Her Heart Her Terms (Lily and Xavier)

Sarah quid deleted the camera's mention with her hand behind her back. The suren had gone dark when the brought it forward again.

"only managed to take a couple of photos before the staff insisted hand themover. They don't allow us to take photos here as they're worried about leaks."

Xavier wash uprised. He glanced at her with a hint of scrutiny. "You shouldn't be making such rookie mistakes,"

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Nova droop had hosted similar closed-door conferences and events before. Sarah should have known the miles better than anyone as a vice president. She had no business holding the position if she didn't, His sudden questioning and scrotim made bet feel a momentary panic.

avoided his intense gaze and lowered her head. "I can see the sea from my hotel room. Xyla used to frequent that sea. She wanted me to take a picture of the

se for her."

"You can stay here another extra day after the event ends." Xavier was slightly moved even though his expression remained cold. He was someone who had little tolerance for molation of miles. "Okay" Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she returned to her room.

The computers in the contestants n

rooms were monitored. They were prohibited from contacting anyone outside and only allowed to work on their designs. However, the computers on the fourth floor had no such restrictions

Sarah first forwarded the photos to an email address before asking the recipient to send them to Gloria's address which she had carefully investigated beforehand.

Gloria received the photos of Lily secretly meeting with Lawrence half an hour later.

Although Lawrence was part of the organizing team, he was the general supervisor and could be considered a capitalist.

the agenda with Gloria who aimed to select truly elite contestants.

She couldn't stop Lawrence from meddling and could only look for any opportunity to remove Lily from the competition.

Lily headed to the designated location to collect the competition rules and requirements an hour later. The contestants saw each other as rivals and didn't speak a word to one another.

The judges' panel remained the same, while the sponsor seats included Xavier and Terence. Both men were dressed in sleek black suits and seated in a dimly lit

Lily only glanced at them briefly but immediately recognized them. She couldn't believe they were both here

She was surprised. A burning gaze from the shadows was too intense to ignore, and she quickly averted her eyes without daring to look again.

found a seat and listened quietly as they explained the competition rules before she queued up to collect the design requirements.

She didn't look at ever throughout the session. Yet, his presence was too imposing that she found it impossible to disregard

The session ended before lunch, and the competition had officially begun. Lily returned to her room with her things. A pair of large hands reached in to block the door just as she was about to close it "Lily" It was Terence.

the quickly opened the door. "Terence"

"I have a work matter to attend to, so I'll have to trave. I can't be here for you throughout the entire competition. I just want to wish you good luck!" Terence stood

the doorway and maintained a polite distance.

"Alright. Thanks." Lily was unsurprised by his departure.

Everyone there could leave but wasn't allowed to reenter during the competition. He wouldn't be able to retum once he lett

He glanced at her for a few seconds before adding, "Call me from the hotel's receptionist desk if anything happens." Lily nodded, "Got it

"I'll wait for you in the underground parking lot when the competition ends the night after tomorrow."

Terence pulled out a tall steaming bag from his deep gray wool coat. "Maryanne asked me to bring this for you."

It was Lily's favorite roasted sweet potato.

She accepted with a smile that lit up her face. "Thank her for me."

Chapter 252