Chapter 1550


    Here is the revised trantion, taking into ount cultural context and ensuring thenguage flows smoothly for an English-speaking audience:


    Hertha was blissfully unaware of ric''s odd behavior and hadn''t noticed anything amiss in her own actions either. She touched ric''s forehead to


    check for a fever andpared it to her own, before withdrawing her hand and remarking, "You''re not running a fever.”


    Her puzzled gaze met ric''s, which was loaded with emotion, his Adam''s apple bobbing noticeably. Having had children, Hertha could easily


    decipher the meaning behind ric''s gaze. It sent a flutter through her heart, and her cheeks flushed with heat as she realized her action might have


    been a bit forward for a man. To skirt around the awkwardness, she averted her gaze, adopting a smile and a joking tone to lighten the mood.


    "No worries, you''re not sick. Just don''t scare yourself. You''re Mr. Ethan''s golden boy; he''d be beside himself if you were ill."


    Changing the subject, Hertha walked over and sat next to Thssa, casting a nce at the full table with David, Lysander, and Ethan, pointedly


    ignoring ric at the end. With a smile, she asked, "Everyone''s here. Are bothpanies keen on discussing craftsmanship?”


    Ethan exined, "I called Mr. Sinir over. We bought your design drafts, and Mr. Sinir bought Thssa''s. I figured since we acquired the designs


    together, discussing the craftsmanship as a group would be ideal, saving us from scheduling another meeting.”


    Ethan''s main motive, however, stemmed from gossip ric had shared about a potential rift between Thssa and Lysander. Having witnessed the


    ups and downs of their rtionship, Ethan saw an opportunity to potentially reconcile the two by facilitating more interaction between them, especially


    now that Thssa had left Royal Estates. He had nned to call Thssa to join them, but upon arriving, he found she was already there.


    ric, touching his nose, said, "Mr. Ethan, you could''ve given me a heads up that Hertha would be here."


    The revtion had spared him a moment of panic, fearing he''d been hallucinating!


    "By the way, Hertha, were you outside just now, someone calling for you?" ric suddenly remembered the earlier mix-up, seeking to validate his


    own senses.


    Hertha''s nerves tensed up again at


    ric''s question. Oh no! ric was


    still hung up’ on that? He must have>


    heard the-kids calling for momay:


    Admitting to it would only raiseemore


    questions about the childrenfrom


    fic.


    oF


    Her eyes darted around as she ~~.


    forced asmile. I came straight in


    Why would I linger outside? There''s


    no one I know around here; who


    waollld I be talking to?” Content


    belongs to  ~~Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    "You''re sure you weren''t outside?" ric pressed, still puzzled.


    "Of course, I wasn''t. Why would I lie about something so trivial?" Hertha responded, a tad more defensively, as if she were on the verge of getting


    upset.


    ric dro pped the subject, his brow


    furrowing in frustration. Even though


    he wasn''t hallucinating, the nagging.


    thought ofa delusion bothered him.


    Considering his carefree lifestyle, the


    idea oF bel ng unsettled by a woman


    to thé point of distraction seemed a


    disservice to his ea sygoing


    reputation. Conten belongs to


    Seeing ric''s silence, Hertha quickly looked away and addressed Ethan. "Mr. Ethan, about the craftsmanship issue, can I see the documents?”


    All she wanted was to wrap up and leave as soon as possible.