"Look at Carly's face. She looks as if someone's threatening her to get engaged. So many people are here, but she can't even fake a smile. Did all the intelligence in the Bishop family get inherited by the men and not the women?" Megan mocked her on WhatsApp. Celeste laughed at the text. She replied, "But your brother is an interesting man. He knows Carly doesn't like him, yet he doesn't care at all." Jasper was smiling brightly in the video. It formed a huge contrast with the resentful look on Carly's face. "He's always been open-minded in relationship matters," Megan said. Really? Celeste disagreed with that. If Jasper had been this relaxed about love and relationships, he wouldn't remember how cold she was to Damon a while ago. Perhaps everyone had different ways of dealing with relationships. For people who suffered in their lives like she did, they'd feel that there were more important things in this world than love. But it was different for Damon and his friends.
"When will you be leaving then?" Caleb asked her. Megan asked her that a few times as well. Once Henry was sent to jail, nothing much could happen in the York family anymore. Leaving Shannon all alone could be considered a good enough revenge for Celeste. Based on Megan's plan, Celeste should go back to studying. On that day, Megan brought her new VR device over when she visited Celeste. She asked the same thing again. Celeste merely answered, "I'm not in a hurry to do that. Let's wait for a while." She just thought that this matter couldn't be over just like that. Henry must have had a backup plan. "What are you waiting for? Would the York family be free to bother you—" Before Megan finished her sentence, she suddenly looked at Celeste with wide eyes. At that moment, Caleb was wearing the VR glasses. He exclaimed in surprise when he saw all the 5D effects in the device. Judging from the terror on Megan's face, Celeste knew that Megan understood her now. She nodded. "
That wasn't something she could answer easily. Words were stuck in Celeste's mouth. She just hung up the phone. She decided to just drop by the villa. Damon would usually be back home late. If she went there a little later, she would be able to see him. But now that the two had divorced and things ended awkwardly, Damon might want to hide from her out of embarrassment. She wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Celeste thought hard about this. She decided to go over around 8:00 pm. "Mrs. Bishop is here!" The moment Edna saw Celeste, she dashed out to welcome her. She seemed excited and surprised. She didn't know that Celeste and Damon had divorced. She just thought that the two had a fight which resulted in Celeste moving out."Edna, Damon and I are divorced. You can just call me by my name," Celeste said. When she saw Edna, she recalled all the memories here. She felt a surge of sadness. "Ah, I've been so anxious these days for fear that you and Mr. Bishop would divo
Damon looked handsome in his gray linen suit. His handmade leather shoes were polished. Standing at the door, he raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "Anything you need?" Seeing how formal his clothing was, Celeste was startled. All the courage in her was gone the moment she pushed the door open. She suddenly felt awkward. "I-I just want to take my books," she said. She didn't dare to look at Damon's curious eyes. Brushing past him, she went to the bookshelf. Damon followed her behind. Smirking a little, he watched as she quickly packed all her books. "Do you need help?" "Are you in such a hurry to see me leave?" Celeste couldn't take it anymore. She turned around to glare at him. "Aren't we divorced already?" She was upset, and Damon couldn't suppress his smile anymore. "Yeah, you're right." After hearing the cold reply, all her longing for him instantly vanished. She had no reason to be mad at him. They were divorced, yet she still hoped Damon would love and miss
It had been a few days since Celeste visited the villa. They finally came for her. The policeman standing at the door didn't seem ferocious. After showing his police tag, he said politely, "Ms. York, please follow us to the station." Celeste nodded. She stretched her arms out easily, allowing them to cuff her hands. The leading policeman was surprised by Celeste's calmness. He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you scared?" Celeste put on a relaxed smile. "I forgot to pay the electricity bill yesterday.""You seemed ready for this." "I suppose so." She was mentally prepared for this. She would confess to anything, no matter what the police asked. She just had to conceal anything related to the help she got from those kind people around her. That included Megan, Phillip, Lewis, and most importantly, Damon. Charges for enticement of crimes could vary in terms of severity. Once she confessed, the police would probably ignore the people who had helped her. …Since Megan and Cele
The girl took a step back. Without a word, she hid Megan behind her. "Didn't you guys just have a fight with Clyde last month? Yet, you're robbing someone in Clyde's territory again. If you leave now, we'll forget about what happened. But you'll be taught a good lesson once Clyde hears about this." They were just around ten years old. The girl had to lift her head to look at the thugs. But she looked way calmer than anyone would be at that age. She was so good at threatening them that the thugs were taken aback. "Don't be angry, we'll leave now." The other thug quickly dragged the scarface away. Celeste had easily resolved the only dangerous experience Megan had in her sweet childhood. With teary eyes, Megan looked at the girl in disbelief. "You got the wrong person," she said in a daze. "You dummy." The girl tugged on her sleeve. "I'll walk you back home." The girl was none other than Celeste, who was younger than her. On that day, Celeste walked Megan back to her resi
Celeste was detained at a small temporary detention center south of Taverdale. According to the people who arrested her, Henry insisted that someone had enticed him to smuggle. She had a clear motive, so the police highly suspected her in this case. The room was small and narrow. There was no window either. When it was time to turn on all the lights in the center, there wasn't even a tiny light source in the room. After the door was closed, everything became pitch-black. Celeste was brought to the center this morning. She waited quietly on the chair to be sent on trial. But nothing happened even after she waited till night. Although she had been mentally prepared for this, she couldn't help feeling anxious when it actually happened. Nobody came to interrogate her. But there was someone who brought food for her. Seeing how she didn't touch the bread and soup from lunch, he asked if she didn't like the food out of kindness. His friendliness made Celeste feel like laughing. An
Celeste didn't put on an act to resist him. Instead, she took the cigarette and took a slow drag. The scent of nicotine calmed her down gradually. "It's not smart of you to visit me at this hour." Her voice was low and hoarse. There were two slits on her dry lips as she didn't have any water for a whole day. The slits were evident even under the dim lights. Damon went over to steal the half-smoked cigarette from her. He smoked on it before sealing her lips with his. The mixture of the sweet and tobacco sweet in her mouth stirred Damon's emotions. He slowly pressed her up against the wall. Her lips were rough from neglect. It turned him on even more. Celeste didn't expect Damon to get turned on in the visitor's room. She was startled. She had no energy to struggle because she didn't eat at all. The difference in strength and the longing she had for him deep down made her whimper. She let him do what he wanted. The two made out for a long time. Celeste's dry mouth was moi
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