Catherine had just entered the dormitory when her phone started to ring. She slid the button on the screen, and Branden's handsome face appeared."Have you arrived at the dormitory?" Branden's voice came through the earpiece. She wasn't surprised at all by his precise control over her whereabouts. Carlo must have informed him of her return to school. Judging by her pace, this time was enough for her to reach the laboratory or the dormitory building. His control over time had always been accurate. That was why she had just stepped into the dormitory when he called her. "I've just arrived," she replied."I'm almost done with things on my end. I should be able to return to Loxton the day after tomorrow," Branden said, his eyes fixed on Catherine's face through the screen, his words carrying a hint of probing.Catherine knew exactly what was on his mind. Leaning to one side, she looked at him with a smile in her eyes. "So, are you applying to return to Loxton?" she asked.At her word
Rylan waited long, but Catherine didn't show up. One of his men informed him that she had returned to the school. Based on Catherine's personality, she was unlikely to be in the laboratory. "Could she still be in the dormitory?" Rylan wondered, not wanting to wait. He decided to go and check the situation in the dormitory. Before he could leave, his phone buzzed. He took out his phone, stepped aside, and answered the call. "Speak," he said, his tone devoid of any emotion. The person on the other end said something to Rylan, and his eyes instantly darkened, his previously gentle demeanor totally gone. "Wait for me. I'll be there soon," he said before hanging up.The sparsely decorated room contained only a bed and a chair. Ronin sat in the chair, enjoying a delicious meal specially prepared for him. Ever since he shared the special means of contact with Catherine, his life here had been much better. What Catherine said was indeed true—one should learn to look after oneself. Althoug
When Catherine emerged from the laboratory building, the sky outside had already turned dark. If it weren't for Marshall urging her to leave, she would have planned to finish her work from the previous night.Glancing at the time on her phone, Catherine realized it was already past dinner time, and the curfew was approaching. Considering Isabella usually went to bed early, she decided to leave the campus to grab something to eat before returning to her apartment. If she had time, she planned to make a trip to see Connie.With Withal and Zobber likely recovered by now, Catherine could have them do some work to keep them from getting bored. Just as Catherine stepped out of the gate, she spotted the familiar black Bentley. It had been a while since she had seen it, and she felt a twinge of longing. She walked straight toward the car.Paxton had been keeping an eye on the gate. When he noticed Catherine's appearance, he promptly informed the person in the back seat. "Boss, Miss Swann
Rylan had been unable to find Catherine for two consecutive days. Finally, after investigating with her roommate, Amelia, he learned that Catherine hadn't returned to the dorm or the lab during these two days.With no other choice, Rylan decided to visit Catherine's apartment."Ding-dong!" When the doorbell rang, Catherine was still lounging on the sofa, eating fruit, and watching a variety show.Thinking it might be her food delivery, she was about to put down the fruit bowl to answer the door.Branden, however, was one step ahead. He had already set aside his laptop, stood up proactively, and confidently declared, "Wait here. I'll get it for you."With someone taking care of it, Catherine didn't need to exert any effort. She continued watching the variety show, her gaze fixed on the amusing scenes.As the door opened, both men were momentarily stunned. Branden stared at the cold-eyed man outside, assessing him from head to toe."You've got some nerve. I haven't even come to se
Zobber was bored in the room, so she found her way to Withal's room and promptly shut down his computer.Engrossed in a game and on the verge of winning, Withal exploded in anger. He threw down his game controller, glared at Zobber, and snapped, "What's your problem again? Can't you see that I'm playing a game right now? Don't bother me!""You're the one with the problem!" Although Withal was still furious, Zobber did not care and stuck close to him. "Withal, let's go out. I feel like staying here any longer, and I might end up with some illness."Withal shot her a disdainful look. "I'd go out if I could, but have you forgotten Catherine's orders?" He also thought the whole situation was boring. Otherwise, he wouldn't be playing games here. Catherine instructed them to rest at Connie's house and not go out for a while. Otherwise, Withal would have already gone out. Although he had some injuries, they were nothing he couldn't handle.Withal's response left Zobber helpless. She fea
Branden dropped everyone off at Connie's house. After changing clothes, Zobber and Withal obediently sat in the living room, awaiting Catherine's punishment.They had violated Catherine's orders by going out without permission, so punishment was inevitable. Zobber took the chance to signal Branden, hoping he'd speak up on her behalf.Branden pretended not to notice. He was surprised by Zobber's decent disguising skills. Without Catherine, he might not have recognized her at all.Facing Branden's indifference, Zobber felt utterly hopeless. She decided to take the initiative and admit her mistake. "Catherine, I know I was wrong. You can punish me, but can you spare Withal? I forced him to come, and I did his makeup. He had nothing to do with it."Withal looked at Zobber in astonishment, never expecting her to take the blame for him. Well, he had to admit, it softened him a bit.Catherine coldly observed Zobber's performance. "Really admitting your mistake? Ready to face the conseq
