When Emily returned to the villa, Justin was already seated on the living room sofa, reading financial news on his tablet. He looked up and said, “You’re back? Wash your hands and eat. Mrs. Zimmer made your favorite—BBQ ribs.”By the time she came out of the bathroom, Justin was already at the dining table, thoughtfully pulling out the chair next to him. It was clear he had prepared it for her.Emily sat down. Justin placed two ribs into her bowl, but she ignored them, quietly eating her pasta and selecting other dishes on her own. Even if she wanted ribs, she made sure to pick them herself, refusing to touch the ones he served her. She wasn’t particularly hungry and set her utensils down after eating just half a bowl. “I’m done,” she said.“Finish everything,” Justin replied, gesturing to the food he had placed in her bowl.“If you’re not going to eat, that’s fine. We’ll just head to the bedroom for a shower,” he added.His meaning was clear. She knew what came after.
If Emily could have his child, would she finally stay by his side willingly? Could it be the key to fixing their relationship?Justin’s hand unconsciously brushed over her stomach. The more he touched, the deeper his brow furrowed in the darkness. Her stomach felt… rounded. Wasn’t she throwing up a lot lately? How could she not be losing weight? Why was her belly slightly bigger? Emily’s tall frame had kept her baby bump mostly hidden, but over four months into a twin pregnancy, it wasn’t entirely flat. Thankfully, she had eaten enough in the early months to pass off any changes as simple weight gain. Seeing how sick she was tonight, Justin didn’t force himself on her as he had other nights. He sighed and let it go. If she wasn’t eating much, so be it. Pulling her close, he draped an arm around her waist and fell asleep. *Emily had recently developed the habit of waking up during the night. As she stirred, half-asleep, she noticed the steady rhythm of Justin’s b
“Who cares about this so-called artist Haley? I’ve seen her paintings online, and they’re nothing special. It’s all just hype from a bunch of capitalists.”Online, the malicious comments were endless, all targeting Emily in the video. Justin’s face darkened immediately as he shut off the tablet. “Find out where this video came from,” he ordered, his voice cold and sharp. “Take it down immediately. Block it everywhere.” “Yes, Mr. Yates.” Sam took the tablet and left the room. Justin leaned back in his leather chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk, his thoughts visibly disturbed. The video’s angle was different from the footage he had seen in the villa. It was clearly filmed from another camera. Police Chief Leonard couldn’t have leaked the video. It must have come from the Griffin family. Who else could it possibly be?His thoughts froze abruptly as he remembered something. Grabbing his phone, he called Mrs. Zimmer. “Take Emily’s phone away. Don’t let her
“I’m not going.” Emily refused, reaching for her phone. “Mrs. Zimmer, pack the luggage,” Justin ordered coldly. Mrs. Zimmer hesitated for a brief moment, glancing between the two, but didn’t dare question him. With a nod, she led another maid into the bedroom to prepare their things. “Justin, I don’t want to go with you on this trip. Do you really have to force me?” Emily’s tone was weak, tinged with quiet despair. The two stood face to face, the surrounding staff tactfully retreating from the living room. Emily turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. “I’m going on a business trip, and you’re coming with me,” Justin said, his dark eyes locking onto her, his taller frame looming over her. “You don’t have the right to refuse.“I’ll give your phone back when we return.” Emily knew resistance was futile. She had no power to fight back and could only comply. Soon after, Mrs. Zimmer and the maid finished packing and handed their luggage to William. *At the airport,
Justin emerged from the bathroom, his hair still dripping as he rubbed it dry with a towel. “What are you looking for?” he asked. Emily stood and replied coldly, “Where’s my phone? I need to message Helen. If she can’t reach me, she’ll worry.” She glanced at him, her tone sharp. “I’ll send her a quick message, and then you can take the phone back. Do you really think I could switch places with her and escape here? Your four bodyguards are following me everywhere—even onto the plane and all the way to Ramsdale. Not to mention the dozen more you brought along, and the fact that this entire floor is surrounded by your people. What else is there to worry about?” Justin paused, his gaze darkening. Without breaking his stride, he continued drying his hair. “I’ll send the message myself. You’ll get your phone back after this trip. Don’t ask again. It’s not happening.” Emily stood by the bed, her long hair shielding her face, her posture exuding loneliness. It felt as though the
