There was someone who had helped Clara a lot while she was in prison. Clara wondered if she would ever be able to return the favor, and the thought saddened her. She did not have the person's contact information, after all. Besides, it had been so many years, so the hope of finding that person had become even slimmer.-A few days later, Clara and Wilson arrived at the county clerk's office.Clara looked at the signs hanging on the entrance emotionally. Once upon a time, she used to look forward to coming to this place with Wilson after he proposed to her. Later, Clara went to prison and stopped thinking about this. She thought she would not marry in this lifetime. She never thought she would ever come here, but this time, she had come here to marry Wilson."Shall we?" Wilson's voice rang from beside her."Let's go," Clara said, taking a deep breath. She took a step forward, but every step felt so heavy.The two of them entered the office and received a queue number. Then, they s
Wilson was displeased. "What? Must we be in love to get married?""You both don't seem to be in love. Even if you get married, you'll get divorced sooner or later," the woman remarked, but she immediately felt a chill up her spine. The man was giving her a death stare with a touch of hostility in his eyes.The woman did not dare to say anything, but Clara knew Wilson was angry."She's just a stranger." Clara could not help but remind him. After all, this woman was a victim in her marriage, and it was just a casual conversation, so there was no need for Wilson to get angry at a stranger's comment.Wilson shifted his gaze to Clara and slowly regained control of his emotions. The hostility in his eyes started to fade until he eventually returned to his usual coldness.Wilson almost lost control and let his anger overtake him. Just because the woman had said Clara and him would have to get a divorce sooner or later.Wilson knew Clara was using their marriage as a temporary solution,
Clara's voice was faint and flat throughout the whole recitation of marriage vows. She was just following along like a robot. Wilson focused his gaze on Clara as he recited the vows. To Clara, these vows had no meaning, but for Wilson, these vows were his lifelong vows. Wilson wondered if Clara knew how grateful he was when she agreed to keep the baby. Did she know that this was the marriage of a lifetime for him? Maybe they would end up getting a divorce in the future, but at least when he was old, he could tell himself that she had been his wife in his lifetime and lay in his grave without regrets. It was already a great honor for him to be her husband, even if only in name. Even though this was not a marriage out of love and he was just a tool to her. Even so, he should be content, Wilson thought to himself.-Wilson and Clara left the county clerk's office, each with a red book in their hands. Before leaving, Wilson said, "I'll take you home.""No need. I'll take the publi
"Is that so? Will she forgive me..." Wilson murmured."She will. Women are very soft-hearted," said the photographer.Something flashed in Wilson's eyes, and he said nothing more.Indeed, Clara used to be very soft-hearted once upon a time. Even if she was angry, she would be fine with just a little coaxing. At present, Clara might be soft-hearted to countless people, but not with him.Wilson stared down at the red book in his hand as he walked out of the county clerk's office. Anyway, she was finally legally his wife, and he was her husband.-Mrs. Wells was surprised to see her daughter alone when she returned to the store. Curious as to why Wilson was not with Clara, Mrs. Wells asked, "Where's Wilson? Uh, did you get the marriage procedure done with him?""Yeah, we did. We separated in front of the county clerk's office. I came back by bus," Clara explained. She did not tell anyone about her marriage today and just informed her mother about it last night. Mrs. Wells was sur
The neighbors widened their smiles as they received the candies. Everyone began crowding at Clara's store to congratulate her."Oh, Clara! You're so lucky to have such a good husband. He must be ridiculously rich.""Congratulations! I heard from your husband that you two were separated for many years because of an accident. He kept saying how sorry he was for you and Yanny. You've struggled so much raising Yanny alone for years, but now, you'll finally have a good life." "What a handsome groom. No wonder Yanny is so good-looking. He's just like his father." Clara could only manage a smile at the neighbor's congratulations. Mrs. Wells was smiling too, but she did not have to force a smile. With Wilson's effort, the gossip about them would gradually lessen in the neighborhood.By the time the candies were distributed and finished, it was time for the elementary school to end. When Yannick left the school, he saw Dad standing in front of Mom's store, and many of their neighbors wer
Mrs. Wells was the one who cooked dinner. The Wells family had four dishes and one soup for the night, which was pretty good.The small square dining table seemed to be more crowded than usual because of Wilson's presence.Mrs. Wells spoke to Wilson during dinner. "Thanks to what you've done today, everyone in the neighborhood knows you're married, but please don't do it again. Also, Clara's unborn baby will take Clara's last name. Is that okay?"Wilson's eyes glinted, and he tightened his hands slightly. Would the baby take the family name 'Wells'?"No problem," Wilson said."Also, have you told your family about your marriage?" Mrs. Wells asked again."I can decide on my own marriage. I'll find a time to talk to my family," Wilson said."Well, then. I don't want your family to object and cause trouble for my daughter later," Mrs. Wells said.Wilson nodded. "I won't let my family cause trouble for Clara."After dinner, Wilson took the initiative to clear the table. Mrs. Wells
Life went on after the marriage, but Clara could clearly feel a change in the neighbors' perception of her, especially after the exaggerated display Wilson did to announce their marriage.Maybe that was just the way people were. Clara planned to divorce Wilson after the baby was born and one year old. Maybe she would move to another place when Yanny got into middle school.Although a divorced woman with two kids would have a better reputation than an unmarried woman with two kids, she still found it ridiculous. Clara did not really care about what people thought of her, but she had to do something because of the reality of the situation.While Clara was thinking about what she could do for a living after her son's elementary school graduation, a black Maybach pulled up in front of her store.Soon, a woman in an elegant dress got out of the car. It was an elderly woman, probably in her sixties. She wore a coat over her dress, her hair tied up neatly, and her face with delicate makeu
As Lessie was speaking to Clara, another car quickly pulled over in front of the store. Wilson came rushing out of the car and panicked when he saw his mother grabbing Clara's hands. "Mom! What are you doing here? What did you tell Clara?!" Wilson panicked and yelled at his mother. Wilson turned to Clara nervously and quickly said, "Ignore what my mom said. Don't take it to heart." He seemed afraid that his mother might say something that would upset Clara. Lessie's face darkened. "Calm down. I didn't say anything bad to her."Wilson had doubts, but Clara confirmed what Lessie had said. "It's true. She didn't say much."Wilson seemed to be relieved. "So, what are you doing here, Mom…""I just want to meet my daughter-in-law. You got married, but you didn't tell the family. Besides, Clara is pregnant. You can't hold a wedding yet, but Clara's body will recover after the baby is born, and then we can…""There won't be a wedding," Clara interrupted before Lessie could finish spe
“……” 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