"You're impossible." Grace turned around. "I don't want to see you again."She strode off. Benjamin reached out a hand to try and stop her, but he missed. Grace's dress flared, and Benjamin caught sight of her bandaged ankle. He frowned. He had seen that kind of bandaging before. Anyone who had graduated from the police academy would know how to do it. Every New Year, Alexander refused to return to Hawkins Manor. It always made Elizabeth rather sad, so she would arrange for things to be delivered to him. Once, Benjamin had been roped into it and had gone to see Alexander. It had been raining heavily that year, and the police academy had been in a remote location. As they had been driving, a landslide had occurred. Both Benjamin and the driver had been buried in it. The students from the police academy had rescued them. Alexander had been one of them. He had been surprised to see Benjamin, but he was mature beyond his years. "You're Benjamin.""...you're Alexander.""A
There was a woman standing beside Joshua. She looked like she was trying to keep a low profile, but anyone could see that she was dressed from head to toe in branded attire. It was obvious that she was afraid that no one would notice her.She took Joshua's arm and smiled sweetly. "Ms. Noelle, you're as beautiful as I imagined."Noelle had been talking to Joshua, but the woman had interrupted them. The people around them looked at her strangely, and Joshua pulled his arm away. In answer to Noelle's previous question, he said, "No."The woman's expression darkened. Noelle's lip curled. "No wonder. Since we haven't met for so many years, I thought that perhaps your taste in women got worse."She was young and very charming. Joshua couldn't look away from her. "You're all grown up now, and you've got a sharp tongue. Do you have a boyfriend?"Noelle was about to speak when Anthony stopped her. "Not yet. She's still young. We're not in a rush about these things.""She's reached t
Joshua stuck out his hand and pulled Celia into his embrace. "She says she doesn't know who you are."Benjamin didn't say anything. He stared intently at Celia, who had changed so completely. No matter how angry he was, he couldn't make a scene at this time. Elysium Bank's annual party wasn't a joke, and there were many high officials present. He couldn't embarrass Anthony. Joshua was even more powerful than Hawkins Group, and it wouldn't be a good idea to offend him either. Grace could tell that Benjamin was suppressing his anger. When Joshua and the others took their seats, Timothy followed them. Grace grabbed Noelle's hand and whispered in her ear. Noelle nodded.After that, Grace didn't hang around longer; she left the party. Luke was waiting outside. "The production company that Joshua invested in is Stellar, which is one of the most popular companies right now. They're rivals with Amirate's film and television department.""Check the artists that he's signed on rec
The next day, Noelle rushed to Amirate to tell Grace about what had happened the night before."Joshua has an official girlfriend that he's been seeing for about three or four months. However, the Iversons don't acknowledge her existence, and her background is unclear. They just treat it as him playing around."Grace was flipping through some documents. "For the Iversons, even both the Hawkins family and Hawkins Group put together are insignificant. "Besides, Benjamin had exiled Celia to Astana. How did she come back?"Noelle shook her head. "No one knows. I heard that Joshua erased all traces of her past."This was interesting. Was Celia really that capable?Grace twirled the pen in her hand. "How were things last night?""Joshua and Timothy were like oil and water. Timothy tried to trick him into slipping up but failed despite trying the entire night. He was furious."Grace couldn't help laughing at the idea that Timothy had failed for once."Celia was at the table playing
Celia heard Grace's voice and turned around slowly. "Oh, I see that the boutique's real owner is here."Grace was calm as she snatched the bag from Celia's hand. She scanned it with her phone. "The official website's scanner shows that it's authentic. What do you have to say?"Emily took Grace's arm. "She's doing it on purpose. She just wants to make trouble. I already scanned it earlier."Celia crossed her arms over her chest and said arrogantly, "Then, it must be damaged because you didn't store it properly. I'm not going to accept this bag. You must give me a full refund.""You're shameless!" Emily was so angry that her scalp prickled. She tried to push past Grace. Grace stopped her. "Ms. Hawkins, it's okay if you don't accept this bag. We can give you a full refund as well. I'll just let the official manufacturer know so that they will never custom-make anything for you from now on. How about it?"In other words, Celia would be blacklisted. Celia's expression changed. Th
"That's enough." Celia cut her off, looking sullen. She had suffered at Grace's hands before, and she knew that it was very likely that the latter indeed had a connection with Joshua's first love. She didn't dare risk it in front of so many people.Grace turned her phone in her hands.Celia approached her and said in a low voice, "Don't get too triumphant. There's more in store for you."Grace touched her hair, and her eyes shifted to the figure in the distance. "I'll be waiting."Celia turned around angrily and left the boutique with her posse. Silence fell at once. The smile dropped off of Grace's face. Noelle asked hurriedly, "Grace, does Joshua really have a first love?""I made it up."Emily laughed out loud. "I knew it! Only Celia would be dumb enough to be fooled by that. This just shows that she doesn't know Joshua well enough. She's just bluffing and putting on airs."At that moment, Jake and his female companion came up to them. The woman said, "I've come to get
Grace took a sharp breath.The photos were of the night Shawn had gone over to her house. It showed him massaging her feet, talking to her, and helping her up the stairs.The photos had been captured at angles that made them look like a couple.Grace's face turned pale. She once again lamented Jake's despicableness."This isn't the truth.""Even if it's not, Xander will see it that way."Jake flipped to the last photo, which showed Shawn standing alone in the yard. His figure looked lonely and forlorn. "Look at this one. Doesn't it look like post-sex calm?"Grace looked up, then suddenly slapped him across the face. The crisp sound echoed in the boutique.Luckily, there was no one else around.Jake turned his face to the side. As he licked the corner of his mouth, he tasted blood."Did you just hit me?""How shameless can you be? Do you think I'll succumb to your threats?""I haven't said what I want you to do. Why are you so anxious?"Grace's palm throbbed faintly. She ha
Grace sounded quite troubled.Just then, Spencer pushed the door open with some documents in his hands. He waited for Shawn to finish the call.Shawn raised his hand, gesturing for Spencer to sit first, while he walked to the window. "How important is the relationship?"Grace blurted out, "Very important.""How serious is the threat?"Grace didn't dare say that the matter was related to him. She swallowed and said, "It doesn't involve a life-or-death situation. It's a business competition at most."Shawn had a clear idea of the situation now. "If it were me, I would choose to endure it and resolve the matter carefully. After all, it's a very important relationship. Once it's ruined, it can't go back to the way it was before."For some reason, when he said this, Grace heard a hint of melancholy in his tone."Shawn, did I touch on something that upset you?""No, it's all in the past." After a pause, he asked, "Do you need help?"Grace had already found her answer and hurriedly