?Chapter 1691:


    “No, no. I just had a few drinks earlier, that’s all. My head’s a bit foggy,” Jalen quickly said.


    Brenna remained silent. She had seen through his little performance from the start. Still, she didn’t say anything about it.


    She eyed Jalen and said evenly, “Jalen, why don’t you do the paperwork with Mr. Bernard? We’ll leave the rest to him and head out.”


    Jalen sighed heavily. Every time he thought he could outsmart her, things proved otherwise. Brenna might be young, but she was not someone to be underestimated.


    Clint said, “Mr. Bentley, the IOU you signed requires repayment within thirty days. If you don’t pay, I will personally visit your ce of work and residence…”


    It was past nine in the evening, and Sandra’s shop was still open, as were most stores along the pedestrian street. The street often stayed alive until eleven.


    Outside Sandra’s shop, a promotional cart had been rolled to the front. Its shelves were stacked neatly with cakes and bottled drinks from the hotel.


    “Gourmet cakes from a five-star restaurant on sale! Ten dors each. Pick any you like.” The recorded voice echoed over and over.


    A few customers still hovered around the stand, and business had been steady all day. By closing time, over a thousand cakes had been sold, leaving only thest batch on disy.


    Frustrated, Keira turned on Sandra and said, “The price is too low. At a proper cake shop, these premium cakes would fetch about three hundred dors each. You’re throwing money away. You should raise the price and take your time selling them. We’re losing profit here.”


    Sandra’s irritation red, and she snapped at her, “Enough. Cakes in stores are sold fresh the same day. Ours onlyst a day. After about three days, they’ll go bad. We need to sell them fast, so stopining.”


    Keira kept grumbling, but Sandra paid her no mind.


    g?lnσν????s, the heart of storytelling


    “We can’t keep selling the drinks this cheap. I’ll take them to a liquor store and see if the owner will buy them. You’re too wasteful and careless with money. No matter how much you make, it won’tst,” Keira said.


    Sandra let out a weary sigh. “Do whatever you want with them.”


    Though deeply disappointed in the Harpers, she couldn’t deny that she still relied on their help.


    She had hoped they could bring in clients for high-end custom orders to her store.


    But after seeing Ellie close a deal the night before, Sandra realized something important: the rich had their favorite designers already, and they seldom made a switch. Winning over new clients was going to be far from easy.


    Hidden away in the far reaches of the countryside, Brindleton Girls’ School served as a private haven for young women, guided by the unwaveringmitment of its principal. Ainslie Campbell devoted her life to helping girls from forgotten viges pursue dreams they never thought possible. Elsa was inspired to join the teaching staff after learning about Ainslie’s tireless work.


    Though a weekly music lesson appeared on the schedule, three decades had slipped by without an actual music ss.


    In these isted areas, most families barely got by. Young women usually got married before they turned twenty, expected to settle into a routine focused on raising children and managing a household.


    Even those lucky enough to enroll in high school often left after only a year or two.


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