Horace looked in the direction Ivy had pointed to see the side profile of a woman wearing a veil. He didn't say anything, but his satisfied smile proved that he believed Ivy to be right.Soon, William noticed Spencer among the audience. "Look, Dad. Isn't that JM Corporation's Mr. Layton? What's he doing here?"Horace looked in the direction William had indicated. He hadn't expected to see someone as powerful as Spencer there. Losing the chance to latch onto the Layton family was always one of his regrets. Even one of the Layton family's branch families was better than the Keller family.If he'd known things would've turned out like this, he wouldn't have helped Sabrina steal Harold from Lucille. Then, perhaps Sabrina would've ended up with Spencer instead."Does that mean Lucille is here, too?" Ivy immediately thought of Lucille when she saw Spencer. She looked around but didn't see Lucille.Spencer wore a dapper navy blue suit and was seated alone, looking elegant and regal. His
Two hours later, it was break time.Michael reminded, "Everyone, it's our break time. We've got a 15-minute break. Apart from the audience and judges who can move around, contestants aren't allowed to leave the stage but can sit and have a rest."You can either take a break or keep going—it's your call. There are no special rules. The only rule is that you mustn't leave the stage."As soon as Michael said that, only Zoe and Samantha paused what they were doing and sat still to rest. The others continued with their tasks. Two minutes later, Sabrina also stopped.Ivy waved at Sabrina from below the stage, looking proud.However, Sabrina pretended not to see her. Instead, she smiled at the camera. From Ivy's point of view, it looked as if Sabrina had responded to her. Actually, Sabrina wanted to ignore Ivy. Ever since she'd seen Jane, she'd realized that if Ivy had had capabilities or a powerful background, she wouldn't have had to rely on herself for everything.In her eyes, Ivy
"Spencer, are you flying off the handle? I can't believe you actually hit me."Spencer was at a loss for words.He grimaced and threatened Lucille. "If you continue to talk nonsense, I don't mind making love to you right here."She knew he always meant what he said, so she stopped joking."I was just testing you," she said with a cheeky grin. "So, what did you want to tell me? Don't leave me hanging."Unfortunately, she'd covered her face with a veil, so he could only see the mischief glinting in her eyes. It wasn't easy to pique her interest, but Spencer was an exception.He didn't answer her. Instead, he responded with a subtle approach. He kissed her while she was wearing the veil. The feeling was strange. It wasn't their first kiss, but…She wasn't the only one who felt it. He felt it too."Do you know how deadly your veiled beauty is right now?" He pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "You little vixen, you're seducing me without even knowing it."With a playf
Michael said, "Currently, contestant no. 3, Zoe, has the highest score. She got an average score of 9.4 from the judges, which is really high. Now, the pressure is on our final two contestants, no. 9 and no. 5."Lucille hadn't participated in giving feedback for the previous six contestants. So, she was in charge of the evaluation for the final two contestants.She glanced at Samantha and Sabrina.Sabrina looked at Lucille with confidence and arrogance, so the latter ignored her and chose to comment on Samantha first.Lucille rasped, "Contestant no. 9, you're the only one among the eight contestants present who used the distillation and concentration method to extract the essential oil, removing impurities from the raw ingredients completely. So, the fragrance and ingredients of your product are much purer."You managed to show great attention to detail in a situation where it's not easy to concentrate on perfumery. It's impressive." Everyone knew Deer rarely praised anyone. Whe
After Lucille listened to Sabrina's explanation, she pondered for a while before she leisurely said, "Okay. What you said makes sense."With that, the crowd was confused once again.Lucille's feedback wasn't genuine, and it seemed like there was a hidden meaning in her words.There was something odd about the tone she used when she gave feedback to Sabrina. The atmosphere at the venue became strange and awkward.Michael attempted to interfere, but he shut up when he saw Matilda glance at him. He worked for Matilda, so he naturally understood what she meant. She was telling him not to interrupt.Sabrina clasped her hands behind her back, waiting for Lucille to continue.Lucille narrowed her eyes and said softly, "However, it lacks a key element. There is no problem with the formula, but it isn't complete."Sabrina frowned at her words and immediately became alert. The Johnson family below the stage was dumbfounded.Lucille said, "I admit that you have talent, but you didn't use
While Sabrina was still puzzled about how Deer knew Ivy's last name was Beech, Michael interrupted her thoughts. "Contestant no. 5, did you bring the perfume manual or do you want us to send someone to get it?"She returned to her senses. "No need. I brought it with me. It's in my bag at the lounge." She usually left the perfume manual at home. However, since it was a special day today, she'd brought it with her. She hadn't expected it would be useful.In order to prevent trouble, one of the judges randomly selected an audience member to accompany Sabrina to retrieve it.The contestants on the stage whispered among themselves."How did a simple competition become so complicated?""It's not. Contestant no. 5 is the one who's complicated.""Actually, the perfume she creates lacks her unique signature. I have looked into it before and always felt that something was off. However, given her background, it's not like we could say anything." "That's right. I thought so too. Furthe
