By evening, the wonderful smell of cooking wafted from the kitchen as Lionel brought out the seafood stew. "I just learned the recipe for this. Tell me what you think!"Miranda looked at the table full of her favorite food. There were mashed potatoes with bacon bits, a garden salad, grilled sea bass
Miranda took a huge bite of the strawberry. Her eyes immediately lit up in a bright smile. "It's delicious!"Mindy looked at the smile on Miranda's face and was suddenly reminded of the state she'd come home in earlier. She felt her heart stirring and gently took Miranda's hand in the warmth of her
"Why would you say that I can't write? Don't you know how big of a humiliation that sentence is to an author?"Yes, fine, you're the editor, and I should trust your instincts and your eye for the market trends and whatnot. But those themes and topics aren't my cup of tea. It's too big of a change fr
During that time, Mindy almost fell into a deep depression.Luckily, with help from her husband and daughter, she slowly got better. Since then, though, she stopped using the Internet and only used an old-fashioned cell phone.In ten years, she wrote just one young adult novel. Besides that, she had
Mindy said, "I forgot to pick up the baking powder. Mimi, can you get a packet from that shelf over there?""Sure," Miranda said, knowing her mom was trying to send her away.Once Miranda was out of earshot, Mindy turned to Edith. "I mentioned this morning that I'm still thinking about it.""Still t
"A writer who can't produce work or make sales—are they still a writer?"Mindy got upset. "I have lots of ideas, but you…"Edith cut her off, "Your ideas aren't special or interesting. Writing them would just waste time and not make any sales! Do you still think you're the 'Queen of Suspense'? Hones
Moreover, Miranda noticed that Edith, the editor, wasn't really caring about her mother. Instead, Edith was just pressuring and manipulating her."Can I read those books?" Miranda asked eagerly."Sure, I'll send them to you when we get home. Just make sure you're ready to read all of them!" Mindy re
It was enough that things seemed polite on the surface; no one needed to push further.Hansel usually stayed neutral, avoiding taking sides and pretending not to notice any issues. He never really tried to fix the problems between his girlfriend and his mother.Miranda understood this and didn't for
By force? Sam chuckled. "Well, that's if you actually managed to grab hold of it."Timothy retorted, "How would you know you can't if you haven't tried?""What? Are you going to pursue Aunt Minnie? Heh… First of all, there's no way you'll get past my grandparents."Timothy made no comment on that.
"No way… Are you a big shot? You even brought your bodyguards to get drunk at a bar?" "Who knows?" Sam retorted.…Sam asked his bodyguards to stand closer deliberately so that he could finally have some peace and quiet. He poured himself another drink, but unlike last night, he didn't chug it down
Now, Timothy and Mindy were no longer the childhood sweethearts they once were. Their lives had diverged, with separate marriages and entirely different paths."Do you remember when we were kids, the promises we made about what we wanted to be when we grew up?" Timothy was the first to break the sil
Timothy waved his hand dismissively. "No need, I'll serve myself…""Nonsense! We're all family here." Before Timothy could finish, Lionel had already added two heaping servings of ribs to his plate.Timothy froze, momentarily at a loss for words.Nelly smiled sweetly, but her gaze toward Timothy was
The moment seemed to pull Timothy back in time, to when they were just young adults in their 20s. Their world revolved solely around each other, yet held back by the unspoken.His heart stirred. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Mindy stood up and broke the spell. "I sh
Nelly's smile became slightly strained. "Is that so? Lionel is truly a family man…"As everyone enjoyed their meal, the doorbell suddenly rang. Sam put down his cutlery. "I'll get it," he said, heading to the entryway.A few seconds later, his surprised voice echoed through the house. "Dad? What are
Mindy only asked Miranda to contact Sam because the two of them already knew each other.Back when Lionel's wallet was stolen at the train station, Miranda had introduced Sam to them. She called him "Mr. Cooper" and explained that he was a friend. Later, Sam had even thoughtfully dropped them off at
Fortunately, for now, Fiona was satisfied with Lionel as a son-in-law. He was gentle, attentive, and thoughtful, with decent looks and a respectable height.Having graduated from Queenstone College and now working as a physics teacher at a prestigious high school, he might not be wealthy, but he was
"A family reunion is always a good thing," Aren said with a heartfelt sigh, while Lionel nodded immediately in agreement.It was then that Mindy realized she hadn't introduced Lionel to Nelly."This is my husband," she said."Hello," Nelly responded with a faint smile. "My brother-in-law certainly l