"Julian, give the phone to Aralyn!" Shayne's anger was nearly impossible to conceal in his voice.Julian didn't do as he said, "She's right next to me. If you have something to say, just say it.""Aralyn, if you really have been physically intimate with him, then there's no going back between us!" Shayne shouted hastily."Is that so?" I said, lifting my head and kissing Julian.Julian looked at me in surprise.Smiling playfully, I said, "That's a good thing to me."Shayne felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, and he found it hard to breathe."Don't be impulsive! Aralyn, you're an adult. Just consider it my plea. Don't accept a man so casually."Julian raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Pearce, don't ruin my good time."With that, he hung up.I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "He's really strange."He didn't love me, but he acted as if he truly cared about me.Julian stood up, maintaining distance from me. "He's the type who doesn't appreciate something wh
Julian would definitely notice her more.Over time, she would be able to drive Aralyn away and become Julian's lover."I don't know," Shayne replied heavily.He didn't lie. "She was the one who pursued me. After we got together, she was great, and she treated me well. "If I didn't want to celebrate a holiday or give her a surprise, all I had to say was that I was busy with work or I didn't understand these things, and she would forgive me. She also took care of everything in my life."Shayne didn't know why, but whenever he talked about the past with Aralyn, he felt a heavy, uncomfortable ache in his heart.It hurt terribly.Luna almost rolled her eyes when she heard this.To put it nicely, he had found a wife.To put it harshly, she was his unpaid maid!No wonder when Aralyn gave up on Shayne, she did so decisively and resolutely. There was no shred of hesitation."All I know is that she used to love me and Zach the most," Shayne continued.…Willow and Pamela played ups
Pamela didn't want to get involved in this situation. After all, she was just a child. Even if she had the intention, she didn't have the ability to do anything about Andrew."Leave these matters to the adults," said Ximena.I stepped forward to help Ximena untie the ropes, then took out my phone to call the police. Meanwhile, Ximena called the property management office with a cold expression.After finishing beating Andrew up, Julian opened the bedroom door and dragged the limp Andrew out, tossing him onto the living room floor.Andrew remained defiant. "She's my ex-wife. Coming to see her is my right. Who are you to interfere?"The term "ex-wife" reminded Julian of Shayne, and he instinctively retorted, "Oh, so you're aware that she's your ex-wife and not your current wife. That means you have no right to come to her home or involve yourself in her life."Andrew glared at Julian warily. "Why are you so concerned about her? Are you secretly in love with her?""She's an emplo
Zach opened the packages one by one, forcing a smile as he looked at the design that resembled Aralyn.Then, he stood up and started arranging the merchandise in his bedroom.While setting things up, Zach suddenly remembered that Aralyn had once taken a few sets of photos, possibly in this very bedroom.He searched for a long time before finally discovering the photos at the bottom of the wardrobe, though he had no idea when they'd been placed there.He carefully took them out and cleaned them before placing them in various corners of the house.Lying on the bed and clutching the blanket, he took deep breaths of its scent.He looked around at the photos of Aralyn scattered everywhere, and he felt as if he had returned to the time when she was still with him.For the first time in a long while, his mood lifted though he felt that compared to before, his life now was painful.When he thought about Shayne, he realized that Shayne was getting it worse than him.However, he didn't
"In the six years we were together, she poured her heart and soul into me. It hasn't even been long, and she's already holding and kissing another man!"The more Shayne spoke, the more overwhelmed he felt. His mind was filled with one single thought—it shouldn't be this way.Shayne knew it was his fault, but he habitually shifted all the blame onto Aralyn. Originally, he thought doing so would make him feel better, but it only made him feel more suffocated.His friends watched him cry uncontrollably. They wanted to tell him that the reason Aralyn gave up on him so quickly was because he treated her too poorly during the six years they were together.Aralyn had already given up on him a long time ago.She only held onto their relationship out of sentimentality and reluctance to abandon the marriage, thinking she could salvage it.Shayne was the one who insisted on getting close to Luna and had this ambiguous relationship with her that eventually shattered Aralyn's hope.It made h
Luna lowered her head, looking pitiful. "Right now, his heart is only with Aralyn."Once Charlotte confirmed that Luna was in the same boat as her, she said, "Leave Shayne to me. I'll help you figure it out."Luna asked excitedly, "Really? That's wonderful. Thank you, Mom!"…After leaving Luna's house and returning to her bedroom, Charlotte began considering how to persuade Shayne.Shayne had been like this since he was young—stubborn to the core. Once he made up his mind, nothing could change it.Therefore, she knew she needed help.After much thought, Charlotte concluded that Zach would be the key.After all, Zach was Shayne's biological son, and he loved Zach.If Zach spoke up for Luna, Shayne might at least agree to date her for Zach's sake.Charlotte dialed Zach's number, but no one answered.Charlotte's face darkened.He didn't even want to pick up her calls now, huh?Furious, Charlotte immediately called Shayne. "What's going on with Zach? Why isn't he answering my
