I must stay awake. I still need to inform Luke about tomorrow's schedule. I attempted to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt incredibly heavy. Despite my efforts, I eventually succumbed to the overwhelming drowsiness and drifted off to sleep.When I woke up, it was already the next morning. I lazily rolled around in bed, hugging the blanket. It felt so satisfying to be well-rested!With my face buried in the blanket, I reached for the alarm clock on the bedside table to check the time. But where was the alarm clock?I fumbled around the bedside table, unable to find it. Confused, I lifted my head."Why is my bedside table black?"My old bedroom had a warm color scheme, with a light pink bedside table adorned with three small plush toys. The table in front of me was bare and unfamiliar.I froze for a moment, noticing the matching dark wooden floor. Suddenly, I sat up straight.Last night, I had fallen asleep before reporting the work schedule to Luke. With a secretary as unreliable
"Let me see your hand," Luke said.A few minutes later, Luke returned to the kitchen with a tube of ointment. He reached over to turn off the faucet."My finger doesn't hurt anymore," I said.Based on my experience, the small, one-centimeter burn on my finger wouldn't leave a scar even without the ointment."Dry your hand," Luke insisted, handing me a dark blue checkered handkerchief.Luke's seriousness about this made me smile wryly as I took the handkerchief."The professor said you used to be afraid of pain and would cry over a small scratch.""That was in the past."Back then, I was spoiled by my parents and loved to act cute around them. Now, the only person who will spoil me is Wendy. No one else will coddle or protect me."Max is really impressive indeed, turning someone who used to cry over a scratch into a tough person who can even cook."I understood the underlying meaning of Luke's words and lowered my head. "Mr. Walker, you're impressive too. You've shown me that
In the morning, the Greenfield Building buzzed with activity. To avoid adding fuel to the gossip fire, I decided to have Luke drop me off two blocks away. I eagerly grabbed my bag and exited the car.Just as I stepped out, my phone buzzed with a message from Wendy. She had sent me a video. I opened it to find footage of two staff members from Johnsonville Business School removing Max's photo from the wall of distinguished alumni.Right after the video ended, Wendy called."Jen, the school took down Max's photo! They're practically crucifying him. He'll never be seen on the same level as Luke again!""When did Luke's image become so grand in your eyes?"Max's photo used to hang next to Luke's on the wall. Every time Max stood there, he would sneer at Luke's picture, mocking him."He's always been great. I've always looked up to him. Today is a victory. I'm going to post this video on social media and the school forum.""I'll make sure to create a fake account to watch.""Just wa
"She's not doing charity! She's causing trouble. That idiot Max, so clever that he's outsmarted himself, doesn't even have evidence of Cindy using him.""Someday, she will pay for what she's done."Cindy manipulated me like a toy, planning everything from the beginning. She kept provoking me, confident that I couldn't touch her. But no plan is foolproof. I just have to wait patiently for her downfall."Absolutely! Max is terrible, but Cindy is even worse. If it weren't for the fact that Old Mrs. Lansworth is in poor health, I would have already gone to her to expose Cindy."Old Mrs. Lansworth, Lucy, doesn't like Cindy. With her poor health, any stress could worsen it and deepen the rift between the Lansworth and Smith families."Calm down, Wendy. We'll find another way.""Jen, are you okay?"Wendy asked with concern in her voice."I'm not your favorite anymore, Wendy. You only just now remembered to ask how I'm feeling?"Feigning a pout, I glanced at the TV screen, took a bite
I ignored the call, put my phone on silent, tossed it into my bag, and headed to meet Wendy.I took a cab to in99 and had just gotten out when someone bumped into me, spilling the contents of her bag all over the ground."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she stammered, quickly bending down to gather her things.Her voice sounded familiar. "It's okay," I said, crouching to help her."Jen?" Sharon asked, looking up in surprise as she zipped her bag closed."What happened? You look so upset," I asked. Sharon, unlike Cindy, had a good character, and I had a favorable impression of her."It's Cindy... she's missing!" Sharon's eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to cry."She can't just disappear," I replied, skeptical."I really can't find her," Sharon insisted, her voice frantic. "We were shopping, and she was trying on clothes. I ran into an old friend and chatted for a bit. When I went back, Cindy was gone.""Maybe she went home.""No," Sharon shook her head, pointing
