They hadn't been apart for many days, but Eli's reminder made Tanya feel as if he had been gone for much longer. That evening, after work, she visited the fresh market even though it wasn't time for her usual grocery shopping. Eli's taste in food was quite particular; he disliked sweet and heavily flavored dishes, proving to be even pickier than Tanya, who simply avoided vegetables.Before heading out, she had set a budget for herself, planning not to buy much. Yet, she ended up leaving the market with two large bags full of groceries, including two bottles of expensive yogurt.Realizing how much she had bought, Tanya thought she might need to ask Eli to contribute more to their living expenses, considering his large appetite. She called a taxi back to their apartment.She also bought two pairs of new slippers. The weather was getting colder, and she didn't want her feet to be cold, so she decided it was worth spending a bit more on good slippers. When she placed the two pairs o
"Nia, I'm not being nosy, but someone like Mr. Sterling isn't suitable for you. You and Dexter get along so well. If you give him a chance, you'd probably become his wife."Tanya didn't respond. She leaned back on the sofa, unable to react for a long time.Half an hour later, she felt a dull pain spreading in her chest. Eli couldn't let go of Soraya. Sooner or later, he would divorce her again. Even though she had already prepared herself, when it was actually happening, she didn't feel as composed as she thought she would be."Nia?"Tanya sat up straight and turned off the pot before looking around the sofa for her coat."Lacie, send me the address. I'll come over now."Seeing was believing. It would be better to end this second marriage soon; at least she would have one less person to cook for.Lacie quickly sent the address over.Tanya hailed a cab and urged the driver to go faster."This is already fast enough, miss. Safety first.""Mister, my husband is being unfaithful,
"Your mother looked down on me and refused to agree to us being together. What could I do? Should I have waited for you? Should I have settled for being a mistress like my mother?! I've hated my background since I was young. I refuse to let my child go through what I did! Rico was willing to marry me. I was too impulsive back then, agreeing to be with him."It was the same old excuses; Eli had long grown tired of them. Whenever he heard them, he wanted to curse his past self for being such an idiot and falling for such nonsense.A car approached from the opposite direction, clearly coming to pick up Soraya. He rolled down the window and eagerly dispersed the scent of perfume."Get out."Seeing that he was truly heartless, Soraya's heart sank. She couldn't understand it. How could she lose to a poor woman who worked multiple jobs everywhere?!Eli, seeing her hesitate, completely dispelled the little grace he had left. He opened the car door, walked around to the other side, and pul
Around eight o'clock, Tanya returned home alone. She and Eli stood by the roadside for a long time. In the end, no words were spoken, and he left with a cold expression.She started the pot again, and it began to bubble.Tanya remained silent. She fetched condiments, sat down, and calmly cooked the food as if nothing had happened. But when she saw the pork, she put down her utensils and fell silent for a long time. The food didn't taste as good anymore.She went out in vain. She only caught half of the cheating, yet she didn't even get the chance to argue before she ended up being caught 'cheating' herself. What should she do now?At the Sterling family residence, Bridget constantly called her son. Unfortunately, her heartless son didn't answer any of her calls."I wonder what trouble he's causing outside." She sighed.Suddenly, the sound of a car engine came from outside. Before long, Eli walked in. Bridget was pleasantly surprised and was about to call out to him, but she notic
The first night Eli returned home, he actually regretted it. He mentally replayed the situation and realized that Tanya and Dexter might not have anything going on. Most likely, there was a misunderstanding. She wasn't someone who would cheat.After thinking it through, he felt relieved but became uneasy again. He suddenly realized that no matter what Tanya did, he subconsciously wanted to find a reason to defend her, even if she didn't explain. He felt like she couldn't be wrong.Damn it. Since when did he start thinking like someone in love? Most importantly, for several days, Tanya hadn't called him once. She seemed to not care about him at all. Did she call this liking him? She was just fooling around!The next day, he was itching to find that annoying girl but fell ill.At the dining table, Bridget couldn't stop herself from serving her son. "Have a bit more. You've lost weight."Listening to his mom's tone, Eli felt a chill. When Benjamin was unwell, his mom poured all her
"She was in love with your status as the second young master of the Sterling family, not you. Because you were young and idealistic at the time, wanting to be her savior, you were blinded by her," Bridget said, sighing. "Of course, it's partly my fault too. I shouldn't have opposed it so vehemently, which only fueled your rebelliousness. She couldn't marry into our family, so she turned to someone else. When that didn't work out, she turned to you again. To be honest, I kind of admire her decisiveness." Eli chuckled. "That sounds a bit hypocritical coming from you."Bridget said, "She was a young lady with such clear goals and determination, so can't she be considered talented? But unfortunately, you weren't after talent; you were after love. She used false affection to cover her ambitions, stepping on you to climb higher. How could I tolerate her?""By your logic, would you have approved if she had wholeheartedly stayed with me back then?" Eli asked."That wouldn't have worked. I
