Though Julian wasn't vocal, his actions spoke volumes, allowing his care and affection to shine through.I couldn't help but feel grateful on Willow's behalf. Despite the tragic experiences of her early childhood, she was fortunate enough to have an uncle who loved her dearly."Next time something like this happens, you can just wait for me downstairs. Call me, and I'll come down myself," I said."Alright," Julian replied.He waited until I reached his side before walking with me downstairs. How do you find working on your art in my office? Is it comfortable?"I nodded. "It's quiet, and no one disturbs me. I quite like it.""Would you like to come with me again tomorrow?"I blinked in surprise. "You want me to come here every day to keep you company?"Julian didn't answer. Since he wasn't inclined to explain, I didn't press the matter.As I was fastening my seatbelt, Julian finally broke the silence. "My family has been pushing me to go on blind dates recently."He massaged h
Naturally, I couldn't treat the situation lightly. I straightened up and replied seriously, "From my perspective, marriage is sacred and not something to be taken lightly. You're considering marrying me now because of pressure from your family and because other women won't accept Willow."But what if you meet someone you genuinely love in the future? Will you divorce me then?"Julian had never been romantically interested in anyone before, so even he couldn't be sure if the scenario I described might happen."Besides…" I paused. If my earlier words were for Julian's sake, what I was about to say was purely for myself. "I just escaped from an unhealthy relationship and was fortunate enough to meet you two. You both have been very kind to me. And Willow has made me understand what it feels like to be loved."Taking care of her has helped heal the heart that Shayne and his family left shattered and full of scars. So, rather than taking things further, I think maintaining our current
"When we asked Zach, he also refused to say anything."Julian took Willow in his arms and looked at Zach from afar. Zach instinctively shrank behind his classmates.Since we didn't know what exactly Zach said to Willow, Julian couldn't scold Zach yet.He shifted his gaze back to Willow and lifted her into his arms, his voice rarely gentle. "Why aren't you happy today, Willow?"It was only when he asked that Willow's tears started falling. However, she remained silent as she cried in Julian's arms.Julian patted her back as he looked at me pleadingly.I opened my arms to Willow. "Come, Mommy will hold you."When Willow heard my voice, she turned her face away and ignored me. She was usually clingy. But today, she wouldn't acknowledge me.I could almost conclude that what Zach had said to her was definitely related to me.I took a deep breath and asked sadly, "Do you not want Mommy anymore?"Willow looked up at me, conflicted. After a long time, she finally opened her arms to m
Willow buried her face in my chest, holding me tightly. But she still didn't speak. I knew she wasn't in the mood to talk, so I didn't push her. Instead, I patted her back gently. "If you don't want to talk, it's okay. But you should know, no matter what happens, Mommy will always be here by your side."I waited for a response, but there was none.Just when I thought Willow wouldn't answer me, she murmured, "Okay."Since she was willing to speak, it meant she just hadn't figured things out yet.As long as I waited, she would eventually tell me why she didn't want to communicate.My mood finally improved.…As expected, Zach was the last to leave kindergarten again. But this time, Luna wasn't the one who came to pick him up.It was the new driver hired by the family.Cynthia didn't know the driver. She didn't feel safe handing Zach over to him yet, so she video-called Shayne.After confirming multiple times that they were to hand Zach to the new driver, they finally let Zach
Luna turned around in surprise and saw Shayne walking in.Luna immediately got up to greet him. "You're back."Nodding, Shayne scanned the living room for Zach. Where is he?"At the mention of Zach, Luna pouted, feeling wronged. "I think he doesn't like me. When he got home, he ignored me completely and went straight to his bedroom. No matter how many times I called for him, he didn't respond."Shayne found it hard to believe. "Really? He loves you, if anything. He even gave up his biological mother, who only wants the best for him, all for you."Luna was about to say more bad things about Zach and try to stir up conflict between them. But seeing the protective look on Shayne's face, she swallowed her words back. Even if she wanted to damage their relationship, it wasn't something that had to happen right now.Luna told herself to be more patient."Maybe something happened at the kindergarten, and he's in a bad mood."Shayne patted her back and added, "You're pregnant now, so y
I hurriedly wiped her tears away, feeling at a loss. "Why are you suddenly apologizing?"Willow clung tightly to me. "I shouldn't have ignored you," she said softly.I stroked her hair gently. "But you're human; you're allowed to have emotions."As I spoke, I lifted her onto my lap and looked into her eyes. "Now, can you tell Mommy what Zach said to you?" I asked seriously.Willow hesitated for a long time but finally spoke. "He said you came to our house and became my mom just to spite him, that once he forgives you, you'll go back to him and continue being his mom. And then you won't want me anymore."For a little girl like Willow, it was hard for her to distinguish whether what he said was true or not. She just started thinking along the lines he suggested. She loved her mom dearly. If her mom ever left her, she would surely be heartbroken.Willow lowered her head, not daring to meet my gaze.I didn't force her as I smiled. "So, that's why you were in such a bad mood after sc
