“Is that really you?” Frederick asked in disbelief, “You’ve changed so much?”
Marguerite shrugged it off. “So, are you saying I’m ugly now? All kids look pretty much the same, and mind you, I was only a few days old then.”
Frederick’s eyes were glued to the photo. It was of a lively olddy holding a baby in swaddling clothes, both beaming brightly.
Snow was falling around them, but the olddy’s clothes were thin and shabby. It was a heart-wrenching sight.
No wonder Marguerite was taken in by the Lockwood family. The olddy seemed not to have the means to raise a child.
Did her parents abandon her right after she was born?
Frederick wanted to ask Marguerite about her parents and consider if he should help her find them, but he decided against it.
Marguerite never mentioned her parents or grandma, probably because it hurt too much.
He didn’t want to reopen her wounds.
At this point, she was very much like him.
Even though he now sessfully controlled the entire Winston Group, his childhood experience of being driven out of the family by his father was still a painful
scar.
He never talked about it and didn’t want to recall that past.
Suddenly, he felt a mysterious connection with Marguerite. Their simr experiences evoked deep sympathy in him.
He again looked carefully at the photo, then hesitantly handed it back to Marguerite.
Besides, he had a more peculiar feeling.
He had the impression that he had seen the olddy somewhere before.
“Your grandma seems very kind.”
Frederick returned to his desk, sitting across from Marguerite.
Marguerite didn’t think much of Frederick’s words. She shrugged, looking at the photo. “True beautyes from within. My granny was the best person in the
world.”
Her grandma left her a sapphire ne with a floral pattern, but it had mysteriously disappeared, and she hadn’t found it yet.
Marguerite thought for a moment, then looked at Frederick, tentatively asking, “Do you remember if I lost a ne in your room? Have you seen it?”
He was busy scanning through some documents and didn’t look at her. “Are you sure you lost it in my room?”
Marguerite bit her lip, her gaze shifting on him.
She wasn’t sure.
That day, when she lost the ne, she had been to many ces.
Marguerite’s silence made Frederick look up. He nced at her briefly, then bluntly said, “If you lost it, just buy a new one.”
He said it so casually. Did he think everything could be bought with money?
Marguerite was at a loss for words: “I can’t afford it.”
Frederick paused, realizing that Marguerite had only been with thepany for half a month and hadn’t received a full month’s sry yet.
She couldn’t afford to buy it, right?
“I can buy it for you.” Frederick looked at Marguerite, a smirk on his face. “But the cost wille out of your sry.”
Marguerite looked annoyed. “My ne is priceless; no amount of money can buy it!”
? ?? ? ?? ??
She thought to herself that the sapphire ne was hard-earned by her grandma. Even though it wasn’t finely made, it was invaluable to her! Frederick looked surprised. Marguerite wanted to exin the source of the amulet, but then she thought, how could a rich man understand the feelings of a poor person?
She paused and decided not to say more.
So, all she could do was mutter, “Never mind, you won’t understand anyway.”
Marguerite quickly ended the conversation when a design department employee walked in with several bottles of perfume.
“Mr. Winston, these perfumes ranked in the top three in thepetition, but the exact order is up to you.” The employee ced the perfumes on Frederick’s desk.
Frederick’s expression didn’t change: “I see, you can leave now.”
The employee didn’t leave immediately. Frederick nced at him and asked, “Is there anything else?”
The employee looked helpless, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
“Mr. Winston, ScentSpirits Ltd. is also holding a perfumepetition recently, and they’re going strong. I heard that theypletely copied ourpany, from theposition of the judges to thepetition format. What’s more, some of the entries even directly giarized ourpany’s signature perfumes.”