Shayne looked guilty and regretful, which baffled me. What was going on with him?He approached me slowly. "Can we talk?"Julian also looked down at me.Shayne had been acting strange lately. In the past few days, every time he saw me, he would always say weird things.Even though I no longer had feelings for him, he was still convinced that I was hopelessly in love with him. Today, he was asking to talk to me."We have nothing to talk about." I declined without even thinking about it.I shifted my gaze from him to the little kids walking out of the kindergarten. "We've already said whatever needed to be said.""I just wanted to ask. Did I treat you badly when we were married?" Shaye asked, his tone heavy.What a pointless question. Had he treated me well, we wouldn't have ended up divorcing.Without waiting for my answer, Shayne continued, "When I'm with Luna, as long as she acts sweet and tells me what she wants, I always buy it for her. "After I bought the things she want
Shayne's heart ached as well. He patted Zach's back gently. "You have Mama Luna."Zach's crying came to an abrupt halt.Thinking he had comforted Zach, Shayne continued, "She'll treat you even better than Aralyn did.""No, she won't." Zach pulled away from Shayne's embrace."Dad, stop lying to me. I may be a kid, but I understand everything," Zach added seriously.Shayne wanted to say more, but Mason interjected, "Dad, can we go home now?"Shayne turned to look at him.Mason frowned. "I'm hungry.""Let's go, then. We can't have you going hungry," Shayne uttered without hesitation.Zach stayed rooted to the spot, watching as Shayne walked away with Mason hand-in-hand.Without realizing it, his dad had become someone else's dad, too.But when… did it turn out this way? Zach didn't understand.…The instructor arrived early.As we reached the entrance of the house, we saw a stranger standing in the yard uneasily."Why didn't you let him wait in the living room?" Julian aske
Not expecting Julian to trust him this much, Eric felt gratified. "Alright."When he left the study, he thoughtfully closed the door behind him.Julian sat at his desk and picked up his phone. "Continue.""The staff for the comic company has been fully recruited. The company has also been established successfully," Mark reported seriously.Now, Julian could proceed with signing Aralyn to his comic company.He crossed his legs gracefully, a hint of warmth flickering in his usually icy eyes. "Got it.""Is there anything else?" Mark inquired."I asked Lyn to design props for the gaming company. Make sure to give her a bonus," said Julian.If it were for a regular employee, Mark would have come up with a reasonable bonus amount in no time. But Julian clearly treated Aralyn differently. Everyone knew Julian was a workaholic whose mind revolved solely around the company. Yet, the typically professional and business-like Julian had insisted on bringing Aralyn into the company. Des
When Willow finished resting, the whole family gathered in the dining room to enjoy dinner together.Looking at the table full of delicious dishes, Eric couldn't help but swallow hard.Julian noticed this and was worried Eric might feel too shy to eat. Hence, he served Eric some food with his utensils.Eric quickly waved his hands. "No need. I can do it myself.""Don't hold back," Julian uttered calmly.I glanced at Julian unintentionally. It was strange how his demeanor and interactions often made him seem distant and aloof. Yet, in everyday life, he came across as genuinely thoughtful.Willow had taken a few bites of her food. Once her hunger subsided a bit, she regained her usual energy as she asked, "Mommy, if I keep this up and train every day, can I become a martial arts master?"Though she hadn't even started practicing martial arts or boxing yet, her earlier dream of being a boxer had already been replaced by new ambitions.I wasn't sure what she meant by 'martial arts
It was clear what she was trying to say—Mason needed to have that lucky charm.However, Shayne didn't plan to give in to her. "I've given you plenty of money recently. If you really want to give Mason one, then take him out and buy him one yourself."As he spoke, he nudged Zach gently. "Want to open it and see if you like it?""Yes!" Zach realized that although Shayne always sided with Luna and Mason, when it came to major issues like this, Shayne would always back him up.Setting the paper bag aside, Zach opened the jewelry box and saw the bright golden item inside."Dad, I love it!" he exclaimed."Then go keep it in a safe place," Shayne replied, patting him on the back.Zach sprinted back to his room and closed the door. He opened his custom-made table. There was a hidden drawer there, and he slid it open, revealing several passbooks.The money there had been saved by Aralyn. There were also several property deeds, most of which were for commercial spaces. These were also th
