Elaine was well aware of Melissa's intentions. She had come to defend her daughter. When Aaron suddenly held her hand, she felt a warmth in her palm. "You go rest in your room first. I'll call you for dinner later."Elaine felt a warm affection in her heart. Melissa sharply said, "Both of you sit down! Are you afraid I'll eat her up?"Seeing how protective Aaron was of Elaine, Melissa felt uneasy. She finally understood why Sarah had cried so much. When had Aaron ever been so caring toward a woman?"Then I'll go upstairs and rest," Elaine said, indifferent to Melissa, and turned to Aaron. She said a word to him before heading upstairs.Melissa wanted to call her back, but Aaron blocked her view, his brows slightly furrowed, clearly in a protective stance.Melissa turned her face away awkwardly, annoyed and frustrated. "Look at what you've done to Sarah. She cried all night yesterday!"Aaron's gaze wandered upstairs, and he sighed. "I've already made it clear to her. I'll take care of
Elaine glanced at Aaron, his expression inscrutable, leaving her unable to guess his intentions. She decided to shift her gaze towards Sylvia in the crowd, who was excitedly waving at her."Let the judges cast their votes," the host announced, his voice filled with excitement. His eyes darted between Elaine, Sarah, and Aaron, clearly relishing the dramatic potential of the situation.The entire exhibition hall suddenly fell silent. Elaine began to feel nervous, and the taunting voice of Sarah echoed in her ears, "Why are you so nervous? You're not even in the competition."Elaine merely smiled, refusing to engage with her."I personally prefer Sarah's design, so I support her to advance!" Linda, the only female judge, spoke first. She hadn't taken Elaine's designs seriously since her appearance on stage.Recalling Sarah's unwavering confidence, Elaine had a sinking feeling. She was sure that some of the judges had been swayed by Sarah's influence."Sarah," the second judge chimed in.
A text message from Nahum had arrived, containing just a few words: "Don't leave yet." Elaine wasn't sure what to expect if she stayed, but because of Renee, she chose to trust Nahum.There were still over a dozen groups of contestants left to compete. Elaine's heart was in turmoil, and she quickly sensed something was off. The contestants who had lost were all packing up and leaving; none of them were staying for a revival match."They've all left," Sylvia also noticed.A female staff member rushed in and said, "Contestants who have advanced to the next round, please line up according to your numbers. It's time to say goodbye!"Goodbye? That meant it was over. Elaine and Sylvia exchanged glances, both of them stood up. Just then, Sarah appeared again, flaunting her victory right in front of them. "You really thought there would be a revival match? I fooled you!"Sylvia was about to lash out at her, but Elaine held her back. Elaine still trusted Nahum. After all, he had cast the only
Melissa had been closely following the progress of the design competition. She received exclusive live video feeds from people at the exhibition hall. When she saw Aaron speak those words, her heart sank, knowing that things were not going well.As expected, it didn't take long for Sarah to call her. "Sweetie, don't cry. Mommy will find a solution for you. Don't cry," Melissa comforted her daughter. There wasn't much she could do at this point. She had to take a step she had hoped to avoid, even if it meant dealing with someone she'd rather not.She picked up her phone again and said, "If it's convenient, let's meet in person."One hour later, at a café. Melissa glanced at him and said, "You know my purpose, and I know what you want. Let's discuss the terms."Lionel, ever the straightforward one, quickly got up from his seat. "Sure!""In a nutshell, I don't want to see Elaine anymore!" Melissa's tone was so harsh that it took Lionel by surprise. He picked up his coffee cup. "This risk
After that day, it seemed that something had changed between Elaine and Aaron. Their eyes met, and you could sense a faint happiness in the air. Even when they were sitting in the living room, one looking at their phone and the other at the TV, it was a kind of unspoken tranquility.Elaine lowered her head to check her emails and felt a burning gaze on her. She put away her phone and looked up, only to meet Aaron's deep gaze. Her heart pounded, and she raised an eyebrow, asking, "Why are you staring at me like that?"Aaron smiled but didn't answer, extending his hand towards her. "Come here."His fingers were slender, with well-manicured and tidy nails, like an artist's hand. Elaine had a peculiar fondness for men with attractive hands, and she placed her hand in his palm. Aaron naturally closed his hand around hers.Elaine had never sat on someone's lap before, and she used to think that watching TV in this position seemed particularly intimate. However, now that she was experiencing
The ambulance arrived quickly. Calvin had been stabbed in the abdomen and had lost a lot of blood. Although the doctors had managed to stop the bleeding through emergency treatment, the pools of crimson blood were still a shocking sight.Elaine covered her face with her hands, desperately needing a moment of peace.Calvin tried to reassure her, "Even if it were someone else, I would have chased after the thief. I just didn't expect him to have a knife. It's not a serious injury!"Elaine felt terrible. He didn't want to make her feel guilty, but could she deceive herself like this?"That's enough, Calvin. You don't have to lie to lessen my guilt. I don't want to pretend I don't know and continue enjoying your kindness. It would make me lose respect for myself!"She had her own principles and boundaries!The ambulance quickly arrived at the hospital, and Calvin was taken to the emergency room. Elaine stayed outside, knowing that he wasn't in life-threatening danger but feeling restless.
Grief had struck Elaine suddenly, engulfing her in an instant. She couldn't think, she could only curl up into a small ball, as if this was the only way she could find solace.Aaron, fighting back his own pain, approached her. Even though he had reached her side, Elaine remained unresponsive. He tried to find comforting words, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, or perhaps, he didn't know what to say.Elaine lifted her head first, seemingly surprised to see him. Her face was streaked with tears, her wet eyelashes, her helpless and panicked gaze, all portrayed a fearful child.Aaron's heart trembled lightly. Elaine had suddenly turned her head away. She covered her face with her trembling hands, her tears flowing freely. Even at her most vulnerable, Aaron was the last person she wanted to face right now. Her hand was suddenly held tightly, and she knew it was Aaron, but she didn't resist."Why are you crying alone here? Tell me, who are you shedding tears for?" Aaron asked.
Elaine held the documents given to her by Officer Davis as she exited the police station. She could hardly contain her excitement. The photos and videos they had captured clearly showed that the person who had met Geoff was none other than Melissa. Moreover, Geoff's personal account had received two one-million-dollar transfers from Luman Real Estate's company account just before and after the incident.In other words, her hunch was entirely correct; Melissa was the mastermind behind it all. After all the hard work, Elaine sat in her car, commanding herself to calm down. She had to figure out how to maximize the impact of this evidence.She arrived home close to 7 p.m., and the nanny was anxiously waiting at the door. The moment her car pulled in, the nanny rushed over."Mrs. Brown, Mr. Brown has been waiting for you. He hasn't eaten dinner yet.""I know. Please get it ready; we'll eat right away."Elaine sighed with relief as she entered the house. She quickly headed inside.Aaron sa