Ben picked up the project proposal that had been set aside. Realizing she had misunderstood, Lila felt a flicker of embarrassment but quickly composed herself. Glancing at his actions, she said calmly, “This is the project I want your team to handle. So, can you do it or not?” Jamie couldn’t read Ben’s thoughts. She only knew she didn’t want Lila to get her way. This woman had been looking for trouble from the start, clearly acting with bad intentions. Why give her an opportunity to exploit? But Ben glanced at Jamie, the corners of his lips curving into a gentle smile, almost as if to reassure her. “I think it’s doable.” He directed the comment to Jamie, but Lila assumed it was for her. Instantly, her earlier frustration vanished, and she crossed her arms smugly. “Did you hear that, Jamie? Ben is your boss, isn’t he? Now that he’s given the green light, you don’t have anything else to say, do you?”Her self-satisfied demeanor made it seem as if she had already secured her
Ben rubbed his tired eyes after reviewing the draft for a while. When he looked back at Jamie, a faint smile curved his lips. “The draft looks good—just a few minor issues.” Jamie immediately perked up, eager to learn, like a diligent student. Playing the role of her temporary teacher, Ben shared everything he knew without holding back. The afternoon flew by. Feeling satisfied, Jamie grabbed the draft with fresh notes and rushed off to make revisions. She became so immersed in her work that she didn’t even notice how much time had passed until evening. Ben, having finished his own tasks, looked over and saw Jamie still glued to her computer. With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead and walked over to pull her up from her chair. Jamie yelped as her upper body suddenly left the ground. “Ben, what are you doing? I’m not done yet!” Ben pointed to his watch. “Take a look at the time.” Jamie glanced at the clock, then jumped up in alarm, nearly bumping into him. “Charlie!”
Jamie’s eyes landed on the large bouquet of red roses in Ben’s hands. “You knew about this all along, didn’t you?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s why I got you these flowers. Will you forgive me?” Ben’s gentle smile softened his usually reserved demeanor, revealing a rare warmth that seemed out of character. Jamie hesitated for a moment before taking the bouquet. “Fine, I’ll forgive you… but just this once,” she said, pretending to sound reluctant. Ben chuckled at her tone, his amusement evident as he turned his head slightly to hide another laugh. Meanwhile, Charlie covered his face with his hands, but the little boy’s curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked through his fingers to watch. Nina cleared her throat loudly. “Alright, we get it—you two are ridiculously cute. But could you save it for later? If we don’t start eating soon, the food’s going to get cold!” Jamie pulled Charlie close and led him to the table. Everyone sat down to eat togethe
Ben had decided to play mysterious, leaving Jamie both curious and secretly overjoyed. In the end, he hadn’t hidden the surprise too deeply. That night, as Jamie got ready for bed, she found his surprise tucked under her pillow—a photograph. In the picture, taken at a famous tower overseas, her sister and mother stood together, smiling brightly. Jamie froze, her eyes instantly welling up with tears. Her voice trembled as she turned to Ben. “How did you find them?” Ben rested a hand on Jamie’s shoulder, pulling her gently into a half-embrace. He was silent for a moment before picking up the photograph. “I didn’t find them,” he said softly. “To be precise, they found me.” He went on to explain. Yesterday, he had received a letter from overseas. In today’s world of instant communication, handwritten letters were almost unheard of, and this one had taken a long time to arrive. Even if they wanted to fly out to find her family now, it would be nearly impossible. L
Jamie cast a sidelong glance at Lila, her cold expression saying it all.Even if she weren’t working as a secretary at Lucas Corporation, she was still a college graduate. If she couldn’t even handle creating a PowerPoint, she might as well give up entirely.Lila paused, momentarily caught off guard. “Am I not allowed to question things?” she retorted defensively.Jamie let out a dry laugh, ignoring the jab as she set up the projector. The PowerPoint Lila had demanded appeared crisp and professional on the screen.Jamie turned to her with a composed smile. “Miss Lila, do you have any more concerns now?”When it came to working with Lila, Jamie had already anticipated all the challenges Lila might throw her way. She had prepared meticulously for every possible scenario. On top of that, during their encounter at Chroma Club, Ben had held back from taking further action against Lila solely because of Jamie. Lila understood this now. She also realized that Jamie wasn’t just aimi
Charlie had lived with Jamie for three years, and their bond was incredibly close. From a young age, Charlie had longed for the love and care of a father. Now that Ben was back in their lives, it made sense for them to stay together as a family, doing parent-child activities and strengthening their relationship. Mrs. Lucas, however, had other ideas. “But you’ve seen for yourself,” she said. “Charlie is doing so well with me. I’ve been taking great care of him. While you and Ben have the time and energy, and with Charlie now in school, you should have more kids. I can help take care of them, and our home will be lively and full of joy. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” As Jamie thought about how to respond, Ben stepped in before she could. “It’s not that it’s a bad idea,” he said evenly. “But Jamie and I have decided to focus on raising Charlie for now. We’ll think about having more kids later.” Ben understood the weight of this decision. He hadn’t even been around to properly care
