This was the first time Haley had seen Joe since leaving the Carter family last time. He looked much thinner than before, with a somewhat pale complexion, but his words were still as annoying as ever. Haley furrowed her brows and retorted, "Just as you see."Joe's gaze fell on the tightly clasped hands of the two, the veins on his forehead bulging. After a long silence, Shane spoke lightly, "What? It seems Mr. Carter is not very pleased with our marriage?"Joe's heart skipped a beat, hastily waving his hand, trying to justify himself, "How could that be? Mr. Ford, Haley is just being foolish. Please don't follow her lead in making trouble.""Oh? It seems Mr. Carter still doesn't believe that Haley and I are already married. Do you need me to bring the marriage certificate to prove it to you?" Shane's eyes narrowed slightly with his icy sharp gaze fixed on Joe.Joe felt a chill down his spine, nearly breaking out in a cold sweat. His strained expression was almost out of control.
She had once yearned for paternal love, but now, she had come to terms with it and did not care anymore. Joe was originally brimming with confidence, thinking that Haley would definitely speak up for him. After all, he was Haley's biological father, and in this world, only blood ties were unbreakable. But he never expected that Haley would publicly expose him!His expression froze instantly, eyes full of astonishment. "What did you say?""I said I will never forgive!" Haley repeated mercilessly, not sparing him at all. She understood Joe very well. He was someone who sought only profit and would sacrifice anything for it. Unfortunately, she would not give him another chance because he did not deserve it.Zoe, who had recovered from her shock, hurriedly supported Joe. She frowned disapprovingly at Haley and said, "Haley, now that you've climbed up the social ladder, does that give you the right to treat your father like this? He was just starting to recover from being upset by you
After Haley left, Zoe quickly explained to Joe, "Joe, I really did not arrange this. How could I harm Haley like that? You have to believe me.""Who did you arrange then?" Joe asked coldly.Zoe was taken aback, her mind racing as she searched for someone appropriate to mention. From the beginning, she had never planned to find a young and outstanding talent for Haley. So, during the selection process, she dismissed all those who appeared good, had good backgrounds, and education.She only retained those with passable appearances but flawed characters. There were abusive men, mama's boys, and gamblers. Ultimately, she settled on a compulsive gambler, Nolan.Originally, she planned to have Nolan pretend to be a successful person and approach Haley, gradually breaking down her defenses. Who would have thought that Nolan would be exposed so quickly? She had to make up a person on the spot and told Joe, "I've checked, the other party's family runs a small business. Although not wealth
When it came to Haley, she repeatedly targeted and bullied her sister, Xena. His expression was as solemn as ever as he assured Xena, "Don't worry, tonight I'll personally call Mrs. Ford Sr. and straighten things out."A glimmer of light flashed in Xena's eyes. "Thank you, Dad. You're so good to me!"So what if Haley married Shane? Whether it was her brother, her parents, they would all stand by her side. Everything Haley cared about, she used to snatch away one by one in the past, and she could continue to do so in the future. Moreover, she heard that Shane was a cold and indifferent person, never interested in women. For a man of such influence, was there any type of woman he had not encountered?How could he possibly be attracted to Haley, a woman who merely had a pretty face and could not bring any help to his family and career? Maybe he was just looking for some novelty. When Shane got tired of her, let's see how Haley would still act so arrogantly in front of her! She was
On the other side, Shane and Haley left the hospital without saying a word along the way. Haley turned her head to look out the window at the receding scenery, unable to conceal her feelings of disappointment and desolation. Despite constantly telling herself not to care about Joe anymore, she could not help but feel sad uncontrollably.Perhaps she had never been expected since birth. In Joe's eyes, everything she did was wrong. And for Xena, no matter what mistakes she made, he could always find excuses for her. It was so obvious who mattered and who did not.Shane seemed to sense something, turning his head to look at Haley and asking softly, "What are you thinking?"Haley suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, smiling and shaking her head. "Nothing, Mr. Ford. Joe is a very greedy person. He knows we're married now, so he'll probably come to you for benefits. You don't have to pay attention to him."A hint of surprise flashed in Shane's eyes, curious as he asked, "He's your biolog
A woman who treated her life as a joke, although not particularly scheming, was undoubtedly paranoid to the core. It could even be said to the point of madness. Naturally, the farther away from such a person, the better. She did not want to respond, so she simply turned off her phone and tossed it onto the nearby bed. But Stella had no intention of letting it go at that. About two minutes later, she sent another message, dripping with heavy sarcasm. "Haley, you're not even worthy of Shane. You won't last long in Mrs. Ford's position." Seeing this message, Haley felt a surge of annoyance. Her delicate fingertips swiftly tapped on the screen, replying, "I'm not worthy? Are you worthy then? How long I sit in this position is up to me. If you have the ability to take it away, go ahead. If not, then stop bothering me." Originally, the doctor had warned that Stella could not handle provocations, and she should not have said those things. But the thought of Stella's entanglement with
