Julien added, "You guys had no idea who I was dating back then, and you guys have no idea now that the woman I want to marry is the person I liked. And because I've never done anything to worry you all these years, so I am only known as the sensible and filial child who cannot do anything you disapprove of." Karen began, "Julien, no...." Julien was not having it and immediately cut Karen off, "Mom, please let me finish. Have you guys ever thought about how I would also want the same kind of attention and care that you show Jayden and Karen Joy? Please ask yourselves, have you ever loved me the way you loved them?" As Karen listened to Julien's pained explanation, she realised finally that she had indeed been biased with the affection she showed Jayden and Karen Joy, as compared to Julien. As a young boy, Julien had exhibited calmness and maturity that were different from that of his peers. He was always at the top of his class, having even skipped a few grades .
"Mom, Uncle Julien's so fierce. I'm scared and I don't want to sleep with Uncle Julien." Larry saw Karen Joy and instantly threw himself into her arms. "Mom, why doesn't Uncle Julien like me?" "Uncle Julien not only likes you, he loves you very much." Karen Joy grabbed Larry's little body and picked him up. "Larry, Uncle Julien actually likes you very much, like how we all do." "But why doesn't he smile at me? I like it when people smile. Like Dad, Mom, Grandma, Great-grandpa, Grand Auntie Mia, Uncle Levi, and also Uncle Jayden and Auntie Silvia who live far away. Oh yeah, Auntie Silvia's my favorite. Every time she sees me, she will smile happily. I like to see her smile. She must like me a lot." Things could be very simple in a child's world. Sometimes, all it took was a simple smile to make them happy. "That's right. Auntie Silvia is beautiful and kind, and most importantly, she likes you the most." Karen Joy knew that Silvia had always wanted her own child, but he
Hearing Vanessa's gentle words, Julien wrapped his arms even tighter around her. Although he had not said anything, Vanessa knew that he heard every word she said and had kept them in his heart. Vanessa snuggled closer in his arms and continued, "You know, Julien, when I was younger, my mother often told me that each of us has a guardian star. And that after we die, we would rise up and become one of the countless stars in the sky." Julien had also heard of this story when he was younger, but it was listened to with disdain at the time as he felt that only fools would believe in such a childish, naive story. However, having heard Vanessa retell the same story this time, he suddenly thought that it was actually pretty romantic. Romance had little to do with the activity or place involved; rather, it was about the person one is with. Anything can be romantic as long as it is done with someone we truly like and love. Vanessa poked his chest, which attracted his at
The old Vanessa would argue with him for hours over a movie's plot-hole. She would not give up until the argument was won. Her pride, her confidence and her stubborn, unyielding spirit were everything that made her all the more different, and special from everyone else. The closer he got to her, the deeper his attraction towards her would get. Julien remembered clearly and very fondly that the first-ever movie they watched together was 'Who is the Murderer'. After it ended, they got into a huge, cutthroat quarrel about its plot even before setting foot outside of the cinema. They had placed a bet on who the murderer was half an hour into the movie. In the end, even though Vanessa turned out to be wrong, she still stubbornly believed that she had made the right call. She re-analyzed and scrutinized every clue she learned of before; still, she ended up with the same conclusion - that the real murderer was the one whom she had guessed. Julien explained that this was the
When it came to being stubborn, Julien was even worse than Kevin. It was almost impossible to get Julien to talk about anything that he did not want to share. Not knowing how else to deal with him, Karen Joy returned to her room, looking extremely disappointed. When she got back, someone else was in her room. She lightened up a little when she saw who it was. "Lionel, you're back!" Lionel came over and took her into his arms. "What's wrong?" He was already tired from work. Karen Joy didn't want him to worry about her family's matters, so she quickly shook her head and said, "Nothing." Lionel certainly did not buy it. "What's bothering you?" Karen Joy lied and said, "I thought you wouldn't come home today, so I was worried that you'd be tired. But you did come back and surprised me, so I'm happy." Karen Joy did not tell him the truth. Larry, whom she had put to bed earlier, suddenly crawled out of his quilt and stretched his little head out. He said v
Lionel suddenly felt that his son was in his way! Indeed, he had felt this way for the last three years. Lionel really wanted Larry to sleep in his own room, but the child was extremely adorable and was birthed by Lionel's beloved wife. Hence, he could not bear to leave Larry all alone. Karen Joy discontentedly said, "Larry, didn't I tell you that you shouldn't interrupt us when we kiss? Why don't you listen?" Larry rushed over and hugged his father's thigh. "But you haven't kissed me yet. If you don't kiss me, I won't be able to sleep." Lionel scooped him up and said, "Okay, I'll give our little third wheel a kiss first." Larry was so happy to be kissed by his father that he proclaimed proudly, "Dad, I'll protect mom when you're not home." Lionel nodded and praised him, "You did a good job! Let me give you another kiss" Karen Joy huffed, "Well, you two can keep kissing each other. I'm leaving." Lionel and Larry said together, "No, we love you
