Mark listened to Julian and immediately pinpointed the issue. "Could she be giving up on Shayne and trying to pursue you instead?"Julian frowned. "What?""You're better looking than Shayne, wealthier, and most importantly, you're a better person. She's about to be abandoned. Thinking about finding a better man isn't unreasonable, right?"Julian raised a finger and lightly tapped the table.Mark continued, "Otherwise, why else would she put on an act in front of Aralyn?"As Julian realized this, his expression turned colder. He immediately called Shayne.When Shayne picked up the call, he instinctively thought it was about work. "Mr. Hughes, are you calling to discuss our collaboration?""No. I just wanted you to tell Luna that I'm not interested in her."…Shayne stared at his phone. There could only be one reason why Julian was suddenly calling him about Luna—Luna had gone to Hughes Group to find Julian.And perhaps, she had even hinted at being interested in Julian.Other
I had just finished my morning tasks and was planning to take a short break when a group of people burst into the office.They walked up to me and turned to Julian, asking, "Mr. Hughes, is it her?"Julian nodded. "Yes.""What are they here for?" I asked in confusion."Didn't you agree to accompany me to a banquet this afternoon? They're here to style you," Julian explained, walking over to me.As soon as he finished speaking, a young woman stood in front of me. "Close your eyes," she said.Then, they began applying makeup to my face, brushing over my skin with soft brushes. Someone was also working on my hair behind me.Bored, I sat there quietly and made a mental note to avoid attending banquets in the future. Otherwise, I'd waste so much time every day like this.It was such a hindrance to making money.When the makeup was done, someone said gently, "Wake up."I opened my eyes.Before I knew it, someone handed me a dress and urged, "Hurry up and change."In a daze, I walk
Julian chuckled. "Reminds me of when Alice used to pester me every day."As his words fell, Alice said, "What are you two saying about me?"Her father had been invited to the banquet today. To broaden her horizons, he decided to bring her along.Alice had initially thought the event would be boring, but as soon as she arrived, she spotted Aralyn.She ran over and heard Julian mention her name before she could even greet them.Alice's intuition told her that Julian wasn't saying anything good about her.Though caught in the act, Julian didn't seem embarrassed. "Just using you as an example."Alice glared at Julian in dissatisfaction.Julian slowed his pace.When Alice eventually went off to find her father, he continued nonchalantly, "Back then, I felt the same way you do now. But I also understood one thing—if you don't find a way to resolve this issue, Shayne will keep bothering you."I really didn't want to deal with Shayne more than necessary. "Do you have any solution?"
"She's my woman, Aralyn Jaffe." Julian introduced me to everyone.Someone immediately handed me a glass of wine. "Oh! My apologies. Let me toast to you."I accepted the glass and watched as he tilted his head back and drank the entire glass. Taking a deep breath, I was just about to take a sip when Julian took the glass from my hand. "She doesn't drink. Anyone who tries to make her drink is going against me," he stated emotionlessly.The people who had been eager to persuade me to drink immediately gave up. In their eyes, I was someone they couldn't provoke, as Julian was protecting me.They began to flatter me. "Ms. Jaffe, you're so lucky to have won over Mr. Hughes."Since Julian and I were only pretending to be in a relationship, I didn't know how to respond to their compliments, so I just smiled politely.Once the crowd around us dispersed, I quietly asked, "Is it really okay not to drink?""Of course," Julian said, his typically cold tone now tinged with a hint of amuseme
"But the more you do that, the more I'll talk about it. Luna, from now on, every time I see something about you two, I'll bring it up."I didn't want to waste more time on Luna. "If you keep staying in front of me and ruining my mood, I'll grab a microphone and tell everyone here exactly what you've done."Luna's expression twisted as she quickly looked around. After ensuring no one was paying attention to her, she finally left.Not long after she left, Alice came over to me. She was holding a plate of delicious food and sat down next to me, immediately complaining, "My dad just dragged me around to greet everyone."I laughed at her frustrated expression. "That must have been annoying, huh?"Alice grabbed my hand. "Yeah! They look at me and make small talk, saying things like, 'I held you when you were a baby.' How could I possibly remember something from back then? I would seem rude if I didn't respond, so I just nodded." She aggressively picked up a piece of meat with her uten
Alice puffed out her chest, proudly declaring, "I'm Aralyn's friend. Her business is my business! If you make her unhappy, I'm stepping in!"…When Julian saw me, he quickened his pace and stopped in front of me.Taking my hand, he looked at me in concern as if I were truly his lover. His voice was full of care. "What's wrong?""First, Luna came to find me, and then Shayne came. He said the two of us aren't really in a relationship," I complained.Once Julian confirmed it wasn't a serious issue, he let out a sigh of relief. "It's fine. They'll come to believe it over time."As he spoke, he pulled me into his arms.I tilted my head in surprise, looking at him.Julian lowered his voice and explained, "Let your ex-husband see just how great we are together."Hearing this, I hugged Julian back and buried my face in his chest, stifling a laugh."What are you laughing about?""I just think it's amusing that we're acting so seriously when we're only pretending to be in a relationsh
