This man had really taken a liking to sleeping in her bed. Every single time, he would pull her into his arms and hold her tightly through the night. At first, Aurora had found it a little hard to adjust, but eventually, she got used to it. It wasn’t such a big deal anymore, especially with the weather starting to become colder; having a built-in space heater wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

When Lucas saw her getting ready to leave for work, he initially offered to drive her, but she turned him down without hesitation. Left with no choice, he watched her go on her own. When Aurora dug in her heels, there was no talking her out of it. No one could control her, no matter how hard they tried. Lucas had seen enough to know better by now. He didn’t waste his breath on such things anymore.

Lucas understood one thing very clearly: Aurora wasn’t someone who could be managed. Rather than trying to rein her in, he figured it was better to make sure she was taking care of herself.

“Then how about dinner tonight? I’ll cook for you,” he offered.

Aurora paused for a moment, then nodded. It had been a long time since they sat down for a proper meal together. At this point, she wasn’t even sure who was punishing whom.

After arriving at the office, Aurora found herself distracted—Lucas’ handsome face kept replaying in her mind like a broken record. She sighed. She was here to work, not to daydream.

She had barely even sat down when Ian came to the door. “Miss Walton, the chairwoman wants to see you.”

Aurora froze for a second, her pen halting mid-stroke. A dull ache throbbed behind her eyes. “Alright, I got it. I’ll head over now.”

Ian glanced at her, clearly worried by how drained she looked. After all, he’d seen it all lately—Aurora hadn’t had a proper rest in a long time. And now she was being summoned by the chairwoman. He didn’t need to guess what it was about. It would definitely be some form of interrogation.

“Miss Walton, if there’s anything you need help with, just let me know.”

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

With that, Aurora stood up, ready to head to the chairwoman’s office. There was no point in running from it any longer. She reached the office and knocked. Only after hearing a voice from inside did she push the door open and step in.

Right away, she noticed something—her mother wasn’t alone. One of the senior executives was also present. Seeing that, Aurora already had a good idea of what this was about.

“Madam Grace, you wanted to see me?”

The executive scoffed. “What kind of tone is that? Can’t we speak to you unless something’s wrong?”

Grace simply sipped her water, her expression unreadable, making no move to intervene.

Aurora smiled. “Of course not. Whether there’s something or nothing going on, I’m always available. I’m well aware of my place.”

Her words left no room for criticism. Even though the executive found them suspicious, there was nothing to latch onto. With a flick of his sleeve, he sat down on the couch.

“The reason we called you in today is because of LC Corporation. We want to know—what exactly is your plan?”

Aurora studied the executive for a moment. It all made sense now. He was clearly just a mouthpiece for someone else. As for her mother, she was obviously just there as a neutral observer. This was a formal reprimand, plain and simple.

Aurora kept her smile. “You don’t have to worry. I can handle the situation with LC Corporation.”