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
What Luna said was somewhat reasonable.Though still frustrated, he said to Luna, "I misunderstood you. I'm sorry."Luna acted as if she were strong. "It's okay. As long as you understand my feelings, I'm satisfied," she responded, smiling.She looked as though she was hurt by Shayne's misunderstanding but was trying hard to hold it in.Although Shayne still didn't like her, seeing her silently give so much for him moved him.He looked at Luna and said seriously, "After your child is born, I will not only pay for the child's support, but I'll also cover part of your expenses."Luna looked at Shayne in surprise. He was willing to support her child and take care of her as well?It seemed her acting wasn't in vain.Luna was very pleased with today's outcome.After finishing the conversation with Luna, Shayne found a seat and sat down, watching Aralyn from a distance.Julian was sitting next to her, and it was clear that Julian's love for Aralyn was deep.In business, he was alw
"About four to five hundred thousand, I think?" Julian answered without hesitation.I frowned. "That's expensive. Don't you think it's wasteful to wear it just once?"Julian lifted his head to look into my eyes. "My girlfriend wore this dress on our first day together while attending a banquet with me. It's worth keeping this dress for the sentimental value."I stared at him for a long time before replying, "You've got a sense of humor."Julian stood up and walked to me. "I know when you were with Shayne, you were probably afraid to spend too much because he was starting his business and under financial pressure. You worried it might affect his company's operations, so you were always frugal.""But my company is much larger now, Lyn. Even if you spend more, I can afford to take care of you. You don't have to save money for me."As he spoke, he held my hand."But we're not actually a couple."Julian maintained his composure. "If we want others to believe we're dating, then our i
Willow nodded firmly. "Okay."…Zach stood off to the side, watching Aralyn's departing figure from a distance longingly.But this time, he held back the impulse to follow her.There were more important matters for Shayne to attend to. Zach got into the car and instructed Noah, "Take me to my dad's villa."Noah was a bit puzzled. "You're not going to follow your mom today?"Could it be that he was tired of her? If that were the case, then good for Zach."Because if Dad wants to control me, he definitely won't let me take my belongings with me. So, we have to act on it before he does. We'll move everything out. That way, by the time he tries to stop us, it'll already be too late."Zach reluctantly looked away. "Once we're done today, I can be with Mom again tomorrow.""But after breaking ties with your dad, what will you do if you run out of money?" Noah asked."My mom bought me some commercial properties. The annual rent is more than enough to support me and you guys, so you
"Mom, can you please divorce Dad?"It was 9:00 pm. I was trying to put Zach to sleep. Just when I thought he was about to drift off, he suddenly asked that question.That short question left me stunned for a long minute. My hand patting on his back also froze.I felt a painful twinge in my chest.Over the years, my relationship with my child's father had been pretty good. Logically, a child nurtured by love should feel happy living in such an environment.And yet…Why did he have such thoughts?Puzzled, I asked, "Why do you say that?" I softened my voice in case I unintentionally scared him."You never let me eat fried chicken or ice cream..."As he was almost asleep, his voice was unclear and tinged with the innocence typical of his age.I didn't know whether to feel amused or disappointed.To think that he wanted me to divorce his dad because of something so trivial...Children sure were naive.As I listened to his breathing gradually grow steady, I knew he had fallen as
With the tablet in my hands, I left Zach's bedroom and headed straight for Shayne's study.But I couldn't understand...Out of everyone, why Luna?The first time I heard about Luna was at my wedding.Shayne treated me well back then. When I was feeling down, he would tell me it was okay, and that nobody was perfect. He would patiently stay with me until I felt better. When I got sick, he would drop everything to take care of me.Because of that, I resolutely decided to marry for love, even if that meant moving far away from home.Just as I was in a pure white wedding dress, holding a bouquet that signified purity and looking forward to our life together, I overheard his friends discussing his first love."I always thought Shayne and Luna would end up together. They were so passionately in love back then.""Exactly. They looked like a match made in heaven.""What a pity."The regret in their voices was genuine.At that moment, I began to doubt whether Shayne truly loved me.
Shayne's other hand pinched my chin, forcing me not to evade, and then his lips pressed down on mine."You'll like it."…Zach was in the senior class of kindergarten.School started at 8:00 am every day.It took about 20 minutes to drive to the kindergarten. To avoid being late, he would leave home at 7:30 am every day.I, on the other hand, got up at 6:30 am to cook breakfast.Today's breakfast was a bit simpler. It was ravioli that I prepared last night.The broth was the troublesome part. I needed to simmer fresh chicken broth.I lay bay leaves at the bottom of the ceramic pot, placed a whole cleaned chicken inside, and finally placed a few sprigs of thyme on top. I then covered it and turned the heat to high.Once the water boiled, I lifted the lid, and the rich aroma of chicken broth wafted up to greet me.After adding a bit of salt, I turn the heat down to simmer.Now that I was done with this, I happily left the kitchen and went to the dressing room to help the boys
Willow nodded firmly. "Okay."…Zach stood off to the side, watching Aralyn's departing figure from a distance longingly.But this time, he held back the impulse to follow her.There were more important matters for Shayne to attend to. Zach got into the car and instructed Noah, "Take me to my dad's villa."Noah was a bit puzzled. "You're not going to follow your mom today?"Could it be that he was tired of her? If that were the case, then good for Zach."Because if Dad wants to control me, he definitely won't let me take my belongings with me. So, we have to act on it before he does. We'll move everything out. That way, by the time he tries to stop us, it'll already be too late."Zach reluctantly looked away. "Once we're done today, I can be with Mom again tomorrow.""But after breaking ties with your dad, what will you do if you run out of money?" Noah asked."My mom bought me some commercial properties. The annual rent is more than enough to support me and you guys, so you
"About four to five hundred thousand, I think?" Julian answered without hesitation.I frowned. "That's expensive. Don't you think it's wasteful to wear it just once?"Julian lifted his head to look into my eyes. "My girlfriend wore this dress on our first day together while attending a banquet with me. It's worth keeping this dress for the sentimental value."I stared at him for a long time before replying, "You've got a sense of humor."Julian stood up and walked to me. "I know when you were with Shayne, you were probably afraid to spend too much because he was starting his business and under financial pressure. You worried it might affect his company's operations, so you were always frugal.""But my company is much larger now, Lyn. Even if you spend more, I can afford to take care of you. You don't have to save money for me."As he spoke, he held my hand."But we're not actually a couple."Julian maintained his composure. "If we want others to believe we're dating, then our i
What Luna said was somewhat reasonable.Though still frustrated, he said to Luna, "I misunderstood you. I'm sorry."Luna acted as if she were strong. "It's okay. As long as you understand my feelings, I'm satisfied," she responded, smiling.She looked as though she was hurt by Shayne's misunderstanding but was trying hard to hold it in.Although Shayne still didn't like her, seeing her silently give so much for him moved him.He looked at Luna and said seriously, "After your child is born, I will not only pay for the child's support, but I'll also cover part of your expenses."Luna looked at Shayne in surprise. He was willing to support her child and take care of her as well?It seemed her acting wasn't in vain.Luna was very pleased with today's outcome.After finishing the conversation with Luna, Shayne found a seat and sat down, watching Aralyn from a distance.Julian was sitting next to her, and it was clear that Julian's love for Aralyn was deep.In business, he was alw
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
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,
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
"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
"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
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?"