Her fear... was it because of him?He had just wanted to scare her, to teach her a lesson, and to demonstrate his kindness toward her. He wanted her to see what she would face if he lost respect for her.However, his chest hurt when he saw her in such a state. It was almost like he had committed self-harm. He reached over and gently wiped the tears from her face. “It’s okay. I won’t force you. Not now, and never in the future.” She stared at him dumbfoundedly, as if she couldn’t believe he was capable of saying such words.To be honest, she had never expected that she would lose control of her emotions and cry this hard. She had managed to convince herself that even if she was about to be raped, it wasn’t a big deal. She would just treat it as a blank chapter in her life. But… when she was placed in a situation where she had lost every semblance of control, images of her time in prison flashed through her mind. No matter how much she fought it off, she could never move on from
Looking at his son’s right hand that was still wrapped in gauze, Mr. Gomez told his son, “Breaking your hand over a woman, what a joke!” “So long as I can find her, so what if I break my other arm?” asked Lucas. “You!” Mr. Gomez was immediately angered by his response. At that point, Mrs. Gomez stepped forward to comfort her husband. She then turned to Lucas and reminded him, “That’s enough, don’t anger him anymore. Since Jackson has made it clear that she’s different from any other woman, why are you so adamant about going after her?” Although the Valor family was influential in Solaria, the Gomez family wasn’t any weaker either. Mrs. Gomez wasn’t afraid of a confrontation with them. However, she thought Serenity was just another woman. She wasn’t even the girl that her son had been obsessed with since he was a boy. In other words, there were so many people who could replace her. The one thing that the entertainment industry could never run out of was young attractive women!
It wasn’t like it had never crossed her mind. Maybe she could leave this place if she could pretend to love him. However, how long could she keep up this act? Unless she wanted to keep up the act for the rest of her life, if Jackson were to find out in the future that she had deceived him, it would only worsen her situation in the future.More importantly, she didn’t feel like lying or deceiving Jackson to get what she wanted. This mansion was huge and decorated with structures that reminded her of rich families in the movies she watched. There were plenty of lotus flower motifs in the architecture as well. For instance, the lotus flower reliefs on the pillars and beams of the house, or the carved motifs on the antique furniture, not to mention the lotus pond in the garden. The blooming season for lotus flowers had already passed, yet the flowers in the pond were still blossoming as if it was the peak of its season. The owner of this mansion had to be a big fan of lotus flo
“Yeah, even if they find this place, they won’t be able to do anything about it,” said Jackson as he pulled out his phone and handed it to her. This was his mobile phone, not hers!Thankfully, she was blessed with a good memory. At least, she could still remember both Lisa and Clara’s phone numbers. And so, she dialed Lisa’s number first. Lisa’s voice was so excited when she answered the call that Serenity almost dropped the phone. “Serenity! W-Where are you right now? Did you know who brought you away? It was Jackson! Oh, you don’t know how worried I am for you! Did he do anything to you? That b*stard! How dare he take you away without your consent?! This is kidnapping! A crime, I say!” Serenity’s face froze up immediately. She was worried that if her friend was allowed to keep talking, she might say something that offended Jackson, so she immediately said, “I… I’m fine at the moment. Lisa, I called you to let you know that I’m fine, and you don’t have to worry about me. As for
Jackson reached out and picked up the ancient sword. Serenity was taken aback by his action. This sword… had given her an ominous vibe from the beginning. “Do you remember what I told you before? That people from my family once locked up a woman here. She eventually fell in love with one of the men in our family. Despite that, she ended up taking his life with this exact sword,” said Jackson as if he were telling a tale. But… this was something that had actually happened! Serenity felt a shock in her heart. What he had told her before was a completely different version! The version he had told her was that the woman had ended up fleeing with the man from this place. She never expected that the woman had actually… taken that man’s life here using this very blade! But for what? Was it guilt? Self-blame? Or regret? Or perhaps she had fallen for another man? Was that why she had chosen to end his life?As for the brown spots on the blade, were they… bloodstains? Remnants fro
His unwavering confidence made her nervous.He could wager the rest of his life, but what could she wager?Clara spoke with Lisa on the phone and learned that Jackson had taken Serenity away. Lisa didn't know where he took her or when she would return.But Lisa said that if Serenity could make the phone call, she must be safe. "For now, all we can do is try to find where Jackson has taken Serenity. Don't worry about your lawsuit, Clara. If Serenity isn't back in a week, I'll have Terry help you find another lawyer," Lisa assured Clara. "Thank you," Clara replied gratefully."Don't mention it. I just want to see you and Yanny safe," said Lisa.When Clara went to pick her son up from kindergarten in the afternoon, she was still worried about Serenity. She wondered if being loved by someone like Jackson Valor was actually a lucky thing.After breaking up with Serenity, Jackson Valor now wanted her back. But how did Serenity feel about it? Was she really okay like she said on th
