"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
"Is this… your girlfriend? Pierce asked."No, it's not like that…" Millie said nervously.Julian laughed and explained, "This is Millie Jordan. She was a year below me in college. Millie, allow me to introduce you to Pierce Atkinson, the CEO of the Atkinson Group. My grandmother lives across from him. I used to go to his place to play when I was younger."Millie has a studio in Arbelton, which I'll also be joining. Remember to give us orders! We can do staff uniforms or personal orders.""Are you two going to become partners?""Yes.""That's nice. I'll definitely let you know. Do you mind if I join you for lunch? It's not every day that we see each other.""Sure. The more, the merrier."Pierce sat down calmly. On the other hand, Millie felt like she had been caught red-handed. She wished she could crawl into a hole and hide.At that moment, her phone rang. Julian had secretly sent her a text that read, "Weren't you worried about not having orders? If you build a rapport with P
Millie parted her lips. She wanted to say something, but at that moment, she didn't know what to say.She knew that if Pierce hadn't shown up in time, she would have been assaulted. However, if it had been the kidnapper who'd assaulted her, she could have hated him for her whole life, and at least then, she'd even have good reason to murder him if she could. But it was Pierce. She couldn't bring herself to hate him. If it hadn't been him, it would have been someone else. Still, Millie felt like she didn't even have the right to resent the criminal who had tried to force himself on her. She couldn't let go of the pain, and it felt like she was being deadly stubborn.She couldn't persuade Pierce, and he couldn't persuade himself either. They were stuck in this stalemate and had no idea when it would end.Perhaps time would provide an answer.Millie walked forward with her head down. She drove to the mall, bought a few things, and headed to the Lytles' family residence.She had t
Sharon was at a loss for words.She had been a victim of bullying herself, and she still remembered the ugly faces of those who had bullied her. Sometimes, she would wake up in the middle of the night feeling terrified from trying to heal the scars from her childhood.The initial reason that drove Sharon to become a journalist was because she wanted to expose the violence that took place on school grounds to the world.She could never forgive a bully. To her, anyone who preyed on the weak deserved punishment."I wouldn't be with him. I would break up with him immediately," Sharon stated."But what if you really liked him?" Millie asked.Without hesitation, Sharon replied, "If I stayed with him and dismissed his mistakes out of love, I'd start to think bullying isn't wrong. I might even become a bully myself one day." Empathizing with a bully could lead one to become the next perpetrator.Millie responded, "That's exactly how I feel now. Pierce did something wrong. And if I forgi
"Ahem…" Bill coughed to cover the awkwardness and said, "Pay Mrs. Leach Senior a visit with generous gifts tomorrow, okay? Establish a close rapport with the Lytles as a respective young man."Pierce immediately understood what he meant. Bill was trying to back Agnes up by having him bear generous gifts and show some regard to her younger relatives during the visit.There would definitely be members of the Lytle family who would be there to visit Agnes tomorrow. He had to show them that any member of the Lytles, including Wanda, should not be subject to mockery."I can tell you really care for Mrs. Leach Senior, Grandpa," Pierce remarked."Millie's going to be there too. I'm just creating an opportunity for you. It's for your own good," Bill replied."Oh, really?" Pierce responded indifferently, explicitly calling Bill out for his made-up excuse.Upon reading between the lines, Bill merely shot him a glare before turning over and going to sleep with his blanket tightly wrapped ar
"Grandpa, Pierce and I have divorced. I can be anyone's partner now," Millie said."I can't have that. I need to talk to Pierce to have him remarry you. You didn't even have a proper wedding ceremony back then after you registered your marriage. Just do it one more time, so that I can plan your wedding for you and make it as grand as possible. That's what you deserve!" Bill said. Millie didn't respond.After some small chat with Bill, she left the room.Upon stepping out, she noticed Pierce speaking in a foreign accent with Charlotte on the phone outside.Millie was far away from him, so she couldn't hear what they were talking about. But judging from the smile on his face, they were probably having a nice conversation.Millie wanted to inform him that she was leaving. However, after waiting for a few minutes, he was still on the phone. So, she spoke to the nurse before leaving. She told the nurse, "When he's done with his call, tell him that I've left. Also, let him know that
