Harry was using a shell company to tap into RC Corporation’s resources and connections to run his own ventures. It seemed he was planning to launch his own international trade company to compete with RC Corporation. Ten billion dollars? That was a bit on the low side. Harry must have privately invested shares into LS Enterprise.“Deny the loan and return the appraisal report along with the file,” Justin instructed, handing the documents back to Sam. “No need to include the investigation results.”He was still giving his uncle some leeway, choosing not to expose his misdeeds directly.“Yes, Mr. Yates.“The urban development project we bid on with the Northport city government has been completed, and the inspection is scheduled for the 21st. You’re invited to attend.“And there’s a lunch meeting with the CEO of YY Global on the 20th, and the afternoon is open, so we can arrange a private flight to Northport,” Sam continued, glancing at his watch. “In about fifteen minutes, there’s
Harry's eyes flashed with malice. After hearing Harry’s suggestion, Justin glanced at him briefly before shifting his gaze to Mr. Ziegler, who looked smug. “So, this is the plan after the loan was denied?” Justin thought. As the Vice President of RC Corporation, Harry had been trying to siphon off company funds through a shell company. It seemed his uncle was getting sloppy with age.Over the years, Harry's projects had become less and less profitable, while he been lending more and more money to his questionable friends. Justin had turned a blind eye, largely out of respect for his grandfather. If it weren't for that, Harry would have been removed from his position a long time ago, replaced by someone more competent.“Mr. Ziegler certainly has experience, but he’s been overseeing the traditional sectors. A project focused on developing new energy technologies is better suited to someone younger,” Justin replied calmly, his authority undeniable.Despite being publicly oppose
“The antacid is gone. Bring me a new box,” Justin said, his voice weaker than usual. He had always assumed the company kept it in stock and hadn’t given it much thought.Sam stood there awkwardly, clearly hesitant to speak.Justin frowned impatiently. “What are you waiting for? Go get it.”After a moment of deliberation, Sam finally spoke up, “Miss Emily was the one who always arranged the antacid for you.”Every time Justin was close to running out, she made sure to have more ready ahead of time. Now that he and she were no longer together, naturally, she wouldn’t be sending any more. But Sam was tactful enough not to say that part aloud.Justin froze. He hadn’t realized Emily had been quietly taking care of that for him.“I’ll go get some medicine right away,” Sam quickly offered, noticing the shift in Justin's expression.Left alone in the office, Justin’s gastric pain grew worse as frustration began to creep in. He had resolved to erase Emily from his life, to act as if she
The next morning, Emily got ready and headed out for her art class. She hailed a taxi on the street, something she hadn’t done in a while. Back when she was with Justin, she always drove one of the cars he had gifted her, but after she left, she hadn’t taken any of them. The cars and the jewelry he had given her, were all left behind at Villa One.As the taxi drove through the city, it passed the luxurious villa community where she used to live. Emily noticed a sleek black luxury car pulling out from the gates of Villa One. It was hard to miss, with its unique all-8 license plate, a rare sight in Lincourt City. She glanced at it briefly but quickly turned her attention to the scenery outside the opposite window, not wanting to linger on the past.The taxi driver, however, couldn’t help but comment. “Did you see that limited-edition luxury car that just passed by? With a license plate like that, people living in this area are definitely loaded.“These villas are worth millions!”
“Remember, ladies, always steer clear of stingy men or you’ll end up with nothing!” one of the influencers said as their gossip faded. They were trailing behind Emily at a discreet distance as they all entered the building.Emily, preoccupied with thoughts of her withdrawal from school, paid no attention to the quiet chatter behind her. The voices were soft enough that she didn’t catch any of it.In class, after one lesson had ended, the teacher called out just as the students were about to leave, “Hold on a second, everyone.”The class paused, turning back to listen.“Next week, the school will be hosting a commercial art exhibition. We’ve invited several wealthy and influential guests, and even the government has taken an interest. This is an incredible opportunity to showcase your best work and potentially launch your career. Don’t let this slip by and make sure you give it your all!” The teacher smiled brightly, clearly excited about the event.The class responded with enthusi
Hearing the noise from the next room, one of the students, who had been gossiping about Emily earlier that morning, rushed over. “Emily, are you okay?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. “Where does it hurt? I’ll call the teacher. Don’t worry!” She quickly pulled out her phone.Emily’s right side was throbbing with pain, tears streaming down her face as she lay there, feeling numb and barely able to move.The teacher arrived shortly after, clearly alarmed. “Call an ambulance, quickly!” she instructed, her voice sharp with urgency.Emily wanted to assure everyone she was fine, but as soon as she tried to speak, the pain surged again, and more tears flowed uncontrollably.When the ambulance arrived, the teacher turned to the students. “You all stay here and keep selecting your pieces for the exhibition. I’ll go with her to the hospital,” she said, her tone firm yet reassuring.At Lichfield Hospital’s emergency room, the doctor reviewed the X-rays. “There’s no fracture, just
Just then, Justin pushed the door open and entered the hospital room.Emily frowned, giving him a puzzled look, and asked coldly, “What are you doing here?”Justin glanced at her, as if looking at an idiot. “The school called, saying you got hurt.” With that, he tossed the bag in his hand onto the hospital bed.It was only then that Emily remembered. Since she had lost her memory and had no family, she had listed Justin as her emergency contact when she enrolled.She walked to the bed, picked up the bag of medicine, and muttered an awkward, “Thanks.”Justin was a bit surprised. She actually said thank you? Didn’t she act all fierce just a few days ago?“Where’s Sean?” he asked casually, like he was just gossiping with an acquaintance. “Why didn’t he come to the hospital?”“That’s none of your business,” Emily replied, clearly annoyed, as she checked her face in the small mirror by the hospital bed.At least her face was unharmed.Justin let out a mocking laugh. “So, did he pla
Emily looked back at her with calm confidence, smiling slightly. “Thank you both for going out of your way to visit me.”Emma opened her mouth to say something else, but Justin interrupted, turning to Emma. “Didn’t you say you were going to get the medicine from Zac? Did you get it?”“I did!” Emma answered, her gaze filled with happiness as she looked at him.“Then let’s head out. There’s still work to do at the office.” Justin took the bag from her hand and, with a smooth motion, intertwined his fingers with hers as they walked out of the hospital room together.Emily’s eyes flickered briefly as she watched their fingers locked together, a shadow passing over her face for just a moment.“Bye-bye, Emily!” Emma turned back, giving a cute wave before matching her steps to Justin’s.The door closed behind them.Emily tossed her clothes onto the bed and sat down, feeling suddenly drained of all her strength. They looked perfect together, happy, like they had never been apart. These
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