Luna smiled at me. "We're coming home for dinner tonight, though. Please prepare food for us then, Aralyn."She was blatantly taunting me, thinking that she could crush me by doing this. Yet, I ignored them and strode toward the living room.Shayne explained on my behalf, "She's probably still a little upset, but don't worry. She'll come around by the time we come back."Zach chimed in, "That's right. She may be an annoying person, but her cooking skills are excellent. You'll get to enjoy a feast tonight!"Luna asked delightedly, "Really? I'm so excited!"These people seemed to think that I was still in love with Shayne. They assumed I would prepare a huge spread for dinner despite being in a weakened condition just to earn Shayne's forgiveness.Yet, none of them noticed how I was staring at Shayne as though I was looking at a stranger who obviously had something wrong with his head.After they left, I went to the storeroom and found my suitcase. I brought it to my bedroom and o
I got up and headed for the bedroom while responding coldly, "Report it to the authorities, then. Why are you telling me?"Shayne moved to block my way. "It's Luna's ex-husband who's kidnapped Zach."I took one step to the side and moved past him. My voice hardened. "Then, you should be talking to Luna."Shayne caught up with me again and completely blocked my path. "He's very angry because he thinks Luna and I have slept together. He said that he would only let Zach go if you spend a night with him."Shayne sounded torn and helpless. "Honey…"He had not finished what he wanted to say, but I could tell what Shayne was getting at. I was shaking with rage as I slapped him hard across the face."Shayne Pearce! Do you really consider yourself a man?""Honey, Zach is your son! You can't possibly turn your back against him when he's in danger!"He swiftly produced a spray bottle, which he had kept hidden by holding it against his back, and sprayed something onto my face several times
"It was because my son told him that Luna would become his mother if he just stayed with me for a while."Indeed, it sounded like what that ungrateful child would do. I replied indifferently since I was not surprised at all, "Okay."Rowan got to his feet. "Do you know why I'm setting up this equipment? It's for recording the process of me raping you."I'll send it to Shayne tomorrow. Once he's seen us together, he'll give you up entirely!"After saying that, he strode toward me.Judging by his actions so far, I swiftly processed the information I had of him and what I had seen up to this point. In an instant, I thought of the solution.I stared at Rowan straight in the eye. "So, you and Luna are divorced. Yet, you're still listening to her demands and helping her with these things?"Rowan gave me a push. I could not help but fall backward and landed heavily on the hard mattress. Then, Rowan pressed himself against me.Someone who used to live a dignified and privileged life lik
Shayne turned his head toward my voice. He stared at me with a conflicted look in his eyes."Aralyn… you… you're back. He didn't… hurt you, right?"I scoffed inwardly at how pretentious he was. He stopped calling me "honey" like a loving husband would since he thought I had slept with another man."Oh. He didn't do anything to me. We just sat and spoke for a while." I told them the truth nonchalantly."I'm sorry… Aralyn, I didn't have a choice." It was obvious Shayne did not believe what I said. He went on apologizing as though he was truly sorry.I gave a shrug. I knew he would not believe me. I had expected that much.Besides, Rowan might serve as the key witness who could help me expose Luna's plots and secrets soon. Naturally, I saw no need to explain further to Shayne.I ignored him and fetched my suitcase from the storeroom. "Let's go."I would continue to gather more evidence after the divorce. When Shayne and Zach had fallen completely for the illusions of their newfoun
Her bedroom was huge. It was nicely and exquisitely decorated to resemble how a princess' room would look like in an animated film.Willow wore a fluffy, tiered dress. With a bunny doll in her arms, Willow had her back to the door as she sat silently on the carpet.Julian desperately wanted to cheer her up. "Willow, look who's here?"Willow turned her face further away from the door. She would not look at Julian or speak to him. Julian looked to me for help.This was supposed to be just a part of my job. However, I had always wished to have a daughter of my own…Willow looked just like a little princess in my eyes. She was so cute, and I could not help but grow fond of her. I tried to sound as if I was troubled. "I see that a little Willow doesn't welcome me here."Willow turned her head the second she heard my voice. When she saw it was me, Willow leaped to her feet and dashed toward me. She shook her head.I crouched down and met her gaze. "Why won't you talk to me? Do you hat
I looked at him.Julian went on saying, "The two of them are even in the same class."Willow commented proudly, "I observed everyone in our class and noticed that Zach had received the best care! I had imagined how great it would be if Zach's mommy was my mommy at the time."She smiled sweetly. "Now, my dream has come true."Willow was so cute and endearing. Her words warmed the frozen corners of my heart.I smiled faintly as I looked at her adorable face. "Congratulations."Willow let out a chuckle and continued eating."I've agreed to be Willow's mother. Then, I should fulfill my duties as a real mother and drop her off at her kindergarten. Isn't that right?"I turned my eyes to Julian. "I'll go regardless of who I'll run into at the kindergarten."Julian gave a slight nod. "I'll be counting on you, then."I responded, "I should be doing that much, of course."…I thought Willow's condition had improved since she spoke to me quite a lot. However…She still ignored everyo
One of the teachers walked over and explained, "This is Willow's mother. She's here to drop off Willow today. You've probably had some misunderstanding.""That's impossible!" Zach retorted instantly, "She's my mom!""You shouldn't just call anyone your mom." I cut him off. "I don't remember ever giving birth to a child like you."Zach was struck speechless.The teacher tried to remind Zach. "Have you forgotten? You said you didn't know this lady when she came to pick you up last time."Inwardly, the teacher found it strange since Zach was suddenly claiming that he was my son today.On the other hand, Zach was extremely delighted as he watched me get into the car without sparing him another look.With me no longer wanting any involvement with him, Zach figured he could finally enjoy a happy life with Luna as his mother now.Zach had forgotten all about his displeasure of seeing me here just now. Instead, he was brimming with joy."Great! I'm finally free from that ever-so-annoy
Many patients were staying in the hospital wards. A lot of them were even forced to rest on hospital beds placed along the corridors since the wards were fully occupied.A majority of these patients faced serious health issues and had to stay at the hospital for an extended period. Most of them were already staying here when I got admitted to the hospital previously, and they were still here even after I got discharged.I saw a few familiar faces the instant I came near a ward.An elderly man asked, "Didn't you get discharged the other day? Why are you visiting the hospital again?""I fell down the stairs a few days ago, right?" I did not hide from them the reason why I was here. Ultimately, I also wanted to find out if anyone saw or took photos of what happened that day.Still, I could not divulge all of the details of the incident to them. "I noticed the floor was really slippery back then. It was as if someone made it that way on purpose."So, I'm thinking of checking if there
"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
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