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
Then, I would have a lovely and considerate daughter… She would even love me sincerely and wholeheartedly.I could not help smiling at the thought of that. "I will."Julian turned his gaze away and concentrated on his work again. "I don't think you've had time to unpack your things yet."I got to my feet. "I'm going to do that now."…My bedroom was located farthest to the east on the second floor. The room was spacious, and it even had a dressing room attached to it. In addition, the room had good lighting and a huge balcony.As the curtains were pulled back, shafts of bright sunlight fell on the bed, creating a warm ambiance in the room.I did not unpack and organize my things right away. Instead, I lay on the bed and enjoyed the peace and tranquility that I had not felt in a long while.At that moment, I had this feeling that it would not be a bad thing if I could spend my days like this for the rest of my life.Once I was done resting, I dragged my suitcase into the dressi
"I learned a lot of things today. Mason told me that your divorce from Rowan wasn't because Rowan's family went bankrupt," Shayne uttered slowly.Luna pushed Shayne away and looked at him. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?""I'm sorry for misunderstanding you," he apologized.Luna didn't mind. "I wouldn't really call it a misunderstanding. Maybe I was too firm in my decision when I left you, which led you to misunderstand me."Shayne looked into Luna's eyes. "Aralyn said if I don't cherish you, I might regret it in the future. I gave it some thought, and I think she's right. So, from today onward, I want to cherish the days I spend with you."Luna smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Okay. But I've been busy with my career, so I might not have much time.""I'll help you," Shayne replied."Thank you," Luna said sincerely.Having been used to not having money for so long, Luna had developed the habit of saving. Now that she could earn her own money, she was thinking what she should
Shayne suddenly felt that Mason was incredibly smart, but he didn't dislike that kind of intelligence. "Okay."…Shayne dropped Mason off at kindergarten.Then, he drove to Willow's kindergarten. When he saw me about to get into the car, he quickly stepped in front of me. "Let's have a proper talk."I knew that if I didn't give him a chance to speak, he would keep blocking me here until I was willing to talk to him.To avoid wasting time, I decided to settle this quickly. "Alright, what do you want to say?"Shayne wanted to say a lot of things. But the moment he saw me, it was as if all those words got stuck in his throat. He couldn't say a single thing.In the end, he only managed to squeeze out, "Lately, I can't stop thinking about the days we were together."If he only wanted to chat casually or reminisce about the past, that would be a complete waste of my time."So what?"Shayne was used to my indifference, but it still hurt him a little. "Back when I pursued you, I trul
"Back then, Mommy had some savings and used all of it as our expenses. Daddy felt that we couldn't keep living like that, so he resigned from their company. Then, they came over and scolded Mommy."Mason's tone was full of sarcasm. "They said Mommy had instigated Daddy to quit. Mommy was really upset and cried at home secretly. But when Daddy came back, she still greeted him with a smile."Mommy only suffered all this injustice because she married Daddy, so when Mommy stayed quiet about it, I took the initiative to tell Daddy."He patted my head and told me he would handle it. Then, he went to the balcony. I overheard him telling Grandpa and Grandma to stop interfering in his life. He said that since he no longer worked for them and wasn't taking their money, he was already living independently."No one should have anything to say about his wife. That day, Grandpa and Grandma got really mad. Daddy just listened quietly and then hung up the phone. Back then, they were both under a l
"They'll bring that woman and her child into the house, then ask me if she and Daddy make a good match," Mason said.The more Mason spoke, the angrier he got. His cheeks puffed up unconsciously. "They want to set Daddy up with her and hope I'll help them, right? If I refuse, they'll just say I'm not as sensible as her son."Shayne felt that talking to a child about these things seemed pretty inappropriate..But then again, would anyone really be that outrageous?Just then, Mason's phone rang again.He answered and asked, "Do you need something?""Yes!" the two elders replied in unison."Your daddy hasn't been in touch with us lately. Do you know where he is?""No," Mason replied without hesitation.Even if he did know, he wouldn't tell them."When Mommy and I moved out, you said you hoped we would never come back and that you wouldn't contact us. What's going on today? Having regrets?"Mason hadn't planned to speak so harshly.But he really didn't want to have too much cont
