Stefan had thoroughly investigated Millie's recent activities and found no sign of a new boyfriend.Although puzzled, he was more inclined to believe that Millie was deceiving him. They had never been involved sexually, yet she had made misleading comments to others about them.Additionally, she had framed Wanda, nearly driving her to despair. At some point, Millie had become a habitual liar. Perhaps it was time she faced some consequences."I just got a call from the company. I need to attend to something. Stay here and make some friends. I'll come pick you up later.""Okay, drive safe."Stefan left promptly.On the other hand, Millie hailed a taxi to send Celia home first and then waited for another one.To her surprise, a familiar Bentley pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing Stefan's striking profile."Millie…" he called her name with a mix of emotions.Millie cast him an indifferent glance. "Is there something you need, Mr. Leach?""I advise you no
"Pierce?""I'm ready," Pierce replied, closing his eyes.Tobias didn't hesitate and made the incision. The sound of the blade slicing through flesh was faint but vividly clear to Millie, making her skin crawl."Is there something I can do to distract you? Would it help lessen the pain?" Millie stammered nervously.While enduring the pain, Pierce looked up when he heard her."You really want to help me?"His forehead was covered in sweat, and his lips were pale. It was a pitiful sight."Can I?""Sure. Come here." Pierce gestured for her to come closer.Millie stepped forward immediately, willing to do anything to alleviate his pain.Without warning, Pierce grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in and pressing his lips against hers.Millie's eyes widened in disbelief. How was kissing her supposed to distract him from the pain?She wanted to pull away, but she didn't dare to budge, fearing that any sudden movement might cause Tobias' hands to slip with the knife.Pierce
Millie tried to avoid pressing on Pierce's wound and stayed as close to the edge of the bed as possible. Somehow, Pierce also moved toward the other edge, leaving a large gap between them.A stifling, ambiguous atmosphere filled the room.Millie's breathing grew rapid, and despite the passage of time, she remained wide awake.She had never shared a bed with a man before. While she was with Stefan for three years, they had never done anything intimate.Suddenly, Millie noticed Pierce's breathing was labored and irregular."Pierce, are you okay?"She poked him, only to find his skin burning hot.Quickly, Millie switched on the light to check his condition. Pierce's face was flushed with an unnatural redness, and his forehead was covered in sweat.He was having a fever.His brows were kitted in pain, and he was muttering incoherently."Sammy..."He seemed to be calling out someone's name.Millie couldn't care less at the moment. She hurriedly called Tobias to inform him of the
"Yes... I didn't dare call anyone else in case it would alarm Grandpa.""You did well," Pierce reassured her."You must be hungry. I'll go get you something to eat."When Millie hurried downstairs, she bumped into Bill."Millie, what's wrong? Had trouble sleeping?""Yeah…""Where's Pierce? He never sleeps in. What's going on?""He's a bit tired and wants to rest a little longer.""Tired? That's unusual. Did something happen? I'll go check on him," Bill said worriedly, starting toward the stairs. But Millie quickly grabbed his arm to stop him."Grandpa... Last night... Um, we were up quite late. That's why..."She couldn't finish the sentence, her face turning bright red.Bill paused, then understanding dawned on him, and he burst into hearty laughter."Let him rest then. You should rest too. Don't overwork yourself.""Okay... I'll rest after I get something to eat.""Go on, have something nourishing," Bill grinned happily as he urged her.After Pierce had a meal, his com
Millie felt like crying.Later, Pierce returned in the evening to find Bill had already prepared dinner. He glanced disapprovingly at the dishes, then at Millie, who dared not meet his gaze.The dishes were all reputed for their nourishing effects in improving sexual drive."Have some more," urged Bill, piling food onto Pierce's plate without any reservation, as if signaling to everyone in the house that the latter was having trouble in that department.Millie wanted to vanish from the surface of the earth."Alright, I'll eat.""Um, Grandpa, I'm done eating. I'll go upstairs first." Millie excused herself."Go ahead.""By the way, how long can you actually last? I know a couple of medicines…"Millie almost tripped on the stairs upon hearing Bill's words.After finishing his meal, Pierce headed upstairs with an incredibly sullen face.Millie wished she could pretend to be asleep, but she had to change his bandages.Given Pierce's status, hospitalization was inconvenient and
"That's right. I thought that since you two haven't known each other for that long, your relationship wasn't that deep yet. But now, it seems like you were in quite a hurry. Seeing how you share such a great relationship, I feel at ease."Bill looked relieved.Millie suppressed the bitter feeling in her heart. She hadn't expected Pierce to have said something first.That was fine too. At least that saved her some trouble.After Bill left, the first thing Pierce did was to order someone to move all his things back to the guest bedroom.While the household staff moved the things, they gave Millie weird looks.If a newlywed couple was sleeping in separate rooms, surely they didn't have a good relationship. "Mrs. Atkinson is so pretty. I wonder why Mr. Atkinson wants to sleep apart from her.""Who knows? Maybe he doesn't like her. If I was in a loveless marriage not long after getting married, I would definitely ask for a divorce.""There's no way she would ask for a divorce. Aft
"Leave this matter alone. You don't need to get involved," Pierce said sternly.In the face of Pierce's strong insistence, Tobias couldn't say anything in return. He muttered quietly, "Millie must have been devastated when she heard them say that nonsense."Pierce buried his head in his documents as though he hadn't heard that. However, the hand around his pen tightened.After Tobias left, he picked up his phone, wanting to call Millie. Yet, in the end, he didn't end up explaining anything to her.There were some things that she didn't need to know.…After Millie handled the matters at home, she made her way to her studio.Two days had passed, but she still hadn't managed to recruit a single person. Things were looking dismal.Celia was going crazy with anxiety."Don't worry. It doesn't matter if we don't manage to recruit. We can just take custom orders. An order is still an order!""Millie, do you think I'm worried about recruitment? No, I'm worried about the bet you made
Millie was over the moon. If Julian was willing to help her, then that would be excellent. "Did you really not make any advancements all these years? I saw the drafts submitted to the fashion design competition, and one of them was very similar to your style. I wanted to reach out to the designer, but the organizer said that this person didn't like showing their face in public, and I couldn't get in touch with them either…"As Julian spoke, he stared straight at Millie.Millie felt a little guilty."It's you, isn't it?""I didn't think you'd still remember my style.""It's bold and meticulous at the same time, yet it doesn't focus on the nitty gritty. Its ideas are also unique and imaginative. When I saw those clothes, I immediately thought of you. I had been worried that you had disappeared without a trace after graduation. I even thought that you had left the industry.""If you joined too, I'm sure you'd do an even better job than me.""Why didn't you promote yourself and bu