Bruce showed up at the villa shortly after. He had some basic medical knowledge. Upon arriving, he took Millie's temperature, drew blood for testing at the hospital, and prescribed some fever-reducing medication. "This room isn't ideal because it's not well-ventilated. I suggest switching to another one," he advised. "Alright, we'll change rooms," Millie agreed immediately. She had already redecorated one of the guest rooms in preparation. When Bruce saw the guest room, he nodded in approval. "This room is much better. The comfort level of the surroundings can significantly impact the patient's recovery." With that, Millie moved to the guest room. Piercy stayed by her side the entire time with a worried expression etched on his face. Millie couldn't help but notice how much Piercy cared for her. Bruce mixed a bitter concoction for her to drink. Each time she swallowed it, the taste was so awful it made her feel utterly miserable. She complained, "Ugh… This is so
Piercy wanted to experience it all with Millie. "Okay, I'll bring you there once I'm better. Come lie beside me. I want to take a nap," Millie coaxed.Piercy nodded and lay on the couch right next to the bed.Millie turned her back to him, pretending to fall asleep."Millie? Millie…" he called softly. She didn't respond, so he thought she was asleep. He was silent for a long time before speaking again. "I'll try to learn the rules of this world. I want to replace him and be a good person. I wasn't created just to be erased. If I exist, I deserve to live." Piercy paused before continuing, "Please don't treat me like a monster, Millie. I am a human too, a normal human being…"His voice grew fainter. The couch seemed to hold some kind of magic, and its softness lulled him into sleep. Piercy drifted off to sleep from fatigue before he even realized it.It was only then that Millie sat up and looked at him—Piercy was fast asleep.She should have called Bruce right away to st
Piercy uttered each word with bone-chilling intensity. His voice sounded as if it came from the depths of hell. His face was unnaturally pale, and large beads of sweat slid down his face incessantly.He had summoned all his strength to strangle Millie—there was an unmistakable intent to kill. Piercy tightened his grip bit by bit, and Millie's entire body was lifted off the ground by his single arm.Soon, Millie felt the sensation of suffocation wash over her. She struggled in agony but couldn't pry his hand away or make him budge in the slightest.Her consciousness grew weaker and weaker. Suddenly, her body felt light, and she fell to the ground.Before she lost consciousness, she seemed to hear Piercy's voice. It was so faint that it was almost inaudible. In fact, it was so soft that she wondered if it was just her imagination."Don't you get it? This kind of low-level hypnosis won't work on me. Only you can truly hurt me. Pierce would go to any lengths for you, Millie… You owe m
This time, Millie wasn't crying for Pierce, but for someone else. Piercy had said that once she recovered, they would go camping, enjoy the outdoors, and watch a movie together.He had also said that he was a living, breathing human being. He wasn't Pierce's appendix, a kidney stone, or a polyp that could be surgically removed when it became a problem.Piercy had his own thoughts, and he could feel pain, too.Millie had gained his trust and then stabbed him in the back. How hopeless Piercy must have felt! He probably wouldn't forgive her for the rest of his life.She had only known him for a few days, so why did she feel this overwhelming sadness? She hadn't done the physical act of killing, yet she had killed someone all the same.Millie's heart ached with unbearable pain.Pierce stood at the door, his expression full of worry. Bruce walked over to him with a limp and said, "I think Ms. Jordan needs my treatment. The struggle between you and the secondary personality is someth
Pierce's eyes became bloodshot in an instant. His gaze burned with searing anger as he stared at Millie intently.He bellowed, "Do you know what you're doing?"Millie lowered her head, staring at the knife tip that was less than an inch away from her chest. Pierce's hand was gripping the blade tightly.The knife had cut into his palm. Blood dripped heavily from it, pooling into a small puddle on the floor.A complicated feeling rose within Millie. In that fleeting moment, she had bet that Pierce would stop her. She hadn't expected that Pierce would grab the blade with his bare hand in desperation."Your hand…" Millie murmured.Pierce threw the knife onto the ground with a loud clatter. He gripped her shoulder so firmly that pain shot up from where his hand was placed instantly."Listen to me, Millie. No matter what happens, you must never hurt yourself. You can point your blade at anyone else, but never at yourself. Do you hear me?" he roared, his voice deep and furious.Mill
Since Wanda had some dirt on Samantha, they were in the same boat. Because of their shared interests in scheming and prevailing over Millie, they naturally had much to talk about. Wanda was the one who contributed the ideas for Samantha to avoid going on the forced blind dates.After listening to Wanda, Samantha asked, "What? You went for a checkup and ran into Millie?""She must have realized it was me. She even picked up my medical report. What should I do?" Wanda asked anxiously, feeling butterflies in her stomach.A few months earlier, Wanda had found out she was pregnant. She thought everything would be fine after making it past the risky first trimester. But after about four to five months into her pregnancy and before her belly had fully shown, she had been experiencing frequent spotting.Wanda dared not tell Stefan about this because he had been eagerly anticipating the baby's arrival. Thus, she had gone to the hospital alone for a checkup. The results were devastating—her
