"But I hope this will be the last time," Lydia said firmly. "And please, tell Eugene for me that I don’t want to have anything to do with him anymore."Mrs. Ford seemed like she wanted to say something more, but Lydia had had enough. She was truly afraid of what they were capable of, so she hung up the phone without hesitation.After the call, Lydia paid extra attention over the next couple of days, even asking the receptionist to keep an eye out."No, we haven’t received any suspicious packages in the past two days," the receptionist said, shaking her head."Good. Keep an eye out, and if anything shows up, just throw it away," Lydia instructed, feeling finally at ease as she walked away.With no more mysterious packages arriving and no further contact from the Ford family, Lydia's mood lightened. She truly believed that the Fords had finally stopped causing trouble. But a few days later, she arrived at the office early, as usual, only to find employees gathered and whispering a
"Miss Lydia, are you alright? Maybe you should go to the hospital or call Mr. Quincy.""The stuff online isn’t always true, don’t worry too much about it.""Yeah, don’t let it get to you."The people who were gossiping just moments ago suddenly acted concerned, crowding around Lydia with worried faces. But their concern didn’t warm her, it left her feeling cold.Ignoring their offers to help, Lydia grabbed one of the employees from the planning department and asked, "Where is Quincy?"The planning department was right next to Quincy’s office. The employee informed her that Quincy was inside his office, but the door was locked.Not wasting another second, Lydia rushed over, leaving the group behind. When she arrived, she found the door locked, and even Quincy’s assistant was standing outside, unable to enter."Miss Lydia, you’re here! We can’t get in. Quincy saw something on his phone earlier and then locked us all out," the assistant explained, frustration clear in his voice. "H
"Even without all this, I’d still believe you. You’d never do something like that to me," Quincy said softly."Quincy!" Lydia cried out, throwing herself into his arms.She cried hard, her tears flowing, but deep inside, her heart felt warm and light. As long as Quincy believed her, that was all that mattered.Quincy immediately had the PR team working around the clock to squash the online rumors. They threw tens of thousands at the problem, sending cease-and-desist letters, and the whole company was scrambling to get a handle on the situation. But it seemed like there was a force behind the scenes pushing the rumors to spread even further.Despite all their efforts, the gossip was out of control. A few days later, Lydia’s parents found out.Mrs. Fay called immediately, though it was clear Mr. Fay was the one who wanted answers. She was just the messenger."What’s going on between you and that boy from the Ford family? Didn’t you say you didn’t like him?" Mrs. Fay asked, soundi
Even Quincy was a bit puzzled by the sudden request from his parents to meet Lydia, but he didn’t dwell on it. He assumed they simply wanted to meet their daughter-in-law. He reassured Lydia, “We’ve already gotten married, but my parents haven’t met you yet. This is just a good chance for them to finally see you.”“Alright,” Lydia agreed, though still a little nervous.“Don’t worry, they won’t make things difficult for you.”With Quincy’s constant reassurance, Lydia felt a little more at ease. She reminded herself that meeting the in-laws was inevitable, and they were actually a bit late in doing so, considering they were already married.Quincy didn’t come from a wealthy background. His family was middle-class, living in an older apartment on the outskirts of town. Their office was downtown, so even though it wasn’t far, the traffic made the trip longer than usual.As Lydia watched the older buildings flash by outside the window, she turned to Quincy and asked, “Why didn’t you
Lydia cradled the cup in her hands. The temperature was perfect, not too hot. It was clear that Quincy had clearly checked beforehand.She glanced over at him and saw him peeling roasted chestnuts for her, and her heart instantly felt warm. Lydia was sensitive to both heat and cold, and many people, including her own parents, had called her spoiled. But Quincy never complained. He always took care of her, quietly and willingly, without a word of protest.From the kitchen came the sounds of clattering pots and the rich aroma of stir-fried vegetables. Meanwhile, Lydia and Quincy exchanged light conversation in the living room.The smile on Lydia’s face revealed that it wasn’t so much a conversation as it was Quincy trying to make her laugh and lift her spirits.Watching from the kitchen, Mrs. Perez narrowed her eyes. The more she looked at Lydia, the more displeased she became. "Look at him, fussing over her like that. I can hardly believe that’s our son," she muttered, casting L
Lydia's face turned pale as all the blood seemed to drain from her body. Her hands trembled slightly, and she could feel every muscle in her chest tightening painfully. Quincy clenched his fists, barely containing his frustration."You're being too harsh. This isn’t Lydia’s fault, and you owe her an apology," Quincy demanded, his voice firm.Mrs. Perez scoffed. "Fine, I’ll apologize," she said, though her tone was anything but sincere. "Miss Lydia, I hope you can understand. While we may not be some grand, wealthy family, both Quincy’s father and I have spent our lives in education. We come from a respectable background, and quite frankly, our family can’t accept someone like you."She didn’t mince words, and the effect was immediate.Lydia felt like she had been stripped bare and tossed out into the street, vulnerable and humiliated. A fire of shame burned in her chest, making it hard to breathe. Every part of her body screamed for her to leave this place, to escape the suffocat
The car pulled up in front of a three-story villa. Eugene glanced over at Lydia and suggested she come inside to change out of her wet clothes. Lydia, finally speaking for the first time since getting into his car, shook her head. “I’m not going in. Just drop me off somewhere. I can find my way back.”Eugene raised an eyebrow and pointed outside. “You really want to sit on the side of the road like this?”Lydia looked down at her soaked clothes, clinging tightly to her body, outlining every curve. Panic crossed her face as she realized how exposed she was but couldn’t figure out what to cover first.Without saying anything more, Eugene turned and unlocked the front door, his demeanor calm and unfazed. After hesitating for a moment, Lydia followed him inside. She wasn’t sure about Eugene’s intentions, but she knew it was safer to be indoors than stranded in the middle of the night.The interior of the villa was minimalist, much like Eugene himself—cold, distant, and seemingly un
Eugene didn’t pressure Lydia to give him an answer right away. He simply gave her a guest room to rest. At this point, Lydia wasn’t sure where else she could go. She had turned off her phone and didn’t want to see Quincy. She couldn’t face going home, so she silently agreed to stay.The next morning, after turning her phone back on, she found more than a dozen missed calls, all from Quincy.“Miss Lydia?” came a knock at the door, followed by a voice she didn’t recognize. “Are you awake?”Lydia opened the door to find a middle-aged woman with a kind face, holding a bowl of chicken soup. The faint aroma made her stomach rumble.Seeing Lydia’s confused expression, the woman quickly explained, “I’m the housekeeper here, you can call me Mrs. Lucy. Mr. Ford told me not to disturb you, but it’s almost noon, and I was worried you hadn’t eaten yet. So, I brought some congee for you.”She placed the bowl on the nearby table.“Did Eugene ask you to do this?” Lydia asked.“Sort of,” Mrs.