"Isn't everything I've gone through just for liking you enough to pay the price?" Natalie looked like she was on the verge of breaking down.She could no longer afford to put up with more.Henry had been unceasingly casting aside his dignity and pride for her lately.And now, her words fell on him like a volley of arrows, wounding him emotionally."Natalie Shepherd, I've already put aside everything just to cheer you up. What else do you want from me? Why must you cling to the past?"Even though he had been wading through the business industry for years, he had never encountered such a challenging problem.Why on earth was coaxing a woman so much tougher than perfecting a project?"Getting impatient, are you? Go ahead and return to your work, then."Anyhow, I've never begged you to please me." She merely glanced at him and turned to leave.He was about to go after her when his burned shoulder ached. The pain seemed to spread all the way to his heart.That damn woman! To save
Recovering from her shock, Leslie managed to identify that person. It was Hugh.She couldn't believe her eyes at first because she had never seen him in such a pitiful state. Still, she recognized the watch on his wrist immediately.She designed that watch herself, and it was also the first present she gave him that could be considered a valuable piece.She couldn't understand why he'd keep that watch on even though they had already broken up. On the other hand, she had already disposed of everything related to him."You should be sleeping at this hour. What are you doing here?" Her brows were deeply creased as she looked at Hugh, who was sitting on the ground.Hugh slowly looked up. It was then she realized that his eyes were red-rimmed, as though he had been crying.The sight of him being in a state of dejectedness tugged at her heartstrings. However, she maintained her frosty facade.She said, "You shouldn't come running to me, no matter what you're going through."She inten
"Ms. Shepherd," Wade greeted politely before saying anything else.Natalie calmly hummed in response.He continued formally, "I'm calling to inform you that you'll be liaising with me regarding the design for that plot of land hereon. For the time being, Mr. Chase will be busy preparing for his marriage."Upon hearing that, she felt a greater sense of reality that Henry was getting married soon.Before this, he had had many scandals with various women, but those scandals were all proven false. It was different this time.Still, whether it was true or not, what did it have to do with her?So, almost immediately, she nonchalantly replied, "Sure. I'll contact you after I've completed the draft.""Alright. I shall not take up too much of your time. Goodbye." With that, Wade ended the call. He was actually in Henry's office then.During the call, he had turned on the speaker, so Henry heard every word Natalie had to say. He noticed the gloomy expression Henry wore.Leonard, sitting
"I'm actually already used to their scornful remarks. I just can't tolerate it when they target my innocent father." Natalie couldn't help but feel her temper rising whenever she recalled their sarcastic comments.At the same time, she blamed herself for it.She really wanted to overturn the verdict Daniel received, but he never agreed and always refused to bring up the incident. Now that he was gone, she was even more clueless about how to go about it."Don't take their words to heart, and don't let insignificant news get to you." Sheldon locked his gaze on her face.He was worried that the news published in the morning would affect her. So, when he saw her heading to the break room, he followed.He didn't expect to overhear that conversation.Natalie got the hint and smiled slightly. "Don't worry. I won't let it affect my mood.""That's great, then." He smiled."Oh, right. You helped me, and I promised to treat you to a meal previously. Why don't I buy you dinner tonight?
Natalie returned to her senses and immediately masked her wavering emotions. "It's nothing. But yeah, I know how to cycle."Sheldon smiled faintly. "The sunset seems glorious today. Why don't we cycle over there? The restaurant isn't too far away.""Sure, let's do it," she agreed to his suggestion.Amid the hustle and bustle of city life, it was alright to slow down occasionally and enjoy life, right?"Alright, now let's go get ourselves two bikes."With that, he crossed to the opposite side of the road where they rented their bikes.Natalie cycled behind him. On the way, they idly chatted while cycling.It brought a satisfied smile to Sheldon's lips. He really hoped she would be there with him in times to come.The restaurant he was taking her to was indeed nearby. It took them slightly over ten minutes to reach by cycling.Upon reaching the restaurant, Natalie realized there were no other customers.Sheldon seemed to notice her confusion. "I reserved the entire place.""Yo
Natalie didn't hold it against him. Instead, she solemnly commented, "The song you wrote was beautiful, and the lyrics clearly expressed your sincerity, too."You wrote it for her, didn't you? Then you must sing it for her personally. I think she'll understand your feelings.""You think so? She's … actually quite the silly goose." He smiled bitterly.He wrote down their past together in those lyrics, yet Natalie evidently didn't remember any of that.But it made sense, though. She was only eight or nine years old then."How would you know if you never tried?" She pumped her fist and encouraged him, "All the best!"He merely smiled and ended the topic there. "Let's continue our dinner."After dinner, they cycled back to the company and parted ways in their respective cars.Natalie received a call from the police once she reached the hotel where she was staying.The fire originated from her unit, so the police had called her once before to gather more details. They also said the
Jennifer laughed inwardly as she pretentiously spoke up for Natalie. "Henry, you should let her continue being in charge. It's just a project …"Henry lowered his eyes to look at her. His tone softened as he said, "If I do that, it might lead to wild speculations from others. "Now that I'm marrying you, I'll ensure you don't feel upset in any way."Jennifer was naturally delighted when she heard him saying that.She knew the complete change in his attitude was only due to his need to cooperate with Cliff. From there, he could then find out where Owen was.However, she was satisfied with that. She believed Henry would discover her merits, and they would grow closer as time passed.On the other hand, Natalie burst out laughing upon listening to her.She didn't hold back on her sarcasm as she remarked, "It seems Mr. Chase is truly a romantic. It would be immature of me if I rejected your decision."Henry looked coolly at her and pulled out a check from his pocket.He handed it t
