Lily wasn't lying; she was trapped, caged even. Escaping, if possible, wouldn't erase this confinement, or her potential detachment from the outside world. Therefore, she wanted to set aside her perfumery business, at least for now.

Olivia, usually compliant, hesitated. "But they're the Yudonian royal family, already in the country. You're due in Operose in two days. I thought you agreed."

"When did I agree? I—" Lily began to refuse, then paused, her eyes widening. "Where did you say they were from?"

"Yudonia."

"Who are they?" Lily asked nervously.

Olivia faltered. "T-The royal family! I told you. We have high-profile clients, but this… this is different. Offending them could severely impact the studio and the company."

Business rarely clashed with royalty. It was a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The larger picture revealed no need to offend them, regardless of La Beaute Group's size. They simply wanted a personalized fragrance—not an unreasonable request. Difficult, yes, but less so for Lily than for others.

"I know, I know," Lily nodded. "When do they want to meet?"

"I'm... not sure. They're upset you haven't responded to emails or calls," Olivia explained. "But they seem optimistic. They clearly value your work. I shouldn't ask, but are you really considering rejecting this project, Lily? I think…"

Olivia was building her argument when Lily said, "I'll do it. Get them to call, or give me their number. I'll call them. I'm not checking emails often."

Lily feared traces of her activities here. While she could clear her history, she wasn't an IT professional. The organization might exploit any discovered anomalies.

As for the unanswered calls, she likely dismissed them as scams, common practice when busy with unknown numbers.

"Huh?" Olivia was stunned by the shift in Lily's attitude.

"What's wrong?"

"No," Olivia quickly replied, "It's great you agreed. We can just move on after this project is complete."

This, however, wasn't Lily's primary concern. A released virus would obliterate the world; relationships would be meaningless then. But the Yudonian royal family offered a chance to rescue Nick. Mike had mentioned Alexander finding clues suggesting Nick's proximity to their compound. Infiltrating and rescuing him would be extremely difficult. This was a golden opportunity. Regardless of her relationship with Mike, his son was separate.

When Lily considered children, she thought of Galen, her unborn twins, and Debbie from X Department.