Iris waited patiently for the client to make her choice. She knew the decision between freedom and money was not an easy one.For many people, freedom and money were the primary pursuits in life. The client had a tough choice to make, so it was understandable that she needed time to contemplate. If it were Iris, she would prioritize freedom because she believed that with time, she could create value no matter what, so she would not be left with nothing.On the contrary, she couldn't regain lost time.After a ten-minute mental struggle, the client ultimately chose freedom. Iris assured her, "I will fight to get as much assets for you as possible."The client nodded hard and said, "Thank you, Ms. Glover." Lawyers from the Golden Path Law Firm were held in high regard, so the client trusted Iris unconditionally. Iris was committed to securing the best outcome for her client too.…Iris diligently worked on the case over the next few days. Her efforts were not in vain. She mana
Iris wasn't offended by his attitude. She could understand the emotional turmoil the ball-less man was experiencing. All his close friends and family must have found out what happened to him by now.His dignity as a man had been compromised. He would never be a real man anymore. It was natural for him to feel ashamed and irritated.How could he not? He couldn't even perform the most basic function as a man anymore.In a gentle tone, she introduced herself, "Hi, I'm your wife's lawyer. I...""I have nothing to discuss with you," he cut her short, displaying clear resistance and hostility. "If you're here to mediate, you can leave now!"Unfazed, Iris took a seat by the bed and continued softly, "Your wife won't stop crying. She really regrets her impulsive actions."She tried her best to be considerate of his feelings and showed him ample respect while expressing his wife's regret."She showed no mercy when she kicked me!" he retorted angrily. "Look at what she's done to me! Eve
The man looked at Iris and asked, "How do we do that?"Iris replied, "Your wife is willing to give up the majority of the marital assets to compensate for the harm she caused."With a hint of guilt, he admitted, "She actually did nothing wrong in our marriage. I caused all this. I deserve to suffer; I’ve hurt her and myself."Iris internally rolled her eyes, thinking, You only just realized that now?He had let his lust get the better of him, and now he was suffering the consequences."You were seduced. It's that woman's fault. She knew you were married, yet she still seduced you. And she's married too. That just shows you the kind of person she is," Iris stated, feeling a twinge of disgust at her own fakeness.Yes, the woman was at fault. She had cheated on her husband.But the ball-less man was at fault too! He's a married man who failed to resist her temptation.They were just as terrible as each other. No wonder they managed to hook up.Despite feeling disgusted with herse
"You'll definitely leave her some properties to make her life easier, right? A single woman's life is challenging at her age, especially a divorced woman," Iris stated.The ball-less man remained silent, contemplating her words."Let’s split the assets in half," he suggested in the end.Not wanting to appear unkind to a beautiful woman, he reluctantly agreed despite feeling a little unhappy."Would you like to see your wife? She's right outside," Iris asked.He shook his head. At this point, their marriage was effectively over, and there was nothing left to say."Alright, I’ll convey your kindness to her," Iris said as she stood up. "I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave."The ball-less man smiled softly and said, "Okay, see you."He watched as Iris walked away, quietly murmuring, "What a gorgeous woman." His voice was soft, so she didn’t hear him as she closed the door behind her.Turning to the client, Iris said, "We can go now.""How did it go?" the cl
Yvonne's voice was sharp enough to make Iris wince. Holding the phone away from her ear to protect her eardrum, she repeated, "I'm coming, I'm coming.""If you're not here in ten minutes, I’ll skin you alive!" Yvonne threatened before abruptly hanging up.Iris was speechless.She said, "Um, Mr. Just, I...""Let's have dinner together," Jason interjected before she could finish.Seeing Iris hesitate, he asked, "What's wrong? Do you have something urgent?""It's not urgent," she replied, scratching her head. "Today's my birthday, and Yvonne has been pushing me to meet up. She’s called several times already and is getting really angry. I’m afraid I can’t have dinner with you."Jason looked up in surprise. "It's your birthday?""Yes," Iris nodded shyly. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Mr. Just."Yvonne was getting impatient. Iris was eager to head to Riverside Pier as soon as possible.Jason stood up. "It’s your birthday, so I should at least wish you a happy birthday, right? I'm hu
With a smile on her face, Yvonne said, "You lost, Denise. Take another drink."After Yvonne's phone rang for the sixteenth time, she and Denise had made a bet on whether Iris would call again—Yvonne betting that she would, and Denise betting against it. Ultimately, Denise lost.Denise picked up her glass, clicking her tongue. "Ms. Glover is such a good woman. How could her ex-husband let a woman like her go?" Denise expressed her disbelief.Yvonne chuckled, "What's so hard to understand? One word: scumbag. The grass is always greener on the other side."Denise, who had her own experience with divorce, added, "Haha, well said. Trash will always be trash." She set down her glass. "Just let her in."Yvonne shook her head, "She needs to change."Denise chuckled. "She's not the type to indulge herself. I don't think you can get her to have fun like we do."Denise's intuition told her that Iris was a woman with principles. If she wanted to indulge herself, she would have already done
