On the other end of the call, Richard and the two boys watched the video over and over again. “Uncle Richard… is Mommy really okay? She has so many tubes attached to her,” Alex asked, his brows furrowed in worry. The sight unsettled him. Chase, despite being more studious, didn’t know much about medicine either. Like his younger brother, he turned to Richard with questioning eyes. Richard reassured them, “Those tubes are just monitoring her vital signs. Right now, your mom’s heartbeat is stable. As long as she stays in that room for the next twenty-four hours without complications, she’ll be fine.” “Another twenty-four hours?” Alex looked up at his uncle with a pitiful expression. That reassurance didn’t feel all that reassuring. “Alright, stop overthinking it. Get some sleep now, and when you wake up, the twenty-four hours will almost be up, and you can go see your mom.” Richard scooped up both kids and carried them upstairs to their room. After tucking them into
Zac purchased four lounge beds, making sure there was a spot for both Justin and Wilfred as well. He walked over to them and asked, “Do you two want to rest for a bit?” Neither of them responded. They stood like two guards, completely still. If it weren’t for the fact that they were breathing, Zac might have mistaken them for statues. The contrast between the two men was stark—Justin looked exhausted and disheveled, his bloodshot eyes betraying his exhaustion, while Wilfred stood tall in his perfectly pressed suit, exuding an air of composure. Zac sighed lightly. Fine, let them stand guard if that’s what they wanted. If it gave Justin even a sliver of peace, then so be it. Bending down, he scooped Helen into his arms to let her rest. She was beyond exhausted. The moment she felt Zac return, she instinctively nestled into his chest, finding a comfortable spot before closing her eyes. With her brother here, she finally felt safe. If Justin had been the only one stand
Zac had been running around handling everything. After discussing with Helen and Wilfred, he decided to transfer Haley to his own Lichfield Hospital. The hospital had far better medical resources and a stronger team of doctors compared to the public hospital. Once the paperwork was completed, an ambulance from Lichfield was already waiting outside. Upon arriving, Zac immediately arranged for a full medical evaluation. Haley woke up briefly during the tests, but under the effects of the medication, she quickly drifted back to sleep. The test results would take a few hours to come in. In the meantime, Zac put on his white coat and returned to the hospital room. As he pushed the door open, he was greeted by an odd sight—three people seated on the couch in a tense, triangular formation. Helen and Wilfred sat on one side, their gazes full of distrust and hostility toward Justin. Justin, for his part, returned their glare with equal hostility. Zac rubbed his temple, a
Fortunately, this hospital room only had him as a patient—no one else. As soon as Jacob woke up, his arm instinctively reached over to pull Emma back into his embrace. The hospital bed was small, forcing the two of them to lie close together. Emma swatted his hand away, frowning as she reached for her phone to check the time. “Cut it out,” she snapped, her tone openly impatient and annoyed. Jacob snatched the phone from her hand and sat up, completely bare, facing her without a care. Not that it mattered as he was deliberately exposing himself to her.Besides, he had already drawn the curtains shut. He had even given orders to the hospital staff to ensure no one disturbed them yesterday. Glancing at the phone screen, his expression darkened. “You just slept with me, and now you can’t wait to run off to Justin? Do you really think he wants a used-up woman like you?” Emma’s expression turned cold. She didn’t bother arguing with him. Instead, she got out of bed, star
A knock sounded at the door. “Come in.” Richard entered, carrying a thermal food container, with Chase and Alex following closely behind. “Sis, I’m so glad you’re okay! You have no idea—we haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly since the accident. We’ve been worried sick.” He prided himself on being a strong man who rarely showed emotion, but this time, his eyes were wet, on the verge of tears. “Mommy, does it still hurt?” Alex didn’t hesitate. He climbed right onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Haley’s neck. “Mom.” Chase stood at the bedside, more reserved. Instead of rushing in, he quietly scanned her from head to toe, carefully assessing her condition. She was still here. Still alive. That was all that mattered. Reaching out, he tugged at Alex’s shirt and reminded him, “Take your shoes off before getting on the bed.” “Oh.” In his excitement, Alex had forgotten. Haley gently stroked both boys’ heads before shifting her gaze to Richard. Her li
“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet,” Richard said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “From what I saw in the video, Justin saving Sis didn’t look staged.” Helen smacked his shoulder—not too hard, but enough to show her frustration. “Traitor! After everything he did to my sister, and you’re still defending him?“Even if he wasn’t directly responsible, he’s definitely involved somehow. No way he’s innocent.” Seeing Haley remain silent, Helen turned to her. “Sis, don’t you agree?” Haley lowered her gaze, not answering Helen’s question directly. Instead, she brought up the anomalies from the accident. “The brakes failed. There was gas…” Richard’s expression darkened as he processed the details. And then there was the explosion. From what he had seen, the way the car blew up—it wasn’t normal. Something had definitely been added to intensify the blast. Yesterday, he had carefully analyzed the explosion footage frame by frame. He had even hacked into the traffic surveillanc
Further down, more evidence surfaced of RC Corporation’s CEO pursuing the artist Haley.There were security camera photos showing Justin standing outside the back entrance of her art exhibition before it even opened. Another showed the two of them getting into the same car in the parking lot.Staff members even leaked information, claiming that during the exhibition’s setup, Justin had treated the entire team to an extravagant lunch—all to impress her. “No way! CEO Yates is actually into the artist Haley?”“One is a world-renowned artist, the other a corporate CEO… This seriously sounds like something out of a drama! Wishing them the best!”“Wait, does this mean the person Justin was low-key confessing to on social media was Haley?”Just as netizens were still processing this bombshell, someone dropped another revelation—a side-by-side comparison of Haley and another woman. A woman who looked strikingly similar. That woman was Emma Xander.“Wait… is this some ‘stand-in r
“She’s absolutely disgusting! How can someone this manipulative and toxic call herself an artist? Who even started hyping up her paintings?”“Emma Xander is so pitiful. Not only did she lose her baby, now she’s lost her boyfriend too.”“And she had the audacity to attend an art exhibition in Haven State? Why should someone like her be allowed to make money here? She should be kicked out!”“She deserved that car explosion—too bad it didn’t kill her!”“Get her out of Haven State! We don’t want her here!”At Mistletoe Villa, Chase and Alex were sitting on the couch, scrolling through their phones when they stumbled upon these comments. Alex’s little fists clenched tightly, his chubby face turning bright red with anger. “This is so infuriating! How can they say that about Mommy?! She would never push anyone!”Meanwhile, Chase didn’t just see the five-year-old video. He also picked up on other key details.“Wait… wasn’t RC Corporation’s CEO Uncle Justin? Mommy had known him five y
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