Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life
Chapter 1085

Henrik couldn't help but chuckle in exasperation. Was he losing his mind? He felt like cracking open Cecelia's head just to figure out what the heck was going on in there. Pulling the car over to the side of the road, he turned to face her. Cecelia shrank back a bit. Usually, she strutted around with that tough-girl vibe, but around Henrik, she was all meek and mild. "I was wrong, okay? You're not crazy. You're super smart... a real genius!"

A genius... Henrik could only shake his head, a look of helplessness passing over his face. After a moment of deliberation, he asked, "How about coming back with me to the Irving family tomorrow?" Cecelia's eyes went wide in surprise. Oh my goodness! Was it already time to meet the parents?

"Uh, Mr. Raul, I, um..."

She wasn't ready for this at all!

"New Year's is the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow's New Year's Eve," Henrik explained, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning in closer. His eyes locked onto hers. "My dad wants us to spend it together. Don't you want to come?" It's not that she didn't want to...

"Mr. Raul, could you maybe not get so close?" Cecelia's cheeks turned crimson.

Hearing her, Henrik pulled back a bit but kept his eyes on her, pressing on, "Do you want to or not? Hmm?"

Cecelia figured she shouldn't play hard to get. Swallowing hard, she whispered, "I do..."

Henrik watched her cheeks flush, his Adam's apple bobbing as the car's interior seemed to warm up, making their faces and hearts heat up.

"Cecelia," he said suddenly.

Her face burned bright red, and she didn't dare to look up.

The next thing she knew, a warm, soft kiss landed right on her nose.

"You like me," he stated, leaving no room for doubt.

Meanwhile, over at the police station, Aisha was shivering from the cold, silently cursing Flora for digging this mess she fell into. But really, she hadn't done much-just nudged Liam and Peyton to tarnish Cecelia's reputation. How could she end up in jail for that?

Feeling slightly reassured, she thought she was in the clear.

"Aisha, is it?" a cop asked, approaching her with a notebook in hand.

"Yeah," Aisha nodded eagerly. "Can I go now?"

"Go?" The officer looked at her like she'd told a joke. "Honey, you ain't going anywhere. You're looking at ten years in the slammer."

"What are you talking about?" Aisha gasped. Ten years?! This had to be a joke!

"Seems like you've forgotten about your little hobby-tax evasion," the officer said with a smirk.

Aisha's heart skipped a beat. Tax evasion! Oh no...

That was a pretty common thing in her industry, so much so that she'd nearly forgotten about it.

"We ran a check overnight. You've dodged taxes worth two hundred million. You've got three days to pay up, or you're looking at ten years minimum," the officer stated matter-of-factly.

"I..." Aisha was in full-blown panic

mode now. She could barely scrape

together fifty million. Most of her money had gone towards paying penalties recently. Because of the whole Cecelia fiasco, she was facing bans her reputation was in tatters, and several companies wanted to cut ties and demanded penalty fees. Her funds were nearly wiped out!

"Can't pay?" The officer's face was emotionless. "Then brace yourself for the law."

Aisha felt her blood run cold and her feet grow numb. Just then, Liam and Peyton burst into the station.

Liam slapped her hard, knocking

Aisha to the ground. "Aisha, you wretch! Look what you've done to us! If it weren't for your scheming we wouldn't have gone after Cecelia. Now she's got us nailed for blackmail and extortion! Do you have any idea how many years we're facing in prison? Huh?"