Emily enjoyed the warm atmosphere. It truly felt like being among siblings. That was until Justin called her. “Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up right now.” Reluctantly, Emily said her goodbyes. Richard, for one, seemed especially reluctant to see her go. A sleek black Maybach pulled up in front of the hospital. William stepped out and opened the door for her. As Emily slid into the backseat, Justin’s cold, sharp voice greeted her. “I thought you were at an art exhibit. Why were you at a hospital?” His interrogative tone instantly soured her mood. “We have a contract, Justin. That doesn’t make me your prisoner,” she snapped. “Alright,” Justin said simply before reaching over and inspecting her, his hands moving to check her arms and shoulders. “What are you doing?” Emily protested, trying to push him away. “I’m checking if you’re hurt,” he replied, his tone surprisingly serious and devoid of accusation. Emily froze for a moment, startled. Was he… worri
“Jacob!” Emma hissed, putting down her mouse and lowering her voice. “Well, well, thinking of me now, are you?” Jacob’s amused tone came through the line. Emma glanced at the employees outside her office, then quickly closed the blinds. “What do you want?” “Nothing much, just missed you,” Jacob said, his voice dripping with mockery. “Missed how you sounded when you were under me, how your pale skin—” “Shut up!” Emma snapped, cutting him off. “Alright, I’ll stop talking,” Jacob said lazily. “But that video I have? It won’t stay quiet for long.” “What do you want, Jacob?” Emma demanded, her voice tense. “Meet me at the Berlin Hotel, Presidential Suite.” *In the shared team workspace, Emma grabbed her bag and left for the day. Only after she had gone did her teammates dare to start whispering. “She really must’ve gotten in through the back door,” one muttered. “Does no work, leaves on time, and still gets all the credit.” “Quiet down,” another warned. “I
The phone on his desk buzzed a few times. Glancing at the screen and noticing Emily immersed in her game, he got up and stepped out of the office to take the call.“Mom, please stop setting me up on blind dates,” Justin said in a low, exasperated voice, his eyes scanning the area around him.“I'm only looking out for you. Emma’s character is questionable. She’s not the right woman for you. Don’t you trust your mother’s judgment?” Heidi’s voice on the other end of the line was tinged with urgency, worried her son might end up tricked into marrying Emma.“I’ve already broken things off with her and made it clear. Don’t bring it up again.”“You’ve broken up?” Heidi’s happiness practically radiated through the phone. “Good! Then you should meet this girl. She’s your Uncle Jimmy York’s daughter. Do you remember her?“Just one dinner, for my sake. I’ve already agreed on your behalf. If you don’t like her, I won’t push it,” she pleaded.“Fine, just this once,” he replied coldly before h
When Emily arrived at the hospital, Helen was already there with the takeout. Emily pushed open the door, holding a bag of spicy Cajun crawfish in one hand.Helen eagerly reached out to grab it. “Is this from Maggie’s Crawfish? My favorite! Baby, I love you—mwah, mwah!”The small table on Richard’s hospital bed was already set with the takeout that had arrived earlier. Richard sat on the hospital bed with one leg bent, still bickering with Helen. “Ugh, it’s just crawfish. Is it really worth all that excitement?” he teased.“You didn’t get any, did you? Too bad!” Helen smirked, shaking her head to taunt him. “Serves you right!”Frustrated by her smugness, Richard turned to Emily for support. “Sis, look at her!”Emily, just finished washing her hands, smiled as she walked over. “Alright, you two, stop arguing. I bought plenty. It’s enough for all three of us.”“Hmph!” Richard, now emboldened, said smugly, “See? Sis brought me some too!”“Not for you!” Helen teased, playfully try
The driver, wearing a mask and radiating an ominous aura, glanced at Emily through the rearview mirror. His tone was cold and unsettling. “Miss Yates, we’re not at the destination yet. My boss admires you and would like to invite you over for some tea.”Before Emily could react, the car suddenly accelerated to its highest speed, causing her to be thrown back against the seat. *Meanwhile, in the villa, Justin paced restlessly. He had been home for a while, but there was still no sign of Emily. Even if she had just finished dinner when they spoke, she should have been back by now. Worry gnawed at him, a mix of anxiety and irritation clawing at his nerves. Standing by the study window, he called her phone again. “The number you’ve dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Sorry…”Justin lowered the phone, his jaw tightening. “She wouldn’t just take this chance to leave, would she?” he thought. His frustration boiled over as he tugged at his tie. The mere t
Emily moved to the window, desperately hoping for an escape route, only to find it bolted shut. Outside, she spotted several men in black stationed around the villa. Her heart sank. “Am I really going to be trapped here and… violated?”The doorknob rattled, and panic set in. She frantically searched for a place to hide, her wide eyes darting around the room. But there was nowhere—no closet, no corner that could shield her.In another room, an obese man sat in the shadows, a cigar perched between his yellowed teeth. He exhaled thick plumes of smoke, his eyes glued to the monitor displaying Emily’s panicked attempts to conceal herself. A low, vile chuckle escaped his throat, dripping with satisfaction.The rattling stopped, and the door creaked open. Emily held her breath, her body rigid with fear. But instead of the kidnapper, two maids stepped inside.Without a word, the women grabbed her by the arms and led her into the bathroom. One began filling the bathtub with water, while t
