Chapter 138
ว
It took at least half an hour to pull off a flawless makeup look.
Marina was just getting started.
Hans was standing so close that, even though the assistant was trying to keep his voice down. loud and clear.
“Ms. Milner?” the assistant whispered.
Only Joyce could make Hans look both annoyed and a bit apprehensive.
Hans had his own connections in Vrufield, after all.
and dealing i
hear everything
Running a two–story studio in such a pricey area luxury brands? That’s not something just anyone can pull
off.
In Vrufield, everyone knew better than to mess with the Zamora, Clark, Grant, and Milner families.
Hans immediately realized the assistant was probably name–dropping Mr. Zamora, so he gave him a hard look.
The assistant kept his head down, not daring to say another word.
Marina could tell Hans was feeling pretty conflicted.
She bit her lip, looked like she was about to say something, but in the end, she just kept quiet. ‘Forget it, better not say anything now, Marina thought to herself.
Daron was still lounging on the sofa in the back. When he saw the assistant talking to Hans, he spoke up, his voice low and cold.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
As he spoke, he got up and walked over.
Marina caught a glimpse of him in the mirror as he came up behind her chair, leaned in to look at her face.
After making sure everything looked good, he gave Hans a cold, assessing look.
Hans gave the assistant a look, signaling him to leave, then explained in a low voice.
“It’s nothing. The assistant just said Ms. Milner is coming over, just wanted to give you a heads–up,” Hans said.
As he spoke, he watched Daron’s face carefully.
Daron didn’t show any reaction at all. He just pulled out the chair next to Marina and sat down.
“Keep going,” he said.
Seeing how chill Daron was, Hans felt way more at ease. With Daron holding down the fort, he didn’t have to worry about getting on Joyce’s bad side.
By the time Joyce showed up, Marina had already finished her foundation and was busy touching up her eye makeup.
The assistant was leading her to the makeup room next door, but just as they were about to go in, Joyce doubled back and, catching the assistant off guard, burst straight into Marina’s makeup room.
11:31 Tue, Dec 30
Chapter 138
Hans’s eyes went wide with surprise when he saw her, and his hand stopped in midair, brush still in hand.
When he finally looked away, he gave Marina a subtle, unreadable look.
In their circle, talk of a marriage alliance between Joyce and Daron had been going around for ages.
Neither the Zamora family nor the Milner family had ever come out to deny it.
Plus, the rumors were about Daron, who’d never had any tabloid drama or rom fir tumor
Everyone pretty much agreed that the whole marriage alliance thing between the Milner a made up out of thin air.
his name.
amilies wasn’t just
As soon as Joyce barged in, Hans instinctively put himself between her and Marina, just in case the two started a catfight- after all, Marina was still sitting down and would totally be at a disadvantage.
Joyce walked in with a dazzling smile, her eyes only pausing on Marina for a split second before she turned her attention to
Daron, who was sitting right next to Marina.
“Daron, I heard you were here, so I dropped by to see you,” Joyce said, her tone bright and casual.
Marina pretended to focus on the mirror, telling herself, ‘Don’t get involved, just focus on yourself, even though it was hard not to pay attention to them.
But as soon as Joyce walked over to Daron, Marina’s eyes involuntarily tracked her, no matter how much she tried to look away.
Daron looked calm, his gaze softened a bit as he naturally picked up the conversation with Joyce.
“Yeah, you’re here to get your hair and makeup done too? Doesn’t the Milner family have your own exclusive stylist?” he asked.
Joyce smiled. “Getting the same makeup every time gets old, you know? It’s like eating the same dish every day, eventually, you just get tired of it.”
Daron didn’t say anything.
Marina caught a glimpse of him in the mirror, raising an eyebrow and looking all suave and composed.
She glanced down without even noticing Hans was brushing her lashes.
The lash brush poked her right in the eye, and she winced.
“Marina, you alright, sweetheart?” Hans asked, his voice tinged with concern.
He hadn’t expected her to suddenly close her eyes, so he froze, the brush still in his hand.
Daron, who’d been chatting with Joyce just moments before, suddenly went stone–faced, his icy stare sweeping over the room and sending a chill through everyone.
Hans quickly set down the lash brush and immediately checked on Marina, concern written all over his face.
Marina didn’t want to give Hans any trouble at work, and she definitely didn’t want to ruin her freshly done eye makeup. So when her eye got poked, she held back the urge to rub it, just gritting her teeth and waiting for the pain to pass.
When the pain finally faded and there was just a bit of soreness left, she looked up and gave a little wave. “I’m fine,” she said.
Noticing how red her eyes were, Hans bent down and asked, worried.
1:51
Tue, Dec 30
Chapter 138
“Does it hurt? Does it feel like there’s something stuck in there?” he asked.
Marina blinked, and that stinging, gritty feeling hit her again.
“It does feel like there’s something in there,” she replied.
Hans leaned in for a closer look and spotted a lash brush bristle stuck in Marina’s eye.
“Hold still, I’ll blow it out for you,” he said.
With that, he leaned in even closer, ready to help her out.
Daron was standing off to the side, his gaze a little chilly as he raised a hand to stop Hans.
Hans caught on fast and immediately stepped aside, turning to Daron.
“I can’t find where the foreign object is. Mr. Zamora, could you
Daron frowned, his gaze cool and impassive as he leaned in cl
take a look?” he asked.
to Marina.
Marina’s eyes were still red, and with Daron’s handsome face suddenly so close, filling her vision, her fingers unconsciously tightened on her lap.
He examined her eye with careful attention, and when he spotted the stray bristle, he gently blew on it–a soft, cool breath washing over her eye.
Marina blinked a few times, the irritation almost gone.
“There you go,” Daron said softly.
She reached up and gave him a light push on the chest.
Daron stayed close, took the cotton swab from Hans, and gently wiped away the stray bristle her tears had brought out. Then he shot Hans a sharp, icy look.
“Can you do this?” he asked, his voice cold.
Hans gave a sheepish smile and answered carefully, “Yeah, I can do it.”
Seeing Daron’s stern expression, Mari
explained quietly.
“It’s my fault, not Hans’s–he’s great at his job,” she said.
She’d just been so distracted by how cool and confident Daron was acting around Joyce that she totally spaced out. Realizing how different he was acting, she got all flustered and lost her focus.
“If you know it was your mistake, then make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Daron said, his eyes growing darker as he gave Marina a pointed look. He turned away and settled back into his seat.
Marina’s nose prickled at Daron’s words, the sting of hurt rising up–but thankfully, her eyes were already red from earlier, so no one could see how upset she really was.
Otherwise, she probably would
have been able to keep her hurt from showing.
After she’d calmed herself down, Marina glanced up at the mirror and spoke softly to Hans, “Go ahead, Hans. Let’s keep going.”
As she spoke, Marina caught Joyce sizing her up with an evaluating look.
11:31 Tue, Dec 30 J
Chapter 138
There was curiosity in Joyce’s eyes, but also a trace of condescension.
Being a woman herself, Marina could easily see through that subtle contempt–she knew exactly what kind of little games Joyce was playing behind that look.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