I scoffed. "This has nothing to do with gender, Shayne. My life principle has always been to hold onto the right person when I meet them."Julian looked down at me, his eyes exceptionally tender.Shayne was silent for a moment. "You weren't like this before.""Yeah, I used to always listen to you, and what did that get me?"Shayne stayed silent."If being sensible doesn't lead to the results I want, then of course I'm going to make an effort to change."Finding something to counter with, Shayne asked, "But Aralyn, before you did this, did you think about our child? Can he accept him as his new father?""When you cheated during our marriage, involved our child with your mistress, and even encouraged him to call her 'Mom,' did you think about him then? And now, you have the audacity to lecture me?"I gave him a disdainful look. "Don't you forget one thing—whether it's him or you, I've already given up on both of you. So, don't bother bringing him up to guilt-trip me."With that,
Hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh. "Using love as an excuse makes it okay to hurt others?""It's not an excuse. He really loves you!" Luna exclaimed.Only then did I understand—Luna wanted to tie Shayne to me somehow. "Even though I've repeatedly made it clear that I don't want to see him, he still comes to bother me. Is this what you call love? It feels more like harassment to me."Luna looked as though she had just heard the most absurd thing. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Is this how worthless someone who loves you is to you? If others who like you found out how heartless you are, how upset do you think they'd be?"As she spoke, she glanced at Julian.Her words nearly made me laugh out of anger. "If Shayne knew how eager you are to get rid of him, do you think he'll still be willing to spend money on you?"Luna froze.At that moment, Julian spoke up in disdain. "You're saying all of this in front of me to try and sow discord between Aralyn and me, aren't you? "I've
It only made him realize that Luna was very clearly after his money."Very fulfilling," he replied perfunctorily.He was so busy every day that his mind was filled with work; he had no time to spare to think about Luna. He felt happy that way."Do you have money to spend now? Do you need me to give you some?" Luna asked with concern."I do. And no, thank you for your concern." Rowan didn't want to talk to her now, but for Julian's sake, he forced himself to endure it.Luna suddenly felt a bit wronged. The man who used to dote on her now didn't care about her at all."You've become so cold. You said you forgave me, but you actually still resent me, right? I apologized to you, though. And I truly want to reconcile with you."After sending it, she stared at the screen.Rowan looked at it, unsure how to reply. He hesitated for a moment, deciding to use work as an excuse. "I know, but I've been really busy lately.""Then when you're free, can we have a good talk?""Mm."Rowan tos
"Alright," Luna agreed."I don't want to take risks, and I think neither do you."Emilia sighed. "The publishing industry is tough these days."Luna just smiled. "With me here, you can rest assured.""Then I'll have our company's staff create a book cover for you first, and you can put it up to see how it goes.""Alright."…As Luna had solved a problem that had troubled her for a long time, her mood naturally improved. She was even looking forward to tomorrow.Once the other party sent her the finished cover, she put it on her homepage.After that, she hired people to help hype it up, hoping for good sales. Even if it didn't sell well, she had to at least surpass Aralyn.She could then show off in front of Shayne and Julian, proving that she was better than Aralyn. Then, she could make them admire her and willingly abandon Aralyn to live a good life with her.Her career was her top priority. Only when her comic was recognized could she gain the admiration of others.A smil
His voice was low and affectionate. In the quiet of the night, it sounded even more pleasant.I leaned into his embrace and asked softly, "Does this feel better?""Yes," he replied without hesitation.…The marketing department acted swiftly. As soon as they received Mark's instructions, they immediately began executing the plan.In less than an hour, news of Aralyn's comic book release and strong sales emerged out of nowhere, dominating multiple charts. Photos of Aralyn signing copies of the book also appeared online.Luna had just been feeling relieved that the sales of her merchandise had already far surpassed Aralyn's.Even though the products hadn't been manufactured yet, plenty of people had already purchased them.Most importantly, she didn't have to share the profits with anyone.That meant she was making more money than Aralyn.Luna had thought that aside from men, she had already surpassed Aralyn in every other way.But when she saw that Aralyn's comic had somehow
