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
It was probably because, when Shayne was with Aralyn, she always spoke her mind and never lied. She would also never create odd situations that made him unhappy.However, Luna was different. She always put her feelings first. She would pick fights with others when she felt uncomfortable. Even if the other person was entirely in the right and scolded her for her behavior, she would twist the truth and complain to him.Shayne rubbed his aching temples. What could he do to change this situation?Luna stared intently at Shayne. Since he hadn't put the phone on speaker, she didn't know exactly what the other person had said to him."How's the situation? Did Aralyn agree to back down?" she asked."I got criticized as you wished," Shayne replied, frustrated.He added, "And Aralyn didn't agree at all."Luna couldn't help but smile. Shayne felt uneasy upon seeing the smile on her face. What was she smiling about?Luna held his hand and quickly hid her smile. She pretended to comfo
Only at this moment did Julian finally gain a clearer understanding of Luna. She was very good at taking advantage of everyone around her, and these people would willingly stand up for her.Julian suddenly realized he shouldn't underestimate her. Luna hadn't successfully attached herself to Julian yet. If Shayne continued to ignore her, she'd face problems supporting herself in the future.Her tone became slightly stiff. "Mr. Hughes, you're a big-shot CEO, so you probably wouldn't tattle to others over such trivial matters, right?"Julian responded nonchalantly, "I can just casually mention it during work."Luna fell silent.Julian had no intention of arguing with her, so he hung up.Luna stared at her phone screen. She couldn't understand it. Didn't men like women who were weaker? Why didn't Julian take the bait?She was very dissatisfied but unwilling to give up. Luna thought about changing the subject to start another conversation with Julian, but her calls wouldn't go thro
"Contact me once you've thought it through—it won't be too late."Once Rowan became a useful piece in the game, he would realize that Luna didn't love anyone when he chatted with her. All she could see was money.Rowan would understand that Luna's love and attachment to him were all lies.In Luna's eyes, Rowan had already become irrelevant the moment they'd gotten divorced. This way, when the identity of the child in Luna's womb is eventually exposed, Shayne would no longer want her. Meanwhile, Rowan, having seen through her cold-heartedness, would lose all hope in her.Julian smiled. As for himself… Luna would never get him.Julian believed her expression would be amazing. To ensure his plan would proceed smoothly, he hoped Rowan wouldn't disappoint him.…"What are you thinking about?" I asked when I returned to Julian's side. I noticed the pleased smile on his face as I handed him a glass of water.Julian had no intention of hiding his thoughts from me. "I was thinking about
Julian explained, "It's not early. To develop a child's mind, you have to keep them by your side when they're young and influence them little by little. I have to teach her how to handle different situations as they arise without being short-sighted. "If she only focuses on immediate gains, the company might flourish in the short term but then fade away like a flash in the pan. As such, she needs to look further ahead."I hadn't expected Julian to have already planned so far ahead. "I support you."Upon seeing that I didn't object to this, he finally breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for supporting my decision," he said.Amused, I replied, "Isn't that what I should do? Willow is your daughter. She treats me very well, and I see her as my daughter too. I'm elated now that I know that you're willing to train her to become your heir. So, you don't have to worry about me."Julian hugged me tightly. "Then starting tomorrow, I'll set some time aside to accompany Willow and te
Rowan suddenly had an absurd feeling that Luna had deliberately told him so much just to find an excuse not to contact him.Rowan didn't know how to reply, so he copied Julian's style and coldly responded with a simple "Hmm."Luna was very happy to see that Julian had replied to her and quickly sent him a message. "Don't you think what you said to me earlier was too much? Do you want to apologize and tell me you shouldn't have said that?"Rowan's heart gradually sank. "You're overthinking it."He took out another phone and opened his chat with Luna. The screen was filled with green chat bubbles. They were all messages he had sent to Luna. However, Luna always seemed stingy with her replies.Every time they exchanged a few words, Luna had other things to do. Basically, she never had time to talk to him.However, Luna, who hadn't been willing to talk to him, was eagerly sending messages to Julian now.It was only at this moment that Rowan suddenly realized that he had been deceive
"I learned a lot of things today. Mason told me that your divorce from Rowan wasn't because Rowan's family went bankrupt," Shayne uttered slowly.Luna pushed Shayne away and looked at him. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?""I'm sorry for misunderstanding you," he apologized.Luna didn't mind. "I wouldn't really call it a misunderstanding. Maybe I was too firm in my decision when I left you, which led you to misunderstand me."Shayne looked into Luna's eyes. "Aralyn said if I don't cherish you, I might regret it in the future. I gave it some thought, and I think she's right. So, from today onward, I want to cherish the days I spend with you."Luna smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Okay. But I've been busy with my career, so I might not have much time.""I'll help you," Shayne replied."Thank you," Luna said sincerely.Having been used to not having money for so long, Luna had developed the habit of saving. Now that she could earn her own money, she was thinking what she should
Shayne suddenly felt that Mason was incredibly smart, but he didn't dislike that kind of intelligence. "Okay."…Shayne dropped Mason off at kindergarten.Then, he drove to Willow's kindergarten. When he saw me about to get into the car, he quickly stepped in front of me. "Let's have a proper talk."I knew that if I didn't give him a chance to speak, he would keep blocking me here until I was willing to talk to him.To avoid wasting time, I decided to settle this quickly. "Alright, what do you want to say?"Shayne wanted to say a lot of things. But the moment he saw me, it was as if all those words got stuck in his throat. He couldn't say a single thing.In the end, he only managed to squeeze out, "Lately, I can't stop thinking about the days we were together."If he only wanted to chat casually or reminisce about the past, that would be a complete waste of my time."So what?"Shayne was used to my indifference, but it still hurt him a little. "Back when I pursued you, I trul
"Back then, Mommy had some savings and used all of it as our expenses. Daddy felt that we couldn't keep living like that, so he resigned from their company. Then, they came over and scolded Mommy."Mason's tone was full of sarcasm. "They said Mommy had instigated Daddy to quit. Mommy was really upset and cried at home secretly. But when Daddy came back, she still greeted him with a smile."Mommy only suffered all this injustice because she married Daddy, so when Mommy stayed quiet about it, I took the initiative to tell Daddy."He patted my head and told me he would handle it. Then, he went to the balcony. I overheard him telling Grandpa and Grandma to stop interfering in his life. He said that since he no longer worked for them and wasn't taking their money, he was already living independently."No one should have anything to say about his wife. That day, Grandpa and Grandma got really mad. Daddy just listened quietly and then hung up the phone. Back then, they were both under a l
"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