"But I don't regret it." Keegan looked up at her with a loving gaze. "If I didn't let go of myself that day, perhaps neither of us would be alive, let alone having them."He placed his hand gently on her belly. "One for three, it's worth it."Stella was upset. "What's worth it? Do you still expect me to give birth to your babies when you're dead? Impossible! If you don't come back, I'll find another man immediately and show him off to you on your grave. You may be a hero, but you're still going to need someone else to take care of your wife."Keegan could not help but smile at her complaints. "I must have heard your 'ungrateful' whines and couldn't bring myself to leave, so I came back."Stella hugged him tightly and whispered, "I'll pack a lunchbox for you tomorrow. You got so much thinner after the incident. You're not as huggable anymore."Keegan frowned. "How can I let you cook for me while you're pregnant? Do you think Trevor would let that slide if he knew? He'd probably kil
Stella's eyes widened in surprise. "I can't believe your family has such a secret. Please, tell me more."Keegan had kept this secret for so many years, so Stella figured that probably only a handful of people knew about it. Otherwise, she would have heard Olivia gossiping about it long ago.Keegan kept stuttering as he explained it and it took a long time for Stella to finally understand what happened.Keegan himself was not clear about the exact details of their past, but at his father's funeral, he saw Chandler and Dahlia hugging each other.However, once he started having suspicions, he could not help but pay extra attention to them. After all, there were no secrets that could not be exposed.The Crosby family was quite well-off back in Rivera. Dahlia and her brother, Blake, were prominent figures in Rivera's social circles. The Crosby siblings were exceptionally good-looking and caught the attention of many.The Crosby family doted on the siblings, but the excessive affectio
Keegan was taken aback.'This does indeed sound like something I would say. Or rather, more like the kind of thing mom would throw my way back when I was younger.'No matter how stellar Keegan's achievements were during his childhood, Dahlia always had a way of cutting him down. "Don't be too proud. Someone might surpass you next time.""Your dad and I spent a fortune on your education, it's the least you can do," she'd say.Keegan rarely received praise from Dahlia. Naturally, he struggled to share his achievements with his partner properly. What he intended as uplifting encouragement often sounded more like belittlement.Dahlia wasn't the best role model for Keegan. Despite thinking he'd distanced himself from his mother, constant praise from those around him blinded him to how much he mirrored her in specific aspects.Looking at Stella with puppy eyes, Keegan asked softly, "So, do you prefer the old me or the current me?"Stella chuckled and whispered in his ear, "You're the
Having bottled up her frustration for too long, Olivia seemed to have enough.After getting Erick behind bars, she swiftly got in touch with her lawyer to reclaim every dime he spent on his mistress—Linda—and their child.Though, she didn't stop there. Olivia accused Linda, along with Erick and Dahlia, of orchestrating a scam against her.Despite the mountain of evidence she had gathered, Olivia knew that the legal process could be a tedious affair.Procedures were slow, and Olivia couldn't wait. She had no intention of letting the mother and child live in a house she had bought with her own money any longer.So, she brought seven to eight burly security personnel from her hotel during New Year's to evict the family.When Stella arrived at the scene, Olivia had already kicked the family to the courtyard of the residential complex. Security personnel were sporadically carrying luggage out.Linda was crying and cursing out loud."Olivia's kinda tough for telling them to leave the
Stella handed Felicity a glass of milk and said, "Having inheritance rights doesn't mean she'll get a share of the money. After all, Erick isn't dead yet."This remark visibly riled up Olivia. Her husband's family had kept her in the dark for two decades, and her mother-in-law had consistently undermined her, blaming her for not bearing Erick's son.Despite her annually generous and lavish gifts, she never received a kind word because she couldn't produce a male heir.Just yesterday, her mother-in-law had gathered a bunch of relatives to cause a scene at her doorstep. They urged her to use all her family's assets to bail out Erick.They also funneled money to Linda and promised all family assets to her son.At the same time, the Warrens criticized Olivia for not having a son even though she took care of them.The audacity of her in-laws treating her daughters with such disdain infuriated Olivia."Fine," she said with a cold tone. "You can wait till Erick dies and then come for y
Felicity was surprised. "You're not leaving him? You're gonna stick with this bad guy?"Olivia answered calmly, "If this happened twenty years ago, I'd for sure divorce him. But what do I get from divorcing him now?""If things go as expected, Erick might get ten or twenty years. If I divorce him, we have to split everything. The money he gets ends up wasted in prison. Who gains from that?" she went on."He's eager for a divorce now, wanting to get his hands on a lump sum of money to give his son and the mother a life. Why would I fulfill his wish?""As long as I don't divorce him, I control how the money is distributed. I want him to see that his son is a failure without financial support.""But what about in ten or twenty years when he comes out? If you divorce him, you could earn even more," Felicity continued to inquire.Olivia chuckled nonchalantly. "After spending so many years behind bars, he'll be out of touch with society. His mistress will be old, and his son will still