"I just feel that you'll go back to Zach and be his mom again." Willow sobbed."Why would you think that?" I asked in surprise.She stifled her tears and replied, "Because you gave birth to him."Upon hearing this, I realized that Willow still felt insecure.Even though she usually played happily with me, any small stir from Zach would make her tense and worried that I would abandon her.I carefully considered how to reassure her."I know what it's like not to have a mom. It's not easy. But I also feel selfish… It's as if I stole someone else's mom. But I love you so much, Mommy. I don't want to give you back to him." Her voice trembled.I held her small hand gently and said, "Actually, I think being a little selfish is okay. You don't need to sacrifice your own happiness just to make someone else's life better."Willow looked at me, confused.I smiled. "I let go of Zach because he hurt me. No matter how much he changes afterward, it has nothing to do with me anymore. I chose
"I'm planning to sign you under my comic company. That way, you won't need to worry about promotion or publicity anymore. In the future, all you need to focus on is drawing your work," Julian uttered.These past few days, I had indeed been incredibly busy. Besides sketching, I had to color the completed line art. After finishing all that, I barely had any time left. Whatever time I did have, I spent brainstorming ways to get my work seen by a larger audience. My original plan was to set aside a few hours daily to learn promotional techniques. But now, Julian had saved me from that time-consuming effort."Thank you," I uttered, thrilled.Julian looked into my eyes. "Lyn, you don't have to be so formal with me."…Luna sat in her bedroom, growing increasingly frustrated. She still wanted to reclaim the golden lucky charm that had been gifted to Zach.Her initial plan had been to bring it up in passing when Shayne came to find her. But it was already 10:30 pm, and he still hadn't
It wouldn't be long before Shayne grew tired of her and found an excuse to kick her out.There was absolutely no way that Luna was going to let that happen.She made up her mind. She needed to find more opportunities to strengthen her bond with Shayne. Only by doing so could she stay by his side a little longer.…To help Willow improve her health, I made a point of waking her up ten minutes earlier than usual.Willow was still sleepy, but she still got out of bed.First, I had her walk a few hundred meters. Once she was fully awake, we started jogging together. When she got tired, we took breaks.After repeating this a few times, Willow was so exhausted she could barely breathe, let alone walk.She flopped down onto the grass, completely motionless.Knowing she was worn out, I carried her back to her room. Once she had washed up, I helped her take a bath.After putting on her clothes, Willow said solemnly, "It seems like getting healthier isn't something that can be achieved
I looked around and saw that there was no one else around before turning to leave."Are you Aralyn?"I heard someone call my name and turned around to see a stranger.A little confused, I asked, "Yes?""I heard from someone at the hospital that you went there before, trying to find proof that Luna was the one who framed you. Isn't that right?" The woman seemed nervous.I had been trying to get evidence for this for a long time, but after so much effort, I hadn't found anything.At this point, I was about to give up on that approach.After all, I had other ways to get back at Luna and Shayne.Hearing what she said, I was surprised. "What, you have proof?""Yes, I do," she said firmly.If I could really get my hands on that kind of evidence, my revenge would be even more ruthless.But I knew that in situations like this, it was important to stay calm. "Why don't we talk about it at a cafe?"The woman hesitated.I smiled. "Do you have time?"Only then did she nod. "Of course
I wanted Shayne to care about Luna, and when Luna gave birth to the baby who wasn't his, Shayne would be immensely devastated, especially since Luna and Charlotte had even forced Shayne into getting a vasectomy.Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if Luna and Charlotte were on my side.Charlotte looked confused. "Good?"I nodded. "Yes, good."Charlotte studied me. "If he and Luna are doing well, that means he doesn't want you anymore.""Then so be it." I had long since stopped caring about Shayne.Charlotte fell silent.I met her gaze. "I'm married now. Maybe I didn't inform you, but Julian and I are legally married. We just haven't made it public. After being with Julian, I've felt a kind of security that I never had in my previous relationship."So, I also hope that this marriage will last. Of course, it'd be even better for me if all of you stopped bothering me."With that, I was ready to end the conversation. "Anything else you wanted to say? If not, I'll head upstairs."
