Logan had finally retreated to his room when Matilda, her voice choked with emotion, managed a grateful, "Thanks."
It was all an act, of course, but she still felt the need to thank Orson for playing his part.
Alone, she still couldn't bring herself to tell Logan that Gideon had passed away.
Orson's expression was as impassive as ever. "No big deal, let's get down to business. How many design directions are you juggling right now?"
At the mention of work, Matilda quickly composed herself, opened her laptop, and they huddled together at the dining table, diving into a serious discussion about the project. Orson brought over his USB drive, and they synced their styles before initiating a video call with a few other colleagues.
Orson stayed at Matilda's place until dinner. When Chloe emerged from her room and spotted him, she nearly jumped. "Holy smokes! Orson, what are you doing here?"
Orson's brow twitched. "You scared me..."
"Oh, come on!" Chloe breezed past Orson, turning to Matilda. "See, this is that dashing designer I told you about. Didn't realize you two had hit it off already."
Orson added tersely, "We're just acquaintances, nothing more."
"Why don't you join us for dinner then?" Chloe returned from the bathroom with a facial mask on, saying, "It's perfect timing; I was about to treat Logan to a feast tonight..."
Orson didn't decline but accepted the invitation with surprising ease. His gaze swept over Matilda's profile, lingering momentarily on her delicate neck before swiftly moving away.
It was quite unexpected – she already had a son, and he was no toddler.
...
Yvan never expected to run into Matilda at the mall. She, of course, didn't notice him.
He was even more surprised to see a man by her side who bore a striking resemblance to Gideon! Had he not witnessed Gideon's death with his own eyes, he might have believed it was him, faking his demise to live under the radar.
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