Upon hearing her question, Stella immediately showed a disdainful expression. Indeed, Haley married Shane for money. This actually saved her a lot of trouble. She arrogantly raised her chin and said to Haley, "Two million, is that enough?" This two million was the pocket money given to her by Evelyn, her savings accumulated over the years. Although it was somewhat painful, on second thought, exchanging two million for Haley's divorce from Shane was definitely worth it.She gradually felt relieved. Compared to Shane, this amount of money was nothing at all. Haley, upon hearing this, chuckled helplessly, "My husband's net worth is in billions. If I continue being Mrs. Ford, at least half of that money is mine. Do you think a mere two million can buy me off?"Stella's expression stiffened slightly with her expression turning even colder. "Then tell me, what will it take for you to leave Shane?""Miss Campbell, I have a strong bond with my husband. What reason do I have to leave him
Haley's lips curled into a faint smile. "How could I not care?"Stella immediately felt relieved. Just as she thought, how could there be a woman who did not care if her husband had feelings for another woman?But the next moment, Haley continued, "But that's all in the past. As long as the person he loves now is me, that's all that matters. Thank you, Miss Campbell, for your concern about my relationship with my husband, but you don't need to worry about it in the future."Before Stella could speak, Haley hung up the phone without giving her a chance.Listening to the busy tone on her phone, Stella stood there dumbfounded, disbelief evident in her eyes.She angrily threw her phone aside, her frustration almost unbearable. For so many years, she had never encountered someone as obstinate as Haley. She needed to figure out a way to make Haley back off sooner rather than later!On the other end, after ending the call, Haley was not as composed as Stella had assumed. She lay on the
Since that day, the number of bodyguards at Violet Grove had multiplied several times, and Shane even had the latest security system installed at home. It was a top-of-the-line model with built-in defense mechanisms. If anyone unfamiliar tried to break in, the alarm would go off instantly. After hearing about how close Evangeline and Nicholas had come to being kidnapped, no one thought these precautions were excessive. In fact, they only wished more could be done."This is just despicable! I can’t believe Xena could be so vicious!""We were too soft on her before. Someone like that is just a waste of air."Shane and Haley remained silent, but their thoughts were the same.Shane reassured everyone, "It’s over. Xena will never have another chance to get out."Hearing this, everyone felt a bit more at ease."By the way, where are Mom and Dad? I don't see them," Haley asked, noticing that her parents were not around, though everyone else had gathered.Zac didn’t say anything but q
Just the thought of what could have happened made Haley’s heart ache unbearably.The nannies stammered for a long time but couldn’t describe the person who had approached them. All they could recall was that the person had been thoroughly covered and that it was a woman.Shane immediately called his assistant, instructing him to investigate as soon as possible.It was past 3 a.m., and Haley still sat at the edge of the bed, unable to close her eyes. Her eyes were red from exhaustion and worry.Shane wrapped his arms around her, whispering words of comfort, "Don’t be afraid, it’s all over now. Everything will be okay."Haley sniffled and nodded. "I know, but I’m still so scared. We were just in time. If we’d been any later…"Shane pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I won’t let anything like this happen again. Trust me."At that moment, Shane's assistant, Dean, walked in, dragging someone who was covered head to toe.The person stumbled, falling to their knees in front of Haley and
Late that night, Shane and Haley finally sent off the last guest. Haley leaned heavily against Shane, exhaustion written all over her face. "Ugh, no one told me getting married would be this tiring. I'm never doing this again."Shane chuckled. "Who else do you plan on marrying besides me?"Haley blinked innocently at him. "Who says you can't marry the same person twice? That's what they do in books and dramas."Shane sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and gently tapping her on the forehead. "You need to cut back on those dramas."Haley giggled, rubbing her forehead. "Hey, they’re useful! I’ve learned a lot from them."Shane raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did you learn?"A mysterious smile curved on Haley's lips. "Not telling you. You'll find out if you ever make me mad."Seeing that she wasn’t going to spill the secret, Shane let it go. He bent down and suddenly hoisted Haley over his shoulder.Caught off guard, Haley yelped in surprise. "Shane, what are you doing?"