When Julian came downstairs, he immediately noticed that Willow and I had returned to our usual closeness.He looked a bit surprised. "Willow…"Willow didn't respond, and I looked at her curiously.She leaned close to my ear and whispered, "If I tell Daddy why I'm not talking, he'll think I'm silly."To avoid being underestimated by her dad, she had decided not to speak to him.Once I understood her little plan, I couldn't help but want to laugh."Mommy, you absolutely cannot tell Daddy!" she added."Alright! Don't worry, I'll keep your secret!"Only then did Willow feel reassured.When Willow didn't respond to Julian, he looked at me.I quickly came up with an excuse. "She said she'll talk to you tomorrow."Julian looked at Willow, puzzled.Willow immediately hugged my neck tightly, avoiding eye contact with him. Since Willow would talk to Julian tomorrow, there was no need to rush.He headed to the dining room, where dinner was already served. From the corner of his eye,
He casually pulled over a stool for me, and I sat down. The study's layout was simple. Aside from a desk and two chairs, there were only two bookshelves placed against the walls without windows on either side.Having nothing else to do, I began scanning the shelves to see what kinds of books there were."Most of these are about finance. If you want to read something else, I can buy it for you," Julian said as he shut down his computer and walked over to me."No need," I replied without hesitation, turning to look at him.Even at home, he was dressed in a suit. In the quiet of the night, he exuded coldness and restraint."Have you thought about how to handle this?" I asked.Instead of answering me, Julian countered, "What about you?""Me?""Yes. I'd like to know your stance. Zach is your son, after all."My heart was as calm as a still lake. "Isn't he Luna's son?"Julian seemed a bit surprised. He had assumed that, despite my disillusionment with them, the years we had shared
When we got home, Willow dragged the whole family along to exercise with her.After finishing, Willow took Pamela and her grandparents upstairs.Only Julian, Ximena, and I remained in the living room.Ximena glanced upstairs and said, "I thought Pamela would need to help her, but who would've guessed she'd recover on her own?""Yes," I agreed, sighing. "Children recover much faster than I ever imagined."Ximena couldn't help but chuckle. "Exactly. Look at Pamela. When she lived with her dad, she'd come home acting like a quail—so timid and cautious. But after just a few days with me, she's slowly returning to how she used to be."It was evident that Ximena loved Pamela. "If I had known that switching to a less stressful job would make life easier for my daughter, I definitely would've left my old company a long time ago."As a mother myself, I understood Ximena's guilt. Patting her shoulder reassuringly, I uttered, "It's not too late to change now."Ximena nodded. "Yeah."Juli
Hughes Group had excellent landscaping. The green plants on both sides were lush and flourishing.The tree shade blocked the harsh sunlight, creating a tranquil atmosphere.I turned to look at Julian. "Have you finished all your work?"As he did not like someone to lie, Julian replied honestly, "Not yet."He hadn't forgotten Gabriel and Lilia's advice—to appear vulnerable in front of Aralyn. "I just feel a bit tired.""It's a pity I can't help you much," I said regretfully. "But the account and selling peripheral products could bring me a lot of income."This was an answer I had thought about for a long time. "If your company runs into trouble and can't hold on, you can come to me for help. I can take care of you and Willow."Julian was very confident that his company wouldn't run into any problems, but he hadn't expected that Aralyn would already consider such a scenario.He even thought that if the company really did go bankrupt, wouldn't that also bring him closer to Araly
As soon as he finished speaking, the server brought over a large bowl of broth fondue and placed it on the table. "Enjoy your meal," he said with a smile."Thank you!" I picked up a piece of the beef. The crunchy and tender texture was simply irresistible.I ate several big bites in a row, only to notice that Julian still hadn't started eating. Curious, I asked, "Are you not going to eat?""Of course I am," Julian said, picking up his cutlery.…Shayne returned to his office, thinking about the things Aralyn had said. It dawned on him that he had indeed made far too many mistakes.Ever since he'd married Aralyn, he had taken her for granted because she was too sensible and understanding. He hadn't even noticed how much she had suffered.At this moment, Shayne was desperate to divorce Luna and make amends to Aralyn.Resolute, he called Luna."Yes? Miss me?" Luna's sweet voice came through the phone."I'm sorry." After saying those words, Shayne felt a sense of relief.Why was
