"What should we do?! She's still in the middle of the river! The water is coming in fast. There's no time to save her!" Someone shouted.'Yeah, there's no time!' Seeing the water rushing in from afar, Coco knew it was too late.Lucas' mind went blank at the realization. Coco was holding onto the broken gondola in one hand, a crying baby in the other. Coco and the baby were in a dangerous situation. They might fall into the river!Never had Lucas felt so much fear in his life. He could barely breathe, and his heart was pounding so hard for fear that the woman holding the baby would not make it. He despised Aubrey and Snow so much, and hatred rushed up through him!"The gondola! Hurry up and get into the gondola!" Someone suddenly shouted at Coco, the voice snapping Lucas back to his senses.Right! The gondola!One of the gondolas was moving toward them. If Coco could climb into the gondola with the baby in her arms, she would be able to reach the river bank in time and safely. The
Coco heard a scream coming from the shore. She recognized the voice—Lucas!Coco turned her gaze to the river bank. There, she saw a familiar man—the love of her life. When Lucas saw Coco put the baby into the gondola, he immediately understood Coco's choice. She had decided to trade her life to save Eden!Right. How could someone like her give up on a baby's life? But Lucas could not accept her decision. He did not want her to make that choice.Right now, he'd rather she give up Eden and save herself! He wanted her to live!Lucas instinctively rushed to the river, wanting to jump in and swim toward Coco and save her. He knew he might face the Valor family's wrath upon Eden's death, not to mention Serenity's pain. Despite that, he wanted Coco to survive! "No!" Sensing Lucas's intention, Coco screamed. Just as Lucas was about to jump into the river, the policemen swooped down on him and tackled him to the ground."Don't go! The water from the reservoir is about to rush in! If yo
"Coco!!!" Lucas shouted, but the rushing water drowned out his voice.The water current became so strong in the next moment. Unable to hold on to the cable any longer, Coco loosened her grip at the impact of the current. Coco simply disappeared in the current, and he lost sight of her within seconds!The gondola carrying the baby finally reached the river bank. Looking at the river with mixed feelings, Jackson rushed forward and took his daughter in his arms.It was such a dangerous moment. Jackson would never forget Coco's favor. He never thought Coco would choose to trade her life for a chance to let Eden live. Coco did not have a strong relationship with the Valor family, after all. Even though Coco had a great relationship with Serenity, they were not bonded by life-and-death struggles. He never thought Coco would sacrifice herself for Eden.Jackson snapped his eyes toward Lucas. Somehow, Lucas reminded him of himself back then. After losing Coco, the man stopped struggling a
"I'll do everything in my power to find her," Jackson promised. "We'll find her, even if it's only her body."Serenity listened, sobbing uncontrollably."Why did Coco lose her life for us? Why..." Serenity sobbed uncontrollably. "As a mother, I couldn't protect Eden, but why did Coco have to pay the price?!""Serenity!" Jackson pulled his wife into a tight embrace. "It's my fault. I failed to protect our daughter. I failed to save Coco. It's all my fault. I'll do everything to find Coco, and...""Maybe she'll be lucky and survive." Despite saying that, he knew the chances of Coco's survival were too slim."Jack, Jack!" Serenity hugged Jackson, crying until she fainted. Jackson carried Serenity to the bed and carefully tucked her in. Serenity had not been well-rested lately. She had been worried about Eden, and it had been tiring. After learning about Coco's incident, she became so emotional and fainted. Looking at his wife's face full of tears, pain and remorse filled his hear
It was such a dangerous moment, yet Coco was still thanking him, hoping he would find someone he truly loved!Coco had always been selfless. Always hoping for the best for others while keeping all the pain to herself. Even in her moment of death, she never cared about herself!Lucas desperately reached out, trying to go and pull her out from the river. He did not want her to die!"Coco... No... No... I won't let you die...""You can't die..." he cried out in despair. No matter how he tried to reach for her hand, he could not grasp her."Argh!" Lucas let out a sudden cry. Then, he opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, the intertwining images of dream and reality rapidly flashing before his eyes."Coco!" Lucas sat up sharply, wanting to rush out of bed and save the woman about to drown in the river."Mr. Gomez!" Someone held him down, stopping him from getting out of the bed. "You can't get out of bed yet.""Let me go! I must save Coco! Let me go!" Lucas shouted desperate
Jackson had never seen Lucas like this before. "Lucas, are you... Are you already in love with Coco?" he murmured. Lucas froze, his body trembling uncontrollably. Jackson stared into his eyes and saw the pain in them."Love her? Yes... Yeah, I do... I love her..." It was not until this moment that he finally admitted his love for her."Why am I so stupid? I'm already in love with her. Why was I so afraid to admit it? She had always wanted to hear me say I love her! Why didn't I tell her when she asked me? Why? Why?!"Lucas hated himself immensely. Why was he so afraid of confirming his feelings for her? Why was he in so much denial and said nothing?He did not say 'I love you' even when she was drowning in the water.Would Coco be disappointed? Would she be sad? She thought he never loved her, even until the moment she died! 'No, she's not gonna die. She won't die!' Lucas thought in his mind. "Jackson! You find Coco! Find her! I want to tell her I love her. I'm gonna tell he
After the arrest, Snow blamed Aubrey for all the crimes. She claimed she had been manipulated into this, and Aubrey was the mastermind.Aubrey was behind all the plans. She did not admit it nor deny the accusation and instead requested to meet Lucas. It seemed she would only confess after meeting Lucas.Lucas agreed when he heard Aubrey's request from the police and met Aubrey in the Lanford detention center.Aubrey looked completely different from the well-groomed young lady she used to be. Instead of the beautiful Ms. Stewart, she looked miserable with disheveled hair, wrinkled clothes, and rough skin."It's been a while, Lucas." Aubrey let out a soft chuckle and greeted Lucas.Lucas shot Aubrey a look full of hatred. He wanted her to pay for what she had done. Aubrey, however, was pleased to see the hatred in his eyes. "Since childhood, I've always thought you were a cold person. It's hard to approach you, and it feels like no one can capture your heart."Aubrey spoke slowly
Lucas' face contorted in a mixture of anger and regret. Yeah. All Coco got was nothing. Even though he had finally realized he was already in love with her, Coco was unaware of it."Aubrey, why did you hurt her instead of me? You could've come at me!" Lucas hissed, his voice hoarse.Aubrey was stubborn as hell. "Without Coco, you'd be with me! Coco is a nobody. I want her to suffer more than me!""But... Isn't Coco a fool? Why would she risk her life for someone else's child?"Lucas murmured in reply, "Yeah... She's an idiot. She cares so much about others and forgets about herself."Coco had traded her life for Eden's chance of survival, not for Serenity, but for him! She must have been afraid. She knew he would live with guilt for the rest of his life should Eden die. That was why she made this choice.Coco thought giving Eden the chance to live was the best thing she could have done, but she never knew what he really wanted. He wanted her to live more than anything! He would r
“……” 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