The journalists in attendance captured every word, their cameras flashing incessantly. As Mrs. Chancer glared at Sarah, the cameras turned to her, waiting for a dramatic statement.But before she could speak, a figure stepped in front of Sarah. With just a sweeping glance, Zachary Reynolds made the encroaching reporters retreat, their recording devices lowered in trepidation. His expression was dark, his gaze icy, and his restrained anger was palpable.“You’re mistaken,” Zachary’s voice was sharp, cutting through the tension. “The man in that video wasn’t there for Sarah. He was sent by Lucy to harass her. The conversation in the clip made that very clear. Do you take everyone here for fools?”James’s face fell. Though the video had only played for a few seconds before it was cut off, a snippet of dialogue had revealed the man blaming Lucy for orchestrating the incident against Sarah.Mrs. Chancer, however, was beyond reason. “Of course you’re defending Sarah!” she shouted hysteric
Lucy regained her composure from her anger. "This video shows someone harassing me unsuccessfully - I'm the real victim here!"She quickly changed the narrative, casting herself as the victim, hoping to gain sympathy.Sarah understood her intention but chose not to expose her in front of so many reporters.Since there was nothing left for her here, she had no interest in listening to whatever Lucy and the Chancer family would say next.She scanned the room and finally found her target - Jane Lawrence.Jane stood elegantly in her formal dress, sipping champagne and watching the events unfold with a slight smile, as if the chaos had nothing to do with her.Sarah walked over, with Zachary following. Mia waved him on playfully, "Go on, Zac, keep Sarah company. I'm enjoying the show here!"Sarah approached Jane directly, extending her hand. "Ms. Lawrence, hello."Jane looked puzzled but took Sarah's offered hand. "Hello, and you are?"“Sarah Sanders. I’m a counselor at Adams Univer
Jane smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "To be honest, I haven't judged competitions in a long time, and I won't be in the country much longer.""Your theories have always been a guiding light for Adams' psychology students," Sarah said earnestly. "I know you've declined international competitions, but I'd like you to look at these."She pulled out a stack of papers from her bag and handed them to Jane. "These are papers students wrote based on your theories. Some have proposed new ideas. We'd love your feedback."Jane took the papers with surprise, flipping through them. "Thank you, I'll review them carefully."Sarah felt relieved. Though she wasn't completely confident about getting Jane's agreement, at least she could get the students' papers to her.As she turned to leave, Jane called after her. "What's your take on tonight's events, Miss Sanders?"Sarah pointed uncertainly at the drama on stage. "You mean that?""What else could I mean? I must say, you handled
Sarah explained softly, "It's useless. They can't afford to offend the Chancer family. Following their instructions for news coverage means a big paycheck. Going against them risks getting fired. Which would you choose?"She'd understood this when the reporters started asking questions. That's why she stopped paying attention after Lucy changed the subject - tomorrow, people would only know what Lucy wanted them to know."What?!" Mia hugged Sarah's arm unhappily. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have watched the drama. I should have gone with you to invite Dr. Lawrence. Did she agree?""She basically declined. Her time is precious, but I did give her the students' papers about her theories to review." That was at least something positive.Mia looked at Sarah worriedly. "Are you sad? What about the school leaders?""It's fine. I tried my best and extended the invitation. That's what matters." Sarah patted her head.She never saw rejection as a bad thing. Besides, she could run a great co
Sarah struggled with multiple shopping bags in her hands, finally out of room to carry any more. “Give me a hand,” she said, looking over at Zachary.Before she knew it, the weight in her hands vanished. Zachary had taken all the bags and was already heading toward the elevator with them. He carried the load effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing.“Mr. Reynolds, let me take some of those!” Sarah protested, reaching to grab a few back.Zachary shifted slightly, evading her attempt. “I’ve got it.”“They’re too much for one person,” she insisted, reaching again.“Just get in the elevator,” Zachary said, cutting off further argument.Sarah stepped inside, but when Zachary tried to enter, the width of the bags got stuck in the doorway. She quickly reached out to adjust them, just as the elevator doors began to close.With a furrowed brow, Zachary moved swiftly, grabbing her shoulder to pull her in with him before the doors could shut. In the tight space, she ended up pressed against
"Alright," Sarah said, walking over immediately.Scarlett tossed her a carefully selected outfit and grumbled, “That scumbag! You’d better never see him again. The nerve to accuse you of cheating during your marriage!”“I feel like I’m finally seeing him for who he really is,” Sarah replied, her gaze hardening.Sure enough, Sarah's hunch was correct. The next day’s news didn’t mention anything about the birthday party. Instead, it only briefly touched on Lucy’s harassment incident, conveniently skipping over the rest.When Sarah arrived at school, she couldn’t find her phone anywhere.Just as she was about to go searching for it, Professor Wells appeared. “Sarah! I can’t believe you really managed to invite Jane Lawrence! Did you meet her already?”“What?” Sarah was baffled. “Professor, I saw her yesterday, but I didn’t get a definite answer!”Professor Wells frowned deeply. “How can that be? I called you this morning, and you told me yourself!”Impossible. Her phone had been m