"I'm here to see Yanny; he's my son, isn't he?" Wilson Birch said nonchalantly.Clara's feelings were complicated upon hearing that. He said it so matter-of-factly, just like he did years ago when he said, even if she really was pregnant, he would make her abort the baby!However, that was a problem between them adults and she didn't want to drag Yanny into it, so she simply said, "Yanny, it's time to go." Clara had to go to work soon, so she had to quickly take her son home to let her mother take care of him."Daddy said he'll take us home today," the little boy said.Clara wanted to refuse, but Wilson Birch's next question made her hesitate. "Does Yanny want Daddy to take you home?" "Yes!" Yanny answered innocently with his sweet voice. When Clara saw her son's happy face, she bit her lip and decided to keep quiet.By now, many parents had arrived at the kindergarten to pick up their children. Many of them were stealing glances at Clara, Wilson and Yanny. Clara's cheap c
"Yes, he is. Didn't Mommy tell you? He really is your Daddy," Clara told her son.She had planned to tell him when he was 18, but circumstances forced her hand.The little boy looked at Wilson in confusion. "Why did Daddy suddenly come down from heaven?" Wilson was caught off guard. He glared at Clara, speechless.Clara felt embarrassed. She had always told Yanny that his father was in heaven."Daddy didn't know about Yanny before this. Now that Daddy knows, Daddy will come see you very often," said Wilson Birch.He was a cold-blooded and stone-hearted man, but oddly enough, facing his own flesh and blood, he couldn't help but be gentle, especially when he saw the hearing aid his son wore. It broke his heart.Although his son was born with a disability, he wouldn't let that be an obstacle for Yanny! He wanted his boy to grow up to be a great person! No one would dare to look down on him! The little boy had a shy smile on his face as he asked hopefully, "Will you give me piggy
“……” Morgan suddenly found himself unable to retort. She... wasn't wrong. “But when you play house, you can pretend to be parents with one person today and another person tomorrow. Real marriage is different; you can’t choose someone else.”Renee widened her eyes, listening intently.“The only person you can choose is me. Do you understand, Renee?” he continued.She nodded vigorously. “I understand!”“Do you really?” Morgan asked, a little skeptical. He was already fifteen, so he could grasp the concept of marriage, but she was only eight. Could she truly comprehend it?“So, in the future, I can only marry Morgan and be your bride, right? I can't be someone else's bride, right?” she asked. “I don’t want to marry other boys anyway. I like you the most, Morgan. Of course I’ll only be your bride!” she happily declared, her worries fading away.So she could be Morgan's bride when she grew up! That's great!After finishing another piece of snack, Renee thought of something. She put o
Despite her unease, she couldn’t resist when she saw the sweet desserts. She indulged herself.However, as she ate, her eyes remained fixed on Morgan, clearly still waiting for him to clarify Lucy’s claims.“You want to know if you’re a child bride, right?” Morgan began.Renee nodded.“Do you know what a child bride is?” he asked.She blinked. She had a vague idea, but not enough for her to articulate it.“To put it simply, a child bride is a girl raised by a boy's family. The girl will marry the boy when she comes of age. In the old days, some families were too poor to raise their daughters, so they would sell their daughters to become child brides for richer families,” Morgan explained.Renee blinked. “But my parents aren’t poor, and I'm raised by them, not by other people. That means I’m not a child bride, right?”“Correct, you are not,” Morgan affirmed.She breathed a sigh of relief, and a bright smile spread across her face. “I knew it! My parents would never sell me! The
"Morgan!" Renee turned to Morgan, unease etched on her face."The Moon family, eh? I'll remember this," Morgan replied calmly, then lowered his head to meet Renee's anxious and confused face. "Let's go, Renee. I’ll tell you what you want to know later."He led her away holding her hand.Benson looked worried. "Miss Lucy, how could you say that?""It's the truth!" Lucy shook off her fear and spoke defiantly. "Daddy and Mommy said she’s a child bride. A child bride is a girl sold by her own parents!""But the White family is not like that. Those things only happened to daughters of poor families in the old days," Benson explained. "You really shouldn’t have said that, Miss Lucy. You shouldn’t do that again.""Why do I have to listen to you?" Lucy retorted, displeased.Benson was too ashamed to tell Lucy in front of others that the Moon family simply couldn’t afford to offend Morgan. Dealing with the White family was already a headache, and Morgan's background was even more formi
