As soon as I finished speaking, tears welled up in Zach's eyes and fell heavily to the ground.He shrieked, "No! You're not Willow's mom! You're my mom!"As he spoke, he moved toward me.I looked at his pitiful expression, but my mind couldn't help recalling the time he said he liked Luna and wanted her to be his mom. I felt no sympathy—only a sense of absurdity."Zach, you have to take responsibility for your choices. Since you chose not to have me and wanted Luna to be your mom, then no matter how she treats you, you'll have to deal with the consequences."Zach cried even harder as he shook his head. "No! I'm just a kid! I didn't know what the consequences would be when I made that choice! You're my mom, so you should always forgive me!"Watching his unreasonable tantrum, I realized that no matter what I said, he wouldn't listen. Walking over to Julian, I said, "I really don't want to deal with them anymore. You can handle the rest of the matter."Julian nodded, and I walked a
From this day onward, Shayne wanted to live happily with Luna. He wanted Aralyn to know that she would never return to his side, be his wife, or Zach's mother again.Upon thinking of this, his eyes curved into a smile. By then, Aralyn would surely regret everything she had done that day.…Once Julian got into the car, he handed his phone to me. "I figured since you weren't there, you'd want to know how Willow reacted after Zach apologized, so I recorded it for you."He then turned to look at me. "Take a good look.""Alright." I started the video and focused on Willow.She seemed very resistant at first, but she clearly seemed happy by the end of the video.I felt a sense of relief. "That's great.""Yeah," Julian replied calmly. "I think if we keep this up, Willow will get better one day."I nodded in agreement. "She definitely will."When we arrived at the company, Julian took me to his office just like yesterday. I stayed in the partitioned area, planning to continue colo
Julian was always strict and impartial at the company, handling everything with a professional attitude. There were never any women around him. There was even a rumor that he was a workaholic who had no need for love.But now, not only did he bring a woman to the company, he even let her sleep in his sacred office.On top of that, he even asked Mark to lower his volume for her sake.Mark looked at the partition and then he looked at Julian.The woman was drowsy in the morning. What did that mean? It meant she didn't rest well at night. Julian definitely put her through the wringer.Mark had the urge to laugh, but Julian's icy expression forced him to suppress his gossipy thoughts. He lowered his voice and continued reporting to Julian what he had to work on next.Julian listened patiently. Once Mark was done with his report, he handed him a file on the desk. "These events have been approved."Mark took the file. "Alright," he replied without flipping through its contents.
Julian had to stand his ground. Amber raised her voice. "Julian, you need to understand that you are no ordinary man. You have a large company! Who do you plan to leave such a large enterprise in the future if you don't marry and have kids? Willow?"Julian calmly replied, "Yes."Amber's head ached. "But Willow has autism! She doesn't even dare to speak to others. If you give her your company, then it won't be long before it shuts down!"Julian did not agree with her opinion. "First of all, her autism will gradually improve. Secondly, since I intend to have her inherit my company, I'll naturally work hard to train her. You don't have to worry about that." Amber saw that no matter what she said, Julian would always find suitable reasons to refute her, so she stopped making up excuses. "I won't allow it! Julian, as long as you still acknowledge me as your mother, you must get married!"She continued speaking at a rather fast pace, "I think Alice is rather good. I've asked her to
It would be good if this comic would be liked by many. That way, Willow would definitely be popular when she carried the merchandise outside.Other children would gather around her to talk to her. Perhaps her condition would become better under such circumstances.Julian walked up to me and said, "If the comic does become a big hit, selling merchandise could also bring in a significant amount of income."I stared at him in surprise. Perhaps I had left work for too long.Although I knew about merchandising, I had only thought about using it as a way to help Willow get better. However, Julian could see the hidden business opportunity behind it. I had to admit that he was truly an outstanding businessman.I smiled as I said, "That's true."Julian's hand pressed against my shoulder as he guided me to sit on the couch. He then stared into my eyes."I think I know what kind of new company I want to create. Stay here for a moment."With that, he quickly returned to his desk and star
I shook my head. "I haven't eaten yet."Julian immediately apologized. "Sorry about that. I was busy with work and lost track of time for a moment. Figure out what you'd like to eat, and I'll treat you to it as penance!"I didn't refuse. "Let's just have some pizza from the second floor.""You don't have to save money," Julian said. He understood that Aralyn rarely ate here, so she didn't know which places were good.He ended up taking her to a nearby restaurant.Once they sat down, a server handed them a menu.Julian ordered a few signature dishes and then calmly explained, "The food here tastes nothing like what they serve in the cafeteria. You should give it a try.""Okay," I replied as I nodded.If it tasted good, then I could bring Willow here after I got paid.Julian paused for a moment before asking, "Do you plan on getting a boyfriend anytime soon?"I stared at him in surprise. "Why are you asking me this question?"Julian chose his words carefully. "If you're thinki
