"The names of the first, second, and third-place winners are on this card. With over a thousand designers participating in the Creative Visions Competition, standing out from this pool speaks volumes about the winners' capabilities."The host smiled and continued, "Without further ado, I'll announce the third-place winner of this competition."Ten minutes later, the second and third-place winners stood together on stage, visibly thrilled. The anticipation lingered for the announcement of the champion.Natalie clenched her hands nervously, doubting any hope that her work would be recognized. Sensing her tension, Sheldon encouraged, "Stay confident. The yet-to-be-announced champion might just be you." Natalie managed a faint smile but lacked blind confidence."Finally, let's reveal the champion of this competition. Who could it be?" The host glanced at the card and smiled mysteriously. Natalie was breathless with anticipation."The champion in this competition used the code na
"If someone like you gets honored, wouldn't those of us who work hard at our jobs become a joke? I'm here to expose your shameless deeds!" The crowd erupted again."Can't draw so you buy others' work? Truly shameless!" "If she really did that, she doesn't deserve the championship!""Not only that, she should be blacklisted in this industry!" "Blacklisted? Is that possible? She's got connections!"Lana was highly satisfied with the reactions. She looked at Natalie with malice. "Natalie, get ready for your downfall!" she thought triumphantly.Natalie surveyed the reactions of the crowd and soon turned her gaze to Lana. "If you claim I did such a thing, then provide evidence! Words alone mean nothing!"Lana smirked, "You want to see evidence? Fine, I'll show you evidence!" She pulled out a recording pen from her pocket and held it high. "The evidence is right here!"Everyone focused on Lana's hand curiously. Meanwhile, Henry stood near the backstage entrance with Wade at his
"I'm Esme Henderson, the editor of a small magazine. Ms. Shepherd has provided me with design drafts for the past two years, and I've paid her for these services. This summarizes our transactions."Lana's smirk froze instantly. She stared at Esme in disbelief. What was Esme saying? Wasn't she there to accuse Natalie of buying designs? How had it turned out like this?"Shut up!" Lana yanked Esme's arm and cut her off mid-sentence. Lana couldn't accept her statement. She angrily questioned, "That's not how it happened! I heard your argument that day! You previously admitted she bought designs from you! "You even said everything would be revealed on the day of the award ceremony! Why change your stance now?"Esme didn't respond but opened a file and clicked play on an audio clip. Soon, a recording started to play. "I'll add more money! Will you do it? It's easy money. Just publicly accuse Natalie! How about it?"Lana's face turned pale upon hearing her own voice. She had rushed
Henry took a peek at the stage with mixed feelings.He fixed his eyes on the figure on the stage and said, "If everyone finds out that I'm the grand jury of this competition, they might doubt that Natalie has won the award fair and square. Especially after what has just happened."It wouldn't be a surprise if most of them thought that he had intentionally crowned his wife the champion.But the truth was, he really had no idea that that was her work. He wasn't aware that Natalie was so talented in architectural design before this."So you're trying to protect Ms. Shepherd!" Wade finally realized what Henry was doing.Henry gave him a stern glare.Wade thought that Henry was warning him that he had talked too much, so he shut his mouth immediately. However, Henry was glaring for a different reason."Stop calling her Ms. Shepherd." Somehow, that title got on Henry's nerves"Huh?" Wade was confused."You hear me. Have I made myself clear?" Henry stared at him scornfully."Loud an
It seemed that a face-off between Henry and Sheldon was inevitable."Stop it, will you?" said Natalie as she pulled Henry's arm.Then, she looked at Sheldon apologetically and said, "Please excuse him, Sheldon."Natalie felt a bit awkward after what Henry had said. Even though she and Sheldon were just friends, their relationship could barely withstand speculation and slander.On the other hand, Henry wasn't happy that Natalie cared so much about Sheldon's feelings. She seemed upset because he had mocked Sheldon."It's okay. I wasn't listening anyway," said Sheldon unconcernedly."Well, we should go now. Bye!" said Natalie."Bye!"Sheldon stood there as he saw Natalie off. All he wanted was for Natalie to be happy. But obviously, Henry wasn't the person who could bring her happiness.Henry's arm was wrapped around Natalie's shoulder as they were leaving. When they reached the end of the hallway, Natalie moved her shoulder uneasily and said, "There's no reporters here. Yo
Natalie's heart was stirred up by Henry's confession. She looked at Henry puzzledly.When Johnny insulted her in front of everyone, she was so helpless that she sought his help unwittingly.However, when she turned to him, all she saw was him standing intimately with Juliet.She thought that he couldn't care less about her. But two months after the incident, she actually found out that he actually stood up for her secretly. She was dumbstruck.Natalie tried to see through Henry. But the more she knew about him, the less she understood.She turned her eyes to Lana and stared at her angrily. "Even so, you shouldn't drag my father into this! He's innocent!" "Why can't I? Johnny was punished because he brought up your father's scandal, right? Did he say anything wrong? No! He's only telling the truth!"Since you don't want people to know about it, I definitely must expose it to the public!" Lana raised her chin, showing no signs of regret.Natalie slowly walked toward Lana.
Henry only visited fine dining restaurants. Natalie doubted that he would appreciate common diner food. And she certainly couldn't afford fine dining.After all, she was only an ordinary worker with an ordinary income.Henry dragged her to the passenger seat. He opened the door and said, "Didn't you promise to teach me how to cook? Let's do it today!"He shoved her into the car before she could speak her mind.Natalie wasn't going to turn him down. But she was rather curious. "Are you sure you want to learn how to cook?""How hard can it be? I see you've done it quite easily," Henry answered as he fastened his seat belt."It looked easy because I've prepared countless meals." Natalie laughed hollowly.Ever since they were married, she had lost count of the meals she had prepared for him.Sometimes, she waited for him like an idiot after preparing the meal. She didn't call him.In the end, even when the food had turned cold and rancid, he never came back."Cooking isn't ab
Daniel shook his head. "It's nothing, really. Don't overreact."Daniel didn't want to dwell on this topic, so he quickly changed the subject. "Henry said you have good news for me. What is it?"Natalie did not leave her worries behind because the subject had been dropped. She planned to take Daniel for a comprehensive physical checkup someday.After all, her father had been through a lot in the prison.Natalie took out the trophy in her bag and showed it to Daniel with a smile. "Dad, I've won an architectural design award! This is the trophy."Daniel's eyes were reddened the moment he saw the trophy."Good, good job! I knew my Natalie would make me proud one day." Daniel choked as he spoke."Dad, are you … crying?" Natalie looked at him, puzzled.Something was off about Daniel's reaction. He seemed happy for Natalie, but those were not tears of joy.Natalie could sense that her father was keeping another secret from her. Although Henry stood there silently, he was thinki
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