That’s right, Serenity was the cause of this! She was the reason why Aria had lost everything. Unfortunately, Aria’s train of reasoning stopped there. She failed to consider the fact that Serenity was also the reason she had gotten so far with Lucas. ***Having just returned from delivering an order, Serenity stepped into the restaurant. The moment she came in, two people walked up to her, and one of them gave her a tight slap across the face. The slap was so forceful that she stumbled backward. The very next second, she tasted the metallic flavor of blood in her mouth. “You shameless wh*re! How dare you snatch your sister’s boyfriend away! I can’t believe our family raised a daughter like you!” Catherine yelled sharply as soon as she delivered the blow. Serenity stared coldly at her stepmother who was still berating her. Catherine was about to deliver a second slap when she reached up and grabbed her wrist. Catherine glared at her. “What?! Don’t forget, I’m still your mot
Upon being called, Grayson quickly intervened in his wife’s favor. He stepped forward and began yelling at his daughter, “How could you treat Catherine like this?! No matter what has happened, she’s still your elder. Hurry up and apologize to her!” Serenity stared coldly back at her father. She used to put herself through hell just to gain his approval, just so he would treat her like he did Aria. In the end, she realized that it was just her wishful thinking. At this point, she had truly given up on him. “Apologize? What should I apologize for? Are you implying that I should let her do whatever she wants with me when she starts abusing me? Do you think I should sit back and let her humiliate me and even my mother? I don’t think I need to say out loud who betrayed Mom all those years ago.” An embarrassed expression appeared on Grayson’s face. Amidst Catherine’s incessant wailing, he retorted, “So what if Catherine slapped you a few times? Why didn’t you mention the things you d
Serenity was much luckier than herself, she thought. Thinking of her past, the light in Clara’s eyes fizzled out. Back then, she had also thought that she had found a man who was willing to fight the world for her. In the end, she discovered that he regarded her as his enemy. Pathetic and absurd. Those two words described her love for him perfectly. Now, she just wanted to raise Yanny properly. Jackson looked down at Serenity’s bleeding lips. Her cheek was red and swollen from the slap, and a trail of blood ran down her chin. The sight of her in such a state enraged him. Wearing a deep frown, Jackson brushed his fingers gently across her wound. “Who hit you?” “What are you doing here?” asked Serenity. “I finished my work, and I was nearby, and I wanted to see you,” he explained. She was lucky that Jackson had decided to pay her a visit. Otherwise, she would have to continue being bullied by Grayson and Catherine. “Who hit you just now?” he asked again. “My stepmothe
Serenity hesitated for a moment before she replied, “Actually, I’m quite happy working at this place. Besides...” She paused for a moment and then continued speaking with an earnest expression, “Jack, I’d like to continue relying on myself. If I joined your company and people found out I’m your girlfriend, I’m worried that they’ll put me in a token position who gets paid for doing nothing.” “Isn’t that good?” asked Jackson. “At the very least, I’d like to see how far I can make it on my own. I don’t plan to work as a delivery driver all my life. I’ve been reading some research papers in my free time, and I hope it’ll help my future career,” explained Serenity. She already had a rough idea about her career development. Upon hearing her reply, Jackson frowned slightly as he stroked her reddened cheeks. It hurt so much that she gasped silently. “Let’s go back and treat your wounds. Also, didn’t I tell you to call me whenever you need help? Why didn’t you call me?” He wonde
Through the one-way mirror, Lucas could observe the activities happening in the main hall outside. There were various singers and dancers performing on the stage. Compared to that, the inside of Lucas’ private room was relatively quiet. He poured himself a cup of tea and began sipping it slowly as he observed the chaos that was happening outside. Then, the door swung open, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the room. Lucas lifted his head to gaze at the newcomer. “You’re finally here. Would you like some tea?” “No need,” replied Jackson before he sat down directly facing Lucas. “I’m just here to talk to you, it won’t take long.” Lucas raised his brow. “Is that so? What would you like to discuss?” “You can break up with Aria all you want, but don’t drag Serenity into this. My patience has its limits. I’m not going to stand by and watch her suffer because of you,” warned Jackson. Lucas’ expression changed immediately. “Aria’s parents came looking for Serenity today
Jackson pursed his lips at the thought of that possibility. He would never let Lucas have his way! In the private room, Lucas pulled out the silver bracelet he wore on his neck. He brushed his fingertips over it. Its surface was smooth and shiny from being polished by his fingers over the years. To him, this bracelet was his entire world. As it turned out, people who keep longing for another despite the passage of time do indeed exist. In fact, the more time passed, the more intense their feelings grew...***“Cut!” yelled the director. Sullen-faced, he snapped at Aria, “What’s the matter with you? Is it that hard to play a character whose mother had just died? It’s not like you just started acting yesterday...” As he scolded her, Aria nodded silently and swallowed the discontent that was boiling up inside. He had never talked to her like this. Her scenes used to be filmed in one take unless she requested a retake. Compared to the past when the director never criticized h
Did Lucas change his mind?Looking around at the people who were taunting and mocking her a moment ago, Aria felt truly vindicated!Hmph, as long as she could become Lucas Gomez's girlfriend again, she could get all of them blacklisted by the entertainment industry!Aria walked out of the filming site in a haughty manner.However, when she met with Lucas, she realized that... things were not the way she thought they were.Because... Lucas asked to meet her in a detention facility, and her parents were in that detention facility.Lucas was sitting on a chair, casually sipping tea.Her parents, on the other hand, were trembling and cowering on one side of the table. They looked afraid.Aria bit her lip, her heart thumping with apprehension.What's going on? What's Lucas doing here?She was aware that her parents were in police custody, but since it was only for a few days, she didn't think it was a big deal. It would be fine as long as the media did not find out about it.But
Lucas stared at Aria coldly. Fair? The world had never been fair. If it was, he would have found the girl from back then by now! He poured in so much effort throughout the years!But... he hadn’t found her!It was as if that girl had never existed at all.But... she clearly existed!"You want fairness? Fine. Your mother slapped Serenity, so it's only fair if she slaps you too," Lucas said indifferently.Aria, Catherine and Grayson froze when they heard that.Catherine, in particular, jumped up from her chair and yelled, "Why would I hit my own daughter?! Even if you're rich and powerful, you can't make me do this!""You can't hit your own daughter?" Lucas snorted as if he had heard a joke, "Yet you were so ready to hit your stepdaughter who's not related to you by blood."Catherine's face went red, but she still argued emotionally, "Th-There's a good reason for that... Serenity Lewis is a shameless woman who barged into your relationship with Aria..."Lucas' expression got pro
“……” 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