Micah listened but barely understood it. "Mom, what about you and Dad?"Serenity turned her gaze to Jackson beside her, her eyes sparkling with endless love. "I like him a lot, and I'll like him forever."Jackson stared at Serenity, his heart pounding at the way she looked at him. If his son was not around, he would not have resisted his urge to pull her into a tight embrace and kiss her to express his most sincere joy.Jackson turned to his son, who was still in a daze. "Well, you'll meet someone you like eventually.""But I think I've already met someone like that now. I'll always like Mommy," Micah expressed.Noticing how Jackson became a little upset over Micah's answer, Serenity quickly interrupted, "That's not the same. We're talking about liking someone differently."Micah had an annoyed look on his face. He could not understand the difference between liking Mom and someone else. Maybe he should talk about it again some other time.Back at the hotel, Serenity put her son
Meanwhile, in the Stanton Residence. Weston came to his son's room and saw Frederick watch Jacqueline intently as she slept. "Do you like Jacqueline that much?" Weston said, something flashing in his eyes.Frederick did not answer and continued staring at the girl next to him. There was no need to answer this question."You should know. She's the daughter of Jackson Valor. There will be many people who'll like her," Weston continued. Jacqueline would grow up to be very popular, especially when she had wealth, good looks, and a pleasant personality. Men would be flocking after her.For a split second, worry crossed Frederick's face. He glanced up and told his father, "Even if that happens, I'll make Jackie only like me!""Are you sure you're capable of that?" Weston's lips quirked in a half-smile. "You're both still young. The people she meets at this age will be limited, not to mention her playmates. Among the people she has met, she likes you because you're the best at piano a
“Mhm,” the little one answered softly. After Weston left the room, Fred looked at the person sleeping beside him and murmured, “Jackie, don’t hate me, okay? Don’t let anyone else take my place. I promise I’ll be a better person day by day.” Fred sounded like he was taking an oath. -Both couples dined together in the hotel's restaurant. Clara looked at Micah, who was eating obediently, and asked, “Where’s Jackie? Didn't she come to Lanford?” “She’s at the Stantons. We’ll pick her up at their residence later,” Serenity said. Then, she told Clara about what they had mentioned to Weston yesterday, about installing surveillance cameras and investigating Summer’s actual condition.“Thank you, Serenity,” Clara said gratefully.“No problem.” Halfway through the meal, Clara had to use the restroom, so Serenity accompanied her to ensure her safety. Suddenly, Jackson asked Wilson, “Have your feelings for Clara totally faded?” “Why?” “Don’t you think it’s a shame?” Jackson sm
Wilson looked at Jackson without any expression.“The pain might be overwhelming for you by then,” Jackson said. “Then, I will go to the hypnotist again and again until I can no longer remember my feelings.”Jackson kept quiet. Only Wilson would know what was best for himself. -Clara felt sleepy again after finishing her meal, so she returned to her room first. Nowadays, she was always sleepy and would take a nap after lunch. While she was asleep, she felt a pressure on her forehead. She tried hard to get rid of the discomfort but to no avail. “Ahh!” Clara jolted awake. She saw Wilson once she opened her eyes, and his hand was on her forehead. There was a napkin in his hand, and Clara realized that he was wiping her sweat.“Thanks,” Clara said.Only then did she notice that she had broken out in a cold sweat. “Are you alright? You had another nightmare?” Wilson asked. “No.” Clara didn’t want to tell him that his hand had made her uncomfortable. “I want to change
Clara subconsciously caressed Wilson's face.Wilson was stunned, and his eyes darkened. “What are you doing?” Clara snapped out of it and stopped her actions. “Nothing, I got carried away…” Her voice was getting softer as she spoke. She felt embarrassed. Wilson continued to help Clara put on her socks, but he was staring at her intensely. Clara almost went limp. She wanted to take a step back when Wilson finished putting on both socks for her. However, he wrapped his hand around her waist. “You got carried away, huh?” Wilson whispered. Clara blushed, and she was at a loss for words. Wilson narrowed his eyes and brushed his thumb across her lips. “Clara, you’re not a little girl anymore. You should know that people will easily misunderstand your words.” She lowered her head awkwardly. “I’m sorry.” “You’re sorry?” Wilson snickered and looked at her with a complicated feeling. Jackson had said that he was just lying to himself through hypnosis and that he would
When Wilson let go of Clara, she slapped him hard across his face. “Don’t kiss me if you don’t have any feelings for me!”“What? You don’t like it? Don’t forget that we’re still married. I’m not wrong even if I want you now. Don’t forget what you promised me in exchange...” Wilson’s voice gradually softened when he noticed Clara’s teary eyes. He had lost count of how many times she had slapped him. No one dared to treat him like this except for Clara. His anger died down the moment he saw her tears, and he felt suffocated. Then, Clara violently pushed him away. She took a deep breath and spoke calmly, “Mr. Birch, I know that you don’t have any feelings for me now, so I don’t have any intentions to seduce you. I promise that I won't do anything that will cause misunderstandings between us in the future.” Wilson pursed his lips. He didn’t know why he was upset at her words. He felt that something was slipping away from his grasp. -When Serenity went to pick up Jackie fro
“Jackie wants to stay, doesn’t she?” Jackson continued, “It’s better to let her get what she wants. I’ll ask Elliot to inform the kindergarten later.” “What about your work?” Serenity asked. “I can communicate via video conference with my staff. It wouldn’t be a problem for a few days. Since the Hope family is aware of it, we should take the opportunity to settle it once and for all. You can return to Solaria earlier too. I don’t want you to stay here all the time.” Serenity was the real reason Jackson wanted to stay. “What if we can’t get things right in these few days? We don’t even know where Summer is!” “We can find out her whereabouts in three days.” Jackson was confident. “It’s impossible. Weston said so.” “Yeah, it’s impossible if the Stantons are the only ones searching. If I work with them, they will definitely be able to locate her within three days unless the Hope family has sent Summer out of Lanford. Every corner of Lanford will be searched in these three day
Serenity knew that she couldn’t get anything out of Clara’s mouth. “Get some rest and call me if you need anything.” “Sure,” Clara said with a smile. After Serenity left, Clara looked around at her quiet room and smiled bitterly. Suddenly she felt a kick. Clara gently caressed her belly. “Baby, I’m sorry that I can’t give you a complete family. I hope that your dad will not be too upset when I’m no longer around.” Clara didn’t know how long she would live. She was unsure of what would happen to her liver after she gave birth. Her condition was like a ticking bomb.Clara didn’t want Wilson to die with her when it came to that moment. -Wilson was drinking alone in a bar. His heart was in turmoil. Even though he claimed that he didn’t love Clara anymore, he couldn’t help but get closer to her due to muscle memory. He had kissed Clara today to prove that his feelings had totally faded, but he was almost lost in that kiss. He would have done something regretful if i
“……” 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