In the following week, Damon didn't show up at the hospital again.He suddenly became exceptionally busy. He was spending over ten hours a day immersed in work and scheduling his agenda to the brim.From Liam's observation, it seemed like Damon had an argument with Celeste.When the castle walls crumble, even the pond life trembles. And poor Liam was the unfortunate fish in the pond.Faced with Damon's grim expression every day, he trod carefully. He feared he would misinterpret Damon's intentions and jeopardize his year-end bonus.When the senior executives came for the work briefing, each of them walked in confidently but left with beads of sweat on their foreheads.During a break from a long conference led by Damon, Liam tentatively asked, "Dr. Davies mentioned that Mrs. Bishop could be discharged this afternoon."She's quite fragile. Should I arrange some supplements for Mrs. Bishop?"Liam was trying to gauge Damon's mood.He thought that Damon was the stubborn one in matt
They kissed passionately for over 20 minutes until both were breathless. Celeste felt her lips might bleed from being bitten because of Damon's fervent kisses."Celeste, do you think with my personality, I would do something as foolish as holding a woman who's about to marry someone else and cry all night?"Damon finally spoke, his hands resting on Celeste's waist.It took Celeste a moment to realize he was explaining himself to her. She looked up at him, somewhat puzzled. "But she said …""All lies.""Oh," she said.Of course. She knew this behavior didn't seem like something Damon, the high and mighty CEO, would do."Ms. Sullivan is quite the storyteller.""Look at you, so clever, yet falling for such stories. How could you believe them?""Oh, well, caring causes chaos, right? Whenever I think about my man holding another woman and crying, it breaks my heart. I can't think of anything else."Celeste began to act affectionate toward Damon again, cuddling and rubbing against
In the end, Celeste did not finish her 20-thousand-word reflection statement. She fell asleep and didn't even notice Damon had carried her back to her room.They hadn't met for days, and Damon missed her. Yet, seeing her sleeping so peacefully for the first time, he couldn't bear to wake her up.He gently changed her into a nightgown and tucked her into bed."Little devil, don't ever make me angry again." Before going to sleep, he lightly nibbled on Celeste's earlobe.Celeste felt a ticklish sensation in her ear when she was asleep. She subconsciously trembled and nestled into Damon's arms.When Damon woke up the next day, the woman in his embrace had disappeared.He got ready and went downstairs. Celeste had changed into a gray dress suit and was waiting for him on the sofa. Damon understood her intentions."Are you going to work today? You just got discharged from the hospital. Shouldn't you take a few days off?""No, I'm fine now." Celeste looked at him with bright eyes.Af
In Damon's office, Jasper seemed especially free today.He lounged on Damon's sofa and leisurely sipped his coffee all morning. He showed no intention of leaving, even during lunchtime.Damon asked him what happened, but he said he was fine. He claimed he just happened to pass by the building and decided to come for a visit.Damon was worried that Celeste couldn't adapt to the new environment. He wanted to go to the 15th floor to check on her but couldn't since Jasper was there.He glanced at his watch. It was 11:30 am."I'm going to have lunch with my wife. Are you leaving or not?" Damon looked at him, intending to make him leave."Relax. Maybe your wife has something to discuss with me." Before Jasper could finish his sentence, Damon's office door was forcefully pushed open. Celeste stormed in."Damon, you ... you are truly something! If you can't let go of her, why bother acting in front of me? Was everything you said yesterday a joke?"Furious, Celeste stood at the doorway.
"What are you doing?"Damon stuffed Celeste into the car. She was raging."Let's have a meal together and talk things out." He then drove to a luxurious hotel.Nicholas, Jasper, and Leah were already waiting in the private room. Damon dragged Celeste into the room."What exactly are you trying to do?" Celeste's face was dark."Well, since we're already married, you belong to me. These three have been my best friends since childhood. I hope you all can talk things out and clear your misunderstandings."All of you are the dearest to me, and I don't want any grudges between you," Damon said and domineeringly seated Celeste beside him.Seeing Celeste's dark expression, Nicholas quickly tried to suck up to her."Let me make one thing clear. Celeste and I have no misunderstanding. She is a patient from our hospital, and we get along well."Celeste had always been grateful to Nicholas. She nodded in agreement."Then, let me go next." Leah dropped her strict demeanor and turned into
"Jasper, you must have had too much to drink. Stop talking nonsense!" Nicholas quickly elbowed Jasper.Jasper looked at Celeste's pale face and realized he had spoken out of turn."Celeste ..." He wanted to say something, but Celeste waved her hand."You're right. I gained everything by selling my body. So I have to work hard to maintain it." Celeste's sparkling eyes turned dim.Panicking, Damon reached out to grab her hand, but she deliberately avoided it."I should be grateful that people like you are willing to apologize to someone like me. I don't have the right to refuse to accept your apology."She picked up the glass before her and emptied it.She proceeded to pick up Damon's glass after that. She tilted her head back and gulped down the alcohol."I forgive both of you. Are you happy now?"She held up the two empty glasses for Jasper and Leah to see."Am I allowed to leave now?"The four exchanged awkward glances. No one dared to speak.Celeste turned away. She kept
Celeste's depression has relapsed.She urgently swallowed a handful of antidepressants. Without even getting changed, she fell asleep.Seeing her in that state, Damon felt as if his heart was crushed. An excruciating pain shot up in him.Damon called Nicholas while changing Celeste into clean clothes."Come right away with Taylor.""Did her depression relapse?"Nicholas and Jasper stayed up all night, too. Upon hearing this news, they quickly contacted Taylor and rushed to Damon's villa together."I'm sorry." Jasper no longer wanted to justify himself.Celeste was right. She had never done anything to hurt him. On the contrary, he had always attempted to humiliate her.Damon's eyes were bloodshot. He looked exhausted as he glanced at Jasper."I can't forgive you on her behalf."…Celeste only woke up in the afternoon. When she opened her eyes, she felt dizzy and uncomfortable.Damon had already instructed the maids to hide all the sharp objects at home. He was afraid that
Damon wasn't a bad person. In fact, he had treated her better than anyone else she had met.However, the two grew up in different environments. Their perspectives and ways of handling things differed.The incident of her drowning, Damon believing in Leah's accusation, and his forcing her to apologize.It was all because Damon was prejudiced against her.Damon didn't marry her out of love. It was mainly because she was the first person who opened his door to a new world.In front of others, he was cold and restrained, yet he experienced a different kind of joy with her. Naturally, he found it interesting.But how long could a man's novelty and excitement last? Celeste dared not think about it.She only knew marrying Damon was the first step in bringing the Yorks down. While she could still make use of her identity, she had to seize the opportunity.After resting for one day, Celeste went to work with Damon as usual the next day."I'm having dinner with Megan tonight. You don't
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