“Why make things harder on yourself when you can let others handle it?” Mrs. Lucas said with a matter-of-fact tone. Ben couldn’t help but laugh, exasperated yet amused. “Mom, you also need to think about Jamie’s health. For four years, she worked tirelessly to take care of Charlie, waking up early and staying up late. She hasn’t been with me for that long. Don’t you think she deserves to enjoy life a little before going through the exhaustion of another pregnancy? You know as well as anyone that pregnancy is no easy journey, and childbirth is even harder.” His words immediately silenced Mrs. Lucas. Seeing her hesitation, Ben added, “Having just one child might feel a little lonely, but Jamie and I will definitely have a second, maybe even a third. You don’t need to worry. We’re just letting nature take its course for now.” “Alright, I’ll leave it to you two,” Mrs. Lucas finally relented. She realized that pushing further would seem like she didn’t care about Jamie’s well-be
Summer froze. “Mr. Lucas... which one? Was it Ben’s father?” she wondered.After all, when Ben decided to go after her, no one could stop him, not even his own father. “Which Mr. Lucas?” Summer asked, needing clarity. The man in front of her looked at her incredulously, as though her confusion was ridiculous. “Do you really need us to spell it out for you? You know perfectly well who you crossed.” Who else could it be but Ben? Taking a deep breath, Summer braced herself. She couldn’t understand why Ben, known for his ruthless determination, would suddenly change his mind. Why would he repay her actions with forgiveness? Curious and desperate for answers, she sought him out. When she found him, Ben was with Jamie. The two of them looked utterly happy, their connection unmistakable. Summer felt a pang of emotion as she watched them, but before she could dwell on it, Jamie stepped forward to meet her. Seeing Jamie up close left Summer momentarily stunned. How long ha
As Caleb spoke, he looked at Vera with a hint of helplessness. After all, her hand had been injured because of Luna. “Don’t feel guilty about this. Honestly, it’s nothing to me.“And I’m not the type to carry burdens over things like this.“Besides, it’s been so long. If this had happened back then, I might have cared. But now? I just don’t think it matters anymore.” Vera’s voice was steady and sincere. But Caleb’s expression darkened. “Why would you say that? Why do you think it doesn’t matter? Do you really see me as just the same as everyone else?” For some reason, at this moment, Caleb took it personally. Vera couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course not. You’re different from the rest—so obviously, I wouldn’t see it the same way.“You’ve helped me so much. The least I can do is acknowledge that, instead of stubbornly nitpicking about what’s right or wrong, don’t you think?“Besides, whatever happened between you and Luna, that’s none of my business. It’s in
“I didn’t mean to just now. Besides, you’ve been acting all sneaky lately—so really, who else is to blame?” Seeing Yelena in tears, Liam, who had been furious just moments ago, felt a small pang of guilt. He was never good at expressing emotions. But watching her like this made him a little uncomfortable. “Go get your hand treated. Otherwise, people who don’t know any better might think I’ve been abusing you.” With that, he turned and walked away. Yelena watched his retreating figure, feeling a bit helpless. This wasn’t something she could decide on her own. Installing surveillance? It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Liam was naturally suspicious. If he caught wind of it, the consequences would be disastrous. But she had no choice. She had a mission to complete, and there was more at stake than just this moment. Letting out a deep sigh, she finally decided to head to a clinic to get her hand treated. *“What happened to you? That’s a serious injury. You
And just like that, the conversation fell into a brief silence. Meanwhile, on the other side, Hunter received a call from Yelena. “What did you just say?” Yelena told him that her hand was broken, and on top of that, Liam seemed to be getting suspicious. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she called Hunter for advice. “I don’t really care what happens to you, but at the very least, take care of yourself.“Otherwise, if something else goes wrong later, I’ll have to step in and clean up the mess. Don’t you think so?” Hearing this, Yelena was a little taken aback. “It’s not just about my injury. The real problem is, I’m scared of what he might do now.” Sure, she had taken the two hundred thousand dollars, but she had to stay alive to spend it. At this rate, she wouldn’t even make it through in one piece. “I already told you—protect yourself. If you need anything else, I’ll try to provide it. But right now, I need you to do something for me.” Hunter had been look
