When Emma heard Justin’s answer, her face turned pale. Forcing a bitter smile, she said, “As long as you’re happy, Justin, that’s all that matters to me. I don’t care about anything else.”She hesitated before adding, “But… can I still stay at RC Corporation and keep working here?”Justin nodded firmly. “As long as I’m here, this place will always be your home.”“Thank you, Justin,” she whispered before lowering her head and leaving his office as if fleeing.After Emma left, Justin instructed Sam to transfer a hundred million to her account. It was his way of compensating her for the night before and easing his guilt for hurting her.With everything finally out in the open, Justin felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He returned to his usual self, even catching himself smiling whenever thoughts of Emily crossed his mind. He also realized why he had always disliked Sean. *The secretarial team noticed the sudden improvement in Justin’s mood after Emma’s visit. Grateful, they
Justin thought to himself as he stepped into the house. Mrs. Zimmer was in the kitchen directing the staff in preparing dinner, while Emily was outside in the small garden, turning off the sprinkler she had been using to water the lawn. Once the watering was done, she headed to the bathroom to wash her hands before dinner. Finding she still had some time, she sat on the couch and started scrolling through her phone. A new email stood out in her inbox. Emily clicked it open and immediately frowned, her face twisting in disgust. The email contained explicit photos of Justin and Emma in bed. The images were vile and unbearable to look at. After just a glance, Emily deleted the email in disgust. “Disgusting!” she thought, her stomach churning. She didn’t need to guess who had sent it. Other than Emma, no one else would have known her email address, let alone sent something so malicious. The sound of the door unlocking interrupted her thoughts. Justin had returned ho
That checkup had been a long time ago. Emily knew Justin wouldn’t want this child. Rather than let him arrange for her to be forced into a termination, she would handle it on her own. She hated being controlled or coerced. “Let’s eat first,” Justin said as he pulled out a chair for her before sitting down beside her. Emily was surprised. In the past, whenever Emma’s name came up, it would inevitably lead to an argument. But today, he seemed oddly calm. She didn’t dwell on it. Perhaps because she had just thrown up, her appetite wasn’t great, and she only picked at her food. *After dinner, Justin stood and casually said, “Move to the master bedroom tonight,” before heading to his study. Emily frowned. “I’m not feeling well tonight. I can’t deal with you right now. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.” Justin paused on the stairs, recalling the dream where she left him and disappeared from his life. The fear crept back, and his tone turned cold and commanding. “That’s an
At the RC Corporation, Emily followed Justin confidently into the exclusive CEO elevator, heading straight to the top floor. “Good morning, Mr. Yates!” “Good morning, sir!” Justin nodded in acknowledgment, his expression stoic, as he walked into his office. Naturally, Emily followed behind him. As soon as the door to the CEO’s office closed, the secretarial team started whispering among themselves. “Was that Emma walking in behind the CEO? She looked a little different, didn’t she?” “Yeah, I thought so too. Something was off.” By mid-morning, the rumor of the CEO bringing in a woman who resembled Emma had spread like wildfire throughout the company. Some said it was Emma, others said it wasn’t. When Emma heard about it, she blinked in surprise. “Justin brought Emily to the office?” she wondered.“Emily, you’re more cunning than I thought. Fine, let’s see whose tricks are better,” she thought to herself. *Justin quickly became swamped with meetings, leav
When Justin arrived, the atmosphere froze. After a brief silence, Emily responded indifferently, “We weren’t talking about anything important.” “Not something she wants me to know?” Justin wondered. “What could she discuss with Sam but not with me?”His gaze shifted to Sam, who awkwardly rubbed his nose before, for the first time, lying to the CEO. “Miss Yates and I were just talking about the drinks in the break room. She said they were really good.” “Really?” Justin’s lips curled into a faint smile, though his tone carried a trace of jealousy. “Perfect timing. I have a dinner event tonight. I’ll bring you along, and you can enjoy more drinks. Drink as much as you like.” Emily was speechless. *That afternoon, Emma knocked on the door of Justin’s office. “Come in,” Justin said. Emma entered, her gaze quickly scanning the room. Not seeing Emily, she swiftly hid her curiosity and walked over to Justin’s desk, handing him a file. “Justin, I’ve been learning a lo
“I didn’t mean to see anything. I was just passing by. Please step aside,” Emily said coldly. Jack chuckled slyly. “What’s the big deal? Come join us. I won’t tell Mr. Yates.” The secretary, apparently accustomed to situations like this, stepped aside to make room for Emily. Emily’s gaze hardened. “Mr. Griffin, since you know who I am, you should also know that I’m not someone you can mess with.” She glanced around, realizing her exit was blocked. With no other options, she brought up Justin.Jack let out a cold laugh. “The only person I wouldn’t dare touch is Emma. But you? Who do you think you are? From what I’ve heard, women in your position only care about money. Whatever Justin’s paying you, I’ll double it.”He smirked and thought smugly, “As long as I get her in bed, who cares about paying her? I could just record a compromising video and use it to keep her in line. Women are all the same in bed anyway. But since she’s someone Justin has been with, I’m curious to see w
