"What on earth happened, Clare? Why did you suddenly decide to give up on your custody rights?""The chances of me winning have always been very slim, anyway," Clara explained, "and besides… you know how it is. Right now, the only way I know how to make a living is through the food stall. I can't earn much money. Yanny will need more and more money for a different host of things as he grows up. If he stays with me, he won't be able to get into a good school, and I won't have any spare money to take him to hobby classes, not to mention how I'll only be able to afford poor food and clothes for him.""But I can provide Yanny with everything that he needs!" Serenity hastily interrupted. "I love Yanny! He's like a godson to me!""Thank you, Serenity."Clara forced a smile and added, "You've helped me enough, although… If Yanny doesn't have his father, perhaps I would've accepted your help. But seeing that his father is perfectly capable of providing him with a good life, I'll just let h
"Sure," Jackson responded. "You should go to sleep now and stop thinking too much about stuff.""Actually…" Serenity suddenly said. "I'm getting a little hungry.""I'll go get the servants to make you something to eat, then," he said as he began to get out of the bed."No," Serenity quickly refused. "It's really late now. It's not right to wake people up in the middle of the night just to make me something to eat. Besides… I'm craving some smoothies right now, so I'll just go to the kitchen and make one myself.""I'll do it," Jackson offered."You?" she asked, stunned."It's just a smoothie, anyway," he explained. "It'll be ready in a minute."In the end, both Serenity and Jackson left their bedroom together and went downstairs to the kitchen. Serenity sat on the stool at the kitchen counter as she watched Jackson get different kinds of fruit from the fridge, peel them, cut them into cubes, and begin making her a smoothie. The sight made her smile without realizing it.It seeme
She took a sip of the smoothie and then added, "Just like this smoothie–it's sour, but it's really sweet as well."She then joked, "You're not planning on being all gloomy and glum every year when your birthday comes around, are you? Also, are you going to suffer in misery every year when it's my birthday?""I'm sorry," he murmured. "I really shouldn't have asked to break up with you back then!""Let's take it as a lesson learned, then," she smiled faintly, "and never ask one another to break up ever again, okay?"He was startled at first, and his dark inky eyes stared fixedly into hers. After a long while, he finally said in a hoarse voice, "It's a deal. We'll never ask one another to break up again from now on.""Great! Now, if you have no idea what present you'd like, I'll just think about it myself. You're not allowed to dislike my gift, understand?"As she spoke, she lowered her head and began to concentrate on her smoothie. Jackson was still staring at her with a dull gleam
"It wasn't such a big deal?!"Lucas's initially stony expression showed signs of cracking. To him, what Lynette had done was the most terrible thing that affected his whole life, yet to people like this woman, it was not such a big deal at all?!He sternly barked, "You—say that again!"His distant but delicate face now showed clear signs of hostility!Serenity's aunt was shocked by the sight. It felt to her like Lucas Gomez had turned into a different person, almost as if he had unsheathed his sword and would fatally stab her at any moment!"I… I was just saying… that it wasn't such… such a big deal because the money that Lynette got from you must've been insignificant to a rich man like you!""Hahaha… Hahaha…"Lucas suddenly burst into laughter. He was just about to hurl his balled-up fist at the woman, but his friend, Caleb Moss, stopped him just in time."That's enough," Caleb said. "Don't waste your energy on a worthless person like that, Lucas!""She had the gall to say t
Serenity's aunt felt choked, but she quickly argued, "But we're all one big family at the end of the day! Aren't you afraid of what people would say about you if you crossed your arms and did nothing to help your own family?!""If the person who harmed others wasn't afraid of what others would say," replied Serenity amusedly, "then as the victim, what do I have to be afraid of? Besides, Lynette clearly did not think of me as family at all when she hurt me."The expression on Serenity's aunt's face turned ugly instantly. Thinking of herself as the aunt who was trying to teach her niece a lesson, she raised a hand and was just about to strike it across Serenity's face, but before her hand got anywhere near Serenity, Eva, Serenity’s bodyguard, quickly snatched it.At that moment, Serenity's aunt felt as if her fingers were about to be bent to their breaking point, and she cried out loudly in pain.Serenity then coldly warned her, "I'd advise you not to even think about hurting me, Aun
Caleb, who had been standing beside Lucas, sighed. Who would have thought that Lucas Gomez, the man who seemed to have a different girlfriend every week, would be so deeply and madly in love when he became infatuated.If the woman involved had been someone else, there might have been a way to help Lucas, but he just had to fall in love with Jackson Valor's woman, and now that they had even gotten married, it seemed that Lucas's hopes and dreams were destined to be dashed to pieces.Caleb gently patted his friend's shoulder and comforted him, "There's plenty more fish in the sea, my friend. Who knows, once you move on from Serenity Lewis, you'll realize that…"But Lucas suddenly cut him off by asking, "Have you ever truly loved anyone, Caleb?"The question startled Caleb. He then heard Lucas continue, "If you truly love someone, then you'll know that it doesn't matter how many women there are in this world because there'll only be one woman to ever catch your eye and stay in your he
"So, you're saying Terry refused to have any contact with your people?" Serenity asked."That's right," Jackson replied. "In fact, you'll probably be seeing him on the news over the next few days. By then, he would've probably regained control over the White family, albeit with help from the Hart family."Jackson had initially planned to find out exactly what kind of relationship there was between Terry White and the woman from the Hart family before telling Serenity about it, but now, it seemed that Terry and the Hart family were making a move much sooner than he had expected.But this was, of course, no less due to the stupidity of Terry's half-brothers who had taken a series of unpopular measures after Terry's disappearance, which only proved to make things worse even more rapidly."You still haven't told me how Terry's changed," Serenity goaded him. "If Terry really does regain his control over the White family, then it's good news, right? Even if he did get help from the Hart
“Yes, I’m quite happy. Our marriage has turned out to be happier than I imagined,” said Serenity. “Sometimes, I’m scared that this happiness might come to an end, especially after seeing what happened to Clara and Lisa…” “No!” replied Jackson with certainty in his voice. “No matter what happened in the past, we will be together till the very end!” His gaze was intense and domineering, and she found herself caught in it like a net. However, she was more than willing to be trapped in his net. “Yeah! We’ll be together forever and ever!” ————Around 3 a.m., Clara dragged her exhausted body back to her rented apartment. She pulled out several bottles of pills and took her medication together with a glass of water. She swallowed 7 to 8 pills in total. It was ironic, given how much she hated taking any form of medication back then. However, her life depended on these pills. Clara’s mother walked out of the bedroom to see her daughter taking her medication. Her eyes teared up almo
“……” 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