I wasn't tired yet, so I went upstairs to retrieve my laptop. I then started working seriously on the designs Julian's company needed.Upon seeing this, Julian went to his study to retrieve his laptop and began working on the documents he needed to handle.Since I already had an idea, completing the initial sketch only took me half an hour. However, I didn't think it was adequate. As such, I created three alternative drafts. Once everything was done, I let out a sigh of relief and looked at Julian who sat across from me."Once I'm done with the drafts, who should I send it to for review?" I asked.Julian got up and walked behind me. He leaned down and held my mouse, while the other hand rested on my keyboard. It felt as if he was wrapping me in his embrace.He said calmly, "First, log in to this website, upload your drafts, and then submit them."He used the mouse to complete the entire process. Then, he asked apologetically, "Was I overstepping?"He sounded so natural. If I sai
I reluctantly accepted the explanation. "Alright then."Julian chuckled softly.…Shayne opened his eyes. He didn't see Luna, who lay by his side over the past few days. His mood brightened instantly.He got up and went to Zach's room and knocked on the door. "It's time to wake up! I'm sending you to kindergarten today."There was no response.He opened the door and found the bedroom empty. Only then did he recall that Zach slept over at Charlotte's place.Shayne walked to the living room and sat down.It seemed that the house had changed ever since he'd divorced Aralyn. It was no longer warm. Instead, it was cold.…Today, the little girl arrived at kindergarten earlier than usual. We saw her standing at the gate when we dropped Willow off. She quickly waved at Willow.Willow didn't even say goodbye to us. She ran straight to the little girl's side.The little girl held her hand and talked to Willow as they walked. Willow, same as she did over the past few days, listened p
"Aralyn's promotional strategy has been finalized," reported Mark.He placed the folder before Julian. "Please take a look. Does anything need to be changed, Mr. Hughes."Having worked closely with Julian for years, Mark understood that anything involving Aralyn was of utmost importance to him. He thus needed to review it. Besides matters regarding Aralyn, nothing else was important.Mark always knew how to prioritize things.Julian took the folder. He had already reviewed the draft previously, and now, after the revisions, he couldn't find a single issue. "No," he replied, unexpectedly satisfied.Mark smiled and said, "Alright. Should I have them start promoting today?"Julian nodded. "Yeah."Upon receiving his approval, Mark left with the folder. He didn't stop and went straight to the game company. He shared with them the great news. "Our strategy has been approved!"Everyone unanimously cheered. "That's great!"Mark then said, "Everyone can start promoting according to t
Alice squinted as she considered Julian. Her expression was wary.She had planned not to think about those serious topics and wanted to go relax with Aralyn. However, Julian stopped them.Julian lifted his finger and gently tapped on the table in front of him. He calmly thought of how he should answer this question.Aralyn and Alice were now on good terms. As such, Aralyn would definitely be willing to eat with Alice. He also didn't have a suitable reason to object.The best outcome he could get was joining them.When he thought of that, he smiled faintly and said, "The both of you don't know which restaurants are good. Besides, you're both tight on money, so let me treat you both."Alice didn't hide her disdain, but after thinking it over, she realized Julian made a fair point. "Fine, then."Julian packed up his things and led the way.He stood in the elevator and looked at Alice.He honestly felt like Alice was interfering with his time alone with Aralyn. Alice noticed Julia
Alice grinned widely, revealing her pearly white teeth. She then helped add more food to my plate.Upon seeing this, Julian didn't want to be outdone. Soon, the dishes on the table grew noticeably emptier while the food on my plate increased. It soon became a small tower.Seeing that the two of them seemed to be competing, I sighed helplessly and asked, "Do you two have to build a tower on my plate?"Only then did Julian stop. However, Alice was still unsatisfied. She added two more pieces of meat to my plate.I laughed, baffled. "How am I supposed to finish all this?"Alice cheered me on. "I believe in you. You can do it!"I mercilessly shattered her dreams. "Even if you believe in me, I won't magically turn into a bottomless pit!"Julian said calmly, "You can refuse to eat what she has given you. It's fine if you only finish what I've given you."I couldn't believe that Julian, a mature man, had such a childish side. "I can't do that."After I clearly expressed my displeasur
Luna lifted her head as she spoke. Her teary eyes were focused on Shayne.Her right hand unconsciously rested on her belly as she continued, "Shayne, when I think about it carefully, it feels like you don't love me and the baby that much. Maybe I should just terminate the pregnancy."By the time she was done speaking, her voice sounded tearful.Shayne was a little impatient, but he didn't show it. He smiled and comforted her. "Of course not."He held her hand, suppressing the discomfort he felt from the physical contact. "Luna, you know I'm a man who's used to being straightforward. I'm not used to verbally expressing my love, but I'll take care of you and the children. So, don't overthink it. Just focus on resting at home." He pulled out a card and handed it to Luna as he spoke. "From now on, if you want anything, just buy it yourself."Luna stared at him in shock. She looked touched. "Are you really giving this to me?""Yes."The situation had escalated to this point, and