"Then, do we really need to give them commissions?"I didn't mind. "Yeah, go ahead. If they see that hard work pays off in our company, they'll be more willing to stay, right?""Yeah." Mark chuckled."I get what you're saying. I'll take care of it now.""Alright."After the call ended, Julian walked over to me and held my hand.I gently rubbed his hand in return. "What is it?""Your career is getting more and more successful," Julian said, a bit emotionally.When we first got together, I had nothing—just myself.But over time, I started drawing comics.With the right promotion, my comics gained traction and became a hit.That led to merchandise, trendy collectibles.But Julian never expected that I'd be able to launch my own plushies, start my own company, and make serious money.He always knew I was capable.But seeing me rise back to my peak in such a short time still surprised him.I smiled. "Yeah. Back when I was penniless and kicked out of my house, I never would've
"My plan is to take advantage of the fact that our comic still has some merchandise and the hype hasn't died down yet. While ensuring quality, we'll speed up production as much as possible."I understood what Julian meant. "Alright.""Should I arrange it now?" Julian asked."Sure."Julian took his phone and went out to the balcony to share his thoughts with Mark.As someone who had been working with Julian for years, Mark immediately understood what Julian meant. "Leave it to me."Still, to make sure he didn't misinterpret any details, he confirmed everything with Julian.Only after making sure there were no issues did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and ask Julian to hand me the phone."Yes?" I asked, confused about why he needed to speak to me."Our company's recruitment is pretty much done. I ran the numbers, and with our current profits, we can afford to raise the salaries of our interns," he quickly informed."Since you're bringing this up, that means you already hav
Shannon looked at Patrick.Patrick said, "Tell Rowan to win Luna back. She married someone else out of heartbreak, and that's because of us. Now we have money and are willing to spend it on her. I believe she'll come around. She'll want to come back and be with us again. It just takes time."Patrick wasn't used to staying in such a small place, so he said to Rowan, "Drive us to the hotel.""Alright."Rowan dropped his parents off at the hotel and then returned to his place. Sitting on the couch, he took out his phone and pulled up a photo of Luna.She was sitting by the ocean, turning her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling and filled with love.Rowan couldn't understand how things had gotten to this point.He picked up his phone and texted Luna. "I finally understand why my parents treated you that way back then.""I've known for a while," Luna replied calmly.Rowan was a little surprised. "You knew?""Yeah, I found out a few days ago. But that's your family's issue. It
Patrick and Shannon stood frozen in place. They had never imagined that the son they had spoiled since childhood, the boy who had grown up in a big house, was now living in such poor conditions.Shannon's face darkened instantly. "Why didn't you rent a bigger place?""I have no money," Rowan replied calmly."Just make yourselves at home. You don't need to be polite with me."Patrick snapped, "How could you have no money? Didn't you have a lot when you moved out? Did Luna spend it all?""What does this have to do with her?" Rowan thought his parents were being completely unreasonable."I worked for you, but you never paid me. You also never gave me an allowance. So tell me, where was I supposed to get money?"Patrick was at a loss for words."Then where did you get the money to buy Luna jewelry?" Shannon questioned.Rowan didn't even have to think about it. "I made it through projects in college. Haven't I told you before? Ever since I got together with her, every penny I spent
Luna had endured their bullying for so long.But Luna and his parents' relationship didn't improve, not even a little.If his parents had come to their senses back then, things wouldn't have turned out this way."But it's too late now. You should just head back," said Rowan."We haven't even done anything yet. How do you know Luna won't forgive us?" Shannon objected."Because she's decided to settle down and build a life with Shayne," Rowan responded dejectedly."She went through a lot when she was part of our family. Now that she's finally found a new life, I hope you won't disturb her. Let her live peacefully."Shannon immediately refused, "We can't do that. Mason is our only grandson. She can marry someone else, but our grandson absolutely cannot have another dad!""You sure weren't saying that before."Shannon's words made Rowan feel as if he had stepped into an alternate reality. Had they said this in the past, he wouldn't have thought anything about it.Luna and Mason's
Charlotte decided that when the time came, she would go show off in front of Aralyn.She wanted Aralyn to see just how happy Shayne and Luna were now, and she would simultaneously make sure Aralyn gave up on Shayne just in case Aralyn still harbored any thoughts of getting back together with him.Shayne lowered his gaze.Only now did he realize that it was impossible to stop thinking about the woman he had once truly loved.But to make his mother happy, he still smiled and said, "Don't worry. I won't think about her anymore.""You'd better not!"…By the time Rowan's parents arrived at the airport, it was already past 11:00 pm.They called Rowan and told him to come pick them up.Rowan was a little surprised, but he still did as they asked.Seeing his parents coming out of the arrivals gate, he suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Mom, Dad, why are you here? Are you trying to convince me to go back? That won't happen."Patrick kept a stern face but said nothing.Shannon kne
Shayne smiled and replied, "Alright, I'll call you when the food's ready.""Okay," Luna responded before walking into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.The soundproofing in the room was excellent. She was certain that Shayne wouldn't be able to hear anything she said. Picking up her phone, she hesitated for a long time before finally dialing Rowan's number.Rowan was busy at the moment, and he was a little surprised to get a call from Luna. "What made you think of contacting me all of a sudden?""I just wanted to remind you that no matter what, you absolutely cannot tell anyone the truth about the baby, understand?"The happier and peaceful her days were, the more anxious she felt. She was deeply afraid that this good life could be ruined at any moment."Don't worry. I won't."Luna breathed a sigh of relief.Rowan understood what Luna meant. "So, you're planning to stay with Shayne for good?""If nothing happens, yes. In the past, I always thought about climbing hig