“Yes, it’s in that mountain area. If you’re worried, you can go check it out yourself. But as for anything else, we don’t really have much more information.”Compared to everything else, this was the most baffling situation.“You make a good point. But given the current circumstances, I think it’ll be difficult to pull off.”Vera was speaking with the private investigator. Deep down, she was more worried than anything else.“Don’t worry,” the private investigator reassured her. “Aside from what we discussed earlier, nothing else seems too extreme. Plus, we’ve already looked into it pretty thoroughly.”By the time he finished speaking, his expression had grown more complicated.“Alright. I understand.”After hanging up, she anxiously looked straight ahead. If she had been mentally prepared before, now she was starting to feel uneasy. “What’s going on?” Caleb asked while driving, glancing at her. Vera hesitated, debating whether to tell him or not. But seeing the strange
“I only had one surgery today,” Caleb said as he drove, his voice calm but firm. “Now that it’s done, I want to know why this happened.” After that, he said nothing more. Vera sat in silence, her heart uneasy as the car pulled up in front of an upscale club. Even though her hand was already bandaged, she still felt a sting of pain every time Caleb showed concern. “So this is what it feels like to have someone care,” she thought to herself.Back when Vera had been stepped on, her only concern had been the contract—whether the deal would fall apart and if her suffering had been for nothing.If it had been anything else, she probably wouldn’t have cared as much.But Caleb’s concern made it impossible for her to brush aside.It kept lingering in her mind, refusing to let her feel indifferent.“Don’t overthink it,” Caleb said, his voice firm. “Whatever happened between Luna and me doesn’t change the fact that this concerns me too—and I owe it to you to make things right.”
“Oh? So this is the apology you wanted?” Vera’s forehead was covered in cold sweat from the pain, but the two women standing over her barely reacted. As if this was normal to them. As if humiliating her was just another game. “I asked you a question.” Vera remained half-crouched on the ground, her hand still pinned under Luna’s heel. Helena smirked. “Yeah, I’d say that’s good enough.” She hadn’t expected Vera to be this stubborn, but it didn’t matter. With an exaggerated sigh, she casually scribbled her signature onto the contract. The deal was officially secured. Vera didn’t waste another second. She cast one last glance at the two women. “I have no interest in getting involved in your personal drama. As for Caleb and me, that’s between us. We both made our choices.” Luna’s expression twisted slightly. “I won’t bother commenting on your relationship,” she said, voice dripping with disdain. “But don’t think for a second that this will ever earn
The moment Vera heard her assistant’s words, her expression darkened. Her previously calm tone turned firm. “If that’s the case, I understand. But I still have to go. This is my responsibility, and no one else can handle it.” If she didn’t take the lead, the other party would only grow bolder. However, the moment she glanced at the name on the negotiation list, she couldn’t help but frown. Because the person she was supposed to meet wasn’t just anyone. It was Helena Xander. Vera had encountered her before—back when her relationship with Caleb hadn’t yet escalated. Even then, Helena had openly mocked her, saying that since Caleb had been Luna’s devoted lapdog for years, he should know his place and never overstep. She had also thrown a few sharp words at Vera, telling her to recognize her own status—as if warning her that getting involved would only bring trouble. Back then, Vera hadn’t taken it seriously. She never thought she would cross paths with the
“Alright, enough of this. If you’re serious about investigating, you’ll need proper psychological evaluations,” Caleb said nonchalantly.“The best way to assess something like this is through clinical observation—watch for behavioral inconsistencies, memory gaps, or personality shifts. If you can, gather video footage of his daily life. That’s the only way to get a clearer picture. Otherwise, it’s just speculation.”Caleb made the remark casually, then swiftly issued a dismissal.“You came all the way here just to mess with me? What about your own situation? How’s that going?” Caleb’s sarcasm was dry and pointed. Hunter let out a long sigh. “What else could it be? Business as usual. Compared to others, I’m probably the only one with enough patience for this mess.” He was, of course, referring to his ongoing battle with Liam. Caleb gave him a small nod. “Alright, you should get going now. I need to rest. Don’t loiter around here.” Without hesitation, he waved his hand
Vera forced an awkward smile at Hunter before quickly retreating back into the bathroom to change. Hunter, watching her leave, couldn't help but smirk. “You’re really living the good life, huh?” he teased. “Didn’t expect you to have such luck.” Caleb rolled his eyes, clearly uninterested. “Enough with the nonsense. Why are you here? And who exactly were you talking about over the phone?” He didn’t want to entertain pointless banter, especially not about women. If he was being honest, even he couldn’t fully explain his feelings toward Luna. He wasn’t sure what was left between them—was it love, or just the remnants of something that had long turned sour? That pitiful look in her eyes earlier had shaken him. For a fleeting moment, he had wanted to pull her into his arms, to comfort her like he used to. But after so many years of being humiliated and pushed aside, he had forgotten how to even speak to her anymore. So instead, he did what was easiest—he change