Celeste had been running a fever ever since she returned from the hospital. Being pregnant, she dared not take any medication and resorted to physical cooling methods. It took her two and a half days to finally bring the fever down.Moreover, the stress affected her pregnancy, and the doctor advised her to rest. She ended up staying in bed for five to six days until she regained some energy.She had to leave the house because a city in the north was hit by a flood. Taverdale was hosting a charity gala for entrepreneurs, calling on benevolent companies to aid the disaster-stricken people.For such an event, both Opulent Prowl and Leo Jewels naturally had to make an appearance.Both companies agreed that Celeste, with her significant public influence, was the best representative. Thus, Celeste dressed in a formal black suit and went to the event with her assistant.All the prominent companies in Taverdale attended the charity gala, with the Bishop Group being an honored guest. Altho
Celeste turned around and met Veronica's smiling eyes.Veronica, like her, had alluring features but an icy demeanor. She didn't need to give a big smile. The slight smile in her eyes was already a gesture of goodwill.It would be petty to pretend not to recognize her. Thus, Celeste smiled and said, "Ms. Salt."Was it her imagination, or did she sense a certain eagerness in Veronica's gaze?"We met a few days ago; I'm the barista at Cloud Cliff Cafe," Veronica said."I remember. It's quite a coincidence." Celeste wondered why Veronica was approaching her, Damon's ex-wife.After thinking for a moment, Celeste added, "Thank you for the small cake you treated me.""You're welcome." Veronica suddenly seemed a bit shy as she watched Celeste. She lowered her head and averted her eyes."Miss, you're so beautiful. You’re the prettiest girl I've ever seen," Veronica said after a while.For such a cold person like her to speak to sweetly was odd.Celeste's surprise deepened. Still, she
"What do you mean?" Veronica was suddenly confused.Damon noticed that she didn't seem like she was acting and grunted coldly. "If you don't know, then go find out."With that, he left Veronica standing there alone.The idea that someone was waiting to toast her was just an excuse.He knew Celeste would be present that night. Thus, he asked Veronica to be his date.Celeste wore a black suit, flat shoes, and understated colors and styles, yet she still stood out among the women in evening gowns.She seemed to have lost some weight and looked a bit pale.During dinner, Damon tried not to look in her direction, but he couldn't help himself. He noticed she hardly ate anything and saw when she went outside.Celeste, who was dressed in a black suit, blended into the night. One couldn't tell what was on her mind. Veronica felt utterly confused as she watched Damon leave. What was his purpose in calling her back? Besides, what he said a moment ago was clearly provocative. He told her
He was right.What did the daughter-in-law of the Miller family have to do with Damon?She was the one who had pushed him away."I'm sorry. I overstepped."Celeste felt as though someone had poured a liter of sand into her chest, making it ache and impossible for her to breathe. Yet, she maintained her signature smile."Celeste." Veronica hesitated to say something.Celeste smiled kindly at her. "Goodbye, Ms. Salt."With that, she got into the car without another glance at the two of them.Her assistant drove while Celeste sat in the back. She closed her eyes and was overwhelmed with bitterness.She was the one who had pushed him away. Thus, she couldn't blame him for not stepping in when she was in danger. It made no sense to do so.That comment she made was so out of line. It'd only make her a laughingstock for Damon.A tear escaped from her closed eyes, which Celeste wiped away casually with the back of her hand. She laughed self mockingly.……"Damon, I think what you j
Celeste was three months pregnant, and her growing belly would soon be hard to conceal. She sent Sebastian a WhatsApp message to discuss their next steps."I'm 11 weeks pregnant. What do you think about this?""…"Sebastian sent a series of ellipses in response. "What do you want me to think?"Sebastian, of course, knew that if Celeste cared about his opinion, she wouldn't have waited this long to tell him."This came as a surprise. If you can't handle it, we can get a divorce.""We can't divorce right now. It might shock my grandfather."Sebastian had already come out to his parents, who had kept it under wraps. His grandfather, Joseph Miller, was not doing well, and no one in the Miller family dared to act rashly. They wanted to ensure the old man had a peaceful final journey."Got it." Celeste figured that since the Miller family was far away in Freedonia, she might be able to have the baby quietly in Carlino, provided she kept a low profile."Is it Damon's?" Sebastian aske
Upon hearing what Sebastian said, Celeste was visibly taken aback but quickly regained her composure. "Why bother with someone as unimportant as him?"She didn't pull away the hand Sebastian was holding. Instead, she used her other hand to pick up some food and placed it on his plate.Given their relationship and the current situation, Celeste knew that if she fed Sebastian, he wouldn't refuse. But that would be too obvious. It'd be as though she wanted to show off to Damon how happy she was. It would be unseemly.There was no need for that. She only needed to show a little determination not to divorce.However, Sebastian misunderstood her intentions."My dear, I'll get angry if you keep forcing me to eat vegetables." He pouted childishly."Huh?" Celeste was slightly disgusted, and she frowned at him. "Forcing me to eat vegetables is one thing, but you haven't even said you missed me after all this time." Sebastian continued to act spoiled and overly dramatic.This was reall
The three had initially planned to meet up and catch up on recent events. They never expected to encounter Celeste and Sebastian.Damon, already in a foul mood, was accompanied by Nicholas and Jasper as they drank a few more rounds. They stayed at the bar until closing time. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense."Let's move to another place," Nicholas suggested, and the trio settled the bill and headed out.As they passed Celeste's table, Nicholas noticed other customers had taken it. This meant Celeste and Sebastian had left a while ago. He stole a glance at Damon, who maintained a poker face. One couldn't read his face."Let's head to the Echo Club," Jasper proposed.His driver was waiting outside. Thus, they were sent to the Echo Club straight away.It was quite a coincidence when, upon arriving, they saw Celeste and Sebastian getting out of a car and walking into the five-star hotel next door.Sebastian was being particularly attentive, fetching a coat from the car for Cel
Celeste stormed out of the hotel, fully intending to have a heated argument with Damon.As she stepped outside, furious, she saw Damon waiting with Nicholas and Jasper."Damon, go get treated if there's something wrong with your mind. Stop bothering others," Celeste was fuming with rage. Arms crossed, she sneered at Damon.Damon said nothing. He simply lifted her off the ground."Where's your coat?" he asked in a low voice.Celeste instinctively protected her pregnant belly with one hand. "What are you doing?"She was clearly flustered."Your coat, where is it?" Damon asked again, insistently.When they had entered, Sebastian had given her a coat to wear.Only then did Celeste understand what Damon was implying.It was cold outside, but the hotel office was comfortably warm. Taking off her coat inside was perfectly normal, but to Damon, it was evidence of her and Sebastian getting a room together.Thus, a hint of mockery appeared in Celeste’s eyes."Of course, I took it off
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