As she pulled out her phone to call the driver, it rang first. An unknown number?Tatiana had initially planned not to answer, but for some reason, she found herself picking up the call."Hello, who is this?"As soon as she answered, Tatiana regretted it, but she felt too awkward to hang up. She silently hoped it was just a wrong number.After her words hung in the air, there was amoment of silence on the other end. Just as Tatiana was about to lose patience and hang up, she heard a distant voice softly call her name."Loli."The world around her seemed to fade into silence, and Tatiana could hear her own heartbeat. It had been years since anyone had called her by that name. When was the last time someone said it?Tatiana tried to recall, but she couldn't remember. It felt like a lifetime ago.The voice on the other end was old, and as Tatiana remained silent, the elderly man spoke again, "Loli."Hearing that voice again, Tatiana snapped back to reality. This time, she recognized
"Tatiana!"Maxim jumped out of the car and ran through the rain to her, scooping her up in his arms. "Are you okay? Why didn't you go home?"It seemed like Tatiana was just coming back to reality. She let out a sarcastic laugh and replied softly, "Home? What home do I have left?""Why don’t you have a home? Where we live is home."Looking at the fragile Tatiana in his arms, Maxim felt as if his heart was being squeezed. He tightened his grip around her and said, "I’ll take you home right now."With that, Maxim carefully carried Tatiana back to the car, step by step.Back in the car, Tatiana squinted slightly, her head resting weakly on Maxim's shoulder. She had fallen asleep without even realizing it.In her slumber, Tatiana appeared even more fragile, as if she could ascend to another realm at any moment.Watching Tatiana like this, Maxim held her hands tightly, his eyes filled with concern that even Riley couldn't help but feel moved by.She had never imagined that Maxim cared s
Thinking this way, Tatiana looked at Maxim, smiled softly, and said, “Thank you. You should go get some rest now. I’m all set here. I’ll call Riley up to take care of me. You watched over me all night, so it’s best you take a break. Let’s put off any work-related matters until tomorrow.”Her words, filled with distance and politeness, made Maxim instantly understand Tatiana’s intentions.They were both adults, after all. If he couldn’t grasp such straightforward words, he wouldn’t truly be an adult.However, understanding was one thing; acting on it was another. Since they were already married, she would always be his wife. There was no room for anything else, regardless of the reasons behind their marriage. In the end, it all boiled down to love.But there was no need to voice any of this; it was enough for her to understand it in her heart. As Maxim left, he casually informed Riley, who was busy making porridge in the kitchen, that Tatiana had woken up.Riley immediately dropped
Hearing this, Camille felt a wave of happiness for her daughter. Looking at Anna's enthusiasm, she said, "Sweetheart, just focus on becoming a star. I’ll handle thingswith the dance club. Taking a few days off won’t be a problem; they won’t give you a hard time."Camile understood the dance club's rules and knew how much dancers dreaded missing practice. However, she also believed in her daughter’s talent. Even if Anna took a break, she would retain her dance fundamentals when she returned.With that thought in mind, Camille and Anna quickly packed her luggage. Since they had to go to the office tomorrow, Anna decided to go to bed early that night.While Anna drifted off into sweet dreams, on the other side of the apartment, Tatiana found herself unable to sleep. After spending the whole day resting in bed, she was wide awake at night. Having just recovered from an illness, she felt more restless than usual. What could she do when sleep eluded her?Tatiana had her own solutions.
Watching Tatiana concentrate so hard on what to do, Maxim shook his head with a smile. This side of her was so charming. If she could stay like this, it would be wonderful, but he knew that this version of Tatiana might only last for today."What's the rush? It's still early!"After saying that, Tatiana continued to ponder. Then, a memory from her childhood came to mind. She remembered seeing other kids sitting on the couch with their parents, watching TV together. She had always envied that, but for various reasons, she never got to enjoy that simple pleasure with her own family.With that thought, Tatiana turned to Maxim, smiled, and said, "I don't really want to play anything. How about we just go to the living room and watch a movie?""Going to the movies?" Maxim asked, surprised. "So, you’ve been standing here thinking for so long just to ask me to go watch a movie with you?""Is that a problem? I just like watching movies," Tatiana replied. In truth, she rarely watched f
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.
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
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
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