chapter43

Connor couldn't believe it. He'd spent all night spamming the chat, but not once did he get picked. Part of him wondered if Lydia was skipping him on purpose, but with over three hundred thousand people watching, the comments flew by so fast he could barely see who got picked, let alone guess if Lydia could.

"Thanks so much for hanging out with me tonight, Lydia said as the stream wrapped up. If you're one of the fifty lucky winners, just send your shipping address to my admin, Sue. She'll handle the rest. That's all for today. Bye, everyone."

The internet was buzzing about how Lydia's stream got showered with gifts from some mysterious VIP. When Connor finally left the chat, he glanced at his notifications and almost choked. He'd picked up a hundred thousand new followers.

After logging off, Lydia sent fifty screenshots over to Sue.

Sue had been dying to ask all night. She finally got to ask Lydia, "Who's this CNR guy anyway? What's going on between you two?"

Lydia replied, "Nothing. He's just someone I treated once."

Sue grinned at her phone. That made sense. Lydia had saved more people than she could count, and big shots were always lining up to thank her. Connor was just the latest in a long line.

With her online life sorted for the night, Lydia turned her attention to her sketchbook, this time working on the AW designs Ethan had asked for.

Suddenly, someone knocked gently at her door. "Lydia, are you still awake?"

Lydia got up and opened the door. Kylie stood there, holding two steaming bowls of soup.

"You're still up?" Lydia asked, a little surprised.

Kylie smiled, soft and warm. "I saw your light on, so I thought I'd bring you some soup."

A wave of warmth swept over Lydia. I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry about me all the time."

Kylie set the bowls down and her eyes glistened a little. "I just want to make up for lost time. Look at you, so thin, like you could blow away in a breeze..."

"I'll drink it, Lydia said, cutting her off. She picked up a bowl and started to sip.

Kylie watched her with this content little smile. Her eyes strayed to the desk and landed on the scattered sketches. She wandered over to take a look.

Suddenly, Kylie's whole face lit up. "Lydia, did you draw these?"

Lydia blinked. "I was bored. Just doodling."

Kylie looked at her like she was holding a secret treasure. Doodling? When I was younger, I loved designing clothes, and I did pretty well for myself. But this... Lydia, you really have a gift."

Kylie looked so proud it was almost funny. Lydia just shrugged and smiled. It's just something I like."

Kylie's eyes were shining. "If you're into this, your dad and I could let you try running one of our smaller fashion companies. Just for fun."

Lydia blinked, not sure she'd heard that right. Run a whole company?

Don't worry, it's just a small one," Kylie said. "If it doesn't work out, no big deal."

Lydia couldn't help but laugh to herself. Her parents really didn't think twice about stuff like this. Still, it was summer break, so why not? She nodded. "Sure. Sounds fun."

Kylie beamed and urged her to finish the soup. Then she leaned in, lowering her voice. "Get some sleep, Lydia. We've got a surprise for you tomorrow."

A surprise? Lydia wondered what else her parents could possibly pull out of their hats.

Kylie took the empty bowls and headed downstairs. Across the hall, the barely open door of Lucinda's room clicked shut.

Lucinda was fuming. She'd spent the whole night at the hospital just to get totally snubbed by Connor. Now she was home, and the maids were gossiping about how Kylie was in the kitchen making special soup for Lydia.