Spencer fell silent.I didn't plan to waste any more time on him and withdrew my mocking gaze. Holding Willow's hand, I continue walking forward."Mommy, I hate that man. When your ex-husband hurt you before, not a single one of them spoke up for you. But now…" Willow huffed.She looked back and glared at Spencer. "Now that your life is going well, they're all coming to criticize you! Who do they think they are?"She was venting her frustration on my behalf. Naturally, I didn't want to dampen her spirits. "Exactly."Willow looked a little sad. "I really wish I could talk to people so I could yell back at them for you!""Then you'll have to work hard, Willow," I said, playing along with her.She looked up at me, her expression serious.I pretended to look troubled. "Life is so long. There's bound to be more people pointing fingers at me in the future. I really hope you can stand up for me, Willow.""Mommy, I promise I won't let you down!" Willow exclaimed earnestly."Really?"
"Before or after your marriage, we all know that Luna's the only woman in your heart," Spencer said.Shayne couldn't make sense of it either. Why was it that now his dream had come true, he felt no joy? Instead, he felt empty, as if he had lost someone important.Shayne opened his wardrobe to find his suits all wrinkled.When Aralyn was around, the clothes were always ironed flawlessly. They looked brand-new all the time.He pushed open the bedroom door and walked into the living room. Luna was watching TV. When she noticed him, she moved closer and pouted. "The housekeeper took the day off, so no one made dinner. I had no choice but to order takeout."It was at that moment Shayne realized that it had been a long time since he'd eaten takeout.Back when he was with Aralyn, during the early days of his startup, he was too busy to cook and relied on takeout every day.Aralyn, pregnant at the time, had told him that takeout food wasn't healthy. Hence, she would cook at home and p
"She said she has no idea what's going on either," he said icily.I felt a bit heavy-hearted as well. Willow was being ostracized at kindergarten, and they had no clue why.After thinking for a moment, I said, "Then let's start with her classmates. If they're the ones isolating Willow, they must know the reason."Julian looked at me. "Alright.""I used to think we shouldn't rush Willow into getting better. I thought we could take it slow…"Looking into Julian's eyes, I hesitated before continuing, "But the things that have happened recently have changed my perspective. I think our most important task right now is to help her learn how to communicate with others. What do you think?"Julian nodded. "I think so too.""But she tried; she just can't seem to talk to strangers. I think there's a greater chance she'll open up if it's someone she likes," I analyzed."Is there anyone else at home she particularly likes?"Julian, who had raised Willow himself, naturally knew her preferen
"Lyn, I think life as it is right now is pretty good."…In the morning, I once again woke Willow up ten minutes earlier than usual. Clearly well-rested, Willow looked energetic and excited as she opened the door. "I've been looking forward to this moment for so long!" she exclaimed.She then ran to Julian's door and raised her hand to knock on it. "Daddy, time to get up and go running with us!"Julian opened the door, chuckling as he picked her up. "Alright."Willow wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling mischievously. The morning run was just as intense as last night's.Willow started off enthusiastically, but by the end of the run, her smile had completely disappeared. She dragged herself back into the living room and plopped down, looking completely drained.I watched her expressions change throughout and couldn't help but laugh.Willow waved me over. "Mommy."I sat down next to her.She gripped my hand and psyched herself up, "Running isn't tiring. I can do this!
