After making a quick loop around the kitchen, Haley leaned against the wall, watching the chefs cook. She wasn’t actually interested. This was just an excuse to escape Justin’s gaze. But she hadn’t expected him to follow her. His voice carried a rare softness. “How’s your ankle? Does it still hurt? Do you want me to take you to the hospital for a follow-up tomorrow?” Haley had no interest in entertaining him, but Justin was like a bird outside the window—chirping nonstop, relentless and persistent.“No need!” she snapped, irritation lacing her voice. Being brushed off didn’t discourage him. He noticed her eyes lingering on the sizzling food and said, “Hungry? I’ll grab you something to eat.” He was already turning toward the fridge when she cut him off. “Can’t you tell I’m avoiding you?” Justin stopped. Of course, he could tell. But he remained silent, answering only in his mind. Her cold words landed like punches straight to his chest. “If you want t
Chase’s sharp gaze locked onto Justin, taking in his tall frame and eerily similar features. His stance—protecting his mother—resembled a young wolf cub, ready to strike at any moment. So what if he was only five? So what if he couldn’t win in a fight? If Justin dared to hurt his mother again, he would bite him as hard as he could. Justin noticed the hostility in Chase’s expression. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he crouched down, meeting the boy’s eyes on equal ground. Speaking to him as if he were an adult, he said, “I won’t hurt your mother again. And if I do, I won’t forgive myself.” *Dinner was served. And yet, Justin didn’t leave. Shamelessly, he lingered—thick-skinned enough to invite himself to dinner. The conversation had shifted from discussing the marriage itself to the wedding details. Justin was well aware that he had no right to participate in such discussions. But he hadn’t come here for that. So, instead of joining in, he
“Uncle Justin, come with me! Our room is upstairs.” Alex grabbed Justin’s hand and led him straight to the second-floor children’s bedroom. Everyone had had a few drinks—not enough to be drunk, but enough that their reactions weren’t as sharp as usual. They simply watched as Justin followed Alex upstairs. After bath time, Alex pulled Justin onto their big bed and whispered conspiratorially, “Uncle Justin, sleep here with us! Once you fall asleep, Mommy won’t make you leave.” Justin chuckled. “Alright.” To make it look convincing, Alex climbed out of bed, grabbed a storybook, and placed it beside Justin—pretending that he had dozed off mid-story. Chase was speechless.*“Why is this bath taking so long?” Haley wondered.Everyone else had already gone to their rooms for the night. Haley, however, remained downstairs on the couch, waiting for Justin to come out. She waited. And waited. An hour passed—still no sign of movement. Haley had never kept track
Helen understood immediately. She raised a hand and smacked Richard lightly on the head. Talking smack about Justin was fine, but her husband? Absolutely not. “Morning.” Justin, unfazed by the sarcasm directed at him, greeted them with a calm smile. He refused to back down. No matter what it took, he was going to integrate himself into this family—even if he had to force his way in. No one acknowledged him. He was completely ignored. Still, Justin didn’t let it get to him. His gaze drifted to Haley, who was fully focused on her breakfast, deliberately avoiding his presence. Meanwhile, Alex pulled him toward an empty seat beside him. “Uncle Justin, let’s eat!” Justin smiled. “Alright.” Helen, making conversation, turned to her sister. “So, are you still in a hurry to leave?” Evelyn had left early with Wilfred for business, leaving just the rest of them behind. The mood at the breakfast table was far more relaxed. Leave? Go back to Merika Stat
It wasn’t much work and Justin was confident Alex could finish it with ease. With the assignments set, he turned his focus back to his own workload. Halfway through, there was a knock at the door. “Mr. Yates, I have something to report,” William said as he stepped in. Justin glanced at Alex, who was diligently working on his assignments on the sofa. Lowering his voice, he said, “Let’s talk outside.” The two of them walked into William’s office. Once inside, William locked the door. “The mole has been identified,” William said, pulling out his phone. He tapped the screen and handed it over to Justin. A surveillance video played. The footage showed Emma entering the special project office and speaking with Tom for a few minutes. After Tom left, she scanned the room, locked the door, and plugged in a USB drive. She worked quickly at the keyboard. Ten minutes later, she removed the USB and left. The video was crystal clear—indisputable evidence of Emma stea
This felt strangely familiar. Helen stood at the door, stomping her foot in frustration. “Mom! Help me out here!” she called. Silence. No one inside responded. Helen sighed, her face full of worry. She kicked the air a few times to vent her frustration before finally getting into her car and heading toward Lichfield Hospital to find Zac—credit card in hand. *As she approached the director’s office, Helen reached for the door handle but hesitated. She could hear voices inside. It sounded like an argument. “Zac, are you really going to marry her? She’s not right for you! She doesn’t deserve you!” Elena’s voice was sharp, filled with disbelief. “Even if you don’t like me, you should at least choose someone from the right background—” The right background? Helen glanced down at the unlimited black card in her purse. Since when was my family not good enough? “Shut up!” Zac’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding. “Who I marry is none of your busine
As the workday came to an end, Justin didn’t stay late for overtime like usual. With Alex around, he had no intention of working extra hours. After checking Alex’s assignments, he scooped him up and took the exclusive elevator straight down, leaving the office without delay. Many employees from other departments had yet to see the rumored "little prince," but those in the executive office had already stolen a few curious glances. Whispers and knowing smiles spread through the floor: “The boss is surprisingly hands-on as a dad—rich, powerful, and now, even great with kids? Unreal.”*William drove them to the supermarket first. Since Alex was spending the night at Justin’s place, he needed kids' toiletries—so they made a quick stop to pick them up. “Uncle Justin, let’s go that way,” Alex said, casually leading him toward the snack aisle after they finished shopping. Justin raised an eyebrow but went along with it. It reminded him of Haley—she loved snacks to
Haley would only accept someone she truly liked… So, could she ever fall for him again?Justin, who was always calm and confident, suddenly found himself doubting whether he could win Haley back. Sensing his mood shift, Alex patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t lose hope, Uncle Justin! Mom actually likes you quite a bit.” Justin’s eyes lit up. “She does? Are you sure?” “Of course!” Alex nodded eagerly. “As true as gold! Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let you stay for dinner, and she definitely wouldn’t have let me go out with you. Don’t be fooled by how tough she acts—deep down, she’s a total softie!” That was something Aunt Helen had said about Haley before, and Alex had picked it up immediately. Justin stared at the screen, deep in thought. “But what if… what if I made your mom really mad before? Like, really, really mad—so mad that she doesn’t even want to see me anymore? “Then what should I do?” Alex, now munching on an ice cream cone after finis
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