Holis was taken aback by Vance's fierce tone, stammering, "I—I was just defending myself. She started it."Vance quickly pieced things together.He knew that Holis sometimes used his name to get away with bad behavior, but since she was still young, he usually turned a blind eye. He never expected her to directly offend Tatiana this time."Apologize to Tatiana now!"Vance pointed at Holis's nose, commanding her.With her eyes reddening and her nose tingling, tears began to spill down Holis's cheeks.Wasn't Vance her uncle? Why was he siding with an outsider?"Hurry up!"Vance urged sternly, but just then, he heard several cars screeching to a halt outside the police station. A sense of foreboding washed over him.The first to enter was Maxim, and the people outside couldn't even stop him; his intimidating presence left them paralyzed."Chief, he barged in—""Get out of the way!"Vance quickly ushered Maxim inside, just as he was about to close the door when he noticed a significant f
He forced a few agreeable words out, but suddenly, everything he ate didn't taste as good anymore.Meanwhile, the old man was busy serving Maxim food, even encouraging Riley to give some to Tatiana."I think I'll pass. I'm feeling a bit under the weather," Tatiana said, trying to hold back her laughter as she watched Maxim struggle to eat everything on his plate.But soon, she couldn't laugh anymore.The old man was determined to see her and Maxim in the same room tonight.After sending Jamie off, Stefan refused to go to bed, insisting on staying up to work with Maxim, worried he might not return to his room.With no other choice, Tatiana shot Maxim a look for help."Grandpa, you should really go get some rest," she said, trying to steer him away from his plans."I’m heading back to my room too."Stefan's face instantly lit up with a big smile."Hey! Go on, go on!”When Maxim entered the room, he noticed an extra layer of bedding on the floor, while Tatiana was comfortably sprawled ou
For Tatiana, this first experience of "sharing a room" with Maxim wasn't exactly pleasant, leaving her feeling quite exhausted so early in the morning.Fortunately, the following days were not as eventful as today. Grandpa seemed to have been convinced that the couple was very much in love and harmonious.Tomorrow is the weekend, and the students are excitedly discussing their plans for their free time. Tatiana finishes packing her books and teaching materials, getting ready to leave for the day.“Ms. Tatiana.”Tatiana looks up to see Tara, whom she hasn't seen in a while.“Teacher, I had to take a leave of absence recently, and I’ve been wanting to thank you in person but didn’t have the chance.”Tatiana shakes her head.“It’s no problem at all. I understand you had your reasons.”By the way, teacher, my dad is coming back soon, and we’d like to invite you to dinner. Would that be okay?”Tatiana waves her hand dismissively.“No, that’s not necessary. It’s just part of my job. You s
For Tatiana, this first experience of "sharing a room" with Maxim wasn't exactly pleasant, leaving her feeling quite exhausted so early in the morning.Fortunately, the following days were not as eventful as today. Grandpa seemed to have been convinced that the couple was very much in love and harmonious.Tomorrow is the weekend, and the students are excitedly discussing their plans for their free time. Tatiana finishes packing her books and teaching materials, getting ready to leave for the day.“Ms. Tatiana.”Tatiana looks up to see Tara, whom she hasn't seen in a while.“Teacher, I had to take a leave of absence recently, and I’ve been wanting to thank you in person but didn’t have the chance.”Tatiana shakes her head.“It’s no problem at all. I understand you had your reasons.”By the way, teacher, my dad is coming back soon, and we’d like to invite you to dinner. Would that be okay?”Tatiana waves her hand dismissively.“No, that’s not necessary. It’s just part of my job. You s
Today, Orion, usually the cheerful one, was unusually quiet. He sat on the couch in Benson's office, staring at the door for a long time.Miles, filled with curiosity, sat next to Ophelia, firing off questions."What does the boss look like?"Ophelia, growing impatient with the questions, finally snapped, "Aren't you going to see for yourself soon?""But I just want to be mentally prepared! What if the boss walks in and scares us?We’re not exactly built to handle that!"Ophelia couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh."Well, you all better brace yourselves. It's definitely not what you expect.""You guys can guess all you want. I'm heading to the restroom."Since Tatiana always used a deep voice during online meetings, the management team speculated wildly. They thought the boss was either a delicate-looking guy who envied muscular men or a true tough guy.So when Tatiana stood at the office door, they all asked in unison, "Who are you looking for?""I'm looking for Ophelia."S
As Jamie spoke, there was a sound at the door. He looked up to see Tatiana standing in front of them."You're back!”Maxim stood up and naturally took the bag from her hands, hanging it on the coat rack.Stefan squinted at the scene, feeling quite pleased. In the next moment, he stood up."Tatiana's back, so let's eat!"Seeing them so relaxed, Tatiana thought they must have already had their meal."You guys haven't eaten?"Stefan nodded toward Maxim. "It's because Maxim was worried you wouldn't have anything to eat when you got back, so we all waited for you.”Tatiana felt a warm flutter in her heart, but she kept her demeanor light as she washed her hands for dinner."I should probably freshen up a bit before heading to Anna's performance. I don't want to embarrass myself as an old man in front of the kids."After Ralph finished his meal, he began to ponder."Grandpa, don't worry! There's no need to make such a big deal out of it," Jamie said while helping to clear the plates. "Bes
