Mia handed in her assignments at college, then went shopping with Gina. It had been a while since they last hung out together.Gina was all smiles. "Mia, I heard your house is going to be demolished. You're going to be rich! I'm so happy for you!""Thanks. I honestly didn't expect the demolition. But I doubt the compensation will be generous."They entered the mall when Mia received a phone call from Felix."Mia, where are you? I don't see you in the office.""I'm shopping with my best friend.""I see. How about we have dinner together? Bring your friend along too."She hesitated momentarily. "Felix, I have dinner plans with my family. My eldest brother and his wife just returned from Nord City."Only then did Felix drop the dinner invite. The call ended, and Gina chimed in. "Why didn't you say yes? It's Felix who asked you out for dinner. Don't worry about me. I won't be a third wheel.""Gina, you know I was married. Felix will never accept a divorced woman." Besides, she w
Timothy and Maya were about to announce their engagement this weekend?Mia knew it all along, but it somehow stifled her chest to hear it from Shelly.Gina snorted. "Well, let's give that bastard and slut our best wishes then. Besides, Mia's house is going to be demolished soon. She can find herself a better man at any moment now."It was so funny to Shelly that her stomach hurt from laughter. "It's just a demolition. How can the money change her circumstances for the better?"Mia pulled Gina away, leaving the place together before things got physical.Shelly was the daughter of the Barrett family, not someone they could mess with.Shelly called Wilhelmina while watching Mia leave. "Hey, I heard Mia's house is getting demolished. Look into the details for me.""Okay." Wilhelmina hung, feeling the cruelty of fate.Why did get Mia so lucky to have her house demolished? It was just unfair!Mia dragged Gina to another floor. Gina couldn't understand Mia's reaction. "What's worry
Mia's concern lingered—what if someone had tampered with the drink? She preferred not to take any chances. Her food preferences changed ever since she got pregnant."You don't like coffee? I remember you liked this coffee brand a lot back in college."The colleagues became nosy. "Gosh, Ms. Quilter remembers your past favorites, Mia."Someone chimed in, "Mia, isn't our boss young, handsome and caring too?"Mia was rendered helpless. Now that her colleagues were playing matchmaker, she was at her wit's end.Seeing her discomfort, Felix stepped in. He gave the colleagues a look. "Enough. You guys are crossing a line. I'm looking out for Mia as her superior. She's our top designer."A wave of relief washed over her when she heard that. She had no idea how to react to this kind of situation.Once the colleagues dispersed, Felix lowered his voice. "Mia, don't be stressed out. My feelings for you are my business. Don't overthink it."After giving it a thought, she raised her head. "
Maya began looking forward to the engagement ceremony, which would be held on the day after tomorrow.She pulled her phone out to call Dominic. The line got through quickly and she grinned. "Dominic, are you busy these days? Is it necessary when you've only bought such a small company?"Maya was aware of Dominic's return to Bern City and that he personally followed up on the acquisition. It must be important to his work and hence he gave it so much importance.Mia's luck still annoyed Maya. Dominic happened to acquire that company at that moment. If things went differently, that old man's daughter might've taught Mia a lesson. Instead, Wilhelmina became the scapegoat in the end."This is work-related," Dominic's tone was calming.He would never keep Maya in the loop by saying that his efforts were all for Mia. Not only did he come to the city in person, but he had also personally acquired that company.No longer pestering him with questions, she changed the topic. "You should
Maya was also considered the daughter of the Lane family. Credits should be given to her for placating that mad old woman in the Lane residence.Perhaps, the Lane brothers were hoping for the true Ms. Lane to return?In their dreams! That wouldn't happen in this lifetime!Maya took a seat and covered her face, which carried a sinister smile in the end. It seemed like she should give in to them at the moment. She could plan the next step after the Lane brothers attended her engagement ceremony.As for the wedding gifts, she could figure something out.Although she couldn't demand it, the mad old woman might give it to her, and that wouldn't violate her deal with Dominic.The true Ms. Lane wouldn't come back, for Maya had already taken her place!Mia worked on drafting the engagement ceremony venue in the office. The romantic and beautiful draft drawn earned an envious smile from her.In reality, she had envisioned how her wedding would be. However, the marriage with Timothy wa
