Ann nodded with a smile. "Sure." She did not see any problem with it. Her son and daughter-in-law were getting along well, which was great.Thinking back, Ann realized she had misjudged people. To think she liked Shelly and wanted to force the latter on Chris, hoping Shelly would become her daughter-in-law.If Shelly had married Chris, Chris would not be as happy as he was now. Shelly was complicated, and so was Chris. If two strong-willed individuals became a couple, both wanting to be in control, conflicts would arise because none would yield in disagreements.Someone like Paige, who was obedient, gentle, and easygoing, matched well with Chris's dominant personality. Paige was perfect for Chris. Ann realized she had been delusional, focusing only on Shelly's impressive qualities and not considering the dynamics after their marriage.Shelly loved Chris, and before marrying Chris, she would naturally listen to him. However, once married, she would not yield to Chris all t
Paige grinned and said, "Alright, I'll take these, Mom. Thank you."Ann smiled back at her. "Silly child, we're family now. You don’t have to thank me. Alright, I’ll leave you be to get some good rest."Paige nodded. "Sure."Once Ann left, Paige sat alone on the couch, happily examining each piece of jewelry, especially the jade accessories. They were all so beautiful. Paige picked them up like precious treasures, savoring each one.Observing Paige, Chris smirked and teased, "When you said no earlier, you were just pretending, right? Deep down, I’m sure you really wanted them."Paige blushed and protested, "I didn’t! I genuinely didn't want them. It was because of you and your mom’s insistence that I accepted them."Chris nodded. "I see. We practically forced you to accept them, but in actuality, you didn't want any of it."Paige blushed even harder. "I really didn't want them."Chris nodded knowingly, his gaze suggestive.Paige stared at Chris, annoyed that he was doing it on
"What's up?" Chris asked, "Are you worried our daughter won't have gifts?"Paige gave him a look. "You know that's not what I mean."Chris replied, "I don't know. I'm not my grandpa or my mom. I can't control their thoughts. But at the same time, they can't control mine. Can they influence your thoughts? Would you prefer a son because they might value boys more?"Paige retorted, "Of course not."She had experienced the hardship of gender bias herself. Therefore, she would cherish both her daughter and son equally, not favoring one over the other."Well, isn't that enough? As long as we love our children, that's what matters. As for others, whether they’ll love my children or not, it's their problem," Chris said.Paige nodded.After that, she arranged the gifts from Zander, took a photo, and posted it on her social media.If she only posted her mother-in-law's gifts and not her grandfather-in-law's, what would he think? Surely, he would believe she did not like the gifts he gave
Chris might have said so, but the saleswoman had a different opinion. A busy man like Mr. Jewell, who managed a thousand things a day and made a fortune, coming to view an apartment meant he was definitely going to purchase one instead of taking a look around.The saleswoman enthusiastically led Chris and Paige to the display table, passionately introducing them to their houses. Paige knew that development was expensive, exceptionally so. It was in a prime location, and its architecture was European-inspired. In the era of soaring skyscrapers, prime locations in major cities were dominated by high-rises. Even if there were European-style apartments, they were likely built two or three decades ago.Hence, the new European-style apartments in this neighborhood were particularly rare.Perhaps, in this city, there would only be one such development and no other.Chris looked around and asked Paige, "Do you like it?"Paige's eyes sparkled as she looked at Chris. "I like it."Chris a
Chris stared at her calmly. "Why would I lie to you?"Paige hesitated."Why should I lie to you about my likes and dislikes? Am I afraid of you, or am I that hypocritical?" Chris continued.Paige questioned, "In that case, why did you gift me so many things?""Since my mom and grandpa have given you gifts, as your husband, shouldn't I give you something too?" Chris asked.Well, he had given her a whole lot, alright.Paige looked at Chris, and her eyes suddenly widened in amazement as she came to a realization that he could be competing with Zander and Ann.Zander and Ann had both given her valuable gifts, and Chris believed that as her husband, he should not be outdone by anyone in that regard.His competitive spirit amazed her.Chris looked at Paige. "Why are you looking at me like that?"Paige smiled and shook her head. "Nothing."She saw through Chris's thoughts and found him adorable.Who would have thought that the overbearing CEO had such an adorable side?Chris felt
"Luna…” Mandy looked at Luna with teary eyes and said, "I know you don't like Andrew, and marrying him won't bring you happiness. Can you let him be mine?"Luna stared back at Mandy, stating, "Andrew is not a commodity to be passed around.” She understood the significance of marrying him. Even if she did not like Andrew, she would not hand him over to Mandy. If Mandy married Andrew, the main household would use his strength to compete against Chris, and she refused to give them such a substantial advantage."Luna," Chris suddenly said to Luna, "if Mandy likes Andrew, let him be hers.""Huh?"Luna was puzzled by Chris's unexpected statement. Others shared the same bewilderment as they could not comprehend why Chris would say such a thing unless he was insane.Whether it be Liam or the second household, everyone thought Chris must be out of his mind to willingly give the powerful support of Andrew to the main household, which was clearly against his own interests. How coul