Eli lay in Tanya's room for several hours, replaying the past in his mind. During this time, he casually scrolled through his phone and saw a post from Charlotte saying, “Darling Snowflake is closest with her daddy.”'Tch. Show off.'He scrolled further down, feeling a hollow space in his heart. Calculating the time, Griffith's daughter was almost a hundred days old.It seemed that Nicholas was also getting married soon. He had been posting on Instagram non-stop. Not only them but also people around his age. Except for those who were just party animals, almost everyone else who could get married had done so, and some even had children.He and Tanya were the first to get married, but they divorced and then remarried. Now, their second marriage was on the verge of a breakdown.Thinking about this, he felt a wave of irritation. That heartless girl Tanya hadn't called him all this time. He even suspected that if he died outside, she would only know about it from the tabloid news.Sud
Eli pressed his temple. "Speak.""It just rained heavily outside," Amy said.Eli glanced out the window. He had been thinking about Tanya and almost didn't notice. Now, it was almost time to get off work.Tanya didn't have a car. When it rained, what did she usually do? Would she hitch a ride with a colleague or take public transportation?He was pondering when the voice on the phone continued, not ready to hang up yet."If you have something else, spit it out," he said impatiently."Can I say a second thing?""Say it!"Amy cleared her throat and said, "Ms. Moran probably can't hitch a ride with colleagues because half an hour ago, I sent away all her colleagues who have cars. Now that it's raining heavily, she can only take the bus or the train, but she doesn't have an umbrella because I had someone take her umbrella five minutes ago. So, if she wants to go home, she'll probably have to brave the rain to get to the bus stop!"After finishing, she quickly hung up the phone. Be
Tanya's previous full-length mirror was still usable, but because it was small, she had to walk a bit farther every time she used it. Eli had long wanted to replace it.Little did he know, she got rid of many things in the house to make room for the new large sofa for him, including that old full-length mirror."How do you like it? Surprised?" He patted the mirror.Tanya smiled wryly and pointed to the large sofa. "And you? Surprised?" Only then did Eli notice fewer small items in the living room and a large new sofa. He suddenly chuckled. It was quite nice.He thought of her, and she thought of him. This winter was truly warm.Tanya abandoned the egg tart and hugged him again. "Oh no, this mirror is so big. There's nowhere to put it."Eli carried her with one hand and moved the mirror to the corner with the other. Sitting on the sofa, he thought for a moment, then hugged her and said, "Tanya, let's move to a bigger place."Tanya knew he had been thinking about this all along.
Eli found it amusing. He pushed the head of the small money jar and couldn't help but say, "You gold digger! You love money so much, then why did you give the check I gave you to Soraya?"Tanya blinked and chuckled. "I only acquire wealth in the proper way. To be honest…" She pondered for a moment, then turned to look at him. "Probably because, at that time, I was just too fond of you like I am now."Hearing this, Eli felt a pang of heartache and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Tanya smiled, moved the gifts aside, and made some space for him.Just as they were about to talk, Eli's phone vibrated continuously. It turned out that Bridget was sending over the detailed preparation process for the wedding.Tanya scrolled through it and suddenly felt overwhelmed. Eli looked at it and also felt a headache coming. The two glanced at each other, sighed simultaneously, and leaned back.After they publicly disclosed their relationship, life continued as usual but became busier due to the w
Eli being married was shocking enough, but then his wife was hiding right in the office. In the next half hour, Tanya heard wailing from all around.The atmosphere in their office was quite good, and everyone got along well. After coming clean, everyone joked around and teased each other."Nia, don't forget Mr. Ted, he's been cursing at you all along!""Yeah, he's been calling you a fool!""I heard it, I can testify!"Ted was furious and rushed out to hit someone. Tanya followed with laughter.Before leaving work, Amy indeed brought the cake and candies, sharing them with everyone in the building. Thus, the entire group gave them their blessings.From the office to the parking lot, Tanya received blessings. When she got into Eli's car, her heart was still pounding.Eli was happily eating his candy, feeling good. Especially now that he didn't have to sneak around anymore, he even turned the steering wheel effortlessly.Tanya, holding the cake, asked him in surprise, "Were these
