Was she drunk, or was she just mocking him? Winston stared at Megan with a frown. "Did I tip you already? I'm so drunk, I can't remember." Hearing no reply from Winston, Megan mumbled. She then casually pulled a stack of cash from her leather jacket and stuffed it into Winston's hand. "Is this enough? If not, I'll transfer more to you tomorrow." Holding the stack of cash, Winston laughed helplessly. Did he just get hired as a prostitute? The group of male escorts were taken aback as well. They didn't know Winston, but they had seen enough in life. They saw a Rolex around his wrist as Winston held Megan's arm. The money needed to buy it would be enough for any commoner to spend in a lifetime. How could he be a male escort here? He was probably Megan's partner, likely here to catch her in the act. The male escort who thought he could spend the night with Megan became disappointed. He was overwhelmed by Winston's overbearing demeanor and could only stand idly to the side
Winston had probably just got out of the shower. He was wearing a light blue velvet bathrobe. There was still water dripping from the ends of his hair. The moment Megan saw him, she became even more confused. Where was this? Why was Winston here too? Megan's mind was too clouded. She couldn't remember what happened at all. Didn't she leave the club with a male escort? What happened after that? She then realized that she was wearing a loose shirt with nothing underneath. Could this be Winston's shirt? "Why are you here, Mr. Belasco?" She tried to appear calm as she asked. "Where is this?" Did she remember nothing from the night before? Winston frowned. "This is my place." This was his other house in the city—one he rarely visited.When he saw how drunk Megan was yesterday, he brought her here. This was his first time seeing Megan in such a state. He never expected to see someone who he'd thought was so well-behaved to become so wild after one too many drinks. He rec
Megan was confused when Winston carried her.What was he doing? Did she do anything that made Winston misunderstand her yesterday? Why would he repeatedly give her hope if he didn't love her? It was a shame she wasn't the same Megan who was careful around him anymore. Winston carried Megan all the way to the couch. He found a quilt and covered her legs with it. Only then did he say, "You wore those clothes outside in such cold weather and had so much to drink. You even stood barefoot on the floor. Aren't you afraid that you might get sick?" Megan didn't answer him. She merely watched his actions without a word. After a long while, she suddenly laughed. "If it were me from the past, my heart would've raced out of my chest when you carried me like that." Her in the past? In other words, she didn't feel anything from his actions anymore. Winston understood the underlying meaning behind her words. The smile on his face stiffened. "Did I… make you suffer a lot back then?"
Sitting in her office, Megan watched the footage sent over by Winston. She was extremely embarrassed. What exactly was she doing? She went crazy in Winston's room and thought he was just an escort from the club. They had slept with each other so many times. How could she not recognize him at all just because she was drunk? Even Celeste wouldn't believe it, so Winston must think she was just putting up an act, right? Besides, the way he looked at her in the footage was filled with too much love. No, she must be imagining things! She let the footage from his living room play. She watched as the Winston on-screen carried her into his bedroom. The door to the bedroom wasn't closed. There was only the sound of their lovemaking lingering in the living room. …She treated the president of a listed company as an escort from a club. She even rushed him to sleep with her and showed so much impatience on her face! Although she said that she wanted to end things with him, sh
It was an important day for the Belasco family when Lilian was discharged from the hospital. Jane instructed the maids to hang a banner in the garden and prepare thousands of balloons. Flowers were usually expensive in the winter, yet they bought ten thousand fresh flowers and placed them in the middle of the garden. When Celeste reached home in the evening, she was taken aback. Although they invited no guests, the decorations might be even grander than Celeste and Caleb's banquet. What were they trying to do? Welcome a queen back to her castle? Even their own granddaughter didn't receive such treatment. She avoided all the petals on the ground and walked inside. She then happened upon the scene of the family having a great time together. "Cece is back. You should come over and eat." Lilian was the first to welcome her warmly. Lilian was someone who tore her best friend and Winston apart, so it was hard for Celeste to look at her positively. She merely forced a smile.
"Where's Lily?" Jane asked when she didn't see Lilian at the dining table. Celeste and Winston were never talkative, so Jane didn't know what happened between Celeste and Lilian the previous night. "Ms. Lily said that her stomach is upset, so she won't be having dinner," the maid answered. Jane frowned. "She isn't the healthiest now, so it won't be good for her to skip meals. Go and ask her to come down. Instruct the chef to make something light for her." The maid nodded and left. Celeste and Winston had their dinner in silence. Neither of them looked up. After what happened the night before, Celeste now saw Lilian differently. Initially, she was under the impression that Lilian was pretending to be kind by trying to appear gentle and understanding. Celeste thought that this might be related to the environment she grew up in. She had to live with another family from a young age and constantly walked on eggshells. It would be understandable for her to have high emotion
Anyone would feel uncomfortable from being slandered for no reason. Besides, Lilian had been using her illness to gain sympathy. Jane and Winston's stance was that Celeste shouldn't be upset over someone who was on the verge of death. It was as if it was okay for Lilian to make a mistake, but it was wrong of Celeste to not forgive Lilian.The next day, Celeste didn't have dinner at the Belasco residence. Her excuse was that she had to work overtime. Damon was sensitive enough to know what was going on. When she appeared at his place during dinnertime, he could guess she had a conflict with the Belasco family. But since she said nothing, he didn't ask anything either. He just told Edna to serve more of Celeste's favorite dishes. When it was difficult for her to fall asleep, he'd hug her until she drifted off. Damon's meticulous care made Jane seem neglectful toward Celeste. Celeste finally nestled in Damon's arms and sighed. "You're the best to me, after all. You really d
As agreed, Megan took Winston out for the first meal. She dragged Celeste along to be the third wheel. She brought Celeste to show Winston that she was merely treating him to a meal to apologize. And that she had no intention of growing closer to him through this opportunity. The three met up at a high-end restaurant. Megan and Celeste went inside first. They sat at a table in the restaurant's open space as they waited for Winston. Megan had put thought into choosing the table. Having the meal in a private room would be too intimate. In this kind of open space, there would be many people around. They would just enjoy their meal and avoid any sort of suspicion. Ever since her drunken episode with Winston, it was important for Megan to avoid any suspicion from others. Celeste would do anything for Megan. Since she needed company, Celeste was willing to help her. However, Celeste didn't expect the warm smile on Winston's face to instantly freeze the moment he saw her. "Why
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