Bending over, Joann gathered her belongings, placing them back in her bag. Then, she swung around to face Denby, sarcasm evident in her voice.

“May I go now?"

“What if I say no?"

"I won't hesitate to call the police."

Denby's piercing eyes settled on her, their depths unreadable.

With fear gripping her, Joann swiftly spun around and dashed downstairs.

Joann was no longer what she used to be. There was no need to be afraid of him.

Joann paused when she spotted Claudia. She quickly changed her expression and smiled.

"I'm all done, Cece."

“Slow down next time, Joann. We wouldn't want you tripping. It's not like a leopard is chasing you!"

“I just didn't want to keep you waiting too long!"

Claudia said, “Come on, let's grab some lunch."

It was time for Lunch.

“Sounds good." Joann nodded in agreement.

Since the villa was far from downtown, it would take a while for Claudia to drive back up to the city center. By then, it would already be too late for her to have Lunch.

So, she asked Joann to choose a nearby mall and drove up there for their lunch date.

20 years in Linmarsh, but Claudia had barely visited this side of town.

It was like discovering a new place. Even with the navigation system, she made a mistake and took a detour of more than 10 minutes to get to the mall.

On work days like today, the mall wasn't crowded.

After having lunch, they both headed back to the east of the city.

Claudia dropped Joann off at the company before driving to the villa.

By the time she got home, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. She didn't spend much time at work. What took up most of her time was her drive after work.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, Claudia washed her face and went to the piano room to play a Little.

After practicing for more than two hours, she finally walked out of the piano room and met Marcia downstairs. She told her what she wanted to eat for dinner, and then headed to the gym.