"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
Natalie had to admit that she was quite smitten. After all, the old Shepherd mansion had once stood on this piece of land.If she could transform it into her dream vision, she believed Daniel's regrets would diminish considerably when he saw it.However, Natalie wasn't the impulsive type. She quickly and cautiously inquired, "This is a Blue Ocean Group project. As an employee of Dawn Corporation, I can't take on external projects without authorization.""It's a minor issue. As long as you're interested, I can handle these matters for you right away," Henry said casually.But Natalie still had reservations. She shook her head and stated, "You should find someone more suitable for this."Once she took on this project, her involvement with Henry might increase.Moreover, she didn't want to spread herself too thin. She just wanted to excel in her current project, which was the music center.She was well aware that winning the championship today didn't necessarily mean everyone ack
Natalie stared at him intently as if waiting for something.Finally, Henry abruptly stood up. He almost forgot about his image, covering his mouth, exclaiming, "Natalie! What on earth is this? It's loaded with ghost pepper powder!"Natalie was gasping for breath from laughter in her seat. She saw Henry's face turning almost green!His daily life was routine, and she had a sudden mischievous idea to give him a different experience.Henry blinked his eyes and took deep breaths, but he still hadn't recovered."I told you, didn't I? This flavor will be unforgettable for you!" Looking at his current state, Natalie suddenly felt like this guy was a bit closer to her.Henry glared fiercely at her, gritting his teeth. "You dare set me up?"Recently, he began to see different sides of this woman.There was a mischievous side, a temperamental side, and a side overflowing with talent.Regardless of which side, it seemed to make her more vivid in his eyes."I was just trying to give