"So, you think I should pay for every meal Julian and I have together?" I countered.The people around us started whispering, all saying that Amber was being shameless.Amber was so furious that she nearly lost her composure. "That's not the point! The point is my son refuses to support us because of you!"Standing up, Julian took out the bank transaction statements he had specifically asked Mark to print earlier. "Why don't you tell everyone how much you spend each month?"Amber had always gotten away with this kind of behavior before, so she never expected Julian to fight back this time.She froze on the spot.Julian unfolded the statements. To make sure everyone could see, he even handed out a few copies to the crowd.The onlookers opened the papers. The monthly expenses amounted to over five million. Then, they looked back at Amber, thinking she was being unreasonable.They thought she was being ungrateful by making a scene here when she received that much money; she hadn't
Mark didn't even think before replying, "Well, the company has a rule—if you complete three days' work in one day, the remaining two days are vacation."I found it a bit hard to believe. "Does such a great company really exist?"Mark teased with a smile, "Well, you've seen one now. The average price for these peripheral products is ten dollars, and your royalty margin is still 15%. The company just decided to spend a large sum of money to boost traffic."If all goes as planned, the sales of these peripheral products should break records day by day. We're worried that when the demand surges, production might not keep up."So, we're planning to stock up in advance to avoid running out of inventory when the comic goes viral. You just sit back and wait for the royalty money to roll in."When I heard that, I couldn't help but anticipate it. "Thank you.""You're welcome."With that, he left, not daring to glance at Julian.Julian followed him. "Help me print out the bank transfer rec
"If you had even a shred of sense and thought about everything you did to me, you couldn't possibly think I still have the slightest attachment to you."Shayne slammed the table and stood up. "Is this about me making you sleep with Rowan?"I leaned back on the couch and looked up at him. "Is that the only thing?"Shayne acted as if he couldn't hear me. "But I don't care about it anymore!""Heh." I realized I shouldn't have come to talk to him at all.Seeing me get up, Shayne hurriedly ran in front of me. "Aralyn…"I ignored him and walked straight past. Glancing back at his dejected figure, I calmly said, "I've always been thankful that I chose to leave you."…Back in the office, Julian, who had been focused on work, set his tasks aside and approached me. "Are you okay?"I nodded. "I'm fine. I just don't know what got into him. He suddenly said he regrets the divorce as if it would make any difference had he refused back then."I didn't bother to hide the disdain in my eyes.
"Strictly speaking, she's not an employee of Hughes Group," Mark said in a friendly manner.Shayne frowned. Seeing that this approach wasn't working, he simply stated his reason for coming, "I want to see her."Mark smiled politely. "You can call her and ask if she's willing to meet you."Mr. Pearce, I'm just an employee. Please don't make things difficult for me."Shayne stared at Mark. "She blocked me.""Then I'm sorry. I can't help you," Mark uttered in a professional tone.Shayne tried to bypass Mark to go find Aralyn, but Mark stepped forward to block him.Just then, the office door opened.…I stood at the door, looking at Shayne.Shayne looked at me. "Aralyn.""Don't say my name as if we're close," I said coldly, staring at him in disdain. "We're nothing more than strangers."For once, Shayne's expression showed sadness.But I didn't feel the slightest bit of sympathy. Instead, I found him pretentious and turned my gaze away.Mark stepped up to me and whispered, "D
Julian then noticed that, in addition to the commonly seen merchandise on the market, the applicants had also created some everyday products that hadn't been made into merchandise before. "Very professional," he commented, quite satisfied."Yes. Now that we've hired people for both the merchandise and comic departments, if all goes smoothly, we'll be able to produce the rest of the merchandise within the next couple of days. I think the comic's followers aren't growing fast enough."So, I'm suggesting the finance department allocate more funds to the promotions team. After all, early-stage promotion mainly relies on spending money," Mark voiced his opinions.Julian, who never lacked money, replied, "Approved."It was because of Aralyn that Mark learned just how many ways there were to make money in the comic industry.And the prospects looked so promising."There are very few applicants for the translation department, which handles international promotions, but I'll keep an eye
In the office, I started working seriously.…Julian walked out of the office and went to a secluded corner, dialing Amber's number."Yes? What's the matter?" Amber asked."Didn't I tell you not to contact Aralyn unless there was a reason? Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson. Do I really have to cut off all of the family's living expenses?"Each word from Julian was colder than the last."I'm your mother! I'm not happy with Aralyn as my daughter-in-law. Can't I say something about it?" Amber asked sharply, sounding as if she were perfectly justified.But Julian wasn't buying it at all. "No, you can't."Amber was almost choked speechless by Julian's words, but she knew Julian meant what he said."You don't even have the right to cut off our living expenses. Don't forget that we're the ones who handed the company to you. You're enjoying the results of our hard work, and yet you don't want to support us? How do you think that's fair?"Julian sneered, "Mom, I guess y