Chapter 181

Chapter 181

Catherine's cheeks turned red. She glanced at her friend and said, "Stop saying that — your boyfriends treat you pretty well too, don't think I don't know."

She'd seen plenty of guys waiting downstairs for them after work before, and honestly, she'd felt a little envious.

Just as she was saying this, her phone rang. It was the butler from the Russell Mansion.

"Ms. Spencer, Mr. Russell is out. Mrs. Russell would like everyone to come for dinner tonight. She's hoping you can join — says there's something important to discuss. Are you free today?"

The butler's voice was more careful than usual, which felt a little off.

Catherine's expression went serious. She didn't know what to say, and she looked visibly uncomfortable.

Leo had just left, and now Phaedra was calling her over. This was clearly on purpose.

Before she could say anything, the office door swung open, and Alexander walked in. He heard what was going on and headed straight over.

"We'll be there when we can. That's enough," he said, and hung up the phone.

He caught Catherine's questioning look and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his eyes full of quiet concern.

"Don't worry, I'm here. You don't need to overthink this."

That evening, the Russell family gathered for dinner. Leo was absent. Phaedra sat at the head of the table, her expression unreadable.

When the meal was mostly done, Phaedra finally set down her fork and looked at Catherine.

"Catherine, I didn't handle things well before. This dinner is my way of apologizing."

Catherine nodded politely. "Grandma, you don't have to say that."

Phaedra's tone then shifted. "A daughter-in-law of the Russell family represents the family's dignity. There are traditions that have been passed down — things one should know."

She gave the butler a look, and he immediately stepped forward with a tray holding what appeared to be a set of dining utensils.

"This was passed down by the first matriarch of our family. It contains the rules of etiquette we follow."

Phaedra pointed to the items on the tray and looked at Catherine. "Catherine, you're holding things that belong to our family now. That makes you part of the Russells, in a way."

The moment she said it, the relatives at the table started murmuring among themselves, all eyes on Catherine with open curiosity.

This wasn't about manners at all. It was a public humiliation — and it was completely deliberate.

Before Catherine could respond, Alexander, seated beside her, dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

He picked up the book from the tray, flipped through a couple of pages, then shut it.

His gaze swept across Phaedra's face. He picked up his chopsticks, placed a piece of fish in Catherine's bowl, then slowly looked up at Phaedra and spoke in an even voice.

"The Russell family's rules have changed. Keeping this around serves no purpose. Get rid of it."

His voice was calm but carried real authority. "My wife doesn't need to learn any rules. None."

He paused and reached for the soup bowl in front of Catherine, ladling some into her bowl.

"In this family, she's the one who looks after me. There's no reason for her to wait on anyone else."

He set the soup bowl gently beside her, then met Phaedra's eyes directly, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.

"And Grandma — you're getting older, so your memory isn't what it used to be. Let me remind you again: in this family, I make the decisions now."

 

Meanwhile, Nora sat in front of her computer, with dark circles under her eyes, staring at the design draft and losing her mind.

"What is this client's taste?! They want something colorful AND minimalist?! Why don't they just design it themselves?!"

Someone set a coffee down beside her.

Without looking up, Nora said, "Leave the delivery there. I'm busy."

"It's not delivery," came a laid-back voice.

Nora turned around. Liam was leaning against her desk.

"Why are you here again?" She frowned, not bothering to hide her irritation.

"Brought you some info about the Russells," he said, holding up his phone. "And I'm going to clean up this disaster zone."

He rolled up his sleeves and started sorting through the files and fabric swatches. Nora just stared at him.

He never said much. He'd just quietly organize her files, and he'd even started showing up to cook late-night snacks.

"Hey — don't touch my wall!" Nora snapped back to reality and rushed over to grab all the reference materials that she'd pinned up.

Just then, her phone rang. The caller made her stomach turn.

"Ms. Harrison, the logo still isn't right. Can you make it feel more premium? It needs to look expensive at first glance. What you have isn't working. Please revise it."

Nora took a deep breath, ready to snap back — but her phone was suddenly pulled from her hand.

Liam took the call and walked to the window, his tone completely relaxed.

"Hi, this is Liam Thornton. As for this design — I trust my friend's professional judgment completely."

"You can either go with the version she gave you, or you can switch designers right now. Triple the penalty fee will hit your account tomorrow morning."

There was a brief silence on the other end, then a very eager voice said, "Mr. Thornton? Oh, there must be a misunderstanding! Ms. Harrison's design is excellent — we'll go with this version! Absolutely this one!"

Liam hung up and tossed the phone back to Nora, and raised an eyebrow. "Done."

Nora stared at him. For the first time, she didn't fire back. She turned away awkwardly and said under her breath, "Mind your own business."

 

The next morning, Nora found a sandwich and a pour-over coffee waiting in Liam's car.

He glanced at the breakfast sitting in the passenger seat, then smiled. "Brought you takeout. Did you eat this morning?"

Nora looked at him, and out of nowhere, she felt like crying. "You've solved all my problems, and now you're buying me breakfast too."

She thought about how she'd been buried in work lately — no sleep, no time for anything.

Liam's expression turned a little serious. "Didn't we sort everything out yesterday? Why are you still working today?"

One mention of his name and everything got handled. Just like that. No drama.

Nora thought about the past few days and felt a fresh wave of frustration. "I kept revising and revising, and it made no difference. They were just messing with me on purpose."

All those late nights, and in the end, it took one sentence from him to fix what she couldn't.

Liam just smiled. "Next time you're done putting up with someone, just drop my name. You don't have to stress about it."

Nora looked at him curiously. "Your name sure carries a lot of weight. How come I've never seen you on any rich list?"

She'd looked before and couldn't find anything on him. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious he seemed.

Liam looked genuinely annoyed. "Do you even know how to search? There are plenty of women who'd love to marry me."

He'd been treated like royalty his whole life. This was literally the first time anyone had claimed not to know who he was.

Nora rolled her eyes. "Who do you think you are? Why would everyone need to know you?"