The moment Conrad saw Tatiana step out of the car, he felt an intense sense of familiarity. When he caught sight of her face, he instantly recognized her as the girl he had seen before. He never expected that after all this time, she would have grown even more beautiful.Seeing Conrad gaze at her, Tatiana realized he probably recognized her too. In fact, she found him somewhat familiar as well, but it had been so long that she couldn’t quite place him. Just to be safe, she hoped he wouldn’t say anything awkward in front of the others.Tatiana stepped forward and addressed the still-dazed Conrad, "Hi, I'm Tatiana Konstantine.”"You..." Just as Conrad was staring at Tatiana with excitement, she shot him a glance that made him stop in his tracks. After a moment, he managed to say, "Hi, I'm Conrad."Maxim noticed the odd interaction between Conrad and Tatiana. His expression flickered, but he didn't say much. After the two exchanged greetings, he led Tatiana further ahead."What's
After finishing, Adrian initially planned to drive Maxim and the others home. However, after Tatiana politely declined, Adrain had no choice but to leave with Conrad.Maxim didn’t say a word the entire way home.“What’s wrong with you?” Tatiana couldn’t contain her curiosity. As soon as they arrived, she stepped right up to Maxim and looked into his face, asking.“Want to know?”Hearing Maxim’s rhetorical question, Tatiana nodded eagerly.“Yeah... um…”As she stood so close to Maxim, feeling the warmth of his presence, Taitana found his lips on hers, unsure of what to do next.“I’m jealous,” Maxim said after their kiss ended, pulling Tatiana into his arms. The hint of jealousy lingered in his voice. “I saw the way Conrad looked at you. He likes you, and it seems like you two know each other. You didn’t tell me who he is, and that makes me unhappy.”It took a moment for Tatiana to process what Maxim had just said, still reeling from the kiss.After a long pause, she finally managed t
After seeing Landen leave, Lucien was about to exit the study to rest. Being an elderly man, he moved slowly, so when Delany came out, she bumped into Lucien, who was just about to leave.Seeing Delany, Lucien's expression was far from friendly. He was about to ignore her and walk away when Delanh spoke up."Grandpa, who are you to send me back? I don't want to go back, and I won't go back."Her words infuriated Lucien. He turned around to face Delany and said, "Whether you want to or not, you have to go back. Is this how a police officer should act? If police officers are like this, then who will catch the bad guys?!""What does that have to do with me? Their lives or deaths are none of my concern! Itold you from the start that I didn't want to be a police officer, and you kept pushing me into it!" Delany was already in tears. "What I really want is to be a star! I don't want to be a police officer just because Dad is one and Grandpa was in the military! Why should I have to do t
While waiting for Tara to return, her phone buzzed at least five times, and Tatiana became genuinely curious about who this friend was that kept chatting with Tara online.It didn’t seem like a roommate... As that thought crossed her mind, Tatiana quickly shook it off. This was Tara's business, and if she wanted to share, she would. There was no need for Tatiana to dwell on it.So the two of them spent the afternoon at the bubble tea shop, with Tatiana mostly listening to Tara’s phone buzz throughout their time together.As it started to get late, they said their goodbyes and headed home.On her way back, Tatiana's phone rang with an unfamiliar number. Worried it might be someone she knew, she answered the call without thinking too much."Hello?""Tatiana, can you do me a favor?"Tatiana frowned, unable to recognize the voice on the other end."I'm the director of City A. I've heard from higher-ups that you're quite impressive. I want to ask for your help with something. We're re
Tatiana tossed the snack bag into the trash and walked toward the dining room. This house was bought a long time ago by Maxim when he came here for work. Not wanting to stay in a hotel, he chose to live here instead."It smells amazing," she said as she sat down. Maxim handed her a pair of chopsticks and replied, "Try the lobster you wanted. It's delicious."With that, Maxim put on some gloves and skillfully began to peel the lobster."Go ahead and taste it. I’ve never made this before, so it might not be that great.”Hearing this, Tatiana looked at the perfectly peeled lobster in her bowl and felt a wave of emotion.Not long ago, she had wanted to eat lobster but couldn’t get any, only drowning in endless studying. Now, she could finally enjoy it, and someone was even peeling it for her. So this is what it feels like to be cared for?Tatiana blinked and took a bite of the lobster. "It’s really good; I love it."Upon hearing this, Maxim’s eyes lit up with joy, and he seemed genuin
Tatiana had been asleep for several hours, and when she finally woke up, the sky was already darkening.She glanced at the time—it was past seven. It seemed she hadn't slept well the night before.As these thoughts crossed her mind, she noticed a message from Tara pop up on her phone.Feeling a surge of happiness, she read that the person Tara mentioned was Roman, the one who had saved her. Saved her? Rebecca recalled that during their first meeting, Tara had mentioned that someone had approached her on her first day here. It seemed there was more to it than just a casual chat; otherwise, Roman wouldn't have been in a position to rescue Tara.With this in mind, Tatiana replied, "He sounds like a really nice guy! If we have time later, maybe we could meet up. I’d love to get to know him better. What do you think?"On the other end, Tara read Tatiana's message and considered it. The teacher wouldn’t be around for long; she hadn’t come here just for fun and would likely be heading ba
