“Alright, I got it.” Haley replied. Like Helen, her first instinct upon seeing the post was to suspect Emma. But by the time she reached the end, she sensed something was off. That was why she had Richard investigate. And sure enough, her hunch was right. Unlike Helen, however, she wasn’t fuming with anger. She had already expected this outcome. “Do me another favor,” she texted Richard again. “Dig up everything you can about this newly registered company. If you can find out who’s really behind it, even better.”Justin had saved her life. Maybe she’d finally found a way to repay him. *For the past few days, Emma had been stuck at Jacob’s place, unable to go anywhere.Of course, she had seen the news. After reading through the entire post, her eyes flashed with resentment. Who did this?! Her mind immediately jumped to one suspect. It had to be “him.” Suppressing the tremor in her fingers, she scrolled through her call history and dialed his number.
”Yes, yes, boss.” After issuing his warning, the man hung up again, cursing under his breath. Frustration surged through him, and he kicked the nearby sofa with full force. *That afternoon, Justin finally returned. The first thing he did was try to take Haley’s phone. But before he could grab it, she turned away, dodging him effortlessly. “What are you doing?” She looked at him warily. The doctor had already said she could use her phone, so what had gotten into him now? “Don't look at it,” he said, his voice carrying a rare trace of hesitation. Justin was scared. He didn’t want her to see the rumors online, the ones accusing Heidi of orchestrating her car accident. He was afraid she would see his mother differently, that she would start to resent her. But Haley met his gaze, instantly reading the meaning behind it. It was the kind of unspoken understanding that came from years of knowing each other, something that hadn’t faded even after five years apart.
“Justin, have you seen the news online?” Emma’s voice carried a tone of worry, but beneath it lay a carefully calculated move. She had debated for a long time. Waiting anxiously for his reaction was pointless. It was better to take the initiative. Feigning shock and ignorance, she played her role seamlessly. Whether Justin had seen the post or not, whether he suspected her or not, she had to remain composed. If she lost control now, it would only raise suspicion. Even if Justin did doubt her, once he investigated and found that the post had nothing to do with her, it would help clear her of suspicion. “What post? I’m busy. I don’t have time for the internet.” Justin’s voice was distant, devoid of warmth, as if he were speaking to a subordinate. It was nothing like the indulgent tone he had once reserved for her five years ago. His gaze, however, never left Haley. He watched her intently, studying every shift in her expression, worried that she might misunderstand his
Justin sat across from Zac in silence, his gaze lowered as he mulled over something. Zac, noticing his lack of response, repeated himself. Only then did Justin lift his eyes to meet his. His voice was slow, measured. “She hasn’t fully recovered. She can’t be discharged.”With a single sentence, he had made the decision for Haley. Just like before. Once again, he was keeping her by his side—not in a villa this time, but in a hospital. And in the end, what difference did it make? The same overbearing possessiveness. The same suffocating control. To love someone was to give them everything he had. But if she refused to love him, then he would take away her freedom instead, binding her to him. A chain with no key. One end locked around him, the other around her. They would be forever entwined. Neither able to leave the other. And freedom? As long as she was within his reach, that was the only freedom he would allow.Zac understood exactly what Justin meant,
His mom was bringing it up again.At just five years old, Chase was already learning what it was like to have a nagging mother.Thankfully, before he had to endure much of it, Alex came bursting through the door, racing toward the screen like a tiny whirlwind. Alex was his savior, pulling him out of his mom’s relentless nagging. “Mommy! I missed you so much!” Compared to Chase’s calm, composed demeanor, Alex was the complete opposite—full of childish energy, exactly like a five-year-old should be. “My sweet boy, Mommy missed you too,” Haley responded with a smile. “Did you miss me so much that you couldn’t sleep?” “Of course.” “That’s great! Because I missed you so much I couldn’t sleep either. How about Chase and I come visit you? We can stay over and sleep with you at the hospital.” Alex remembered the hospital bed was huge. If Mommy slept in the middle while he and Chase took either side, they would all fit just fine! Haley chuckled. “I’ll probably be dis
The screen reverted to the four-person relationship chart, but now, Heidi’s photo at the top was grayed out. Chase glanced at the faded image of Heidi, then turned to Alex, who was still obsessing over his pajamas. “Do you want to call Uncle Justin? His mommy passed away. He’s probably really sad right now.” Oh, right! Alex immediately dropped the pajamas he had been holding. He had been so excited about Mommy coming home that he completely forgot Uncle Justin’s mom had passed away. He quickly ran over to his brother, took off his smartwatch, and placed it on the desk. This way, they could both listen in on the call together. Justin had just stepped out of Zac’s office and was making his way back to the hospital room when Alex’s call came through. It had been a while since they last saw each other—probably because the adults in Alex’s home had been keeping a closer watch on him.“Alex.” “Uncle Justin, I saw the news online. I heard your mommy passed away. You must
The moment one call ended, another came in. This time, it was William. “Mr. Yates, I’ve sent you the surveillance footage from the hospital’s underground parking lot and the street cameras. Madam Heidi took the elevator down and drove straight toward the riverside in the suburbs. However, there are no surveillance cameras in that area. The road cameras only captured her car turning into that direction.“The timeline doesn’t add up. There’s nearly an hour unaccounted for between when she left the parking garage and when she arrived near the river. There’s a stretch of road where the cameras lost track of her. It’s possible she made a stop elsewhere during that time.“Or,” William continued, “there’s a strong possibility something happened to her in that window—someone else could’ve driven her car to the river afterward.” His tone was analytical and steady as he laid out the findings. “Go over that unmonitored area carefully. Leave no stone unturned,” Justin ordered coldly.
Through the gap between the bodyguard’s arm, Haley cast a cold glance forward.The man who had stopped her hesitated.Mr. Yates indeed hadn’t given orders to prevent Miss Haley from leaving the room—only to guard her.He immediately apologized, “I misspoke. Mr. Yates didn’t say you couldn’t leave your room. But you’re not allowed to leave the hospital. Even if you go downstairs for a walk, we must accompany you.“Please cooperate, Miss Haley. Don’t make our job difficult.” It sounded like a concession, but the firm stance left no room for rejection.She raised an eyebrow, taking it as an agreement. “Fine.” She had barely walked a few steps before she was completely surrounded—bodyguards in black suits flanking her from the front and behind. To anyone passing by, it must have looked like a mafia boss heading out for a gang fight.Nurses and doctors in the hallway kept glancing over, visibly curious about the high-profile scene.Many wealthy patients came here for treatment,
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