“So really, I should be thanking you,” Justin said softly. “For giving birth to Chase and Alex… for giving me a family, and a home again.”He pulled her into a tighter hug, so tight it was like he wanted to merge her into himself, to never let her go.For once, the tension between them faded into a rare calm. Haley didn’t push him away right away. It was as if she was slowly beginning to accept him.Only after the heavy emotions settled did Haley gently pull away. She got into the car and drove off, heading toward the city.As the sky darkened, she didn’t drive back to Mistletoe Villa. Instead, she stopped in front of a restaurant they used to visit often—back when she was still Emily Yates, and stayed by Justin’s side as his lover.Justin blinked, clearly surprised and caught off guard. A flicker of recognition flashed in his eyes, but he quickly hid it, replacing it with a confused, innocent look.“Sis, weren’t we going to the night market to get your favorite snacks? Why’d we
A message notification chimed—it was a batch of photos from the private investigator they had hired. The pictures documented Justin and Haley’s entire outing that day.There were shots of the school building, the classroom, the playground, the garden, the restaurant, and even the front of the Yates family estate. In every candid photo, Justin looked like a child—his behavior was playful and immature, his expression wide-eyed and innocent.The investigator soon followed up with another message. “I couldn’t get inside the Yates estate, only managed to get shots from outside.”One photo showed Justin opening the passenger door and getting in, while Haley sat in the driver’s seat.Harry narrowed his eyes, cold and dangerous, and passed the phone to Jacob. His voice dripped with menace. “Looks like Justin really has no memory left. Hmph. A tiger who’s forgotten how to fight might as well be a housecat.”Jacob’s tone was just as ruthless. “We need to act fast. We can’t afford to wait
“Something happened?” Haley gasped, then quickly grabbed the still-confused Justin and headed out to meet Sam.“Wait, you’re just leaving?” Helen called out as the two of them rushed off, saying it was a company emergency. “You haven’t even finished picking things out! Are you coming back for dinner or not?”Meanwhile, Alex, sitting on the carpet, squinted happily as he watched his mom pull Uncle Justin by the wrist. His face lit up with that unmistakable shipping-their-romance expression. In his mind, their relationship was definitely making progress!*At RC Corporation’s headquarters, by the time Haley and Justin arrived, Sam was already waiting with a stack of documents in hand, flipping through them as he stood by.“President, thank goodness you’re here.”“What’s going on?” Haley asked urgently.“It’s the international project site,” Sam began. “The land acquisition contracts were all signed today, and the compensation money was deposited into the villagers’ accounts.
The land relocation and planning process hadn’t just started today. Measurements were taken and notices were issued over two weeks ago. The compensation price had been discussed and agreed upon in advance. No one had raised objections.Two weeks should have been plenty of time for the villagers to find a new place to live and move out. So why had they waited until after the money was paid to suddenly cause a scene?“This... it’s a long story,” the project lead said awkwardly. “President, it’ll be easier if you come see for yourself.”As he spoke, he led them forward into the crowd.“Make way! Make way! This is the president of our corporate headquarters. If you have any concerns, tell her directly. Whatever we can do, we’ll do our best to meet your needs!”Hearing that, Haley shot a sharp look at his back, clearly displeased. She made a mental note of it and then turned her attention back to the villagers surrounding them.The four of them followed the project lead to a makeshi
“You’re a woman—you don’t understand. We’ve farmed this land for generations. It’s not just about crops—this is where our ancestors are buried. And one day, we’re supposed to be buried here too. You really think you can just throw some money at us and buy out our whole village?“What about our family graves? Where are we supposed to be buried after we die? You want this land, then you’d better give us extra compensation for relocating our ancestors’ graves and cover burial plots for us too.”Haley almost laughed from sheer disbelief.So now RC Corporation was expected to handle not just their ancestors’ graves, but their own future burial plots as well? What next—arrange burial land for their children and grandchildren too?She raised an eyebrow, her smile sharp with anger. “That’s your only demand?”The village chief raised a hand, trying to sound reasonable.“You’re young and easy on the eyes, so we’ll call you ‘miss’—don’t take it the wrong way. We’re not trying to be difficul
The arrogance the village chief had shown earlier was completely gone now.“Look at the situation we’re in… what are we supposed to do?” he asked, his face heavy with worry.His son was currently in college—a time when money was tight. His family owned a large plot of land, and their relocation compensation had totaled over three million.Honestly, he had been satisfied with that amount. Once his son graduated and got a job, he planned to buy him an apartment outright in the city so he could settle down and start a family. There would even be enough left to buy a place in the county for himself and his wife to retire in comfort.But then, late last night, the project lead had knocked on his door and convinced him—and several other village leaders—to rally everyone into demanding more money. The logic was simple: with so many villagers on their side, if they stirred up trouble after signing the contracts and receiving the payouts, RC Corporation—facing construction deadlines—would
“Didn’t you say Justin had lost his memory? And that woman—she’s just a paper tiger, right? So how the hell did everything fall apart?”Harry’s expression turned cold on the other end of the line. “What do you mean, what should you do? You failed to handle it, and now you have the nerve to ask me for help? Figure it out yourself!”“Vice President, I only called because I really don’t know what to do!” the project lead said, panic rising in his voice. “You were the one who told me Justin had amnesia! Now that the plan’s gone south, you can’t just throw me under the bus!”Harry’s voice turned icy. “Exactly. You botched something as critical as relocation compensation and delayed a major international project. What do you think the new female president is going to do? You think she’ll just let it slide? You’re lucky if she doesn’t fire you on the spot.”The project lead’s heart dropped.“I'm sorry. Please, I'm begging you. Please help me. I shouldn't have snapped at you earlier
“That’s my son, alright! Hahaha!” Harry exclaimed.*The sky was heavy and gray, thick with the pressure of an approaching storm. The situation hadn’t been fully resolved, and they wouldn’t be heading home that night.William drove them into the city and stopped in front of a hotel. Just after they stepped out and entered the lobby, raindrops began pounding against the ground.The four of them stood at the front desk to book rooms. Before Sam could speak, Justin stepped forward and asked, “It’s pouring out there—I'm guessing you’re running low on rooms?”The front desk clerk blinked, caught off guard by the question. But her professional instincts kicked in quickly, and she offered a polite, practiced smile. “Sir, we have plenty of rooms available. How many would you like?”“Four,” Haley answered for them.Moments later, the clerk handed over four key cards. “Four deluxe suites. Please take these.”Sam helped collect the keys, and the four of them headed toward the elevators.
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