She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down slightly . Their gazes met , one sly , and the other dominant . In that instant , they were evenly matched in presence . Then she leaned forward slightly , her rosy lips centimeters away from his . She said , her warm breath brushed against his jaw , " Mr. Ortega , you've been friends with Florentino for years . Yet here you are , offering to help me get back at him . What are you really up to ? " He stared at her lips and suddenly licked his own imperceptibly . " I'll always have friends , but a true beauty is perhaps once in a lifetime . Right ? " She paused . In fact , it'd be a lie to claim she was unaware of her first - class appearance and figure . On the contrary , she knew all too well how often Florentino's friends mentioned her . But Fulbert was different . Was he … one of them after all ? She studied his face , trying to detect some hidden truth behind those unreadable eyes . But he had already pulled away . He adjusted his cufflinks elegantly and said with composure , " I'll be waiting for your call . " With that , he turned to leave without hesitation , as if the earlier intimate moment had never existed . Staring at his back , she was speechless for a moment , but she didn't dwell on it . She took out the card , glanced at it , and was about to toss it away . But after pondering for a few seconds , she put it back into her pocket . Back at the apartment , she took a shower first . With her soft hair cascading over her shoulders , she sat at the vanity , propping her chin on her hands while staring blankly at the 800 - thousand - dollar check from Judith . She already quit . After getting her patent back and severing ties with Travis and Lola , she'd wrap up all her loose ends in Eaveton . What Ashlan had said to her echoed in her ears . " You'll have all the best things once you're part of us again . " But she wasn't going to count on it . 0.0 % 07:07 Chapter 14 1288 Vouchers Compared to the Schroeder family in Glottenham, the Burnham family was small fry , but their internal power strug- gles were horrifying enough . Even the Burnham family despised her background , let alone the richest family in Glottenham . As her brother , Ashlan was nice enough to look out for her . That was exactly what she feared - their hard - won familial bond getting tainted by money . The last thing she wanted was to quarrel with him , or worse , see him a laughingstock because of her . She made a call . It was answered after a few seconds , and the crisp voice ringing out exuded a trace of laziness . " Sandy , hey . Wanna grab some food or drink ? " It was Lynette Hinton , her best friend . Lynette was an heiress who had rebelliously refused to rejoin her family . Back in their college days , they had collaborated on freelance online orders . After graduation , Lynette had proposed to start a studio together , where Sandria could contribute her technical expertise with her funding . But back then , Sandria had already given her patent to Florentino , and her entire focus was on building his career . Nothing else held her attention . Lynette could only give up on the idea . Sandria said straightforwardly , " Lyn , remember when you said you wanna start a studio ? " Are you still up for it ? " Lynette fell silent for an entire minute . Then she suddenly screamed , " Sandy , please tell me you're not joking ! " Hearing her tone , Sandria knew she had made the right move . " Let's meet and talk , " she said . " See you at Firefly Cafe , " Lynette said quickly . After that , she hung up quickly , as if worried Sandria might have a change of mind . Then she texted Sandria the cafe's address . Sandria pinched the bridge of her nose when she saw the cafe's staggering 300 - dollar per person average . She still had a hard time getting used to these trust fund kids ' extravagance .