Samantha simply skipped over the previous topic."Of course, you're my wife. Half of the Leach family's rights belong to you too. I'll appoint you as the project manager now," Stefan said. His gentle smile somehow brought comfort to Samantha's previously heavy heart.After finishing his meal, Stefan left.Samantha then scrolled through her phone, finally able to take a glimpse at the messages and updates she had missed in the chaos of the previous night. However, what she saw left her in absolute devastation.Wanda had caused a scene outside the hotel yesterday. The commotion was loud enough to make it to the headlines, with reports claiming Samantha was the mistress who had schemed her way to Stefan during his marriage with Wanda.Stefan's reputation was beyond redemption now. The internet was filled with scathing comments about his personal conduct. Now, even she had become entangled in the drama."Wanda!" Samantha groaned as she gritted her teeth in anger. The next time Wanda
Samantha left Atkinson Group and drove alone to an isolated alley. Down the quiet alley, there was a small pastry shop. Due to its old and worn out sign, it was barely noticeable to anyone who passed by. Samantha stared at the glass door, as though something fierce and monstrous was hiding just beyond it. After a moment of hesitation, she finally gathered her courage and stepped into the shop.…Did Samantha really go to an ordinary pastry shop by herself?Stefan had been secretly monitoring Samantha's movements, and it was highly suspicious that she would go to such a place."I had someone follow her in. There's nothing special about the place. It's just a small shop that's been around for decades. The pastries were average, nothing unusual. I don't know why Mrs. Leach would go in there," the secretary reported."Keep watching... No, wait. Watch Millie instead, but try not to alert Pierce's men," Stefan firmly ordered.Just then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind—Samanth
"How… dare you hit me!" Samantha rushed forward to strike back, but Tobias was standing close by and quickly grabbed her arm from behind. He then twisted it and held her in place so that she couldn't move."Mrs. Leach, she's your brother's wife! You should treat her with more respect!" Tobias said.Upon seeing this, Millie slapped Samantha again. Now, both sides of Samantha's face burned with equal intensity.Millie rebuked, "Pierce treated you like his own sister. He even kept your adoption a secret to ensure that everyone respected you, afraid that people would gossip about your background and make you uncomfortable."He protected you for 20 years, and the life you have now is all thanks to him. But what have you done in return? You knew Pierce and Stefan had conflicts, yet you still chose to marry him! You flaunt your status as Mrs. Leach in front of him every day. And now, you even dared to hit Tobias!"She continued, "Do you know that Tobias and Pierce have been through lif
"She directly told Samantha that you're her man and warned her not to desire you. Tsk, tsk… I even made a copy of the surveillance footage. Take a look…"Pierce watched the footage, seeing Millie stand up for him, and his heart warmed."Pierce, don't tell Millie. I've betrayed her. I was just worried you didn't know how much she cares about you. You have to cover for me and pretend you don't know anything.""You're smart, playing both sides. You can leave now. I want to be alone for a while."Pierce dismissed Tobias and kept rewatching the video.Millie's unwavering defense of him deeply moved him.She always understood him.Yet, he had repeatedly let her down and worried her because of Samantha.Both Samantha and Millie were the family he had personally chosen.If Samantha proved unworthy, then she could be discarded.He logged into his business social media account and posted a lengthy statement, revealing that Samantha was an adopted daughter, not a biological member of th
Stefan knew Pierce had already blocked her.He must have seen her messages but still chose to cut ties so decisively.Pierce, I'm your sister! How can you be so heartless? After raising me for 20 years, are you really going to abandon me like this?"Millie, this is all your fault… You destroyed everything! I hesitated before, but not anymore. I'm going to kill you, either you die or I do!"Her expression turned maniacal as she grabbed her phone and dialed a number."You can start now. I want her to disappear from the Arbelton forever!"…When Millie returned home, she didn't immediately go online.She went into her study to paint and lost herself in her work. Two hours passed before she finally glanced at her phone, unaware of how drastically the world outside had changed.To her surprise, it was Pierce who had made the first move by publishing an essay.She quickly called him. "Are you okay? Why did you reveal Samantha's adopted status?""Did you just look at your phone?"
