His Baby Girl

Eve had been Chief Ramon Faisal's secretary for several years until, a few years ago, she married him after an accidental one-night stand. She was a beautiful and nice woman, and the past Leila liked her too. So, Chief Faisal saw nothing wrong in making her Madam Faisal. However, he never suspected that behind her sweet and innocent facade was a venomous snake.

"Mother..." Julianne called out softly as Eve sat on the couch beside her.

"Where is she? Didn't you say she came home?" Eve looked around but couldn't find a trace of Leila.

"She's probably sleeping," Julianne said, placing her phone on her lap. She turned to her mother, starting to narrate sourly, "But Mom, the b*tch has really changed. Now, she knows how to attract attention wherever she goes. She's become incredibly famous at school, and everyone is in a hurry to vote for her as the new school belle."

"So?" Eve crossed her legs languidly. She really didn't put her stepdaughter into her sights. The stepdaughter that was probably as stupid as her father wasn't really worthy of her attention.

"Mother!" Julianne chided, massaging her temples in frustration.

One thing she didn't like about her mother was this attitude of hers. It was as if nothing was worth her attention.

Julianne didn't want to inform her of how she had been embarrassed by Leila at school today, lest she get dissed for being a good-for-nothing. But that didn't mean her mother shouldn't know that she wasn't joking.

"Alright, alright," Eve chuckled softly, ruffling her daughter's hair. "Let me go and take a shower so we can have dinner together, okay?"

---

**Faisal Corporation.**

**25th Floor.**

Inside the CEO's office, a man sat behind the desk, tapping on the keyboard with his long fingers. He had light blonde hair, deep facial features, and cold onyx eyes that always sent chills down his employees' spines. Famous for being the incarnate of the devil, this was Chief Ramon Faisal, the CEO of Faisal Corps and the largest shareholder.

Being a man in his forties, time didn't seem to leave a mark on him as he was still as attractive as ever. Despite his cold nature, female employees secretly swooned over him.

A knock sounded, and his personal assistant, Leo, entered, a man in his thirties.

"Chief..."

Ramon groaned in response, as if saying a word would vaporize his net worth.

"Ily Fashion House wants to renegotiate the terms of our collaboration, and Lady Ily herself has stepped up this time."

Ramon looked up from behind the desk, his cold gaze sweeping over, making Assistant Leo want to disappear immediately. Even after years of working for his boss, he still wasn't used to the cold aura emanating from his body. It was so cold that sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder if the cleaners forgot to turn on the heater.

"Didn't I tell you to handle it?" came Chief Faisal's deep voice.

"Yes, Sir," Leo responded quickly, but he continued, "However, Lady Ily is proposing a new joint collection. She's offering exclusive fabrics and designs that could elevate our brand significantly."

Ramon leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled as he considered this. "What are her terms?"

"She's asking for a 20% share of the profits and wants her name featured prominently on the collection."

Ramon's eyes narrowed. "20% is high. What does she bring to the table?"

"She offers exclusive access to her high-end materials and her design team, which has a strong reputation in the luxury market. This could position our brand more prominently in the high-fashion segment."

Ramon tapped his fingers on the desk, thinking. "Set up a meeting. We'll negotiate. Start with 10% and see if we can settle at 15%. Make it clear that our brand brings significant value as well."

"Understood, Chief," Leo nodded, noting down the instructions.

Ramon glanced at the stack of reports on his desk. "What else?"

Leo took a breath, preparing for the next topic. "Regarding the partnership with Celestial Apparel, we've received their final proposal. There are some concerns about their production quality and delivery timelines."

Ramon's expression darkened. "How significant are these concerns?"

"They've had issues meeting deadlines in the past, and their last few collections had a higher-than-acceptable defect rate."

Ramon tapped on his desk impatiently. "Have our quality control team review their facilities. If they can't meet our standards, we'll need to reconsider the partnership."

"Yes, Sir," Leo said, jotting down the task.

Ramon leaned back, his demeanor becoming slightly less severe. "Anything else?"

Leo hesitated for a moment before speaking, "It's about Miss Leila."

The cold aura in the office diminished immediately, causing Assistant Leo to smile in relief as he brought his phone to Ramon, playing the video taken by an influencer at the restaurant where Leila was eating like a hamster.

"Please look at this, Chief."

Ramon's entire expression softened as he watched his baby girl stuff food into her mouth, not caring about her surroundings.

"Baby is so cute," came Ramon's gentle sigh, which left Assistant Leo flabbergasted even though he had witnessed this before and shouldn't be surprised anymore.

Still, his mouth was always left hung open. Sometimes, he couldn't help but think that the Chief had bipolar disorder as he was incredibly gentle whenever it came to his only daughter.

Finally, after re-watching it for the nth time, he handed the phone back to Assistant Leo, whose legs had been aching from standing for almost half an hour.

"Baby is amazing, isn't she? She finished everything."

Assistant Leo would be a fool not to take this opportunity to flatter the CEO. He nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, Miss Leila is definitely one of a kind. Rarely would you see a lady of her age eat like that. She is super impressive."

Ramon nodded contentedly. "You deserve a bonus."

Assistant Leo's lips curled up as he tried not to jump from joy.

"Oh my God! Lady Leila is really a lucky star."

"You can go," Ramon waved away his assistant while he tapped on the phone screen, preparing to send his precious baby some money apart from the usual pocket money.

---

**Faisal Mansion.**

Leila had just woken up from her nap when her phone chimed.

"Did someone send me money?" She muttered as she picked up the phone from the bedside table and her eyes lit up upon seeing the notification displayed.

[$1,000,000 has been deposited into you savings card with the ending number 53012 on July 5, 20X2]

"Oh yeah! He finally found his conscience!"

Feeling happy, Leila energetically went to wash her face and finally changed into a casual dress before going downstairs.

Now that her account had been filled, her stomach should be filled too.

But her good mood disappeared upon arriving at the dining hall, where the servants were already packing the dishes.

"Young Lady," the servants that passed by her bowed their heads and called out, gaining the attention of the mother-daughter duo that had just had their sumptuous dinner.

"What? Leila is here?" Eve turned around, her watery eyes shining with surprise as she stood up, wanting to pull Leila into a hug.

Leila dodged subconsciously, and the dining room descended into an awkward silence.

Eve blinked her eyes, while her smile remained as she teased, "Oh, you don't want my hug anymore now that you're grown up, isn't it?"

You can't hit a smiling person...

Eve was a woman Leila admired so much in her past life. She was stunning and, most importantly, she was a woman who never took offense. She had the graceful aura of an angel. But if it hadn't been for Julianne's revelation in her past life, she wouldn't have known what was behind that smile.

"Yeah, stepmother," Leila smiled, pulling out a dining chair for herself.

Eve sighed, her eyebrows furrowing in distress. "We just had dinner. I didn't know you were home, or I would have asked the maids to add yours."

Leila didn't fall for her tricks but instead turned to Julianne. "You didn't tell her?"

Eve was quick to defend her daughter. "She probably forgot to mention it."

"And the maids never did?"