"The incident back then was your doing too," I said, trying to control my rising anger as I confronted Cindy, who had hurt me so many times without any repercussions."So what if it was? What can you do about it?" Cindy taunted, clearly pleased with herself. "Jen, with your level of intelligence, going against me is just setting yourself up for humiliation. You're not even a challenge. But before I declare a temporary truce, I'll do you a favor.""The identity of the man that night means nothing to me. This isn't worth meeting you over," I said, suspecting she was just trying to find another way to hurt me."If you don't come, I'll take your father's ashes abroad and bury them with my mother. He was with your mother in life; in death, he can be with my mother. That's fair.""Address," I demanded. Cindy was crazy enough to follow through on her threat. She had already proven she would go to any lengths to hurt me."That's more like it. Come to Asta Residence. I want to see you in t
Wasn't he supposed to be in the hospital? How could he be right behind me?Realizing the danger, my body instinctively tensed, and I tightened my grip on my bag.Holding my breath, I stayed still, observing his movements through the glass door.Max approached quickly. As he reached out to cover my mouth, I spun around, swung my bag at him, and stomped on his foot."Ouch!"Max cried out in pain and paused.Ever since he nearly killed me at Cintail Mountain, I had developed a post-traumatic response. When I saw him in jail, the bars between us allowed me to remain calm.Now, fear took over. I screamed and ran in panic."Shut up!" Max, now a fugitive, feared drawing attention and yelled at me to be quiet.Ignoring him, I kept shouting, "Help! Help!""Jen, you're asking for trouble!" Max, desperate and dangerous, had nothing to lose. If he caught me, survival was unlikely. I ran as fast as I could."You think you can escape?" Max's long strides closed the distance between us. I
"Ah!"Max threw me onto the floor and slammed the door shut, causing sharp pains to shoot through my body.With sadistic pleasure in his eyes, Max kicked me and taunted, "You're already in pain and I haven't even started. What will you do next?""How did you escape, Max?" I asked, bewildered. The hospital had police guards and handcuffs to restrain him. How did he manage to leave without anyone noticing?"You're still curious about that?" Max sneered. "Do you really think sending me to jail would make you safe? I'll be your nightmare for life. You can't get rid of me!"Interrupting our conversation, a timid female voice spoke up, "When can we leave, Mr. Jennings?". I looked over to see Mindy, Max's assistant from his startup days.Mindy was a young, outgoing woman who had recently graduated from college. She was always cheerful and respectful, addressing me as "Sister Jen" every time we met. Wendy had warned me that hiring a young girl like her might lead to trouble, but I had tr
We both knew how we felt about each other, but neither of us made the first move to confess.“I gave birth to him in circumstances I couldn’t control,” Molly said, her hands tightly clutching her cup, fingers unconsciously tracing its edge. “I used to think about fighting back against the people who hurt me, but reality forced me to wake up. I couldn’t afford to lose everything.”She hesitated, her gaze dropping. “There are things from back then that I just can’t bring myself to tell him.”When I arranged for Luke and Molly to spend some time alone, the two of them mostly sat in silence.“Mrs. Walker couldn’t have children for years after her marriage. Luke was just a tool to help her secure her place in the family,” Molly explained.Mr. Walker was handsome, wealthy, and from a good family. After getting married, women constantly threw themselves at him. According to the information Wendy had dug up, Landon didn’t exactly push them away.In such a situation, Mrs. Walker, Ashleigh
