"Hi, Ms. Evans. Are you also here to have coffee?”. Ayla approached Yareli. "I'm just here to deal with some private affairs. But now that I have time, shall we have a cup of coffee together?”. She had already planned to go to the Clark Group's office to find Ayla. It was good that they ran into each other here at the coffee. shop. Ayla nodded. "Sounds lovely. Afterwards, they ordered a cup of coffee and sat at a table by the window. "So, Ms. Evans, have you dealt with the private affairs you mentioned earlier?”. Ayla glanced at the portfolio that Yareli had put aside. "No, not really. Yareli was certain that the girl she met earlier was not her daughter. Puzzled, Ayla looked at her, and said, "So, does that mean you're not done with it yet?". “Actually, I've been looking for my daughter who has been missing for twenty years already. There was no need for Yareli to hide that fact from her. As a matter of fact, she already thought of Ayla as her own daughter. "Your daughter? I thought you never got married?" they wasn't expecting that someone perpetually single like Yareli actually had. a daughter. It seemed that she still had difficulties of her own. A bitter smile appeared on Yareli’s lips. "That's right. I believed that I would live alone for the rest of my life. And so, after I gave birth to my child, I left her at the door of. an orphanage. II've been wanting to get her back, but I never saw her again. During the past two decades, she had suffered every night she remembered her daughter. The thought of losing her daughter pushed her to work harder. And if sometime in the future, she could find her daughter, she would tell her how sorry she was. She owed her daughter a lifetime of apology. If she could ever find her again, she would give her a good life, and never would she live a life of suffering again. When Ayla saw tears rolling do wn Yareli’s cheeks, she grabbe d a tissue and wiped them away. "I'm sure that if your daughter is still alive somewhere, she de finitely wants to see you, too. She felt the same way. If someday, her bi ological parents showed up, she would de finitely be the happiest person on earth. But for some reason, she felt that that day might be too far away. She even doubted if it would ever come. "You think so? But I abandoned her

No matt er how hard my situation was, I shouldn't have left her. " Yareli resented herself for . what she did. It didn't matter how wealthy she ha d become, because it could never fi ll the void of losing her daughter. "She'll understand why you did it. Ev ery parent has their own reason for giving up their children," said Ayla. That was the same thing she told herself. Her parents probably must've been left wi th no other choice but to abandon her. Her . words of comfo rt made Yareli feel at ease. "You're a good girl. Oh, how she hoped that Ayla could be he r daughter! She had taken a liking to h er ever since the first day she saw her. If by some ungodly reason, she couldn't fi nd her real daughter, she would adopt Ayla instead. They kept chatting for about two . hours before Ya reli drove back to the company. “Lala, I heard you're in charge of half th e designs for the third show. And the third show is a bigger project. Both you and Linda . must be well-pr epared!" . Although Yareli had been in Italy, she ha d known everything that had I been happen ing to Ayla while she was working for the . Clark Gr oup in A ntawood. "That's right. I'll work hard to make it a suc cess. II've already finished my designs for th e third fashion show. Actually, I was hoping if . you could take a look at the m and give me some pointers for improvement,” said Ayla. "No problem," Yareli agreed, and then the two of them we nt into the office together. As soon as Linda sa w Yareli, she got up and approached her. "Ms. Evans, you're here! Would you like something to drink? I'll get it for y ou. Which do you prefer? Coffee or tea?” . "No, thanks. I've already had cof fee with Lala earlier. I just came here to see how things are going. As she sat on the sofa, Ya reli nodded at Ayla and ask ed her to show the designs. At once, Ayla brought her a portfolio of all her drafts for the third fashion show. Carefully, Yareli examined them o ne by one. After a while, she got up and said, "Lala, come with me. Once the two of them were in the meeting room, she said to Ayla, "Tell me more abo ut the style you used, and the features of . each dre ss. Ayla's answers impressed Yar eli very much. "I'm surprised at the progress you'v e made, Lala! It's only been a few m onths, and you're already this good

She closed the folder, and said, "There's still time before the next fashion show. If you have some spare time on your hands, you . should design a fe w shoes to match th ese dresses, Lala. A designer must bear in m ind that she should keep her designs comprehensive. Despite the fact the designers h ad different strengths, it was b etter to be good in all aspects. Moreover, Yareli had been wanting to laun ch a series of shoes. If Ayla could design shoes as well, she would be the most capable designer in he r company! Perplexed, Ayla looked back at . Ya re li. "Ms. Evans, I'm afrai d that I wouldn't be able to do it well. "You'll know once you try. I'm certain that you've alr eady learned how to do it. Yareli gave her a pat on the shoulde r to encourage her. "I have some references that could help you with designing shoes. I'll send them to you later, so you can study it. If you have any . questions or concern s, you can come to m y hotel room later. "Okay. " Ayl a nodded in agreement. There was no wa y she would give up that easily. Knowing that Yareli wa s rooting for her only served to embolden her. Even if she encountered all sorts of difficu lties during the drafting process, as long a s she didn't give up, she would push through . no matter ho w difficult it could get. When Brian found out that Yareli and Ayla were in te meeting room, he walked in, a nd said, "Ms. Evans, why didn't you come to . my offi ce?” . "I'm having a chat with Lala. Mr. Clark, com e, take a look. What do you think about thes e designs? I told Lala to try designing the . shoes, t oo,” sai d Yareli. Brian took the drawing s, carefully looking t hrough them one by one. Indeed, Ayla’s desig ns were becoming more and more incredible. He believed th at Yareli made the right call. "I agree. These are perfect. Ms. Eva ns, I believe we're going to have a successful cooperation this time. For some reason, he felt something str ange. Yareli seemed to think too highl y of Ayla, and it made him feel uneasy