Helen was so furious she nearly swung at Richard. Her hand stopped halfway, and suddenly, she thought of Zac. Could it have been him who sent the flowers? That overly cheesy line—it did sound like something he would say. She hesitated, tossed the card onto the table, and reached for her phone to message him for confirmation. Did he follow her home yesterday? That idiot Zac! Just as her fingers brushed the phone, four pairs of wide eyes turned to look at her all at once. “Ahem, I don’t even have a boyfriend. Who would send me flowers? They’re probably a mistake or meant for Haley,” Helen blurted, awkwardly brushing it off, her expression slightly uneasy. Alex, who knew the truth, sat across from her with a mischievous grin, watching his aunt with a look that screamed, “I know everything.”Helen narrowed her eyes, shooting him a warning glance that said, “Don’t you dare spill anything.”If Haley had thought to open the card and take a closer look at the handwriting
What Justin hadn’t expected was that Haley and Wilfred were actually living together. Of course, it made sense—Wilfred wasn’t just supporting her for nothing. But Justin wasn’t about to give up. Even if Emily had changed her name to Haley, and even if she and Wilfred had shared a relationship, he didn’t care. Not only did he intend to undermine Wilfred, but he also planned to take Haley back. “That’s enough. You can leave now,” Justin said, dismissing Sam with a wave. Sam nodded and turned to leave but paused and turned back. “Mr. Yates, what about the investigation team?” “Let them continue. In the meantime, take your vacation days for this year,” Justin replied coldly. “Understood.” Sam rarely took vacations, let alone holidays. His work hours almost perfectly mirrored Justin’s. If Justin didn’t rest, neither did he. For any unused leave, RC Corporation compensated employees with triple pay, meaning Sam had earned a substantial amount over the years. Now, he w
Emma knocked lightly before stepping into the CEO’s office. “What are you doing here?” Justin frowned, his face still clouded with irritation from the earlier meeting. Emma approached, handing over a file. With a touch of feigned sorrow, she said, “With Mr. Spencer suspended, I couldn’t find anyone to approve this document. I had no choice but to bring it to you.” She placed the file on his desk and casually slipped in a complaint about Sam. “For some reason, Mr. Spencer rejected this file several times. I revised it over and over again, and each time I had our department head review it before submitting it. He said there were no issues, yet it still got rejected. “Could you take a look, Justin? Let me know if it’s ready for approval.” In truth, Emma had barely revised the document. She had simply adjusted the activity budget to meet the required standards. Justin, ignoring Emma’s subtle insinuations, picked up the file and quickly scanned its contents. Finding nothin
“Mr. Spencer?” someone called out indignantly, stepping forward as if to knock on the office door. Sam quickly grabbed their arm and shook his head. “Let it go. Sometimes it’s better to stay out of things.”The entire executive team was even more moved by his calm and selfless response. The office door was usually soundproof, but Emma had deliberately left it slightly ajar when she entered, leaving just enough of a gap for Justin’s enraged words to drift outside. Emma, standing with her head lowered, allowed a faint smile to tug at the corners of her lips. Justin no longer trusted Sam and had effectively kicked him out of RC Corporation, vowing never to rehire him. This was exactly the outcome she had planned—the first step in regaining Justin’s attention. In the past, Emily had been the roadblock. Now, with Emily gone and Justin single, Emma’s plan was to bide her time, slowly warming her way into Justin’s life. As long as he remained unmarried, she believed she would
At Mistletoe Villa, Haley received a text from an unknown number. “Do you like the flowers?”Lounging on the sofa with ice cream in hand and the air conditioner blasting, she froze for a moment. Were they from Justin? Her gaze shifted slowly to the bouquet sitting on the coffee table. On the adjacent couch, Helen, who had been scrolling through her phone, happened to look up, meeting Haley’s eyes. Helen had just messaged Zac to confirm that he wasn’t the one who sent the flowers. Haley sighed, got up from the sofa, and carried the vase to the kitchen, tossing the bouquet straight into the trash. “Mommy, why’d you throw the flowers away? If you don’t like them, give them to me!” Alex yelled. Standing on the carpet near the coffee table, he had been pulling petals off the leftover flowers. The bouquet was so large—easily hundreds of flowers. Even after filling the vase, there were plenty left over. Inspired, Alex had decided to save the extra petals for a luxurious flo
Hearing Chase’s words, Alex let out a heavy sigh of relief. Thankfully, Uncle Justin still had a chance to "interview." “Richard, stop scaring the kids with stuff like this!” Haley said firmly as she gently ruffled Alex’s soft hair. She had no intention of ever remarrying or finding a stepdad for her boys. Richard pouted dramatically. “Got it, sis!” Chase stepped in to change the subject. “When’s Uncle Wilfred getting off work? Let’s go out for dinner tonight.” “Yeah, yeah! Let’s go to Pearl Pavilion, the place we went to last time when Mommy attended the banquet. The seafood there was so delicious!” Alex agreed excitedly. The whole family was together, except for Evelyn.“Pearl Pavilion?” Haley raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t they say last time that the waitlist was three months long? When did you guys manage to eat there?” She glanced at Helen suspiciously. Helen chuckled awkwardly, brushing off the question. “Pearl Pavilion? Alex must be confused. I just took him out f
“Hello, Grandpa White and Grandma White!” Alex greeted sweetly. “Oh my, what a handsome little boy!” Mrs. White exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy. The smile on her well-maintained face even brought out a few faint wrinkles. “Your name is Alex, right? Come here and let Grandma hold you!” Overwhelmed with excitement, she completely ignored the “White” part of her title. Looking at Alex’s adorable face, which bore a striking resemblance to Zac when he was little, she couldn’t help but feel thrilled. Was she officially a grandma now? “That rascal!” she thought. If he hadn’t kept this child and his mother a secret, she could have been enjoying life as a grandmother a long time ago!“Wait, your health isn’t great! You shouldn’t be holding a child. Let me do it!” Mr. White interrupted, quickly scooping Alex from his wife’s arms. Mrs. White glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “You’re the one with health problems! Always trying to take my grandson from me!” she
Mr. White was ready to retire. It was time for Zac to take over the company. Helen glanced at Zac with a puzzled expression, her eyes silently asking, “What’s the deal with your parents?”The unexpected meeting had already thrown Helen off balance. Was she now expected to join them for dinner too? Zac smiled but said nothing. Meanwhile, Alex, cradled in Mr. White’s arms, had both grandparents laughing heartily at his antics. Zac took Helen’s hand, trying to guide her toward his parents, but she stayed rooted in place. “Um, Mr. White, Mrs. White,” Helen began politely, “I’m here with my family for dinner tonight, and they’re already waiting for me inside the restaurant. I won’t join you. I’ll take Alex and leave now, but I’ll visit another day.” She turned to Alex and said, “Alex, come down from Grandpa White’s arms.” Mr. and Mrs. White exchanged a look before setting Alex down gently. “Was there a misunderstanding? Or did Zac not handle this properly?” they tho
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