Mason sat in the car, looking out the window. After a long time, he finally mustered the courage to turn back and look at Shayne. "Will you still get angry with Mommy in the future?"Shayne didn't understand why Mason suddenly brought this up, but he still answered politely, "I've never been angry with your mommy."Mason was confused. "Then why haven't you come to see us for so long?"Shayne casually made up an excuse. "Because I've been busy with work.""Oh, okay."Realizing he had misunderstood Shayne, Zach quickly apologized, "Sorry.""If I do have conflicts with your mommy in the future, what would you do?" Shayne asked."I wouldn't bother with you. Mommy treats me well," Mason said seriously."When I was very little, I always knew that Mommy really loved money. She always put money first, so when she and my daddy got divorced, I thought she wouldn't want me because raising me is really expensive."Mason's voice carried a trace of sadness. "But Mommy still chose to take me
Willow felt she had once again become the happiest child in the world, and her lips curled into a smile.Julian got up and followed behind us.After washing up, Willow pulled us along for a morning run. When we finished, we took a shower and had breakfast together.The food prepared by the chef at home suited our tastes perfectly.Willow ate in big bites, then started drinking her milk.Finally, Julian and I took her to school together.…Mason woke up in the morning.When he walked into the living room and saw Shayne still there, he didn't show any displeasure. Instead, he smiled brightly. "Dad, you really stayed!"Shayne felt deeply gratified. "That's right.""Take me to school today," Mason said eagerly."Most of my classmates have their parents drop them off, but I… It's always the driver who takes me to school. If this keeps up, they'll think I don't have parents."The more he spoke, the quieter his voice became. And by the end, he sounded pitiful.Shayne couldn't hel
Shayne was unwilling to give up and wanted to talk more. But whenever he tried, Aralyn would find an excuse to leave.Bitterness filled Shayne.He persisted day after day, treating Aralyn well bit by bit. After a long time, Aralyn was finally moved.She finally agreed to date him.But what happened after that?As their relationship deepened, he should have normally fallen in love with Aralyn and naturally stepped into marriage with her.But there was no such memory in Shayne's mind.Their relationship suddenly took a strange turn—Aralyn was the one pursuing him, while he was always avoiding her.Shayne frowned, seriously trying to recall what had happened.It was probably the day before he decided to forget about Luna and sincerely start a life with Aralyn when Luna called him.She said she was living a hard life and wanted to come back and reconcile with him.The smile on Shayne's face gradually turned bitter.At that time, Rowan was still incredibly wealthy. His family sh
The living room was spacious and bright.The food on the dining table was already cold.Even the candles had burned down completely.Aralyn sat quietly at the table. It was only when she heard his footsteps that she lifted her head and looked at him."Didn't you say you would come back to celebrate our anniversary with me? Why are you only back now?" she questioned.It was only then that Shayne realized he hadn't even told Aralyn where he had been.He quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, honey. Something came up at work; I was swamped. I couldn't come back and be with you. I'm really sorry."At the time, Shayne had still been serious about maintaining this family.Aralyn stared straight at him, her eyes carrying a calmness as if she saw through everything. "Are you sure you were working? You know I don't like being lied to. If you're lying, you know what happens."For some reason, Shayne had suddenly chickened out. "I went to pick up a friend."Aralyn didn't show whether she belie
In the past, I would never have dared to imagine that a plush doll I casually designed could turn out so well."Wait a minute."A thought suddenly struck me, and I stared at Julian.Julian didn't understand why I had such an expression on my face."Since the animation can release an entire series of products, then can't my plush dolls also be made into smaller versions? Or maybe I could launch a whole line of merchandise like mugs, keychains, and so on?"Julian hadn't considered this before, but after hearing what I said, he replied, "That could work.""I'll tell Mark right away!" I exclaimed excitedly, about to sit up and grab my phone. But when I glanced at the time, I realized it was too late.Although Mark was dedicated to his work, it didn't seem right to bring this up so late at night.I had no choice but to suppress my excitement and lie back down. "I'll tell him tomorrow."Julian looked at me with deep affection. "Alright."He raised his hand and stroked my hair. "Ara