Hearing this, Delany felt a bit uneasy, but at least he wasn’t showing her those disgusting photos anymore. With that thought in mind, she was more than willing to go make copies of the documents.With that in mind, Delany headed to the copy room with the files in hand. Vance had a lot on his plate. After Delany left previously, he had been assigned a great partner, which made things easier for him. He hadn’t expected Delany to return, and he had heard from higher-ups that he should make sure she didn’t have to take on too much work.Vance didn't have a great impression of Delany. If she was a rich girl, then she shouldn't even be here. Coming here and doing nothing was just putting on a show for others, right?With that thought in mind, Vance continued to focus on the case in his hands.In such a short time, several incidents had already occurred, yet the killer was still at large. This puzzled him. Previously, the murderer had been killing someone every few days, but now it had
Hearing this, Tatiana raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconcerned. "I know, I’ll be back early."After saying that, she intended to turn and leave, not wanting to interrupt Maxim’s work. However, to her surprise, Maxim turned around and asked, "You seem to be pretty close with Tara."After a moment of thought, she replied, "Yeah, her dad asked me to look out for her. Plus, I really like Tara’s personality, so it’s no trouble at all.""You know Tara’s father?" Maxim furrowed his brow, a shadow of something flickering in his eyes.Perhaps Maxim's tone was too shocked, or maybe Tatiana caught the brief flash in his gaze. She frowned slightly, then looked up and casually asked, "Are you surprised? The last time I went out to eat, it was with Tara and her dad. That’s when he asked me to keep an eye on her.""I'm not that surprised," Maxim said, realizing his emotions had slipped out. "It's just unusual for a professor like you to take the initiative to meet a student's parents.""Well, it'
Three days later—The first thing Tatiana saw when she opened her eyes was a blanket of white. After a few moments of confusion, she blinked and slowly turned her head to look around, realizing she was in a hospital.Before she could take in her surroundings, she heard the sound of a door opening. Turning toward the noise, she saw Maxim walking in.When Maxim saw Tatiana awake and looking at him, he felt a rush of excitement. He quickly approached her and asked,"You’re finally awake! How do you feel? Is there anywhere that still hurts?"Tatiana slowly shook her head, wanting to speak, but her throat was dry and raspy. Instead, she looked at Maxim, hoping he would understand that she needed water.Fortunately, Maxim got the hint. He smiled at her and hurried over to pour a glass of warm water. After helping her drink, Tatiana felt a wave of relief wash over her. "I’m fine. How long was I out?""Three days," Maxim replied, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn't quite place.Emo
With that thought, Riley quickly left those people behind.Tatiana, on the other hand, was unaware of Riley's situation. She stood facing the assassin in front of her, her expression icy."Miss, we hope you can leave this place. We don't want to harm you; we just need you to leave that man behind. We assure you, you can leave here safely."These people had been here for a long time, trying to persuade Tatiana to leave. Their boss had ordered that she couldn't be harmed, but they couldn't understand why this woman refused to budge. They had been standing there for what felt like ages.Realizing that convincing Tatiana was futile, the leader turned his attention to Mazim. "Maxim, are you still a man? Hiding behind a woman?”Maxim pressed his hand against his shoulder, his face pale from blood loss. He managed a weak smile and replied, "Better than being unprotected like you."Though he said that, deep down, he hoped Tatiana would leave soon. He didn't know how long they could mainta
Crushing the herbs and applying them to the wound, then bandaging it up was all she could do for now. After tending to his injury, he looked at Tatiana and said, "You need to get out of here quickly. They’re not after you, and they won’t chase you. Find a way back and get someone to rescue me."Tatiana replied, "By then, it won’t be about saving you; it’ll just be about collecting your body."Seeing Maxim’s pale face, Tatiana insisted, "I’m not leaving. It was my idea to come here, and I won’t just abandon you.""Why are you being so foolish?" Maxim's lips curled into a slight smile. In such a dire situation, all he wanted was for Tatiana to leave.She was the girl he liked, and he wanted her to be safe, away from this suffering. But why, upon realizing she wouldn’t leave, did he feel even more touched and reluctant to let her go?"I’m not foolish. I’m with you, and we’re married—even if it’s just pretend. We’re friends, right?" Tatiana said, helping Maxim to his feet as they slowly
