Bianca got home veryte, surprised to find her mother, Yvonne, still awake. As she walked in, Yvonne nced at the clock on the wall.


    Three in the morning.


    Yvonne''s face was stern, her voiceced with a warning. "This isn''t Europe. Can you please tone it down a bit?"


    Bianca, looking like her fun had been spoiled, tossed her handbag onto the sofa and slumped down beside it. "I know," she mumbled dismissively.


    Yvonne''s sharp eyes caught a faint red mark peeking out from the cor of Bianca''s dress. Her brow furrowed, but she only said, "Remember to wear a turtleneck tomorrow. Don''t let Seth see that."


    Her words made Bianca subconsciously touch her neck.


    "And another thing," Yvonne continued, "the rumors about you being bad luck haven''tpletely disappeared. You need to find a way to turn this situation around quickly before it gets out of hand."


    This was the very issue that had been giving Yvonne sleepless nights. She was being ostracized by the socialite circle, especially by Mrs. Naylor and her clique. No matter what she did, no matter how much she tried to ingratiate herself, nothing worked. She hadn''t yet secured her footing, and the title of ''Seth''s future mother-inw'' wasn''t enough to give her a backbone.


    Just today, one of the women had snidely remarked that an engagement wasn''t a marriage. Whether Bianca would actually make it into the Harcourt family was still up in the air. The elite circles were full of broken engagements. Nothing was certain until the very end.


    "The news will be out tomorrow. It should overshadow the negative press," Bianca said, not sounding too concerned.


    Yvonne rxed slightly but still advised her daughter in earnest, "You need to manage both fronts. How are things progressing with Seth?"


    Bianca seemed reluctant to answer.


    But a mother knows her child.


    Yvonne immediately understood and grew anxious. "Still no progress?


    What did tell you? If you have toets


    find a way to move in with him You''re engaged, after all. Living together is perfectly normal."


    Something in her mother''s words struck a nerve, and Bianca''s patience wore thin. "Just stop worrying about my rtionship with Seth can tell you with absolut certainty that he loves me very much."  s?novels


    After everything that had happened, she waspletely sure of Seth''s feelings


    for her. She was confident his heart belonged to her, and that was indisputable.


    "I just mean-"


    "Enough. I''m tired. I''m going to bed. You should get some rest too," Bianca cut her off, rising from the sofa and walking away.


    The next day, just as Bianca and her


    mother had predicted, the news spread like wildfire. The title of ''Doctor of Finance from a world-renowned business school'' was enough to restore Bianca''s morous image. Ima society that revered academic achievement,


    highly educated persona was always well-received.


    Ascendancy Group''snguishing stock price began to rebound. The shareholders who had been grumbling about Bianca changed their tune. With Seth''s unwavering support, any remaining dissent was silenced.


    The Ascendancy Group''s quarterly meeting went smoothly. Afterwards, the vice president knocked and entered. "Ms. Gilmore from Winrich is here to see you."


    Seth''s eyes remained on the document in front of him. "Show her in," he said without looking up.


    Bianca had been about to leave, but at the mention of Noreen''s name, she sat back down. While she was confident in Seth''s love for her, that didn''t mean she trusted other women-especially not Noreen.<fn938f> Newest update provided by fι?dnοvel</fn938f>


    Just before Noreen entered, Seth finished his work and looked up. He saw Bianca adjusting her cor and asked with concern, "Are you hot?"


    "A little."


    To hide the love bite deep on her neck, she had specifically chosen a ckce turtleneck.