Nadia was curious and asked, "You guys know each other?"Howard explained first, "Mandy knew me since I was a kid. Our families keep in touch."People from Dawsbury City are rich. Lana knew early on that Howard's family was exceptional, but she didn't expect him to know Mandy."Why didn't you even tell your mom that you're back in town!" The way Mandy spoke sounded as if she was his relative. "She's been talking about whether you'll come back home this year!"Howard shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll head back. I have a flight tonight."Nadia frowned. "How come I never heard you mention that you'll return home for New Year? I thought you'll celebrate with us here. I even prepared a gift for you. I'll give it to you before you leave."Hearing this, Howard looked at her tenderly and said in a half-serious tone, "I'll stay if you ask me to."Nadia immediately rolled her eyes and said, "When will you ever be serious?"When Nadia went to her room to grab his gift, Lana noticed Howard lo
Everyone in the vegan pasta restaurant knew about Liam and Lana's relationship. So they weren't surprised that he showed up. What surprised them more was how Mandy, the renowned international actress, ended up here."Mands, hurry up and eat. Otherwise the pasta will get cold."Mands was a nickname given by Mandy's fans. At this moment, Mandy was surrounded by people. It was as if she were being exhibited as a work of art.Lana smiled bitterly, "Laura, you have to give her some space to eat the pasta. How can she eat with your face so close?" Laura quickly realized her mistake and moved her face away from Mandy.Laura had always been a fan of Mandy's. Her biggest wish in life is to attend a screening of one of Mandy's films. However, given her social status, even if Mandy were to do a roadshow in the city, she wouldn't be able to attend. Laura never expected Lana to share such a strong bond with Mandy. She even managed to invite her idol all the way from the distant Dawsbury
After the celebration, everyone returned to their own homes at 3:00 am. Only Liam stuck to Lana, leaving her somewhat at a loss. In fact, after he moved to Lana's house, he immediately went on a business trip. So, the two of them hadn't truly lived together yet. If Liam insisted on not going home tonight, it would be the first time they shared a bed since their marriage and divorce four years ago."Liam, you should go home. Grandma is still waiting for you to send her back," Lana said.Violet promptly stepped in to support her grandson. "Who said so? I don't need him to send me back. I can do that myself," she said. Lana said awkwardly, "The manor is so far from here, Grandma. Can you really walk all the way back?""Why can't I?" Violet declared confidently. "Even if I can't, I still have her!"Cherry, who had been grabbed at the collar by Violet, looked completely shocked.Could it be that Violet wanted her to carry her back home?"Grandma, am I really your granddaughter?"
"Mandy, so you really are the President's sister?"Mandy didn't seem as cheerful. She sighed and said, "What's the big deal if I'm the President's sister? I'm still alone!"At that moment, Lana didn't fully understand what Mandy meant. But she would soon find out."Why not?" If Lana had a brother who was the President, she'd probably be on cloud nine.However, even after becoming famous, Mandy still maintained a low profile. This was what impressed Lana the most.After parting ways with Mandy, Lana shared this shocking news with Liam via text. To her surprise, Liam wasn't particularly surprised."She was able to steer away from rumors even after all these years in the entertainment industry. I can't think of any other reason besides having a powerful background," he said."You're really no fun. Why analyze everything so thoroughly? You'll lose a lot of the fun in life that way."Liam didn't explain further. He only said, "Just remember what I told you. Dawsbury City is differen
Mandy's gaze was locked onto the mirror, her eyes blinking non-stop. There seemed to be a hidden feeling underneath those eyes.Lana thought she might find the situation amusing. After all, how could she possibly resemble an international movie star? Even if there were similarities, it was undoubtedly the result of a professional team's work. These professionals had an exceptional talent for transforming even the most unremarkable individuals into international movie stars."Mandy?" Lana waved her hand in front of Mandy, breaking her reverie. "What's the matter?"Mandy finally regained her composure, suppressing her shock. "Nothing, I'm fine. I was just looking for similarities. We should be on our way."In all honesty, Lana had never imagined she would meet the President, let alone sit and dine with him.Mandy drove them to the President's residence, which turned out to be a small independent villa of less than 500 square meters. It lacked a small garden and retained a styl
"My apologies, Joyce. Young people nowadays are so blunt."Joyce's expression turned sour. When did Mandy have such a formidable sidekick on her side?"And she is?" Joyce asked.After all, Lana looked about the same age as Rosa. Mandy had not had much contact with her family for many years. In their social circle, secret marriages were common. It was possible that the young girl with Mandy was her daughter. Plus, the two of them looked strikingly alike.Mandy kept her promise to Lana and did not reveal her identity. She replied, "This is my assistant.""What?" Rosa suddenly jumped from the sofa. "Just an assistant? And she dares to talk to me like that?""If someone young like you can boldly speak ill of their elders in front of them, then as a junior assistant like me, what can't I do?"Lana stood in front of Mandy like a shield.At this point, Joyce couldn't hold back any longer and stood up to defend her daughter."Mandy, isn't your assistant going too far? How can she
