Betrayed, But Not Defeated novel Chapter 77

Back at the villa, Daniel pulled out the youth cream and placed it in front of Charlene.

She looked up at him, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked after noticing the puzzled look on her face.

Charlene looked confused and skeptical. "Where did you get this from? Please don't tell me it's some cheap knockoff cosmetic. You didn't get scammed, did you?"

Daniel was speechless. "Don't worry about where it came from. Just take a look at it from a professional standpoint."

She hesitated, then opened the lid.

The packaging wasn't great—he had just grabbed whatever box was lying around, and it looked far from impressive.

Before starting her cosmetics company, Charlene had built a solid reputation in the industry. It was her expertise that gave her the confidence to go out on her own.

"Huh… The scent isn't that bad." Charlene was surprised. She dabbed a bit of the cream on the back of her hand, then brought her hand up to her nose. Her eyes lit up almost immediately.

"The texture's decent! But whoever made this might not be very experienced," she criticized.

Daniel felt a flush creep up his face. He knew the way he'd made the cream wasn't the most refined, especially since it was a low-grade formula he hadn't worked with in years.

After all, alchemy was a skill that improved with practice. Especially since this was a modified version of the cream, so there was some leeway.

Charlene went through a few tests, but she was aware that this kind of testing didn't reveal much about how effective the product would actually be.

"From what I can tell, it's a decent cosmetic. Is it for brightening, or maybe anti-aging?" she asked while smoothing the cream across her hand. She took a moment to inhale the faint, lingering scent. It wasn't overpowering, but it had a subtle, lasting quality that would likely make it a good selling point.

But Daniel didn't think too much about it. With a beautiful woman in his arms and the heat rising between them, who could resist the temptation?

The following morning, Charlene woke up early. She glanced at Daniel, still fast asleep, and smiled. She got out of bed and walked to the wardrobe. But as she looked into the mirror, her eyes widened in shock.

"Ah!" she gasped instinctively.

Daniel, who had been sleeping, immediately opened his eyes. He rushed to her side and asked, "What happened?"

Still in disbelief, Charlene pointed at the mirror. "It's… gone!"

He wrapped his arms around Charlene from behind and found a perfect spot.