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
Furious that Zach had refused her, Charlotte raised her hand, preparing to hit him. "Why are you so thoughtless? I'm doing this for you!"The nearby teacher rushed over and pulled Zach away. "Why are you hitting a child?"Zach lay on the teacher's shoulder, looking at Charlotte. "Don't use me as an excuse. You're doing all this for yourself!"Charlotte tried to follow, but the teacher rushed into the kindergarten and closed the door.Zach thanked the teacher, saying that if it weren't for the teacher's timely intervention, he would have had to endure a beating today.The teacher smiled and said, "You are my student; it's my duty to protect you."…We arrived at the kindergarten, and Willow got out before leaning into Julian's ear. "You can do it, Daddy," she whispered.Julian answered seriously, "Don't worry. I will."Willow walked away, satisfied.Julian and I followed behind her.Julian took my hand as if it were natural to him. I raised an eyebrow at Julian, but I didn't
Shayne got up, tidied himself, and skipped breakfast before driving to block the entrance of Julian's underground garage.When Julian's car was blocked, he got out of the car and knocked on Shayne's car window.Shayne rolled down the window. "I need to talk to Aralyn."Julian smiled faintly and asked, "Didn't you two already finish whatever you needed to talk about?""This is between her and me! Have her come over!" Shayne's tone was firm.Julian didn't comply but stood still, watching Shayne impassively.Noticing he hadn't returned for a while, I got out of the car and walked over. "What's going on?"Shayne looked at me with a face full of grievance. "I want to talk to you, but he won't let me."I felt a headache coming on. "Shayne, are you serious?""On account of the fact that we were once married and that you truly loved me once, give me another chance. Can we have a moment alone?"I didn't answer."Just give me ten minutes," Shayne said again.I didn't respond directly
"If we're purely comparing material aspects, Julian treats me better. And he respects me more. He has no so-called 'first love' that he's hung up on, and he won't drag me into messy emotional entanglements.""What if he's like me and has a first love too? Maybe the person he loves just hasn't returned to the country yet," Shayne retorted. That had nothing to do with me.But I couldn't say that out loud, so I was struggling to come up with a response."Can you guarantee that when the person he truly loves comes back, he'll handle things better than I did?""Well, here's the question." Julian sat down beside me." Mr. Pearce, I'd also like to take this opportunity to ask you—who exactly is this person I supposedly truly love?"I was glad that he followed me. Otherwise, if Shayne kept spewing nonsense unchecked, his pursuit of me would undoubtedly become even more difficult.Shayne was stunned by the question.Julian's voice turned icy. "I can understand the pain of losing someone
Hearing the familiar voice, I turned toward the source of the sound.Charlotte was standing outside the fence, glaring at me viciously. "You really have no shame, do you? You'll stoop to anything."Faced with her baseless accusations, I found it amusing. She hated me, so no matter what I did, it always rubbed her the wrong way.That, I could understand."Say whatever you want to say, as much as you like. After all, when you're done shouting and have drawn everyone's attention, I'll just expose everything your son has done. When your son's company's stock plummets, your days won't be any better either," I stated cheerfully."Is this the only way you know how to threaten people?" Charlotte snapped angrily."Well, it does work, does it not?" I rebuked expressionlessly.Charlotte fell silent.I had no intention of dealing with her further and turned to leave.Seeing this, Charlotte said hurriedly, "Come out here for a moment. I have something to say to you."This family was truly
Seeing the curiosity and excitement on my face, Julian couldn't help but smile slightly. "You can check your phone and look at your account balance."I did as Julian said.My balance had increased by over 200 thousand."It was originally over 300 thousand, but we needed to deduct the taxes, so the amount credited to your account is just over 200 thousand. As for social insurance and housing fund contributions, the company handles those for you, do you don't need to worry about it."Finding it hard to believe, I looked at him and exclaimed, "That's a lot! This is the first time I've earned so much money through my own ability. I didn't think it'd feel this good to have my own money."I don't have to worry about others coming up with all sorts of reasons to take it away. And I don't need to justify every penny I spend. If I want to save it, I save it. If I want to spend it, I spend it. This is my freedom."I even felt a bit regretful. Had I taken this step earlier, it would've been
"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
Did he have to tell Luna that he wouldn't separate from her and Mason in the future?No.Shayne had already decided he loved Aralyn. He couldn't waver anymore.Remaining silent for a long time, Shayne said, "You're right."Luna hadn't expected Shayne to respond like this. She was momentarily stunned and immediately sat up, staring at him in disbelief."So, should I still take him out tomorrow?" Shayne asked.Luna finally realized that all her previous tactics were useless against Shayne now. "Go ahead, or you'll disappoint him since you've already promised him."Shayne didn't refuse. "Alright."Luna helped Shayne find some clothes and then led him to the master bedroom. "Are you planning to sleep in the same room as me tonight, or…"Shayne shook his head. "I'll stay by myself. If Aralyn finds out, she'll definitely be upset."This was exactly what Luna wanted to hear; she didn't want to sleep with him either."Then, I'll sleep in the guest bedroom tonight. Get some rest."W
"You were by Mason's side, and you treated him well. He was happy."Luna lowered her eyes, her gaze incredibly gentle. "He thinks you're the best dad in the world."Shayne suddenly felt a bit guilty.He hadn't been a good husband and father."But I wasn't good to him," he replied softly.Luna felt it was time for Shayne to bond with Mason. "He doesn't think so. Why don't I call him over? You can ask him."Shayne thought that was a good idea. Kids understood other kids' feelings best. "Then I'll trouble you with that.""Alright." Luna got up and walked forward while holding her belly.Shayne sat where he was, feeling a bit anxious.Luna walked to Mason's bedroom door and knocked. "Mason, Dad's here!"Upon hearing that, Mason was thrilled and rushed out of his room. But when he saw Shayne not far away, his expression froze. Then, he turned to look at Luna.He had thought his biological dad was here.Luna patted Mason's back gently.Mason instantly understood what Luna meant
Thinking it was Yasmin again, Luna grew a bit annoyed. But she still forced a smile. "Why are you here again?"Shayne narrowed his eyes instinctively. "Again? Was someone else here just now?""Yasmin." Luna stepped aside to let Shayne in. Her belly was already quite large, and she had to support her waist while walking."She said she wants to pursue Julian and asked me for some advice."After saying that, she realized her tone toward Shayne had been a bit cold.Hence, she softened her voice and asked, "What are you doing here?""I want to ask you some questions about kids," Shayne answered."Kids? I know a lot about kids." Luna placed her hand on her belly, stroking it gently.As she spoke, she pulled Shayne's arm, making him sit beside her. "But before you ask me anything, come and listen first. Our baby should have a heartbeat by now."Shayne no longer felt love for Luna, but he couldn't deny that he still cared a lot about the baby.It was his baby, after all.He pressed