Celeste just got back home, so Damon didn't go to the company either. He decided to work from home. She spent the whole morning cooped up in her room. It was around noon when Damon brought some desserts upstairs to coax her down. But he noticed that she had done her makeup and was walking downstairs. "Damon, are we heading to the company together?" She opened her arms wide at Damon, who was by the dining table. She then leaped into his arms. She seemed different from how she was in the morning when she cried and complained with red eyes about how he disrespected her. Damon thought that it was either because she regained her composure or she found out what he did in secret. So she was all better now. As expected, Celeste said, "Thanks for spending money on Caleb again. When he recovers, he'll work hard and repay you for the money." She even pecked Damon's lips with her own, which she accidentally bit on in the morning. Damon couldn't help but laugh. This woman seemed lik
The order of their presentations for the contest was decided through drawing lots. Celeste would be the fourth one to present her product. Thankfully, she still had some time. She tried to calm herself down as she called Liya's number again and again. "Where's your model? Celeste, it's almost your turn!" The staff who was holding Celeste's product was panicking. "Perhaps she thought she could go through the contest without a model because she's Mr. Bishop's wife," an intern mocked her. It was as if Celeste didn't hear her. She contacted the modeling agency, but nobody picked up the phone. As the department manager, Leah entered the backstage right at that moment. "Get yourself ready and don't miss anything out. Or you'll embarrass yourself." When she walked past Celeste, she said with a weird tone. Celeste was planning to keep calling Liya, but she stopped herself. Coldly, she stared at Leah. There was no need to call the model anymore. Leah must have done something abo
"I'm naming this chain belt Lolita. The concept behind a chain belt is to express seductiveness. But designing it in the red and white of strawberries introduces a hint of innocence of a young maiden. It's just like Lolita in the movie. Innocent, yet sinful," Celeste spoke.Damon was just thinking about Lolita a moment ago. Celeste stood at the front stage and graciously introduced her product to the judges. Staring at her waist, Damon wished he could run over and pull her into his arms. She didn't include any expensive jewels in her design, but it was attentive and full of details. It was coupled with the fact that she walked the stage herself to show the product. As Damon expected, she got the highest score amongst everyone else and won the contest by a huge margin. There were more than 20 media reporters at the scene. They all flashed their cameras at that moment. Damon's head hurt when he thought of how pictures of Celeste's waist would be all over the news the next day.
Of course, Damon got to do everything he wanted with her. "You're a shameless man." After they were done, Celeste buried her head into the pillow and mumbled. There were love bites all over her body, especially around her waist and tummy. How could he get turned on in the middle of the day? He even did her so roughly. Her waist was still aching. "You're only obedient to me at times like this." Damon couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassment. Leaning against the headboard, he stared at her white and pinkish back. He reached out to play with her dark, wavy hair. "Hmph." Celeste expressed her dissatisfaction toward him. "You're making it hard for me to not bully you." Damon was lying against the headboard a moment ago, but now he was right beside her. "Tell me, am I great at this?" Damon pecked her earlobe. "You're annoying!" Celeste was disturbed from her rest. She swung her leg at Damon but he caught her ankle. "I didn't know that all beauties have pinkish heels." D
On the other hand, Henry had been making some progress too. After the dinner party, Jonah shared meals with Henry and Shannon another three times. Of course, Henry knew of Janah's true intentions, so he didn't let Jonah have what he wanted first. In the middle of their third get-together, Henry's phone rang. "Sorry, I'm going to pick up the call." Henry gave Jonah an apologetic smile. Jonah made a gesture to show that he didn't mind. And so, Henry left in a hurry. He came back not long after. He put on a smile. "Ah, Mr. Radcliffe, I have something urgent to attend to. I have to go check things out." Then, he put on his coat without waiting for Jonah's reply. He was about to leave. "Dad, I think I should go with you." Shannon had seen enough men to know that Jonah's gaze on her was different from how other elders would normally look at her. She tried to keep her cool each time she talked to Jonah. Although she was quite open to sleeping around, she had always been mingli
It was the next week when Celeste heard of Henry using his daughter to gain some benefits. "Last Friday, Henry made an official will. He promised to hand over all of his properties and businesses to Shannon as inheritance. What's going on? Is there something wrong with his health? Why is he in such a rush to make a will?" Megan heard of this news from her connections. She was curious. "I received another piece of information. Jonah has announced that he'll pass on all of his fire safety projects to the York Group in the future as a form of collaboration. "They've also signed an agreement for a property development project in Lagona. They'll be receiving thirty percent of the cost as advance payment," Celeste said calmly. Henry was healthy. There could only be one reason for him to make a will this early. This was so that he could provide Shannon with a guaranteed benefit. It was a form of compensation. And what could that be for? The answer to that question was clear after comb
