Celeste had gotten over 60 stitches sewed without any anesthesia.Even someone like Nicholas, who was used to countless incidents, could not bear it in his heart.Celeste remained silent, her petite face deathly pale against Damon's embrace. Beads of sweat soaked her shirt as her hair clung slickly and damp against her face.Damon had intended to restrain Celeste and prevent her from struggling, but she was incredibly obedient and did not make a single move.Celeste stared blankly as Nicholas worked the surgical needle in and out. As she witnessed the needle piercing the skin, her empty gaze unexpectedly brightened for a moment.Although Damon was unsure if he had seen it wrong, he swiftly covered Celeste's eyes with his hand."Relax, don't look at it," he said.The fear of losing Celeste shrouded him throughout the night. It softened his attitude considerably.Her lashes quivered in Damon's hand, tickling gently.After finishing the stitches, Celeste seemed to have finished a
Both Taylor and Nicholas had mentioned that Celeste showed great self-restraint this time, preventing herself from fully committing suicide.Even though she made deep cuts, she intentionally avoided cutting any arteries.If there was something she could not let go of and had a definite reason for remaining alive, it had to be her brother, Caleb.During Celeste's depression attack that day, she diligently reassured herself of the necessity to hold on for the sake of her brother. It was soon time for Caleb's heart donor to reach the end of life, and they had to be prepared for an approaching heart transplant surgery.The contradiction and anguish, the struggle of wanting to die yet being afraid to … Damon could not help but draw in a sharp breath as he thought about it."Lead me to Caleb," Damon said to Liam.He thought about Celeste's obsessive, stubborn, and domineering nature. He wondered what kind of devilish character her brother might be.To Damon's surprise, Caleb turned
Despite her struggle with despair, Celeste had an intense desire to recover.She appeared lost every day, disinterested in eating, quiet, and devoid of interest in anything. However, she did not need others to convince her to take her antidepressants.Although she barely finished her meal, she would still rather pick up the blue pill and swallow it.Given that many of the medications from Taylor had sleep-aiding properties, Celeste slept almost 16 to 17 hours daily, and she would seek psychological therapy in the counseling room during her waking hours.Being naturally thin, the ordeal resulted in further weight loss, making her face look alarmingly sick.Meanwhile, Damon had already moved past the stage of panic. He silently observed her every action, wearing a faintly distant expression and coldly spectating everything. It was as if the gentleness from that day had vanished.He had firmly decided regarding Celeste—he could not afford to be overly kind to her due to her rebellio
Damon sensed the changes in Celeste from the past few days, which made his mood considerably brighter.However, his expression remained indifferent as he casually responded, "Yes.""Then let's go register our marriage right now," Celeste said as she was about to jump down from the washbasin.But Damon's passion was burning, and he wanted to continue what they had not finished.His endurance over this month has been incredibly tough!They had bustled from early morning until noon, and by the time they finally got everything sorted out and arrived at the local county clerk's office, it was nearing 11:00 am.Amid their chaotic handling, they eventually managed to complete all the formalities and acquire the significant marriage license."How wonderful! Am I not dreaming?" Celeste wondered aloud as she sat back in the car, inspecting her marriage license.Seeing her joyful expression, Damon subtly curved his lips.If she could just avoid causing trouble and stay obediently by his
"Stop the car," Damon suddenly uttered."What?" Liam's mind experienced a momentary shutdown, failing to grasp his command."This car belongs to me too. Since you don't want to take advantage of me, Ms. York, you might as well go back on foot," Damon remarked coldly.Liam was momentarily stunned in place, caught in a dilemma.He knew Damon was angry. If he truly made the recently recovered Celeste walk back, once his temper subsided, regret and heartache would surely follow.But not stopping the car would undoubtedly be too disrespectful to Damon."Mr. Bishop, Mrs. Bishop is known for her frankness—" he quickly turned back to explain while waiting at the red light. But the sharp gaze from Damon unnerved him, causing him to withhold the remainder of his sentence."It's alright, Mr. Fletcher. Just pull over, and I'll find my way back," said Celeste, feeling suffocated by the stifling atmosphere in the car, and opted to leave. She could always take a taxi back."Keep in mind, I wa
Lawrence left with a hint of loneliness. Celeste wandered and lazed for over an hour before reaching the villa's gate.During the last ten minutes of her journey, Celeste walked barefoot. Somehow, her fair soles got pricked, resulting in a small cut.This made Celeste realize something.She did not know why Damon was upset, but she thought just walking home might not calm him down. If he wanted her to feel foot pain, she was okay with that.Gritting her teeth, she shut her eyes and purposefully stepped on a sharp stone by the doorstep flowerbed.Celeste winced and sucked in a sharp breath as blood began to trickle.She steadied herself and walked through the door.Liam had not yet left, and he stood at the gate waiting for her. However, he was shocked to see the bloodstains under her feet."Mrs. Bishop, what's wrong? That injury looks bad," he said, abandoning his usual composure and raising his voice for those inside to hear.In less than half a minute, Damon emerged with a c
"Celeste, do you think the surveillance cameras at the door are just for show?" Damon felt utterly furious at Celeste. He pinched her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.However, the tears in her eyes momentarily caught him off guard, and the pressure of his fingers eased."Huh?" Celeste did not understand at first and took a moment to grasp his meaning."I didn't intentionally hurt myself for sympathy under the surveillance. I just wanted you to calm down ..." Celeste tried to explain but then sadly lowered her gaze. "Forget it, you won't believe me anyway."Her vulnerable side tugged at Damon's sympathy. His temper slowly went down, but he refrained from pulling her into an embrace."Celeste, there are many ways to solve problems, and self-harm is the least advisable," he said."But I don't even know why you're angry. How am I supposed to fix it?" asked Celeste. She still had not figured out what she did wrong!Damon felt somewhat awkward. How could he explain? Was it b
Damon was remarkably efficient. After interviewing in the afternoon, the villa was already bustling with a butler, gardener, housekeeper, chef, and eight other household staff by evening.Around 7:00 pm, someone politely invited Celeste downstairs for dinner. Having stayed in her room all afternoon, she felt uneasy seeing the sudden surge of people in the villa."What's going on?" she asked."I'm your servant, Edna Woods, Mrs. Bishop. I'll be taking care of your daily needs," a middle-aged woman in her 50s introduced herself to Celeste."Um ..." Celeste had a few years of being chauffeured and cared for by nannies when she was young. But after working in a club and living a working-class life for so long, being served again made her uncomfortable."I don't need anyone to serve me," Celeste whispered to Damon while Edna was in the kitchen. The idea of having someone serve her seemed odd.Damon had expected her reaction and calmly remarked, "Is Mrs. Bishop trying to ruin my reputat
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