Chapter 254 Striking First?
Fiona gazed at Darwin, his face inexplicably brimming with pride.
"Lilian places great value on the RH Company project." She kept to herself the fact that Lilian had plagiarized her proposal, but Fiona wasn't about to let it slide.
This was simply a clash of interests, and she felt no need to drag Darwin further into the fray, avoiding the mess of tangled priorities.
"Hmm," Darwin's smile faded slightly, "Her proposal is indeed impressive, but it pales in comparison to yours."
Fiona studied him intently, searching his face for any hint of romantic sentiment towards Lilian.
Her search ended in vain.
"What are you looking at?" Darwin pulled her closer by the waist, gazing up at her.
Fiona brushed her fingertips gently across his cheek, causing him to nuzzle into her hand like a kitten seeking affection.
"Don't stay away too long, come back soon," he whispered softly, his voice barely a murmur.
What he truly wanted to say was, "Don't leave."
Their child could be looked after by someone else.
Their time together had been too brief, and he would often wake up in the middle of the night, terrified that his memories were just figments of delirium or dreams born from his longing.
"Okay," replied Fiona.
Her soul was torn between sensibility and rationale.
Her emotions were swayed by Darwin, aligning with him without hesitation.
Yet reason hung over her like a guillotine, constantly reminding her of the past and the abyss that lay between them.
Fiona had always been decisive.
Darwin was like an unexpected twist of fate, crafted deliberately by the Creator.
He made her hesitate and complicated her feelings, leaving her twisted and anxious inside.
Darwin had a soft spot for Fiona's gentle ways. Even her indifference, or a mere murmur of acknowledgment, was enough to satisfy him. He held her close, cheek against her body, eyes closed, greedily inhaling her essence as it enveloped him.
Then, in the midst of this perfect moment, his cell phone rang.
Closer to Fiona, she reached out, glanced at the caller ID, and handed it to Darwin. "Lilian," she said simply.
Darwin frowned instinctively, released Fiona, and took the phone, answering right there in front of her. "What's up?"
"Where are you?" Lilian's voice came through, laced with the unmistakable sound of tears.
"At home," Darwin responded.
There was a pause. "Are you with Miss Rhoads?" Lilian asked meekly.
"Yeah." Darwin didn't bother to hide it.
At that moment, Lilian sat in her car, parked just outside the apartment building. She had followed Chelsea's car and watched her and Darwin enter the building, one after the other—a building she was never allowed to visit because it had been Fiona’s place. Yet Chelsea could just walk in; maybe Darwin had already registered Chelsea’s fingerprint to unlock the door...
Jealousy seethed within Lilian. Five years of effort seemed futile when Chelsea, bearing a striking resemblance to Fiona, effortlessly got what she never could. The thought nearly drove Lilian mad.
As minutes turned to an hour, and neither Darwin nor Chelsea reappeared, Lilian’s mind was tormented with images of the two intertwined.
"Darwin, I think I've made a mistake," Lilian said, her voice trembling as she lowered her gaze and covered her face.
As Fiona started to leave the living room, not wanting to eavesdrop on the call, Darwin, as if afraid she would slip away, reached out and grabbed her hand, his injured one cringing with pain.
Fiona glared at him, silently mouthing, "I'm not leaving!"
Without another word, Darwin pulled her down to sit beside him. "What did you do wrong?" he probed.
"The proposal today ... I collaborated with someone outside, and I just found out it's an old one that Monsoon Investment discarded," Lilian confessed, her voice on the verge of breaking. "The person who sold it to me has disappeared, and I'm worried Miss Rhoads will think I intentionally plagiarized their old proposal."
Lilian's biggest fear was that Chelsea would go to Darwin with her grievances.
After racking his brain, he could only come up with one solution.
Darwin glanced at Fiona. He recalled how during Lilian's presentation, everyone from Monsoon Investment had seemed ready to explode with anger.
"Darwin, I just wanted to secure this project for Solomon. Miss Rhoads is amazing, and I've admired her even before meeting her. So the pressure was on. When that person approached me with the proposal, I was genuinely dazzled by its content, and...I got carried away. Believe me, I triple-checked that the idea was original before buying it... I never expected things to turn out like this! I have no clue how Monsoon Investment's proposal ended up in his hands..."
Darwin almost wrapped Fiona in his arms.
Fiona could clearly hear Lilian's voice.
And what was she suggesting? That the coincidence was too perfect, and someone must have set a trap for her.
Who could it be?
Naturally, it was Chelsea, who was jealous of Darwin's first love.
Typical Lilian.
After all these years, no sign of growth.
Or maybe... more likely, she counted on Darwin taking her side, so she crafted her excuses carelessly, and they came out particularly sloppy.
"No matter the excuses, this is a serious incident," Darwin said, his voice stern.
Lilian visibly flinched.
She had caused trouble before, but Darwin had never said much, just sent someone to handle it.
This time...
After a few seconds of silence, Lilian spoke, "Has Miss Rhoads spoken to you about it? What did she say? Did she accuse me of shamelessly plagiarizing? Do you believe her?"
"She didn't say a thing," Darwin's tone was clearly irritated now. "Yes, such a big issue, why wouldn't she talk to me about it?"
Darwin's gaze returned to Fiona.
Fiona was silent.
"Is she around? How about we have dinner together tonight? My treat, and I can explain things to her in person!" Lilian's voice was soft and pleading, "Darwin, you and her are headed towards marriage, right? In the future, she and I will inevitably need to interact, so it's best if we don't have any conflicts."
"No need."
Darwin didn't even bother to ask Fiona what she wanted.
He declined straight away.
"Is that her wish, or yours?" Lilian's voice was tinged with a mournful tone after a moment of silence.
"Mine," Darwin answered.
With a sad chuckle, Lilian said, "Darwin, are you shutting me out? Do you think I’d harm her?"
Before Darwin could respond...
Lilian's voice carried a self-deprecating tone as she pursued the question, "Is this really how you've always seen me? We've known each other for over a decade. Have you ever seen me hurt anyone?"
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