Of course Damon knew about it. When the Radcliffe family passed the project to Henry, Damon knew that Celeste would act on it. He just didn't expect her to act so quickly. The nursing home where Caleb was staying wasn't far from their place. Why would Celeste need to pack her luggage and stay there for three days? Judging from how much she loved her brother, it was strange how there wasn't a single toy or packet of snacks in her luggage. Celeste was a smart woman. But she was always bad at lying about trivial matters like this. From Damon's perspective, this woman was extremely thoughtful. She thought that it'd be troublesome to be honest, but it was unnecessary to put in too much effort crafting a good lie. So she'd just lie however she liked without straining her mind. If the other person realized it, they'd just pretend not to know out of respect for her. She wouldn't be too bothered even if that person hated her because of it. "Are you surprised?" Damon reached out to n
Celeste managed to arrive in Lagona around 11 am. She stated her identity as Lawrence's assistant. So it was easy for her to enter the construction site where the Radcliffe Group was building a new property. Thousands of construction workers were hard at work. Celeste wore a safety hat and a white cashmere coat. She walked past everyone in her three-inch tall heels. Anyone passing by would check her out. The project was still in the initial stage of design. There were only a few men in charge and architects from the York family. They were standing around the site to take measurements and draft. Celeste recognized their uniform. And so, she walked around the construction site once and took some pictures as information. She pretended to be calm as she greeted them. "When will the project start?" "Pretty soon. The latest should be early next month." Not many knew of the relationship between Celeste and the York family. Those people only thought that she was a representative fr
He never would have imagined that the intelligent and aloof Celeste would have a day like this, appearing adorably naive and innocent.Damon used to like girls who were delicate and pure, but that changed when he met Celeste.She had a face full of charm and allure, but her expression and personality were always cold and unyielding. She was pale and slim, yet not childlike. On the contrary, she resembled a young poplar tree, proud and upright.Because of her, he began to like girls who sparked his desire to conquer, and he scoffed at those who were simply weak and shy.But now with Celeste like this, he didn't feel annoyed. In fact, not only was he not annoyed, he actually found it cute and interesting.“What's your name?” she asked again."Damon.""Oh, that sounds really nice."The initial confusion in her eyes was gone, replaced by a sparkling glimmer, and her tone carried a touch of a young girl's excitement."You are actually my husband… Wow, great job, me! I've managed to
"What? Aren’t you my husband? Do I still need to avoid you while changing clothes?" The confusion in Celeste's eyes didn’t seem fake.Damon was speechless and didn't know how to respond at that moment.When Damon didn't respond, Celeste suddenly felt a bit nervous."I'm sorry… I can't remember clearly. Aren't you my husband?"Damon raised an eyebrow casually and asked, "Why do you think I am?"Celeste innocently blinked, her eyelashes fluttering like fans. "The nurse said it. Besides, if you're not my husband, why would you sleep with me at night?""What did the nurse say?" Her reasoning was actually logical and undeniable. For a moment, Damon found it somewhat amusing."The nurse said that my husband is really thoughtful," Celeste responded seriously. Then she asked, "Aren't you my husband? Then why would you be willing to stay here with me so late?"This one sentence left Damon speechless.The reason he was willing was because he was a coward. He said that he didn't care abo
Damon frowned upon hearing the classic amnesiac questions being asked."Celeste, are you trying to act out a TV drama?"Celeste still looked at him blankly. "What do you mean?"Damon didn't answer and went straight to the director's office to get Nicholas.Knowing her, she wasn't the type to joke around, especially not with Leo still missing. She must have hit her head hard.Nicholas was equally surprised and hurried back to the room with Damon.Celeste was sitting up, hugging her knees and staring into space."You're awake? How do you feel?" Nicholas asked with a smile as he entered."Why am I here?" Her voice sounded hesitant, and she turned to look at them.Her confusion seemed genuine. Nicholas and Damon exchanged worried glances."Celeste… you don't remember?""Celeste?" She asked, "Is that my name?""Yes.""I don't remember. My mind is blank.""Do you remember… Leo?" Nicholas hesitated. After all, if she knew that her child had been missing for three days, he was wo
