Finished
Now that Miguel understood the truth about the job, hearing Liam’s words made him want to slap him across the face.
How can he be so cold–hearted, so detached, when it comes to his own sister?
He offered her a job cleaning toilets!
But then, Miguel realized he had just told Caroline the same thing.
She must have felt utterly humiliated by that.
Miguel tried to calm the rising anger inside him as he asked, “So, is the job cleaning toilets?”
Liam, already anticipating Caroline would bring up the topic, immediately became defensive.
“What’s the big deal about cleaning toilets?” he retorted sharply. “The pay’s the same as the regular staff, and it’s easier! It’s actually a pretty good job. Some people just don’t even appreciate it!”
He deliberately raised his voice, clearly hoping Caroline could hear him from the other room.
Sure enough, Caroline, who was in the middle of sorting her clothes, overheard him.
But she didn’t react, her face remaining blank and unaffected by his words.
She grabbed a fresh set of clothes and walked to the bathroom to take a shower, completely uninterested in the conversation happening in the living room.
No matter what they said, she didn’t care.
After her shower, she went to bed early, the noise of the world fading away as sleep took over.
The days that followed were all too familiar: Caroline left the house early and came home late, never staying for dinner.
That is, until Saturday.
Since Sherwood Group didn’t require weekend work, she didn’t have to deliver food.
She had turned off her alarm the night before, planning to wake up on her own.
But early that morning, the sound of raised voices from the living room startled her awake.
Rubbing her eyes, she strained to hear what was going on outside her room.
The door blocked most of the noise, but she could catch bits and pieces.
It sounded like Liam was upset about something.
Caroline, uninterested, pulled the blankets over her head, trying to ignore it.
Well, I can’t sleep anyway.
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Chapter 64 Nobody’s Placing Orders
After brushing her teeth and freshening up, she walked into the living room.
The sound of muffled sobs and sniffles reached her ears
Caroline couldn’t help but let out a quiet, cynical laugh
I’ve so caught up with my work lately that I haven’t paid attention to Helen. What is she crying about now?
“Uncle Liam, nobody’s placing orders because it’s off–season. How can you blame me?”
When she heard Helen’s words, Caroline realized the argument was about problems at the factory.
I see!
I’ve been so busy that I almost forgot about that.
49%
Finished
If things were the same with what happened in my past life, the factory should be facing some kind of crisis by now.
In the living room, only Liam and Helen were seated on the couch. Miguel and Fabian had likely already left.
At that moment, Wren entered the room from the kitchen, holding a plate of toast.
Before she could set the plate down, Caroline reached over, grabbed one, and began eating.
Wren shot her an irritated glance and muttered under her breath, “Everyone else is still waiting, and here she is already eating. No manners at all.”
But she didn’t dare say that directly
to line.
Right now, Caroline wasn’t someone Wren wanted to upset.
Caroline, however, was oblivious to Wren’s disapproving look. Her attention was focused on Liam and Helen.
Liam’s voice carried a sharp edge of frustration. “You promised me this design would be a hit that we’d get tons of orders! So how can you explain this?”
It’s obvious she’s just making excuses. I can’t believe I trusted her!
Helen looked hurt, her voice soft and defensive. “Whether it’s a hit or not is beyond me! There are a lot of factors at play here, like the off–season, for instance. Our factory’s so small, and we don’t even advertise. No one knows who we are!”
Fashion is entering its off–season. Besides, the factory is barely bigger than a private workshop and hardly known; we’re certainly not putting any effort into marketing either. Who would ever hear of us?
Liam, now visibly enraged, showed no sympathy. “How do you know I haven’t been advertising? The problem is with your design! I remember the pattern maker pointing out some issues with it—what did you do about that?”
At first, when Liam saw Helen’s confidence, he believed she was creating something truly groundbreaking.
He had rushed to push the designs into production, expecting great results.
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Chapter 64 Nobody’s Placing Orders
But once the pieces reached potential clients, no one was interested.
Some even criticized the designs as “too low–quality“.
༢49%
Finished
As Liam continued to argue, unwilling to budge, Helen’s heart grew heavier with each passing moment.
This was the first time since she had returned to the Somertons that Liam had been this angry with her.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she became, and soon her tears began to fall, uncontrolled.
She sobbed, unable to say another word, as her grief filled the space.
Liam, his mind preoccupied with the impending crisis of not being able to pay wages in a few days, was overcome by frustration.
He lit a cigarette, taking a long drag, the smoke swirling through the air, breaking the silence only punctuated by Helen’s sobbing.
