Nina felt like she had walked to the gates of hell and scared herself awake. It was unbelievable, like a dream. As she tried to make sense of everything, the door opened again, and Nash walked in. He was dressed in a suit, tall and imposing, with chiseled features and deep eyes."Are you feeling any discomfort?" Nash asked calmly.Nina, excited, got out of bed again. "I'm fine. Have you seen our baby? The nurse said he's in an incubator, but I haven't been allowed to see him yet."Nash noticed she was barefoot and silently walked over, placing slippers in front of her. "I've seen him. He's very cute. His eyes look like yours, his nose like mine. He's quite lively, crying and fussing a lot. I think he'll be a mischievous boy."As he spoke, Nina began to imagine their child. A smile played on her lips as she slipped on the slippers. "Really? A mischievous boy sounds good. He won't get bullied, but we must educate him well so he doesn’t go astray.""Yes, I understand," Nash said, w
Nash gazed deeply at her, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Nina, you've always brought me surprises."Hearing this, Nina felt reassured. She grasped Nash's hand, her eyes welling up with tears. "Please, don’t disappoint me again, okay? The baby and I want a stable family, a healthy environment to grow up in. This isn’t too much to ask, is it? You’ve experienced it yourself, haven’t you?"Nash replied, "You won't forgive me."Nina furrowed her brows. "Why wouldn’t I forgive you? I know you’ve sacrificed a lot for me. Even if there were difficulties, as long as I can understand, I’m willing to believe in you.""Understood," Nash said softly. "Then I'll tell you the truth. You were right. I had held Miranda captive, but she's not here anymore. Don’t worry, I won't face any repercussions. I've made her pay for what she did to you."He smiled as he said this, as if avenging her brought him great satisfaction, making Nina feel uneasy."What did you do?" she asked.
Nina felt deeply touched. "Meeting you has been a blessing for me too. We've helped each other so much!"Seeing that they had a lot to talk about, Nash said, "Scarlett works for me now. Didn't you mention wanting to learn self-defense? Scarlett can teach you.""Really?" Nina's eyes lit up. "I'd love that! Once I’ve fully recovered, I definitely want to learn!"Nash smiled, genuinely happy to see Nina excited. He hoped she could protect herself."You two keep chatting. There's plenty of time," Nash said.Nina looked at him. "Are you leaving?"Nash nodded. "I have a lot to take care of. I'll come back to be with you once I'm done.""Okay." Nina did not want to hold him up.Nash left, gently closing the door behind him.Outside, a well-dressed man in his fifties, looking like a butler, was waiting. He was accompanied by four or five burly bodyguards. The butler bowed respectfully to Nash."Three months is your deadline. Please remember our agreement."Nash's expression was cold
Nina felt puzzled, "Why?"Scarlett thought for a moment and then found an excuse, "He's always busy in the lab and can't take calls. It's best not to disturb him. When he's done, he'll definitely come to see you. This way, he won't be distracted from his research."Nina thought Scarlett made a lot of sense. She did not want Wilfred to be distracted either, knowing he had more important things to handle."Okay, I'll wait until he's not busy," Nina said without thinking much more about it.Scarlett looked at Nina and saw the joyful smile on her face. However, Scarlett was looking a bit uneasy. Worried Nina might overthink things, she hesitated to say more. Instead, she gratefully said, "Captain York has been really good to me. Thanks to you, he gave me a new identity. I owe everything to you and him. I won't ever let you down."She spoke as if making a vow, but Nina responded, "You're being too polite. We're friends. You used to protect me, and now it's my turn to protect you. Eve
"I wouldn't be here today..." Nelly's tears burst forth as she cried openly on stage. "I am especially grateful to one person who couldn't be here today, but this honor belongs to her too. That's Nina. She not only saved me but also saved our entire crew. Without her, I wouldn't be standing here today. Please remember, she is also the director of 'Glory'—Nina!"After she finished speaking, there was another round of applause. Nina, knowing how difficult the journey had been, felt her eyes well up with emotion.Nelly finished her speech, and then Penelope came up to say a few words. She was more confident than ever, perhaps because she now had a solid foundation."Ten years ago, I was a small-time actress," she began. "In the ten years of struggling, I have stood on high peaks and have also fallen. But in the end, I got back up!"Her words were inspiring, and the audience responded with applause. Smiling at the camera, she continued, "Like our director, the person I am most grateful
Nina heard labored breathing, followed by Scott's voice, "I think I'm close, but I'm not sure what will happen next. I can't take the phone with me. No one entering can bring a phone. If discovered, it would be disastrous. I hope whoever finds this phone can call one of the contacts to let them know I'm alive. I'm doing this not just for her, but for all those who have been hurt. Thank you!"That was all. Just one message."He will be safe. Things aren't as bad as they seem and everything will be okay," Nina whispered to herself, gripping the phone tightly.She thanked the caller and hung up, but her heart was still uneasy. She knew nothing about the organization Scott was infiltrating. If he went in, could he come out? How would she explain this to his parents?Nina wished she could go immediately, but she was still in recovery and hadn’t learned self-defense yet. Going now would only hinder.Late at night, Nash came to see Nina. He timed his visit for when she would be aslee
Nina felt a bit reassured. "Of course he's a good person.""I also wish someone could be by your side," Nash said softly.Nina stiffened and looked up at him. "What do you mean by that?"Nash gently patted her back. "Just trying to comfort you so you can sleep.""Is this how you comfort someone? You never used to be like this. Lately, you've been distant with me," she replied.Her words were striking a chord with Nash, leaving him uncertain whether to keep his distance or come closer.He instinctively tightened his hold on her. "I'm afraid of upsetting you or making you dislike me."Nina realized she felt a deep sense of loss, despite everyone still being there. It was as if no one was truly by her side. She did not want to lose anyone else.She held onto Nash's waist. "What should I do? Am I getting sick again? It feels like something's wrong, like I've lost everything, and no one is around."The baby wasn't with her, Scott wasn't there, and even Wilfred seemed absent. She fe
Nina was completely stunned. She thought the nurse must be joking. How could her baby not be here?She forced a shaky smile. "No... Nurse, you must be mistaken. I just gave birth. If my baby isn't here, where else could he be?"Nina considered other possible issues. "If my name isn't registered, the father's name should be. Check for Nash York's name. Look again."Despite trying to remain rational, Nina was starting to panic. The nurse immediately checked again."There's no record of that name either," she confirmed."That's impossible!" Nina refused to believe it. "I'll check myself! Let me look!"She was completely frantic now. Convinced the nurse had missed something, she grabbed the records to check for herself. When she did not find the name, her heart sank.Nina tried to reassure herself. "It must have been an oversight. I'll go look!"Unsure of what to do, she pretended to be calm and insisted on looking for her baby."Ma'am, you can't go in. Parents are not allowed bey
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