Seeing the situation on the verge of getting out of control, Joyce quickly stepped forward."Look at all of you. Why is everyone so worked up? It's been so many years. Can't we sit down and have a proper conversation?"Saying this, Joyce pulled the still-stunned Mandy up and said, "Come on, Mandy. It's more lively downstairs. Let's go downstairs to talk."Then, Mandy was dragged downstairs like a puppet.Watching Mandy's back, Romelius took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and gently wiped away his tears.Devon lightly patted his shoulder. "So many years have passed, and you still haven't moved on?"Romelius shook his head. "Some things are hard to forget."The brothers candidly discussed secrets unknown to others, which made Lana extremely uncomfortable.If she were to speak up now, would they silence her?"If Grandma had only agreed back then …"Seeing that Devon was about to delve deeper into the conversation, Lana finally couldn't sit still any longer.Worried abo
Priscilla enjoyed being complimented the most. She couldn't help but laugh continuously at the praises for Rosa. "Don't praise her so much. You know, Rosa doesn't like it. She didn't want me to mention her participation in the competition in the first place. But those reporters just happened to notice it."Just last month, Rosa won second place in an International Math Olympiad. All the participants in the competition were old folks who had been studying math for years. Each one of them could be Rosa's grandparents. However, Rosa managed to stand out among this group of elderly contestants and secured second place. This made Priscilla very proud.Her eldest grandson became the president, her younger grandson was a world-renowned scientist, her granddaughter is an international movie star, and now her great-granddaughter has won second place in a world-class competition. She couldn't help but wonder, in the entire Dawsbury City, which old lady could be more illustrious than he
Would Lana forgive him and spend the rest of her life with him?Liam's heart was filled with a sense of anticipation.Since the reason for the incident had been clarified, everyone let out a sigh of relief at the same time and also went back to rest. Even Leonardo was taken away just to give the two people who had been apart for a long time some space to be alone.After everyone had left, Liam straightened out his clothes and approached Lana, then proceeded to slowly crouch down."Lana!"In the man's deep and sexy voice, there was an unusual tremor and a hint of choked emotion.Liam had no idea what kept him going during these years after losing Lana.Liam didn't dare to do anything too bold. Instead, he gently leaned his handsome face against Lana's hand, repeatedly calling her name.Three years had already passed since Lana left in a fit of anger, setting off a series of events afterward.If she still had any resentment, it would have vanished when she saw Liam's tall figu
Liam's outstretched hand awkwardly hung in the air, and eventually, he could only withdraw it."Speak up if you have something to say, or else, stay quiet. We're not in the mood to listen to you." Hector's attitude toward Liam was still unfavorable, to the extent that he didn't even want to see him.Lana suddenly said, "Something very serious actually happened today."Following that, she placed Leonardo down and showed everyone the wound on his neck.A ring of red marks surrounded Leonardo's delicate neck. In some places, the marks were so swollen that it looked like a tire had been wrapped around his neck. It was a shocking sight to behold.Hector, Violet, Mandy, and Romelius were immediately enraged."What happened to Leo?""What happened to his neck? It could have been fatal if it was any worse.""Who was responsible for watching Leo today? How could they be so negligent and let the child get injured so badly?""This doesn't look like any ordinary wound. It looks like it wa
"Stop looking at me like that. If you want to kill or torture me, go ahead." Cynthia knew what would happen to her after the truth came out, so she gave up struggling. "However, even after my death, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!"As they listened to her absurd threat, Lana and the Traffic Light Trio burst into laughter."If ghosts were real, then Emilia would be the first to look for you."When her deceased sister was mentioned, Cynthia's smile remained unchanged. "That fool probably never knew it was me who betrayed her until her death."Considering the situation, Cynthia didn't believe she could leave the Garrison Villa tonight."What exactly do you gain by single-handedly destroying the Cooper family?"Lana was still very confused by Cynthia's actions.After all, Emilia and Cynthia were twins and had the same blood coursing through their veins. With all the Coopers gone, Cynthia had nothing to gain from it either!Cynthia sneered at Lana's question. "Lana, yo
