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."
Shayne knelt down and looked at Zach who stood before him. He smiled and explained, "Mama Luna said the baby in her belly was making her feel unwell the past few days, so she was in a bad mood and neglected you. But today, she realized her mistake after reflecting on it. Zach, can you forgive her?"Zach raised his head to look at Luna.Luna gave him a gentle smile. "Zach, give me another chance, okay?"Zach lowered his head. He wanted to refuse. But he also understood that since his dad had taken the initiative to make excuses for her, it meant that he really looked forward to them reconciling. If he refused, his dad would definitely scold him for being immature and then force him to agree.Although he was young, he wasn't stupid. He nodded and replied, "Okay."Luna took his hand. "What do you want? I'll take you to buy it."Her tone was light and cheerful. It was as if she had never mistreated Zach before.Zach didn't know how to respond.Luna tried guessing."Do you want a
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