The house was near the night market, and it was a lively area at night. It was also well-equipped.Natalie probably didn't know it, but Sheldon was the one who found her that house.It wasn't only convenient in terms of transport but was also quite close to Dawn Corporation.However, he feared she wouldn't accept his kindness if he were too direct, so he had Leslie take over.As for the items in the house, Sheldon was also the one who got someone to prepare them beforehand.He heard about the fire, too, and the news left him feeling fearful.So, he also arranged for bodyguards to stay close to Natalie. They would be watching out for her safety without her knowing.As much as Sheldon had done for her, he didn't think she had to know. From his point of view, it was worth it as long as Natalie could live more comfortably because of his arrangements.Leslie hung around for a while before leaving.Natalie felt bored being all by herself. She recalled the photography studio being
Once Henry and Natalie arrived at the competition venue, Henry made a beeline for the participants' entrance. Meanwhile, family members like Natalie headed straight to the lobby.Natalie had already spotted a few prominent figures in the architectural design field. Some were competing, others were judging.After seeing Henry disappear into the exclusive lane, Natalie strolled toward the lobby.When all the competitors and judges took their places, the host took to the stage to kick off the competition.Due to the language barrier, Natalie could only catch the gist of what the host was saying.Eventually, a sentence flashed on the big screen. After translating it, it read, "A theatre."It seemed that the challenge would be to design a theatre.After the theme was announced, the screen switched to a live feed of the competition area. Competitors had their own designated space.Within the competition area sat dozens of top-tier architects, who all had produced significant works be
Henry cleared his throat and smiled at Mercy. He tried to keep his smile gentle and even spoke softly.But it only took a few seconds of him singing to cause Mercy to burst into tears, her face filled with resistance.The corners of Henry's mouth twitched. Was he that scary?Natalie was stunned by this. What was going on? It seemed that Mercy was a difficult child!Henry and Natalie had arrived in the city a few days before the competition. It was Henry's idea. He said he still owed Natalie a honeymoon trip, so he decided to make it up to her during this overseas trip.They visited many places and took many photos during their free time.Looking at the photos on her phone and then at Henry sleeping beside her, a satisfied smile appeared on Natalie's face.She tiptoed over and pecked Henry on the forehead. "Henry, I never felt more happy."But as soon as she leaned back, she saw Henry with his eyes opened. Under the dim light, his eyes shone brightly with a hint of danger."Ste
Why was Harry here?Time sure flew by. In the blink of an eye, it had been almost three months since Shirley divorced Harry."Shirl, I'll excuse myself since the guest is here. Take your time!" her boss said and retreated to the nearby restroom.All of a sudden, the entire coffee shop fell quiet, and the atmosphere became tense.Shirley and Harry stared at each other, feeling as if time had come to a standstill. In the end, it was Harry who broke the silence. "Let's start.""Why are you…" Shirley still found it hard to believe."It's your birthday today. How could I miss it?" Harry offered a faint smile.Shirley wasn't sure how genuine Harry's feelings for her were at the beginning of their marriage. But she had to admit, Harry never missed any of their anniversaries, or her birthday during the time they were together.But she never thought Harry would still show up and celebrate her birthday with her after the divorce."It's my birthday, yet you're still making me draw
"I see. Then I'll visit Cece after you return," Shane said as he cast a loving gaze at Natalie.As he watched Natalie leave, he couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude and relief.Thankfully, he had realized life's true meaning before it was too late. And fortunately, he still had the opportunity to make different choices and correct his past mistakes. …When Natalie walked out of the Yoder residence, she headed straight to the car parked at the gate.She reached out to open the door, but she realized that she couldn't even grip the handle.But this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.Whenever she tried to pick up a bowl, it would slip from her fingers and shatter on the floor.Whenever she attempted to hold a pen to sign documents, she could barely steady it, resulting in a signature that looked like gibberish.She found herself unable to perform even the simplest of tasks, and much less when it came to lifting heavy objects.Although Henry had been reassur
Natalie didn't know how to respond to such a subject.Though she didn't harbor any resentment toward Celine, it was quite impossible for her to see Celine as importantly as she did Yvonne. Celine might be her biological mother, but she was still like a stranger to her—especially after years of separation.…With Natalie's intervention, the shareholders of the Yoder Group finally calmed down.However, it wasn't because they weren't wary of her identity as Shane Yoder's daughter, but rather, it was because of her identity as Henry Chase's wife.Offending her would also mean offending Henry Chase, and they certainly wanted to avoid that at all costs. Shortly after the chaos at the Yoder Group subsided, Shane finally regained consciousness.The moment he woke up, all he saw was Jonah busy taking care of him.Just then, Jonah was walking toward Shane with a wet towel in hand. He was startled to see that Shane was awake."Dad… " Overwhelmed with joy, Jonah called out to Shane.