“Well, well, Miss Yates,” the man sneered, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “It’s been a few days, and you’re still as defiant as ever. Trying to escape, were you? I guess you don’t realize just how hidden this place is.”He had been watching her through the surveillance cameras the entire time she was rummaging around the room.He had grown tired of submissive women. What thrilled him now was taming someone like a wild horse.When Emily saw Jack walk through the door, the anxiety and fear that had gripped her heart turned into dread.“Jack, how dare you kidnap me? Aren’t you afraid Justin will come after you for this?” she shouted.Jack burst into laughter, as if she had just told him the most absurd joke. “Do you think you can fool me? If I didn’t know the two of you are just in a contractual relationship, I might’ve fallen for your tricks again, like last time.”His expression shifted from mocking to menacing as he took slow, deliberate steps toward her. Emily instinctive
The pain was overwhelming—searing lashes from the whip, the burning cigar pressed against her thigh, and now, sharp cramps wracking her lower abdomen. Tears slid down Emily’s face, pooling at the corners of her eyes as despair threatened to swallow her.“Babies,” she thought, her mind flickering to the tiny lives growing inside her. “I once wanted to get rid of you, but not this time. If we survive this together, I swear I’ll keep you. No matter what happens.”Jack’s beady eyes gleamed with twisted satisfaction as he watched her writhe in pain, her screams feeding his sick enjoyment.“Scream louder! Come on, louder!” he taunted, but something about her cries still didn’t satisfy him, not like that night in Justin’s office. Frustration flickered in his expression as he tossed the cigar aside.“Why go through all this pain? Wouldn’t it be easier to just let me have my fun? Then I’d let you go,” he said, smirking as he stripped off his robe.Emily glared at him with pure hatred, re
At the very center of the photo stood Emma, a year younger than the rest. Beside her, shoulder to shoulder, was the real Justin Yates in his college years.His expression darkened for a split second before he caught himself and quickly masked it. He covered it well—furrowing his brows, pretending to study the photo with a blank look, like he wanted to remember something but couldn’t quite grasp it.“This picture… I don’t remember it,” he said, feigning confusion. “But wait—why are you in it, too?” He pointed at the image, his tone naive and questioning.Haley lowered her gaze and answered calmly, “It’s your college graduation photo. From Haven State. The girl standing next to you is Emma.“She’s the one who saved your life. You spent years searching for her… the ‘one true love’ you couldn’t forget.”She didn’t even know what she felt as she said it. Maybe she just wanted to help him recover what he had lost. Maybe that was all.But Justin shook his head, flustered. “No, that’s
After they finished walking around the school, Justin suggested seeing a movie.According to Alex’s strategy notebook, watching a movie together was a great way to build intimacy—especially in a dark theater, sitting close together. The earlier plan at the school had worked pretty well, so Justin was eager to keep following his son’s guide. Later that evening, he also planned to take her to a bustling night market—more shared experiences, more bonding.“There’s a new movie out. Want to go see it with me?” he asked hopefully.“No need,” Haley replied flatly. “Didn’t you say you wanted to recover your memory? Since we’ve already seen your high school, let’s stop by the Yates family estate. Maybe being there will help jog your memory too.”She wasn’t interested in the movie date. If they were going to revisit the past, she wanted to get it over with in one go so there would be no excuses to keep dragging her around next time. Yes, she was grateful that he had saved her life on t
“That was my seat.” Justin led her to a desk near the middle of the classroom, pointing it out. “This is where I used to sit. My deskmate back then was Zac.”He blinked in confusion. “Why do the textbooks look different?”Haley flipped open one of the books left behind by a current student. A name she didn’t recognize was written inside the cover. Probably a student from the current class. No wonder the textbooks were different. Justin’s memory was still stuck in his senior year, but those students would have graduated by now. These must be juniors who had just moved up.Still, something didn’t add up. When she found him injured years ago, he had been wearing a foreign school uniform. Judging by the look of it, he must have been studying abroad. So how was he suddenly enrolled in a high school in Haven State?The question lingered in her mind, so she asked. Of course, she didn’t mention the fact that she had found him half-dead in a trash bin.“I already graduated overseas,” Jus
