Julian and I returned to the office together. I sat on the couch, recalling everything that had happened between my mother and that scumbag.The more I thought about it, the calmer I felt.Back then, that bastard of a father had bullied my mom and me without restraint. But I was young at the time, so I couldn't keep him in prison for too long.But I had grown up. If he dared to mess with me again, I would not show him any mercy.Resolution gradually filled my eyes.I took out a stack of documents from the drawer. Inside were all the shady things he had done over the years since getting out of prison.Taking a deep breath, I contacted a courier. When they arrived, I handed them the documents and had them deliver them to a specific location.After confirming the courier had left, I went upstairs and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. I then took out a small pair of binoculars and looked down.The courier didn't leave immediately. Instead, they circled around to a side
After I agreed, they immediately called in some employees who had been resting at home and started production at the factory.Once the products were manufactured, the factory shipped them out.There was almost no need for my involvement in the later stages.I glanced at the sales and profits, a smile naturally appearing on my face. If I was right, this batch should bring me a significant profit.To be precise, as long as piracy was still there, this market would remain mine.After finishing everything, I continued drawing.…Shayne arrived at the restaurant and looked at the unfamiliar man in front of him.Donald was a self-made wealthy man.He had enough boldness and carried the calm confidence unique to successful people.He looked completely different from ordinary people."Are you the one who wanted to see me?" Shayne asked in confusion.Donald nodded. "Yes. Have a seat."Shayne didn't understand why Donald had asked to meet him. But since Donald was Aralyn's biologica
Donald didn't understand. Didn't everyone say that Shayne was stupid? No matter how people lied to Shayne, he would believe them.But even after speaking to Shayne for so long, Shayne was still asking for evidence.This was completely different from the rumors.Shayne hid the disdain in his eyes. If he hadn't accidentally found out about what happened to Aralyn when she was a child, he might have actually believed Donald."Records don't disappear no matter how many years have passed. If you don't know how to find them, you can hand me your phone, and I'll check it for you," Shayne said calmly.Seeing Shayne already reaching out his hand, Donald knew that if he didn't come up with an excuse, he really wouldn't be able to explain himself. "Do records really matter?"Shayne replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, they do. I respect you as an elder, but even elders need to back up their words with evidence. You can't just think you can fool me blindly. Do you really think that's possib
Hearing Shayne's response, Donald asked, "What do you want to drink? It's on me."Shayne quickly waved his hand. "No need. I have to go back to work, so I'll be leaving first."Donald watched Shayne's departing figure, the corners of his lips curling upward.He just knew that his plan was bound to succeed.…In his office, Shayne thought about his conversation with Donald seriously.Donald said he would make Aralyn get back together with him.But after analyzing the situation, Shayne concluded that Donald's chances of success were slim.Donald had already been to prison, and most importantly, Julian was by Aralyn's side.The fact that Julian had built his small company step by step into an empire that others envied was enough proof that Julian was intelligent.Shayne tapped his fingers on the desk.With Julian around, Donald's chances of success were nearly zero.Under these circumstances, if he got himself involved, he wouldn't be able to explain himself when everything wa
Donald took the evidence handed over by the errand runner, sneering with contempt.A few years ago, he had let his guard down and was tricked by Aralyn, which led to him suffering a major loss.But he had learned his lesson now, so the same trick was useless against him.Donald tossed the evidence onto the car seat beside him.It seemed that after all these years, Aralyn still hadn't improved.He had only used a simple diversion, and Aralyn had fallen for it. He couldn't believe that he had actually been worried that Aralyn had gotten more formidable; that she would be difficult to deal with.Donald gripped the steering wheel with both hands.Back then, Aralyn had teamed up with Maisy to send him to prison. Now that he was out, and his life was getting better, Aralyn and Maisy still expected to live peacefully.That was nothing but a fool's dream.Donald parked his car in the hotel garage and then dialed a friend. "Are you guys free to help me? If you're not, it doesn't matter
Aralyn went to work at Julian's house.At the time, Donald's company had some issues, and he figured Aralyn was only an ordinary worker and that Julian didn't care about her.Hence, he focused on handling the company's matters, thinking that once everything was settled, he could come after Aralyn later. He thought it wouldn't be too late.He poured all his energy into work, and within just a few months, he finally resolved all the company's crises.After finally freeing up some time, he rushed to the city where Aralyn was, ready to unleash all the hatred he had built up over the years.But then he discovered Aralyn was in a relationship with Julian.Donald couldn't understand where Aralyn got such a strong charm.In terms of physical appearance, Aralyn wasn't that gorgeous compared to glamorous celebrities.In terms of intelligence, she definitely wasn't the smartest woman in the world.Yet, somehow, she kept attracting high-quality men.Donald took a deep breath, trying to s