Standing at the doorway was a woman with exquisite makeup. She looked stunning. She was Julian's blind date, Alice. Julian assumed that after he rejected the conditions she mentioned, both of them would mutually understand they weren't suitable for each other. She would then move on to date someone else. He didn't expect her to come looking for him."I bet you weren't expecting me," Alice said with her arms crossed. She wanted to bypass Julian to enter the office, but he blocked her with a frown on his face."Is something the matter?"Stopped at the door, Alice's expression soured. "I scheduled a meeting with you for tomorrow. Why didn't you agree? Do you not want to see me?""That's right. I believe we made everything very clear during our first meeting, Ms. York." Julian's stance was very clear. He then continued, "I cannot accept the conditions you've proposed. So, we shouldn't continue contacting each other and wasting each other's time, right?"Alice seemed completely una
"As long as I find out about it, I'll deal with it immediately."Julian always kept his word.I believed him. "Alright."Of course, there was another major reason why I wasn't afraid of Julian's parents—I could speak and explain myself.If his parents misunderstood and thought there was something romantic between us, I could tell them the truth exactly as it happened. That way, they'd surely stop making things difficult for me.Thinking of this, I finally felt at ease.Upon seeing my expression relax, he looked at the time and said, "Let's go and pick up Willow.""Okay."…There were a lot of parents at the kindergarten entrance. However, as the younger kids started coming out, the crowd gradually thinned.In the end, only a few people remained."Shayne."I turned my head when I heard someone calling for Shayne. That was when I saw Luna and Shayne, who hadn't come to pick up Zach in days.Luna looked at me challengingly. She then leaned into Shayne's arms. "I'm so tired."
"Have you struck it rich?" I asked.Mark waited for Julian to open the office door and walked in with us. Once the door was closed and he was sure no one could overhear our conversation, he finally shared, "You guessed it right!""What?" I asked, surprised.Mark took several deep breaths to calm himself before quickly saying, "Recently, the employees in the comic department have been promoting your comic actively."Maybe the promotion's really effective—or your comic is just that good—but the readers are increasing. People are even recommending your books on their own initiative."I was stunned.Mark continued, "As a result, the sales of your published comic books have multiplied several times compared to last month! Even the merchandise and plushies are selling just as well."My heart pounded. Last month's sales had already seemed good enough to me. I even thought there was a chance they might drop, but they actually went up."Do you know what this means?" Mark asked.I was c
Julian chuckled and said, "Got it."Willow was amazing in Julian's eyes. She was worried we might neglect her when we had our biological children in the future, yet once reassured, she then worried that our other children wouldn't receive enough love.Julian couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her."But I still have to tell you that no matter what happens, I will always stand by your side, Willow," he added.Willow lifted her chin. "That's good to hear. If you dare to ignore me or neglect me, I won't forgive you! Even if you try to persuade me, I'll still be mad!"Julian raised his hand and ruffled her hair. "I promise I will never neglect you."Willow looked at me expectantly.With a smile, I uttered, "Don't worry. Me too."Only then was Willow satisfied. "Good."When Gabriel and Lilia heard this, their hearts ached for her.This silly child naively wanted a promise from her parents. But unfortunately, promises only mattered when the parents still loved her. If one day th
"There's only one set of jewelry, and only one person can get it. When the time comes, I will just tell them that I wanted to buy it too. But when I was about to pay, someone else had already taken it."Upon hearing that, Shayne finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I can buy you a set worth a few million."Charlotte thought about it. Compared to emeralds, jewelry worth a few million wasn't much. But among ordinary jewelry, it was still considered decent quality.She nodded and said, "Alright, transfer me the money. I'll go buy it now."Shayne transferred the money.After Charlotte left, he let out a bitter laugh.Charlotte had never truly cared about him. When she asked him why he drank and how he was feeling, it was only to soften him up.Shayne was suddenly puzzled as he wondered how Charlotte became like this—obsessed with keeping up with others and spending money like water.He couldn't figure it out. All he knew was that everything had changed without him realizing it.…