Mia thought it was strange. Who did she offend?There weren't many that would be offended by her, other than Shelly and Maya. This was all starting to make sense. Mia said, "I'm not sure yet."Just then, a car came to a halt by the roadside. Dominic's expression darkened as he descended from the car. "Mia, are you alright? Where is Bob and Mary? Let me talk to them."Mia shook her head and replied, "They're already gone."Bob and Mary, who were always pestering her, left quickly because they wanted to avoid Dominic. They were worried that he was going to teach them a lesson. Felix turned to Mia and said, "Mia, let's send Aunt Patricia back first."Dominic frowned as his gaze landed on Felix.In an unfriendly tone, he asked, "Who are you?"Mia interrupted hastily to introduce Felix to him, "Dominic, he's my boss, and also my senior at school."Felix flashed a smile at Dominic as he greeted him, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lane."Dominic gave a vague response. So, Felix was t
Dominic let his imagination get the better of him in those few seconds. By the time he was done, he was so infuriated to the point he could commit murder right away. "We're not sure what the cause was, but it was indeed the Barrett family who told George to target Ms. Mia. After all, the Barretts are the local powerhouse in Bern City. Optima Construction wouldn't dare to go against them.""Timothy really has some guts to do that, huh? How dare he?" Dominic huffed.His blood was boiling with rage. Timothy was even thinking of marrying Maya despite his doings. Moreover, he was still relying on Connor to operate on Laura. How dare he target Mia?After Dominic hung up, he called Connor right away. He had to discuss something this important with him. If Timothy was really framing Mia, especially in such a lowly manner, he would have to reconsider their connection with the Barrett family. He would be more than glad to call off Maya's engagement to Timothy. Mia was still waiting fo
Mia was slightly stunned. She glanced down at her phone. It was Timothy. Her head shot back up as she replied gracefully, "Oh, don't bother. It's a scam call."Dominic frowned as he asked, "Who's harassing you?"Could it be Timothy, that old and divorced prick? Mia pursed her lips before coming up with something plausible, "Um, I have been receiving calls about whether I'd fancy a renovation, since I just bought my house not long ago."Dominic nodded. So, this was the truth. As he stared at Mia, he said, "Mia, you must let me know if anyone's bullying you.""I know."Mia muted her phone and made her way to the kitchen. She didn't pay any attention to her phone at all. Meanwhile, Timothy's gaze was fixated on the phone. How dare Mia not pick up his calls?Didn't she sound so confident when she texted him earlier?He massaged his temples as he read her message again. He gave Shelly a call. She answered the call after a while. In a cautious manner, Shelly asked, "Timoth
None of the major shareholders was a fool.After that, Mia was busy handling Barrett Group affairs and barely had time to rest.With an exhausted look, she returned to the hospital.Mia looked at Timothy and said, "I'll run away if you don't wake up soon.""No… Please don't go…" Timothy grabbed her hand. His gaze was deep.Mia's eyes reddened as she gazed at the man who had just regained consciousness. Timothy finally came out of his coma.After that, everything was back to normal. Those who caused trouble quieted down.Sharon visited Timothy and told him that she was going to settle down overseas and would not come back anymore.Timothy bought her a property and gave her a huge sum of money before sending her away from Bern City.As for Maya, it was discovered that she was not the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island but merely his caregiver. Yet, she had been deceiving people outside.After Maya was exposed, she ran away dejectedly. Nobody knew where she was
Sage stood beside Timothy in silence.Soon, news that Timothy was hospitalized spread, and Barrett Group's stock plunged.The relatives of the Barrett family requested to hold a board meeting to elect another CEO.On the day of the board meeting, Mia brought her two children to Barrett Group.They managed to keep everyone on a leash as Sage bore a striking resemblance to Timothy.Mia marched into the meeting room, sat in Timothy's chair, and glanced at everyone present. "Let's begin. Didn't you all want to have a meeting?"One of the middle-aged men said, "Ms. Lane, this is the Barrett Group board meeting. It's not appropriate for you to be here.""That's right. Though the kids are Mr. Barrett's children, they're still young and do not have any shares. You all shouldn't be here."Mia flung a document onto the table. "This is an agreement signed by Grandma Laura to authorize me to manage Timothy's shares.""Anyway, we still need to elect a CEO to handle our company affairs.""