I remained silent."Let's go," Julian uttered calmly.…Upon arriving at the company, I wasn't in the best mood. As soon as I reached my cubicle, I turned on my computer and buried myself in drawing.By the time I finished the final line art, my mood had improved somewhat. I continued by coloring the sketches.…Julian sat in the conference room, checking the analytics for Aralyn on various platforms.She was diligent and meticulous in her artwork. Even though her story focused on warm, everyday slice-of-life themes, the daily mini-stories had started to draw in readers, even without any promotion.Some were already leaving comments, eagerly asking for more updates.Julian tapped the table with his fingers before taking out his phone and messaging Mark. "You can start planning a promotion strategy for Aralyn's comic.""Mr. Hughes."Avery knocked on the door. Without waiting for a response, she pushed it open and walked straight to him. Sitting down across from him, she said,
Many comments mentioned how heartwarming the comic was and expressed hope that the little one would recover.I replied to each one with a simple "Thank you." There were also a few negative comments, but I ignored them entirely.Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Mark walked in. I looked at him in confusion. Usually, he only came to report when Julian was around. What was going on today? Mark pulled a chair to sit across from me and said, "From now on, my assistant and I will be handling your work."Why the sudden change?"Wasn't the previous editor fine?" I asked, confused.Mark muttered under his breath, "Avery didn't even want to promote you, and you think she was fine?"His voice was so low that I didn't catch it. "Huh?"He immediately switched to a professional smile. "It's mainly because I really like your work."I was a little taken aback by his direct expression of appreciation. "Thank you!""You're welcome." He leaned in slightly and asked in a lower voic
Shayne was stumped by the question.After a long silence, he finally said, "You're right."Spencer let out a relieved sigh. "From now on, I'll focus all my attention on Luna. I'll cherish every moment I spend with her. Maybe if I do that, I won't think about Aralyn anymore. And I'll feel better because of it.""That's the spirit!" Spencer uttered.…Having completed my tasks for the day, I packed everything up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, contemplating Willow's current situation.Her autism was severe.Asking her to speak with others wasn't working. She couldn't open up.Previously, I had planned activities to encourage her to show off and connect with others in that way. But that approach had failed as well.The next step was to see if her grandparents could connect with her. Perhaps she'd be willing to talk to them.If not… I had another idea in mind.After saving my completed drawings to my phone, I walked over to Julian. In the past few days, I'd never le
After much effort, Avery finally managed to calm herself down. She then took out her phone and dialed Luna's number. "You need to get your work to me as soon as possible.""Why?" Luna asked.Avery took a deep breath. "I want to start promoting your work as soon as possible to prove to Julian that my judgment is right!"Luna picked up on Avery's unusual tone. "Is he still hoping you'll prioritize Aralyn's work?"Avery's expression gradually turned grim. "No, he doesn't even allow me to meet him in his office."Luna was speechless.Avery snorted, "I think if I produce a hit comic, he'll have no choice but to acknowledge my abilities. He might even come to me himself!"Luna was silent for a moment before responding, "Then I'll get started right away.""Alright."After hanging up, Avery felt slightly better.…Since Julian wanted Willow to meet her grandparents, he had to contact them in advance. Taking the initiative, he called Willow's grandfather."Julian, we were just think
When said this, her chin was raised, and her tone was especially arrogant. It was as if she had made an incredibly wise and correct decision.However, Amber only found her very foolish. Neglecting her biological grandson to focus on an unborn child… Was there something wrong with her brain?Even so, Amber didn't plan to point this out to Charlotte. Instead, she said, "I think there's something wrong with your attitude toward your son…"Charlotte asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with it?""Well, if you truly love your son, shouldn't you also treat your daughter-in-law well?" Amber asked, confused. "After all, when you love someone, you naturally care about the people they love…"Charlotte waved her hand dismissively. "I just don't like Aralyn, that's all. Now that I have a new daughter-in-law, can't you see that I treasure her?""You can't bully her even if you dislike her," replied Amber."Since we seem to disagree on this, why don't we post this online and let others decide who'
Amber sat on the living room couch. She was surrounded by her close friends.She held a cup of tea, sipping it slowly."I've already told you all about what Charlotte did a few days ago. You all need to help me come up with good ideas to get back at her. Otherwise, I'll feel awful if I keep holding this grudge!""Don't worry," Zoey Wadsworth quickly replied. "You don't have to do anything later—just sit back and watch us put on a show. When we post what she did online, plenty of people will criticize her. We won't have to worry about it at all."Amber raised a brow and asked excitedly, "Really?""Of course!" Zoey assured her seriously.As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.Amber finally let out a sigh of relief. She looked at the food and said with a smile, "Then I can rest easy. Look, she's here."Zoey stood up to open the door.Charlotte stepped inside. She was momentarily stunned the instant she saw Zoey. She then approached Amber with a smile and
Julian smiled as he explained, "Before Shayne arrived just now, the water I poured was still hot at the time. It should be just the right temperature now."I was a little surprised. Julian could be this thoughtful? I took a small sip. The temperature was just right.Julian sat down beside me.I leaned on his shoulder. It was strange, He had done so many things for me in the past. However, this time, he made me feel like my always unsettled heart had finally found a place to rest.I was so moved that I couldn't put it into words. "What did I do to meet such a good boyfriend like you?"The better Julian was to me, the more unbearable it made the days I spent with Shayne seem. This was because if Shayne did the same thing…Oh. To be more exact, Shayne would never do the same thing because he never bothered to do anything for me.I recalled one time when I was sick and thirsty, I asked him to pour me some water. He poured a cup of boiling hot water and gave it to me. I complaine
