But I couldn't be bothered to listen anymore. "Stop!"Luna continued, "Starting today, I'll pursue him actively. Let's write off everything between us."Between us lay the life of a child. It was impossible to just write that off.I was surprised that she could say something so naive.Letting out a sneer, I replied, "When you successfully took my place, I saw with my own eyes how you treated Zach. If you really ended up with Julian, do you think Willow's life would be any better?"It absolutely would not.She would bully Willow the same way she bullied Zach.Willow was just starting to get better. If Luna targeted her, it would certainly worsen things."I won't allow you to be with Julian," I stated coldly."You're not his mom. What right do you have to interfere in my business with him?""You must've heard how Julian introduced me at the banquet last time. Luna, I'm his girlfriend."Luna froze. She had assumed I was just Julian's date.After a long moment, she asked, "Wh
"I know you love me." Shayne didn't quite understand why he could feel Luna's love for him easily. But when it came to Aralyn's love and kindness, he only realized it after losing her.It turned out that the ease he had taken for granted was entirely due to Aralyn's silent and selfless support.A trace of sadness flickered in Shayne's eyes. "A few days ago, I wanted so badly to reconcile with Aralyn. So, when you offered to help, I impulsively agreed. "But today, I suddenly think it's not right. If I have to rely on another woman to pursue my ex-wife, wouldn't that make me seem completely useless?"Pretending to not like what she was hearing, Luna said, "I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that!""Alright. I won't," Shayne replied with a smile. Only then was Luna satisfied. "That's better. Since you've made up your mind, I'll stay at home, take care of myself, and focus on the baby."Of course, she was just saying that.There was no way she'd truly listen to Shayn
After finishing the report, the person nervously waited for Julian to berate him.But to his surprise, Julian calmly pointed out the issues and explained how to fix them.The person went back to his seat in a daze.When did Julian become so easygoing? Could this be the power of love?The others received the same treatment during their reports. All of them exchanged glances, and from each other's eyes, they knew everyone was thinking of the same thing—they hoped Julian and his girlfriend stayed together forever.After the meeting, the group left in unspoken agreement.Julian looked at Mark, who was about to leave. "Mark, stay behind."Mark wasn't sure what Julian wanted but couldn't help asking curiously, "So, Aralyn gave you a gift?"Julian couldn't hide his pride. "Yeah, but she's just pretending to be my girlfriend. She hasn't actually agreed to date me."Mark raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Hughes, it means she's interested in you. Think about it. Why would she pretend to be your g
That would total over six million.At my current earning rate, it would only take a year or two to save up that amount. But instead of saving money, paying for health insurance would be more cost-effective. If I paid for 20 to 30 years, there were no further payments after that.And medical expenses would be reimbursed significantly.I smiled as I thought of this.It seemed I needed to find a time to go back and discuss the health insurance issue with Mom.Previously, because Mom didn't agree with my divorce, I dared not go back.But the divorce had been finalized, and I had already moved on from the shadows of it. Whether or not Mom scolded me, I should still meet her.She raised me, after all. I couldn't possibly ignore her for the rest of my life.After resolving Mom's pension and healthcare issues, I also needed to consider my own retirement.If I planned for 50 years for myself as well, I would need to save over ten million.The more I thought about it, the more excited
"I can't, Mom," Shayne answered in a pained voice.Seeing that Charlotte couldn't come up with a suitable solution to his problem, he said, "You can go back now. I want to calm down for a bit.""You're a grown man. How can you let a woman make you this miserable?" Charlotte scolded him angrily.Shayne grew even more frustrated. "I love her. I don't know when I started loving her. But from the day I realized it, I've been unable to live without her.""As long as you're willing to work at it, you'll forget about her eventually."Shayne didn't want to hear Charlotte continue to criticize him. "I have work to do, Mom."It was obvious that he was trying to get her to leave. Charlotte realized that Shayne didn't want to hear her nag and said, "I'm saying this for your own good.""No need," Shayne decisively responded. "I want to be alone."Charlotte scolded him again, calling him hopeless. When she saw that he truly didn't want to talk, she left reluctantly.Shayne sat alone in the