Shayne stared straight at her.Charlotte was aware that she had come to ask for money, so she couldn't afford to show Shayne a bad attitude. Hence, she forced herself to swallow her anger."You've always been like this. Whenever you wanted something, and I refused, you'd come up with a bunch of excuses." Shayne sneered.But in the end, it would always turn into him disrespecting her."You always end up getting what you want no matter what."Only now did he realize how Charlotte had been manipulating him all along.Bitterness filled Shayne's eyes. He felt a hint of regret because he realized that it was actually much more comfortable to be with Aralyn.At least Aralyn was frugal.In an effort to make Aralyn spend less, Charlotte would also find ways to save money.But now, both Luna and Charlotte spent money like water.Shayne felt exhausted.Charlotte was growing impatient as well. "Shayne, are you going to buy it for me or not? At least say something."Shayne didn't want t
Charlotte glanced at Shayne secretly before lowering her head and saying, "You used to buy Luna jewelry every day."After saying that, she immediately lifted her head and stared at Shayne.This matter had already been exposed online, so Shayne better not think about hiding it from her.Shayne raised an eyebrow and asked, "So?""Back when you were still married to Aralyn, I didn't dare to ask you for anything so I could set a good example for her. I was afraid that if I bought something, Aralyn would cause trouble for you, questioning you why she got nothing as your wife while I got to dress up in luxurious jewelry every day. I didn't want her asking you why you didn't spend money on her."The more Charlotte thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. If Shayne had just married Luna from the beginning, everything would have been so much better. She wouldn't have had to suffer for so long.She continued, "But now that you're divorced from Aralyn and together with Luna, surely yo
Shayne nearly collapsed onto the couch, staring at the ceiling with reddened eyes.The thing he feared the most had happened.Julian's secret crush was Aralyn.That meant he had no chance anymore.His tears fell in big drops.He didn't understand why he hadn't realized that someone had been eyeing Aralyn.If he had noticed earlier, would he have realized that Aralyn was someone others wanted too? Would he have realized that leaving him didn't mean she'd be alone, and that she was never bound to him?Would he have felt a sense of crisis then, which might have made him decide to cherish Aralyn, settle down, and build a life with her?Shayne was filled with deep regret. He couldn't understand how Julian had endured this long.All these years, he knew that Aralyn had been married, yet he still waited for her. He didn't even waver when she watched him get married and have a child later on.Shayne closed his eyes numbly. After a long time, he let out a bitter laugh.Sure enough.
"Does the name matter?" Shayne asked without hesitation."I can tell you. Consider it my way of repaying you for tipping me off. Her current name is Aralyn Jaffe." Julian's usually cold voice was now filled with amusement."That's impossible! Aralyn is gentle and honest. She could never have done the things your first love did," Shayne stated, not believing it."The fact that you would say that only proves you never truly understood Aralyn. If you had spent more time with her while you were together, you would have realized her gentleness is built on the premise that she can protect herself," Julian replied calmly.Shayne's mind went blank.Julian continued, "As long as no one harms Aralyn, she will always treat them nicely. But the moment they scheme against her or threaten her in any way, she will find a way to deal with it."Julian seemed to be in a good mood. "Haven't you noticed that what I just described sounds a lot like what you went through?"Shayne didn't know how to r
"Yes." Robert had been wondering how to continue, but with Shayne's question, he had the perfect segue. "After those two got out, they kept trying to make a comeback. They're not stupid."Even though they've been out of touch with society for a long time, after some time of trial and error, they managed to reintegrate fairly quickly. And later, when they started their own business again, it was extremely successful."Robert sighed. "Once they made money, they started looking for the true love. But they soon discovered that she seemed to have vanished from the world—there was no trace of her at all."They refused to give up and kept investigating for years before finally realizing that she had taken on a new identity and was living under a different name. Now, those two have been biding their time, just waiting for the right moment to go after her."Hearing this, Shayne finally smiled. "Say, if I call Julian right now and tell him about his true love's situation, do you think he'l
"But such justice doesn't exist in this world," Shayne said.Robert said, "Exactly. At that time, her response was…"He cleared his throat and did his best to imitate the first love's tone. "I didn't do anything to you; I just stated what you did back then. There shouldn't be a problem with that, right?"The principal's response at the time was, "You may not have done anything wrong, but your actions have had a huge impact on our school. Our school used to be the number one in the city, and now we've dropped to second place!""If you were so afraid of the impact, then why didn't you handle the situation when I was being bullied? Given your position, you should have thought about this outcome when the incident happened," the first love refuted."But you didn't, which clearly showed you believed that even if I left, it wouldn't have much of an impact on your school, right?"The principal remained silent.The first love continued, "Indeed, just as you thought, I don't have that kin