Natalie lifted her eyes and met Lana's icy expression.Usually, with Sheldon as Natalie's support, Lana felt powerless. But today, with Sheldon away on a business trip, Lana was determined to make Natalie suffer a bit."Everyone here at Dawn Corporation is an architect selected through rigorous screening, and you …" Lana disdainfully glanced at the nameplate on Natalie's chest and continued, "are just a mere architect's assistant. Do you even deserve a seat?"All eyes turned to Natalie. Most people here harbored hostility toward her and believed she got in solely through connections.Knowing her situation well, Natalie cooperatively responded, "If Ms. Holmes says so, then I'll stand."Lana pulled back her gaze, a cold gleam flickering in her eyes. The drama of the day had only just started. Lana pledged to make sure Natalie would experience something noteworthy later!Soon, the meeting began. It was a session where several key architects took turns reporting their recent work.A
Sheldon paid close attention to every word Natalie uttered."I understand what you mean. I'll take care of this and make sure the person behind it is exposed!" Sheldon's tone carried a trace of displeasure.With Sheldon's help, Natalie felt more at ease. The helplessness that had enveloped her earlier dissipated."By the way, aren't you supposed to be on a business trip today? Why did you suddenly come back?" Natalie asked in confusion."The flight got canceled for some reason. I have to wait until tomorrow." Sheldon secretly celebrated the hiccup in his business trip, considering how Natalie might have faced today's situation alone if things had gone smoothly. "Thank you for showing up in time and helping me out today," Natalie expressed her gratitude with a smile.Sheldon smirked and spoke seriously, "After this incident, you'll likely face a lot of rumors. Can you handle it?"When the photos were first released, she felt a bit disoriented. But she had calmed down and mentall
A glint of coldness flashed in Henry's eyes as his lips tightened into a thin line, yet he remained silent.As Natalie observed him drive with a calm expression, her heart gradually sank with an ominous feeling. Natalie had an inkling that Henry wouldn't simply let matters rest.The vehicle navigated the road, but its direction diverged from the anticipated course toward the prison. Having a well-developed sense of direction honed from past visits to the prison, Natalie perceived the discrepancy."Is this the way to the prison?" Natalie asked directly.Henry gave a straightforward answer. "No.""Then where are we going?"Henry remained silent, focused on steering the wheel.Natalie felt uneasy and could only focus on the scenery outside the window.The prison was situated in the suburbs, and now, it was evident that they had strayed from the original route, finding themselves in another suburban area.Directly in front of them, a river stretched before them. Though a woode
Daniel looked at Henry fondly. He'd heard of their marriage when he was in prison.Every time the prison guards told him that Natalie had tried to visit him, he would feel his determination waver.He wanted to see his daughter. He had a lot of questions for her. However, he forced himself to drop the thought."Thank you for taking care of Natalie over the past few years. I should also thank your grandfather for helping me with all the trouble I left in my wake," he said. Even though he had been imprisoned, he could still guess what was happening outside.Henry smiled slightly and said dismissively, "It's nothing. Just doing what we're supposed to do." It didn't take long for Daniel to notice Natalie's baby bump."Is Natalie pregnant?" he asked, pleasantly surprised.Henry's expression soured.If Natalie was carrying his child, he would be happy. After all, that meant that he was going to be a father.Because of how Cliff had treated him throughout his childhood, he'd decided
During the early days of their marriage, Henry had spent his nights at the company.Once, Natalie had gathered her courage and called him. She had suppressed her sadness and asked nonchalantly, "Are you coming home tonight, Henry? Are you really going to leave your wife alone so soon after the wedding?""My wife? Did I ever acknowledge you as my wife?" Henry had scoffed in disdain. "I would never sleep in that house as long as you're staying there!"And for the next three years, he'd done exactly that.The only time he'd ever slept with her was by her orchestration, and even then, he wasn't even sober enough for it.Was he breaking his own rule tonight?Natalie followed him into the house.When the butler, Amos, saw them returning home together, he was ecstatic. "Sir, you've finally persuaded Mrs. Chase to return home!"Henry stopped in his tracks."I didn't have to do any persuading," he said, glancing at Natalie. "She came back by her own volition."He had to correct anythi
Henry pulled down the sleeves of his pajamas serenely, his expression betraying no emotion. "Oh?"This wasn't the first time Juliet had tried this tactic.At this point, he had to doubt the truthfulness of everything she said now.His indifference took Natalie aback. "Oh? Just oh? That was Juliet, Juliet Weaver, your long-time crush! Not just a random person. Why are you reacting like this?""Who said I have a crush on her?" Henry rolled his eyes. "Don't be so presumptuous."Natalie looked at him in confusion. She couldn't help but sigh at the situation. Even though Juliet had known him for so long, she had still ended up abandoned. Henry was too heartless. There was probably no one on Earth who could ever earn his love.Henry shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked in a low voice.Natalie looked away. "Nothing. I just thought of a saying.""What saying?" he asked curiously."Men are swine," she mumbled.Despite her mumbling,
Juliet went to several places to interview for a job, but none accepted her. When they heard her name, they immediately kicked her off the premises.Juliet nodded. "Yeah, I'll do anything to survive.""My friend owns a restaurant. He's looking for a live pianist for his restaurant …" As Stanley spoke, the pity in his eyes intensified. "Would this be beneath you?"After all, she had been a famous pianist just a few days ago. Her reputation had been destroyed overnight.Juliet smiled mirthlessly. "Have you forgotten I suffered a lot before I became famous? I'm just back to square one."However, she knew it would be much harder now to get back to where she used to be. She would have to be more cruel and ruthless this time.Stanley nodded. "Alright. If you don't mind the job, I'll call my friend.""Thanks."…Henry woke up early the next morning and found Natalie curled against his back. She tended to gravitate toward the center of the bed during the night, so she had spent most o
Natalie did not understand Henry's disdain. She looked at him in confusion and asked, "What was I supposed to do to show my respect?""Just get in the car." Henry refused to look at her. Even though she was pregnant, she couldn't dress so casually!Natalie decided to drop it and got into the car. Throughout the journey, she couldn't stop thinking about the music center project. She was so lost in thought that she looked distant and out of sorts.Henry felt upset when he noticed her expression. "Are you still thinking about Sheldon? You're already off work," he said sarcastically.Natalie's expression fell. "Henry, if I were you, I would keep my mouth shut if I knew I had nothing nice to say.""Then why do you look so distracted?" Henry asked, jealousy marring his tone.If it were before, Natalie would've told him about the project. She used to want to share everything with him.However, she did not see the need to do that now. From then on, he had nothing to do with her and
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