Hearing such a young child speak that way, Vanessa and Winnie, who had been taking care of Lawrie, were overwhelmed with emotion. While Vanessa fought hard to hold back her tears, Winnie could not help but burst into tears as she asked, "Vanessa, what do we do now?" Vanessa gritted her teeth and collected herself. She then calmly said, "Miss Ziglar, let's get Lawrie to the hospital now. Don't worry, he'll be fine." It was not that Vanessa did not worry about Lawrie, but she had to keep a strong face regardless of how anxious she felt. Lawrie did not have a father, so she was his only family. If she collapsed, what would Lawrie do? Winnie said anxiously, "Okay, let's take Lawrie to the hospital now." Vanessa and Winnie took a taxi to the hospital and immediately sent him to the emergency ward. The doctor firstly found a way to break Lawrie's fever before drawing some blood and conducting a full-body examination on him. After the blood results were released, the d
She was selfish the year she insisted on giving birth to Lawrie despite being aware of the health complications that he might suffer from. "Lawrie..." Vanessa gently held Lawrie's little hand in her palm. "Tell Mommy if you feel any pain anywhere" "Mommy..." Lawrie feebly uttered. He wanted to say more, but he was too frail to do so. "Lawrie, don't say anything if you're tired. I'll talk to you," Vanessa bowed her head, leaned in and kissed Lawrie's forehead. "I'll stay with you and we'll get you cured no matter what. You'll live a healthy and happy life like other children." "Mommy, I'm not afraid." As long as his Mommy was by his side, he would not be afraid. He believed that he would live. "Yes, my baby's the bravest. But Lawrie, when I'm around, you don't have to keep being so strong. You can relax. You must tell me if you feel uncomfortable." The more mature Lawrie acted, the more uncomfortable Vanessa felt. She wished that Lawrie, who was still
...... Eight months later. Adrienne had given birth to a daughter, gathering the entire Yard family in Chatterton Town. Everyone was in high spirits but Jefferson had a sour expression on, as if that was the worst day of his life. Sierra found a moment and went over to Jefferson. "Hey, Jeff. Adrienne just gave birth but why do you have such a long face on? Did you want a son instead or something?" Jefferson responded rudely, "It doesn't matter to me whether it's a boy or a girl. That little girl is our daughter, and I'll love her no matter what." Sierra continued, "Why do you look so upset then?" "Must I have a reason for that?" Well, he was angry at himself. Adrienne had almost lost her life in the labor room earlier, but he hadn't been able to offer any help. Throughout Adrienne's pregnancy, Jefferson had done an enormous amount of research and found out that a C-section birth was relatively safer. Hence, he'd insisted that Adrienne und
...... Johan was still clamming up. Maxtor was so anxious that he couldn't stand still. "Johan, what happened between you and Sierra? Can't you at least explain the situation to me?" After a long silence, Johan looked up and out of the window. "There have been so many fights and misunderstandings between us in the past years and it seems that the past was a time that we can never go back to." Upon hearing this, Maxtor seemed to have put his finger on the crux of the problem. "Did Miranda make Sierra misunderstand you?" Maxtor said earnestly, "Johan, I've told you before that woman has a twisted psyche and you need to stay away from her. You pitied her for being an orphan, but look at what she has been up to." "It has nothing to do with Miranda. It's me. If I..." If he had explained everything to Sierra back then, she wouldn't have felt that insecure about their relationship. He knew everything, but he still got mad at her. Maxtor continued, "He
...... On the first day of school, Miranda was once again met with an unpredicted truth. She found out that Sierra was the top scorer in the entrance exam. She was the overachiever that every university was dying to recruit. Not only did Sierra come from a good family, but she was smart and beautiful to boot. Sierra possessed everything she could have in life. Miranda couldn't figure out why she had to take Johan away from her when she already had so much. What made Miranda even more disappointed was not her inferiority but Johan. On the first day of school, she was over the moon to see that Johan was at the gate to receive her. However, when Johan took her luggage from her and she was wallowing in her excitement to see him, He said to her, "Miranda, that is the girl I like, Sierra. She will be your sister-in-law in the future. You should get on well with her." She didn't want to be nice to her. Instead, she hated her. Mirand