Samantha had been the only person Pierce had ever genuinely cared for as a family member. But now, even those feelings of concern had no reason to exist any longer.Pierce hugged Millie tightly and rested his chin on her shoulder. She could feel her shirt getting wet from his warm tears. This was the first time she'd ever seen him so broken.He was crying his heart out.A woman's heart would soften at the sight of a man's tears. The moment Millie realized Pierce was crying, her heart went out to him. She would do anything to cheer him up."You know, your sister is watching over you from above. No matter how bad of a situation you were in, you managed to pull through every time. It's all thanks to your sister," Millie consoled.She gently patted Pierce's back to soothe him. "I'm so sorry. I still can't remember what happened that day. Otherwise, I would've remembered her. Then, there would be one more person in this world who misses her."But I'm here, Pierce. You'll have me with
Amelia pointed at one of the boys.For the first time ever, Pierce got into a fight. He pinned the boy to the ground and landed punch after punch on him.In the end, Donald had to step in and apologize to the boy's parents. That night, Pierce wasn't allowed to eat dinner as punishment.But Amelia secretly brought him food."Can't you tell that I don't like you?" Pierce asked."Why don't you like me? Aren't I your sister?" Amelia innocently questioned. At such a young age, she didn't understand the grudges of the adult world. She simply looked at Pierce with clear, innocent eyes that showed immense confusion."All I know is I hate you," Pierce declared.Heartbroken, Amelia left. Pierce regretted his words almost instantly. But before long, Amelia came back and had completely forgotten about it. Once more, she happily followed him around.This time, Pierce found that he couldn't harden his heart against her anymore.He was a difficult person. From when he was young, he k
A fine drizzle began to fall from the sky. It was as if the heavens were crying on Pierce's behalf. Millie held his arm to support him as they descended the mountain. Every step Pierce took was leaden.At the foot of the hill, he turned back to take one last look at the darkened night sky behind him. Only after that did he get into the car.That night, both of their hearts felt unbearably heavy.Millie had expected Pierce to grieve for a few days, or maybe even for some time. But to her surprise, he went to the Atkinson Group office as usual the next morning. The weight he carried on his shoulders was so great that he couldn't even afford to take a short break.…At long last, the day when Millie could finally have the steel plate removed had come. She had endured and waited for this day long enough. Pierce had an important meeting in the morning, so he could only accompany her in the afternoon. Therefore, Millie decided to stop by Atkinson Group first and have lunch with
Millie gently closed the box.Suddenly, a single tear slipped down, landing silently on the surface. Only then did Millie realize that she had been crying. She wasn't sure if she was mourning the love she once had or if her tears were for something else entirely.No wonder Pierce had told her to look at it in private. He didn't want to see her shedding tears for another man."It's all in the past. Why send this now?" Millie murmured.She wiped away her tears and picked up her phone. "Tobias, do me a favor. Auction something for me. Donate every last cent of the proceeds to charity. Not a single penny should be kept."She then ended the call and looked at the small box again. At least this way, it would be put to good use…Afterward, Millie headed to the study to check on Pierce. He watched her closely, his deep eyes unreadable.Millie pretended not to notice and said, "You keep working. I'm just going to sketch for a while."Pierce pressed his lips together as if he wante
Millie followed Pierce back home. As she stepped into the familiar space that belonged to just the two of them, her heart felt heavy with emotions.It had been two months since she had last been here, yet everything remained unchanged. Even the wardrobe had been stocked with new seasonal outfits.In those two months, Millie had lost a lot of weight. So, Pierce instructed the kitchen to prepare nourishing meals for her. He was determined to bring her back to full health.Pierce remained bedridden for another half month before he could finally use a cane to walk around a bit. His right leg was still severely injured, and every step sent searing pain through his body, making his face go pale and his forehead damp with cold sweat.Millie couldn't bear to watch him suffer and urged him to rest. But Pierce was stubborn and walked until his legs trembled, and he could no longer stand. Only then would he sit down."Does it hurt?" Millie worriedly asked."It doesn't. I just need to pr
With that, Millie turned around and left without hesitation. But just as she was about to step out of the room, Stefan's voice called out behind her once more, "Millie, I owe you an apology for everything. I never really said it before. It's late… but at least I'm finally saying it. "Millie, I'm sorry. I was the one in the wrong." Stefan's voice was soft, weakened by his injuries. It sounded as though those few words had drained all the strength from his body.Millie's body stiffened, and her hands were tightly clenched into fists at her sides.Stefan was apologizing at long last.Millie wanted to turn around to see if he was truly sincere or if this was just another one of his manipulations. However, she held herself back. Unimportant people didn't deserve even a second glance.Millie didn't say anything. She didn't say whether she would or would not forgive him. She just walked away.Stefan's face turned even paler. He knew that after everything he had done, he would never