"Alright," Celeste said in a deep voice. "Let me see Leo first."They pushed open the hidden door, revealing a staircase leading to the basement."Have Leo come to the stairway corner." She stood at the dark staircase and negotiated with the kidnapper."Mommy!" Suddenly, Leo's desperate cry echoed from inside."Leo!" Celeste ditched everything else and rushed down the stairs.She ran ahead, and as soon as she reached the corner, there was a loud explosion, and a wave of heat hit her face."Celeste!""Celeste!"Damon and Winston's faces changed drastically, shouting in alarm.The basement was empty. It was a trap.Had they been more careful, they would have noticed that both the kidnapper’s voice and Leo’s cry were artificially synthesized. But Celeste, in her desperation to save her son, had been too frantic to discern this.The basement was rigged with landmines. Unfortunately, something went wrong. The mine exploded when Celeste reached the stairway corner, instead of when
What? Damon was also coming? Celeste felt her heart leap, and her voice became sharper as she said, "I can handle this. You can't come!"There was no response from his end.Observing Damon’s silence, Celeste quickly softened her tone. "Damon, listen to me. I can handle this alone. There's no need for you to get involved… because I'm their main target, and they likely won't harm Leo. You need to stay home and wait for him. You need to take care of him later on…""Celeste," Damon interrupted coldly. "Are you planning on not coming out alive?"Of course, coming out alive would be ideal, but she couldn’t guarantee that."Damon, I do have a chance of surviving, but when it comes to exchanging myself for Leo, there can be no room for error. We must follow the kidnapper's instructions to ensure Leo's safety."It was out of the question to provide a false sense of security and pretend to comply with the kidnapper, only to backtrack and get Leo killed.She needed to ensure Leo’s safety a
They checked all the surveillance footage near the Bishop residence and investigated every suspicious vehicle. They also had people keeping an eye on Henry, but after half a day, there was still no breakthrough.The kidnappers had taken Leo to threaten Celeste, and the lack of communication was meant to unnerve her. If it was according to predictions, she was supposed to wait for their demands. But, as a mother, she couldn't just sit and do nothing.Celeste remembered that Shannon had called her, so she found her contact in the blacklist and called."Shannon, did you and Henry kidnap Leo?" she demanded.Shannon laughed coldly. "Don't accuse us without any evidence. Your son is missing? Maybe it's karma. Hahaha!"Celeste hung up, unable to stand Shannon's smugness.Several teams searched for over 20 hours, even involving the police, but still had no solid leads. Celeste suspected Henry, but they couldn't just arrest him without any proof.She was extremely desperate. She didn't e
"Lester isn't as clever as Leo. He's just a four-year-old child, and he shouldn't have done anything like that," Serena instinctively defended Lester. Then, recalling the last time she had misunderstood Leo for similar reasons, she felt a pang of guilt and added, "I don't mean to imply anything… I'll have someone bring Lester here."Celeste nodded. "I'm not blaming Lester. I just want to understand what happened."Soon, the nanny looking after Lester brought him in. Unexpectedly, upon seeing Celeste, Lester burst into tears."Aunty Celeste, please don't hit me. I didn't mean to lose my brother!""Lester, I just want to understand what happened." Celeste was taken aback by his crying but kneeled down to speak gently. "I'm not blaming you. Can you tell me what you saw that day?""Aunty Celeste, don't hit me!" Lester kept crying, not saying a word about Leo's disappearance."Am I that scary, Lester?"At this moment, Celeste felt at a loss. She could communicate normally with Leo,
Celeste perfectly understood what Cedric's implied. "I mean, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to entertain me today."Cedric had indeed wanted to help her that day, but his identity was too special to admit it openly. The scratch on the paper was a subtle hint, and whether or not she could interpret it depended on her intuition. The fact that she could decipher such a subtle hint proved her intelligence and luck.Over the years, Cedric had developed a sense of respect for Celeste after learning about her. He felt she was deserving of assistance, but he couldn't make it obvious."However, be careful. I see that Henry is at the end of his rope and might act irrationally. You should be on guard," Cedric warned.Celeste nodded, having considered this as well. "Henry wants me dead."This was why she had her brother stay abroad and sent Leo to the Bishops. With only herself remaining, it was harder for Henry to use her loved ones against her."Take care of yourse
Celeste's deduction was correct. Cedric intentionally left the mark. As Winston dug deeper, he slowly uncovered a series of issues.It was a bridge project on a highway in a poor mountainous area. Not uncommon.The problem was that the person in charge of this project was a leader assigned from a first-tier city to oversee the development. Officially, he was recognised for his capabilities, but in reality, this task was one he had to succeed in without failure.He had offended someone, and this transfer was a disguised punishment under the guise of a major responsibility.If he had managed it well, the chances of him returning to a higher development role would have been slim. At best, he could stay in this position until retirement. If he didn't manage it well, his entire career could be ruined.Someone of such status naturally had supporters as well as opponents. In such a situation, it was impossible for anyone to sabotage and create pitfalls along the way."It seems the next