Sweet Subterfuge by Trina Duo

Chapter 185
Her racing heart immediately fell, and Larissa silently ate throughout the whole meal Dylan could sense the tension in the atmosphere and tried to bring up a light-hearted topic, asking Larissa. “Do you have any plans for Christmas?”
“I have to work overtime,” Larissa replied without hesitation “I’m busy right now, and I probably won’t be able to catch a break until after New Year’s”
“Oh… So, you won’t be able to come to my Christmas party?” Dylan sounded a bit disappointed.
Larissa didn’t want to dampen his spirits and replied, “I’ll join you guys if I get off work early that day
“Great! Remember to bring a gift for the gift exchange session. It’s quite fun!” Dylan immediately brightened up
Larissa was just being polite, but hearing him say that further strengthened her determination not to go. She suspected that his friends were probably all wealthy, and anything she bought would either be too cheap for their liking or too expensive for her to afford.

Perhaps, Dylan could sense her concerns, and added thoughtfully. “We have rules. The gift cannot exceed a hundred dollars, and it should be practical. What matters most is the thought behind the
gift.”
Larissa pondered for a moment, biting on her spoon for a few seconds before coming to the conclusion that it was better to stay at the hotel and work overtime.
Although she had already made up her mind, she still bought a set of knitting supplies online in case she wanted to go. She planned to knit a set of warm accessories which included a hat, scarf, and a pair of gloves. She learned how to knit back in college. At that time, it was trendy to knit these things for boyfriends, and some guys even competed to see whose girlfriend was more talented. All three of Larissa’s dorm mates at the time had boyfriends. Their desks would be piled up with balls of yarn of different colors, materials, and thicknesses even before winter arrived. When they didn’t have classes, they would be huddled in their own beds, knitting items according
to the patterns.
Wendy, one of her dorm mates, and Larissa’s best friend for many years, couldn’t bear to see her being left out. So, she forced her to buy a set of tools and introduced her to the world of knitting. That’s when they discovered that Larissa was quite talented in this aspect. She would be able to complete a high-quality knitted piece in just two days while others would take more time to finish. Larissa was even able to make a living by selling the scarves and gloves she knitted. Although several years had passed, she was able to quickly catch on to the techniques again as soon as she held the needles in her hands. She worked for about two hours before sleeping every night, working hard and steadily, and finally completed the last stitch on the day before Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve, Larissa worked until 11 pm as usual
Kevan was also hard at work during this time, occasionally staying in the company until dawn.
Therefore, his driver was always the one to pick her up. Larissa had declined several times as it was unnecessary to send a driver to pick her up since she had her own car, and the hotel was only a five-minute drive from Foxtail Garden However, Kevan refused to listen
He had a reasonable excuse, citing that others wouldn’t know she was his girlfriend if he did not
do so.
However, Larissa felt indifferent when he called her his girlfriend. She had been pulled back to reality by his words at the dinner table.