Millie only breathed a sigh of relief after getting into the car. However, right when she was about to buckle up, Pierce held her head and pulled her close.Startled, Millie instinctively tried to break free. Then, Pierce whispered in her ear, "Don't move. Stefan followed us out here. He's staring at us from the outside.""He is?" Millie asked, wanting to turn to look. But Pierce stopped her and said, "The more you spare him glances, the more he'll think you're not over him, so don't."Millie felt that he made sense. Stefan was an overthinker and might indeed mistake her mere glance for something else.To put it bluntly, Stefan was just resentful because if she had not gotten together with Pierce and forgotten about him, she would still have some feelings for him.Once upon a time, Millie had looked at Stefan with pitiful eyes full of despair, but he'd never cared. He was only acting so out of character now because he had lost control over her."What about now? Is he gone?" M
Using miscarriage to her advantage, Wanda almost put Millie in jail.However, Millie didn't want to break the promise that she had made to Agnes.It had been a long day for Agnes, and she needed some rest. So, Millie said, "Mrs. Leach Senior, the doctor said that you need more rest. Don't worry about us. I'll pay you a visit in two days."Agnes nodded."Sleep tight. I'll be here until you fall asleep," Millie added.Since Agnes was tired, she soon fell asleep.Once Millie saw Agnes fall into a deep sleep, she quietly left the room.However, she didn't expect that the man she hated the most, Stefan, was standing outside the door.She thought that he had just arrived and said, "Your grandma's asleep. I think you should come later after she wakes up on her own. Don't disturb her with any noise."Stefan kept quiet. All he did was look at Millie with a complicated look in his eyes.He had thought that she would have more to say to him. He didn't expect her to just leave after such
Stefan and Wanda bared their hearts to each other, revealing everything honestly.Wanda had cried uncontrollably by the sea side, and each tear that fell from her face felt like a hit to Stefan's heart."I didn't betray you. It was your parents who told me to marry him. They said that it was the only way to make you completely give up. I shouldn't have tried to look for you… Just leave me," Wanda said.Stefan was furious when he heard that, but what he felt even more was heartache for her.He held Wanda incredibly tight, completely unwilling to let her go.Stefan had been with many women before, but the first was always the most unforgettable.Wanda was his first.Wanda hadn't gotten a divorce, and he was still with Millie. So, the two of them couldn't be together openly.But Stefan's trips abroad became more frequent. His parents had passed away, and Agnes was in poor health. Millie was completely unaware as well.Nothing could stop him from pursuing his love.Later on, Agne
Just as Stefan was about to knock on the door, he heard Agnes' words from inside. His whole body stiffened as his hand froze in mid-air."Mrs. Leach Senior, it's all in the past now," Millie softly said.Agnes sighed. "How unfortunate for the Leach family. Now, the family will never rid itself of Wanda. You don't know this, but her family used to be on par with the Leach family. However, her parents were greedy and unscrupulous. "They went down the wrong path, which eventually led to their assets being seized by the government. Her parents couldn't bear the thought of going to prison and ended up jumping to their deaths instead."Agnes continued, "Out of respect for the ties between our families, we extended a helping hand, and Wanda and Stefan had a marriage arrangement. "We felt that the sins of the parents should not pass down to the daughter. So, when we saw that Wanda had inherited her parents' deviousness, we'd hoped to guide her and prevent her from going astray."If thi
Stefan said, "Didn't you once say that you'd be willing to share a husband with Millie if it were ancient times? Didn't you say that since she divorced Pierce, it was the perfect chance for me to make her my mistress? "Wanda, it hasn't even been that long since you said all of that. Have you already forgotten? "If it bothered you, you could have just told me directly. I would have been considerate of your feelings. Instead, you've been acting so hypocritical. You say one thing to my face and do something else behind my back!"Stefan continued, "I admit that I do have some inappropriate thoughts about Millie. She frustrates me to a degree that I've never felt before. But my feelings for her are borne out of competitiveness and my desire to outmatch Pierce. "It's possible that my feelings for her are shallow and that you're the one I've always truly loved. But the way you're acting will only make it harder for me to let go of Millie. It's making my love for you slowly wear thin as