"Rylan, I thought I made myself clear." Catherine stared at Rylan with an expressionless face, a hint of impatience in her eyebrows.Faced with Catherine's repeated rejections, Rylan finally lost his temper. "Catherine, we are the most compatible. You don't understand what kind of person Branden is. You're not suitable for him!"Rylan's anger only intensified Catherine's emotions. She no longer concealed her feelings, her icy gaze fixed on Rylan. "Whether we're compatible or not is my own judgment, Rylan. We're just friends. My affairs don't need your interference.""And as for what kind of person Branden is, I know very well. If you continue to defame him, don't blame me for not cherishing our past!" Catherine's voice grew colder, and her warning tone was thick.The phrase "not cherishing our past" completely infuriated Rylan. After so many years of a relationship with Catherine, Rylan couldn't believe she would say such things to him for Branden. He couldn't bear it anymore."Ca
Branden glanced at his phone. It was already 6 PM, and there was no sign of any message on his personal phone.He didn't want to wait any longer and decided to head to the school directly.Half an hour later, Branden arrived at Catherine's school in his car."Mr. Duncan, should I drive in?" Paxton asked."No need." Branden opened the car door, got out, and asked Paxton to stop the car on the side of the road. He walked into the school alone.As he reached the bottom of the laboratory building, he coincidentally encountered Marshall coming out. Branden greeted him, considering Marshall was Catherine's mentor."Looking for Catherine?" Marshall smiled kindly.Branden nodded, and Marshall gestured to him. "Come on, I'll take you in. When I left the lab, her lights were still on. She should be inside."Marshall knew Catherine always left her phone in a drawer when she was in the lab. Unless she checked her phone, it was not easy for others to find her.Marshall admired Catherine's
In the end, Branden couldn't stand it anymore. He took the initiative to snatch Catherine back, only then did the scene come under control.Now, no one dared to continue touching Catherine's belly.Once he snatched Catherine back, he held her tightly in his arms and prevented anyone from touching her. He thought in his mind, "Since these people like this brat so much, I'll just give the brat to them when Catherine gives birth. Saves one more person from sharing my wife with me."Triston smiled and watched the crowd as the birthday party began exactly as it should.The big screen began to show all the images of Audrey from her debut until now that were outstanding or worthy of recording. Some of the images weren't even in Audrey's possession, but Triston had found them and made a video of them.As the images flashed by, Audrey's tears couldn't help but fall from her face. She cried not only because she remembered the hardships she had endured in showbiz for many years, but also bec
Since Triston brought Audrey to meet his family, he had worked non-stop to put their marriage on the agenda.Audrey was a popular actress, and to not affect her career, Triston chose to propose in a low-key manner.Triston arranged a party on Audrey's birthday and invited many of Audrey's friends.Audrey originally thought Triston was too high-profile, but Triston insisted. "I didn't participate in so many of your past birthdays. I finally have a chance to participate this time."He persuaded Audrey repeatedly. Audrey couldn't resist him and could only agree to let him arrange the party.Luckily, he only invited Audrey's close friends and did not send out invitations widely, so she could take this opportunity to have a gathering of friends.Audrey was surprised to see Catherine when she arrived.Catherine was now eight months pregnant. Normally, she would be rejected by Branden if she wanted to visit Catherine.Branden was now very careful with Catherine every day, and Audrey w
Sure enough, only after Audrey said those words, Willa's face completely darkened.Seeing that Willa was about to explode, suddenly...Triston applauded happily, which instantly attracted the crowd's attention.Triston calmly met everyone's gaze and looked at Audrey gently. "Good. You're worthy of being the woman I love. I'm most annoyed with those women who stay at home day in and day out and like to gossip when they have nothing else to do. You have your own career and I'm very supportive of that."Triston said this with a proud look on his face and raised his eyebrows at Audrey, full of smugness.Willa's face instantly turned gloomy.Her son had demeaned her by calling her a gossipy woman just to please another woman, and it made her furious.Egbert kind of realized that his son was totally in love with Audrey. He thought it was good because Triston used to be a playboy and was always surrounded by messy women. At that time, he was really worried that Triston would marry an u
