"Didn't you sign this yourself? I'm your father, it's only natural for you to transfer the shares to me!" Joe exclaimed."How come I don't remember signing this agreement? Back then, you said I was underage and the company needed someone to manage it, so you'd temporarily exercise my shareholder rights!" Haley retorted with a laugh.Joe persisted, "You must have been drunk at the time, so you got confused. It's always been about transferring the shares!"Haley chuckled at his disgusting demeanor. "I was hospitalized at the time, and I never drank a drop before I turned eighteen!"Avoiding Haley's eyes, Joe muttered, "Even if I intentionally made you sign it, so what? JY was originally founded by your mother and me. What's wrong with transferring the shares to me? Haley, have you caused enough trouble?"Mocking him, Haley smirked, "Me causing trouble? I'm just seeking justice for my deceased mother!"After a moment of silence, she continued, "Joe, that document was tampered with b
Before today, Joe had never regarded Haley as his daughter. In his mind, his daughter was someone like Xena, who would lean on him, sweet-talk him, care for him, and always think of him. But Haley carried too much of Yvonne's shadow. She looked too much like Yvonne, especially those eyes and brows, as if she had been carved from the same mold. Every time he saw Haley, he would think of Yvonne's business acumen and her strong and cold demeanor. It was a kind of deep-seated inferiority and fear from the soul. So, he simply did not like Haley. But he forgot, when pushed too far, there would be a backlash. Haley had been suppressed for too long. Any last trace of affection she had for him had been killed by him, which led to the situation today. Joe gritted his teeth and softened his tone, "Haley, your mother is watching us from heaven. She wouldn't want to see us, father and daughter, come to this point. Be obedient, give me the property deed." He regretted deeply at this moment.
But now it seemed he had been too lenient, allowing Joe to become too arrogant and forget his own identity. Reluctant as Joe was, he had no choice but to yield to Shane's threat. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Haley, I went too far just now. I'm sorry!" Haley stepped forward, looking down at Joe. "What did you mean just now? What do you mean I'm your shame?" Joe's eyes flickered, his mouth shut tight, afraid to utter a word. At that moment, Zoe's voice, full of hatred and satisfaction, interjected, "You want to know why? It's because your mother was just a woman ridden by countless men..." "Shut up!" Joe roared, interrupting Zoe. Meeting his furious gaze, Zoe was taken aback and quickly fell silent. Haley's heart sank, and she signaled to her driver behind her, "Since your mouth stinks so much, let's get rid of it." The driver understood her meaning and immediately stepped forward, delivering several hard slaps to Zoe. Zoe widened her eyes in terror, shaking her
As soon as she stepped out of the Carter residence's gate, Haley felt like all her strength had drained away. Her legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Shane was quick to react, promptly catching her waist and pulling her into his arms."Haley, are you okay?" Shane asked with concern, noticing Haley's pale face and the pain and helplessness in her eyes.But in response to Shane's inquiry, she shook her head slowly and said, "I'm fine, Mr. Ford, what are you doing here?"Seeing her trying to appear strong despite her obvious distress, Shane felt even more heartache. Haley was always like this, accustomed to bearing all the grievances herself, no matter how heavy they were.He sighed helplessly and said softly, "The driver messaged me, saying you weren't feeling well emotionally, so I rushed over. Thankfully, I made it in time." His tone carried a palpable sense of relief.When he entered the Carter residence, he saw Joe with bloodshot eyes and he was about
The helper glanced nervously towards the living room and lowered her voice, "Miss Haley came by today and had an argument with Mr. and Mrs. Carter. Now they're having a heated argument inside."Xena paused for a moment and hastened her steps into the living room. As soon as she entered, she saw Joe and Zoe in a heated dispute."It's all your fault! Didn't I warn you before? That little vixen Haley is nothing but trouble. Now that we've lost our shares, she wants to kick us out of the house! What are we going to do now?""Are you kidding me? You've been repeating yourself over and over again. I'm sick of hearing it!""Now you think I'm annoying? Are you still thinking about Yvonne? Tell me!"At the mention of Yvonne's name, veins bulged on Joe's forehead as he violently shook off Zoe's hand."That's enough! What right do you have to mention her name?"Zoe staggered back from the force of his movement, nearly falling over. She chuckled, unable to resist a sarcastic remark, "I knew
Half an hour later, James rushed to the Carter residence and was stunned by the chaos in the yard."What on earth happened? Xena, are you okay?" James quickly embraced Xena and looked her over.Xena shook her head and tearfully recounted the events of the day, exaggerating them as if she had suffered a great injustice."I never expected my sister to be so heartless. Although my mom is her stepmother, she has always treated her with all her heart. And my dad has been extremely fond of her."James did not doubt the truthfulness of Xena's words. In his view, Haley's personality was despicable to the core.So, what Haley did was not surprising at all.He indignantly said, "Haley is really too much. How could she treat your parents like this? Wait, I'm going to call my uncle now and let him see Haley's true colors."Joe suddenly remembered Shane's cold eyes and could not help but shudder.He quickly stopped him, "James, forget it. Mr. Ford is Haley's husband. He will definitely take
Suddenly, a frantic knocking on the door interrupted the silence. "Mr. Carter, Mrs. Carter, it's urgent! The moving company is here and they say we have to move out right away!"Joe and Zoe snapped awake, jumping out of bed. They quickly changed clothes and hurried downstairs, where they found three or four movers standing in the living room, ready to start packing.The helper was desperately trying to block them from entering. Joe's expression darkened as he demanded, "What's going on? Who let you in?"Dean, dressed in a suit, walked in from outside and calmly spoke up, "Mr. Carter, Mr. Ford has spoken. While Miss Haley generously offered you three days, Mr. Ford can't wait any longer. He wants to move in himself. You must leave today."Joe and Zoe were shocked and their expressions turned grim. "What? Today? How is that possible?"Zoe and her daughter had been living in this villa for five years, and they had spent lavishly, filling it with their belongings. Not to mention Joe,
After bustling around for a solid three hours, the Carter family finally got all their luggage packed up. They stared at the suitcases in front of them, looking completely defeated. After residing here for countless years, they never anticipated that upon departure, they would be left with just a few measly suitcases of belongings. These were the only things that truly belonged to them.Joe felt utterly humiliated. And as Xena watched those exquisite pieces of jewelry slip away from her grasp, her eyes welled up with tears of anger. In her mind, those things were rightfully hers, acquired through her own cunning from Haley. Why should Haley get to dictate when they leave?She could not accept it, attempting to snatch the box of jewelry away. But before her hand could even reach it, Dean had grabbed her wrist with a swift motion. There was a sickening crack as her bones protested, and Xena screamed in pain, "Ahh! My hand! Dean, I'm engaged to James! How dare you treat me like th
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