Justin noticed Emily had been gone for a while and instinctively reached for his phone to call her. The first unread message was from her, “I went home.” She didn’t wait for him. Why didn’t she wait for him? His mood instantly darkened, and the lively atmosphere at the table quickly cooled. Sensing the shift, the others wisely wrapped up the gathering and ended the dinner early. When Justin arrived home, the house was dark. Not a single light had been left on for him. “She’s avoiding me now?” he thought bitterly. But what could he do? He had already realized he couldn’t live without her. Justin turned on a warm light and stood by the bed, staring at Emily’s sleeping face for a long time before leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. Afterward, he headed to the closet for his pajamas and went to take a shower. The scent of alcohol and smoke washed away, replaced by the fragrance of the body wash Emily had bought. Feeling refreshed, he slipped into bed and pu
Jack couldn’t get Emily out of his head. Even during meetings at work, her figure kept intruding into his thoughts. After the meeting ended, instead of returning to his office, he wandered around the building, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He didn’t find Emily but instead ran into Emma. His gaze swept over Emma from head to toe, comparing her to Emily in his mind. He shook his head subtly. “Not as striking as Emily,” he silently remarked. Still, his greasy fingers stroked his chin as he thought to himself, “She may not be as enticing, but she could still scratch the itch.”With a sly smirk, Jack adjusted his suit and approached Emma. His eyes lingered on her inappropriately as he spoke. “Miss Xander, I hear you landed the Wilfred project. Quite impressive. Looks like I’ll have to start calling you Director Xander soon.” Emma responded politely, “You’re too kind, Mr. Griffin. I’m just here to learn from the experience.” “If you ever need guidance, feel free to come
“Being the boss sure comes with a lot of responsibilities and stress,” Mrs. Zimmer said with a warm smile.Since Justin hadn’t come back yet, Emily decided to pass the time by turning on the TV. She connected her phone to the screen and started streaming a drama. Sitting on the couch with Mrs. Zimmer, they shared some fruit while waiting.Seven turned into eight, then eight-thirty. By the time it was almost nine, Justin still hadn’t shown up.Mrs. Zimmer yawned repeatedly and stretched her legs, shaking off the numbness from sitting too long. “Do you think he’s caught up in a last-minute meeting and can’t make it back? He’s done that before.”Justin occasionally had meetings that ran late, but he usually arranged for Sam to call ahead and let them know. He would never leave them waiting like this without a word.Emily pulled out her phone. “Let me call him and check.”The dial tone rang endlessly, but no one picked up. Frowning, she walked to the window, looking out at the glowin
If Emily found out about this, what would happen? Justin couldn’t bear to imagine it. A sudden wave of fear washed over him at the thought of her learning the truth. That night, Justin had been drunk at the gala. He had no memory of how he ended up in the room or how anything happened with Emma. The only thing he remembered was waking up the next morning to find Emma lying naked beside him, the sheets messy and stained with blood. “Justin, it’s not your fault, it’s mine,” Emma had said tearfully the next day, her beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I took the morning-after pill, but if I had taken it a bit earlier, maybe none of this would have happened.” She wiped her tears as they began to fall, her voice trembling as she blamed herself. Her tone softened, becoming almost pitiful. “I know you’re with Emily now. I don’t want to be the reason she misunderstands you or comes between you two. I’ll…I’ll terminate this pregnancy…” Emma was in tears, sobbing so hard
Not long after Emily replied to Mrs. Zimmer’s message, her phone buzzed again. This time it was Helen.“Hey, remember that little takeout place near my college? They’ve expanded and turned it into a full-fledged restaurant. It’s their grand opening today. After my afternoon classes, I’m grabbing double portions of their signature spicy fish and bringing it over for dinner!” Helen followed up with another message, “I’ll also get your favorite fried snacks and beer, extra spicy with sweet dipping sauce.” They both had similar tastes, especially when it came to bold, flavorful comfort food. Most people wouldn’t think twice about it, but Justin’s refined palate had no appreciation for such “casual” food. He also didn’t let Emily eat it. So whenever Justin was tied up with work or traveling, Emily and Helen would sneak off to enjoy their guilty pleasures. Over time, the two had tried nearly every takeout joint and food truck in Lincourt City. Still, nothing quite compared to