Wanda knew she couldn't delay dealing with her situation any longer. The longer the dead fetus remained in her womb, the greater the harm it would cause.She returned to Leach Manor and kept an eye on the time. Stefan should be back around this time. So, Wanda deliberately picked up her phone and pretended to make a call.She said into the phone, "Watch over Millie's studio and make sure her business isn't doing too badly. Don't let her know it was my idea. I'll reimburse all your expenses…"After Wanda was done uttering her staged instructions, she put down the phone. When she turned around, she pretended to be startled to see Stefan standing there."Stefan? Oh, you scared me! Why didn't you say something when you came in?" Wanda asked with a playful pout."Are you helping Millie?" he asked, frowning."Yes. Although she and I don't get along, I don't think this incident is her fault. It was her staff cutting corners and substituting her products with inferior ones. I admire he
Millie and Celia were still busy, so Millie ordered takeout for both of them."Celia, stop for now and take a break," Millie said."If only Mr. Saville were here, we could relax a little," Celia responded.Upon hearing this, Millie glanced toward Julian's office. She felt a little melancholic as she stared at the empty office. It seemed like they wouldn't even be able to remain friends in the future.Just then, Celia gasped. "Mrs. Leach?"Millie froze. What was Wanda doing here?Her business was open to everyone, and she couldn't stop Wanda from coming in."What are you here for?" Millie asked warily."I'm here to take you to see Stefan. I'll be there tonight as well," Wanda said with a smile.Millie was immediately confused. She had thought Stefan had invited her alone, but it turned out Wanda would also be there."I'm very busy and don't have time," Millie said dismissively.Wanda continued, "I've already spoken to Stefan. If this were ancient times when polygamy wasn't fr
That night, Millie couldn't sleep at all. She tossed and turned, unable to quiet her thoughts.When morning finally arrived, she immediately got up, washed up, and packed her things to head to the hospital. Pierce saw how anxious she was but said nothing. He simply accompanied her to the hospital without a word.Once Millie got there, she took over looking after Stefan from Agnes and Robin. She urged them to go home, wash up, and get some rest."Pierce and I are here. We'll take good care of him," Millie said reassuringly."Alright. I'll leave Stefan in your care then," Agnes replied.Only then did she finally leave, walking away with slow, heavy steps.After that, Millie changed into sterile clothing and entered the ward.Stefan looked weak, but his spirits seemed a little better. When he saw Millie, he even forced a smile and greeted, "You're here.""Does your wound hurt?" Millie asked in concern."No, not really. I have painkillers and a PCA pump, so I barely feel anythin
In the end, she and Stefan were simply not meant to be. The distance between them only grew wider as life went on. He should never have saved her.Pierce held Millie close. "Don't overthink it. The doctors are still working on him. We'll know once they come out. He's tough. He'll be fine.""Pierce, why did he have to do that? My heart feels so heavy." Millie wept."I know, I know." Pierce gently patted her back. He understood exactly how she felt.He wasn't afraid of Stefan scheming against him, but what worried him more was that Stefan would suddenly change and sacrifice himself to make amends for his past mistakes.If he had remained cruel, Millie could have hated him completely. But now, by repaying his debts bit by bit, he had placed Millie in an impossible position. She couldn't love him, but she also couldn't bring herself to hate him.Soon, Agnes and Robin arrived too.Agnes had aged significantly in the recent months, and she seemed to be in noticeably weaker spirits as
"Stefan, are you okay? Hold on! I'll take you to the hospital right away," Millie urgently said."Are… Are you hurt anywhere?" Stefan asked in a trembling voice, forcing himself to endure the pain.Even at a time like this, he was still worried about her."I'm okay… I-I'm fine," Millie replied with a slight stutter."That's good." Stefan breathed a sigh of relief.Millie glanced at the rotting, festering wound on his back and couldn't help but anxiously tear up. She didn't wait for Pierce and immediately hailed a cab.Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd had subdued the attacker—it turned out to be the disgruntled Carlos who had been fired. Even as he was restrained, he kept screaming that he wanted to kill Millie and make Pierce regret it for the rest of his life.As the commotion went on, Millie helped Stefan into the car. His back was so badly wounded that he couldn't lean against the seat. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and his entire body was drenched in cold sweat