Although Audrey was born into a wealthy family, Triston's mother, Willa Lambert, had always been prejudiced against showbiz and therefore did not approve of Triston's pursuit of Audrey.In Willa's opinion, female celebrities in the showbiz industry had always appeared in public, which was not like the demeanor of a lady from a wealthy family.It was only after learning that Audrey and Triston might be together that she eagerly introduced Triston to girls in the first place. She didn't realize that after all this time, her son still hadn't given up on Audrey, and this was the first time she'd seen her son so attached to a girl.If it weren't for that, she wouldn't agree to appear at today's dinner party now.Triston led Audrey into the door, and everyone from the Lamberts had already arrived.The scene of everyone sitting in the private room made Audrey feel a bit guilty. She looked guiltily at the crowd and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm late."Triston's father, Egbert Lambert, had a
Audrey never expected to be so suddenly arranged to meet Triston's family.She couldn't react when Triston talked to her about it. Looking at Triston with disbelief in her eyes, she said, "Pardon me?"Triston's handsome face carried a gentle smile. "I've inquired with Kim. You don't have any work arrangements since this afternoon, and you can also take a day off tomorrow. It's just right for us to have dinner together in the evening."Audrey frowned and asked inwardly, "Is that what I care about?"What she cared about was who Triston had just said she would have dinner with tonight. "Why are you suddenly asking your family to have dinner with me?"The Swanns and the Lamberts were both in Casier and they were also considered to be friends. For Triston's family, although Audrey was not familiar with them, she had seen them at major parties.But in the past, they used to meet as ordinary friends.Now that she and Triston were in a relationship, his sudden proposal to take her to di
Audrey hesitated for a moment but still answered the phone with a nervous heart.She believed that Catherine definitely had a way to get her to answer the phone, but things would be troublesome if she made Catherine take her actions.She put her phone to her ear and inquired in a low voice, "Morning, Kathy. What's the matter?"Catherine's voice remained as cold as ever, without any emotion. "Tell me, what is it that you haven't told me?"Audrey had already figured out a strategy to deal with it and how to excuse herself, but as soon as she answered the phone, Catherine asked her so directly, which made her suddenly unable to react.Audrey had no choice but to tell Catherine the truth.After listening to her trembling narration, Catherine only asked coldly, "Are you sure you want him to be your boyfriend?"Audrey was a bit hesitant. Everyone blessed her and Triston after they found out they were together again, but Catherine was the only one who asked her to calm down and think i
Faced with Triston's questioning, Ronin looked arrogant. "Catherine and Audrey are sisters, so Audrey is my sister. You can bully anyone, but you can't bully her. Or else, we can't even be friends."Ronin's words sounded childish, but there was seriousness inside his eyes when he said those words. He grew up with Catherine and regarded Catherine as his most important family member. To him, Catherine's sister was his sister.After listening to Ronin's words, Triston faintly laughed out. "I see."Ronin thought that Triston didn't take his words to heart, and immediately felt a burning anger. "What do you mean? You don't understand my warning, do you?""Easy!" Triston gestured for him to calm down, then said calmly, "Even death row inmates have a chance to explain, right? You should at least hear me out.""Hmph!" Ronin snorted disdainfully. He secretly thought in his heart, "If Triston says any more asshole words, I'll definitely not show him any respect."Triston put away that cyni
They had an appointment at a recreational manor, a new property Zobber had just bought. Zobber had invited them to come along for the experience.Since Catherine's pregnancy, the entire Hacker Alliance had had much leisure time. Even though there was less to do, they had earned no less money and were basically in a dominant position.Zobber enjoyed the current situation too much becasue there was still money to be made easily. They might only have one business per year, but the profit from this business was already enough for them to spend for a year.After wandering around with her friends, Zobber excitedly looked at everyone. "How about this place? It's not bad, right? I bought it at a high price!"This was Casier, and Triston was aware of any changes in the real estate industry.He had indeed received the news when Zobber auctioned off the manor, and he also knew that Zobber had given an above-market price to take the land. But he knew that Zobber had plenty of money. It was fi
Since that dinner, Audrey had been in a special kind of relationship with Triston.Although they didn't make it clear, Triston could feel that Audrey had slowly accepted him.The number of times they met increased, and most of Audrey's work this year was in Casier.Whenever Triston had free time, he would stay alongside Audrey.Whether on set or during recording sessions, one could always catch a glimpse of Triston.Everyone kind of knew deep down that Triston was the man behind Audrey.But nobody ever exposed this whole thing, mainly because of Triston's identity.Neither he nor Audrey wanted too much attention paid to their relationship right now. If he didn't spill the beans, who else would dare to report on it?Besides, the reason Audrey and Triston's dating didn't cause much jealousy was they were a good match.Among the Four Noble Families in Casier, the Lamberts and the Swanns each held a seat, and the Swanns' power was not weaker than the Lamberts.Plus, now that Cath