"You were right to leave since they wouldn't give you a raise."Ximena had always been loyal to her company. Even though her abilities far surpassed her current salary, the company refused to increase her pay even slightly.Which company in the industry didn't think she deserved better? Everyone wanted to recruit her, but she never planned on leaving.However, funnily enough, the company ended up laying her off.Ximena agreed and said, "Exactly. They just didn't want to spend the money. They want me to give up my currently high-paying job and return to being cheap labor for them. "I had to work myself to the bone so they could buy their fancy houses and cars, yet I ended up living a miserable life. They also knew they couldn't talk me into it directly, so they tried to guilt-trip me." I held Ximena's hand. "At least you've escaped now."Ximena's face lit up with a smile. "Yeah, that's right."…Zach didn't follow Aralyn to the villa to secretly watch her be happy with someon
Zach replied dejectedly, "No. Luna stopped caring about me after Mom and Dad got divorced, and she succeeded in claiming her spot. "Besides, every time Dad isn't home, she'll bully me whenever she sees me at the house. Sometimes Dad even takes her side, acting as her accomplice and allowing her to bully me."Zach forced a smile onto his face. "I later moved to Grandma Charlotte's house and stayed with her for a while, but she loved the baby Luna is carrying more. So, I moved out and started living on my own."Linda was so heartbroken that tears fell down her face. "Is there something wrong with Shayne's brain? Choosing a woman over his son?"Zach added, "Yeah, he doesn't even give me living expenses anymore."Lina quickly pulled Zach toward her bedroom. "I have money. I'll give you some.""There's no need to do so!" Zach refused without hesitation. "Mom saved up a large sum of money for me before the divorce. As long as I don't pick up any bad habits, it's enough for me to live
Julian continued, "But the teacher will probably explain some pretty technical theories to you tomorrow. The both of you won't understand it right now.""Huh?" Willow said, confused.Julian patted her head and added, "But if you're willing to study hard, you'll understand it completely once you grow up and study the relevant major."Willow's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Daddy, I promise I'll study hard in the future!"Pamela nodded. "Me too!""It's good that you're willing to learn." Julian was a little surprised. Such a small thing inspired the two kids to like learning.He felt a sense of relief. "Go ahead and continue playing.""Okay."…Gabriel and Lilia sat in the toy-filled house. They watched Willow and Pamela play from afar. They looked at each other upon hearing Julian's words.They both felt a surge of emotion.Before they moved here, they knew Julian loved Willow. However, they had never seen it firsthand, so they were always worried. Now, after moving in a
I looked at the box before me and asked, "What's inside?"Lilia smiled and replied, "A gold bracelet. Open it and see if you like it."I took the box and opened it.I could tell that the gold bracelet wasn't cheap at the first glance.I then closed the box. "I can't take something so expensive. Why don't you give it to Willow? After all, she's your daughter's child."Lilia replied without hesitation. "But we have made a decision."I smiled and said, "Once you've given it to me, it's mine. I can give it to whoever I want, and you can't say anything about it."Gabriel and Lilia were stunned. They clearly did not expect me to say that. The two of them exchanged a look.Gabriel sighed and said, "Since you've decided, we won't force you.""Alright," I said, handing the box to Willow. "This is a very valuable gift from your grandparents. You must take good care of it."Willow froze, looking down at herself and then at the box in front of her. Her little head worked quickly, and aft
Shayne couldn't help but wonder, when he and Aralyn hadn't divorced yet, did he often do this and make her feel unhappy? He probably had. Otherwise, why would Julian tell him that Aralyn would never choose him again?It was true. After she escaped him, there was no reason for her to get back together with him again.Shayne sat in his car, watching Aralyn from afar as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.His rational mind told him that he should stay far away from her for the sake of her happiness. It was enough as long as Aralyn could be happy. However, he couldn't do it.Now, even if he didn't come to sit outside the villa after work each night to secretly watch her, he felt as if he would have an emotional breakdown soon. His phone rang.He glanced at it. It was Luna.He answered the phone. "Yeah?""Aralyn had others cyberbully me this afternoon…" Luna lied without batting an eye. "Didn't you say you'd stand up for me? But I haven't heard from you since you hung up.
The breeze on the balcony carried a hint of chill, brushing against the skin in an incredibly pleasant way.I leaned on the railing, gazing at the distant streetlights. My eyes held an indescribable tenderness.Julian turned to look at me and said, "Willow's grandparents really like you too.""That's just because they care about Willow," I replied. I didn't think my charm was that great. I turned my head to meet Julian's gaze and just so happened to catch his admiring gaze.I raised my hand and gently caressed his cheek. "You're different. You truly love me."Yes," Julian didn't deny it. "The first time I saw you was at the hospital. Willow pointed at you and said you were Zach's mom. At the time, you seemed so fragile, yet gentle and beautiful. "The next time I saw you, you had fallen down the stairs and miscarried. Back then, you were pale and lying in a pool of blood. Only then did I realize how pitiful you were to be bullied to such an extent."As we spent more time toget
"Actually, I still think it's Aralyn's fault." Luna had already figured out how to handle the situation before coming to the hospital. "If she hadn't responded, then no one would have scolded me. My stomach wouldn't have hurt..."Her voice grew softer as she continued, "Then you wouldn't have had to rush here late at night."She then tentatively looked up at Shayne. "Can you contact Aralyn and tell her something for me? I'm a pregnant woman. She should be more considerate toward me. Just think of it as her doing it for the sake of the baby in my belly!"With that, she was grasping Shayne's sleeve.Shayne didn't hesitate before replying, "No way! That's ridiculous! If you really don't want to have issues with her, then the best thing you can do is not involve yourself in her business!""I can't do that!" Luna answered without thinking. "I love you, but the person you love is her! Whenever I see her doing well, I can't help but feel jealous! I even can't stop wondering if I have t
Shayne could understand what I meant. "No.""So, there's no reason for me to tolerate her," I replied. I knew better than anyone else that Luna could only keep Shayne by using the child, so she would never let anything happen to it."Also, you'd better keep your woman away from me. Otherwise, the next time my retaliation won't be as simple as just telling the truth."With that, I hung up the phone. Julian could tell that my mood was off, so he held my hand and asked, "Shayne called?""Yeah," I replied. I took a deep breath and added, "I blocked his number, but he borrowed a phone and called me."Julian scoffed. "He's really going all out just to defend Luna."As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang.He looked at the phone. It was Shayne.Since Shayne was his business partner, Julian couldn't refuse the call, so he answered it. "Mr. Pearce, what's the matter?"Shayne knew that he shouldn't contact Julian, but he wasn't able to convince Aralyn. To solve the issue of
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