Sweet Flash Marriage with the Restrained Tycoon (Isabelle and Damien) novel Chapter 213

Chapter 213 Secret Commission

Isabelle’s phone chimed softly.

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Damian was momentarily taken aback, his gaze shifting to her phone lying on the nearby table.

The notification preview didn’t show the message content–it was from WhatsApp. Out of habit, she picked it up and saw it was a message from Damian sent to her alternate Muddlehead account. She quickly switched her phone to silent and closed the app.

So when Damian sent a second message, Isabelle’s phone remained quiet.

For a fleeting moment, Damian’s suspicion that she might be Muddlehead resurfaced, but the lack of any further alert from her phone seemed to dismiss the thought.

After the explosion incident, Isabelle had no choice but to increase her personal security. She promptly hired a professional detail and tightened access protocols at the studio.

Around four in the afternoon, members of the Cross family and the Foster family arrived together.

Ever since the wedding plans had been set in motion, Regina and Caroline had begun coordinating preparations, and the two families had grown surprisingly close quite rapidly.

Throughout the late afternoon, a steady stream of well–wishers visited the studio. Most didn’t stay long, just shared a congratulatory drink before departing.

It was during a lull that Isabelle secretly checked the message Damian had sent to her other

account.

He had attached a set of Isabelle’s precise measurements, requesting a custom evening gown for a formal event.

Isabelle replied from the Muddlehead account, “Mr. Cross, it seems rather remiss to commission evening wear for your employee first and only now consider your wife.”

“Is a consultation possible?” Damian wrote back.

“No.”

A considerable time later, Damian sent another message, “I wish to personally conceptualize a design for her.”

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Chapter 213 Secret Commission

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He genuinely wanted to commission something unique for her, but he had no skill in design himself. Moreover, with Isabelle being a professional designer, he worried that hiring just anyone would fail to capture the vision he had in mind.

Having heard that Muddlehead knew Isabelle well, he had landed on this idea.

Isabelle stared at her phone, paused for a long moment, exited the app, and turned off the

screen.

She had been considering charging him a premium for the design, but she hadn’t anticipated

this turn.

Pressing her lips together to suppress a smile, she felt a wave of affection.

Well then, let him put in the creative effort!

However, the matter of Celeste’s 200,000–dollar gown still left a sour taste.

“The expressions crossing your face are more varied than spring weather? What’s on your mind?” Damian asked, observing Isabelle lost in thought on the sofa.

The rapid shift of emotions on her face was rather charming.

Isabelle shook her head and offered a noncommittal smile.

If I were the boss, and an employee had secured billion–dollar projects for the company, a 200,000- dollar bonus would indeed be appropriate and well within budget.

They wrapped up for the day around seven in the evening. Damian treated the entire studio team–security, Bonita, the twin sisters Evelyn and Emily, and the two new hires–to dinner.

Once home, they showered and lay in bed chatting for a while.

Damian sought intimacy, but preoccupied with her swirling thoughts, Isabelle declined, pleading exhaustion from the long opening day.

Damian didn’t press. He held her close, his hand absently massaging the small of her back, and kept her in his embrace until her breathing evened out in sleep.

Perhaps from sheer fatigue, she drifted off quickly.

Damian watched her for a long while, tracing the elegant line of her cheekbone with a gentle fingertip. Then, carefully, he slipped out of bed.

He went to the study and found the archival box containing Isabelle’s design sketches.

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Chapter 213 Secret Commission

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She had always treasured it, though lately she had left it accessible, almost inviting him to look. Until now, Damian had respected its privacy.

He opened it, wanting to understand her design aesthetic more deeply. His plan was to create his own concept sketch and then have Muddlehead execute it.

Since a direct meeting with the designer seemed impossible, this felt like the next best approach.

But first, he needed a draft.

*****

The next day, around noon.

Isabelle wore tailored black riding pants, a fitted mock–neck long–sleeve top, layered under a khaki utility jacket, with her pants tucked into polished leather paddock boots.

Damian was dressed in a coordinated athletic set.

They had made Brian scramble to source the appropriate attire the day before.

Today, Damian was behind the wheel.

Isabelle sat in the passenger seat, gazing out the window with a distant expression.

She was still turning over the matter of the gown in her mind.

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