Leonard looked up in surprise and saw that Rachel was angrily storming toward him.Apparently, she was the one who had thrown the book at him."Ra-Rachel, what's the matter?" Leonard's mind was racing, but he couldn't figure out what he had done to anger her.Nevertheless, he was ready to admit his mistakes and correct them accordingly."See for yourself!" Rachel picked up the book she'd thrown at him and tossed it to him.Leonard calmly took the book and noticed a striking headline on the book cover."Shocking! Former CEO of Velvet Star Entertainment Is the Boss Behind Sky Entertainment?"Well, the cat was out of the bag.Leonard cleared his throat and pondered on how to explain this to Rachel. But before he could say anything, Rachel spoke up instead, saying, "How could you lie to me? Do you know that I couldn't sleep for nights, worrying that you couldn't find a job?"I felt so guilty that you were kicked out by your father and even lost your job because of me! Every day, I
However, Celine wasn't aware that when she'd quickly run off, Henry had shown up at the other end of the hallway.Although Celine was quite far away, Henry could still tell that it was her.When Henry saw her, he briefly paused at wheeling himself. It was only when Celine's figure completely vanished at the elevator that he wheeled himself into Natalie's ward.He had just finished speaking with the doctor in his office regarding Natalie's condition. The doctor informed him that Natalie might not be able to hold pens for some time. And even if Natalie was able to take care of herself in the later stages of recovery, her hands might not be as agile as before. This news would undoubtedly be devastating to a designer who relied on her hands to draw sketches.On his way back to the ward, Henry had pondered how he should break the news to Natalie. However, he couldn't find an answer.As he entered the ward and wheeled himself to the side of Natalie's bed, he gazed at her with a
When Natalie was pushed off from the seventh floor, her phone had fallen out of her pocket and had subsequently gotten smashed.And so, her phone had been turned off since, rendering Lavender unable to reach her.Lavender frowned, feeling uneasy.When Celine noticed Lavender's strange expression, she quickly asked, "Did you get through?"Lavender shook her head and said, "I'll try Henry's number again." Celine's heart leaped into her throat as she waited.Luckily, Henry quickly picked up the phone this time."Mr. Chase, may I know where Natalie is right now? She missed my wedding today," Lavender anxiously said."She's in the hospital," Henry honestly told her.Lavender furrowed her brows. "Which hospital?""Community Care Hospital.""Got it. Thank you." Lavender hung up the phone. "What did he say?" Celine immediately asked as her heart pounded.Meanwhile, Jonah stared at Celine in confusion and wondered why she was so concerned about Natalie.Such excessive concern di
Lavender's gaze lifted to Jonah's well-defined jawline.Jonah's eyes were notably luminous too, just like they were in their past.Lavender had always been captivated by Jonah's eyes. They shone so brightly and clearly, like stars that were her guiding light.With the microphone in hand, Jonah surveyed the audience before commencing his address, "As you've all witnessed through those images… The past three years have been exceedingly difficult for me. "Throughout that period, I was unaware of the extent of the disgraceful actions I'd committed, nor can I fully comprehend the turmoil those close to me have endured on my behalf. "Yet, if there's one aspect of which I'm absolutely certain…"Jonah's gaze tenderly met Lavender's as he continued, "The woman standing beside me has truly done so much for me. The mere thought of what she endured, and the resilience she displayed during those challenging times, fills me with both awe and fear. "And the commitments I made to her have be