"She didn't want to talk about it. I know you care about her, but there's no way for you to know what she's going through, let alone stand up for her. So, you don't need to blame yourself." I chose my words carefully, trying to reassure him."Besides, Willow is doing much better now."I shared everything Willow had told me in the bathroom earlier.Julian was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Aralyn, thank you. She's been able to recover because you became her mother and guided her step by step.""You gave me a job when I was at my most desperate. If anything, I should be thanking you," I replied, turning to look at him.Julian raised his hand and placed it lightly on my head.This was the second time. I stared at him helplessly.Not only did he not move his hand, but he also ruffled my hair gently. "No need to be so polite with me."I smiled and countered, "Same goes for you.""Alright." He withdrew his hand.…When we arrived at the company, Mark was already wa
Mark had just finished speaking when one of the young women walked up to the front and confidently began explaining her understanding of my work and her proposed promotional strategy.Once she finished, she returned to her seat. The next person then walked to the front and shared her thoughts.After about two hours, the last one completed her presentation.Mark turned to me, smiling. "What do you think?"I wasn't knowledgeable about promotional strategies at all. But after I listened to their presentations, I felt that each person made very valid points."They're all good." I nodded in approval."Any areas you think need improvement?"I quickly shook my head. "No."Mark then turned to the team, his expression becoming serious. "Since Ms. Jaffe isn't inclined to critique your work, I'll be the bad guy here."He pointed out each of their shortcomings calmly and provided guidance on how to improve. Finally, he stood up. "I expect you to revise these points and submit the update
Avery leaned back. "What did Julian do to provoke you?"Still fuming over the morning's events, Luna felt her anger rising again. "He had someone spread rumors at school, saying Mason doesn't have a father and is trying to find one by targeting others' dads!"She took a deep breath to steady herself and continued, "The rumors claim I've set my sights on Mason's classmate's father.""Is Zach the classmate?" Avery asked.Luna snapped, "Yes! He even said that I think Shayne is great, so I seduced him even knowing he was married. In just one year, I supposedly destroyed what was once a happy family by making them divorce, and I became his new wife."She clenched her fist. "There were a few parents in Mason's class who used to get along with me. But today, after dropping their kids off, they suddenly started finding excuses to avoid me. "And they're even telling their husbands to keep their distance! They've really started treating me like some homewrecker who steals other people's h
Luna asked softly, "Can you?"Shayne didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked expressionlessly, "Have you considered that if I get involved, people who love stirring up trouble might start digging into my past? When that happens, my history with Aralyn will no longer stay hidden."If it came to that, the criticism against Luna would only grow harsher and more relentless.Luna gradually sat up, her expression turning serious as well. Shayne Increased the distance between them subtly.Luna turned to him and asked, "Then what do you think I should do about this?""It's simple. Watch Julian's attitude," Shayne said flatly.Luna was unwilling to accept this but couldn't think of a better solution, so she reluctantly agreed, "Fine."…After I finished the tasks for the day, I glanced at the clock. It was already 3:00 pm. My pace was much faster than usual.Feeling incredulous, I quickly opened the draft to double-check. After carefully reviewing it, I found nothing wrong.Julian n
Amber had been fuming since returning home.How could her own son speak to her like that? It took her the entire night to calm down. Once she finally regained her composure, she called Alice.Over the phone, she said, "Julian only sees Aralyn as a nanny. Don't overthink it. He doesn't like her at all."Alice didn't believe a word of it. She had clearly seen the way Julian looked at Aralyn that day. Usually, he looked at people who didn't matter to him coldly and emotionlessly. But it was different with Aralyn. When Julian looked at her, his eyes were warm and affectionate.If that wasn't love, what could it be? Hatred?Alice was beautiful and came from a good family. Many men admired her, but she wasn't interested in most of them.When she finally found someone she genuinely liked, she even swallowed her pride to pursue Julian, but Julian remained unmoved.She had given up on him. "This has nothing to do with me!"She was convinced she'd find someone even better than Julian.
Back in the office, I handed the coffee I had just bought to Julian.Julian paused his work and took the coffee. Smiling, he said, "Thank you.""You're welcome," I replied, leaning against the desk.He took a sip and then frowned.Noticing his expression, I quickly asked, "What's wrong?"He explained that he always got his coffee from the café downstairs and usually ordered this exact one. I even ensured the staff added milk and sugar per his preference. I had made sure to remind them of every detail to ensure it matched his usual order perfectly.But judging by his reaction, something seemed off."It just tastes… better than usual." Julian took another sip, savoring the richer, smoother flavor."Could they have started using better coffee beans?" he speculated.I shook my head. "I have no idea."Julian thought for a while before instructing Mark to order another cup of the same coffee for comparison.Within about ten minutes, the new cup of coffee was delivered to his desk.
