Her Revenge From Shadow to Sunlight novel Chapter 103

A soft “mm” escaped from Charles, his voice still rough from sleep, which, honestly, Alicia found irresistible. Right now, she was totally obsessed.

Alicia tightened her grip on her pencil, fighting the urge to fangirl too hard. Forcing herself to look cool, she said. “Almost done here… Maybe you want to try catching a few more z’s?”

Charles sat up on the couch and checked the time on his wristwatch. It was already 1:15 in the morning.

Charles’s brows knitted together, his voice turning firm. “That’s enough. Go on, get to bed–you’ve got school

tomorrow.”

Alicia shot back, “Weekend’s here!”

“Nope, no more drawing. Nighttime sleep hits differently than catching z’s during the day,” Charles reminded her.

Alicia made a face. “But I still need a shower!”

“Then go, hurry up,” Charles nudged, sounding half bossy, half caring.

But Alicia hesitated, her mind racing. ‘What if he catches me sneaking a sketch of him asleep? Will he think I’m some kind of weirdo?‘

She bit her lip, hanging back anxiously. “Mr. Yates, are you heading out now?”

Charles’s heart tightened at her question. ‘So she’s been stalling on that shower just because I’m still here? Is she scared of me? Worried I might do something strange? Do I really come off as that creepy?‘

Feeling a bit down, he paused for a couple of seconds before finally saying, “I’ll leave now.”

He walked over to the easel and studied the sketch. Honestly, it looked almost done–just a few little things here and there that needed fixing up. For someone like Charles, who didn’t really get art, it was already impressive.

“This one’s mine,” he announced. “I’ll just buy it from you.”

He reached out to take the sketch, but Alicia practically jumped in front of him, almost panicking. “Wait, it’s not finished yet! I still need to touch up a few things.”

“No need,” Charles said, waving her off. “Seriously, it’s already perfect to me.”

“Okay… Let me wrap it up for you,” Alicia murmured softly.

But with Charles standing right next to her, if she took the top drawing off, he’d instantly spot the one underneath. So, she flashed him a big grin and chirped, “Mr. Yates, now might be a good time to stretch your legs. It’s not good to hold it in for too long.”

Charles blinked, totally thrown off. ‘What does she mean by that? Is she implying something? Does she think I

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Chapter 103

have some kind of… issue?‘

He gave a small, dry cough. “I don’t really need that.”

ALP

“Well, maybe just wash your hands? You touched the sketch, and there’s graphite and charcoal all over it. Your hands are probably dirty now. Let me wrap it up for you,” Alicia said brightly

Charles looked down–his hands were perfectly clean. ‘Guess she’s just trying to send me off, he thought. Fine. I’ll play along

So he turned and headed for the bathroom.

Thinking about her whole “not good to hold it in” thing, he halfheartedly made himself use the bathroom- just to humor her.

As soon as Charles went into the bathroom, Alicia quickly took down the top drawing, put away the one underneath, and then slowly wrapped the sketch in oil paper. She tied it up with a short piece of string, her nimble fingers shaping a simple knot into a little flower.

When Charles came back out, Alicia handed him the wrapped drawing. “Here you go, Mr. Yates. Your sketch.”

Charles took it and said softly, “Thanks.”

Then he pulled out his phone and said to Alicia, “Give me your bank details. I’ll pay you for the sketch.”

Alicia blinked. ‘Does Mr. Yates seriously not know he can just Venmo me?‘ she wondered.

‘Wait, what am I even thinking? How could I ever take Mr. Yates’s money?‘ Alicia told herself, trying to push away the thought. She shot him a bright smile. “No way, Mr. Yates! You already let me stay at your place, and I’m super grateful. It’s just one little sketch–I could never ask for money for that.”

But Charles shook his head. “You have to take it. From now on, I’ll need one drawing from you every month. Business is business, favors are favors.”

Alicia blinked, totally thrown off. “Huh?”

“Your bank details,” Charles insisted, his tone unyielding.

“Oh.” Alicia was still racking her brain–‘What does Mr. Yates need a new drawing every month for, anyway?” She just couldn’t wrap her head around it.

Still a bit lost in thought, she gave Charles her bank card number.

“Go shower. I’ll send the money to your account,” Charles said.

With that, he turned and walked out.

Alicia didn’t think much of it. Honestly, she figured her drawing was worth maybe a hundred bucks at most— she hadn’t even finished all the details yet.

But when she got out of the shower and checked her phone, she nearly dropped it. Charles had just

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Chapter 103

transferred 150 thousand dollars to her

IX 15 virusfiers

She double–checked her banking app–it was really 150 thousand dollars. Totally stunned, she felt her mind spinning as she quickly shot Charles a WhatsApp message: [Mr. Yates, did you accidentally add a few extra reros or something?)

Charles No You should go to bed now.I

Alicia But seriously, why so much? I’m not some famous artist or anything–my works aren’t worth that kind of money]

Charles: [I believe you’re going to be an amazing artist someday. I’m just collecting your works ahead of time -gotta get in early before they shoot up in value.]

Alicia: [Gosh, now I feel so much pressure! If I don’t make it big, I’d feel so guilty… Maybe you should just hold onto your money for now? I swear, if I ever do get famous, I’ll definitely keep my promise and draw you one every month!]

Charles saw her reply and couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile. Acting nonchalant, he texted back:

Just go to sleep. I’m a businessman–this is just another investment. 150 thousand dollars is no big deal to me; consider it me having a little fun.]

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