When Paige and Chris stepped back into their room, Paige exclaimed with excitement, "Honey, you have no idea. When Andrew was around, seeing how confidently he believed he had the upper hand with Luna got me so worked up."Chris inquired, "How worked up?"Paige replied, "I was fuming. I wanted to march up there and give him a piece of my mind and maybe a good beating too."Chris raised an eyebrow. "That fierce, huh?"Paige continued, "But my manners held me back."Chris nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my wife has great manners."Paige felt that there was more to his words, not necessarily praising her but perhaps mocking her."Are you being sarcastic?" Paige looked at Chris.Chris shook his head. "No, I'm being sincere. I genuinely believe my wife is well-mannered."Paige raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"Chris nodded. "It is."Paige said, "Fine, I'll believe you… Honey, what do you think Andrew's reaction would be if he knew Luna rejected him and gave him Mandy? How do you think
"Why wouldn't he?" Mandy said anxiously.The last thing a woman wanted was to be misunderstood by the man she liked. If Andrew started thinking she was a bad woman, would he still like her?Mandy glanced at Niel and asked, "Niel, does Andrew… know?"She felt uneasy. Andrew had not shown any clear signs of wanting to be engaged to whom before, so why did he suddenly decide to be with Luna? Had he found out about their plan that day, leading to an accelerated engagement with Luna?If that was the case, Mandy and Niel would be infuriated. Niel looked at Mandy, stunned by her remark. After careful thought, he found Mandy's speculation quite plausible."What does he know?" Janet and Liam inquired.While Mandy remained silent, Niel pondered for a moment and said, "I wanted Mandy and Andrew to be together, so I did something, and Andrew might already know."Niel felt embarrassed by it too. After all, it was not a noble act. Janet asked, "What did you do?"Niel confessed, "I...
The receptionist did not reply. Gloria: [You're in trouble. I can't save you now.]The receptionist: [No, I haven't eaten it yet.]Gloria: [Good thing you haven't. I'm coming down.]As soon as the receptionist received Gloria's message, Gloria stepped out of the elevator.Upon reaching the front desk and noticing the bag of strawberry laces opened on the desk, Gloria glared at the receptionist. "You said you hadn't eaten it!"The receptionist looked a little guilty. "I just opened it and haven't had a chance to take one yet."Gloria sneered. "Haven't had a chance? You sound like you regret it."“I don't.""You can't afford this cup of bubble tea. If you did take one, watch out… You might lose your job."The receptionist paused in surprise. "Is it expensive?"Gloria nodded. "It is."“Good thing I didn't take one," the receptionist mumbled. Gloria rolled her eyes. If they were not on the same team, she would not even bother saving her."Why is this bag of strawberry laces
Chris chuckled. "Really?"Paige's face turned slightly red. She felt embarrassed saying that, and it felt like Chris did not believe her. However, she bit the bullet and nodded. "Yeah, really."Chris smiled and said, "Well then, when you miss me next time, don't just think about it because thinking won't do you any good. When you miss me or care about me, just send me a message or call to check in. After all, I can’t read minds. Also, if you want to hug me, just hug me. Don't hold Hunter in your arms and say you want to hug me. That's just hypocritical."Paige faltered. Hug him when she wanted to hug him? Thanks, but she did not want to hug him. She could easily pick up Hunter, but could she lift Chris so easily? She was not that strong, to begin with."Remember. From now on, when you think of me, send me a message. Ask me if I've eaten, what I've eaten, if I'm tired from work, what I'm doing, or tell me what you're thinking about. Don't keep it all to yourself," Chris said wit
What did he take her for?Besides, what could a woman do with photos? She was not one of those perverted men who did some creepy stuff with women’s photos."Nothing worth admiring?" Chris raised an eyebrow.Paige nodded. "Yeah, they’re nothing worth admiring."Indeed, there was nothing worth admiring about the photos."Ha!” Chris snickered.Paige remained silent and thought, ‘Here comes the snickering again.’"You don’t mean what you say," Chris remarked.Paige frowned. "What did I say that implies otherwise? You're a strange one. You're right here in front of me. Why would I need to admire the photos?"Chris grinned. "So you don't want to admire the photos, but you want to admire me, a living person."Paige blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed. She did not mean that, but what she just said seemed to imply exactly that."How would you want to admire me?" Chris teased.Admire was such an intriguing word.Paige blushed harder. "How else can I admire you? Just by looking,