Millie didn't want to see Pierce struggling alone, bottling up all his pain like a wounded lion licking its wounds in solitude.Upon hearing her words, Pierce simply tightened his embrace around her. "Mills… I'm scared…""I know. I understand," Millie whispered, gently patting his back."I'm afraid I won't be able to lift you anymore, and I'm afraid I won't be able to run or jump. I'm scared I won't be able to fight the bad guys and protect you anymore." Pierce's voice was soft and barely above a whisper. His sorrow was almost imperceptible, but it could be because he still hadn't fully released his emotions.Millie started, "You still have me. If you can't carry me, then don't. If you can't run fast or jump high, then I'll slow down and walk beside you. I can be your crutch and your support for a lifetime, okay?"And listen, Pierce, you may not be able to fight on the front lines anymore, but you're still there in spirit. We can move to the back lines to provide funding and strat
Pierce didn't tell Millie everything—such as the fact that Stefan had initially wanted to kill him. He spared Stefan some dignity, not wanting Millie to hate him forever.Millie stayed in the hospital to care for Pierce for two days when there was finally a change in Stefan's condition.Before he even regained consciousness, he was already calling her name. Robin anxiously rushed in to find Millie, and she hurried over."The patient's wound has gotten infected, leading to complications. We need to start emergency treatment immediately!""How could this have happened? Wasn't he supposed to wake up?" Robin was beside himself with worry."Millie… Millie…" Even in his fevered delirium, Stefan kept murmuring her name.Millie went over to him. His hand, which had been weakly grasping at the air, finally caught hold of something—her fingers. He clung to her tightly."I'm here, Stefan," she softly uttered.It was as if her words held some kind of magic, as Stefan immediately calmed d
Every word Pierce spoke was firm and impactful. Each word hammered on Stefan's heart mercilessly.Pierce owned up to his mistakes. But what about him? Could he do the same?All this while, he had been shifting the blame to everyone else. He blamed Pierce for stealing Millie away. Then, he blamed Millie for not forgiving him. He even blamed Wanda for seducing him, and the list went on…He had blamed so many people, holding onto their faults while conveniently brushing aside his own. When it came to himself, he always found a way to justify his actions. He completely ignored that he was the true cause of everything.Stefan's grip on Pierce's collar loosened. He took a few steps back in a daze and stumbled on his own feet, causing him to nearly fall to the ground."Those criminals… They're planning to strike again. I agreed to help them," Stefan said."Why are you telling me this?" Pierce responded."She said… She said that if you died, she wouldn't live either." Stefan's voice was
Millie gave Pierce a profound look that contained a myriad of emotions. Pierce could have been selfish and not tell her any of Stefan's good deeds. He could've even stopped her from visiting Stefan. Yet, he didn't do that.After giving Pierce one heavy nod, Millie went over to the adjacent hospital room.Stefan was seriously injured too. His health wasn't as good as Pierce's to begin with, so he still hadn't woken up yet.Robin was in his room, sitting beside him. He kept silently wiping away tears at one side."This is my only nephew. If anything were to happen to him, how would I face his late parents?" Robin mournfully said."Does Grandma know about this?" Millie inquired."I don't have the heart to tell Mom about this. She's old and frail. I don't want her to have a breakdown," Robin replied."I'll keep him company, Robin," Millie said.Robin hesitated for a moment and ultimately nodded. He believed that Stefan would want to see Millie upon waking up. So, Millie staye
"Don't move around. You're still very weak. The doctor said to give you some oatmeal porridge when you wake up. Your digestive system is still quite weak, so you need to eat something that goes down easily."A familiar voice sounded in Millie's ears."G-Grandpa? Why are you here? Where's Pierce? Pierce? Pierce…" After a moment of silence, Millie mumbled, "I forgot… Pierce is dead. Not even his body remains.""What nonsense are you speaking, child? Isn't he lying right beside you?" Bill interjected.Millie visibly froze for a second. Then, she whipped her head around to look. As Bill had said, Pierce was indeed right beside her. Layers of gauze were wrapped around his body, and he seemed to be heavily injured. However, his vital signs were steady, and his heartbeat was rhythmic—he was no longer in a critical condition."Pierce…" Millie tumbled out of bed without a care for the pain in her limbs.Bill quickly went over to support her and combined their beds together."H-How is t
Millie broke down emotionally. She was done with Stefan's constant self-righteous justification. He always blamed everyone else and deemed himself free of any wrongdoing. He acted as if the whole world had wronged him, while he had never wronged anyone.He painted himself as the pitiful and innocent victim, twisting logic to justify everything he did.Millie was done acting her part. She would let things play out however they should. There was no longer anything tying her to this world. If anything happened to Pierce, she wouldn't live either. Just the thought of being imprisoned by Stefan for three years was worse than death.And so, she locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Every day, the housekeepers delivered her meals. She had no appetite but still ate well.Millie also no longer cared whether Stefan had drugged her food or not. If she turned into a mindless lunatic, maybe that would be better than this painful clarity.…Days passed one after another.One