Most importantly, I wanted to see Luna have her child more than anyone else. Although I no longer had any feelings for Shayne and saw him as a stranger, I couldn't deny that I've been quietly anticipating the day when I could personally witness the accomplice and the perpetrator who killed my child turn on each other like dogs fighting over scraps."We can choose a place with surveillance cameras," Luna insisted, trying hard to convince me. It was clear she was desperate to meet me. However, I was completely uninterested. "Surveillance cameras can malfunction."Seeing that I wouldn't be moved by any of her assurances, she laughed and said, "You're jealous of me. You're jealous that I'm with Shayne now, so you don't dare to meet me."Her tricks were very poor.I responded calmly, "Provocation won't work on me."Luna gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "I'm downstairs at Hughes Group right now. If you don't come down, I'll spill everything that happened at the Pearce family's h
When Luna first heard this news from Avery, she was extremely shocked. After all, she heard Willow call Aralyn her mother, so she genuinely thought Julian wanted to marry Aralyn.She didn't feel good about that. How could Aralyn possibly meet such an outstanding man after divorcing Shayne? Thankfully, Julian didn't like Aralyn. This made Luna very happy."Is that a problem?" I asked as I sat across from her.Luna clasped her fingers together and rested her chin on them. "Before you divorced Shayne, you were at least a wealthy lady. Any one of the gifts he gave you should have been worth a fortune. Even if life became difficult after your divorce, just selling one of those gifts would let you live comfortably. There's no way you'll end up having to work, right?"Upon hearing her words, I instantly realized the reason she invited me out. She probably wanted me to know that Shayne treated me poorly but treated her well instead.Then she wanted to contrast her life with mine to high
Luna was just that attractive to men.She couldn't stop smiling at the thought."Then what kind of men do you think would like me?" Yasmin asked.Luna was momentarily stumped as she looked Yasmin up and down. Even though Yasmin was the same age as Aralyn, she lacked Aralyn's composure and calmness.Instead, she seemed a bit foolish.Luna found Yasmin somewhat annoying, but she didn't show it.She just smiled faintly and said, "Probably more mature and experienced men."Yasmin pressed her lips together. Those kinds of men were usually older, and she wasn't interested in them.Of course, Luna knew what Yasmin was thinking about but didn't show it. "I think most men aren't worthy of you, of course. Someone like Julian is just right.""That's right!" Yasmin agreed instantly.Luna nodded. "Yeah."Frowning, Yasmin muttered, "But the men who are worthy of me don't like me.""With diligence and persistence, anything is possible," Luna answered patiently.After finishing work, teas
Shayne had no other way to relieve his feelings now.Although drinking could make him forget Aralyn, he would feel like his heart had been hollowed out the very next day. It was unbearably miserable.Hence, he wanted to meet Zach. Zach was one of the few family members he had in this world.Once Shayne made the decision, he drove to Zach's place.…Luna never knew that pregnancy could be so exhausting. The animation project had just ended, but she had to design drafts for trendy toys now. She was dead tired.And now, someone was knocking on the door in the middle of the night.Luna opened the door.The person standing at the door was Yasmin, someone she had seen on TV.Recently, Luna had also learned a bit about Yasmin. Although she was rather fierce and seemed immature, she was about the same age as Aralyn."What are you here for?" Luna asked in surprise."To chat with you."Without even waiting for Luna to invite her in, Yasmin walked straight into the living room and s
Julian walked out, having just finished his shower. When he heard my conversation with Willow, he explained, "Your mommy is even more amazing than you think. Tens of millions is actually just a safe guess."Willow's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Wow, she can make even more?"Julian remained composed. "Yeah, these designer toys are selling really well, and they've also boosted sales of related merchandise and some comic books."Willow looked at me with even more admiration.Smiling, I uttered, "It's all thanks to your daddy."However, Julian was humble. "It's clearly because of your own hard work."I didn't deny it.Julian then asked, "The toys you designed yourself are also making a lot of money, right?""I heard from Mark that their sales are catching up to the designer toys. They've also made a huge profit. When the hype starts dying down, I'll release a new set of dolls. Based on my current inventory, I think I can keep the momentum going for at least another year," I s
