Lillian got up and washed her face, and as she was finishing, an employee from Hillside Villa came up to ask her,
“Miss Lillian, would you like a massage to relax, or maybe a beauty treatment? A sweat steam? Yoga?”
Lillian had always paid attention to her upkeep, and since she started being with Conrad, she felt even more pressure not to slack off. She feared that if she let herself go, someone might surpass her, and then Conrad would lose interest in her. With no one else to rely on, her only option would be to keep working, but that couldn’t even cover her grandmother’s medical expenses.
And more importantly, John would take advantage of her again.
So she couldn’t afford to be careless.
She realized the staff might be subtly hinting that she had neglected her self-care lately and needed to start taking better care of herself.
Lillian nodded, “A beauty treatment, please.”
“Of course, I’ll go prepare on the third floor. You can head up there after your meal.”
These people were responsible for every aspect of Conrad and Lillian’s daily lives, and anything they might need had to be arranged in advance. With the high wages they earned, there were plenty of people eager to compete for the position.
When Evelyn arrived at the foot of the hill where Hillside Villa was located, she was stopped by security.
“I’m here to see Mr. Conrad.”
“There are hundreds of women here to see Mr. Conrad. Who do you think you are?” the security guard said dismissively.
“I’m Evelyn, the current top female star. You must recognize me, right?” Evelyn was too lazy to pretend to be sweet and innocent in front of such a lowly person. She took off her sunglasses to let the guard see who she really was.
The guard looked at her, glanced her up and down, and then said, “This face of yours can be a female star? Entertainment in this country is finished! Get lost!”
Evelyn’s face immediately turned livid with anger. “Are you blind? Go search for Evelyn online, do you get it?”
“I don’t care if you’re Evelyn or some other celebrity. Even if you are a female star, so what? There are lots of female stars who come here pretending to ‘accidentally’ run into Mr. Conrad. It’s no big deal.”
If they let just anyone in, what would the security be worth?
“If you really know Mr. Conrad, you wouldn’t be wasting your time talking to me. You would’ve just gone inside.”
The guard dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
Evelyn didn’t want to waste her time arguing with him, so she picked up her phone and said, “I’ll call and prove it.”
But when she tried to reach Ford, the call didn’t go through, and she didn’t have Conrad’s number.
She was left to face the disdainful look of the security guard. She had had enough of being turned away every time she tried to find Conrad.
After thinking for a moment, she decided to call Booth.
Booth, who had been sent abroad, was complaining of boredom. When he saw Evelyn’s call, he immediately answered, “Evelyn, what’s up?”
“Booth~”
“Evelyn, what happened? Are you okay? Tell me what’s going on!”
Evelyn knew that Booth would never ignore her when she sounded this upset.
“I’m at Hillside Villa, and the security won’t let me in. Booth, can you say something to them?”
Booth paused for a moment. “Evelyn, I do want to help you. And I can get into Hillside Villa. However, without Uncle Conrad’s approval, I can’t vouch for you.”
He regretted the last time when Lillian almost died because of his actions. If anything like that happened again, his uncle would probably have his life, and Booth didn’t want to take any more risks. He hoped to return to City N before Christmas, so he couldn’t afford to anger his uncle.
Evelyn was surprised at how useless he was.
“I haven’t seen Conrad in so long. Can’t you help me just this once? I’m not going to do anything wrong.”
“Evelyn, this is a serious place. My uncle only allows Lillian to go in. Even Daisy isn’t allowed. You’re a star now, right? I can introduce you to some opportunities. A friend of mine has a magazine that’s looking for a cover model.”
Evelyn sneered but didn’t want to pass up an opportunity, “Fine, I’ll go along with that.”
With that, Evelyn’s car left.
As she passed by the oncoming car, Daisy rolled down her window, looked at Evelyn leaving, and sneered.
Irene looked at her reaction and said, “Miss.”
“I’m fine. A woman like her won’t last long by Conrad’s side. Once she’s become an actress, there’s no way she’ll ever marry Conrad.”
What could Evelyn bring to the Brown Family Group? With a man like Conrad’s father, who only cared about profit, wouldn’t let his son marry her.
Daisy realized now that she had been too eager before. Going forward, she would take her time and start over properly.
As for Daisy, the security at the gate let her through, but when she reached the gates of Hillside Villa, Conrad’s people stopped her.
“What’s the matter? Don’t recognize me anymore?”
“Miss Daisy, sorry, but without Mr. Conrad’s orders, we can’t allow anyone in. You could try contacting Mr. Conrad first.”
“Is he not home?”
“We aren’t at liberty to disclose Mr. Conrad’s whereabouts, but yes, he’s not home.”
“Alright, that’s fine. I just came to drop off some desserts for him. You can take them in, and when Mr. Conrad gets back, make sure he has them.” Daisy handed the elegantly packaged desserts to the bodyguard before leaving.
She couldn’t help feeling that she’d lost face. She had mocked Evelyn earlier, and now she was the one being stopped at the door.
As Daisy got into the car, she saw a large stuffed bear sitting in the spacious sofa area, its custom logo from a luxury brand clearly visible. She had heard that Conrad kept a black dog, and she couldn’t help wondering-was the bear for the pet or some woman?
Daisy tried to reassure herself that it was probably for the pet, but deep down, she felt uneasy, as if it were meant for a woman.
She wanted to go inside, but she couldn’t summon the courage. If she angered Conrad, she didn’t want to risk it.
“Let’s go.”
Someone had arrived at the house, and Lillian surely knew. But with Conrad not being around, she didn’t feel comfortable going downstairs.
After finishing her beauty treatment, she casually asked,
“Oh, someone sent desserts for Mr. Conrad.”
At Hillside Villa, gifts of all kinds came and went, most of them expensive, but this time, someone had chosen desserts-thoughtful, yet not particularly valuable. The sender wasn’t looking to make a financial exchange but rather seeking something else… Conrad himself.
Lillian felt a pang in her chest but realized she had no right to stop others from sending gifts.
“Who sent them?”
“It was… Miss Daisy,” the maid said softly, noticing Lillian’s expression.
Lillian had initially planned to pretend she didn’t care, but when she went downstairs, she saw the beautifully packaged cake-strawberry frosting decorating it. It looked delicious.
She snapped a photo and sent it to Conrad.