Lisa knocked on the door, worried about Terry. "Terry? Are you okay? Should I call the butler? Do you need a doctor?" she asked, but there was no answer from inside.After a long silence, she heard a hoarse voice coming from inside. "I… I'm fine! Don't call the doctor..." Terry said each word with struggle, and when Lisa asked again, all he said was, "Don't… Stop asking… I just want to be left alone! Lisa, just… I'm begging you!"Lisa became quiet and stayed at the door of the room in silence.Terry had no idea how he was going to make it through the night. How could his mother do this to him? Was this how a mother treat her own son?!When the sunlight peeked through the curtain and turned the room bright, Terry finally fluttered his eyes open slowly.Terry had not been in such a mess for a long time. He grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom, letting the warm water wash over his body.What happened after he came home yesterday replayed in his head again. He cou
"I'm fine," Terry stated.Lisa used the back of her hand to touch his forehead and was relieved that Terry's temperature was back to normal. "Uh, about yesterday… Did you eat something wrong?" Lisa asked in a soft voice.Terry focused his gaze on Lisa, his eyes narrowed just slightly.Lisa blushed and hurriedly explained, "I-I'm just guessing! The way you were acting last night… It reminded me of what I'd read in novels and comics. Did someone set you up? They wanted you to sleep with another woman and force you into a business marriage?"Sometimes Terry did not know whether to call Lisa smart or dumb. Lisa could be obnoxiously dense about certain things, but her guesses were spot on this time."Yeah. I got set up, but this won't happen again." Terry said. His face became somber, and something icily cold flashed in his eyes.Frightened by his coldness, Lisa fell silent for a moment. Terry reminded her of a dormant beast—anyone who tried to mess with him would awaken the beast w
"Just leave it," Terry said. He pulled out a lighter and lit the two number candles that had been left on the cake since last night.Lisa was startled by Terry's swift actions and stared at him through the flickering light of the candles. "You… You're not going to make a wish?" she asked, but she felt it was unnecessary after saying it. His birthday was already over. What was the point of making a wish?!"Make a wish? Will it even come true?" Terry gazed at Lisa steadily."Maybe it will?" Lisa said, but she was not very sure. It was already past his birthday, after all.For the past five years, Terry had made the same wish on his birthday. All he wished for was to be with Lisa again someday. So, was his wish finally fulfilled? How he wished she had never tried to draw a clear line with him and abort their child. Terry thought, shifting his gaze to the cake. "Hey, Lisa. Do you think my wish will really come true?" He said in a low voice.Her breath hitched, and then she said, "I-
“I…I’m not simply walking away. Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t forgive me? I would leave, then. On top of that, we had a one-month agreement,” Lisa argued. Without any reason, she felt guilty under Terry’s glare. “It’s true, but why would you give up after a month? Can’t you keep pestering me? Am I not worth your time?” Terry growled. He felt an indescribable annoyance after hearing Lisa say that she would form a new family with another man. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if he saw her calling another man affectionately and his child calling another man daddy. Lisa was dumbfounded at his outburst. Did he mean that she should keep pestering him? “I…I don’t understand what you mean by that. Can you make it clear?” Lisa mumbled. Terry took a deep breath and glared at Lisa. “Lisa, I want you to keep pestering me for the rest of your life. You can’t walk away from me no matter what!” Lisa was shocked, and she was at a loss for words. His words kept replaying in her mi
Glynnis was on the phone with Mrs. Tucker, explaining last night's incident. “Don’t worry about it, there will be another chance. I do want your daughter to be my daughter-in-law. What happened last night was an accident…” Before she could finish her words, she heard her butler greeting Terry. “Mr. White, why did you bring so many people? Is there anything wrong?” “Get lost!” Terry said coldly. Glynnis looked up to see her son with his men. Her expression slightly changed, and she quickly said to Mrs. Tucker on the other end of the phone, “Mrs. Tucker, I’m sorry. Something has come up. I’ll talk to you later.” After ending the call, Glynnis asked her son, “Terry, why did you bring so many people to my place?” Terry sat on the sofa and ordered his men to wait outside. The men went out, and only Terry, Glynnis, and the butler were left in the living room. Glynnis gestured to the butler, and he left too. Terry casually flipped through the newspaper that Glynnis was readi
Glynnis was furious, and she pointed at Terry with trembling hands. “You! Have you forgotten who raised you? Would you stand here if it wasn't for me? How could you do this to your mother?!” “I’ve always known that I’m nothing more than a pawn to you. I was a pawn back then, but I’m not your pawn now. I have no choice but to do so if you still treat me as your pawn.” “What…what do you mean?” Glynnis asked weakly. “I thought that you understood it when I came in just now, Mom. Do you want me to make it clearer for you?” Terry scoffed. “I had never expected you to drug me one day. Do you still think of me as the little boy who was once in your control?” “I’m doing this for your good. What’s wrong with the Tuckers? Once we have a marriage alliance with them, our family will be the top in Latveria! What can Lisa give you? What does she have? She’s like a joke to me. How can someone like her be worthy of marrying you?!” Glynnis didn’t beat around the bush anymore. Terry looked at
Then, Lisa added tentatively, “You’re actually still in love with me, right? But, you’re too embarrassed to forgive me so easily…so, you had hoped that I would still pester you after a month?” Terry stared at Lisa. Although it was true, did she have to say that in his face? “Am I right?” Lisa pushed on. Terry turned around. He was afraid that he would lose it again if he kept looking at her eyes. “Tell me! Am I right?” Lisa moved in front of him again and continued to stare at him while holding his arms. “That’s what you meant, right?” She always had the ability to corner him. “Yes.” He admitted quickly and went to check the documents that were piled up on his desk. Lisa was overjoyed. Terry had admitted it. He still had feelings for her all along even though she had hurt him a lot previously. She approached his desk. “Terry, how long does it take for you to forgive me? A few months? Half a year? The baby will be born if it’s half a year, that’s too long. Give me a roug
Terry had actually forgiven Lisa the moment she cried on the street when she was trying to retrieve the deleted photos. He was too afraid of losing Lisa again. He was also afraid that she was doing it for the sake of her child and that she didn’t love him deeply enough.He didn’t want to easily forgive her because he hoped that she could pester him and love him more. -In the evening, Terry reserved a private room in a well-known restaurant in Jorvik to treat Lisa’s parents to dinner. Austin and Hersha were finally at ease when they saw Lisa beaming. They also cleared off their misunderstanding toward Terry after Lisa explained everything to them. Austin took the initiative to raise his glass. “Terry, we’re sorry for misunderstanding you. You had done a lot for Lisa, and she got to survive because of you.” Terry’s eyes dimmed slightly. What had happened was also an unforgettable pain for him. “She wouldn't have encountered such things if it wasn’t for me.” “Everything
“……” 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