Catherine followed Thomas to Aaron's courtyard, where they found Aaron and Rylan playing chess. Thomas recognized Rylan and glanced at Catherine. "What is he doing here?"Catherine casually replied, "He's the ungrateful grandson Aaron mentioned." Thomas frowned, surprised by this unexpected connection.Upon hearing Catherine's words, Aaron laughed. "Miss Swann is right; this is my ungrateful grandson." He then urged Rylan to give up his seat to Thomas."Please have a seat, Mr. Theo," said Rylan as he stood up.Thomas sat down and glanced at Catherine, who said, "I'll take a stroll. Aaron's courtyard is lovely."The courtyard, meticulously tended for generations, exuded charm in every detail, which Catherine appreciated. "Do you like this courtyard?" A deep, gentle voice came from behind her, quite pleasant.Catherine turned to Rylan. "It feels very comfortable to be here," she replied.Rylan agreed, "I like it too."As Catherine quietly strolled and admired the scenery, R
When Branden arrived, Rylan had just left. Hearing footsteps behind her, Catherine turned to see Branden walking towards her. "Why are you here?" she asked.His cold eyes softened. "I wanted to take you to dinner. I Heard you and Mr. Theo were here, so I came to take you back," he explained.Catherine, unfazed by his knowledge of their whereabouts, asked if he had eaten. After confirming, they left with Thomas.During the car ride, Thomas noticed Catherine's lack of intention to rest and chatted with her. "Are you taking the day off tomorrow?" he asked.Catherine jokingly replied, "Are you planning to make me play chess with you?" "If you're willing, that would be great. You're always cooped up in the lab, so it would do you good to come here and get some fresh air," Thomas said.Catherine, unable to refuse, agreed to consider it. "Alright, we'll see how it goes tomorrow," she said, glancing at Branden, who appeared quite content."Find something amusing?" she asked, her eyes
Branden hung up the phone and stepped out of the study, only to find Catherine standing blankly in front of the bathroom, with water droplets still clinging to her hair. Without her usual aloofness, she exuded a touch of homey charm."Why didn't you call for me earlier?" His voice brought Catherine back from her reverie. She turned with a vacant look, a hint of impatience in her expression and tone."I just came out!" she said.Her cold demeanor didn't faze Branden. After spending so much time together, he could read her expressions well. He knew she was tired and a bit impatient.Grabbing a towel, Branden lifted Catherine and carried her to the bedroom with steady steps. Gently placing her on the bed, he used the towel as a cushion behind her head. "Take a rest. I'll blow-dry your hair," he offered.Catherine was truly exhausted, and Branden's caring behavior wasn't anything new. She accepted it without a second thought.Her hair wasn't very long, so within less than ten minutes
Selene had initially assumed that Catherine was like everyone else, seeking to use her connections to meet renowned professors. However, Catherine's next words made her wish she could disappear."Not really. Six months ago, Professor Bieber emailed me, inviting me to be a visiting professor at Avon University. I was busy at the time and declined. Since you are Professor Bieber's student, I thought you could pass on my regards." Selene's expression froze. She believed Catherine wasn't lying. If Catherine was indeed lying about knowing Professor Bieber, it would easily be exposed and embarrassing. Catherine's confident statement indicated she truly knew Professor Bieber and had been invited to be a visiting professor.Selene, proud of her achievements as a Ph.D. graduate from Avon University, was surprised by Catherine's greater accomplishments."I have to go," Catherine said, turning away. Selene watched her leave, filled with jealousy. It seemed that Catherine not only had Brand
After Zobber came back from Black Robe, she told Withal the news she had learned.Seeing the two of them wide-eyed in shock, Zobber felt somewhat satisfied inside; at least, it showed that this matter did sound shocking, and not just her was shocked. "What do you think? Don't you guys think it's unbelievable too? When I heard it, I even doubted my ears."Ronin looked up dazedly at Zobber, asking, "Did you agree to it?" "You think I'm stupid?" Zobber rolled her eyes at him. "I said it's a big deal. I need to go back and think about it. That black robe man gave me a day to consider."Ronin nodded dumbly, thinking, 'Not too bad; at least Zobber didn't immediately agree; we can still think of a solution.'Seeing that Withal kept quiet the whole time, Zobber nudged him with her elbow. "Are you crazy or what?"That was quite a strong hit. It hurt so much that Withal was about to lose his temper. He glared up at Zobber angrily. "Are you still a lady? My ribs are almost broken from th
Selene stormed back to the company, and the first thing she did was find Rylan and demand that he withdraw the investment in the lab.Catherine was so arrogant that she needed to be taught a lesson.But all she got was a round of mockery from Rylan.She gave Rylan a puzzled look, asking, "What's with that laugh? Are you also planning to stand for Catherine?""Stand for Catherine?" Rylan raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "Do you know that Duncan Corporation is waiting for us to withdraw our investment? Guess how much we paid to qualify for this sponsorship? Do you really think that Catherine's lab is begging for sponsorship? As long as we withdraw our funding, even if the Duncan Corporation doesn't step in, there will be plenty of big companies waiting to throw money at them to sponsor their lab!"Rare things were precious. Marshall's lab was not only a symbol of Styre University but also a hot commodity in many people's eyes. So many people were lining up with money in hand.
Catherine came out of the lab after finishing work, feeling like everyone around was giving her weird looks.It seemed like all of her senior brothers and sisters were intentionally avoiding her, even though they didn't interact with her much. But when they saw her, their looks were not like that. It was like they were purposely hiding something from her. Every time she looked over, they quickly averted their eyes, too scared to make eye contact with her. They didn't want to talk, and Catherine didn't really care either. She just walked to the office with a cold expression. When she passed by Marshall's office, she happened to make eye contact with him. As soon as Marshall saw her, he quickly covered his phone on the desk.The most important thing was Marshall's look at her, which had a hint of guilt for no reason. So, instead of going straight to her own office like she planned, she turned around and walked into Marshall's office. "Professor, what are you so focused on? What
The situation had taken a turn that nobody expected. Even though the Duncan Corporation's public relations department acted quickly with its crisis management plan, the news was just too viral to contain. These kinds of things were nothing new for the Duncan Corporation's public relations department. The most important thing was to cool things down. As long as they didn't respond, ignored it, and diverted attention by arranging other hot topics, the public would quickly forget about it. But this time was different. After receiving a lawyer's letter from the Duncan Corporation, the media that first exposed this issue not only did not back off but instead became even more aggressive.The entertainment studio that caught the photo not only released the lawyer's letter from the Duncan Corporation but also posted a somewhat dubious statement online, instantly making the situation even more intense. "Although the capitalist is powerful, we still persist. Even ants can shake big trees wi
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