"What if I become too dependent on you? I wouldn't want to be a burden to you," Serenity joked.Jackson glanced up at Serenity. "Serenity, you'd never be a burden to me. You're my world," he declared, making her heart pound.Serenity moved out of the bed, overwhelmed with feelings. Jackson was so seriously in love with her, both then and now. "What's wrong? Do you need water? Or the bathroom?" Jackson asked, concerned. He stood up and walked briskly to her."Nothing, it's just…" Serenity paused before admitting, "I just want to touch you." After getting the bandage removed, Serenity had to apply a scar removal ointment to the surgical wound daily, but she still could not use her fingers. She had to use electrical stimulation in physical therapy daily, using a mild electric current to stimulate the nerves in the hands."So, where do you want to touch? My face?" Jackson murmured, gently taking Serenity's hand in his.Jackson placed Serenity's hand against his slightly cool chee
"I'll have someone clean up the mess later," Jackson said."Oh," Serenity responded, her face blushing red.Jackson cleaned Serenity up and put her in a fresh hospital gown."By the way, Mr. Smith said I can be discharged in a couple of days. When I am, I'd like to see Caden first," Serenity mentioned.Caden had been discharged from the hospital, but he refused to stay with them at the Valor Residence. He insisted on returning to the Jenkins family because Cynthia was there.Unwilling to see Caden become more resistant to the Valor family and after a discussion with Jackson, Serenity decided to let the child continue to live with the Jenkins family. The Jenkins family readily agreed to take good care of Caden. Serenity knew it was only because they were eager to get on the good side of the Valor family."Okay," Jackson agreed. "If you really want him to come with us, I'll see what else I can do." It would not be hard for him to get the boy back to the family, but he would have
Yara Jenkins stood aside, observing Serenity's interaction with Caden. "Mrs. Valor, I hope you don't mind that much. Caden is still young. Don't worry about him living with us. We'll take good care of him!" Yara said warm-heartedly, completely forgetting how they had been treating Caden before.The Jenkins family would love for Caden to stay with them, the longer the better. Their connections to the Valor family would give them a better chance at social climbing.Lisa walked over from the store and heard Yara speaking to Serenity. Yara was so pretentious and had a lot of nerve saying that. "I wonder who was the one who beat such a young child until the boy was covered with bruises," she sneered, and Yara stiffened. Lisa crouched down and spoke to Caden at eye level. "Caden, you must know how much your mother has suffered for you. She's the reason you're right here, waiting for your sister to come home from school. She risked her life to save you!"Caden remained silent, his lips p
"I'm slowly recovering, but for a full recovery… It might take more than a year. The doctor said I could try holding something light in a week or so. I may start typing or writing again in a month. I should be fine," Serenity reassured."I'm glad to hear that," Lisa said, breathing a sigh of relief. Serenity said goodbye to Clara before heading to the Jenkins family.Lisa sat in the store, talking to Clara. "Serenity came to see her son as soon as she got discharged from the hospital, but Caden… That boy…""The boy is still young. He's still new to Serenity. Maybe he'll open up after some time," Clara said. "That boy is so attached to his sister. I think he'll accept someone who's genuinely kind to him.""I hope so," Lisa sighed and continued chatting with Clara. Yanny soon came home from school. When he saw Lisa, he greeted her politely."How did you get your clothes so dirty? Did you fall somewhere?" Clara asked her son."I accidentally fell," Yanny said."You tore your pant
Lisa sighed at Yanny's nervousness. "Fine. I won't tell your mom, but you'd better call me if this happens again. I'll talk to your teacher, and hopefully, we can stop them from talking about you like that again!""Thank you, Aunt Lisa!" Yanny answered nicely.Lisa patted Yanny on the head. The boy was too mature for his age, and she sometimes felt bad for him. Yanny was only nine, but he had already been through exceptional hardships compared to other children his age.Lisa and Yanny did not notice a figure listening from the doorway. Clara leaned against the wall, her eyes brimming with tears.She knew Yanny might face discrimination due to his inability to hear, but she never thought it would happen like this. Yanny had never told her anything about it, and she assumed that his classmates were nice enough not to discriminate against him.Clara had always wanted Yanny to grow up like a normal kid, so she sent him to an ordinary school, hoping he would live healthily and happily.
Micah struggled for a moment before approaching Serenity, hesitating about something."Micah? What's wrong?" Serenity gave her son a strange look.Micah's body tensed at his clear nervousness, and he finally gave Serenity a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Mom! I… I also… I missed you so much…" he stammered, his little face flushing red from all the embarrassment. It was his first time behaving like this with so many people watching.Although his face was getting redder, he was happy to see Serenity break into a smile of joy. He thought he should do this more often to make his mother happy, but he still could not bring himself to do the same as his sister. It seemed a little more difficult.A little boy stood aside, watching Serenity's interaction with her children. Fred had seen Serenity before. He knew she was Jacqueline's mother—the woman his mother hated!Jenny used to tell Fred how he and Jacqueline would never be friends. Fred did not understand what his mother meant be
At the end of the piano piece, Fred asked in a low voice. "Why did you help me? Why did you stop the other kid and take my side?" "Because you're my friend! Of course, I have to help! Besides, they were wrong. What your mother did wasn't your doing! Why should they insult you?" Jacqueline said boldly.Fred stared blankly at Jackie, surprised by her words. Friend? No! He and Jackie would never be friends!Later, in the living room, Serenity looked at Jenny's son and sighed in her heart. She was amazed by the boy's superb piano skills when she first met him, but she never thought he would be Jenny's son."You must be Fred. We've met before, remember? I'm Micah and Jackie's mom. You can call me Aunt Serene," Serenity said. She did not want the grudges of their generation to spread to the next generation. Fred was staying with the Valor family because Jackie insisted on keeping the boy with her. In that case, Serenity hoped the boy would live peacefully here and not foster hatred from
"Okay. I'll take you to your mother," Serenity promised."I'll take him there," Jackson said, reminding Serenity, "The doctor said you need rest. You should stay home for the next few days. Don't hurt your hands again, or it won't recover well."Serenity gave it a thought and agreed with a nod. "Alright, then. Please take Fred with you."Jackson arranged for Fred to visit Jenny at two in the afternoon. During the car ride, Fred sat beside Jackson in the backseat like a quiet doll. Jackson was kind of impressed with the boy's nature. Having been raised by a mother like Jenny, it was unusual for Fred to develop such a character. The boy was only five years old. He never cried when he learned that his mother had died from suicide and still wanted to see his mother's body. Not all adults could remain as calm as him in this situation.A boy with such a personality… He could have been born emotionless, or he knew how to keep his emotions controlled. It was not something a child his age
“……” 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