I stroked her hair. "I love you too."With all the preparations made, Willow burrowed into the covers.As always, I read her a story. She always had all sorts of strange and curious questions, and I answered them every time.…Julian sat in the study, thinking.Luna had been keeping a close eye on Aralyn lately, and he was worried that she might do something outrageous—either hurting Aralyn or making her feel troubled.Hence, his solution was to keep Luna busy.Luna was jealous whenever she saw Aralyn living well, she was trying to outshine Aralyn desperately.All he had to do was make sure she had no time to focus on anything else.Julian took out his phone and dialed Mark.Mark had already finished his work for the day and was idly passing the time, so he was a bit surprised to receive the call. "Mr. Hughes, do you need something?""Yes. Have the marketing department send out some press releases saying that Aralyn's comic has been published and is selling well," Julian ans
As I looked at her, I felt that my marriage with Shayne was probably quite similar to her previous job.Before the divorce—before I had met normal men—I also thought Shayne treated me well.I even kept thinking that since he was rich and handsome, he was already much better than most people.If I hadn't gotten divorced and met Julian, I probably would have never realized that my standards were too low, not that Shayne was a great partner.At this moment, Ximena also realized just how much she had missed out on. "After joining Julian's company, I finally realized that it wasn't supposed to be like this. Sure, making money is important, but so is life."We earn money to enjoy life, not to throw ourselves entirely into work and abandon life itself."Watching as emotions filled her face, I couldn't help but feel happy for her. "Exactly. If we ignore our children and don't get to be there as they grow up, no matter how much money we make, what's the point?"When you look back one day
"Could it be Avery who told him?" Alice asked hesitantly.Mark shrugged. "I'm not sure either.""Since you saw them, it's a possibility. I'll ask her about it tomorrow."Mark didn't stop her. "Alright.""You really live up to your reputation as the most gossipy man in the company. You catch every key piece of information," Alice remarked."It's not talent; it's just hard work," Mark responded, looking embarrassed.Alice burst into laughter. "You're too modest!"The topic ended, and as she sipped her juice, her eyes were filled with sarcasm.Mark noticed the shift in her emotions and immediately asked, "What are you thinking about?""I just think Joseph is utterly shameless! We're not even a couple, yet he has the nerve to ask me for money. And when I give him some, he complains that it's too little and wants more."So what if I make a lot of money? That doesn't mean I should give it to him. I don't owe him anything. It's ridiculous!"Mark was just as indignant. "Exactly! Eve
Before Alice spoke, she also looked around carefully. After confirming that no familiar faces were nearby, she whispered back, "I suspect there's a mole in our company.""A mole?" Mark asked, his expression full of wariness. "Why do you say that?"Alice analyzed the situation. "Look, I never told anyone which project team I'm in, right?"Mark nodded. "You do keep a low profile.""But somehow, Joseph knows I'm making a lot of money. He's been pestering me every day lately." Alice frowned."I've been very careful to avoid him, but somehow, he always manages to track me down precisely and then acts pitiful in front of me. He says he's starving and asks me for money to buy food."The more Alice thought about it, the more frustrated she became. "I'm a kind person, so of course, I wouldn't just stand by and watch someone starve to death in front of me.""Right," Mark agreed.Alice became even angrier as she spoke. "So, I took ten dollars from my wallet and gave it to him so he could
Furious and humiliated, Shayne slapped Zach hard across the face.Zach's face turned red. He covered his cheek, staring at Shayne in disbelief."When did you become so cold that you don't even want your mother anymore?" Shayne asked in shock.Zach glared at Shayne, his voice dripping with disdain and mockery. "You're not qualified to say that to me. I got tricked into doing something bad because I didn't know how cruel the world could be. But I'm willing to take responsibility for my choices. And you? You chose to abandon your wife and child, and now you regret it."Zach sneered in contempt, "Rather than showing up in front of Mom, saying you love her and regret everything—which makes her hate you more—she'd much rather you just stay away from her."His words were like poison. "Shayne, honestly, you're really selfish. When you were married, you never gave Mom the love she wanted. You ignored her every day. After the divorce, you're still constantly bothering her instead of givin
Julian stood in front of me and said, "Mr. Pearce, this is my girlfriend. Please show some respect."Shayne locked eyes with Julian. "But Mr. Hughes, don't you think you're being despicable? You pursued her when she was still vulnerable, having just gotten divorced from me. You took advantage of the situation. A gentleman wouldn't do that!"Julian chuckled. "As far as I remember, I never said I wanted to be a gentleman, did I?"Shayne was at a loss for words."You and I have different mindsets. You value being a gentleman, while I think winning the heart of the one I love is more important. Aralyn is exceptional. While you're concerned about appearances and hesitate to take action, someone already swept her off her feet."Rather than being a gentleman praised by everyone but losing the one I love, I'd rather be a scoundrel. At least the one I love is by my side when I feel lonely."Julian's tone grew even calmer. "Besides, you said so much just now because you regret divorcing Ar