Henry looked at Natalie with a complicated look.It wasn't that he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Rather, both they and those around them had encountered too many events in recent times.And this led him to believe a notion he had once encountered—a person's mindset can gradually age. And this wasn't because of the passage of time, but rather because of their experiences."If there's nothing pressing, perhaps it's best to stay at home for a while. After all, there's no harm in it," Henry suggested without disclosing his concern about Natalie's background.However, his intuition told him that Natalie's background couldn't be kept hidden for long.Natalie was also well aware of Henry's disposition, so she knew that further inquiry would be futile if he chose to stay silent.Thus, she nodded without further question. "Alright, then please take me home."After witnessing, particularly, what had happened with Lucas, Natalie believed even more firmly that if someone wanted y
Celine wrestled with a sense of indebtedness as she continued to utilize Lavender's financial support.Despite Lavender's willingness to assist her, Celine struggled to fully embrace her generosity without reservations."Where are we headed to now?" Jonah asked in confusion."We're taking you home," Lavender responded with a gentle tone."Home? Home?" Jonah echoed, his confusion apparent."It's the place where we'll be living together from now on," Lavender briefly explained.Jonah gave a thoughtful nod as he processed the information.Meanwhile, Celine was gazing out the window during the ride. Upon noticing a huge hotel, she instructed the taxi driver, "Please stop here.""Ms. Celine, is there something you need to attend to?" Lavender asked in surprise.Celine hadn't mentioned any plans to stop on their way home, so Lavender assumed that Celine would accompany her and Jonah back to their home."Um, yes… A friend has invited me to dine here, and I've already accepted," Ce
As Cesar had expected, Shane didn't like what he'd heard."A hard time? They're just having a hard time financially, whereas I'm under unbearable stress! Who's the real one having a hard time now?" Shane asked in a low tone.Having achieved his purpose of adding fuel to the fire, Cesar remained silent and simply wore a light grin on his face."You know what to do, don't you?" Shane glanced at Cesar and asked.Cesar nodded lightly and answered, "Yes, leave it to me."After Celine left the hotel in her hurry, she scanned her surroundings with a blank expression.The street was bustling, and everyone seemed to have somewhere to go and something to do.Whereas she… She had nowhere to go or anything to do.Even if she wanted to look for a job, she might somehow bump into Shane again. And her self-esteem did not want Shane to see her work for money. That would be such a humiliation.However, that was how life was. Sometimes, it didn't go the way we wanted it to.…Meanwhile, Lav
Lavender had been so excited and happy just a moment ago. But now, she couldn't help but feel a little down."I-Is this the only one you've got?" She tried her luck and asked."Yes, all our wedding dresses are handmade, so there's only one of them," the sales associate said regrettably."I see. Let me change out of it then." Lavender wanted to make things easy for the sales associate too."Would you like to try other dresses, miss? We have some other nice new designs." The sales associate tried to interest her in other dresses.But Lavender wasn't in the mood for dresses anymore now. "No thanks, maybe next time," she answered.Sometimes, when we had our minds set on something the moment we laid eyes on it, it would be impossible to find a substitute for it.Hence, Lavender knew that no other dress would catch her eyes now.Meanwhile, Jonah had been sitting there quietly. When Lavender went back to the dressing room, he lowered his head and squeezed his hands, as though he was
Jonah was probably frightened, and he kept his head as low as he could while he squeezed his hands.It pained Lavender's heart to see Jonah like that.However, she was aware that she couldn't get anything out of Jonah, so she turned to Cesar and asked, "What did you do to him?"But Cesar was smiling casually, as if he had nothing to do with any of this. "You shouldn't ask me what I did. You should ask what he did.""What do you mean?" Lavender stared at him.Cesar turned his head and gestured with a glance. A man who was standing beside him immediately said, "Today, as soon as our wedding dress counter was opened for business, he rushed in and tried to snatch a wedding dress on a mannequin."When Lavender heard what the man said, she felt as if something had pierced through her heart. It was a subtle, yet sharp and clear pain.She couldn't help but turn around and look at Jonah, who still kept his head lowered. Then, her eyes welled up with tears.Jonah… He was brought to t
There was a raging flame burning in Cesar's heart as he felt a strong pain on his cheek.As much as he wanted to return the favor, he suppressed his rage and calmed himself down.Instead of showing his anger, he smiled lightly. "This is the first time that anyone has ever slapped me. Since you're the one who slapped me, I might never forget this slap.""Enough with the bullshit, Cesar Yoder! Don't tell me you're not the one behind all this." Lavender furiously questioned him.Cesar raised his hand and slightly touched his aching cheek.Then, instead of answering Lavender's questions, he said, "Can't you see, Lavender? After what happened today, can't you see how difficult it'll be if you really choose to be with Jonah?"You'll never know what kind of mess you'd need to clean up for him! Why don't you save yourself some trouble and find someone who can protect you, someone who can solve everything for you? Why must you be the one protecting others?" Cesar found it incomprehensible
"Mr. Yoder, Mr. Cesar is here. Shall I let him in?" a waiter stood at the door and asked politely.Henry sat there with a calm expression while he quietly clenched his hands under the table. It looked like Cesar was seriously concerned about this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here the minute he got that message."Can't you see I'm with guests? Ask him to wait outside! If there's something he'd like to report, he'll have to wait until after we finish our meal." Shane said, displeased. He couldn't stand ignorant people the most. He was trying to make it up to Natalie and Henry here. He couldn't possibly let Cesar see him groveling now, could he?The waiter was a little embarrassed and was about to leave. But before he could do so, Natalie said, "Actually, we don't mind having Mr. Cesar join us. We have plenty of food to share." Yet, Shane stood firm in his decision and gave a hollow laugh while shaking his head. "Don't worry. He's gotten used to waiting already. Come on, l
If Celine had to pick the one thing she regretted most, it would be the fact she bet her entire life on a man like Shane. "Look at the state Jonah is in! Yet you still want to report him as a thief? Do you want him to live in shame forever?" she exclaimed.Shane had just heard about this from his assistant. After all, he would definitely be the first to hear about his private safe being broken in. But he didn't expect the thief to be Jonah.However, Shane couldn't bring himself to care.Even though he had been Jonah's dad for over 20 years, Jonah wasn't his biological son. So, why should he care?Shane huffed. "Celine, don't cause trouble here. What? Am I supposed to forgive your son even if he burns down my company? "If I let him go today, people will think I'm a pushover and might come to cause trouble in the future. And if that happens, what should I do then?"But Celine didn't want to hear Shane's lame excuses."I'll agree to any condition as long as you let Jonah go.
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