The man didn’t even have time to react before he collapsed unconscious.The commotion drew attention, and all eyes turned toward Tatiana.“Run!” Tatiana shouted, grabbing Maxim’s hand and sprinting toward the nearby trees.Her shout jolted everyone awake, and the leader yelled for the others to pursue both of them.As Tatiana saw that they were about to disappear from sight, the leader at the front suddenly darkened his expression. He quickly pulled out something and fired a shot toward Maxim.Tatiana turned around just in time to witness this scene, and immediately grabbed Maxim, trying to switch places with him. But little did she know, Maxim had also spotted the bullet heading his way.The leader initially thought the bullet might miss Maxim since the woman beside him was ready to take the hit, but to his surprise, her didn’t let her take the bullet for him.“Bang—”The sound of the gunshot echoed, startling the birds perched in the trees, sending them flying off into the distance
Moreover, John had sent someone to wait for them so early. If they hadn't arrived earlier, and had waited until later to come, things would have been even more complicated.With these thoughts in mind, Maxim felt even more determined. Once they were out of here, he would make sure to pull John down from his position as soon as possible. Someone like him didn’t deserve to be in the company.He believed that his grandfather would never allow such a person to be part of the company either.The next morning, sunlight streamed through the leaves, casting bright rays that pierced Tatiana's eyes. She blinked a few times, slowly waking up.As she looked around, her mind began to piece together the events of the previous day. At that moment, Maxim also stirred awake as Tatiana shifted away from his shoulder.He had barely slept at all last night, finally drifting off only as morning approached.Tatiana stood up and checked her phone, only to find there was still no signal. She turned to Max
"The place ahead is Sylvia's home. Do you think they might not be looking for us and instead have gone to kill them?""No way, these assassins are all managed by someone. They only target their assignments and won't harm anyone else, so we need to protect ourselves first." Tatiana said this without a hint of hesitation, but then she realized that as a young lady, she probably shouldn't know about such things.Thinking this, Tatiana cautiously glanced at Maxim. His expression didn’t seem strange, so he likely hadn’t caught on to what she was implying. With that thought, she quietly sighed in relief; otherwise, she would have to find a way to explain everything, which would only complicate matters. She didn’t want Maxim to get dragged into this mess.With that in mind, Tatiana said, "Let’s stop talking about this and get out of here. We can’t stay for long, and we can’t be sure they won’t come back.”As she spoke, she tugged on Maxim's shirt and led him toward the exit. However, as she
As he spoke, Maxim glanced outside at the darkening sky. They had already wasted too much time, and they couldn't afford to linger any longer. They weren't familiar with the area, and it was best to get back to their car before it was completely dark. Otherwise, they might find it impossible to return.Tatiana understood his concerns and frowned as she looked at the weather outside. "Let's go talk to the old lady about this. If all goes well, we can leave right away. We can bring Sylvia and Marianna back with us when we return the notebook. Right now, going back is too risky."Sylvia and Marianna had only gone out a few years ago. Tatiana thought that it wouldn’t be right to leave them behind while taking Grandma alone, so her initial plan was to bring all three of them back together. However, it was clear that they couldn’t take Grandma on such a journey now. At her age, it wouldn’t be good for her to travel those long distances. They decided that once they returned the book, they
“She left when she was very young, and I don’t know much about it,” the old woman said, shaking her head as she looked at Tatiana. “But I haven’t dared to go into her room all these years, so I don’t know what’s inside. There might be something valuable in there. I have the key; you can go take a look.”Sitting on the stool, the old woman had thought it through. These two didn’t seem like bad people, and sharing this information with them wouldn’t hurt. Maybe they could even find the killer of Cordelia. After all, so many years had passed,and she had come to terms with it. The most important thing for her now was Sylvia and Marianna. So, for their sake, she decided to open the room today.Tatiana was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected the old woman to be so accommodating, but this could indeed lead to more information. Feeling grateful, Tatiana smiled at the old woman and said, “If you don’t want to go in, you don’t have to. We won’t disturb anything inside.”The old woman stood
The elderly woman knew she was putting them in a tough spot, but she felt she had no choice. This was her only hope after all these years. She couldn’t afford to send her children to school herself, so she had to push for this arrangement. For her kids, she was willing to take the risk.The old man's request was something Tatiana hadn't expected. She thoughthe would ask for wealth or something similar, but it was just about reading books? Was that all?Tatiana appeared somewhat dazed, which seemed to signal to the old man that she was reluctant to give up this opportunity. So she quickly added, "You don't have to feel hesitant. Just take her out. All you need to do is cover some necessary expenses, and consider it a loan. Once they have the ability to earn money, they will definitely come back to repay you. I promise."This time, even though Tatiana hadn't fully processed the situation, Maxim had. He looked at the old man and calmly said,"No need.""What?" The old woman was momentar