Drey, with his sharp gaze, spotted Tatiana in a heated argument with the paparazzi from a distance.Tatiana wasn’t afraid of them, and Drey knew that. However, if he stepped in to help her, it would be a timely rescue. After all, it could lead to his next script.Without a second thought, Drey approached, and the cameras of the paparazzi instantly turned toward him.“Tatiana, this must be Grandpa Stefan, right?”Tatiana nodded, clearly still fuming and her mood far from cheerful.Stefan felt a pang of guilt, thinking he had caused trouble for his granddaughter, and he quickly turned to leave."Wait," Drey saw through the old man's thoughts and hurriedly grabbed his arm."It's rare for you to be here. I've heard so much about you from Tatiana; I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. A large part of her success is thanks to you. How can you just walk away now?"Tatiana nodded in agreement, softly urging Stefan to stay.This left the group of paparazzi nearby utterly confused.Ho
Tatiana agreed readily, especially since Director Drey had helped her a lot that evening."Sure."Before leaving, Drey made sure to mention something about acting to Tatiana."Tatiana, I really think you should consider my suggestion. You’re perfect for acting. If you ever decide to pursue it, make sure to give me a call."Tatiana nodded, but she still couldn’t bring herself to say no.After seeing off the guests, Jamie let out a sigh of relief."Big sister, so the friend you mentioned is Drey," he said.Tatiana shook her head. "I wasn't talking about Director Drey."Maxim, noticing that it was getting late, kicked Jamie out to go to bed.When Tatiana finished tidying up and walked into her room, she found a man sprawled across her bed.She couldn't help but feel a mix of annoyance and amusement."Maxim, have you forgotten something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.Maxim remained unfazed, looking completely at ease. "I don't think so."With her arms crossed, Tatiana stood on the floor
Soon enough, Maxim put the incident out of his mind.In the office, Maxim set down his pen and rubbed his eyes with one hand. After staring at documents all night, he was feeling quite uncomfortable.Finishing the last sip of his unsweetened coffee, Maxim decided it was time for a break. He stood up and walked over to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the bustling traffic below.After just a few minutes of watching, Maxim received a message from Scott. Thinking something might be wrong, he opened it only to find that Scott was informing him that two unscrupulous housekeepers had been let go by Tatiana.Seeing the title "Madam" in the message reminded Maxim that he hadn't visited Tatiana in quite a while. Work had been incredibly hectic at the company, leaving him no time to go back. However, thinking about Tatiana made him shake his head. He decided that he would make an effort to visit her today.After wrapping up her current matters, it was time for Tatiana to
The crisp sound echoed as the cup shattered on the computer.Riley stood frozen for about two seconds before her instincts kicked in, and she shot a fierce glare at Sophie.Sophie was startled by the intensity of Riley's gaze, but recalling what had just happened, she forced herself to say, "I just did it by accident. Who told you to put the cup right next to it?""An accident? I saw you do it! How can you call that an accident?""Thud—"The sound of the cup being slammed down on the table echoed in the room."What are you going to do? You said it was an accident, so is this really necessary? We can just pay for your computer, okay?"Sophie, who had initially looked down on Riley, now seemed a bit intimidated by her fierce expression."Do you think that will help? Didn’t I just tell you how important this computer is? I told you not to touch it!""Bang—""Ah—”A loud thud echoed through the room as Sophie stared in shock at the large patch of blood suddenly staining her forehead. Jus
“What else could he say? He wants us to handle this case well and to wrap it upquickly. Isn’t that putting me in a tough spot? The suspect has killed three people, and we still don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman.”Mason felt a deep frustration about the situation. In all his years on the job, he had never encountered a case this difficult.“I see,” Delaney said, observing the troubled look on Vance’s face. After a moment of thought, she spoke up, “Vance, I need to tell you something. Please don’t get upset when you hear it.”"What do you mean, what’s going on?"Vance frowned, wondering what could possibly be so important at this moment."It's just that I might have to go back soon. I probably won't be able to continue following this case. But don’t worry, I’ll definitely sign a confidentiality agreement before I leave, and I won’t say anything about this afterward.""Going back?" Vance frowned. He had intended to talk about Delany, but now he found himself at a loss for words