In the Vice President’s office, Harry sat behind his desk, scowling, his face etched with frustration.The door clicked open, and Jacob stepped in, locking it behind him.“Son, finally!” Harry slammed his palm on the desk. “That little bastard actually woke up! A vegetable! How the hell does someone just wake up from that?!”By now, word of Justin’s recovery and his meeting that morning with Chairman Quinn had spread through the upper ranks of RC Corporation. To be more accurate, the rumors had already started circulating yesterday, the moment he showed up on the executive floor.“Calm down, Dad,” Jacob said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. His voice was low, his expression unreadable. “Yes, he woke up, but I heard from people in the exec suite that he might have amnesia. They say Sam prepped everything for his meeting with Quinn. Justin was just parroting a script.”“You serious?” Harry’s eyes lit up, the frustration melting into something sharper.“My source isn’t 100%
“Sis, I’m pretty handsome, right?” Justin asked, grinning proudly.And just like that, his voice shattered the illusion Haley had briefly fallen into.She gave him a look. “Don’t flatter yourself. Let’s go.”The two headed downstairs, where William was already waiting to drive them to RC Corporation. He pulled into the underground parking garage, and they made their way up to the executive floor.Inside the president’s office, Haley still wasn’t fully at ease. She had him run through the negotiation script one more time, rehearsing the key points like a stage play. Only when Justin delivered his lines with calm precision did she finally relax.“This shipment is critical for the international project’s timeline,” she reminded him. “You read through the materials yesterday—you get how important this is, right?”Justin nodded.“Don’t stress too much. Just channel that cool, commanding energy you had a minute ago,” Haley said, coaching him seriously. “Get in there and bluff your way
Following Haley into the kitchen, Justin was about to speak when he caught the sound of her voice—she was chatting with Helen.Haley had just poured herself a glass of water from the fridge. Helen, as always, was talking non-stop at her side.“Sis, with Justin calling you ‘sis’ every day, doesn’t it kinda feel like you’ve got yourself a younger, puppy-eyed boyfriend?” Her tone was teasing, full of mischief. “Kinda like that matchmaking event I set up for you back then.”She nudged Haley’s shoulder, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.That one line pulled both of them back to that night at the bar.Haley shot her a look. “You’re pregnant. Can you not let your imagination run wild for once? If you’re that curious, have Zac call you ‘sis’ every night.”“Oh, come on. What’s the harm in a little gossip?” Helen giggled. “Honestly though, this amnesia version of Justin is kind of adorable. All innocent and wide-eyed. You’re telling me you don’t feel anything?”“No,” Haley answered flat
Haley pressed her fingers to her temple, her headache building. “Prepare a full briefing. I want all the contract details, background on the partner company, and a response script. He needs to memorize everything by tomorrow. He’s going to that meeting.”She gestured toward Justin, clearly making him responsible.“Yes, ma’am,” Sam replied.“And one more thing,” Haley added, her tone sharp. “Find a new supplier. Once this delivery is done, terminate the contract. We’re not working with unreliable partners.”“Understood.”As Sam left, Haley turned to Justin, looking down at him from where she stood. “Memorize the talking points. Lock the key contract terms in your head. Tomorrow, you’re facing their CEO. Think you can handle it?”Justin blinked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. “Don’t worry, Sis. If it’s something you asked me to do, I’ll make sure I get it right!”*That evening at Mistletoe Villa, Helen had just returned from a prenatal checkup. Everyone was gathered in the l
“You want your memory back, right? Great. Go ahead and read through these files and sign off on them. That’ll jog your memory in no time.”Haley pushed the day’s workload onto Justin’s desk. Memory loss or not, she was sure his business instincts and decision-making skills were still in there somewhere.It was just like when she had lost her memory. Her painting skills and foreign languages had still been there, buried in her subconscious.Justin didn’t need to recall every detail of the past. As long as he could function in the office and resume his role as president, that was good enough.He froze. Sure, he wanted to grow closer to Haley and get her to care about him again, but going back to work so soon? That hadn’t exactly been the plan.Still, realizing what she wanted, he didn’t argue. Instead, he obediently picked up the first document and started reading carefully.Then, suddenly, he asked, “Sis, what’s the project timeline for the international expansion? I don’t remembe
Zac jogged off in a hurry, not daring to stick around and witness more of Justin’s embarrassment.Justin, having failed to sneak into Haley’s room, had no choice but to sulk back to the guest room the housekeeper had prepared for him.*The next morning, Haley came downstairs for breakfast. She hadn’t slept well—staying up late to work, only to get riled up by Justin all over again. The dark circles under her eyes were impossible to hide, no matter how much concealer she applied.She stepped into the dining room and spotted Justin already sitting at the table.“Morning, sis!” he chirped.He looked every bit the picture of youthful energy, dressed in a clean athletic tracksuit, his expression bright and full of life. He really did look like a high school senior.Haley took one look at his well-rested, cheerful face and felt an unexplainable surge of irritation rise in her chest.She didn’t say a word. Ignoring him completely, she walked to her seat and sat down. Her gaze swept t