At night, Emily found herself forcibly pushed into the cold spring by Justin.Truthfully, if he weren’t constantly looming in her space, she might have actually enjoyed the trip to Ramsdale. Unfortunately, he would not just leave her alone.The next morning, Sam was already waiting in the hotel lobby. It was the day to finalize the contract renewal. Justin brought Emily along. This project was already an established collaboration, and this time it was just a contract renewal. The workload wasn’t heavy since it was a project Justin had personally handled in previous years. However, the deal involved a significant amount of money and was international in scope. When the other party saw that the CEO of RC Corporation had arrived, their secretary quickly brought out the company president to greet him. “Mr. Yates, welcome! Please, have a seat,” the president, Tom Sullivan greeted him.“Mr. Sullivan,” Justin replied as they exchanged a handshake. They quickly dove into b
After a long delay, Kate finally managed to connect the call. Her voice trembled. “Hello? I’ve already done what you asked and uploaded the video online. You said that woman was abandoned by Justin Yates and no one would care if the video went viral. So why are there suddenly all these strangers around my house?”Kate hadn’t initially planned on seeking revenge. After following Harry’s advice, she had taken her savings and moved to another city. But she had never worked a day in her life, and her extravagant spending quickly drained what little money she had left.That was when someone reached out, offering her a million dollars to upload the video of Emily being kidnapped by Jack. A million dollars had once been insignificant to her, but now? It felt like a jackpot. She barely had to lift a finger.On the other end of the line, Emma, seated comfortably in her hospital bed, leisurely picked at the fruit Mrs. Adams had prepared. Alone in the room, she spoke casually. “What’s ther
Justin’s voice carried a hint of appeasement, but Emily caught on and chose to ignore it. The art exhibit was modest, with only a handful of pieces on display. Halfway through, Justin excused himself to take another phone call. “Mr. Yates, the Griffin family has been taken care of.” “Understood.” His tone was casual, as though handling an everyday matter. By the time Emily finished viewing the exhibit, she waited at the entrance, a few bodyguards silently trailing behind her. Bored, she stared at the patterns in the sidewalk, noticing how they differed from those back in Lincourt City. A child selling flowers approached her, carrying a basket. Speaking in fluent Ramsdalian, the child asked, “Pretty lady, would you like to buy a flower?” Surprised, Emily paused. She wasn’t sure of her educational background, but she could understand multiple languages with ease. She shook her head politely to decline. The child smiled and added, “The iris flower symbolizes good news
Haley shook her head quickly, flustered. “No… I mean—no.” Then she realized how that sounded and corrected herself. “Actually, yes. I’m just hot.”Helen blinked in confusion. “Hot? The classroom has air conditioning. Was the sunlight from the window hitting her seat?” Helen wondered.Without missing a beat, she rushed over and tugged the curtains tighter, making sure her bestie didn’t get “sunburned.” She still needed Haley to hold onto that top spot. Otherwise, she would lose her excuse at home for going out to “study” with Zac.The pressure and tension of senior year finally came to a close. On the day of the college entrance exam, when everyone stepped out of the test hall for the last time, their faces lit up with genuine smiles—relaxed, free, and full of relief.Haley tossed aside her textbooks. Her summer break was filled with makeup shopping trips with Helen or third-wheeling her and Zac on their study-dates-turned-real-dates.That routine came to an end the d
Haley’s eyes shifted as she thought quickly. “But… I don’t really like guys who rank higher than me on exams.”She gave a light shrug and continued, “I mean, I think we should be focusing on school right now. Relationships can wait until after we get into college, right? What if we don’t even end up at the same school? Long-distance never works, and after a while, we’d probably drift apart. Don’t you think?”Was that a gentle rejection? It seemed like it. Haley wondered if she had been too blunt. Had she left him any dignity at all?They still had a whole year of high school left together. She didn’t want things to get awkward between them. A harsh rejection would only make everything more uncomfortable.Justin furrowed his brows, thinking for a long moment before giving a single reply. “Okay.”Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked off.Haley stood there, completely confused.“Okay? What did he mean by that?“Did he understand what I was trying to say?
