Emily felt a sharp discomfort and raised her hand to slap the "bug" bothering her. “Smack!” Her hand landed hard, and the bug vanished. She wanted to go back to sleep.Unbeknownst to her, Justin had been kissing her neck. He hadn’t slept well the entire night. Even though Emily hadn’t touched him, her presence beside him, with her steady breathing, had been a constant temptation.By morning, his restraint had completely unraveled, and he couldn’t help himself any longer, deciding it was time for some early-morning "exercise."But before he could go further, Emily’s hand smacked his face.Already frustrated, his anger flared further. “Emily!” Justin growled, his voice deep and furious.Startled awake by his shout, Emily groggily snapped back, her morning irritability flaring. “What’s your problem?”She realized she was in the bed and immediately figured Justin must have carried her there. Annoyed, she sat up, intending to leave, but Justin grabbed her and pulled her back down.
The pent-up frustration Justin had been carrying dissipated in an instant. Emily, caught off guard and momentarily stunned, couldn’t react in time, allowing him to have his way. When her legs finally steadied and her mind cleared, she pushed herself upright and struggled to break free from his embrace. She thought Justin must be insane. They weren’t lovers anymore. There was no emotional connection to justify such a kiss. Their relationship was one that couldn’t see the light of day. It was a secret affair. She was nothing more than a mistress, and a forced one at that. The thought of him kissing Emma the same way, and then slipping his tongue into her mouth, made a wave of nausea wash over her. Overcome with disgust, she rushed to the bathroom and dry heaved over the sink. Seeing her reaction to his kiss, as though it disgusted her to the point of throwing up, Justin’s expression darkened immediately. He followed her into the bathroom. “Emily,” he said coldly,
“The tourism development project in collaboration with Jacksonburg City’s government is underway, focusing on establishing a five-star scenic area. Additionally, equity financing with major tourism enterprises from both the city and the province is in progress,” the branch manager concluded. “Small- and medium-sized enterprise loans may be an established project, but evaluations and lending processes must continue to be handled with precision,” Justin said, his tone sharp and authoritative as he issued clear instructions. “Who’s managing Skyline Tech Corporation?” he asked. “That would be me, Mr. Yates,” one of the senior executives replied. “Make Skyline Tech Corporation a priority. The future of the tech market is massive. If necessary, increase investments through equity acquisitions. If direct purchases aren’t feasible, don’t force it, but ensure we control at least 50% of the equity,” Justin said, his voice cool and commanding. The senior executive quickly took note
While scrolling through her phone, Emily realized Sean’s contact was gone. Justin! She didn’t need to think twice. It had to have happened while she was asleep, with Justin unlocking her phone and tampering with it. Frustrated, she disabled the fingerprint lock and switched to a password-only entry. She added Sean’s contact back and sent him a message explaining the situation. She wasn’t sure if he had noticed being blocked and deleted, but she hoped to smooth things over. As these thoughts swirled in her mind, she walked back to the branch manager’s office and resumed idly scrolling on her phone while waiting. Today, without high heels, her feet felt much more comfortable. While she was lounging in boredom, a middle-aged woman barged into the office.The woman’s sharp gaze fell on Emily, scanning her from head to toe. Emily wore a fitted black dress with a high slit that revealed her thighs. Her fair complexion was complemented by a touch of makeup, and her bold
The middle-aged woman avoided everyone’s gaze, lowering her head sheepishly, her earlier arrogance completely gone. Justin stood there with a cold expression, his commanding presence filling the room. He glanced at Emily. “She’s been bullied again?” he thought.Emily, still upset, glared back at him with irritation, as if blaming him for the situation. Justin frowned. “What’s her problem? I wasn’t the one who bullied her,” he muttered to himself.The branch manager, recalling what happened to his brother-in-law yesterday, was terrified this incident might affect his own position. Panicked, he pulled his wife forward and apologized profusely to Emily. “Get over here and apologize properly!” the branch manager barked at his wife, grabbing and dragging her without a hint of gentleness. The middle-aged woman, now fully aware of her mistake and realizing she had insulted the wrong person and caused trouble for her husband, didn’t dare resist. She stumbled awkwardly as her h
Justin cut the steak on his plate into neat pieces and handed it to Emily, then swapped her plate with his. He brought her plate of steak, where she had been cutting one bite at a time, over to himself. After finishing their meal, they returned to the hotel to pack and head to the airport. They had arrived with just one suitcase, but by the time they left, they had three. Justin handed his own suitcase to William and reached for Emily’s two. “Let’s go,” he said. At the airport, Emily noticed a stall selling fried chicken and fruit bowls. Thinking about the hours-long flight back to Lincourt City, she decided to buy some to bring on the plane. After paying, Justin grabbed the bag of fried chicken. “Emily, you ate plenty of steak earlier, and now this? You’re eating like a pregnant woman.” Emily froze for a second, then casually walked ahead of him, rolling her eyes. “You’re the one who’s pregnant!” she retorted. “If you think I’m eating too much and can’t afford it,
William first opened the car door for Emily, then loaded her suitcases into the trunk before driving off from the underground parking lot. *Justin watched as Emily left before turning and heading toward the arrival area. “Justin!” Emma called out excitedly, her face lighting up with joy. “It’s so late. Why are you here?” Justin asked, his tone calm but laced with concern, worried about her safety at night. “I haven’t seen you in days. I missed you,” Emma said, her big, doe-like eyes shimmering with affection. “I asked Sam about your flight today and came here just to wait for you!” She lowered her head shyly, her hands clasped in front of her, as though waiting for his praise. Justin glanced at Sam, who avoided eye contact and lowered his head. Emma had asked him, and he couldn’t very well lie. “Next time, bring your housekeeper along if you want to come. I don’t want you out here alone so late,” Justin said gently, though his brows furrowed slightly. Emma nod
“I have another work-related drinks engagement later. I’ll drop you off at home first.”“This late? You still have to go to a drinks engagement? Let me come with you,” Emma suggested.“It’s just a group of guys. There’s no reason for you to be there. Be good and go home to take your medicine.”“Oh...” Emma pouted, clearly unhappy, but she kept chatting non-stop about everything that had happened at work over the past few days. *As soon as Emily got in the car, she turned off airplane mode on her phone and enabled mobile data. Her phone buzzed non-stop with notifications. Opening the messages, she saw that apart from a few subscription updates, most were from Helen. However, Sean hadn’t sent her a single message. “Could he really have been grounded by his family?” Emily wondered. She had heard about the strained relationships within his family and how they were fighting over the company. Sean was the youngest of many siblings, and his father, now in his seventies, had him
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