"Yes, why?" I wasn't sure why she was asking, but I instinctively thought she might need money. "Oh, phew." Willow sighed in relief."Pamela said when her parents divorced, her mom left with nothing, and she didn't ask for anything. Her mom didn't even have a penny, and life was hard."Willow stared at me seriously. "Even though Daddy is a good person now, it doesn't mean he won't change in the future. If you and Daddy get divorced someday, you can't be foolish and leave without asking for anything, okay?"Her serious expression was so cute that I couldn't help but pinch her cheeks gently. "Then what should I do?"Willow confidently said, "Start saving some money now, and when the time comes, take some from him. Just don't live a miserable life."Seeing how much she cared for me, I was moved. "But your daddy and I aren't married yet."Not understanding such a complicated situation, Willow blinked. "But I call you Mommy and Daddy, so aren't we a family?"She tilted her head sli
Looking at her eager expression, Julian let out a chuckle. "Of course. Without your help, I'd never succeed.""Am I that important?" Willow asked, surprised.Julian ruffled her hair. "Yes, so never underestimate yourself, Willow."After reassuring Willow, he picked her up and walked out of the study. The three of us exercised together in the yard.Willow's condition was obviously improving more and more. She had become much more positive, cheerful, and confident. Even her appetite had increased a little.I watched her and realized that being with a child and watching them grow little by little really brought much happiness.…After dinner, Julian and I took Willow to school.Willow lay in my arms, her eyes stuck on me. "Mommy, I heard from Daddy that you're dating him. Is it true?"Julian and I pretended to be in a relationship to make everyone believe it. Only in this way would Shayne believe that I really had a boyfriend, and he would give up on me.As for kids, when they
"I believed it. Kelly even said that if Stephanie really wanted to break up with me, she'd move out of my place."Even though we weren't married and we were just dating, we were already living together. Kelly said if I used moving out as a threat, Stephanie would cave."The more Shayne listened, the more silent he became. How could Spencer be even dumber than he had been back then?But seeing his friend hurting, he didn't have the heart to rub salt in the wound.Shayne asked, "You didn't seriously believe what Kelly said, did you?""Yeah." Tears slid down Spencer's cheeks. "But before I even had the chance to threaten her, Stephanie had already packed up all her stuff and left me."That day I came home, full of confidence, thinking that as soon as I spoke up, she'd make up with me. But… I opened the door and saw that all the photos of us hanging on the wall had been taken down."The woman who used to wait for me at home with dinner ready was gone. Everything that belonged to her
"I didn't say anything before because I thought there was no point," Spencer said.Spencer wasn't stupid. If he couldn't even see through all of that, he had no business running a company. He just never took it seriously before.He figured Stephanie would just throw a small tantrum at most, and that would be it. He never thought it would lead to such serious consequences.He continued, "Did you really think I was that dumb? That I couldn't tell what you were doing?"Kelly stayed silent.Spencer couldn't be bothered to say anything more to her. He got in his car and drove away.He arrived at a bar, ordered a few bottles of liquor, and then called Shayne. "Are you free? Come find me. I'm in a bad mood."Shayne had just gotten home, planning to spend some time with his wife and kids. But hearing Spencer's tone, he immediately said, "Okay."He turned to Luna and said, "Spencer's looking for me. I'm heading out for a bit."Luna, exhausted from a full day of work, didn't feel like d
Kelly froze. "She's really willing to break up with you?"Spencer nodded. "She told me not to go looking for her anymore."As he spoke, it felt like needles were stabbing his heart.He had always been certain that Stephanie loved him. He had been so sure that she would never leave him.So, he had gotten arrogant, thinking no matter what he did, she would always forgive him.But he had forgotten that…Stephanie was human, too.She could get hurt, too.Spencer said, "She wasn't just throwing a tantrum. She thought it over carefully and decided she'd be better off without me."Seeing his pained expression, Kelly moved closer and pulled him into a hug."She really doesn't know how lucky she was," she said. "Meeting a guy as good as you and still letting you go? Isn't she scared someone else will swoop in and steal you away?"To Spencer, her words were like kicking him while he was down. "But I only like her. I don't want anyone else."Kelly knew that if she asked now, "What abo