"Alice doesn't know much, but these manufacturers definitely do. If you contact them and ask for a list, do you think they'll help you?" I asked.Mark hesitated for a moment. If everyone took advantage of this trend and increased production, they could make more money.And the more people knew about it and discussed it, the longer the hype would last, and the more money everyone could earn.Of course, they would be willing to introduce their peers.Once Mark understood this, he excitedly said, "Got it! I'll contact them right away!""Okay." My tone finally relaxed.…Mark was dedicated to this job. He proactively reached out to the factory owners. After explaining the pros and cons to them, he asked them to introduce other factory owners to him.Each of them was enthusiastic. Within just a few dozen minutes, he had already gotten at least ten phone numbers.He called them one by one, explaining his needs.To ease their concerns, he mentioned his referrers and emphasized that
Aralyn had always been the one to soothe them, including Charlotte.Shayne had now come to realize that Charlotte wasn't as great as he had once imagined.It was just that, when Aralyn was by his side, she had been afraid of affecting his work. So, no matter how much trouble Charlotte caused, Aralyn always covered for her.Yet, he refused to cherish the woman who had cared so much for him.Shayne took a deep breath, suddenly feeling exhausted."What's there to think about?" Charlotte asked."In all the years Aralyn was with me, the money she spent didn't even add up to what you both spend in a month, or even a week. Wait, even a day," Shayne said coldly.Charlotte felt that Shayne had become stingy. "But you're supposed to spend the money you make.""My son and wife didn't get to spend it. It all went to you." Shayne's voice was filled with self-mockery.Charlotte was a little annoyed. What did he mean by that?She had worked so hard to raise Shayne. It was only right that he
"Other people don't know the truth, so I can understand if they blame me. But Shayne knows, yet he still blames me!" Charlotte said.Luna sighed. "Don't let others sow discord between you. As for Shayne, he's still dreaming about getting back together with Aralyn. He's probably still hoping to have more children with her."But Aralyn no longer had any interest in Shayne.Luna understood this very well. If she were married to a man like Julian—gentle, rich, handsome, and loving—she wouldn't even consider someone like Shayne.Sure, Shayne was somewhat good-looking, but he was also stingy and emotionally unavailable.The contrast was just too brutal.If Aralyn broke up with Julian and got back together with Shayne, Luna would seriously question whether Aralyn had a mental illness.Charlotte, of course, didn't think her son had done anything wrong. Hence, in her mind, Aralyn was the one at fault."Aralyn must have been secretly contacting Shayne! Otherwise, why would he still be th
"That's right," Julian said.It seemed Donald coming here wasn't entirely in vain. At the very least, he had helped Willow learn something.Julian was extremely pleased.When Donald heard that, his face grew darker, and he tried to explain, "I didn't…"Julian had no interest in listening. After years of navigating the business world, he could tell a person's intentions the moment they spoke.Not wanting to waste time on Donald's nonsense, Julian uttered, "It's late. My daughter needs to sleep. You should leave."Donald was forced to swallow all the words he wanted to say.He stared at Julian in a daze for a long time. But in the end, he could only leave.Once he disappeared from the living room, Julian asked, "Can you guess why he went through all this trouble?""What else could it be? He wants you to think I'm a terrible person and ruin our relationship."Julian's voice grew colder. "If he were only trying to sabotage our relationship, I might call him clever. But he even pu
Mom should have fought a fair and just lawsuit and demanded more money from them.Donald remained silent, unable to say a word."Besides, Mom had a job at the beginning. Even after you two got married, she rarely asked you for money."Honestly, I always felt that my personality was similar to Mom's.Both of us were highly independent."Even after you made Mom a housewife, you rarely gave her money. She spent almost entirely from her own savings. So, can you tell me the 'good things' you've done for me?"Donald hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I admit, when I was with your mom, I really didn't treat her well. But you wouldn't even exist if it weren't for me. I'm your elder! Even if you ignore everything else, just the fact that I gave you life means you should respect me!"I laughed. "If Mom wasn't with you, she would have been with someone else. And I would still have been born just the same. You're not exactly irreplaceable."Donald stared at me for a long tim
Shayne showed no emotion, yet it struck Charlotte like a bolt of lightning.Charlotte's lips moved. After a long time, she finally said, "I never expected things to turn out this way.""Not expecting it means you can wash your hands of responsibility?" Shayne mocked coldly.Charlotte didn't know what to say."No, you can't. Zach won't forgive you, and neither will I. You should just focus on the baby in Luna's belly and live your life," Shayne added.Before he could hang up, Charlotte hurriedly said, "But didn't you already forgive us before?""The fact that you can still reach me by phone is proof that I don't hate you."Charlotte let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that."It's just that, for now, I can't forget that I will never be able to have another child for the rest of my life."Charlotte's mood grew heavier.…Donald rushed to Julian's house in the middle of the night.When Julian saw him come in, he was a little surprised.Just as he was about to ask what Donald