"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
"But—" Lena hadn't finished speaking when the call abruptly ended. Lina turned to her and asked, "Was that Chris? Did he need something from you?"Lena smiled and replied, "Oh, no. Wrong number."She didn't care about any urgent matter Elijah might have, nor did she need that triple overtime pay.It was the weekend, a statutory holiday, and Lina was having a prenatal check-up. Lena had to be there with her.Her phone buzzed, and it was a message from Elijah with a location.When Lena checked, she realized the location was actually the hospital. It surprised her.Then another message arrived, with a much softer tone: [Lena, please help me out. My daughter is in the hospital, and I've reached out to you as a last resort. If I've offended you before, please forgive me.]Lena clenched her hands. In her mind, she could faintly see the little princess holding her hand and calling her 'Madam'.At that moment, a few nurses took Lina for the next examination.Lena, separated by the d
Lena appeared distant, her gaze fixed on him as she adopted the same stern tone he had used with Nala earlier. "If it were me, I'd break the scumbag's legs!"Elijah tensed up. He had always been carefree and cherished his freedom. Even when confronted by Kasey, he hadn't flinched. Yet, the intensity of Lena's demeanor caught him off guard."Hmm, you sure know how to speak your mind," Elijah replied, avoiding direct eye contact."Lena, do you also think that I'm having an affair with Jacquelin?" he asked.Lena responded icily. "Your affair is something I don't want to know about, nor do I want to speculate.""In truth, I'm not," he revealed.Lena was taken aback.Elijah had a serious expression, which was quite different from his usual nonchalant look. He smirked slightly, and his gaze revealed some complexity, while his shallow smile conveyed a hint of helplessness."The high-ranking executives of the company are in intense conflict. Mr. Nicholas used to be someone of the stree
They did not seem like a married couple, more like partners who had signed an agreement. Nevertheless, Lena could tell that Kasey had feelings for Elijah. Her family benefited from this marriage alliance, yet she had become the sacrifice."What's wrong? Do you think I'm irresponsible in marriage?" Elijah maintained his nonchalant tone. "It's genetic! My old man wasn't responsible either."Lena remained silent, uninterested in his family matters.Elijah murmured, "He had a wife but still messed around outside. I'm much better than him. At least I didn't father any illegitimate..."He paused and looked at Lena. "I didn't father any illegitimate children."But I seem to have a half-brother. My old man saw that child once before he died and entrusted me to find him. Why should I look for him? To compete for the family inheritance? Let him fend for himself outside!"Annoyed by what she was hearing, Lena glanced at him and turned to leave."Hey, where are you going?"Lena did not res