Benson and Lucy were also dumbfounded. Benson started getting anxious. He felt like things were starting to unfold in ways that he did not expect."Mr. Grimes, I..." Benson stepped forward, intending to speak to Mr. Grimes.However, Mr. Grimes moved past Benson without so much as a glance at him. He went up to Morgan and said, "Master Morgan, I apologize for the oversight!"Everyone was stunned to hear that, including the security guards who had been called over. They were secretly relieved they hadn't forcibly removed anyone yet. If they had offended someone Mr. Grimes was showing so much respect to, it would have been really bad for them!Morgan regarded Mr. Grimes with an unreadable expression. He calmly recounted the situation to Mr. Grimes.After hearing about what happened, Mr. Grimes responded, "This set of stamps was not pre-ordered. If you like it, please take it. Feel free to take anything else in the exhibition that catches your eye."This declaration shocked every
"Who are you?!" Benson exclaimed, astonished. The mysterious figure remained silent, simply looking at Morgan.Morgan calmly reiterated to Benson, "I said, wait for Mr. Grimes." He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I'm Morgan Wood. Please have Mr. Grimes from Lazy Cat Culture come to the Sleepy Cat Exhibition in Solaria. He should be in the area, right?"After ending the call, the person on the other end stared at the phone in disbelief.The Sleepy Cat Exhibition? What's going on?Benson, Lucy, and the staff stared at Morgan in shock, but the look in their eyes quickly turned to ridicule."Ah, a young man's naive bravado – how impudent!" Benson scoffed."Sir, please don't cause trouble," the staff member warned. "Or I'll have to call security."Morgan simply lowered his head to say to Renee, "Looks like we'll be here for a while. If you're bored, I can ask someone to walk around with you."Renee shook her head. "Morgan, what if this stamp set has really been p
Benson's words were not only meant to exert pressure on the staff, but also to inform him that they were on the same side.As expected, when the staff heard what he said, there was an instant change in his expression. He turned to Morgan and Renee and said, "I'm sorry, but it turns out this stamp set has already been pre-ordered by this customer."Morgan saw through the so-called pre-order as nothing more than an act. "When I asked you to wrap it up earlier, I didn’t hear you mention it was pre-ordered.""We forgot to mention that. Our apologies," the staff replied.Lucy, wearing a smug expression, raised her chin at Renee, causing Renee to puff out her cheeks in frustration.Benson calmly observed Morgan and Renee. The White family's White Maple Group had numerous overlapping businesses with the Moon Group. They were often competing with each other. Originally, the White Maple Group’s business activities weren't concentrated in Solaria, so even though there was competition wi
But before Morgan had even finished speaking, a girl's voice piped up, "I want this stamp set!"He turned to the voice and, upon seeing who it was, narrowed his eyes slightly. It was Lucy Moon, the girl Renee mentioned earlier. At the sight of Lucy, Renee immediately reacted like an angry little kitten. "Lucy Moon, why do you always try to take my stuff away?""Your stuff? How is this your stuff? You haven't paid yet!" Lucy shot back, her eyes fixed on Morgan.Morgan was well-known in their class, admired by many girls who claimed he was even more handsome than movie stars. If only Lucy had a big brother like that! She would be the envy of all the girls in class... no, all the girls in school!Unfortunately, her own big brother was not as good-looking.Last time, Lucy had tried to give Renee Sleepy Cat toys, asking for Morgan's email address in return. However, Renee accepted gifts from everyone but her, which infuriated Lucy."But if you want, I can give this stamp set to Re
Unlike many wealthy kids, Renee was quite restrained with her spending. She had never spent recklessly and often saved leftover money. Of course, when she wanted something beyond her budget, she would act cute and ask her Daddy or Morgan to buy it for her.Lisa was the least susceptible to her charms, so Renee didn’t dare to bother her!When they arrived at the exhibition, Renee’s eyes sparkled with excitement. There were so many adorable Sleepy Cat merchandise! They're all so cute! She wanted a lot of them, but realizing her limited budget, she knew she needed a sponsor! The best one was right beside her: Morgan!"Morgan," she said, flashing him a super bright smile.Seeing her like this, Morgan immediately knew she wanted to ask him for something. "What is it? Do you want me to buy you Sleepy Cat merchandise?""You’re so smart, Morgan! No wonder so many girls in our class like you and asked me for your phone number!" Renee praised him.As soon as she mentioned it, Morgan'
"Okay," Renee replied obediently, snuggling up to Morgan and acting cute. "Take me to the exhibition, Morgan! I know you’re the best. You’ll definitely take me, right?"Morgan pursed his lips. At 15, he was no longer a little boy. Although Renee was only 8, she was his destined wife.He had been protecting her since the day she was born. At first, he thought that he would only marry her because according to the family prophecy, she was the one most suitable for him. Over the years, however, he realized that his feelings for her ran deeper than he had initially thought.He found himself wanting to help her fulfill her wishes, and would clean up the mess when she caused trouble. Things had become different from what he had expected, but he welcomed them. He felt grateful that she was the one who was destined for him!With her by his side for the rest of his life, he would never feel lonely."Will you get into fights again?" Morgan asked."No more fighting, I promise!" Renee quickly