Yulia's words had tainted Pierce's ears. Since that was the case, he would find a way to make sure she could never speak again.If it had been the Pierce of the past—the one who worked as an anti-smuggling officer—he would never have considered such an option. But now that he was freed from the constraints of that identity, there were some matters that he no longer had to be so cautious about.He was never a purely kind person. His heart was far darker and more calculating than most could imagine. He could be a ruthless executioner without a shred of hesitation, or he could appear as an untouchable, noble paragon of benevolence.After resolving the situation with Yulia, Isabella felt relieved and invited Millie out for drinks.Millie was glad to hang out with her. Sharon had taken Tristan abroad, so she no longer had a drinking buddy."You have no idea how utterly disgusting that Yulia made me feel. It was like someone had forced a mouthful of dirt down my throat!" Isabella comp
Yulia locked herself in her room. She was curled up on the bed, disheveled and unkempt.Her phone screen was lit as she scrolled through the comments under Pierce's latest Twitter post—all of them were insults directed at her. She had completely lost herself in obsession."I did nothing wrong! Why should I apologize? Pierce is the heartless one! He betrayed me! Even as a woman, I have more courage than he does! Mom, I want to appeal my case. I want to sue him a second time. That lawyer was useless…"Helena had finally reached her breaking point and delivered a heavy slap across Yulia's face. Yulia's head snapped to the side as a clear handprint formed on her cheek."When will you wake up? Everyone can see that Pierce never liked you! In fact, if you hadn't done all those ridiculous things, he wouldn't even know who you were! How long are you going to deceive yourself? You're completely delusional!" Helena roared.Then, she added, "And even if… even if something had actually happ
Yulia wept and continued to blabber in her livestream. "If you don't love me, then why did you stop others from hurting me and take me to the hospital? If you don't love me, why did you pay for my medical expenses?"Can you swear that you didn't feel even a tiny bit of emotion when we locked eyes in front of that bakery? I understand that marriages in wealthy families are complicated and involve many parties' interests, where one small move can set off a chain reaction. "I was so considerate of your predicament, but what did you do to me? To protect yourself, you threw me under the bus. Pierce Atkinson, is this fair to me?"After saying all that, she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Meanwhile, viewers in the livestream showered her with virtual gifts, comforting her and telling her not to cry, claiming their hearts ached for her.Millie came across her livestream as well. The platform's algorithm had pushed it to her feed, so there was no avoiding seeing it.She was sp
"No! Mr. Atkinson, you can't do this! I did it for you!" Carlos cried."I don't know Yulia personally, nor did I secretly ask you to take care of her. No wonder she kept misinterpreting my intentions and tried to get close to me. You were part of the reason that she's delusional," Pierce said with a scoff.Yulia must have assumed that all the special treatment Carlos had given her was Pierce's doing. Naturally, she would have started to fantasize.Pierce also reflected on himself. He never should have sympathized with her or helped her in the first place. When he saw her, he had been reminded of Millie from years ago and had wanted to make up for his inability to help her back then in some small way. Never did he expect that it would cause so much trouble for him.Whatever compensation John decided to ask from Yulia was none of his business too.After that, Pierce sent Carlos away and began addressing the false rumors spreading online."Well, well. You seem to have a lot of rom
Yulia believed that Pierce must have felt the same way. Since fate had brought them together, how could she possibly give up?Now that Pierce had paid for her hospital stay, she felt she should recover properly and not waste his kindness.…Meanwhile, back at Atkinson Group, Tobias never mentioned the matter to Pierce. The situation had been urgent when Yulia was hospitalized, and anyone would have covered the cost in such circumstances. After all, a life was at stake.Tobias reported, "Mr. Atkinson, the former Head of Sales, Carlos Reyes, keeps asking to see you. The receptionist has alerted me about this multiple times. He said he needs to see you for something important. Do you want to meet him?""Is he the one Mills fired?" Pierce coolly looked up."Yes," Tobias replied."Useless trash like him isn't worth my time," Pierce indifferently responded. After all, anyone who crossed Millie had also crossed him.So, Tobias immediately informed Carlos that if he ever came again, he
Yulia kept waiting for an opportunity, but the two times she saw Pierce, he was with Millie. The sight of this drove her mad with jealousy. How she wished she could tear Millie apart. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't be struggling just to get into Atkinson Group now.And so, Yulia obsessively staked out the parking lot every day like a madwoman. As a result, she had grown noticeably thinner. Sometimes, she saw Tobias. However, she didn't approach him. But finally, after nearly a week, she found her chance.Pierce had arrived alone with no one in the passenger seat. Just as he got out of the car, a shadow flitted into his peripheral view. As a former police officer, his reflexes were sharp. He immediately subdued the person with a grappling move."Ow… Ouch! It hurts…" Yulia pitifully whimpered.Pierce hadn't seen Yulia's face yet. He only realized that it was a woman and that she posed no real threat. So, he released his grip.However, upon realizing that it was Yulia, he