Upon hearing that, Simon was momentarily stunned before he let out a chuckle. "Mr. Garland, you must be joking, right? How is that possible?""I must have been too arrogant. I thought she'd never accept anyone but me. Turns out I had too much confidence," Mercer replied, staring out the window at the passing scenery with his face filled with defeat.The car fell into silence for a while before Simon suddenly spoke again. "Mr. Garland, perhaps you misunderstood Ms. Sherman. Even if she's seeing someone now, you still have a chance as long as she isn't married to him. "Besides, you both already have two children together, though Ms. Sherman doesn't know that Casper is her son yet. I believe she'd come back to you if she knew."These words stirred something in Mercer's heart. However, as proud as he was, he couldn't bear the thought of using children to tie Calla to him. No matter how much he liked her, he refused to use their children as tools.The next moment, Mercer pressed his f
As soon as marriage was mentioned, Calla's chest tightened ever so slightly. She glanced at Pierre, whose expression remained calm, and then smiled. She thought to herself, "Maybe I'm being too sensitive. He probably just threw that out without actually meaning it."Calla soon exclaimed with a frown, "But I haven't bought anything for my mom yet!""The visit likely won't ever happen if we wait for you to be prepared. I already bought everything at the mall earlier," Pierre replied."What?" Calla's eyes went wide at those words. "You're done with the shopping? What did you buy? Why didn't you tell me?""Clothes, jewelry, health supplements, and food. Just look in the backseat," Pierre said, his eyes still focused on the road ahead.Calla immediately turned around. Sure enough, there were a few gift boxes and shopping bags of various sizes piled up in the backseat. She reached out, picked up a bag, and opened it. Inside was a deep red cashmere coat—clearly a luxury brand item—wi
Seeing Calla's astonished expression, Pierre solemnly looked at her for a moment before he smiled, suggesting, "I was thinking we could get married after the new year."Marriage? Calla wasn't prepared for that in the slightest.After all, they had only been together for just over half a month. Wasn't it a little too soon to get married right after the new year? Despite thinking that, she was afraid that she would hurt Pierre's feelings if she outright rejected him.After thinking for a moment, Calla asked with a smile, "Pierre, don't you think it's too rushed for us to get married right after the new year?""You don't need to worry about it being rushed. I'll have a wedding planner take care of everything. You won't need to worry about a thing—just try on the dress. After March, it'll get busy at the law firm, so I won't have time to take you on vacation. "Thus, I thought we should get married before March, and then I'll take you, Clover, and of course Fiona, to Thryan for a trip
Calla's gaze first landed on Harlan, then she met Zoey's cold eyes. After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Calla occasionally thought of Zoey. She wondered if Zoey's hatred toward her had lessened over time.Though Zoey had hurt her in such a cruel way, she was still Calla's younger sister. Memories of their childhood back when Zoey was still an innocent, carefree girl often came back to Calla.But now, Zoey's eyes were icy, showing only resentment and no joy at this sisterly reunion.Calla's expression turned cold at this. Neither of them said a word.At this moment, Carol walked over to Harlan and smiled. "Harlan, your brother-in-law is here."She then turned to Pierre and introduced him to Harlan. "Pierre, this is your brother-in-law, Harlan."Harlan gave Pierre a once-over, his expression somewhat stiff. Not knowing the history between Calla and Harlan, Pierre smiled naturally and greeted him with, "Hey, Harlan."To which, Harlan replied, "Hello, 'broth
Zoey tugged at Carol's sleeve and complained in a playful tone, "Mom, I didn't mean to hurt Calla. I just feel so useless—like I can't compare to her in anything!""To me, both you and your sister are the same," Carol cooed as she reached out to hug Zoey.Seeing Zoey act childishly while clinging to their mother, Calla was reminded of the past. However, the current Zoey, who still appeared to be the same sweet girl who would cuddle up to their mother, had grown far more complicated. Calla could no longer read Zoey's thoughts and suddenly found Zoey terrifying. Zoey's fragile exterior concealed a heart that was cold and calculating.Sensing that the atmosphere was off, Calla had initially wanted to leave. However, Carol held her back, insisting Calla stay as she had already ordered food from a nearby restaurant for a family dinner.Hearing about the family dinner, Calla felt obligated to stay. For the sake of her mother's idea of a reunion, she braced herself for the evening.Lat
"Yes, I am paranoid! I think about how my husband is in love with my sister every day!" Zoey hissed through clenched teeth. Her expression was twisted with anger, but her voice was quiet, barely audible to anyone beyond the slightly ajar bedroom door.Calla knew that Zoey was still being cautious, mindful of Harlan and their mother outside. However, when it came to Calla, Zoey had completely abandoned any pretense of familial love.Calla instinctively raised her hand, wanting to slap her sister— to shake her out of this self-destructive mindset.Zoey glanced at Calla's raised hand without a hint of fear. She even smirked coldly. "Go ahead, hit me! I'll still say it as it is even if you kill me!"Seeing Zoey's defiance and disrespect, Calla lowered her hand. She realized no amount of slapping would bring back the old Zoey. Why hurt herself in the process?Instead, Calla clenched her fists and announced, "Zoey, our bond ends here. From now on, I have no sister.""And you think I ca
Calla knew deep down that she still couldn't fully accept how Zoey had changed. Perhaps subconsciously, she was trying to justify Zoey's actions with excuses.Pierre remarked at that moment, "It seems like you're not very close with your sister."Calla didn't want to air family issues, even though Pierre was the one asking. So, she casually replied, "Maybe it's because there's quite an age gap between us. Also, we didn't stay in touch as much after she got married.""I noticed you didn't eat much earlier. How about I take you out for a late-night snack?" Pierre suggested.Calla glanced at him just then, thinking to herself, "He's really observant. It's true that I only ate a little tonight."The next moment, she shook her head and refused, "It's alright. Clover is waiting for us at home.""You're right, Clover hasn't been fed all day. She's probably making a fuss at home." With that, Pierre stepped harder on the gas pedal.Looking at Pierre, who treated Clover like his own child
At 4:00 pm, Calla stepped out of the office building with her bag in hand.As it was Christmas Eve tomorrow, her employer generously let everyone leave work early today. Calla, being the last employee to leave, made sure to tidy up the finance office and complete her final tasks for the year.The sky was particularly overcast, looking as if it might snow. The office building behind her, being an office complex, was almost deserted by the end of the month, as people were either doing spring cleaning at home or shopping for things they would need for Christmas.With Christmas Eve just a day away, Calla realized she needed to buy some items herself. This year was the first time she, Pierre, and Clover would spend Christmas together. Since Fiona was also leaving tonight, Calla needed to prepare a more elaborate Christmas Eve dinner.Across the street from the office building was a commercial district, so Calla decided to walk there to do her shopping.While walking, Calla felt lik