Niel said, "Do you not know what I'm doing?"Shelly responded, "I have a rough idea about your and Mandy’s intentions. Although I can't stop you now, I hope you won't escalate things. Making a big thing out of it will negatively impact Pierre. Pierre is my man, the father of my child. You and Pierre are in the same boat, so I hope you won't take things too far.""I understand," Niel replied.Shelly then hung up the phone without saying anything else.Niel frowned slightly after hanging up, pondering over Shelly's words. He found Shelly's words were a little odd.Escalate things?Niel's eyes lit up. Yes, why had he not thought of escalating things?Although Luna, as the Jewel family's heiress, was usually low-key, she still had some level of fame online due to her status.The news of the Jewells’ heiress going to a hotel with a married man late at night would surely trend online and create a scandal. If manipulated correctly, it could go viral. Such scandals could ruin a woman,
Moreover, Pierre was not the right man for Luna.Setting aside all material conditions, the fundamental reason was that Pierre did not love Luna, not even a bit.His heart was taken by another woman, and Luna would not find happiness with a man like Pierre.That was what angered Ann; she was angry at Luna's lack of backbone.What was so special about a man like Pierre anyway?"Pierre got drunk," Luna said. "He called me in the middle of the night and sounded pretty intoxicated. I was worried he might get into an accident, so I tried calling Shelly to pick him up, but she didn't answer. I had no choice but to go and get him."Ann frowned at Luna, saying nothing.Luna continued, "Mom, I know what you're worried about. Don't worry. I don't have any feelings for Pierre now. I just see him as a very ordinary friend. If it was another ordinary friend who called me last night, alone and drunk with no one else around, and I couldn't reach their family to pick them up, I would’ve gone to
Stunned, Luna thought for a moment again and shook her head. "No."Whether her marriage ended up good or bad, it was her choice, and she would silently endure it without telling anyone."If you weren't doing well but voluntarily told Pierre about it, how do you think you would tell him these things? Would you regret it? Would you want Pierre to pity and sympathize with you, or would you try to convey some kind of ambiguous message to Pierre?" Paige asked.Luna looked at Paige. She wanted to say that she would not, but without being in that situation, she did not know.She was materially wealthy now, so she would not do anything immoral. Even if she were married, she found confiding in an admirer and seeking his sympathy and pity unethical.However, what if she were really poor?Although she was born wealthy, she was not ignorant of the hardships of life. She knew that in order to live a slightly better life, many people in society had to sacrifice a lot and sometimes even do thin
How could Paige respond to that?There was simply no way she could answer that.Did she have to narcissistically claim that Chris liked her or that he was shameless toward her and only her?How could she say such embarrassing words? How would Luna see her if she said that?Luna sighed with a smile. "I never expected my brother, who always appears prim and proper, to be so shameless behind closed doors."She then winked suggestively at Paige.Paige's face grew even redder, and she wanted to run from the conversation, but she forced herself to stay.Although she was around Luna's age, she was Luna's sister-in-law. If she fled, how could she face Luna in the future?No, she could not flee.She was a married woman who was about to have a child, and there was nothing for her to be shy about. If Luna was not shy about it, why should she be?Paige forced herself to stand tall and say, "It's not just your brother. Men are all the same behind closed doors.""Really?" Luna asked.She
Pierre, despite knowing that Luna no longer loved him, could not let go.What if he was mistaken? What if Luna still loved him?He refused to give up just yet.As such, he started testing the waters by asking Luna to meet up and chatting with her more frequently on WhatsApp.However, Luna's responses were cold. He asked her out several times, and she always made excuses to decline. Even in their WhatsApp chats, he would send several messages, and she would reply with just one or two messages, often after several minutes or sometimes even after tens of minutes.At that point, Pierre finally understood that Luna truly did not love him anymore.Back then, Luna would reply instantly when he messaged her on WhatsApp. No matter when he messaged her, even late at night, Luna would reply instantly.No, to be precise, he never used to initiate WhatsApp conversations with Luna. It was Luna who would initiate conversations with him every day, for various reasons and excuses, while he would
He thought she belonged to Chris and held leverage over Chris, so he deliberately approached her and tried to charm her into handing over the leverage she had over Chris!Upon reflection, Niel had mentioned several times about wanting to get his hands on any dirt on Chris. It was she who did not think much of it, and now, it seemed like Niel wanted her to hand over the leverage to him voluntarily.At that moment, Ava wanted to take a good look in the mirror and see if she was that much like a tool.If not, why did everyone treat her like a tool?First, it was Randall, and now it was Niel.In her life, the only men she had truly loved were Randall and Niel. However, two men did not love her; they only saw her as a tool.Was she destined to never experience real love? Was she only worthy of being a tool?Ava looked at Niel.If she said she was not Chris' pawn and did not have leverage over Chris, what would Niel do?He would probably get angry and refuse to believe her, but most
She could take some photos and videos of them or secretly record what Niel said during their conversations.It was just too easy."Niel, let's work together," Ava said with a smile."Sure, let's work together," Niel replied, though there was no smile on his face.However, Ava could not see it, and likewise, Niel could not see the look of Ava scheming behind his back.Two people embraced yet harbored ulterior motives against each other.… Paige had been restless for the past few days and knew exactly what was bothering her.Her due date was just a few days away, and she was afraid.Even though she knew Chris had made all the necessary preparations and knew that most women had to go through childbirth, she could not help but feel scared.She had heard that giving birth to a child was very painful, but she did not know what kind of pain it was, only that it was excruciating.Although she might have experienced mental pain throughout her life, she had never experienced physical
The medical staff remained by Paige's bedside, constantly monitoring her condition.According to them, Paige was only two centimeters dilated, so it was still early for delivery.Paige felt hopeless.Why was it still early when she was already in so much pain? How much longer until it was time? How much longer did she have to endure the pain?Could she be so unlucky to endure the pain in labor for days and nights, like some mothers did? "What about a cesarean section?" Chris asked Paige.Paige gritted her teeth and said, "I'll endure a little longer.""I'm afraid if you endure a little longer and then can't handle it, we'll end up with a cesarean section, and all this pain will be for nothing," Chris commented. Paige glared at him.Although what he said was infuriating, it made sense.She had seen many similar cases on Reddit. They all knew that natural birth was better for both the mother and the child, so they endured the pain. However, it became unbearable in the end, an
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