Her Rebirth.

Damien took a long sip from his latte, his eyes scanning through documents, one after the other. The coffee did little to ease his throbbing headache, and the dull ache in his muscles reminded him that he’d only had about three hours of sleep for the entire day.

His red hair, usually neatly styled, was now a mess. It was more like a bird’s nest now, and his eyes were baggy from lack of sleep. Being the Global Creative Director of Liavenne and also a top designer for Liavenne, especially with the upcoming fashion shows, meant working overtime, sometimes to the point where he found himself wanting to quit. Besides, he had originally wanted to be a designer, but because of his position as the heir, his mother had also thrust him into this role.

But then, whenever he thought of his mother’s stern face, the idea of quitting would evaporate instantly.

Just as he pinched the bridge of his nose, a figure lazily strolled into his office and made himself at home on the couch.

"What do you want, Lucas?" Damien sighed, rubbing his throbbing temples. "If you’re here to disturb me, I don’t have the time. I’m busy."

Lucas was Damien’s best friend. They had been friends since childhood and later grew to be best friends. Currently, he was the Artistic Director of Liavenne.

Lucas pouted dramatically. "Don’t be so harsh, Damien. Besides, I come bearing news."

Damien barely looked up. "What news?"

"You have a new assistant."

For the first time that day, Damien’s hand stopped moving.

His sleep-deprived brain took a second to process the words before his eyes snapped up, widening slightly in surprise. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"I have a what?"

"A new assistant," Lucas repeated cheerfully, enjoying the rare look of shock on his friend’s face.

Damien frowned, irritation seeping into his tired expression. "Why wasn’t I informed of this? Since when was there a recruitment process?"

"Because your mother brought her in."

Damien froze.

He could already feel an incoming headache.

His mother?

The very woman who had convinced his father to let her join the company, and though given the position of Vice Chairman, had always stayed in the background , mostly designing rather than interfering in management?

So for her to personally pull strings and bring someone in... she was up to something.

And there was only one explanation that made sense.

His mother had once again found a way to set him up with a woman.

Damien sighed heavily, already exhausted at the thought.

She had never stopped nagging him to settle down, constantly arranging blind dates that all ended in complete disaster.

Well, if that was her plan this time, then all he had to do was make the new assistant redundant, maybe bully her a little until she left on her own.

It wouldn’t take long.

There was a soft knock at the door.

Lucas grinned mischievously. "She’s here."

Damien immediately straightened, his expression turning cold and stern. If he could frighten her off from the start, that would be a plus.

The door opened.

A petite woman with blonde hair and bright red eyes walked in. Her posture was straight, and on her lips was a professional smile.

"Hello, my name is Amelia Cosgrove, your assistant. Nice working with you."

Silence.

Both Damien and Lucas stared at her in utter shock.

Wait. Amelia Cosgrove?

The Amelia Cosgrove? The infamous troublemaker of elite society?

The wild daughter of the Cosgrove family?

She was the one Marie Denver sent?

Lucas recovered first, but his grin widened at Damien’s stunned expression.

Meanwhile, Amelia frowned slightly, noticing their lingering gazes and lack of response.

She had done her research. She had gone online, checked what to say and how to act on the first day of a job, and had even practiced several times with Kai who had assured her she was fully prepared.

So... why were they staring at her like that?

"Is there something on my face?" Amelia asked cautiously.

Damien snapped out of his trance and coughed, realizing he had been staring for too long.

"Sorry for my impoliteness," he said, regaining his composure. "Damien Denver."

It was then Amelia recognized him. He was the man who had stood up for her during Grandfather Cosgrove’s birthday banquet. Back then, he looked quite refined, but now... he looked like he hadn’t taken a shower or slept for weeks.

However, the fact that he had once helped her caused her to have favorable feelings toward him.

If they could get along, that would certainly be ideal.

Meanwhile, Damien was deep in thought.

If Amelia Cosgrove was here, then that meant his mother wasn’t trying to set him up.

After all, Amelia was already engaged.

Which meant...

His mother hadn’t brought her in for romance.

And knowing Marie Denver, she never did anything without a reason.

That could only mean one thing—

Amelia had something his mother needed.

Or...

She had some kind of undeniable talent. And things seemed to lean toward the second option.

"Well, well, well!" Lucas finally spoke, breaking the tension as he walked up to Amelia with a bright smile. "It’s nice to meet you, Amelia! I’m Lucas Valentine, Liavenne’s Artistic Director. We’re going to be seeing each other a lot!"

"Nice to meet you," Amelia said politely, shaking his hand.

Lucas leaned in slightly, playfully. "Now, don’t mind Damien too much. He looks like a tyrant, but deep down, he’s just a workaholic with terrible self-care."

Damien shot him a glare. "Lucas—"

Lucas ignored him and continued, "He might seem strict, but he’s actually a big softie though he’ll never admit it. And if he’s ever being too mean, just threaten to steal his coffee, that always works."

Damien pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lucas. Stop disturbing her."

Lucas grinned. "Just giving her a proper introduction."

Ignoring Lucas, Damien turned to Amelia. "Apologies, but for now, you’ll have to share this office with me for the time being. I wasn’t informed beforehand, so I didn’t have time to prepare an office for you."

"That’s alright," Amelia replied smoothly. "I don’t mind."

She had expected worse.

At least neither of them were Lilac fanatics.

That alone was a relief.