Love's Change of Heart

Chapter 800 It's Just a Small Favor

Daphne ended up picking out a lot of clothes in the store because of her friend's words.

Seeing how enthusiastic she was, her friend seemed to be infected as well and picked out several items herself.

They even bought too much and couldn't carry it all, so they gave the store employees their address and asked them to deliver it to their houses.

After leaving the store, her friend held Daphne's hand and sighed, "I haven't worn such girly clothes in years. It feels like I'm back in high school or college. It's not bad."

Daphne coughed. "R-Right. The older you get, the more you should live like you're young!"

After walking a few more steps, her friend suddenly stopped and looked ahead. "Hey, look. Isn't that a 'Starry Night' endorsement? They have advertisements all over the mall."

Daphne followed her gaze and saw a large poster hanging from the mall.

It was obvious that Freddie was the one who did that.

Her friend looked around and pointed to a wall not far away. "Look, there too. This photo..." she walked closer, "has two people in it!"

Daphne only quietly let her friend drag her over. "Look, look. This young man is so handsome!"

Although the photo only showed Louis' side profile, it still left enough of an impact.

Several women beside them had already taken out their phones to take pictures as they quietly discussed who the guy in the poster was.

Afraid of being recognized, Daphne quickly pulled her friend away.

After browsing for a while, perhaps feeling guilty, Daphne bought gifts for Zoe and Leanna.

She went straight to the studio when she parted ways with her friend.

"You came at the right time," Zoe exclaimed when she saw Daphne. "I was just about to call you. The online sales yesterday were crazy, and there have been a lot of people coming to the studio these past few days. Shall we have a celebration dinner tonight?"

Daphne didn't know why, but she blurted out, "Just the three of us?"

Zoe nodded. "Yes, just the three of us."

Leanna probably knew what she was thinking. "Louis had dinner at my place last night, so there's no need to invite him again. As for President Pearson, we don't need to bother him either. So it will be just the three of us."

Daphne paused and looked at Leanna. "Louis... had dinner at your place last night?"

"Yes, he had the weekend off, so I invited him over."

Noticing Daphne's silence, Zoe and Leanna exchanged glances in confusion.

Leanna soon added, "What's wrong? Did Louis come looking for you?"

"No!" Daphne immediately denied without thinking and forced a laugh. "I just... haven't seen him in a long time. I was just asking. Okay, let's have dinner tonight. What do you want to eat?"

Leanna replied, "Zoe is still deciding. Do you have anything in particular you want?"

Feeling somewhat warm, Daphne fanned herself with her hand. "Huh? I'm fine with anything. You ladies can decide."

Puzzled, Zoe asked, "Why are you sweating? The air conditioner is on."

Daphne's smile became even more forced as she replied, "Well... I just came back from outside. It's quite sunny out there, so it's a bit hot."

Zoe glanced at Daphne's neck upon hearing that. "Why don't you take off the scarf, then? It looks really warm."

Daphne immediately covered her neck with her hand, "No... it's okay. This is my outfit for today. It won't look right if I take it off. I'll just leave it like this."

Zoe didn't agree or disagree. "Well, fashion is about wearing things out of season."

Leanna, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

As someone who was in a relationship herself, Leanna had a slight idea of why Daphne wore a scarf and was so nervous. Daphne also seemed shocked when she found out that Louis had dinner at Leanna's place… Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Daphne wanted nothing more than to end this topic quickly. She picked up the paper bag on the coffee table and announced, "I went shopping this afternoon and bought gifts for both of you. Take a look. Do you like them?"

Zoe's attention was immediately drawn to the gifts, and she started unwrapping them.

In the evening, Aidan received a call from Leanna.

"I'm going to have dinner with Zoe and Daphne later," Leanna informed him. "You should head home without me."

Aidan was quiet at first.

As he flipped through the documents, he asked, "What about dinner?"

"You can order takeout or eat out." Leanna emphasized, "Don't come find us."

Aidan drawled, "Are you throwing me away after you used me?"

What nonsense is he on about? she lamented.

He sure knows how to crack dirty jokes.

Leanna thought about how he had been working hard recently, so she suggested, "I'll bring you something to eat when I come back tonight."

"It's alright; just have fun. I have two meetings tonight anyway, so I don't know when I'll be able to go back."

Hearing him say that, Leanna felt a lot less guilty.

She replied, "Alright then, go get busy. I'm going to have dinner."

"Okay."

After the call ended, Aidan put down his phone.

Jonathan came in then and reported, "President Pearson, we just received news from Pearson Group. They agreed to let us participate in the bidding."

Although this was expected, Jonathan still felt a bit emotional.

Pearson Group clearly knew why they were participating, but they still agreed.

There were only two possibilities why they agreed to it.

One was that Pearson Group believed that whether or not Aidan intervened, it wouldn't affect what they wanted to do. Justin had enough confidence in himself.

The other possibility was that Justin just wanted to drag everyone down with him one by one, now that

things had gotten to this point.

Even if Aidan didn't participate in the New Coast project, Justin would find another way to drag everyone to hell together.

Still, Aidan only nodded indifferently. "Notify the office in Lachstein to prepare. Leanna might go to check Louis' paternity test report."

Jonathan Stoll asked, "Is Mrs. Pearson suspicious about this?"

"She has been suspecting something's off for a while, but now she finally has time to do something about it."

"Why don't you just tell her directly, President Pearson?"

Aidan leaned back in his chair and lightly tapped the table with his long fingers. "Although Elijah denies any involvement in this matter, do you think it would make her angrier if I told her the result of the test or if she found out herself after going through so much trouble? Which would be more satisfying for her?"

Jonathan inwardly marveled at how this man had countless ways to put his rivals in a state of utter despair.

Aidan continued, "Besides, she doesn't have time to leave Highside right now. She only has a few friends around her, and the only one who can go to Lachstein for this is Zoe Hart. If I'm not mistaken, Elijah asked Daniel to help him investigate this matter. That's why he went back to Lachstein.

"Zoe has helped me before, so it's just a small favor. It's a given."

Jonathan didn't say anything to that.