On the evening of the banquet, the Garrison Villa was bustling with distinguished guests.Initially, everyone's attention was on the precious great-grandson of the Garrison and Kane family. With his confident and lively demeanor, the chubby child was absolutely adorable. Everyone was naturally curious about who the child might have chosen as his stepmother.It should be noted that the Garrison and Kane family only had one great-grandson. His future was destined to be extraordinary. As long as one could control the child, it was much more worthwhile than dealing with those individuals from the two affluent families.After all, the elders from the two families were very attentive and doting toward this child. Surprisingly, Liam, who was said to have been away from home for a long time, had returned. During the reception of guests, he unexpectedly had a smile on his face.The ladies who had come tonight, vying for the position of Liam's wife, became even more excited.Liam typi
On the night before the banquet, Romelius and Mandy finally brought Leonardo back.Lana was overjoyed, and she immediately went to the bungalow where they were staying.At that time, Leonardo had just returned home and was playing with toys on the living room floor."Leo, you're back! Did you miss Mommy? Mommy missed you so much!"Lana ran toward Leonardo, talking to him while reaching out to hug him. In a flash, Leonardo suddenly ran toward Romelius while holding a toy car.After that, he kept hiding in his arms, refusing to come out. He would occasionally peek out from the gaps to glance at Lana.His actions clearly showed that he refused to accept Lana.Lana's enthusiasm was dampened, and her outstretched arms awkwardly remained in midair. She looked at Romelius and then at Mandy as if waiting for them to persuade Leonardo. However, these two remained silent and only greeted Lana in a casual manner."Oh, Lana, you've come?" Mandy said while presenting her with a basket o
Due to the fact that the Garrison family was going to hold a banquet to introduce the mother of their beloved great-grandson, Leonardo, the Garrisons once again became the talk of the town in Dawsbury.The last time Dawsbury was so lively was when Hector introduced the Garrison family's heir to everyone.As soon as the news was released, the Garrisons became noticeably busier in the following days. All of them were busy scurrying around and helping Hector deliver the invitations.In addition to people who had business dealings with the Garrison family, the invitations were naturally sent to people who were familiar with Lana in the past. Therefore, as soon as the Traffic Light Trio received the invitation, they didn't even go to work and immediately ran to Liam's office—intending to get an explanation from him.At that time, Liam had just finished a phone call from overseas and was deep in thought when the office door was suddenly kicked open.Lincoln stood at the door, looking
With that, Sawyer ignored the unpleasant expressions on Freya and Hector's faces. He immediately picked up his child and walked away.Hector was furious. He glared at Liam, his eyes burning with anger. It was clear that he thought Liam was the one responsible for Lana's predicament.Liam was once again innocently caught in the crossfire.Freya set aside her current tasks, offered some comforting words to Hector, and then got up and chased after them.She knew Sawyer well enough and was certain that he would never have treated someone like this unless there was a reason.As Freya's family of three left, Lana's face bore a sorrowful expression. "Since I'm not welcome here, I guess I'll just go."With that, Lana got up and walked toward the door.Hector and Violet had been waiting for Lana's return for a long time. Now that she was finally back, how could they possibly let her go?Naturally, the two of them chased after Lana and tried to talk her out of leaving. They eventually ma
Liam sensed a challenging undertone in Lana's stare. After all this time, had they truly become adversaries?Releasing Lana abruptly, Violet gently patted her arm, her eyes filled with profound hurt."You're here, alive and well. Why did you leave us in the shadows? Even if you chose not to contact anyone else, you should've considered reaching out to me. Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"Over the years, Violet had been grappling with a deep sense of loss.Though it remained an unspoken sentiment among them, Violet was aware of the underlying blame directed toward Liam for what was believed to be Lana's demise.Had Liam been more emotionally available, their relationship wouldn't have crumbled. It would've stopped Lana from seeking refuge overseas while carrying their child, an act that set the stage for her heartbreaking destiny.Witnessing Liam's anguish and believing Lana to be lost forever had taken a severe toll on Violet's health, aging her considerably."Gr
Liam guided Leo to Lana's room.As they entered, Lana was already awake, bathed in the serene morning light streaming through the window.Upon hearing their arrival, Lana, while brushing her hair, shifted her gaze toward them—a familiar scene echoing times gone by."Good morning, Liam and Leo!" she greeted them effortlessly.Without hesitation, Leonardo squirmed out of Liam's embrace and darted toward Lana, exclaiming, "Hi, Nana!"Lana paused, momentarily surprised by Leonardo's nickname. "Leo, you should be calling me 'Mommy'!" she gently corrected him.Leonardo hesitated momentarily before redirecting his attention to Liam.Even though Liam hadn't exchanged a single word with Lana, he spoke up when Leo glanced his way, firmly stating, "Feel free to do as you wish. There's no need to seek my approval. Alright?"Leonardo nodded obediently and turned his gaze back to Lana, continuing to address her as "Nana."While Lana appeared somewhat displeased by this unexpected turn of ev