'This is what I saw growing up.'
But she couldn't say that.
"Apparently."
The lie came easily now.
Years of practice.
Years of pretending to be just another middle-class kid.
Years of hiding designer labels.
Of claiming her bags were knockoffs.
Of never mentioning the island house.
Or the trust fund.
Or the fact that her last name opened doors she'd rather keep closed.
"We're in the wrong industry."
"Seriously."
She laughed with him.
Played along.
Even though she could've told him exactly how much a place like this cost to build.
Could've explained the architecture.
The design philosophy.
The specific type of Italian marble used in the floors.
Her father had built four properties just like this.
Two in the States. One in the Caribbean. One in Greece.
She'd helped pick finishes for the Turks and Caicos villa when she was fifteen.
But Daehyun didn't need to know that.
Nobody did.
That was the whole point of working at AUREYA.
To be normal.
