Serenity suddenly stumbled, her knees giving out.Just as she was about to collapse, a hand grabbed her waist and prevented her fall."What's wrong with your legs?" Lucas asked coldly, having noticed her limp when she walked over just now. "It's an old injury," Serenity replied, then thanked him for his help. He pursed his lips and withdrew his hand. His eyes moved to her legs. An old injury? She had that kind of old injury?"Serenity, are you okay?" Lynette quickly showed Serenity concern. "If your legs bother you, sit down and take a break."Serenity gave her cousin a cold stare. If Lynette truly cared about Serenity, she would not have let Serenity stand there for so long while she played pool.Coles was surprised. He asked with an uneasy expression, "You... know each other?" "Yes, we're cousins," Lynette said with a smile.Coles became even more uneasy. He said to Serenity, "Why didn't you tell me that earlier? If you had, I would've signed the document in a heartbeat."
No! No! That's impossible! Lynette told herself.Sooner or later, she would replace Serenity's existence entirely. She would be the one standing by Lucas' side. She would have the last laugh!Serenity took a bus back to her apartment. Her legs hurt so much by the time she reached home that she could barely lift them. She quickly took a couple of transdermal patches from the medicine kit and stuck them on her knees.After a while, she felt a soothing heat on her knees and the pain started to ease. She let out a deep breath.She felt as if she had fought a battle tonight. She was completely worn out. There was a layer of cold sweat on her back.It appeared that she should not stay in an air-conditioned place for too long even in the summer. Her joints could not take it!She accidentally ran into Lucas and Lynette tonight. When Lucas grabbed her arm and asked her about Jackson, she felt like her heart had been stabbed again.In the past, if she had to go to a nightclub at night, J
Jackson... actually broke up with Serenity? Impossible! He would not even let another man get close to her. How could he break up with her?Lucas had known Jackson for many years. He knew that Jackson was unapproachable by nature and had never really shown real interest in any woman. Serenity was the only one, an exception.People like Jackson tend to fall in love hard if they ever did fall in love.He would actually break up with Serenity?"Why did you guys break up?" Lucas took a step closer and asked. "That's personal. I don't have to tell you," she replied, taking two steps back to keep her distance. "If that's all, I'm going inside. I'm tired."She took out her key, opened the door to her apartment, walked inside, and shut the door.Lucas remained outside in a daze.He stared at the closed door. The serene look on her face when she mentioned the breakup somehow made his heart ache.Her calmness suggested that she was hiding her pain.He shouldn't be concerned about her,
Lucas could feel Jackson's fingers pressing down on his neck, as if Jackson was going to strangle him.Caleb quickly put his glass down and attempted to remove Jackson's hands from Lucas' neck. "Jackson, what are you doing? Lucas is just asking a question. Calm... calm down..."Caleb was very scared, but Lucas, who was the one getting strangled, didn't seem afraid at all. He asked, "Was it... because of me?" Right after he said that, the fingers around his neck tightened so much that Lucas struggled to breathe. His face turned red.Caleb panicked. "Jackson, let him go! Are you trying to kill him?" If anything happened to either of them in his establishment, he's done for!He pulled Jackson's arm with all his strength, trying to separate the two men.Was it... because of Lucas? Jackson stared at Lucas intently.No, it's not because of Lucas. It was more because Jackson didn't want to risk getting betrayed someday, or be on edge every day for fear that Serenity might develop fe
"Did Wilson Birch visit you at the hospital?" Serenity asked.Clara shook her head. "No, I think he already left Solaria. I hope he did. I hope he'll stop having such an absurd idea."A determined look appeared on Clara's face. "I'm not scared of his revenge. I just want to be done with it and cut ties with him for good." He had caused her so much anguish that the mere sight of his face was painful to her!It reminded her that the love they once shared was absurd and ridiculous! "What will you do now?" Serenity asked. After all, no one knew what Wilson Birch would do next. "I'm thinking of leaving Solaria and moving to a place where he can't find me," Clara said. If she stayed in Solaria and Wilson Birch suddenly returned, he might discover Yanny's existence.She could not let that happen no matter what!Serenity was surprised, but she could understand why Clara made that decision. "If you leave Solaria, we won't see each other that much anymore. I'm going to miss Yanny so m
When Jackson and Serenity were dating, they didn't use any birth control, but because of her injured uterus, it was practically impossible for her to get pregnant anyway, so it was not a problem she had to worry about. In a way, she was lucky.At least Jackson and her didn't share any children, so they could make a clean break!However, deep down inside, she felt a tinge of regret.If she had a child, that would mean she had a family member connected to her by blood.Without a child, she was alone without any family.She might even die alone.Serenity sighed and smiled wryly. Her mood only improved when she saw Yanny's beautiful, innocent face.Serenity hugged Yanny and kissed him multiple times. She brought Yanny a cake to make it up to him since he missed out on her birthday cake.Yanny, in return, excitedly gave Serenity a pair of lovely white sandals with a leather bow in front. They would go well with a lot of her summer outfits.The sandals looked like something right ou
A familiar figure was currently sitting at the dining table, his bright eyes looking over at her.Jackson Valor!What was he doing in her apartment?Serenity was so shocked to see Jackson that she did not even know how to react.Jackson pursed his lips as he stood up and walked towards her, "Why are you so surprised to see me?"How could she not be surprised?! Serenity thought bitterly.She thought she would never see him again after they broke up, but she kept running into him since then.Seeing him made her remember the pain of the breakup, and... the incident at the Skylit Bar where he saved her and she fell drunkenly into his arms."Mr. Valor, why are you in my apartment?" She took a deep breath, doing her best to calm herself."I was waiting for you," he gave a simple answer.Well, considering who he was, it wouldn't be hard for him to gain access to her apartment, but... he's waiting for her? "Is there anything else that needs to be said between us, Mr. Valor? You've al
She's only a game to him."It's none of your business!" His voice echoed in her ears.Yeah, that's his problem. She didn't even have the right to ask."If I give you the photo, will you leave?" Serenity took a deep breath and asked.He was visibly shaken, his eyelashes fluttering. After a while, he said, "Yes." "Okay, I'll give you the photo." She pushed him away and walked to a cabinet. Then, she opened a photo album and took out the photo of herself as a child wearing a floral dress.All she wanted at the moment was for him to leave. Every second he stayed in the tiny apartment with her was another second of her mind not thinking straight.She simply wanted to distance herself from him and let herself calm down so that she could truly forget him.She handed the photo to Jackson.Jackson took it and stared at it absentmindedly.Serenity watched him quietly. She suddenly recalled Lisa telling her that she had slapped him.Was it true? Did he really spare Lisa because of Ser
“……” 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