Jenny and Charlotte stayed behind to keep Haley company. Jenny teased her with a grin, "Can you believe we’re all getting married now? Back in college, we used to imagine what our future partners would be like."Haley shot her a sideways glance and retorted, "Not ‘we,’ just you. Bet you never imagined you’d end up with someone who’s nothing like your ideal type, huh?"Back then, Haley was still engaged to James Ford. Though James was far from a good guy, Haley felt obligated to honor her mother’s dying wish and marry him. She didn’t spend much time fantasizing about love. Jenny, on the other hand, practically lived in her romantic daydreams."Oh, so you’re teasing me now?" Jenny’s face flushed for a moment, then she lunged at Haley, pretending to tickle her.Haley dodged, laughing, and soon the two were playfully tussling. Watching from the sidelines, Charlotte couldn’t help but smile along with them.Soon after, the wedding officially began. The venue was packed with guests,
On the fifth of May, the wedding took place as planned.Shane had started preparing the venue two days in advance, meticulously arranging every detail himself. The expansive wedding grounds were filled with romance, from the long red carpet laid out on the lawn to the balloons adding a whimsical touch.Haley donned her wedding dress and let the stylists work their magic, crafting an exquisite look for her. Just then, Shane entered the room, standing behind her with a warm smile."You look absolutely stunning today, Haley. The most beautiful bride in the world," he said, admiration in his voice.Haley turned her head toward him, her face glowing with happiness. "Weren’t you busy greeting the guests? How did you find time to sneak in here?"Ignoring the people around them, Shane bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I stole a little break to come see you," he whispered playfully.At that moment, a teasing voice interrupted them from behind. "You two really can’t stop showi
After what felt like an eternity, Haley was nearly out of breath when Shane finally let her go reluctantly. However, even though his lips had only pulled away slightly, his hands still firmly gripped her waist."Do you like it?" he asked, his deep eyes filled with affection.Haley blinked innocently. "Like what?""Me," Shane replied with a playful grin, his gaze never leaving her face. "Do you like me?"Her cheeks flushed, and her heart raced as she bit her lip and looked up at him. "Why don’t you guess?"Shane chuckled and pulled her onto his lap. "I’d guess... you do."Caught off guard, Haley let out a small yelp and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, shooting him a playful glare. "You already knew, so why ask?"Her response only made Shane laugh harder. After a bit more playful banter, he held her close as they leaned back on the couch. Then he brought up their wedding. "I talked with Mom and your parents. We all agreed that our wedding will be held in a month.
Haley had always known how much Shane doted on Evangeline, treating her like the apple of his eye. But she hadn’t expected his protectiveness to reach such an extreme level. She couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated at the same time.Gently, she grabbed Shane’s hand and comforted him softly, "Alright, alright, don’t be mad. Hugo is only a month old. He didn’t mean any harm. If anything, it just shows how lovable our Evangeline is."Shane sat on the edge of the bed, the tension in his chest easing slightly, but he still couldn’t shake off all his frustration. In his mind, he made a firm decision that he would do everything in his power to protect his little treasure from now on. No one would be allowed to get too close to her again.From that day on, everyone noticed how Shane’s protectiveness over Evangeline had reached a whole new level. He barely let her out of his sight, as if he needed to be by her side 24/7. Anyone who dared approach her was met with a cold, pier
Jenny couldn't help but laugh. "You haven't seen this little guy when he's awake. He's a real handful. If you did, you'd probably take back all those compliments."When Hugo was awake, he was full of energy, and when he cried, his voice could shake the walls. Jenny looked at Nicholas and Evangeline, who were awake but contentedly sucking on their tiny fists, and said, "These two are so much easier. They’re quiet and calm, the more I look at them, the more I like them."Seeing the twins were awake, Haley quickly leaned over, gently poking their soft, chubby cheeks. "Awake already? You only napped for a little while."Nicholas stared up at Haley with his big eyes, silently taking her in. Evangeline, on the other hand, waved her tiny hand and let out a soft "ah," which nearly melted Henry and Jenny's hearts.Henry knelt beside the crib, unable to tear his eyes away from Evangeline. He playfully reached out to her, and when she giggled at him without fear, he adored her even more. "S
Haley took a small sip, smiling as she saw the eager look in Shane's eyes. "Mmm, it’s good.""Really?" Shane smiled as well, taking another spoonful for himself. He tasted it thoughtfully before nodding. "Yeah, it’s good. The seasoning is just right, and it’s refreshing. Even with the herbs, it’s not bitter at all."He quickly brought another spoonful to Haley’s lips, feeding her until the bowl was nearly empty.Seeing Haley’s good appetite, Shane tidied up the dishes and called Dean. "Tell the restaurant that all the chefs’ salaries are doubled this month."Dean was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. "Got it. I’ll take care of it right away."As he hung up the phone, Dean couldn’t help but think, "When will it be my turn for a bonus?"As if Shane could read his thoughts, a low voice came through the receiver. "Haley’s pregnancy has been tough, and you’ve worked hard these past few months too. Your year-end bonus will be tripled, and you’ll get extra vacation days. Spend