Emma and her little clique of schoolyard mean girls had Justin completely surrounded.“I’ll ask you one more time,” she said, smug and unbothered. “Will you be my boyfriend or not?”“No,” Justin replied coldly, his face unreadable.“Hey!” one of Emma’s loyal followers stepped forward, cracking her knuckles and getting way too close. “Do you even know who our Emma is? She’s the heiress of the Xander Corporation. She’s giving you a chance, and you should be grateful. You better say yes.”“What, you want us to beat you up before you agree?” another girl sneered.Justin didn’t flinch. His icy stare locked onto the girl who spoke, completely unbothered by the threat.Emma waved a hand to hold her crew back, pretending to be generous. Then she turned to Justin again, cocky and bold.“I like you way too much to have anyone rough you up,” she said sweetly. “But I heard you’re trying to get into Altiplano University in the capital. Here’s the deal—if you go out with me, I’ll have my dad
As soon as Justin sat down and pulled out the textbook for the next class, a hand suddenly reached out from beside him.“Hey, I’m Zac White,” Zac said.Justin glanced up with a cold look, then went right back to pulling out his notebook and pen—completely ignoring the extended hand.Zac awkwardly pulled his hand back, speechless.“Man… this guy’s seriously cold. What a show-off,” he thought to himself.The class flew by. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, Haley and Helen linked arms and headed off toward the bathroom. Zac immediately trailed after them.“Where are you two going? Take me with you.”“You planning on going into the girls’ bathroom, you perv?” Helen smacked his hand away, not wanting their classmates—or worse, their teacher—to get any ideas about the two of them dating.Zac scratched his nose. “Fine, I won’t go in the girls’ room… but I can go to the guys’ one, can’t I?”“Hmph!” Helen huffed, scrunching her nose playfully.Zac clutched his chest
At a top-ranked high school in Lincourt City, the bell rang.Students still lingering in the hallways or restrooms were urged to hurry back to class.Outside, the summer heat simmered, accompanied by the steady buzz of cicadas. Inside, the air-conditioned classrooms offered a much more comfortable escape.In Class 2–1 of the junior year, students hurried back to their seats. Just as the final chime faded, the homeroom teacher walked in, holding a stack of freshly graded exam papers.“For this round of mock exams,” she announced, loud and clear, “the top score in the entire grade once again goes to our very own Haley!”A wave of murmurs and applause followed. “Let’s all work hard and try to catch up to her next time!”She began handing out the papers in order, from the highest score to the lowest.After Haley got her paper, the next few went to her seatmate, Helen, and the student sitting behind them—Zac.“Work hard and catch up?” Helen muttered as she slid back into her seat, s
But what did it matter, even if she still loved him? The pain he caused her in the past was still there, lingering beneath the surface.They had loved, they had hurt, they had been entangled for years. But not every love story had to end with forgiveness and reconciliation.Haley couldn’t pretend the past hadn’t happened. She couldn’t smile and pick up where they left off, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.She would always remember that street in Merika State, when Justin turned away, picked Emma up in his arms, and left her standing there alone.Even if he had mistaken someone else for her, the pain he caused and the love he failed to give were real.And that wasn’t something she could ever forget.She could make peace with the past, but she could never erase it.Her heart ached, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and walked away.*Years later, Haley passed away peacefully in her bedroom at the estate.That same day, Justin had gone out to the grocer
It was just a shame that life rarely worked out the way people wanted it to.*Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.Chase and Alex had grown taller and older. Haley’s once-small jewelry brand had not only found its place in the industry—it had grown into a globally recognized luxury label, known for bespoke, high-end pieces.As for Justin, he split his time between Haven State and Merika State. Whenever he wasn’t busy, he would shamelessly camp out at the estate, claiming he was just there to “see the kids.”Eventually, no one even bothered to call him out on it anymore.One day, Haley had a business meeting with a potential partner—a widowed single father. Somehow, Justin caught wind of a rumor that the man had feelings for Haley and was actively pursuing her. Word had it that she was interested too, and they were currently having dinner together at a restaurant.The second Justin heard that, he canceled a company meeting, boarded his private jet, and flew straight to Mer
As soon as Haley stepped into the room, Justin followed right behind her.It was the first time he had ever set foot in Haley’s room—the space where she lived in Merika State.“Get out!” she snapped.“Haley, I just wanted to see you. Please don’t make me leave, okay?”His eyes scanned the room. The walls, the shelves—everything was filled with Haley’s photos. There was even a custom-built glass display case, clearly made with love, housing her pictures from childhood to adulthood. It was something Evelyn had put together just for her, and it overflowed with affection.There were portraits of her alone, family pictures, and right at the top—photos of Chase and Alex.Justin looked at each one carefully, as if he were trying to piece together a life he hadn’t been part of, but desperately wished he had been.Then his gaze landed on a particular photo: Haley in her teens, wearing a soft pink-and-white hoodie with little bunny ears on the hood. Her pale skin, big round eyes, and brig
“Haley…” Justin’s voice was weak. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t even know where to start.“I heard you’re sick?” Haley said.“I… I’m fine. I’m not really sick, I just—”“Take care of yourself. Heart problems aren’t like other illnesses. Just look forward. Let go of the past. Meet someone new. Live your life.”Justin fell silent. His head dropped, and the phone pressed against his ear was clenched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white. He wrestled with the words for a long moment before finally managing to force out.“Okay.”But he knew. He wouldn’t meet someone new. Without Haley, what kind of life could he possibly call “living”?The call ended. Life went back to its quiet rhythm. Justin no longer clung to Haley or tried to find her. After one more day in the hospital, he threw himself back into work and took over the reins of RC Corporation.They had truly managed to part on peaceful terms.After returning to Merika State, Haley d