Comments flooded underneath Keegan's Facebook post in an instant.[20 billion dollars?! With a monthly income of 5k, I'd need over 3000 years to earn that!][Wealthy people do charity. If you know you know.][What does that mean? I don't get it.][Tax evasion and publicity stunt, probably.][Don't act like you know something when you don't. Donating money offsets the taxable amount, not the taxes you owe. And there's a limit to it, okay? Do you think the lawmakers are idiots? This isn't foreign inheritance tax, so cut the crap!][20 billion dollars, and they don't even use it for publicity? Some would brag on Facebook even if they only donated twenty bucks. Vinci Rivera is awesome!][Mr. Kane, I saw someone online post a test video of Luna II. My wife is pestering me for one. Can you name a price and help me convince her to give up?][Is this post a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the harm your mom caused? Dahlia poured oil on the stairs, causing two janitors to fal
Darcie was surprised. "What did you say?" she asked.Jaylene shut her mouth.Darcie had given up on the idea of her being with Keegan. She would give Jaylene an earful if she discovered she was secretly in touch with him."Nothing, Mom. Why are you still up so late?""I can't seem to fall asleep. I've got a headache." Darcie sat beside her and continued, "Why haven't you been hanging out with Trevor lately? You used to follow him around all the time."A touch of indifference appeared on Jaylene's face as she heard Trevor's name."He's too busy being all nice to his biological sister. He has no time for me," she answered."What are you talking about? Trevor loved you most when you were younger. He hardly talked to me, but he always loved playing with you," said Darcie."Since Stella and Trevor were separated since childhood, it's understandable that they have a close bond now that she's back. However, you and Trevor grew up together. He must be disappointed you're not taking the
Keegan moved from initial resistance to reluctantly listening, and eventually to questioning."Why do these novels portray men as so stupid and brainless, yelling at the female lead as if they have intermittent explosive disorder?""Is the male lead sick? Forcing the female lead to donate a kidney, is he out of his mind?""How many years would they get for calling the police in their world?""Why is he so dumb? The supporting actress claims the female lead pushed her into the water and he believes it? Is checking surveillance footage illegal?""Stella, are you making fun of me?""I can't learn this. It all feels so neurotic. What does the female lead see in him?"Stella retorted, "Who cares if it's neurotic? Just mimic that stupidity, that's how these innocent women like men who protect them like that."Keegan was very reluctant, but his brain was more compliant than his body. Without needing to study deliberately, everything he heard stuck in his mind.So when Keegan mentione
Keegan's expression darkened with anger. "You're being completely unreasonable!"Stella crossed her arms, wearing an expression that seemed challenging. "You let her take it. Let's see if I dare."Jaylene hadn't actually wanted those junk items in the first place; she was deliberately trying to stir up discord between them. Now that her goal was achieved, she put on a sympathetic look."Keegan, I don't want it anymore. Don't be angry. Your health is more important. Didn't the doctor say to keep your emotions stable?"Turning her head, she reproached Stella. "Stella, are you here to help Keegan recover his memory or just to provoke him?""Shut up, you brat! Do you even have a say here?"Acting under the guise of a drama, playing the role of someone lacking in manners, was incredibly satisfying.She’d wanted to curse this brat for a long time!Jaylene's lips twitched, but she held back, tearfully saying, "Stella, if you don't like me, I'll leave. There's no need to humiliate me l
Jaylene understood the situation perfectly. Even though she didn't particularly like these cold, mechanical devices, she put on a pretense of surprise, saying, "Really, Keegan?"Keegan nodded. "Choose one you like.""Keegan!" Before Stella could finish her sentence, she couldn't hold back her sharp voice, "With your pile of junk that I can't even touch normally, she takes a look and now you want to give it to her? What's the meaning of this?!"Keegan frowned, apparently not comprehending her current anger at all. "Jaylene gave me a gift, and I'm giving her one in return. What's the problem?""What problem?" Stella's eyes started to redden. "I can't touch them, so why should she be able to? Have you forgotten, or do you have inappropriate feelings for her?"Keegan's expression darkened. "This makes no sense!"Jaylene secretly delighted in this, hypocritically trying to calm things down, "Forget it, Keegan. Since Stella minds so much, I don't want it anymore. You've strained your r
