After a brief pause, Serenity parted her lips. "If you really insist... If that's the only way to prove how much I love you, then... Okay."Serenity was unwilling to do this. They might get found out, and it would be extremely embarrassing. Despite that, if it was what he truly wanted, she was totally willing to give it to him. All she wanted was to ease his fear of vulnerability and take care of him.Jackson looked at Serenity in a daze. Her familiar voice rang in his ears, but it sounded like a stranger.What did she say? She had said okay. Serenity was still shaking in fear. Even so, for him... She was willing to do anything for him.Contentment flowed over him, making him feel a little overwhelmed. Despite that, it somehow soothed all his worries. The coldness in him seemed to be gradually fading.Serenity Lewis, the woman he loved...There was a long silence. After that, Jackson let out a slow breath and draped his suit over her body to cover her."Sorry... I wasn't being
"I'll... Let me do it myself," Serenity said, her face red.After a short silence, Jackson handed her the clothes in his hand and turned his back. Serenity's cheeks were burning. She hurriedly changed her clothes, not noticing that Jackson had his hands clenched into fists. Even the sound of her changing clothes seemed very stimulating to him.Serenity had been the only one who had ever made his heart flutter, his love for her becoming stronger as time went on.A sense of crisis arose maybe because of her interaction with Lucas. The beast in him was rising up to demand full control of her, not wanting anyone else to have a chance with her.However, Jackson did not want to scare her again. He did not want to see the fear in her eyes directed at him. He did not want to lose his mind again and hurt her uncontrollably.Jackson waited until Serenity was dressed and turned around.Serenity had changed into a long yellow dress, leaving the damaged floral dress lying on the ground.Ja
Later, in Jackson's study. Jackson looked at the photo of Lucas embracing Serenity on the computer screen and pinned his gaze to it. In the end, he had not said anything about this. He did not ask Serenity why she had not told him about that day—about why Lucas had hugged her and even cried in front of her.Was he afraid that her answer might be something he never wanted to hear?A bitter smile spread on his lips at the thought of this. He wondered when he had become so timid.Earlier, he could not help shaking when he saw Lucas hugging Serenity in the clothing store. He trembled as he listened to the words coming out of Lucas' mouth. The last thing he wanted was for Lucas to realize that Serenity was the little girl he had been searching for.Having known Lucas for years, Jackson knew how obsessed Lucas was with the little girl in his memory. He was so obsessed with finding her that he was almost crazy!Jackson was afraid because he cared. His father's voice seemed to ring in
"She's really a bit of an eyesore. Since she likes the news media so much, let's give her thorough exposure," Jackson ordered coldly."Yes," Connor responded. Just by Mr. Valor's voice alone, he could tell that Mr. Valor was totally pissed off!Aria should not have gotten into trouble with Mr. Valor. She would be in deep trouble, especially now that she had broken up with Mr. Gomez. No one in Solaria would protect her!Connor could almost foresee a bad end for Aria.Meanwhile, on the other side, in Lucas' residence. Lucas was standing in his studio, staring at his painting of the little girl carrying the little boy down the hill.Lucas had drawn the same painting over and over again, year after year. This image was the one that stuck in his mind the most.The number of paintings with the same scene would increase every year. His painting skills had also improved over time. Eventually, the figure and appearance of the little girl in the paintings became more and more like the girl
Aria ended the call with mixed feelings. 'To meet Mr. Parker at the hotel...' Aria was not naive. She had been in the entertainment industry for several years and knew what it meant to meet in a hotel. Unfortunately, it was her only way out.Aria was Lucas' ex-girlfriend. Many might be interested in her for this. Also, Mr. Parker was a big name in the circle. Just because she was blacklisted in the industry did not mean she would not have a chance to make a comeback.She would not mind if anyone like Mr. Parker offered her some bar gigs and behind-the-scenes work. She would wait until Lucas forgot about her. She still had a chance to make a name for herself. Thinking of this, Aria made up her mind. Mr. Parker was already in his forties and married. She could blackmail him while he tried to bed her. Aria decided to videotape the sex in secret. She would have proof, so Mr. Parker would have no choice but to oblige to her demands.Aria had plans with Mr. Parker. She would force him
"Stop filming! Stop it!" Aria wanted to cover her face and body but could not. She reflexively tried to cover herself with something else and grabbed her bag that was on the chair. Unfortunately, someone hit her, and her bag fell to the ground. The hidden camera device she had hidden in the bag rolled out.Mrs. Parker snorted. "It's funny how I'm not the only one who wants to film this."Meanwhile, Mr. Parker clearly understood Aria's plan. He immediately kicked and punched Aria in anger despite his embarrassing situation."You b*tch! How dare you try to trick me? Who do you think you are?!"Poor Aria. She got beaten up terribly once again after receiving a couple of slaps earlier. Aria begged for mercy but to no avail. Her miserable moments were all captured on camera.Over the next few days, these videos were all posted online. Although some indecent scenes were blurred, people understood what was going on!"How shameless!""Aria was actually going to make a video of her sel
'If Jack is gone one day...' Serenity immediately laughed at that thought. What was wrong with her? Jack was not Lucas, and she was not Aria."Serenity, have you seen Aria's scandal?" Lisa asked in their chat conversation."Yeah," Serenity replied."This must be bad karma for her! Aria thinks she's smart, but what's the use of it? She's now in deep trouble!" Lisa said.Aria had had her reputation destroyed overnight. No honorable man would want to have anything to do with Aria now."Oh, by the way, I heard Lucas even gave Aria a warning, telling her to leave Solaria. Did you know?" Lisa shared the gossip she had been hearing. She actually heard about it from Terry.Not many people knew about Lucas' warning to Aria, not even in the entertainment industry. For this, Lisa praised Terry for his great potential in collecting information for gossip. Well, Terry rolled his eyes at her appreciation, naturally. Serenity was a little surprised. She did not expect Lucas to do that. Maybe
Lisa's brows furrowed deeper as she listened to Terry analyzing all the things she had never thought of before. Indeed, they were all suspicious."Mrs. Parker is smart. What's the point of doing something that's not necessarily good for you?" Terry said steadily.Lisa was not an idiot. Hearing that, she immediately seemed to understand. "So, someone is behind this? Someone trying to screw Aria over?"Was it Aria's rival in the entertainment industry? Or was it Lucas? Or could it be... Jackson's face flashed in Lisa's mind."Something like that," Terry said nonchalantly."Who do you think is behind this?" Lisa asked curiously."I guess it's Jackson," Terry stated."Why?""Not many people can keep things under control like this. I'm afraid not many can get Mrs. Parker to put this into action. Besides, Aria is Lucas's ex-girlfriend. Allowing Aria to make a fool of herself would humiliate Lucas' pride. How many people in Solaria would dare offend Lucas?"Lisa fell silent. Terry wa
“……” 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