As Julian's subordinate who followed Julian almost the entire way, he knew about Julian's capabilities clearly. In terms of work, he was unparalleled. No matter how difficult the problem was, Julian would always be the first to think of a solution.Mark admired Julian very much. He also always wondered what kind of woman Julian would like.Did he like pretty women, women with a good personality, or…However, he never thought that Julian would like a divorced woman who had a child. Therefore, when Julian first brought Aralyn to the company, he was somewhat dissatisfied with her. He didn't think she was worthy of Julian.But as he interacted with her more often, he suddenly realized that she seemed to be even better than he had imagined.She was very emotionally stable, and her mind wasn't clouded by nonsensical thoughts. She was also always firm. Most importantly, her problem-solving ability was also on par with Julian's. Moreover, she was very gentle yet powerful.Mark now vaguel
Lucas even said that Joseph was now an adult and could take responsibility for his own choices. Hence, from now on, whatever Joseph did would have nothing to do with Lucas. The latter would not interfere.After I read the public statement, my only feeling about this was that Lucas was deeply hurt this time. He had probably given up on Joseph.After Alice read the statement, she grinned from ear to ear. "He was abandoned by his biological father. His future is going to be miserable!""There's no need to wait," Mark said quietly. He then added, "Ever since he was kicked out of the house by his father, his days haven't been too good. Stella, who initially said that she loved him and was pregnant, suddenly broke up with him after he lost the Wilson family's backing. She even told him the pregnancy was fake and that she had been lying to him."Joseph didn't believe her. He grabbed her shoulders and said she had told him she loved him. Stella slapped his hands away in disgust and said
"Mr. Wilson's company was already having major financial problems. They almost went under. It was Mr. York and Mr. Hughes who returned all the money he had previously advanced to them. Only then did he get the chance to cover the current lack of funds," said Mark.He continued, "However, he didn't manage to hold on to the money for long as his precious son had borrowed more funds than he currently had on hand! If he really covered Joseph's debts, the family might actually go bankrupt."These events had just happened recently. Once Mark learned about it, he couldn't wait to share it with someone. Luckily for him, he found people to share it with.Alice asked in disbelief, "How is it possible for such a useless son to exist?"She had always thought she spent too much money herself and wasn't much help to her parents. That was already bad enough in her eyes. However, Joseph's actions blew her mind.Looking at herself in comparison, she thought she was pretty great. Mark sighed. "Ye
Alice added, "Think about it. Joseph used to be the center of attention in our social circle. Now, look at him. Not a penny to his name. Guess he won't be acting so high and mighty anymore!" I reminded Alice not to celebrate too soon. "He might still be smug for a little while.""Why?" Alice asked, confused.I explained patiently, "Think about it. Joseph is still Mr. Wilson's most beloved son. Even if he publicly announced he wouldn't help pay off Joseph's debts, people will think it's just talk and that he still dotes on Joseph. "So, to curry favor with Mr. Wilson, some people will secretly try to butter up Joseph by giving him money to spend. They want Lucas to always remember them by using this method. So, when Mr. Wilson and Joseph have reconciled, Mr. Wilson will repay the favor with more business opportunities."Alice looked disgusted after hearing this. "No way. Is that really necessary?""For us, it doesn't seem necessary," I said with a smile. "But for others, it's pro
I spoke slowly, "But when it comes to buying expensive luxury items and jewelry for Luna, you never said anything."Shayne clenched his fists. He wanted to retort but sadly discovered that everything Aralyn said seemed to make sense."They say that a man's money is where his love is. I think you still love Luna."Shayne stared at me and asked, "However, didn't I treat you well when we were together?"I thought carefully before answering, "Before dating Julian, I didn't know what was good or bad. I just thought that with you treating me this way, perhaps I might find someone worse if I went out looking. So, no matter how you hurt me, I endured it."Later, after I started officially dating Julian, I learned that when a man loves a woman, he would put all his heart into treating her well. He wouldn't be like you, using being a straight man as an excuse to avoid romantic gifts and dates. He would also pay attention to all the little details in life too."I stared at Shayne as I conti
Shayne stared at me. He clearly didn't believe my answer.I said nonchalantly, "No matter what happens in the future, I'm already quite content with my life now. The money I earn every month is an amount I would never have dared to imagine in the past. Even if I were greedy and wanted more, what would be the point?"Shayne was stunned, clearly not expecting Aralyn to be so easily satisfied. Was it like this when he was together with Aralyn in the past? Would she have stayed by his side and spent her days with him as long as he gave her even the smallest bit of affection?This thought sent a sharp pain through his heart.It was only at that moment that Shayne finally realized what he had lost and missed—a woman who genuinely liked him and loved him.This love was very pure, with almost no impurities. He quickly explained, "But in the beginning, Luna wasn't like you. However, later on, she suddenly became better than you." "I expected that a long time ago." I understood that he