...... Johan's words frightened Miranda so much that her face turned pale. "Johan, Mrs. Silas adopted me. I would have died a long time ago if it weren't for her. How could I have nothing to do with the Silas family?" Johan's face was somber, and his voice chilled Miranda to her bones. "You know that my mother was the one who took you in, but look at what you've been up to all these years?" "Johan, what-what did I do?" Miranda said, trembling with fear. Miranda was an expert at feigning a pitiful appearance and reaping sympathy from others. She even managed to tear up and gazed heart-wrenchingly at Johan at that very moment. However, Johan did not buy into her ploy at all. Not only did his eyes demonstrate her no pity, there was also a trace of disdain that Miranda had never seen before. He loathed her. Upon realizing that, Miranda's heart was broken. Johan had been her dream for those past years. She had worked so hard to do so many things in
...... Sierra wasn't able to refute because what Miranda said was the truth. It was indeed true that many could never compare with her background. However, although she was born privileged, that didn't spare her from putting in effort for her own future. Prestigious universities wanted her because she was the top scorer in the entrance exam but not because of her family background and connections. All of a sudden, Miranda smirked sinisterly. "I know you like Johan, and you want to be with him. Sierra, I like him too, and I want to be with him. You have everything so why do you still want to take my man away from me?" "Excuse me? Who took your man?" Displeased, Sierra said, "Miranda, you were the one who told me that you two were siblings, and that there was nothing going on between you guys. And mind you, you were also the one who encouraged me to go after him." Miranda shouted in a low voice, "Sierra, if I hadn't told you that, would you have remained fri
...... Averting her gaze, Sierra turned around with difficulty. However, just as she had taken a step forward, Miranda's voice sounded from behind. "Sierra, I didn't expect you to come to the airport to pick me up. Imagine my delight to be able to see you on the first day of my return." "You've misunderstood, Miss Attwood. I'm not here to pick you up." Sierra did not conceal her hatred for Miranda as she could not even be bothered to dole out the niceties at her. Miranda chuckled. "I haven't seen you for so many years, but you're still so adorable." It seemed that Miranda couldn't sense the despise Sierra had for her. She approached Sierra with a smile and wanted to give her a hug. Sierra stared at Miranda's outstretched arms and quickly dodged her. A single glance at Miranda and her eyes would be sullied. Sierra thought that she would even throw up should her body come into contact with Miranda's. Miranda was never good at reading between the
...... Stopping her car, Sierra quickly got off to check the situation. No sooner had her feet been on the ground that four men got off from the car in front of her and surrounded her. One of them pointed at her and barked, "Don't you f*cking know how to drive? If you don't, then don't drive. Say it, how much are you going to pay for the damage!" Sierra was driving in accordance to normalcy, but the other party had, so suddenly, cut into her lane without a signal. As hard as she had stepped on her brake, she still collided with the car. They were supposed to be the ones held accountable for the collision. However, they got out of the car and shouted at her, extorting compensation. Sierra suspected that these men had done so deliberately to scam her. She took out her mobile phone and was ready to call the police. However, before she could even unlock her phone, one of the men had already wrenched the phone away from her. "We have something important t
...... In the middle of cleaning the table, Rosie said, "He doesn't only come here to have meals, but he would also get one to go every time. No jalapenos on the one to go. He says that you can't take spices because your stomach doesn't handle it well." Sierra did have a stomach problem, but it wasn't till the point that she couldn't take spicy food at all. Moreover, Johan had never brought any tacos back for her. Sierra figured that he was probably getting it for someone else so she asked, "What did he say to you when he asked you to pack it?" Rosie smiled and said, "He said that he was going to bring it for his girlfriend. He's obviously talking about you, isn't he?" "Oh, his girlfriend." Smiling, Sierra did not put forth any more questions as she knew that Johan had never regarded her as his girlfriend. For him, she was nothing more like a leech that he couldn't shake off. Rosie looked at Sierra and said earnestly, "I know you two fought tod
...... "My ability to act coy?" Sierra said inwardly. She had no idea from where did his temper sneak in again. However, she knew that somehow everything she had done seemed to piss him off. If he didn't like her, then why did he come looking for her? Did he have nothing else better to do? She smiled and said, "Mr. Silas, since you don't like being around me, then let's not meet anymore in the future, nor have any meals together. I'm afraid your appetite will take a nosedive when you see me." "You shouldn't say that, Sierra." Rosie handed one of the plates to Sierra and said, "Every couple gets into fights, but you must know your boundaries. Some words are too hurtful, and you shouldn't just say everything that comes to your mind." Sierra didn't make a sound. She wasn't a fan of others poking their noses in her affairs. Besides, she was not close to Rosie either so she found her rather meddlesome. Rosie didn't seem to register in her mind that Sierra was d