A sudden gasp broke the silence.
Nina had drawn everyone's attention. She quickly covered her mouth, looking embarrassed.
"Sorry," Nina said softly. "I saw Miss Valtieri's outfit and thought she was one of the maids. I didn't realize she was Angus's girlfriend."
Her words instantly shifted the mood.
Richard finally noticed the contrast between Liesa's simple clothes and Nina's expensive dress. His brows tightened slightly.
Sam looked at Liesa with concern, thinking
He thought,
Liesa, however, remained perfectly calm. She stood there openly, letting everyone look her over.
Then Liesa smiled gently at Nina. "Miss Swanson, are you feeling forgetful today?" Liesa asked. "Didn't we already meet before? When you came to see Angus and cried to him about your problems?"
The moment she said it, Silas and Nina both stiffened.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Nina snapped sharply. "When did I ever go see Angus? Stop making things up."
Liesa froze slightly, as if startled by the reaction.
"Oh—sorry," Liesa said quickly, looking flustered. "I must've misspoken. Please don't take it to heart, Miss Swanson."
Nina finally relaxed as she thought,
Nina lifted her chin and spoke coldly. "Just remember that. And stop spreading rumors in this house."
Liesa noticed the dark looks on Silas and Richard's faces and decided she had said enough.
She thought,
After all, the image was already awkward.
A future sister-in-law secretly crying to her brother-in-law? That alone was enough to make people start imagining things.
Thanks to Nina's interruption, no one kept questioning her background.
Liesa didn't feel like playing games with them anyway.
"I'm a rehabilitation therapist," Liesa said calmly. "As for my background… my father passed away early."
Liesa paused slightly before continuing.
"My mother died of kidney failure not long ago," Liesa added quietly. "I still owe the hospital a lot of money."
Liesa gave a faint smile. "So financially speaking, I'm probably worse off than someone with nothing."
When Liesa had connected to Angus's neural signals earlier, she had already guessed people would investigate her identity.
Liesa thought,
The room fell into a brief silence.
No one had expected Liesa's background to be so… humble. Some people looked sympathetic. Others sneered. A few didn't even bother hiding their displeasure.
Only Angus remained calm. Angus glanced at Liesa once, his expression unreadable, as if her past meant absolutely nothing to him.
Strangely enough, Liesa liked that attitude.
Richard studied her quietly for a moment. Then he walked over and sat down on the sofa.
"I need to talk with Angus," Richard said flatly to Silas. "Take Nina home first."
Richard cast Silas a short glance after speaking.
Silas paused for a second before nodding. "Nina, let's go rest," Silas said casually.
But inside, Silas was already thinking about something else as he wondered,
Only then did Nina begin to sense that something was wrong.
Unfortunately, by the time Nina opened her mouth, no one cared anymore.
Nina shot Liesa a tearful look before quickly following Silas out of the room.
Liesa blinked in confusion. She thought,
Richard glanced at Liesa again and frowned slightly.
"Miss Valtieri, you should go rest as well," Richard said.
The difference in tone was obvious. One was "Nina." The other was "Miss Valtieri."
The distance between the two could not have been clearer.
Luckily, Liesa wasn't actually Angus's real girlfriend, so the slight didn't bother her much.
After the long drive, Liesa was already tired anyway. She was just about to nod when Angus suddenly spoke.
"She's not tired," Angus said coldly.
Liesa froze instantly.
The yawn she had been about to release got stuck halfway. Her eyes even watered a little.
Still, under Angus's cold gaze, Liesa forced a stiff smile. "Yes, Mr. Grayson," Liesa said carefully. "I'm not tired."
Richard's anger visibly deepened. But after a brief pause, Richard forced himself to suppress it.
"I called you back today for more than just my birthday dinner," Richard said slowly.
"There are also issues within the group." Richard paused and studied Angus's face.
"Your health isn't good, and I'm getting old," Richard continued calmly. "So I'm planning to let Silas handle some responsibilities."
"Since you refuse to leave the house," Richard added, his tone steady, "give me the company seal. It'll save Silas the trouble of running back and forth."
Liesa blinked slightly. She thought,
Richard didn't even bother hiding his intentions.
Liesa glanced at Angus's dark expression and sighed inwardly.
She thought,
Then another thought crossed her mind.