The Unveiled Rose
Chapter 337

The presenter stood nervously after finishing their report, bracing for Zane's usual scathing critique. To their surprise, Zane merely pointed out the issues calmly and offered suggestions for improvement.

Walking back to their seats, they looked dazed. When had Zane become so approachable? Could this really be the power of love?

Each subsequent report received the same treatment-calm, constructive feedback. There were multiple glances exchanged across the room, and an unspoken message was shared among the team: "May Zane and his girlfriend last forever." Once the meeting ended, everyone left swiftly and silently, as if by mutual agreement.

"Eric," Zane called out as Eric moved to leave. "Stay behind."

Eric paused, unsure of Zane's intent, but couldn't resist a bit of gossip. "So, Annalise gave you a gift?"

Zane's pride was unmistakable as he replied, "She did. But she's just pretending to be my girlfriend, not actually agreeing to date me."

Eric raised a brow. "Mr. Huxham, think about it-why would she pretend with you and not someone else? It means she must like you at least a little."

Zane's lips twitched into an uncontrollable smile. "Really?"

Eric nodded solemnly. "Of course. If you don't believe me, ask Sasha."

Encouraged, Zane wasted no time and summoned Sasha to the conference room. After recounting Eric's theory, he asked eagerly, "What do you think Anna really feels?"

Sasha hesitated before responding carefully. "That she really dislikes Steven?"

Zane's smile vanished instantly, while Sasha blinked in confusion. Had she spoken the wrong thing?

...

Meanwhile, back at the office, I had finished my illustrations and was sprawled on the couch, checking the analytics on my account.

Just a few days ago, I had 50 thousand followers, but now, the number had doubled to 100 thousand-and that was on my smallest platform.

Revenue on the backend had surpassed 20 thousand dollars.

I reviewed the views on each video and was stunned to replace the average play count had climbed to over 600 thousand.

Sales of the dolls had also skyrocketed. With half the month still to go, over 15 thousand had already been sold. By month's end, I estimated that figure could reach 30 thousand.

That meant my share from those sales alone would be at least 350 thousand dollars.

I stared at the numbers in disbelief. Even without counting the salary Zane gave me, I was already earning over 300 thousand dollars. Adding in my other income streams, was I actually getting rich? Placing a hand over my chest, I took a deep breath to steady myself and continued analyzing the data.

Merchandise revenue had also surged. Although the prices were lower, the volume had doubled. By now, over 30 thousand items had been sold, and projections suggested sales could hit 60 thousand by month end. From that, my share would be around 90 thousand dollars. Adding to Zane's salary to the mix, I was looking at over 500 thousand dollars.

In just two months, my pre-tax earnings would total more than 800 thousand dollars.

Oh, heavens...

I took a deep breath again and forced myself to calm down. It took a long while before I could fully steady my emotions.

As I lay on the couch with my phone in hand, my thoughts wandered to my mom, Portia.

She wasn't getting any younger. Once the money was in my account, I'd set aside a retirement fund for her.

5 thousand dollars a month would amount to 60 thousand dollars a year. At her current age, in her mid-50s, I would need to save for 50 years if she lived to 100-that meant more than 3 million dollars. That was assuming she stayed healthy as well, because the likelihood of illness increases with age.

I did some quick mental calculations. If I set aside an additional 5 thousand dollars each month for her medical expenses...