"Uncle Cliff…" Natalie was at a loss.She had never imagined the once high and mighty Cliff would resort to such an act.Just then, hurried footsteps approached.As Natalie turned her head, she caught sight of a familiar face."Why are you doing this? Get up! Get up now!" Henry quickly went to Cliff's side and pulled him to his feet.Natalie's firmness in this matter was something he had witnessed yet again. Even with Cliff kneeling and pleading, she still didn't want to be with him. So, he had to face reality.Oh, how much she detested him."Uncle Cliff, I should be going back now." Natalie quickly shifted her gaze away from Henry and turned to leave.This time, Henry didn't chase after her. He simply watched her leave with pain in his eyes.Then, he quickly averted his gaze and turned angrily to Cliff. "Why did you have to meddle? Did I ask you to intervene?"Do you even know what it means to consult someone?" Henry turned his face away, dissatisfied.Clif glanced at him
Elsie was visibly annoyed, and her face was set in a scowl. However, she was unable to come up with a retort.For some reason, she was particularly bothered by Leslie's presence.Perhaps it was because she had witnessed how much Hugh had doted on Leslie over the years.Seeing that her adversary had fallen silent, Leslie simply walked away. She hadn't planned on lingering in the mall anyway. However, just as she was about to leave to check another counter, a voice called out, "Les!"Leslie had encountered Harper once before, so she recognized her voice.Leslie then glanced over and noticed that another previous brand's counter had been cleared out. Now, it was being replaced by a jewelry line under TK International.Harper was probably overseeing the progress there."I didn't expect to run into you here. I haven't had the chance to apologize for last time. I'm sorry for Mom's misunderstanding," Harper spoke in a soft voice.But more than Harper's words, what caught Leslie's at
Leslie met Hugh's gaze.For a moment, she almost softened. She'd almost got deceived again by those deep, affectionate eyes of his.However, she quickly forced herself to look away, not entertaining his presence. Then, she turned back to her car.This time, Hugh stepped aside. Then, he called out to her, "Les, I'll see you in a couple of days."Leslie heard his words and mumbled under her breath, "'See you', my foot!"…Soon, the day of Natalie's departure was approaching, and Leslie proposed a get-together as a farewell for her.Natalie felt such occasions were somewhat melancholic. But she was unable to resist Leslis's insistence and eventually agreed.Before going to the dinner, Natalie first made a trip to the Montte Villa, where Owen was currently living.Even though Owen was now suffering from dementia, she felt it was right to say farewell to him given his kindness toward her.After all, the next time she'd see him would be after half a year, when her study abroad prog
Due to the secluded location where Henry had parked, Natalie couldn't see his car at all from where she stood.Henry rolled down the window as his deep eyes unblinkingly watched her figure.If Natalie had asked him personally to stay for dinner, he would have agreed without hesitation. But it was clear she didn't want him to stay.Perhaps she truly resented him for the troubles and hurt he had caused her.Henry had forgotten how he managed to get through the past few days.Despite his strong desire to be close to Natalie, he had to force himself to maintain a distance.His heart felt as if it were being fried in oil, enduring constant torment.Soon, Natalie drove away.Henry then instructed his driver to follow her, keeping a discreet distance.When Natalie arrived at Zenith Diner, Henry realized that she was meeting Leslie for a meal.It looked like a celebration of her upcoming departure abroad…He hadn't expected her to be so eager to leave the country.Was there nothing
Without saying much, Henry slowly approached the table. He stared at the back of Natalie's head for several seconds before gently bending down and lifting her in his arms.Meanwhile, Leslie watched as they left.As Henry was about to reach the door, she called out from behind, "She's had a hard enough time these past years. I hope you can make the rest of her life sweeter."Although Henry didn't react, he absorbed every word Leslie said.He then looked down at the person in his arms again. He noticed her furrowed brows and the sadness on her face."Natalie, no matter how much you push me away this time, I won't give up on you," Henry whispered to her before placing her in the back seat of the car.Henry didn't take Natalie back to her place. Instead, he brought her to Emerald Bay.He then laid Natalie on the couch. Just as he was about to turn around to fetch some water to help her wash up, his wrist was caught."Don't go…" Natalie's voice was soft, but it was clear enoug
Sheldon's face was etched with disbelief as he listened.His heart felt as though it had been suddenly torn open, sending intense pain coursing through him.The truth behind it all was far more piercing than he had ever imagined.He thought his parents' indifference over the years was solely because they were still grieving Gerald's death.But he never considered that he wasn't their child at all!It seemed that his entire existence was just to shield Gerald from misfortune.John noticed that Sheldon's face had turned deathly pale and continued, "But how could we have known? We adopted you, but in the end, it turned out that you were the one who caused Gerald's death!"Amie stood silently to the side, seemingly unsure of what to say in such a moment. But Sheldon could tell from Amie's reaction that John's words were true."So, Sheldon, let me tell you. You owe the Cook family! You owe Gerald, and you owe us!" John asserted righteously.Sheldon's eyes gradually reddened.He mo
Sheldon and Lyla didn't expect this to happen, and both of their faces were slightly reddened.Sheldon quickly stood up and cleared his throat in embarrassment."I told you to stand up on your own, didn't I? But you simply had to drag me into this…"Even though Lyla was an open-minded woman who had been abroad for a few years, she still seemed a bit gawky when she got too close to the man she admired.…Natalie was waiting at Emerald Bay for a while.However, she wasn't waiting for Henry to return like what she was told to do. She was actually thinking about their relationship.She had to admit that she still had feelings for Henry. Or else, there wouldn't be a suffocating pain in her chest whenever she thought of leaving him. And she wouldn't have made love with him the previous night.However, she couldn't put Henry in a difficult position because of her own desire. Since Henry might have found out why she wanted to leave the country, she couldn't possibly avoid him anymore
Wade lowered his eyes, but then, he suddenly realized something. "Do you mean Jasper Brown?"After all, no one held a deeper grudge against Henry than Jasper Brown. He was dying to take his revenge on Henry.On top of that, ordinary people wouldn't dare to touch Henry even if they disliked him. But Jasper had some power, and he wasn't afraid of using it.Henry remained silent, his eyes filled with murderous intent."Mr. Chase, what should we do now?" Wade asked hurriedly.As much as Henry wanted to make Jasper pay, he was more anxious to know Natalie's whereabouts now.He would settle with Jasper another day."Forget about Jasper. I want Natalie to be found first," Henry said with worried eyes."Alright, Mr. Chase. We'll do as you ordered." Wade understood it right away.…Meanwhile, at the Brown residence, Thomas was listening to his men's report. Apparently, he wasn't happy about the outcome of the report."Enough. Get out!" Thomas waved his hand.After the men left,
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