"Is it simply because he sees potential in my comic, or is he trying to use the development rights as an excuse to get closer to me? Or maybe he just doesn't want too many people to know about what happened between us."Either way, I still think I should keep my distance from him, so I'd prefer not to sell the comic rights to him.""If you don't sell it to him, and no one else buys it, would you be disappointed?"I shook my head. "No.""Now I can offer you another option.""What is it?" I asked quickly."Let Hughes Group develop your comic rights. The company will give you a certain percentage of the share."Without thinking, I responded, "Deal."Julian's expression became unusually serious. "If the adaptation doesn't do well, the money you make could be less than what you would get from selling the rights."He was worried I might regret it.But I had already decided. "I'm willing to take that risk."Julian praised me sincerely, "That's what I admire about you, Lyn. You're a
"I'll go tomorrow, then," Sophia quickly said.Amber couldn't contain her excitement. "If there's any problem, just ask your brother. He'll definitely help you."Sophia's mood lightened considerably.Recently, the company's business had been declining sharply. She and the staff had tried many ways to solve the problem, but nothing worked. If left unchecked, the company might collapse soon. She didn't expect Amber to find a savior for her."Okay. Thank you, Mom!" Sophia replied happily.…After Julian finished his work, he walked up to me and asked, "Are you curious about the choice I made just now?"I was focused on drawing and only looked up when I heard Julian's voice. "She's your mother. No matter how unreasonable she has been, as long as that blood relation is there, you can't let it go that easily. "Besides, this time, she took the initiative to apologize and give you an out. You're seizing the opportunity to reconcile with her. So, I can understand your choice."Jul
Not knowing how to start, I stared at the laptop screen, lost in thought.Julian noticed that I hadn't begun drawing for a while. "Having trouble?"I turned to look at him. "Yeah, I just have a general idea. But when I try to actually start, my mind goes blank.""If you use your current account to draw about our fake relationship, Shayne will definitely sense something's off. But what if you use a different account?"A lightbulb went off in my mind. "Why didn't I think of that before?"With that, inspiration struck, and I immediately began sketching."Have you settled on a specific theme?" Julian asked from the side."Yes, I'm planning to draw a story about a contract marriage." A sly smile flashed across Julian's face briefly, but his tone remained casual. "You were with Shayne for so many years, and he didn't treat you well. I imagine most of your time with him was spent in doubt and pain. You probably never got to properly enjoy what love feels like."I nodded. "That's t
I looked around and saw that there was no one else around before turning to leave."Are you Aralyn?"I heard someone call my name and turned around to see a stranger.A little confused, I asked, "Yes?""I heard from someone at the hospital that you went there before, trying to find proof that Luna was the one who framed you. Isn't that right?" The woman seemed nervous.I had been trying to get evidence for this for a long time, but after so much effort, I hadn't found anything.At this point, I was about to give up on that approach.After all, I had other ways to get back at Luna and Shayne.Hearing what she said, I was surprised. "What, you have proof?""Yes, I do," she said firmly.If I could really get my hands on that kind of evidence, my revenge would be even more ruthless.But I knew that in situations like this, it was important to stay calm. "Why don't we talk about it at a cafe?"The woman hesitated.I smiled. "Do you have time?"Only then did she nod. "Of course
I wanted Shayne to care about Luna, and when Luna gave birth to the baby who wasn't his, Shayne would be immensely devastated, especially since Luna and Charlotte had even forced Shayne into getting a vasectomy.Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if Luna and Charlotte were on my side.Charlotte looked confused. "Good?"I nodded. "Yes, good."Charlotte studied me. "If he and Luna are doing well, that means he doesn't want you anymore.""Then so be it." I had long since stopped caring about Shayne.Charlotte fell silent.I met her gaze. "I'm married now. Maybe I didn't inform you, but Julian and I are legally married. We just haven't made it public. After being with Julian, I've felt a kind of security that I never had in my previous relationship."So, I also hope that this marriage will last. Of course, it'd be even better for me if all of you stopped bothering me."With that, I was ready to end the conversation. "Anything else you wanted to say? If not, I'll head upstairs."