After saying that, Riley took off her gloves and neatly placed them aside before walking over to Tatiana.As the two of them walked further away, the others working in the garden exchanged glances and murmured among themselves."Isn't it just that she knows a bit more about gardening than we do? It's ridiculous that she caught the lady's attention. I knew from the moment Riley arrived that she was trouble, and it seems I was right.""Exactly! She thinks just because she knows a thing or two, she can flirt with the master. Before long, she'll be trying to use her looks to catch the young master's eye.""I see her as nothing but a gold digger. Someone needs to teach her a lesson; otherwise, she won't even know her own worth.""I agree, a little lesson would do her good."After their conversation, the two women exchanged knowing glances, harboring a strong animosity toward the newcomer, Riley.Meanwhile, Riley was unaware of the brewing trouble. She simply followed Tatiana into her room
Julian remained silent, not responding to Tatiana's words. He stiffly accepted the document she handed him and opened it, confirming it was indeed what he had suspected—a divorce agreement.He wondered why he had felt a bit uneasy that morning, thinking it was just due to lack of rest. But now he realized it was because of the impending situation that would unfold that evening.The room fell silent for about a minute. Watching Maxim's expression, Tatiana couldn't tell if he was takingher seriously. After some internal debate, she finally spoke up, "If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Or if you think something is definitely wrong, let me know so I can have Riley revise it for tomorrow.""Why?"After another half-minute of silence, Taitana finally heard Maxim’s voice directed at her.Another pause followed."Because I think we’re not suited for each other. From the start, our marriage was just a mutual arrangement, right?”As she spoke, Tatiana got off the bed and sto
Riley was right; Maxim was indeed a wonderful person. It was impressive how someone in such a high position could remain humble and not get carried away. It was no wonder so many people admired him.Maxim was also handsome, with looks that were undeniably top-notch. It was impossible for her not to feel something for him. He had always been so good to her—staying by her side when she was sick, keeping her company when she couldn’t sleep, even cutting fruit for her. To be honest, over the years, only a handful of people had treated her this well. How could she not be moved?But she was also well aware of how unsuitable she was for Maxim. She wasn't a model citizen, always skirting the edges of society, and who knew when she might just disappear? Maxim, on the other hand, was different. He had a solid reputation, and even if his family life wasn't perfect, at least he lived in the light, while she did not.Feeling a bit down, Tatiana carefully set aside the divorce agreement. It wa
Tatiana asked, genuinely curious about how Marcus managed to raise Tara to be this way."I don't know. My dad never tells me what he actually does for a living."As memories of her past life surfaced, Tara's mood darkened. "When I was really young, my dad told me that my mom passed away for some reason. Since my dad worked long hours, I hardly ever got to see him, so I was basically raised by the housekeeper.""Later, I heard from my dad that the housekeeper could no longer take care of me due to some accident, so I came back to the country to continue my studies."After saying this, Tara looked at Tatiana and asked, "Why do you want to know about this, teacher?""Oh, I'm just a bit curious, that's all," Tatiana replied with a gentle smile.It seemed that Tatiana was right; Marcus didn’t want his child involved in his work. But why had he suddenly sent Tara back to her home country? With them being in different countries, it was hard to believe that Marcus would casually send a child
With that, the agent decided to pull out his phone to call Tatiana. He added, "Maybe Tatiana knows what to do about this. She wrote the lyrics and choreographed the dance, so she musthave some insight into what’s going on.”At first, Jayden didn’t quite grasp the situation, but once he did, he quickly stepped forward to snatch the phone from his agent's hands."What are you doing? We need to tell Tatiana about this right away so she can help us resolve it. If we wait until it blows up, it won't be good for your reputation. You absolutely can't afford any trouble right now."Recently, the higher-ups at the company had decided to push Jayden toward acareer in the film industry, making this a crucial time for him. They had clearly stated that he needed to stay out of trouble during this period, so when this incident occurred, his agent panicked and wanted to call Tatiana to sort it out."Let’s not tell Tatiana about this just yet," Jayden said, feeling an odd reluctance to involve Tati
After staying up late watching TV last night, Taitana successfully overslept again. Fortunately, her classes didn’t start until the afternoon, so it wasn’t a big deal.When Tatiana went downstairs for breakfast, she noticed that Maxim was missing and casually asked where he had gone.“Miss, he had to go to work. I saw him leave the garden quite early. He’s probably in a hurry to get to work to take better care of you these days,” Riley replied.After a moment's thought, Riley continued, “The last time we went looking for you, I could see the concern in his eyes. He seemed really upset when he couldn’t find you.”Tatiana remained silent as Riley spoke. She recalled the kiss they shared last night and couldn’t ignore Riley’s words. She had to face the truth—Maxim might actually have feelings for her. But how could she ever be with him?No matter how it looked, Maxim seemed like someone who lived in the sunlight, while she was different. She hadn’t been that person for a long time.