"Because to me, you're my family too," Timothy said.When Sharon heard the word 'family', her eyes turned red. Then, she turned around and left the ward.Mia walked out and asked Peyton to send Sharon to the hospital for a checkup.Looking at Sharon's back, Mia said, "I hope you don't let him down since he regards you as his family. He's the only one you can depend on now."Sharon did not turn her head around. Mia did not know if Sharon would listen to her advice.Mia immediately called her brother. "Dominic, I met Maya."She then told him everything about Maya.Dominic frowned. "I never thought she would go to Yellow Island.""Do you think she's really the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island?""Don't you know how good she is at lying?" Dominic said.Mia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But I still don't know whether she's related to Yellow Island.""Don't worry, I'll find out."When Mia returned to the ward after ending the call, she saw a doctor bustling arou
Mia went straight to the hospital to ask Timothy about the matter.But when she arrived, someone had reached there earlier than her."Timothy, what do you mean? All I did was pull a few strings, but you want to humiliate me publicly. How am I going to maintain my standing in the company?" Sharon said.Mia went in with a frown. "This is funny. It's not just about pulling a few strings, but it's aimed at me. Mrs. Barrett, your actions have leaked confidential commercial information.""Stop trying to scare me. It's my son who opened doors for you. It's the Yellow Islanders who wanted to collaborate with us, and they are much better than you," Sharon retorted. Mia said with a half-hearted smile, "At first, I didn't want to pursue this matter. But since you put it this way, wait for my lawyer's letter then.""Such big talk, huh?" A mysterious-looking woman wearing a hat and a mask walked in from outside.Mia felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar. "Are you the rumored granddau
Mia glanced at the person on the screen. Without answering the woman, she turned off the laptop.After all, there was no need for Mia to explain anything.After Mia turned off the laptop assertively, she turned around and looked at Timothy. He did not say a word but started eating.Soon, Heath received a call. He left the ward and said to the woman on the other side of the phone, "She's Mr. Barrett's ex-wife. You'd better not mess with her."While Timothy was eating, Mia finished reading the proposal in her hand.She had to admit that the document was very valuable.Mia was about to leave the ward when Timothy almost finished eating, but his voice sounded behind her. "What did you say when you met her at the cafe earlier?""Did you follow me?""I followed her, to be exact. After all, the Hopkins are not good people."Mia totally agreed with that.She paused briefly before she said, "Grandma Laura asked me to talk to her because she doesn't agree with you about giving her all
"You don't know anything," Sharon said.Mia retorted, "I might not know everything, but Timothy is innocent. Before he knew the truth, he always regarded you as his mother. Even after he found out the truth, he has never mistreated you."Besides, when you said you wanted the Barrett family's wealth, he agreed. Tell me, who else could do what he did?"Mia felt that Timothy might have been hurt by Sharon's words.He seemed impressive on the outside, but his identity was a dark secret.Therefore, his relationship with Sharon became awkward.Sharon's eyes reddened. "But I also treat him like my biological son.""You're also his foster mother. Now everyone related to him is dead, and you're the only one he has. What are you afraid of?"Sharon wiped off her tears. "I'm not afraid of anything. It's just that I felt that I can't trust anyone.""Timothy is a man of his word. However, Grandma Laura said that if you remain stubborn, making the will public is her only option," Mia said.
Mia noticed Sharon's expression changing slightly when she mentioned Laura.Sharon took her cup of coffee and said, "What? Does Mrs. Barrett Senior still want to lecture me even when she's on her deathbed? She must have known Timothy's identity all along, but she conspired with her son to keep the truth from me. "She and the Barretts are birds of a feather. What else does she have to say?"Mia was not surprised by her words. She had expected that Sharon would certainly think this way.Fortunately, she managed to stop Laura when she said she wanted to meet Sharon.Sharon was emotionally unstable now. What if Laura said something unpleasant and Sharon retorted? Her words might upset Laura.Mia took a kraft envelope out of her handbag and placed it in front of Sharon. "I hope you won't regret saying those words after reading this.""What's this?""This is the will that your husband left behind, as well as the divorce agreement."Hearing that, Sharon quickly took the document out
Mia hesitated to risk exposing Laura to Sharon's potential agitation.Due to Sharon's emotional vulnerability, she often spoke impulsively. With Laura's delicate health in mind, any disruption was simply out of the question.As Laura recounted past events, Mia remained silent, absorbing her words.Upon hearing Laura's story, Mia was taken aback. She hadn't expected there to be hidden aspects to Timothy's family history.Taking a moment, she asked, "Does Timothy have any knowledge of this?""He doesn't. Some things are best kept from him," Laura replied calmly.Mia harbored some lingering questions in her mind. Unable to suppress them any longer, she asked, "Considering your knowledge of Timothy's background, what is your opinion of him?""Tim is a commendable young man, and he has never let our family down. He has achieved remarkably well for himself. To be honest, I feel indebted to him as well."At first, I only kept him around for the sake of preserving the Barrett family li
Despite her initial reluctance, Mia eventually found herself making her way to Timothy's ward.As she entered, she couldn't help but notice Timothy's expressionless demeanor as he lay there.Carrying a tray of food, Mia approached him. "The doctor pointed out your extreme fatigue. It's crucial that you increase your food intake and prioritize proper rest to reduce the risk of sudden complications."Upon hearing Mia's voice, Timothy lifted his gaze to find her seated beside him. His lips moved slightly as he asked, "What did you tell Luna?""Not much," Mia responded. "Just a sprinkle of salt on the wound and a dash of psychological pressure to make sure Luna doesn't have it easy in prison."Placing the tray of food in front of him, Mia urged, "Please, just a few bites.""I'll eat later. By the way, the kids have been here at the hospital for quite a while. You should take them home," Timothy suggested.Frowning, Mia insisted, "You should eat something first."As her words faded,