Sabrina looked pale. If she still hadn't figured it out by now, she was a fool. It was obvious that Deer was targeting her.Sabrina wasn't on bad terms with Deer. She wondered why the latter was embarrassing her in public."Ms. Deer, is there a misunderstanding between us? Did someone instigate you to do this? I didn't offend you. Why have you been embarrassing me and finding fault with me? I…"Her face was already pale. With her weak appearance and delicate, pitiful voice, she looked like she was being bullied.Zoe was standing next to her and couldn't take it anymore. She rolled her eyes at Sabrina in front of the camera and mocked, "Can you talk properly? You're acting like Ms. Deer killed your whole family. Why don't you just tell the truth?"Sabrina was speechless. Lucille glanced at Zoe before she shifted her gaze to Sabrina. Then, she stood up from her seat and walked toward the stage. The closer she got, the more Sabrina felt that she looked familiar.Lucille stopped
Like mother, like daughter. Since Ivy's innate characteristics were just so-so, Sabrina's wasn't any better.Deer was more famous than anyone present on the stage. Even her fans were present."Hey, old lady on the stage. Could you show some respect to Ms. Deer? Didn't your mother teach you not to point at others while talking?""Exactly, old lady. You shouldn't be here. It's fine if you are rude, but you should be somewhere where you belong.""Old lady. Your daughter is infamous. The internet has records of everything, and we aren't fools. Besides that, Ms. Deer has a spotless reputation. Of course she can't accept an apprentice with a tainted reputation. Frankly speaking, your daughter isn't worthy at all."The situation changed so quickly that it left Ivy speechless.Matilda, who was below the stage, interrupted, "Ms. Johnson, this is your only chance to prove your innocence. Are you sure you don't want to seize it? "As a qualified perfumer, it's impossible that you don't rem
In the bathroom, Lucille was relaxing as she enjoyed the care she was receiving from Spencer. They had seen each other like this for too long, and they had gotten used to it by now. Of course, it had taken her time to get used to it. Every time she was injured, she would end up receiving this treatment, but… While she might have gotten used to it, it was still a kind of punishment for Spencer."Honey, your shirt is wet. Why don't you take it off?"She noticed that half of his black shirt was wet and sticking closely to his body. The wet shirt perfectly outlined his muscular build.She couldn't help but gulp. This was pretty deadly to her too.He was wearing a black shirt with two buttons undone, revealing a glimpse of his collarbone. Coupled with his handsome face, he looked simply irresistible. Her heart couldn't help but race. As he carefully wiped her arm, he avoided the injury on her right hand. It was already torture for him to help her bath. However, when he suddenly he
"So, you can't blame Eunie for not telling you, and you can't blame us for keeping you in the dark."In other words, Ian had brought it upon himself, and there was no one else to blame but himself.Ian was rendered speechless. He'd never thought that this was how Eunice saw him—a ruthless person who would get rid of his own child.He mocked himself inwardly. He also felt hurt, as if something were stabbing him.After Lucille was done talking, she saw Ian look visibly upset and didn't say anything. So, she whispered to Spencer, "Do you think I went too far with what I said earlier? Can he take it?"Spencer rubbed her head and said, "Don't worry. He can take it. Besides, what you told him is the truth. If he can't handle it, he isn't worthy to be our buddy."Lucille nodded in agreement after she heard that. What Spencer said made sense. She felt at ease after he comforted her.After a while, Ian finally spoke up again. "So, I shouldn't go and look for her?"Lucille was surprised
"I'm here for you!"Upon hearing that, Lucille was rendered speechless. On second thought, she realized this was fine too.Then, she looked at Spencer and blinked before she said, "Don't leave me. I'm injured right now, so I can't fight him."Ian glowered at her words, feeling at a loss for words. Did he look like someone who would lay a hand on a woman?Spencer looked at her dotingly and responded, "Okay. I won't leave you."Ian was just flabbergasted now."What's the matter, Ian?" With Spencer to back her up, Lucille felt at ease. Even if she hadn't said anything, she knew Spencer wouldn't have left her alone with Ian.Ian suddenly smiled. "It looks like you have quite the luck. The hospital is practically your second home."Lucille was rendered speechless. Then, she smiled and looked at Spencer before she provoked Ian. "My home is wherever my husband is. We're not like some people, for whom having a wife seems to make no difference whatsoever." She'd never lost to anyone b