The standoff lasted for over twenty minutes before Keegan grabbed a book and knocked the beetle off Jaylene's neck. The beetle fluttered twice and suddenly flew up, landing on Jaylene's face.Jaylene screamed, rolled her eyes, and fainted.As she collapsed, the bug flew off again."Jaylene?"Keegan called out to her.He looked up at Stella and said, "You go start the car, I'll carry her to the hospital."As he spoke, he signaled to Stella.She understood and coldly grunted, "So troublesome."Walking over to Jaylene, she squatted down beside her and slapped her face twice.Jaylene immediately opened her eyes and reached out to push her away. "What are you doing!"Stella was prepared and had already moved back before she could be pushed.She shook her tingling hand and innocently said, "Jaylene, you fainted because of the bug. I was just saving you. Don't believe me? Ask Keegan."Jaylene nearly ground her teeth. Did she think she hadn't heard? She was intentionally exposing h
Her fingertips trembled with a mix of horror and excitement. Just as the teapot was about to slip from her grasp, Keegan suddenly said, "Jaylene, don't move."Jaylene froze, instinctively thinking Keegan had regained his memory. She had barely twitched when Keegan loudly stopped her again, "Don't move, absolutely don't move."Jaylene wanted to say something, but then felt an itching sensation on her neck, as if something was crawling slowly. Goosebumps erupted all over her body.By now, Stella had turned around and saw Jaylene standing stiffly with the teapot in hand. Her eyes quickly assessed the situation and then she noticed the beetle crawling on Jaylene's neck.It was an unknown species, not overly tentacled but as long as a little finger, its mouthparts slightly twitching, genuinely alarming in appearance.Stella murmured, "It's so big."Jaylene couldn't see what was on her neck, unsure if it would bite or if it was venomous. She stood frozen in place, her voice trembling,
Seeing him, Stella even lowered her eyes and softly praised, "Mr. Kane, you acted very well."Keegan glared at her, his voice low and intense. "If you keep watching like this, Coco will cut ties with me tomorrow."Stella replied confidently, "No, she won't. After accepting the red envelope, she can tolerate you a little longer."Keegan asked sharply, "Did you teach her to ask for red envelopes like this?""Don't falsely accuse me; I didn't teach her.""You may not have taught her directly, but you set an example. Have you forgotten how you always make me buy things for you?"Stella was speechless. Whenever she wanted Keegan to buy her something, she would often say, "Gifts are only surprises when given voluntarily. If reminded, it shows they don’t like me that much."It had to be said, Coco had learned the essence of it.Stella also felt a bit awkward, thinking that in the future, she needed to avoid such flirtatious conversations between spouses in front of the children. They
Could she figure all this out?Keegan frowned, casting a disappointed look at Coco. "Are you not listening to me now?"Coco raised her gaze defiantly and stated, "Aunt Stella taught me that if I don't want something someone gives me, I can say no. I don't want this hairpin.""Didn't she teach you that even if you don't like something, you should still say thank you?"Coco fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly said to Jaylene, "Thank you, Aunt Jaylene, but I don't want it."Jaylene hesitated with her hand extended, unsure whether to retract it or leave it there, managing a strained smile. "Then what do you like? Next time, I will get you something you do like."Coco asked, "Do you want me to do something for you?"Jaylene was taken aback. "What?"Coco replied seriously, "Aunt Stella says offering help without reason is either deceitful or thieving. Since you don't like me, why else would you give me something? You want me to do something for you, right?"Jaylene forced a s
Leighton's incident did indeed revive their suspicions.Jaylene was gullible, but Darcie might see through this scheme. "Keegan, why didn't you go to work today?" Jaylene chose to ask directly at first.Keegan remained composed. "I've been busy with the press conference lately and haven't had much rest. Now that things have slowed down, I thought I'd take a break and relax."Jaylene spoke gently, "You should rest well. Since you came back, you've been busy, and you've been postponing Dr. Stone's follow-up appointments. Keegan, I'm really worried about your health. Since you're resting these days, I'll arrange for Dr. Stone to give you another check-up. Stella has been living here to assist your recovery for so long. We need the doctor to give a clear assessment of whether there's been any improvement. Otherwise, it's not good for Stella's reputation to stay here so long, unmarried and under one roof."Keegan nodded. "Okay, please arrange it. Thank you."His response was decisive,
Stella had just descended the stairs when she heard that remark, causing her eyelids to twitch as she thought to herself, “Damn it! He really knows how to come up with excuses!”Upon hearing this, Jaylene's eyes briefly flashed with disdain, but she ultimately accepted the shoe covers Keegan handed her. As Keegan led Jaylene into the house, her eyes continued to scrutinize every corner.There were a couple of pillows on the sofa, couple mugs on the table, wedding photos of Keegan and Stella on the walls, and even headbands and hair ties scattered on the table. The house exuded an unmistakable feminine touch.Jaylene's expression darkened, but when Keegan turned to ask if she preferred tea or coffee, she adopted a gentle, harmless demeanor. "Tea would be perfect."Keegan invited her to take a seat and called for Maria to prepare tea. Jaylene spoke softly, "Keegan, I heard from Stella that you brew Dragon Well tea better than anyone else. Is there a special technique?"Stella paused