"Ow!" The boy winced in pain.Cherry took a step back, eyeing the bully. "Your family runs a clothing business, right?""How do you know?" the bully asked, surprised. His family indeed owned a garment factory."I also know that with just a slight push from a certain Carlson, your family’s business could crumble, leaving you without even clothes on your back."The bully scoffed. "You think you can scare me?" "Well, if you dare to hit him, then when tomorrow your dad jumps off a building because his business collapsed, and your mom leaves you to escape debt, you'll remember I wasn’t just scaring you," Cherry replied, her sweet face turning cold.Despite being significantly shorter, she dominated the scene with her presence.The boy’s bravado faded, replaced by fear. He did not want to end up homeless.After glaring at Tristan still on the ground, he grumbled, "Lucky day for you, brat. But watch out next time!"He and his companions then left.Cherry glanced at Tristan still on
At the pizza shop, Cherry savored her cherished cherry cake with her eyes blissfully shut. Sophie could not help but smile at her daughter’s enjoyment. "Be honest, you didn’t eat lunch today, did you?"Cherry opened her eyes wide in surprise. "Could you tell?" "Did I guess right? You’re picky again," Sophie lightly scolded, surprised her casual comment was accurate."I wasn't picky. I just had something..." Cherry started, then quickly changed the subject, realizing the topic might veer toward Tristan. "Oh, it’s just that my deskmate, Reyna, kept asking me for riddles. She wants to be a scholar, but she’s the dullest one I’ve ever met!"Cherry deftly changed the subject, and Sophie chose not to probe further.After their meal, they visited an amusement park.By the time they returned home, Cherry was exhausted.Sophie tucked her in and kissed her forehead, then checked her phone in the living room.An unread message about Cherry getting into a scuffle at school over Tristan
Cherry reached for the lollipop and thought, 'So this means the snacks don't come from Reyna. Then who's the one who got me all these cherry-flavored snacks?'Could it be... Tristan Carlson!'"Cherry? What are you thinking? Are you thinking about riddles?" Reyna asked.Being dragged back to reality by her classmate, Cherry bent down and took all the snacks out of the drawer."Wow, why are there so many delicious snacks?" Reyna was surprised by the sheer amount of food.Cherry remained silent and swiftly brought the snacks over to the trash can in the corner. In the blink of an eye, all the unopened snacks were already lying in the trash can.Reyna was taken aback by Cherry's action. "What are you doing? I thought you loved cherry-flavored snacks the most?""I do, but I don't feel like eating these today," Cherry replied.'Tristan thinks that by giving me food, he'll be forgiven for what he did that day? Wrong! The enmity between us didn't just originate from what happened that
At 2:00 p.m., Albert Sauer from Bright Empire arrived at Heracles Hotel with his secretary and entered the private room. However, the first thing that caught his eye was Sophie sitting across from the entrance, surprising him. "Ms. Luxford, why are you here?"He had obviously arranged to meet Cedric, but the hotel manager called earlier, admitting to a scheduling error. She also mentioned Cedric had agreed to move the appointment up by an hour. Thus, he promptly concluded his current meeting and rushed over.Sophie stood up and started the conversation with an apology. "Mr. Sauer, I apologize for meeting you in this manner. Please forgive me if this is inappropriate in your book."Her apologetic tone left no room for Albert to express his dissatisfaction. They were both seasoned entrepreneurs and as cunning as foxes in business negotiations. This wasn't just inappropriate—it was outright deception."I know that you're here today to discuss collaboration with X Corp., but I believe
"Alright, since Ms. Luxford is interested, let's discuss it together." Cedric said with a smirk as he glanced at Sophie. He then pulled out his chair and sat down.At this point, Sophie naturally couldn't retreat either, thus she pushed the proposal forward with a smile.Cedric extended his hand, but instead of accepting the proposal, he grasped hers. "Since everyone has arrived early, we have plenty of time, there's no need to rush.""That's true," Sophie replied as she let go of the copy and withdrew her hand, a gesture of clear aversion that instantly made the atmosphere awkward.Seeing this, Albert had no choice but to step in to ease the tension. "Mr. Carlson, Ms. Luxford, how about we order some wine and dishes first?""Okay, I just so happened to be too busy earlier to have lunch." This was what Cedric was waiting for. He lifted his gaze and glanced at Evander beside him. "Go ahead and order us some food.""Yes, Mr. Carlson," Evander replied.He exited the private room. U
On the wedding day, he had elegantly completed the ceremony with her but hadn't touched any of the food. Despite having no appetite, she had insisted on eating everything."Does the food not suit your palate?" A mellow, pleasant voice sounded from behind, dragging Sophie back to reality.She opened her eyes instantly but did not turn around. Instead, she glared in the mirror at Cedric, who had entered the restroom at some point, and her voice turned cold. "Cedric, is X Corp. so idle that you're able to act this lamely?!""Yes, I've been very bored these past five years," Cedric replied.He wasn't just bored but also afraid—afraid that she might never return and that he wouldn't have the chance to rectify his mistakes.It had taken him five years to realize that the woman he thought he disliked had already nestled deep in his heart. All the absurd things he had done in the past were just attempts to prove her love and hide the fact that he had fallen for her!Not wanting to lose h
The two left and returned one after another, inevitably sparking speculations about whether they had been together just now.Linda looked at Sophie with some concern. However, she saw that she had already picked up her glass of red wine with a smile, clearly having regained her composure.At that moment, Sophie asked, "Mr. Sauer, we've almost finished eating. How do you feel about Paramount Inc.'s proposal?""Well..." Albert glanced at Cedric in embarrassment, then sighed. "Mr. Carlson, Ms. Luxford, to be honest, both of your proposals are fabulous. Especially yours, Ms. Luxford. It's just too good for me to refuse."So... Mr. Carlson, I'm sorry.""It's okay. If we can't collaborate this time around, there's always next time." Cedric's tone sounded as if he had lost a dime instead of an entire project.'It seems that I've guessed correctly.' Albert breathed a sigh of relief and then could not help but speculate, 'Mr. Carlson, whether it was when he was in charge of Carlson Group
'Apart from that, our highly-tempting proposal isn't the only factor contributing to our success in securing the project. Cedric's deliberate concession contributed, too,' Sophie thought as she knew what Cedric had done."Hey, what are you thinking about? Did anything else happen that day?" Jeanna asked."What do you want to happen? By the way, what do you think about Sean?" With her thoughts interrupted, Sophie calmly shifted the topic onto Jeanna and Sean.Jeanna quickly put down the coffee in her hand. "Oh, Soph, baby, you just reminded me that I haven't bought Cherry's gift. I’ll go first.”Seeing her opting for a quick escape, Sophie shook her head helplessly. "Linda, do you think fate enjoys playing tricks on us humans?"As her best friend, she hoped that Jeanna could find someone who would love and cherish her for the rest of her life. But now it seemed that fate had already decided, and her wishful thinking would not change anything."Over these past five years, Mr. Chesh