Chapter 132: Frustrated Nyx

"Aunt Emma, regarding the offer I brought to you a few days ago, have you given it some thought?" Noella asked as soon as the line connected.

"You might feel that promising an important position to Ello in the future offers no immediate benefit, which is why I’ve prepared a list of other promising jewelry brands."

"This time, I will help you acquire those brands outright, rather than settling for a simple partnership, Aunt."

"Ella, dangling so many benefits leaves me with no choice but to say yes. Very well. Send over the list of jewelry brands, and I’ll make my selection," a warm, cheerful voice responded from the other end.

Ever since Noella discovered the rift between Shani and House Ashbourne, she had been quietly investigating the family and mapping out her moves.

Whether those plans would be used to crush House Ashbourne or fortify it, she would simply wait for a command. In Noella’s eyes, Shani possessed everything it took to take over the house completely.

"Aunt, I’ve sent over the files. Take a look and let my assistant know. She’ll handle the details."

Noella was about to end the call when she heard her aunt speak up once more.

"You’re doing all this for that new friend of yours, aren’t you? She certainly has the potential to yield massive returns in the future. Our Ella always knows how to pick her friends."

"I’m not—" Before Noella could finish, the line went dead.

"I didn’t become friends with Shani for profit," she muttered to herself.

A few months ago, Noella never would have said such a thing. In fact, she wouldn’t have even believed anyone who claimed as much.

Ever since childhood, friendship had always been a transactional affair for her. A single playdate was expected to yield a business contract.

Everyone approached her because they wanted something from her, and Noella hadn’t seen anything wrong with that. Her upbringing had taught her to view it as completely normal.

Until she met Shani, a friend who was content simply enjoying each other’s company without a string of business contracts trailing behind.

When Shani mentioned wanting to start a business, Noella had already prepared a mountain of resources to assist her: seed capital, introductions to key industry figures, and even lending the prestige of the Rosenbaum name.

Yet all Shani had actually asked for was a contact for a lawyer. Shani had truly built everything entirely on her own terms.

Even Kiran and Sonny frequently reached out to ask if she held influence over certain projects because their families wished to collaborate with House Rosenbaum.

Again, Noella didn’t find anything wrong with that. After all, she often leveraged her connections with them to reach key figures in their respective families as well.

Shani was the sole exception. And Noella was genuinely glad to have a friend like that. Even if Shani were to seek her help in the future, the foundation of their friendship would remain untainted.

To Noella, Shani was a genuinely special friend.

...

It appeared the aftermath of Shani’s confrontation with Vivienne in the restroom had left a deep imprint on Vivienne’s mind and body.

Whenever their eyes met, Vivienne would instinctively duck her head, her body trembling visibly if one looked closely enough.

Shani was more than happy not having to worry about Vivienne for the rest of the week, especially while she was already swamped by an overwhelmingly packed schedule.

On Friday, Shani brought Nyx up to Jeryon’s room on the tenth floor.

She planned to drop Nyx off before heading to her apartment. She had scrapped her initial plan to bring Nyx with her because she felt far more exhausted than she had anticipated.

Besides, today was also the day scheduled for her and Jeryon to perform their resonance session.

Cradling her baby furball in the elevator, Shani recalled her desire to quickly reach the maximum value cap for Jeryon’s gifts, especially now that she also had to prepare gifts for Aster.

’I’m bound to forget giving weekly gifts sooner or later,’ Shani thought with a wry grimace.

"Baby, do you know what your father likes?" Shani asked, gazing down into Nyx’s dark eyes.

The little panther tilted his head in thought before posing a question of his own. "What does ’like’ mean, mother?"

"’Like’ is when you want to do something over and over again. Like how Nyx always wants to eat Red Worm Jelly, or how Nyx loves playing on the running wheel."

"Something you always do, huh... In that case, father— Wait, mother, can you understand what I’m saying?" The little black eyes widened into circles of pure wonder as he stared up at Shani.

Shani’s eyes crinkled into a warm smile as she nodded. "Mother can understand what Nyx says now, so if you ever need anything, just tell me."

"Yay! Mother understands me!" The little furball nuzzled his forehead affectionately against Shani’s cheek. Shani nuzzled him right back, gently stroking her baby’s soft fur.

"So, do you know what your father likes?" Shani steered the conversation back to her earlier question.

Nyx answered with complete innocence, "Whenever I’m with father, all father does is sit or lie on the bed while asking about mother..."

"What mother is up to, what mother likes, whether mother is having a hard time. Mother’s name is literally always on father’s lips! So that means... what father likes is mother?"

Shani was taken aback, a blush creeping across her cheeks as she recalled Jeryon’s slip of the tongue when he said that she was what he liked.

Shani shook her head briskly, letting out an awkward, dry laugh.

"Not a person, baby. Mother meant a thing," Shani explained, only to be met with a discontented grumble from Nyx.

"Why does it have to be a thing, Mother? Father likes Mother. What else could it be?" Nyx protested, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

Shani felt an overwhelming urge to cover her baby beast’s mouth. ’Stop saying ’like’!’’ She was flustered herself.

...