Tanya walked out of the room with her guard down and came face to face with Ted's sneaky expression. She paused.Ted gasped, his brain instantly turning blank.He looked at Tanya, covered his mouth with his left hand, and placed his right hand over the left with his eyes gradually widening.God! This was insane!Tanya regained her composure and glanced in Eli's direction. Eli remained calm, glanced at the fruit plate on the table, and said, "Should we take some down to share with your colleagues?"Tanya nodded. She glanced at the still-disheveled Ted and kindly handed him a tangerine."Sir?"Ted swallowed, looked at Tanya, then at Eli. Finally, he settled his gaze on the tangerine in her hand, mechanically accepting it.Tanya turned to look at Eli. 'Look, you've scared my superior.'Eli shrugged."I'm leaving," she said.Eli nodded and escorted her to the door.Ted followed them out and was sent into the elevator by his boss. As the elevator doors closed, he let out a long
The deep blue bedsheet was neatly spread out. But the two pillows lacked pillowcases, exposed in a sorry state.Eli placed his hands on his belt and turned to look at Tanya. "Is this also your doing?"Tanya leaned against the door frame, only poking her head in, smiling sheepishly."I accidentally drooled while sleeping that day and dirtied the pillowcase. Knowing that you're a neat freak, I took them all off to wash," she said. She raised her hand and swore, "The pillowcases have been washed and are in the cabinet at home."Eli wasn't interested in the pillowcases' whereabouts. He remembered when Amy called him, saying Tanya missed him and wanted to touch the sheets and pillows after waking up.Nonsense!He took a deep breath, then turned his head to Tanya with a frightening smile. Tanya realized the danger and tried to run, but he grabbed her by the waist."Hey, what are you doing?" she said.Eli tossed her onto the bed and followed suit."What are you doing?!""Collecting
Tanya sat upright in the office. Eli stood before her with his hands behind his back. "Come on, explain."Tanya's eyes darted around. "Do you believe me? It's because I missed you too much. When I came to your place, I couldn't help but take away everything related to you." Eli scoffed. "Including the toilet paper?"Tanya pondered seriously.Eli tapped the coffee machine and pointed to the plug that had been pulled out, saying, "If the coffee machine wasn't too heavy, would you have taken that too?"'This brat has no conscience at all. Does she even understand what a cold shoulder is?'While he was reminiscing in her room, she made a fortune in his office!Tanya blinked and gave him an embarrassed smile. "If you think about it from another angle, I love you deeply. If we couldn't reconcile and you came back to see all this, you would hate me. Hate represents love, and love means you can't forget me. My obsession is so deep; I want to stay in your heart forever."Eli fell silen
"You should buy something while visiting. Do you have enough money in your account? If not, I will transfer some to you," Mrs. Moran said on the phone.Tanya didn't want money; she just wanted to hear some advice. She knew her parents' financial situation wasn't good. Due to illness, her stepfather had retired from his position as a butler of the Sterling family. Although the Sterlings provided a retirement package, Mr. Moran was getting old, and he had a son. She heard that his son's business had lost a considerable amount of money in recent years. As a stepdaughter, she had already received enough help from them, so how could she ask for more money?During her university days, she didn't ask her family for money. If she could find a part-time job, she would, and if not, she would endure it just to avoid causing her mother trouble."Mom, I don't need money. I have enough."When Mrs. Moran heard this, she felt even more sorry for her.Since her ex-husband was useless, Tanya suffer
After breakfast, Eli called Bridget."Why did you send her a check? Do you have nothing better to do?"Bridget had just arrived home and begun playing poker with a few old friends.She threw out a card, rolled her eyes, and said, "It's the first time I've met my daughter-in-law! What's wrong with giving her some money!"Eli was speechless."Madam, you came up and threw 500,000 dollars just like that. Aren't you afraid of scaring people?""What should I do? Throw 50,000 dollars instead? That's too stingy."Eli was speechless. Holding onto the railing, he glanced downstairs and saw Tanya ironing her coat in the living room."I almost got dumped because you caused a scene," he joked.Bridget threw the cards while chuckling. "It's good to be dumped. With your unruly behavior, someone should make you suffer a bit.""Are you really my mother?""If you still want to be a good son, hurry up and go through the procedures, live a proper life with Tanya, and try to give me a grandson n
"What did Her Majesty tell you?"Tanya nearly lost her composure, fighting back laughter.Bridget said nothing more as she left with Benjamin, leaving Tanya and Eli to return to the apartment. The journey back was silent, with Tanya deep in thought. Upon entering, Eli halted her at the entrance.Exhaling deeply, Tanya reached into her pocket and withdrew a check. Eli's gaze fell upon it, noting it was only for $500,000. As he moved to take it, Tanya tucked it back into her pocket. On the bar, a spread of breakfast awaited them - fried eggs, sausages, fruits, and vegetables. Despite the inviting display, Tanya's attention was on Eli."Don't you want breakfast?"With the situation still unclear, Eli's appetite waned. Nonetheless, knowing Bridget's nature, he remained calm. Seating himself opposite Tanya, he nibbled at a sausage, noticing her lack of interest."Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned.Tanya shook her head.The oversized sandwich Bridget had ordered had already