Sarah had a few suspects in mind. Lucy and Mrs. Chancer hated her the most, and while James seemed unlikely to stoop to such levels, she couldn’t rule him out completely. He had proven capable of shattering her past impressions of him.After the chaos at the party, Lucy had taken the day off and stayed home. Without hesitation, Sarah decided to head to the Chancer house.The maid who opened the door looked startled to see her, likely because Lucy and Mrs. Chancer had been bad-mouthing Sarah nonstop at home.“Miss Sanders, what brings you here?” the maid asked.“I’m here to see James,” Sarah replied directly.“Mr. Chancer isn’t home. Perhaps you can come back another day,” the maid suggested.A soft voice floated out from inside. “Who is it?”Charlotte appeared and froze for a moment when she saw Sarah. Unsure of how to react, she let out an awkward laugh. “Oh, it’s you. What brings you here?”“I don’t have time for small talk,” Sarah said bluntly. “I lost my phone at the party
“You—!” Lucy raised her hand in anger, ready to strike.Sarah took a step back, her tone calm but firm. “I’d think twice if I were you. Last time, I let you off the hook and didn’t call the police. If you dare lay a hand on me now, I’ll settle both old and new scores with you.”Lucy hesitated, her hand hovering mid-air, before finally lowering it. “The Chancer family does not welcome you!”Bang!The door slammed shut in Sarah’s face. She glanced at it briefly before turning to leave.Her next stop was to replace her lost phone. After getting a new SIM card and purchasing a new device, she immediately checked the school forum. The chaos sparked by that phone call was evident. The psychology students, practically fans of Jane Lawrence, were already planning to print banners to welcome her.Sarah tried calling Jane’s assistant again, only to receive the same response: “She doesn’t have time.”Even the academic papers she had submitted to Jane seemed to have vanished into thin air,
At the front desk, Sarah watched seven or eight people standing in line, all holding identical discount vouchers. This was likely a company team-building activity.She listened to their chatty discussions, which included some crude language as they made no effort to hide their rough backgrounds."This place is so luxurious! The company really splurged to send us somewhere this fancy. I've never stayed in such a nice hotel in my life.""Me neither, but let's not forget why we're actually here and pretend we're just on vacation!""Oh, come on, who's going to forget?"Sarah's ears perked up. These people's conversation seemed suspicious, almost as if they wanted others to notice them.After about fifteen minutes, when everyone ahead had finally checked in, Sarah presented her VIP custom invitation and completed her member registration. She lay on the spacious bed in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered views of the beach and ocean.It was noon, and sunlight spilled onto
"Mr. Sanders, I believe I was very clear in my email. With the current uncertain situation, cooperating with me is the most rational choice," Zachary said seriously.Melvin burst out laughing. "I might have believed you if you'd said this a few years ago, but times have changed. Zachary, do you remember what you promised me before? Have you kept any of those promises? Neither three years ago nor now have you delivered."When Melvin mentioned three years ago, Zachary's eyes filled with gravity and shame. No one understood better than they did what had happened—that horrific scene was too painful to even think about.He moved his lips. "People can't always live in the past."Even he couldn't believe his own words.Melvin said with self-mockery, "Listen to yourself. How absurd that sounds. People indeed can't live in the past forever, but Sarah has been trapped in that darkness for three years. Do you dare to face it? To uncover it?"After being wounded, a bleeding injury slowly form
Vivian exhaled deeply and said anxiously, "Grandfather, what happened last time upset Zachary, and he won't see me now. But I'll handle it properly."Old Mr. Wilson gave Vivian a meaningful look. "Good. I certainly trust your abilities."After seeing Old Mr. Wilson into his car, Vivian returned to her office and made a mysterious phone call, giving some instructions.After hanging up, her face broke into a satisfied smile, as if she was already enjoying the sweet taste of victory.At the Sanders Group."Smack." Sarah hit Melvin hard on the head.Melvin winced in pain. "Are you doing this on purpose? Taking personal revenge? I haven't even bothered you lately."Sarah shrugged, looking innocent. "Didn't you say your right eyelid keeps twitching? The left means money coming, the right means trouble. I'm just using an old folk remedy to ward off the bad luck."Melvin couldn't help rolling his eyes. "I don't know if the bad luck is gone, but I almost got a concussion from your 'remed