Before Hunter was born, Chris was the absolute darling of the family. His grandfather favored him, and his parents loved him dearly.However, Hunter's arrival had changed everything. The elders in the family revolved around Hunter all day long. Zander’s first question upon waking up each morning was about Hunter, followed by Ann cuddling Hunter, calling him her darling, and so on.It seemed like everyone had forgotten about Chris.How could Chris, who had always been so cherished, accept that?Chris's expression stiffened as if his thoughts had been unexpectedly revealed, his eyes flickering momentarily.Paige chuckled and said, "Are you seriously competing with a child for attention? Besides, you've been pampered by the family for so many years. Hunter has only been pampered for a few days."Chris retorted coldly, "I'm not competing with him."Paige did not buy it for a second. She smiled and said, "Sure, you're not competing with him. You're just afraid we'll spoil Hunter."A
Before, Paige could not understand people showing off their babies and wondered why they would go crazy posting their kids on social media. Now, she got it. She found her kid to be the cutest in the world and could not help but snap his photos and post them on her social media platforms to share him with others, hoping for compliments and praise for her little one.However, she also understood that posting too much could annoy people. Hence, she restrained herself to only posting once a day and made sure to fit in a couple of photos!That was her absolute limit!She felt uneasy if she did not post her baby for a day. Then, when she saw her friends' comments praising her little one, she felt happy and proud, like they were getting closer as friends.Indeed, becoming a mom had changed her mindset.Chris, who was watching Paige show off their baby on social media, was even more dissatisfied! They had been married for a long time and had a child together, yet his appearances o
After what felt like ages, Ava lay on the hotel's large bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as the sound of rushing water filled her ears. Niel was in the shower. After releasing his pent-up emotions, he headed straight for the shower. Meanwhile, she lay there, her body aching. She did not want to move a muscle because every movement brought pain.Niel was thrilled with the new experience, but Ava was suffering. She was starting to regret getting involved with Niel. He was going overboard with satisfying his physical needs, and she feared that if things continued like that, Niel might end up causing her harm or maybe even unintentionally ending her life. She had heard of such things happening before, so now, she was caught between a rock and a hard place.On one hand, she did not want to let go of Niel and give up on all the sacrifices and efforts she had put in when she was on the brink of marrying into a wealthy family and becoming a billionaire's wife. On the other han
Pierre fell silent, pondering Shelly's words carefully. Upon reflection, he found Shelly's proposal to be pretty reasonable and entirely feasible. If he were to wait until Shelly entered prison to serve her sentence, he could break up with her afterward. Once his relationship with Shelly ended, his parents would not be as angry. Even if there were some constraints preventing them from openly helping him, they could still assist him discreetly. After all, he was their son, who shared the same blood with them. His parents could not possibly abandon him entirely and let him fend for himself. By lowering himself in front of his parents, he believed they would not neglect him. By then, acquiring the five million dollars would not be too difficult.Shelly watched Pierre, not pressing him to respond. She believed Pierre knew what choice to make. Five million might seem like an astronomical figure, but for the second son of the Alfonsos, it was not much.After much deliberation
She looked at the evil smile on Chris' face, and it all came back to her.Did Chris Intentionally take Hunter to the guest room to hand him over to the nanny so that it would make it easier for him to do what he wanted? What a scumbag! However, since it was something she had personally agreed to, she would not back out.Paige did not resist Chris, and a long time later, she collapsed on the bed. She felt like she should have taken care of Hunter and not fallen for Chris' tricks.Taking care of a child was not as exhausting!She was too tired to even move her fingers.The next day, Paige slept until late morning and then got up to go down for breakfast.When Ann saw Paige, she asked with concern, "Paige, didn't you sleep well last night?"Paige looked really worn out."Didn't Hunter sleep with the nanny last night?" Ann asked curiously.Paige blushed with embarrassment and said, "Last night… I wasn't used to sleeping without Hunter, so I didn't get a good sleep."Ann smile
Even if she offered her sincerity, Chris would not appreciate it, so what else could she offer? "Is money the only thing you have? Do you have nothing else besides money?" Chris said.He thought she was truly clueless. Even after being married for so long and having a child together, did she not know what he wanted?However, Paige was indeed puzzled. Besides money, what else did she have? What else could she have?Chris looked her up and down, speechless. Paige might not have understood what he meant before, but she did now. He meant that although she did not have money, she still had a young body.It seemed all Chris lusted was her body."I’m still recovering," Paige said with a slight blush on her face. She knew Chris had been patient for a long time. They barely had any intimacy during the last trimester of her pregnancy, but there was nothing she could do. She did not want to refuse him, but her body would not allow it.Chris glanced at Paige and said, "We can try other