Wilson furrowed his brows harder. He sneered, "What? Do you want to be with her?""It has nothing to do with you, Mr. Birch," Peter reminded. "I'm single, and so is she. Whether we're going to date or not is between me and her.The expression on Wilson's face changed slightly. Clara had said something similar before. She said her relationship with Peter was between them and none of his business.For a moment, Wilson felt abandoned. He was drowning in jealousy and stood up abruptly, grabbing Peter by the collar. "I'm telling you—Don't ever think about dating Clara!""Because you love her?" Peter asked in reply.Wilson's face darkened, his lips pursed tightly."If you love her, then why do you make her life so hard? She's running a small store and busy caring for her old mother and a young boy. Don't you know how tiring it is for her to live like this?" Peter said. Wilson's face sunk into the blackest shadow. Irritated, he tightened his grip on Peter's collar. He knew everything
Clara could not give her son much, so this was all she could do for him. Yannick gave it his all in learning Taekwondo. He knew how hard it was for Clara to pay the training fees. He knew he had to be stronger to better protect himself, Mom, and Grandma.Yannick was surprised to meet the bullies at school in the changing room in the Taekwondo training school. He had not met them because Mathew and the other classmates were not in the same Taekwondo lesson with him before, but this time, he bumped into Matthew and his friends, who quickly surrounded him."What a familiar face! Oh, it's you! Yannick! You must be so proud for making me transfer schools!" One of the boys spoke up, and his eyes were full of malice."Matthew Hudson! What are you up to?!" Yannick raised his voice and gazed around warily. Yannick was late for training and came to the changing room late. Everyone in the changing room was all part of Matthew's gang except him.Grandma was still out there waiting for him. The
Mrs. Wells was shocked to see what was happening inside the changing room. Wilson and his men were stopping the group of kids from attacking Yanny, who was all covered in bruises."Yanny? Are you okay?! Does it hurt?" Mrs. Wells rushed to hold her grandson in her arms and asked anxiously.Not wanting to worry his grandmother, Yannick shook his head and shifted his gaze to the man he was supposed to call ‘Dad’. Yannick's face and body ached, but he must not admit his weakness, especially when he saw Wilson here.This man had put Mom through so much pain. Even though Mom had never told him anything, Yannick knew his mom was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned because of Dad's testimony.Yannick was able to read. After looking up the case on the internet, he learned that Mom would not have gone to jail if not for Dad—because Dad testified had against Mom and sided with the evil woman instead.Yannick would never forget what happened in the park years ago. Mom had begged and pleaded w
The kids who got into the fight were all in the police station along with their parents, the trainers, and a representative of the training school.The representative waited in the police station with a scowl on his face. No one had expected the kids to fight in the changing room. If the parties involved in the fight were ordinary people, this would have been easy to resolve. All they needed was to make the kids apologize to each other and call it a day. Unfortunately, one of the kids was the child of a powerful figure, the Birch Group CEO's son! The representative was crushed in his mind again, wondering what his employees had been doing. No one had told him that the young master of the Birch family was enrolled in the Taekwondo school! The coach was depressed and frustrated as well. He thought of the woman who enrolled the boy in Taekwondo lessons and the elderly woman who often brought Yannick to class. Both of them did not look like rich people with the way they dressed! Besid
"Yes, understood!" the lawyer responded.When Clara finally arrived at the police station, she immediately rushed to Yannick and quickly checked on him. Yannick was not severely injured. Although Mrs. Wells had already told Clara about Yanny's injuries, Clara's eyes turned moist at her son's bruised and swollen face."Does it hurt?" Clara asked, sniffling loudly. Yannick shook his head. "No, I'm fine." Yannick grimaced as he spoke, the swollen part of his face hurting, which caused Clara more distress.Mrs. Wells said in her self-blame, "It's all my fault. I should've realized something was wrong when Yanny stayed in the changing room for too long. If the adults had gotten in earlier, Yanny wouldn't have been hurt like this.""It's not your fault, Grandma. I-I'm not strong enough," Yannick whimpered. He was not strong enough to fight the other boys. If he was stronger, he could have avoided getting hurt. Instead, he had caused Mom and Grandma more distress.Clara gently rubbed h
Wilson turned to his son and said, "I'll take your mom home. I'm not going to hurt her. Even if I want to do anything, it won't matter if you're here. Who do you think saved you today? If I had gotten in there a little later, your injuries could've been worse.."Yannick clenched his hands into fists and pressed them against his sides to hide the embarrassment crossing his face, but in the end, he gave up and left with Mrs. Wells.After Yannick and Mrs. Wells left, Clara spoke up and looked straight into Wilson's eyes. "Why did you grab my arms? What do you want to talk about?" she said, pulling her arm out of Wilson's grasp. Wilson felt desperately empty with her arm gone from his grasp. Clara would resist whenever he came closer or touched her. It was always like this. But a long time ago, Clara was the first who took his hands and said, "Wilson, I want to hold hands with you like this forever." Clara wanted to be with Wilson for the rest of her life once upon a time, but by t
Clara suddenly burst into laughter, her eyes moistening with tears. She laughed so loud that she started choking with laughter. It took her moments to stop choking, tears still in the corners of her eyes.This was perhaps the biggest joke she had ever heard, Clara thought and said with her voice full of mockery, "Are you serious, Wilson? You want me to marry you?" The look on Wilson's face tensed. "Yes, I want you to marry me.""You… How could you say that so easily!" Clara forced the words through clenched teeth. Once upon a time, she had hoped to hear him propose to her the most, but how could he propose to her under such circumstances? How could he?! How could he be so shameless?!"Everything in the past was all my fault!" Wilson rasped, "Clara, I've been living in regret for the last five years. I-I'm not asking you to love me again, but… Please let me take care of you and Yanny, okay? I want to give you a better life. I want you to live freely and without worries!""No need,
Clara shook her head. "No. We just had a few words." Looking at the time, Clara told her son, "Alright, Yanny. Have you done your homework? Why don't you take an early rest? I'll go to the school and explain the situation to the teacher tomorrow. You can complete your homework after…"Yannick interrupted Clara before she could finish her sentence. "I'll do my homework!" He quickly grabbed the pencil case from his school bag and promised Clara, "Mom, I… I-I won't let anyone bully me again. Don't worry about me. I'm a boy! It doesn't hurt!"'Doesn't hurt?' Clara thought, watching her son doing his homework on the small table. Yannick's red and swollen face was so jarring on her nerves, and tears filled her eyes. How could it not hurt?!When she was at the police station, her mother told her how Yanny had gotten beaten by the other kids. Fearing that the hearing aid would break again, he could only protect the hearing aid on his ears and not fight back.It was bedtime, and Clara lay
“……” 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