Spencer asked, "Just because of one little argument?""In your eyes, maybe it was just a little argument," Stephanie said calmly. "But for me, it was the last straw that broke the camel's back. In this relationship, I was the one who always gave more."No matter what Kelly did, the one who ended up hurt was always me. You only had to take her side and blame me to settle everything. So, to you, it was always just small stuff."She continued, "Nobody wants to spend their whole life being wronged like that. I don't either. So, after that day, I really thought it through…"How much love do I still have left for you? Is it enough to keep tolerating you and her? The answer was no. I even realized at that moment that I didn't love you anymore."Forget tolerating both of you. Even just dealing with one of you felt unbearable. Then, I thought, since it's gotten to this point… We might as well break up."When Stephanie said this, her eyes carried a relaxed smile. "I just haven't figured ou
Shannon shook her head. "That's why I really don't think much of Luna. If it weren't for our son liking her…"Patrick understood how Shannon felt. "Honestly, we did wrong by Luna before. Once she's willing to come back, we should make it up to her as much as we can."Shannon was unwilling, but seeing Patrick insist, she could only mumble, "Fine, we'll do what you say.""Okay."…Hannah noticed that over the past few days, Patrick and Shannon hadn't contacted her at all, and she immediately found it strange.In the past, the two elders were very close to her son, almost seeing him every day. What was going on now?After putting her son to sleep, Hannah took the initiative and called Shannon. "Mrs. Cunningham..."Shannon frowned and glanced at Patrick, speaking in a low voice, "It's a call from Hannah."Patrick's face darkened almost instantly, but he forced himself to hold it in. "Don't tell her we went to see Rowan, and don't let on that we know the truth. If she wants to fool
Rowan shook his head. "If it were really that simple, that would be nice."Patrick didn't understand why Rowan said that.Rowan continued, "Before Luna and I divorced, she had already guessed you were lying, so she made it very clear to Mason…"If I chose to come back and help you, she would divorce me. If I stayed with her, she would continue living the hard life with me."Patrick hadn't expected the truth to be like this. His face turned even uglier. Shannon was also in pain.Rowan tilted his head up, staring at the ceiling. "But in the end, I was too scared the company would fall apart, so I chose to go back. To completely cut ties with me, she went and started dating Shayne."At first, Luna still had hope for him. After all, they had truly loved each other for so long.But over time, through all the back-and-forth, she probably realized he was never going to change, so she finally gave up completely.Recently, the comics she created have been doing very well. Because of tha
Rowan said, "Come on, I'll take you to eat."Patrick followed behind Rowan and asked, "Have you thought about what to do with Mason in the future?"Rowan didn't take the question seriously. "Why would I?""He's your only child. If you don't acknowledge him, you'll end our family line."Rowan didn't know why, but looking at the streetlights and the thinning crowd around him, he felt unusually calm. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"When they reached the restaurant, he handed the menu to his mother. "See what you want to eat."Shannon picked a light vegetarian dish and said, "We just didn't expect Hannah to lie to us!"Rowan crossed his legs and repeated her words. "You didn't expect Hannah to lie to you?"Patrick ordered two meat dishes before saying, "Exactly. Who would've thought she would dare lie about something like that?"Rowan stared at his father. "So, just because you said it, even if you had doubts, you really thought I cheated on her with Luna…"Shouldn't you ha
Willow stared at me in shock for a long time before finally asking, "You can really do that?"I nodded. "Yeah. As long as you want to, you can keep in touch with her as much as you want."Willow jumped up excitedly. "That's awesome!"Just then, there was an urgent matter at the company that needed Julian's attention. After taking the call, he happened to overhear my conversation with Willow.He immediately got an idea. "During summer break, if you want to hang out with Pamela every day, she might not have that much free time."Willow's smile disappeared instantly. She asked, "Then, what should I do?"He guided her, "Do you think there's an excuse that could make both of you improve and leave her mom no reason to say no?"She followed his lead and quickly figured it out. "Studying?"He didn't give it away directly. "Oh?""Daddy, how about you hire a tutor for me during summer break? I can get a head start on school! Then, I'll ask Pamela to join me. Her mom will definitely agre
Alice raised her voice and asked, "You two already broke up, and he's still coming around asking you to apologize?"Stephanie shrugged. "What else could it be? You don't think I'd made all that up just now, do you?"Alice had never thought that, but Spencer's behavior still struck her as outrageous. "Do you need me to help you?""No, it's fine." Stephanie had already moved on, so she needed to handle it herself. "I can deal with it."With that, she walked out of the hotel.Spencer saw her come out and quickly stepped in front of her. "Can we talk?"He expected Stephanie would agree, but she gave him a glance and asked, "What do we have to talk about?""I know you're upset because of her, but can you be the bigger person? If you just apologize to her, a lot of things can be smoothed over."She looked at him, confused. "Why should I be the bigger person?""Because you're my girlfriend!" He tried to persuade her.Hearing that, Stephanie couldn't help but laugh out loud. "It look