Lena gazed at them and recalled what Jade had said. Could it be true? Perhaps there was truly nothing between Elijah and Jacquelin, and Kasey had simply misunderstood?"Should I give you credit for my wife's victory?" he quipped, catching Lena off guard. She met his intense gaze as he tilted her head.Just as she was about to explain, Kasey stormed off in anger. Elijah followed her, but not before glancing at Lena fiercely.She stood there momentarily, her thoughts racing.Did she somehow offend Elijah today?Yet, he held a higher position within the company while she was just a regular staff member. Their paths should not cross in the future.Breathing a sigh of relief, Lena made her way to her office.-Arya visited the Hamertons to deliver the revised comic she had assisted Toph with.His eyes lit up after feeling down for a few days.She handed him the draft with a smile. The storyline and the characters had been refined."Wow, Arya!" Toph exclaimed. "You're a master o
Toph gazed at Arya, utterly astonished.Renee had never uttered such words to him. When they were close, he was the one showering her with compliments. Now that they had drifted apart—apart from urging him to fight for his inheritance against Zuko and criticizing his drawings as having no future—she remained silent.A sharp pain pierced his heart when he heard Arya's words, causing his eyes to well up with tears."Hey!" Arya was taken aback and quickly comforted him. "What's wrong? It's alright!""I'm okay." He sniffled. "I'm just so happy... Your approval means the world to me!""I'm actually quite lonely at home," he confessed. "My parents don't understand art. While my brother appreciates it, art is just a hobby for him, not a career. My grandma is an artist, but she lives in Southeast Aciatic. It's far away, and I can't always talk to her."Now that I have the opportunity to create comics, I..." He became emotional as he spoke, only managing to regain his composure after a wh
"Huh?" Cordelia was perplexed.Zephyr elaborated, "He hasn't smiled for a few days. Isn't that enough hardship?"At that moment, laughter echoed from the living room. Toph and Arya were brimming with joy over their freshly drawn comic, so they shared a high-five to celebrate.Wendy served the food, urging them to dig in.Toph settled at the table and eagerly grasped a pork rib, wasting no time in devouring it. It had been days since his last proper meal, and his hunger was evident.Cordelia felt a wave of relief wash over her as she witnessed her son's happiness. Her mood lifted considerably.Zephyr grinned. "Darling, shouldn't we join them?""Oh, please!" She glanced at him. "We'll dine in the other room!"He pouted, harboring more words but choosing to keep them to himself. Cordelia's phone suddenly vibrated as they made their way to the adjacent room.Linda's panicked voice came through as soon as Cordelia answered, "Cordelia... Are you all at home?""What's wrong?""I-I'
"It's my fault. It's all my fault!" Toph cried out. "I'm the one who pushed her to do this... I didn't apologize or resolve our conflict. Instead, I pushed her to this point..."Mom, I'm the reason Renee tried to take her own life! I messed up!"He raised his arm, intending to hit himself, but Zephyr tightly gripped his wrist before he could."Calm down!" Zephyr growled. "You're a man, look at yourself!""Dad..."Nicholas also tried to console him. "Toph, you're gentle and kind. That's why you try to shoulder all the blame. But you're not truly at fault. So, please, stop blaming yourself."Toph stood there with teary eyes, and Cordelia felt a deep sadness seeing him like that.Meanwhile, she had an inkling of what was going on. It seemed that Renee had captured all of Toph's attention with this incident.Zennie was part of the emergency team and soon emerged from the emergency room."Don't worry," she said calmly. "We managed to save her in time. Her life is no longer in dange
Lina felt anxious. Zuko wanted to shield their baby from the incident, so he had forbidden her from visiting Renee at the hospital. To keep her occupied, he had even invited Lena over.Naturally, Lena eagerly agreed to accompany her friend. To her, Renee's suicide attempt was like a ripple on a calm lake—shocking at first, but the shock soon subsided. She couldn't believe Renee genuinely wanted to end her life.Lena speculated that Renee's actions were meant to get Toph's attention. After all, Renee hadn't achieved her goals yet. Wouldn't it be a waste for her to die like this?-Lena brought the homemade chicken soup to the office, planning to deliver it to Lina during lunch.However, a colleague from another department stopped her. "You're Lena from the sales department, right?"Lena was taken aback.The colleague smiled and said, "I'm Mr. Chriss' secretary. He wants to see you in his office. Come with me!"Lena clenched her fists, her heart racing.Elijah's office was below
The girl was cute and innocent, her cheeks rosy. Her eyes had a joyful sparkle.When she entered like an angel, Lena felt like she was looking at her younger self. However, Lena didn't have as wonderful a childhood as this child. She was never as neat and pretty. As a kid, she was always dirty, wearing oversized clothes and messy braids. Other children would often bully her, saying nobody wanted her.Lena often dreamt of having a doll like all the other girls in her youth.Her heart squeezed, and she turned away, expressionless.Kasey called out to her, "Hey, you are here too? Skipping lunch to work during the break?"Before she could respond, Elijah's cold voice cut in. "Do you think everyone has as much free time as you do?"Kasey's expression changed, and she swallowed her words.But Elijah didn't care and continued to taunt her. "What are you up to today? Bringing my daughter to watch me?"Kasey, Nala bears my last name. Don't set a bad example for her!""You..." Kasey's f
As Renee continued to recover day by day, it seemed that the storm had finally passed.However, Toph, who had also calmed down over time, couldn't seem to reconnect with the Renee he once knew as they spent time together.It was said that those who experienced life and death felt like they had undergone a rebirth. Renee had indeed undergone a transformation, but she was even further from her former self.Toph was perplexed. Had the simple, kind, and even somewhat timid Renee truly disappeared? Had she vanished along with Kaitlyn's leap from the cliff?Whenever Toph wanted to pick up a coloring pen, Renee would stare at him until he set it down and exited his game. Then she would hand him some books with subjects like business management and finance.She would even earnestly reprimand him, saying, "You're already falling behind Zuko, so you need to work harder to catch up!"Toph would get a headache just looking at those books. It got to the point where he started feeling afraid,
Chris pondered briefly, and it seemed this was the case. Recently, whenever he phoned Toph, the voice on the other end sounded downcast. There was even a time when Toph asked him if he should keep pursuing his art. That wasn't how Toph used to be.Chris frowned slightly and spoke softly. "I've long suspected that Renee is manipulating Toph. She's gradually eroding his confidence for her own gain."Chris glanced at Zuko, "To put it simply, perhaps her recent suicide attempt is another part of her manipulation of Toph.""No need for euphemisms. That's the harsh reality," Zuko replied, showing a photo from his phone. It displayed a small, empty brown glass bottle with the label torn off."This is what my mom found in Renee's room. It's the sleeping pills she took to attempt suicide. But I don't know how to find this brand of sleeping pills."Chris looked at it. It was just an ordinary pill bottle, nothing special. The label was intentionally torn off, obviously not wanting anyone to