Emily looked puzzled. “You’re great too.”Unintentionally, she handed Justin a *nice guy* card. Receiving the *nice guy* card left Justin feeling frustrated. He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, his mind obsessing over her words. The next morning, Emily slept in until 8 a.m. When she woke, Justin was nowhere to be found. He must have gone to work. After washing up, she sat down to have breakfast. *In the special project meeting room, Emma sat discussing key points of the project’s development. Suddenly, a foul odor filled the room, making her feel nauseous. At first, she managed to suppress it, but soon, she couldn’t hold back and gagged audibly. The sound was jarring in the otherwise serious atmosphere. “Mr. Quinn, I need to step out to the restroom,” Emma said, quickly leaving the meeting room. Once she was gone, the team members didn’t hold back their complaints. “How are we supposed to get this project done when she’s like this all the time? It’s
It must have been Justin who orchestrated all this. Only he had the power and motivation in Lincourt City to swiftly bring Jack down. The official announcement of Jack’s termination from RC Corporation was delivered to all employees via email as a warning. Emma scrolled through her mouse, her expression darkening. She hadn’t expected Justin to go this far for Emily. “But what about me?” she thought bitterly. “What did I mean to him three years ago?”The office buzzed with chatter about Jack’s sudden dismissal. First, Jack’s secretary, Tina, was let go, and now Jack. Employees speculated wildly, suggesting it was part of internal power struggles among the upper management. Unbeknownst to them, Justin had already locked down the news of Jack’s involvement in Emily’s kidnapping. As Emma walked through the open office area, she heard fragments of gossip. As someone who knew the truth, their baseless assumptions irritated her. Wearing a sharp business suit and high hee
In the CEO’s office of RC Corporation, William stood respectfully in front of Justin, delivering his report. “Those men are a group of street thugs. They’re unemployed and survive by scamming people and committing petty crimes. After leaving the hospital last night, they used a public payphone to contact someone.“Tracing the number, we found the other party used a disposable phone card. When we looked into the bank account records tied to the payment, we discovered the funds were transferred internationally and then wiped from the records. Even after recovering the data, the identity linked to the account belonged to a local overseas resident.”The office was dimly lit, with Justin sitting behind his desk. He tapped his fingers lightly on the surface. “So, they’re experienced and left no trace behind,” he said in a low voice. William nodded silently. After a brief pause, Justin instructed, “Start by investigating the people around me.”Emily was an orphan with no known ene
“Come and go as you please? Do you think this is a playground?” Justin’s calm voice carried an unmistakable authority. The three men froze, their bodies stiffening as fear took over, their legs stopping in place on instinct. “W-what do you want?” one of them stammered, his voice trembling. Justin’s commanding presence was overwhelming, making their hearts pound with terror. They braced themselves, convinced Justin would order the bodyguards to deal with them. Their imaginations ran wild, and they were so scared they were nearly shaking. But to their shock, Justin simply let them go. *On a narrow side road outside the hospital, the three men huddled together, their faces filled with frustration. “What now, boss? The plan didn’t work. We couldn’t take the woman, and now we won’t get paid,” one of them muttered bitterly. “Damn it!” the leader of the group sighed heavily. They had been hired to pose as Emily’s biological father and abduct her. The plan was to a
Thinking about the promises they had been given, the men had no choice but to sit and wait.Justin had just finished a team meeting about the collaboration project with Wilfred and was on his way back to his office. As he walked, he felt his phone vibrate—a message from Zac. Glancing at it briefly, his brows furrowed instinctively. Sliding the phone back into his pocket, he handed the file in his hand to Sam.“I need to step out for a while. Reschedule the afternoon team meeting to an online session tonight.”“Understood, Mr. Yates,” Sam responded efficiently.Just then, Emma hurried after Justin with a file in her hands. “Justin, I have a question about something. I need your guidance.”Justin stopped briefly but didn’t take the file from her. Instead, his gaze shifted to Sam. “I’m heading out. If you have any questions, Sam can handle them.”With that, he strode toward the elevator, his pace quickening.“Oh…” Emma watched him disappear down the hallway, her gaze reluctant an
Biological father? Emily had lived as an orphan for the past three years, and she had never heard anything about her biological parents looking for her. Where did this ‘biological father’ suddenly come from? *“What’s all the noise about? Can’t I get a nap around here?” Richard, a night owl who often stayed up late and caught up on sleep during the day, groggily emerged from his room, running a hand through his disheveled hair, irritation clear on his face. One of the men spotted him and immediately said, “Young man, you’re just in time! Help me out here. The patient in this room is my daughter. I want to take her home, but these two thugs won’t let me. Where’s the justice in that?”He glared angrily at the black-suited bodyguards. “What you’re doing is illegal! If you don’t let me take my daughter, I’ll call the cops!”Richard, already grumpy from being woken up, scoffed. “Just because you say she's your daughter doesn't make it true. Stop making up nonsense and get los