That money belonged to the company. She didn’t think it was wise to invest it all into the project—what if it all ended up being for nothing? If that happened, all the project’s available cash would be tied up, and the losses later would be even worse. Aurora pressed her lips together. A situation like this wasn’t something that could be salvaged afterward. That was exactly why, after thinking it through, she realized that partnering with John had probably been a misstep. She didn’t even know why, but panic started creeping in.

She felt lost, unsure of what to do next. It was the first time her assistant had ever seen Aurora like this. He had no idea how to help her.

“But Miss Walton, if we don’t use that money, what do we do about the overseas project?” he asked, his voice tinged with urgency. They couldn’t just keep dragging this out. This was a double-edged sword. The longer they stalled, the more time and energy both sides would waste. In the end, forget making a profit—whether they could even complete the project was in question. It was precisely because of this that Aurora felt so uneasy. What if the whole thing fell through? And John—what was going on with him? He’d suddenly turned cold and unreasonable.

Aurora glanced at her assistant, then forced a faint smile. “Let’s head back. I’ll figure something out later.” With that, she got into her car and drove off alone.

Ian watched her retreating figure, helpless but knowing full well the most important thing now was not to add to Aurora’s burden. Otherwise, it would do no one any good. But Aurora knew this couldn’t go on much longer either. Still, for now, she truly didn’t have a better solution.

When she got home, she decided to shelve the issue temporarily. She needed to dig into what was really going on behind John’s sudden change. After all, up until now, John had always treated her well and never hinted at changing the terms. It was only this time, without warning, that everything shifted. She couldn’t figure out why. The thought left Aurora feeling bitter.

As expected, no one could truly be relied on. The only person she could count on was herself. After everything she’d been through, she should’ve grown to know that by now, shouldn’t she? Aurora took a deep breath and finally returned home.

Seeing the house completely dark, she guessed that the other two probably weren’t in. A quiet sigh of relief slipped from her lips. That was fine—at least she didn’t have to face Wendy’s face tonight. Even though she had long grown used to it, not seeing her was still a much better option.

With that thought, Aurora forced herself to perk up and walked straight into the house. After a quick wash-up, she went straight to bed. Even in her sleep, her brows stayed furrowed, as though she couldn’t find peace even in her dreams.

After all that had happened, she no longer knew how to face the board. She knew exactly how much pressure they had placed on her, how many eyes were watching her every move. That was what made the pressure so unbearable, what made her so afraid of failure.

When Lucas came home, he found Aurora fast asleep, yet visibly restless.

“No… don’t… it’s still negotiable…”