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
"Are you planning to lock me up here?" Celeste had no strength left to struggle. She looked around from Damon's arms while asking in an icy tone."Don't say it like that. This villa was bought as a gift for you." Damon's voice sounded as though thick with suppressed pain, tired and hoarse.As Damon carried her inside, Celeste knew things were going wrong. She forced herself to observe the surroundings to search for an escape route.Though uninhabited, the villa was well-maintained and lived-in. The courtyard was filled with broad-leaved plants, roses climbed the walls, and even a few cats roamed among the flowers.This was indeed a place Celeste would love. She had once told Damon that when she got old, she'd want a quieter place to live and tend to her flowers."Let Edna help you. You'd need to replace the flowers often, wouldn't you?" Damon had teased her then. He had kissed the top of her head and casually asked what she liked."I want either broad-leaved plants or masses of
Damon's mind was filled with romantic thoughts, but Celeste resisted him the entire time. She was initially panicked as Damon held her chin while trying to invade her mouth. However, she quickly regained her composure.She hooked her tongue around Damon’s, then bit down hard.The taste of blood spread between their lips, and Celeste knew she had succeeded.Damon groaned but didn’t let go."If biting me makes you feel better, then bite harder," he muttered, then continued to kiss her while his hands moved to unbutton her shirt.Celeste bit him again, harder and more decisively this time.Damon still refused to let her go, with his hands continuing their work.Using all her strength, Celeste managed to push him away. The taste of blood filled the space between them, with drops of blood falling from her lips.Damon’s eyes darkened as he stared at her."Damon, if you dare touch me, I’ll kill myself right here," Celeste said coldly while buttoning her shirt, which Damon had remov
The bedroom door wasn't locked, and when Damon pushed it open, Celeste was seen lying flat on the bed while staring blankly at the ceiling."Are you going on a hunger strike?" Damon frowned as he looked at her with displeasure. He questioned her straight away.Hunger strike? As a pregnant woman, it was impossible for her to do such a thing. Even if not for herself, she had to think about the baby. She merely had no appetite and couldn't eat much, that was all.But why would Celeste tell Damon the truth?She gave him a cold glance and said nothing."It's your body. If you don't eat, you're the one who suffers." Damon raised his voice upon seeing her resistance."I know it's my body. So, stop bothering me," Celeste said indifferently, as if even speaking to him was a torment."Celeste, even if you don't care about yourself, you should think about Leo. You don't want Leo to suffer, do you?" Damon's chest tightened with pain, and his voice turned icy."Leo is your son, Damon." Cele
Leo was young but mature for his age. Megan felt telling him about the situation might open up some possibilities.Sebastian had interacted with Leo numerous times and felt he understood him well enough. He agreed with Megan.When they arrived at the York residence, they called Leo into the living room and explained the situation in a way he could understand."So, the problem is that mommy doesn't want to be with daddy, but daddy is forcing her and has hidden her away," Leo summarized."Yes." That sounded about right. Leo could indeed understood the situation."Leo, I know you want your mom and dad to be together, but this depends on what your mom wants. If she doesn't want to, your dad forcing her will only hurt her," Megan held Leo and said in all seriousness.Leo nodded."Mommy is safe, right?""Of course. Your dad cares about her and won't hurt her, but this situation isn't right," Sebastian replied.Leo was silent for a moment. "I'm meeting grandma the day after tomorrow
Leo might understand it, but that didn't mean he'd liked it.Damon glanced down at Leo, whose face had suddenly grown tense. He casually asked, "Why did you decide to watch 'The Dream of the Red Chamber'?"He recalled Leo's previous comments about the novel.Shortly after they had reconnected, Serena had doubted Leo's genius and had made a bet with Damon.When they brought Leo over, Serena tested him by asking if he had read the Four Great Classical Novels and which one he liked best.Damon had pretended to be engrossed in his phone nearby, but he listened intently to their conversation."I've read them, but I don't particularly like any of them,” Leo had said.He had even analyzed why he didn't like them. "I prefer works that advocate for freedom, equality, and nature. The backgrounds of the Four Great Novels inherently limit the authors' perspectives.”Leo had said that Journey to the East was steeped in Luminarism and Flowism, but he was an atheist. Water Margin was a comple
Damon played along and asked, "Where to?""There’s a bookstore nearby. Mommy has been into a young poet named Evelyn Hartwood lately. Let’s buy one of her books for mommy," Leo suggested. He grabbed Damon’s hand.Usually, Leo’s energy was low. He often took long afternoon naps, sleeping until five, then going to bed again around eight after dinner. He hadn’t napped and had sat through a two-hour play that day. He was clearly looking tired.How could Damon not tell?However, Damon didn’t want to spoil the mood since Leo hadn’t complained. He picked him up and carried him to the bookstore."Dad, have you been here before?" Leo asked while holding onto Damon’s neck.Leo was usually very reserved, yet he was being unusually affectionate that day. He would hold hands and hug Damon."I have," Damon replied.Leo nodded and didn’t ask further.Damon hadn’t heard of the young poet Leo mentioned, but the bookstore owner found the book quickly. Handing it to Damon, the owner praised an
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