Iris glared at Yvonne. Yvonne had embarrassed her in front of Mr. Just once more.Despite the glare, Yvonne remained unfazed, her mischievous smile intact. "Hey, do you know how long I've been waiting for you? If you got here any later, your birthday would have passed!"She pulled Iris aside and whispered, "Why did you bring Jason Just along?"Bringing a guy to a girls' party—how were they supposed to have fun?!Iris shrugged helplessly. "He wanted to come along. He’s my boss; how could I refuse? Besides, I haven’t become an official lawyer yet, so if I want to handle more cases to gain experience, I need his help."Yvonne snorted. "You can't refuse? What if he asks you to sleep with him? Would you do that too?"Iris quickly covered Yvonne's mouth. "Shut up!"Yvonne pushed her hand away. "Relax..." Before she could finish, Iris covered her mouth again. "If you keep making that kind of joke, I'm gonna get angry." Iris' tone was serious.Normally, she wouldn't care if Yvonne jo
"Ignore them. We'll have fun ourselves," Yvonne said.Denise shook her head. "Probably not tonight." It felt awkward with Jason there. Even if Iris and Jason stayed on the sun deck, it wouldn't be much fun without Iris."Do you want to go up and celebrate Ms. Glover's birthday with her?" Denise asked.Yvonne replied, shaking her head. "We can't."If her grandfather found out that she had interrupted Iris and Jason's time alone, he would be furious. And if he brought up the matter of her marriage with her parents because of that, she'd be in big trouble. She finally got to enjoy some peaceful days. She did not want to go on any more blind dates.Denise blinked in confusion. "We can't? What do you mean we can't?"Yvonne flashed a mysterious smile and raised her glass. "Cheers."Denise raised her glass, and the two downed their drinks. With that, Yvonne successfully moved on from the topic. "Do you want to sing karaoke?" Yvonne suggested."Sure," Denise agreed immediately.…
"Okay. Good night, Mr. Just," Iris said."See you tomorrow," he said."See you tomorrow."…Iris was jolted awake the next morning by her phone ringing. Groggy, she reached for it. "Hello...""My husband changed his mind. He refuses to settle or drop the case now."The client's voice sounded anxious.Iris was instantly wide awake.Why would he change his mind overnight? She was going to handle all the procedures today to avoid further complications too."What happened?" Iris sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Take your time and explain in detail.""I don't know either. He just messaged me saying he regrets signing the settlement agreement and he won't drop the case. But he already signed the agreement. He can't change his mind anymore, right?" The client still held a glimmer of hope.Iris replied, "He can still change his mind."Under normal circumstances, changing one's mind after signing would be difficult. However, since she had half-tricked him into signing the agreement, if
Iris nodded helplessly. "You shouldn't have answered the phone." She felt a headache coming.She wasn't blaming Jason; it's just impossible to explain to her mother now.Since Jason answered her phone this late at night, her mother naturally assumed that Jason had been with her all evening.That was indeed the case today, but it wasn't in the way her parents thought."I can go meet your parents with you," Jason offered.Iris was surprised. Huh?Does he even know what he's saying?"Do you know who my mom thinks you are?" she asked.How could he suggest that without knowing anything?"She thinks I'm your boyfriend, right?" Jason smirked mischievously. "If you don't take me to see them, they'll definitely ask you even more questions. Wouldn't that be troublesome for you?""Besides," he added, "We worked so well together earlier. We're very in sync, right?"Iris was speechless."Actually, all I have to do is explain to them...""What if they set you up on a blind date?" Jaso
After hanging up, as Jason was about to leave the car, he heard a phone ringing. He traced the sound to Iris' phone lying on the passenger seat. She had left her phone in his car.Picking it up, he noticed "Mother" displayed on the screen and smiled, recalling the enthusiastic woman he had met the other day. It seemed he had a reason to look for Iris now.He exited the car and took the elevator to the ground floor, then headed to the building across the street.While waiting for the elevator in Iris' building, Iris' phone rang again. Jason wondered if he should answer. Iris' mother was calling repeatedly in the middle of the night, so there might be an emergency. After some hesitation, he decided to answer.Before he could speak, Cassie's voice came through the line. "Iris, happy birthday! Your dad and I are so busy today that I only have time to call you now. When are you free to visit us for dinner? Call me before you come; we'll skip work that day and stay home to spend the