Since there were already existing character models, the only things I needed to draw were different outfits and expressions, which made it easy for me.In less than two hours, I finished everything, and I even created a hidden edition. Just thinking about Willow's face put me in a noticeably better mood.Just then, Mark pushed the office door open. He walked up to Julian and said, "Mr. Hughes, this is the marketing plan I prepared for the collectibles."Julian opened it and read through it carefully."If we want the public to embrace these figurines, the best way is to have domestic celebrities or influencers wear them as accessories. People have a herd mentality. When they see influencers loving these small figurines, they'll want to buy them too."As for other countries, in places where nobility still exists, we can have members of the royal family and aristocracy wear them. In the past, buying something worn by nobles might have cost thousands or even tens of thousands."But n
Hearing this, Julian also looked at me. Designing new styles was actually relatively easy, and the company would give each designer a commission based on sales.It was a way to make big money without much effort.But Mark was worried that I wouldn't be willing to share the money I was about to earn with other people.Without hesitation, I said, "Then just hire them."Mark was stunned. "But you'll have to share the money with others.""I'll share, then. It's a good thing that we can make money together," I uttered, not minding it at all.Mark stared at me.Confused, I asked, "What? Is there a problem?"No," Mark answered, shaking his head."Even if I don't design anything, I'll still get a share of the earnings. After all, this counts as merchandise based on my work, right?"I looked at Mark for confirmation.He nodded. "That's right."I smiled. "In that case, I don't need to do all the work myself."Only then did Mark reply, "Alright, I'll go find people right away.""Oka
Seeing that no matter what they said, Luna remained unmoved, Shannon slowed her speech. "We're actually here to ask you to get back with Rowan.""Sorry, that thought has completely left my mind," replied Luna."If that's why you're here, then you should leave. I have work to do, so I won't be chatting with you any longer."Luna walked to the door and opened it. "You can go now."Shannon looked at Patrick.Patrick said coolly, "I don't even care that you're pregnant with Shayne's child anymore. In fact, if you get back together with Rowan, we can treat this child as one of our own. I hope you don't miss out on such a great opportunity.""That's not a great opportunity for me. When I didn't have a job back then, I thought being a housewife was a good life. I didn't have to worry about making money—I just had to take care of the household. But I realized it wasn't like that at all."Earning my own money is much better than relying on someone else to give it to me. This way, I don't
"But I remember his place is pretty far from mine," Luna said, puzzled.Patrick sat down on the couch, looking at Luna. "Mainly, we figured since we came all this way to see Rowan, we might as well check in on you, too."Luna was even more confused. "Check in on me? Why?"Instead of answering her, Patrick asked, "You're pregnant."Luna glanced down at her stomach, then replied, "So what? I've been divorced from Rowan for so long, and I've been with Shayne for quite a while now. It's perfectly normal that I'm pregnant. You guys hated me before."Back then, you were eager for me to be with someone else. Now that I am, you guys should be happy."Luna sat down as well. When she was with Rowan, she had always been respectful in front of Patrick and Shannon.She had always seen them as family and worked hard to earn their approval.But no matter what she did, it was never enough.For a long time, Luna wondered if she was doing something wrong.But after the divorce—and after she wa
When I found out Serena didn't have a job yet, an idea immediately came to mind. "I actually started a new company. We're hiring. The salary during the probation period is ten thousand dollars a month, with weekends and all national holidays off. And if you perform well, there's a big commission on top of that."I was about to add more when Mark sent me a photo. It was a payroll statement.Right after that, he sent a voice message. "Take a look at how much they've earned in commissions!"I tapped on the image. The company didn't have many employees yet, but every single one of them had already made over a million in commission—some even over five million.The amusement in my eyes deepened as I replied, "I hope they'll take home even more next month."Mark responded without hesitation, "At the rate sales are going, doubling it shouldn't be a problem."After reading his messages, I finally put my phone down and looked at Serena. "But of course, it all depends on our product sales.
In the cafe, I looked at the young woman sitting across from me and asked, "What's your name?"She was sipping her milk tea. When she heard my question, she quickly looked up and replied, "My name is Serena Towson. You can call me Serena. I used to stay in the ward next to yours."I was a bit puzzled. "Then, how do you know I was framed?"Serena took a deep breath, lowering her head. "Actually, I should be apologizing to you for this.""Why are you apologizing?" I asked in confusion.Serena didn't answer. She looked uneasy as she kept looking down, pushing her phone toward me.On the screen was a voice recording.I tapped play.It was a conversation between Luna and someone else. "I need you to avoid the surveillance cameras and spill oil in that area. Do you hear me?"The other person seemed doubtful about Luna's plan. "If we do that, it'll be hard to clean up, and people will definitely notice something's off!""Don't pour too much. Just pour enough so she'll fall when she
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