"Then, do we really need to give them commissions?"I didn't mind. "Yeah, go ahead. If they see that hard work pays off in our company, they'll be more willing to stay, right?""Yeah." Mark chuckled."I get what you're saying. I'll take care of it now.""Alright."After the call ended, Julian walked over to me and held my hand.I gently rubbed his hand in return. "What is it?""Your career is getting more and more successful," Julian said, a bit emotionally.When we first got together, I had nothing—just myself.But over time, I started drawing comics.With the right promotion, my comics gained traction and became a hit.That led to merchandise, trendy collectibles.But Julian never expected that I'd be able to launch my own plushies, start my own company, and make serious money.He always knew I was capable.But seeing me rise back to my peak in such a short time still surprised him.I smiled. "Yeah. Back when I was penniless and kicked out of my house, I never would've
"My plan is to take advantage of the fact that our comic still has some merchandise and the hype hasn't died down yet. While ensuring quality, we'll speed up production as much as possible."I understood what Julian meant. "Alright.""Should I arrange it now?" Julian asked."Sure."Julian took his phone and went out to the balcony to share his thoughts with Mark.As someone who had been working with Julian for years, Mark immediately understood what Julian meant. "Leave it to me."Still, to make sure he didn't misinterpret any details, he confirmed everything with Julian.Only after making sure there were no issues did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and ask Julian to hand me the phone."Yes?" I asked, confused about why he needed to speak to me."Our company's recruitment is pretty much done. I ran the numbers, and with our current profits, we can afford to raise the salaries of our interns," he quickly informed."Since you're bringing this up, that means you already hav
Shannon looked at Patrick.Patrick said, "Tell Rowan to win Luna back. She married someone else out of heartbreak, and that's because of us. Now we have money and are willing to spend it on her. I believe she'll come around. She'll want to come back and be with us again. It just takes time."Patrick wasn't used to staying in such a small place, so he said to Rowan, "Drive us to the hotel.""Alright."Rowan dropped his parents off at the hotel and then returned to his place. Sitting on the couch, he took out his phone and pulled up a photo of Luna.She was sitting by the ocean, turning her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling and filled with love.Rowan couldn't understand how things had gotten to this point.He picked up his phone and texted Luna. "I finally understand why my parents treated you that way back then.""I've known for a while," Luna replied calmly.Rowan was a little surprised. "You knew?""Yeah, I found out a few days ago. But that's your family's issue. It
Patrick and Shannon stood frozen in place. They had never imagined that the son they had spoiled since childhood, the boy who had grown up in a big house, was now living in such poor conditions.Shannon's face darkened instantly. "Why didn't you rent a bigger place?""I have no money," Rowan replied calmly."Just make yourselves at home. You don't need to be polite with me."Patrick snapped, "How could you have no money? Didn't you have a lot when you moved out? Did Luna spend it all?""What does this have to do with her?" Rowan thought his parents were being completely unreasonable."I worked for you, but you never paid me. You also never gave me an allowance. So tell me, where was I supposed to get money?"Patrick was at a loss for words."Then where did you get the money to buy Luna jewelry?" Shannon questioned.Rowan didn't even have to think about it. "I made it through projects in college. Haven't I told you before? Ever since I got together with her, every penny I spent
Luna had endured their bullying for so long.But Luna and his parents' relationship didn't improve, not even a little.If his parents had come to their senses back then, things wouldn't have turned out this way."But it's too late now. You should just head back," said Rowan."We haven't even done anything yet. How do you know Luna won't forgive us?" Shannon objected."Because she's decided to settle down and build a life with Shayne," Rowan responded dejectedly."She went through a lot when she was part of our family. Now that she's finally found a new life, I hope you won't disturb her. Let her live peacefully."Shannon immediately refused, "We can't do that. Mason is our only grandson. She can marry someone else, but our grandson absolutely cannot have another dad!""You sure weren't saying that before."Shannon's words made Rowan feel as if he had stepped into an alternate reality. Had they said this in the past, he wouldn't have thought anything about it.Luna and Mason's
Charlotte decided that when the time came, she would go show off in front of Aralyn.She wanted Aralyn to see just how happy Shayne and Luna were now, and she would simultaneously make sure Aralyn gave up on Shayne just in case Aralyn still harbored any thoughts of getting back together with him.Shayne lowered his gaze.Only now did he realize that it was impossible to stop thinking about the woman he had once truly loved.But to make his mother happy, he still smiled and said, "Don't worry. I won't think about her anymore.""You'd better not!"…By the time Rowan's parents arrived at the airport, it was already past 11:00 pm.They called Rowan and told him to come pick them up.Rowan was a little surprised, but he still did as they asked.Seeing his parents coming out of the arrivals gate, he suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Mom, Dad, why are you here? Are you trying to convince me to go back? That won't happen."Patrick kept a stern face but said nothing.Shannon kne
Shayne smiled and replied, "Alright, I'll call you when the food's ready.""Okay," Luna responded before walking into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.The soundproofing in the room was excellent. She was certain that Shayne wouldn't be able to hear anything she said. Picking up her phone, she hesitated for a long time before finally dialing Rowan's number.Rowan was busy at the moment, and he was a little surprised to get a call from Luna. "What made you think of contacting me all of a sudden?""I just wanted to remind you that no matter what, you absolutely cannot tell anyone the truth about the baby, understand?"The happier and peaceful her days were, the more anxious she felt. She was deeply afraid that this good life could be ruined at any moment."Don't worry. I won't."Luna breathed a sigh of relief.Rowan understood what Luna meant. "So, you're planning to stay with Shayne for good?""If nothing happens, yes. In the past, I always thought about climbing hig