddenly realized just how much she missed Preston.