"She said it didn't hurt Willow that deeply with the rumor, right? Let's hope she feels the same when the same thing happens to her son."I nodded. "I feel at ease that you have a plan.""What if I didn't?" Julian asked.Chuckling, I responded, "You're so smart, and you care so much about Willow. There's no way you'd stand by and let her be wronged."When Julian heard this, his eyes softened.…At the kindergarten entrance, Luna showed up especially early today when normally, she would arrive quite late.As soon as Julian and I arrived, she hurried over to us.Though furious, Luna had no choice but to lower her head. "Mr. Hughes, because of the rumors you spread, my son is being ostracized at school.""Well, he's not that affected," Julian replied coldly, tucking one hand in his suit pocket. His eyes were frosty and devoid of any warmth.Without thinking, Luna retorted, "How could you say that? None of the kids dare approach him anymore. He was so upset he lay on his desk sob
"What are you standing there for?" Luna asked sharply.At first, Zach would feel upset when she talked to him like that, but now he had grown used to it.He walked out of the gate sternly. "You're here to pick up your son, not me."Mindful of the other parents around, Luna tried not to lose her composure. "Can't I pick up both of you?""If you could, then why didn't you bring me along when you picked up Mason before? Now that I have a driver picking me up, I only go with you when I feel like it," Zach retorted.Luna took a deep breath to steady herself, but before she could compose her emotions, Zach had already climbed into the car and shut the door.The car sped away, leaving her behind.…Noah glanced at Luna's twisted expression through the rearview mirror and spoke hesitantly. "What do we tell Mr. Pearce for leaving her?" After all, his paycheck came from Shayne, and Luna was Shayne's wife. He worried Luna might badmouth him, putting his job at risk."Don't worry. I'll
Seeing that no matter what they said, Luna remained unmoved, Shannon slowed her speech. "We're actually here to ask you to get back with Rowan.""Sorry, that thought has completely left my mind," replied Luna."If that's why you're here, then you should leave. I have work to do, so I won't be chatting with you any longer."Luna walked to the door and opened it. "You can go now."Shannon looked at Patrick.Patrick said coolly, "I don't even care that you're pregnant with Shayne's child anymore. In fact, if you get back together with Rowan, we can treat this child as one of our own. I hope you don't miss out on such a great opportunity.""That's not a great opportunity for me. When I didn't have a job back then, I thought being a housewife was a good life. I didn't have to worry about making money—I just had to take care of the household. But I realized it wasn't like that at all."Earning my own money is much better than relying on someone else to give it to me. This way, I don't
"But I remember his place is pretty far from mine," Luna said, puzzled.Patrick sat down on the couch, looking at Luna. "Mainly, we figured since we came all this way to see Rowan, we might as well check in on you, too."Luna was even more confused. "Check in on me? Why?"Instead of answering her, Patrick asked, "You're pregnant."Luna glanced down at her stomach, then replied, "So what? I've been divorced from Rowan for so long, and I've been with Shayne for quite a while now. It's perfectly normal that I'm pregnant. You guys hated me before."Back then, you were eager for me to be with someone else. Now that I am, you guys should be happy."Luna sat down as well. When she was with Rowan, she had always been respectful in front of Patrick and Shannon.She had always seen them as family and worked hard to earn their approval.But no matter what she did, it was never enough.For a long time, Luna wondered if she was doing something wrong.But after the divorce—and after she wa
When I found out Serena didn't have a job yet, an idea immediately came to mind. "I actually started a new company. We're hiring. The salary during the probation period is ten thousand dollars a month, with weekends and all national holidays off. And if you perform well, there's a big commission on top of that."I was about to add more when Mark sent me a photo. It was a payroll statement.Right after that, he sent a voice message. "Take a look at how much they've earned in commissions!"I tapped on the image. The company didn't have many employees yet, but every single one of them had already made over a million in commission—some even over five million.The amusement in my eyes deepened as I replied, "I hope they'll take home even more next month."Mark responded without hesitation, "At the rate sales are going, doubling it shouldn't be a problem."After reading his messages, I finally put my phone down and looked at Serena. "But of course, it all depends on our product sales.
In the cafe, I looked at the young woman sitting across from me and asked, "What's your name?"She was sipping her milk tea. When she heard my question, she quickly looked up and replied, "My name is Serena Towson. You can call me Serena. I used to stay in the ward next to yours."I was a bit puzzled. "Then, how do you know I was framed?"Serena took a deep breath, lowering her head. "Actually, I should be apologizing to you for this.""Why are you apologizing?" I asked in confusion.Serena didn't answer. She looked uneasy as she kept looking down, pushing her phone toward me.On the screen was a voice recording.I tapped play.It was a conversation between Luna and someone else. "I need you to avoid the surveillance cameras and spill oil in that area. Do you hear me?"The other person seemed doubtful about Luna's plan. "If we do that, it'll be hard to clean up, and people will definitely notice something's off!""Don't pour too much. Just pour enough so she'll fall when she
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