Stanley was furious. He felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing to his head. If he had held onto any hope before, it was gone now. He realized that Iris was genuinely leaving him and had no intention of returning to his side.No!He could not accept that!Inside the car, Iris fastened her seatbelt, unfazed by Stanley's roar. Jason glanced at her, noticing her calm demeanor, and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips.He started the engine, and the car roared to life. He turned the steering wheel and pressed the gas pedal, and they drove away .Once they had left Riverside Pier, Iris said, "Thank you for acting with me."Jason's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Don't you think we have great chemistry?"Iris considered this for a moment. "Indeed. I always thought you were a very serious person. I didn't expect you to...""To what?" he asked, glancing at her.Iris brushed her hair. "Just now, when you called me 'babe', I got goosebumps. I can't believ
"I'll take you home," Jason offered.Iris nodded. Stanley couldn't stand it any more. Disregarding how bad it made him look, he rushed forward and grabbed Iris' wrist. "Iris..."Iris turned around, her expression cold. "Can I help you, Mr. Stein?"Her tone was icy, causing a pang in Stanley's chest. "H-happy birthday." His voice was hoarse. "Iris, I made a mistake. Let's get back together..."Jason instinctively tightened his grip on Iris' shoulder.Iris sneered, tilting her head with eyes full of coldness. "Since you wished me a happy birthday, let me make a wish: I hope you never appear before me again. I hope my wish will come true.""Iris," Stanley's voice cracked with emotion.Iris raised her eyebrows and said fiercely, "Let go of my hand!"Instead of releasing her, Stanley tightened his grip, the veins in his hand bulging.That hurt Iris' arm."Mr. Stein," Jason interjected, prying Stanley's hand away. "Stop bothering her. This is unbecoming of you.""She's my wife
On the shore, Yvonne urged Iris to leave.The other yacht was drawing closer to the dock, and if Iris lingered any longer, she would inevitably run into Stanley. It had truly been an unlucky day for Yvonne. Nothing was going smoothly. First came Jason, an unexpected guest, and now came Stanley, a harbinger of bad luck."Iris, why is the day of your birth so unlucky?" Yvonne complained. Iris looked perplexed. Right then, the other yacht docked. Henry was the first to jump off. He hurried over to Yvonne. "Hey! You're here too? Why didn’t you call me to join you? We could have come together."Yvonne glanced at the three women who followed him down from the yacht. All of them were flaunting their legs, their skirts barely covering their bottoms, and their cleavages were on full display with their low necklines. Yvonne scoffed, "Come together? That would have ruined your fun.""C'mon, I'm not serious with them," Henry replied. He approached Yvonne and reached for her sleeve. "
Actually, it wasn't that the parents absolutely couldn't afford to raise her, it was more because they wanted a son, but with the family planning policy, they couldn't afford the payment to give birth to one more child, so they left the girl to be raised by the grandparents.The little girl passed away without ever having been registered in the household registration; she was considered undocumented. Getting her registered would require money the family simply didn't have. Or, perhaps, they felt that it wasn't necessary since she was just a girl.The girl's aunt – her uncle's wife, who also lived with the girl's grandparents – was unhappy because there was suddenly an extra mouth to feed. The aunt treated the girl very poorly. According to neighbors, the girl was often beaten and denied food. The grandparents didn't dare speak up, fearing they would upset their daughter-in-law.According to the villagers, the aunt had attacked the girl that day because the girl had stolen some bread
Jason remarked, "In this world, there is no such thing as absolute fairness."He thought Iris' view was still overly idealistic. There was a large gap between the things taught in law school and the cases that happened in the real world. Sometimes, bending the rules was necessary to achieve certain objectives, not just for the sake of making things fairer. The world has never been fair, no matter in which country.Iris fell silent. She knew that the world had never truly been fair. Many individuals were constrained by circumstances from the moment they were born. Some emerged from impoverished rural areas, needing relentless perseverance to change their fates, while others were born into wealth and luxury, their starting point already an unattainable goal for many. How could this not be seen as unfair? Fairness was absent from the moment of one's birth.Yet, wasn't her initial aspiration to study law rooted in the pursuit of fairness? If not, what was the point of law?"Mr. Just,
His now wide open collar revealed his sexy, slender neck. His Adam's apple moved as he spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, "Are you really okay?"Iris nodded, avoiding his gaze; she didn't dare meet his eyes directly. His gaze felt too affectionate. Earlier, he mentioned that she resembled the love of his life. Maybe he saw her as a substitute for his unrequited love?Yes, it must be so; otherwise, he wouldn't have looked at her with that kind of expression.Phew~She assured herself that Jason couldn't possibly have feelings for someone like her. It was fortunate she had realized this in time, avoiding any presumptuous thoughts. She felt relieved that she hadn't embarrassed herself in front of him."Um..." Just then, Denise approached, intending to inform them that Yvonne wanted to leave. Upon reaching the sun deck, she immediately spotted Jason hugging Iris.She realized she was intruding.Quietly, she turned to leave.However, Iris had seen her. "Denise," Iris called out