"Don't any of you have something to say?" Old Mr. Wilson sat in the chairman's exclusive seat, leaning back with an expressionless face as he surveyed the room.Some shareholders had come just out of respect for Old Mr. Wilson. They exchanged glances for a moment before Mr. Jefferson finally broke the silence, "What if we lower our prices or add more package deals?"As soon as he finished speaking, several members of the company's management team eagerly agreed. "Mr. Jefferson makes a good point."Old Mr. Wilson twirled the dragon-headed cane in his right hand, his expression revealing neither approval nor disapproval.Vivian, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting, finally spoke up, "I don't think that's appropriate."She looked at everyone present, her tone serious, "First, the Sanders Group's revenue has already exceeded the projected line by over a billion. If we lower our prices, even if we attract more customers, the overall result will be the same."By this
Vivian never expected that despite her orders to keep the detained shipment a secret, the board of directors would somehow catch wind of it.As soon as the meeting began, the middle-aged man sitting in the first seat on the right frowned and questioned her, "Ms. Wilson, are you hiding something from us?"Mr. Jefferson had the largest shareholding in the Wilson Group after Vivian and her grandfather. Compared to others, his words carried more authority.Naturally, Vivian had to show him some respect, given that she was the younger generation."Mr. Jefferson, by seniority, I should call you Uncle. You've watched me grow up. Do you think I would hide anything from you?" Vivian decided to play dumb first. She was certain these people had only heard rumors and hadn't yet gathered evidence.This was indeed the case. Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, speaking in a tone that was half-joking, half-threatening, "Ms. Wilson, please don't say that. When it comes to bus
Charlotte ignored her, still peering behind the caretaker.The caretaker patted her chest and smiled as she approached. "Are you looking for Mr. Chancer? He went back to work. He asked me to take care of you. I thought you might wake up soon, so I went out to buy some nutritious soup for you.""You're saying he left? He left before I even woke up?" Charlotte struggled to open her dry lips, her voice raspier than ever before.Hearing this, the caretaker quickly set down the thermos and handed her the cup of tea from the table. "Please drink some water to soothe your throat, but don't drink too much. You've just given birth, so try to stay in bed and rest as much as possible."Charlotte found the water being offered to her ironically bitter.She had endured excruciating pain to give birth to James's child, yet he couldn't even spare a simple "thank you" for her efforts. Was this the marriage she had schemed so hard to get?Did she regret it? If someone asked, she might answer yes, b
"Answer me. Do you most hope it's heads or tails?" Sarah's voice carried an undeniable authority.The woman finally spoke. "Tails."Before Sarah's hand moved, the woman hurriedly corrected herself, "No, no, no—heads."Her indecisiveness reminded Sarah of her former self. Choosing between reason and emotion was often the hardest decision. It had once taken her several days to make up her mind.Sarah opened her palm. The woman's eyes widened, staring as if trying to burn a hole through Sarah's hand. But quickly, she discovered that Sarah's palm was completely empty. There was no coin at all.No heads or tails—there wasn't even a coin to begin with.Seeing the woman's confused expression, Sarah smiled and said, "In the moment I opened my hand, your heart already had the answer. I can't tell you how to solve your problem, nor can I make the decision for you. But you should know that you only have one life, while love can be found more than once. The fact that you're troubled by this s
This single subtle gesture revealed her inner feelings. Without needing to look further, Sarah immediately understood. Through the monitor, she could see that the photograph was a selfie of a man.Beyond heartbreak, she couldn't think of any other explanation.The emotion release room had been open for nearly a week. During this time, she had observed many clients. Those who came to release their emotions fell into several categories: heartbreak, work conflicts, friendship issues, personal disputes, or being stuck at a crossroads in life, unable to make the right choice.They came here to vent their emotions, and often only after destroying everything could they finally see what they truly wanted in their hearts.This was Sarah's original purpose in creating the emotion release room. But more importantly, this wasn't just a simple place to vent emotions—it offered clients more valuable services, such as guidance from top psychological counselors to help them quickly resolve their tr
"Enough. I've heard too many words like these. It's all for my own good, it's all to protect me—using these noble-sounding excuses to make me believe him, to understand him. Well then, why don't you who want me to believe him try to convince him to believe in me? Are you all underestimating me, or overestimating Vivian? I don't want to hear this kind of talk anymore. Everything he suffered today was his own choice."In this moment, Sarah's coldness fully erupted. She was no longer indifferent or dismissive, because she simply couldn't ignore the pain in her heart.Mia hadn't expected Sarah to say such things today. She held Sarah's hand sympathetically. "Sarah, I'm sorry. It's because I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said those things that upset you."When emotions reach their breaking point, they tend to explode, but often calm down shortly after the outburst.Sarah had regained her composure. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "This isn't your fault. Since the doctor is he