Yelun opened the drawer of his desk, took out an old photograph, and examined it carefully. After a while, he handed the photo to Lizzie."Dad, who is this?" Lizzie asked, looking at the young woman in the photo and then back at Yelun. The woman in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Bruno."She was Bruno's biological mother," Yelun said, his gaze drifting towards the window as if lost in distant memories. "I made a mistake all those years ago, and that's how Bruno came into being. I know he's always blamed me. Blamed me for taking her even though I couldn't marry her, for ignoring her even after she gave birth, for not visiting her or the child even after she fell ill and passed away... I couldn't bring Bruno back to the Kolo family, forcing him into an orphanage. His resentment towards me, his anger... I understand it all."It had been over twenty years, but the pain was still fresh.Lizzie looked at the photo in her hand, then back up at Yelun. "Dad..."Yelun turned back to fa
"Everything you've said, I've remembered. I've dutifully played along with your scheme, accompanying you back to the villa. What else do you want? Are you expecting me to go downstairs right now and tell my father that everything between us is a lie, a deceptive trick? Want me to ask him to let me leave the Kolo family? Is that what you want?" Lizzie was furious. Was she angry at him? His sarcastic comments? His continuous misunderstandings?When did she start getting so angry for Bruno?"Are you threatening me?" Bruno saw the tears welling up in her eyes and felt an inexplicable twinge of heartache.Lizzie turned her head away, "No! I'm just telling it like it is.""Oh? So, you’re feeling wronged?" Bruno reached out and gently held her face, forcing her to look into his eyes.Lizzie tried to pull away his hand, but her small hands on his strong wrist seemed futile."I want to rest now." Lizzie neither admitted nor denied, she simply lowered her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.Bruno
Lizzie stepped back, her hands trembling and the cup of water she was holding spilled, wetting her hand. "Since you don't want to drink, let it be." She put down the cup carefully, not wanting to break it. The porcelain cup was expensive, and she could tell that even if she did break it, Bruno wouldn't bat an eyelid.Bruno watched her with a confused look. "Did you wait for me until dawn just to give me this ginseng tea?" He couldn't believe it."Yeah, why else would I stay up this late?" Lizzie nodded honestly, not understanding the strange look on his face."Was it worth it?" Bruno stared at her, his tone flat. He was unsure whether to think of her as foolish or crafty.Lizzie was puzzled. What did he mean by worth it or not?"Just for this cup of tea, you waited until dawn?" Bruno asked again.It seemed that he thought she had ulterior motives. Lizzie smiled wryly."It's not about being worth it. It's just following my mother-in-law's instructions. As a daughter-in-law, I have resp
Just as Flora was about to speak, Lizzie's phone, which was resting on the coffee table, rang. "Mother, pardon me, I need to take this call," she said.She picked up her phone and moved to a corner of the room. "Hello, Hannah. What's up?" she asked."Lizzie, it's the weekend. Let's go out and have some fun!" Louise proposed from the other end of the line.Lizzie glanced at Flora, who was looking at her intently. "Hannah, I'm sorry, but I'm staying at home today. I might not be able to go out. How about next time?" she said."Lizzie, is your mother-in-law not allowing you to go out?" Louise guessed."Yes," Lizzie replied softly.Louise sighed in resignation, "Alright! I'll have to catch you next time."Putting away her phone, Lizzie turned around only to see that Flora had somehow gotten behind her. She jumped back in surprise. "Mother!""Exactly. You should help around the house on the weekends instead of always thinking about going out. You're different, you're already a wife and a d
The black BMW had already parked in the exclusive spot at the club. "Ruoya, what are you thinking about? You seem so lost." Jacob's large hand covered her small one, which was damp with cold sweat.Ruoya snapped back to reality, "Oh, it's nothing." She smiled at him."Today you're supposed to be here to relax with me, but you seem to have something on your mind." Jacob turned off the engine, "We're here. Let's get out of the car.""Okay." Ruoya nodded.The two of them walked side by side into the upscale leisure club. Ruoya took Jacob's arm, "Jacob, it's been a long time since I've played any sports. You'll need to go easy on me!""Every time we play, you're the one who wins," Jacob said, a charming smile spreading across his face, only to freeze when he spotted Bruno arm-in-arm with Adeline, emerging from the other side of the club, standing in front of the elevator.Jacob wondered why Bruno was here, intimately arm-in-arm with Adeline. Where was Lizzie?"What a coincidence!" Bruno s
Throughout the series of matches, Bruno and Adeline always came out as winners, while Jacob and Ruoya remained at a disadvantage."Jacob, can't we stop playing?" Ruoya looked at him.But Jacob disagreed, and in the end, the doubles match turned into Jacob and Bruno against each other, with Jacob ending up losing once again.Bruno took the towel that Adeline handed him and wiped the sweat off his face. "My apologies, Director Lei."Jacob glanced at him indifferently. "CEO Leng, you're too polite.""No need to be so polite to me. You can't beat me, no matter what! Including Lizzie." Bruno approached him, whispering quietly, but it was already a declaration of the outcome."You..." Jacob could only watch as Bruno walked away, leaving him with his back view.Was he really that confident? On what basis? Jacob clenched his fists, tightly gripping the towel as if trying to tear a hole in it. He glared at their departing figures with anger and resentment.Ruoya walked over and stood by his si
Lizzie had walked a dozen meters to a trash bin to dispose of her garbage. She dusted off her clothes, but the smeared dirt on her outfit stubbornly clung onto it. As she strolled back towards her villa, she wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead. She heard a whimpering sound. This time, Lizzie followed the sound and spotted a grubby little white dog hiding in the nearby flowerbed. With a tender touch, she lifted the poor creature out, seeing it had a bleeding paw."Oh, how did you get injured?" Lizzie cradled the dirty dog in her arms without any signs of repulsion. She sat on the edge of the flowerbed, examining the wound on its paw. The little white dog obediently lay on her lap, wagging its tail.Lizzie held its paws, looking into its round, innocent, brown eyes, "How did you end up here? Where's your home?" Despite being fully aware that it wouldn't answer, she couldn't stop her questions.This was an upscale neighborhood, and the residents who owned dogs usually had pedigreed
Bruno watched her back as she left, his thick eyebrows furrowed in thought. She was growing braver, even daring to speak to him the way she did. What annoyed him even more was that her attention was focused entirely on a stray dog. He couldn't stand her ignoring him. Maybe he should have killed that dog back then, just to see what she would do?Pulling up to his villa, he had barely gotten out of his car when he heard Flora's voice echoing through the spacious living room."Lizzie, what in the world are you doing? Where did you find such a filthy dog? Get rid of it at once!" Flora glared at Lizzie who was cradling a dirty stray in her arms."Mom, Bob will be clean after a bath. It'd be so cruel to discard him!" Lizzie protested, even as Bob wrestled his way out of her arms, leaving a trail of pawprints on the pristine floor.Flora gasped, "Look at this, look at this mess! The floor was just cleaned. It's filthy again!" She backed away, as if Bob was a monstrous creature. "Enough. Thro