Chapter 465: Forever Yours

Zeke saw her swaying unsteadily, looking like she was about to fall at any moment, so he reached out to support her again.

“What’s going on? Why did you come back over here?”

The woman leaned into his arms. “He’s no good. That designated driver is no good. You take me. I know you, so you should take me home.”

Zeke’s plans for the evening had just been ruined, and he was in no mood to argue with her.

But seeing how drunk she was, he didn’t have the heart to just leave her there alone.

“Do you even remember where you live?”

“Azure Cove.”

‘Whoa. Of course, the person driving a McLaren lives in a nice neighborhood like that.’

As it happened, Zeke knew the place. Giving her a ride wasn’t a big deal, so he helped her back to the car.

The woman rolled down the window and rested her head on the frame, letting the wind blow on her face.

About halfway through the drive, she suddenly seemed to sober up.

“You’re Zeke Walton, aren’t you? I remember now, you’re Zeke Walton! You studied fashion design in Paris! I knew you looked familiar. We were classmates!”

Zeke was surprised by her sudden sobriety. He took another good look at her but was certain he didn’t know her.

After his experience with Simone Vaughn, he’d really come to dislike interacting with women, finding them to be a lot of trouble. He never paid much attention to any of them.

He hadn’t expected such a coincidence, though.

It would have been fine if she hadn’t mentioned being classmates. The moment she did, Zeke felt a bit inadequate by comparison.

‘We’re both people,’ he thought. ‘Look how well she’s done for herself, and then look at me.’

“Really? I don’t remember.”

“Oh, you have no idea! I’ve been looking for you.”

The woman slapped her thigh. “I absolutely love your design style; I’ve always wanted to connect with you. I heard you were doing high-end fashion design here in the country, so I wrapped things up at my studio over there and rushed back. But what a coincidence! As soon as I got back, you had already quit. I heard you went to work on a website or something. I’ve been trying to find someone to get me your contact information, but there have been so many little things to deal with… Did my devotion move the heavens or something? I finally ran into you today!”

“Walton, let’s have a proper introduction. My name is Diana Dalton. Can we set up a time to talk?”

Zeke looked at her excited face and gave her a polite smile.

“You’re too kind. I don’t really have a ‘style.’ I only decided to change careers because I couldn’t come up with any more innovations in design. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Aesthetics are subjective; everyone has their own taste. In any case, the things you design really suit my taste. I just think you’re incredible. Are you turning me down because you look down on me? Or are you just too busy? How about this: I’ll pay you. What’s your current hourly rate? I’ll pay double. Could you just give me some pointers?”

This was a first for Zeke. He found this woman rather interesting.

“If I told you I’m currently unemployed, would you be tempted to offer me a job?”

Zeke was joking, but Diana Dalton took him seriously and shot bolt upright.

“Are you serious? You don’t have a job right now? And you’d be willing to work for me? This is perfect! I’ve been searching high and low, and you just fall right into my lap!”

“What annual salary do you want? I’ll pay it! Can we sign the contract right now? Oh, right, not now. I don’t have a contract with me. How about first thing tomorrow morning? I’ll have someone draw one up overnight!”

Seeing how thrilled she was, Zeke almost suspected someone had sent her to help him out on purpose.

“You really did have a lot to drink. You’re just talking nonsense. Alright, alright, stop talking for now. I’m taking you home.”

Diana Dalton shook his arm. “I’m not talking nonsense, I’m serious! I really, really love your style. Please, give me a chance. If you don’t want an annual salary, I’ll give you half the shares. We can be partners, okay? We could definitely make it big and become world-famous designers!”

Zeke had originally given up on fashion design, but her passionate, fighting words made him reconsider.

‘Could it be that fate has a plan after all? Am I destined to make a living in design?’

But on second thought, he decided against it. ‘No, I can’t.’

“Aren’t you going to ask why I don’t have a job right now?”

Right. It was as if Diana Dalton had just remembered.

“Okay, I’m asking you now. Why don’t you have a job?”

Zeke explained how he’d had a falling out with his family and that his father had blacklisted him from the entire industry.

Diana Dalton wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

“In our circle, love is a luxury. It’s rare for someone to give up wealth and status for love. That makes me admire you even more, and I want to work with you even more. Whether your dad agrees or not has nothing to do with me. We don’t have any conflicting interests. I’m not afraid of him.”

“I’m serious, let’s be partners. I really want to build a great business. Please, just give me a hand!”

Even though she spoke with sincere passion, Zeke decided he should talk to his brother first.

Although Amina trusted him completely, he still didn’t want to get too involved with women at work.

Over time, who knew what could happen? He felt it would be unfair to Amina.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Go home and think it over carefully. I’ll think about it too. Let’s give each other a few days to cool off. Once we’ve calmed down, if you still feel this strongly, we can talk again.”

Diana Dalton agreed.

「The next day.」

Zeke took the initiative to call his brother.

Although he had drunk a lot the night before, his brother still remembered Zeke’s situation and agreed to meet him.

After some negotiation, he agreed to give Zeke a chance, but his wholesale price would be two percentage points higher than everyone else’s.

After settling things with his brother, Zeke went to see the distribution manager about renting his fleet of vehicles.

The distribution manager was initially reluctant, but seeing Zeke’s persistence, he had a feeling the young man would make something of himself one day. He figured he had already helped him this much; it would be foolish to back out at the last second and make an enemy of him for no good reason. The manager negotiated a cut of the profits, and just like that, Zeke’s business was officially up and running.

On the first day the fleet was out working, Zeke’s final income was less than eight hundred, but he was still quite happy.

After all, he didn’t have to do the busy work himself. He just needed to handle the bookkeeping and manage the fleet.

If he also partnered with Diana Dalton, he could treat this as a part-time job. With two sources of income, life would get better quickly.

And so, he agreed to Diana Dalton’s partnership offer.

In the short week after the incident, Zeke had landed two new jobs. Amina was in complete awe of him.

That evening after dinner, Zeke asked her to go out for a walk.

As they were walking, he pulled Amina into a hotel.

Ever since they had moved into the small rental unit, Amina had been sleeping on the floor with his grandmother, and the two of them hadn’t been intimate in a long time.

Zeke had been so busy and tired every day before that he wasn’t in the mood. But now that he had recovered a bit, he was like a starved wolf.

Amina felt his passion, and her heart swelled with emotion.

“Zeke, with so much happening recently, seeing you in a bad mood every day… I was so scared. I was afraid that because you were dragged down by me, your mind would be filled with nothing but the daily grind, and that over time, you’d stop loving me. I love this so much, just lying here with you like this. I can feel that you’re all mine.”

Zeke pinched her small face.

“You silly girl. Everything I do, I do for you. If I didn’t love you anymore, I wouldn’t be doing any of this. Don’t let your imagination run wild. I’ll always be yours and yours alone.”