Ian turned to look at Lucas. It was obvious that he seemed to be wondering why Lucas had asked that. When Lucas saw Ian's expression, he knew that Ian had never thought about it. In other words, he had no recollection of what he had done and said."I'm going back to be with my wife. You guys just carry on." Spencer stood up and smoothed out the creases on his clothes as he spoke indifferently. After all, it had been a while since he'd left the ward.With that, he strode toward the door without waiting for the others to say anything. Connor was eager to see how things would unfold, so he didn't leave.…Meanwhile, after Beatrice left, Spencer returned to the hospital ward. When Lucille saw him coming in, she asked, "Where have you been?"He took off his coat and put it aside. Then, he walked to the bed and sat down. "I went to investigate some stuff."Lucille figured out what it must have been about and asked, "You went to investigate Alexander and my mom?"Spencer, who wa
"Ian, what brings you here?" Connor had no idea about Eunice's situation in Arcania, so he was quite surprised when he saw Ian.Although he was surprised, he wasn't blind. He could see that Ian had a hostile air about him.Looking puzzled, Connor glanced at Lucas, who was seated next to him, for an explanation. After all, he knew Spencer wouldn't tell him.After Ian came in, he didn't even bother to sit and directly asked, "Where is she?"Last night, he'd received Lucas' message—the latter had told him that he knew Eunice's location and wanted him to come to Arcania immediately. That was why Ian had rushed to Arcania without any delay.Lucas hadn't told him the exact location. Instead, he'd just told Ian to come to the hospital. Ian had thought that something had happened to Eunice and that she was hospitalized. So, he'd rushed to the hospital as soon as he'd gotten off the plane. However, after he'd come to his senses, he'd gotten someone to check the hospital's patient list.
Before Beatrice spoke, she looked at the entrance of the hospital ward. After ensuring that no one was coming, she said, "Although we found out that all four of Mr. President's children's last names are Vonridge, they don't seem to be his biological children."Lucille widened her eyes, looking surprised. She cocked an eyebrow and asked, "What did you just say?""They were adopted from the orphanage. Our database has their information, and it's a 100% match," Beatrice replied.Lucille naturally wouldn't doubt that the information in Otearl Alliance's database was incorrect. However, she had never heard anyone mention this before.At the same time, Spencer, who had just left, had gone to investigate something as well.After they'd returned in the afternoon, he'd instructed Kent to conduct an investigation. The news that Kent came back with shocked Spencer to the core.Connor and Lucas were also there. They were in a lounge."Spence, how could Lucille's mom also know Alexander?"
Diana let out a long sigh. Her words were tinged with helplessness and regret. "This is your aunt. She hasn't appeared for more than 20 years. I never expected her to be gone for this long. There has been no news from her. She must hate me very much."Samantha had no idea what had happened. Her aunt's name and everything related to her had always been taboo in the Crawford family."Is it possible that Ms. Deer is my aunt's child?" Samantha asked.If that was the case, it was quite a coincidence.Diana looked at the photo album in her hands. After a brief silence, she said, "I want to meet her. Don't tell anyone about this for now."Samantha nodded. "Okay."…Meanwhile, in Arcania, Alexander also left the venue after Lucille and the others left.After Alexander left, he immediately had someone to investigate Lucille's past. Back then, after Jane had suddenly left, she had covered all her tracks. No matter how Alexander had searched, he hadn't been able to find her. There hadn't
When Diana took a closer look, her hands, which had been leisurely tapping on the armrests, suddenly froze.At first, Samantha didn't notice anything unusual about her reaction."Grandma, the best thing I got out of this trip was getting a photo with my idol." She went on and on. "It's the first time I got to see Ms. Deer's real face, and she's very beautiful. No wonder she always wears a veil. Although she looks aloof, I think the way she talks sounds gentle."By the way, she is married. Her real name is Lucille Johnson, and she's from Whiteloop City in Summeria. There was an unexpected incident during the competition, and it was quite despicable. I didn't expect her family to turn out completely different from how I'd imagined them to be."Samantha pouted as she stared at the photo of her and Lucille. She'd always thought that someone outstanding like Lucille would have a perfect family; she hadn't expected things to turn out like that.After the competition had ended, Samantha
Meanwhile, after Samantha had participated in the perfumery competition, she'd stayed in Whiteloop City for about a week before returning to Crawford Residence in Marvonia.She had been declared the champion of this year's perfumery competition. After she'd returned, she'd chosen to keep a low profile and hadn't celebrated or gone around boasting about it.However, she'd forgotten that Natasha Crawford, her mother, had a strong sense of pride.Since Samantha had been young, she'd had to excel in everything and come in first to meet Natasha's expectations. Only then could Natasha hold her head high and brag about Samantha in front of everyone. At the same time, she could enjoy the flattery from those around her.So, the day after Samantha had returned, Natasha had gathered everyone and thrown a party to celebrate her victory. The room had been filled with people she hadn't known, but they'd all been important figures. That night, after making an appearance, Samantha had left the