Molly poured four glasses of juice and sat across from Luke.She looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start.I gave Ian a quick look.Ian took a sip of his juice and said, “Miss, the juice is sweet and sour—it’s so good!”“Drink it up, and I’ll pour you some more,” Molly offered.Luke interjected, “It’s almost time to rest. Don’t drink too much juice.”“I’m sorry, I don’t have experience taking care of kids,” Molly said, lowering her head. After a pause, she quietly repeated, “I’m sorry.”She was probably thinking of Luke as a baby.I clutched my stomach, pretending to wince. “Excuse me, Molly. My stomach hurts; I need to head back to my room.”As I stood, I grabbed Ian’s wrist.Ian caught on quickly. “Jen is a girl. She’ll get scared going back alone—I have to go with her.”Not giving Luke a chance to respond, I opened the door and said, “Mr. Walker, you stay and chat with Molly. Ian and I will be back in a bit.”In the hallway, Ian looked thoug
Molly wasn’t the type to make things difficult for others. She didn’t give the hotel manager a hard time.After the staff left, Molly turned to thank Luke and me. “Thank you for staying with me and helping me handle this.”Luke glanced at her but didn’t say anything.The silence grew awkward, so I quickly broke it. “You don’t have to thank us. We didn’t really do much.”“Would you like to come in and sit for a while?” Molly invited us into her room.Before either of us could respond, Ian, who’d been holding back his excitement, eagerly chimed in, “Yes, yes! Let’s go!”I sighed internally.Molly finally noticed the little one in Luke’s arms. “And who’s this?”“I’m Ian Lloyd,” he introduced himself cheerfully.But the moment he got a good look at Molly’s face, he let out a small “Huh?” and then turned to look at Luke.Luke frowned slightly, and their eyes met—a silent understanding passing between them. Ian immediately shut his mouth and swallowed whatever he’d been about to sa
Five hours later, we arrived in Sharonville.Before the trip, Luke had everything arranged. After landing, we took a car to the hotel he’d booked in advance.In the hotel lobby, we ran into Molly. She was walking with two middle-aged men in sharp suits, smiling as she chatted with them.When her eyes met Luke’s, her smile froze for a moment, then slowly softened as she stared at him without blinking.Luke didn’t acknowledge her. He walked right past, brushing by her shoulder as though she wasn’t there. From the corner of my eye, I saw her eyes redden.The two men exchanged glances but didn’t say anything. That night, however, they sent two young, handsome men to Molly’s room.Our room was on the same floor as Molly’s. After dinner out, we returned to the hotel and saw her standing at her door with the two young men.Their faces were powdered with heavy makeup, and they looked eager to please, practically glued to her.My thoughts immediately took a less innocent turn.Luke co
Amy messaging me at this hour was probably another complaint about other agencies trying to poach her, or how stressed she was about it all.The underlying message? She wanted me to contact Mr. Lloyd to secure better resources for her—a thinly veiled threat, essentially.Since several popular artists left One Entertainment, the company’s resources had started to dwindle.Mr. Lloyd’s return wasn’t just because of his love for acting. He also wanted to support the company’s artists, giving them more opportunities to shine.Amy had already begun to stand out. If she simply focused on honing her craft and stayed patient, she’d get her share of the spotlight.When Mr. Lloyd founded the company, his goal was to grow it into a powerhouse that protected its artists. Now, he had adopted a more laid-back approach: if an artist wanted to leave, they just needed to pay the penalty fee.Amy’s tactics wouldn’t change anything.I went back to reading my book.My phone buzzed again, and I ass
Mr. Lloyd's words carried a hint of reassurance for me.“Jen, Uncle asked me to create a travel itinerary!”Luke had been telling Ian lots of stories about Sharonville, and Ian had also looked up a ton of information online. He now knew every street in the city and how many shops were on each one.Carefully folding his sweaters, Ian placed them neatly into his suitcase, which was decorated with a cheerful Doraemon sticker.“I’m really looking forward to your travel guide, Ian!”“I’ve already finished most of it!” Ian was a serious little worker who never did things half-heartedly. If he said it was nearly done, he was probably putting on the finishing touches.I praised him warmly.“Jen, since the three of us are traveling together, we need to consider everyone’s preferences and suggestions.”“So, you want to get my input to finalize it?”“Exactly.”“Well, wherever you want to go is where I want to go. This trip, I’ll leave the planning to you.”Luke had work to handle in Shar
For the past few days, Luke has been picking me up and dropping me off at work.Reporters often linger outside One Entertainment, and it took a lot of effort for rumors about me and Luke to die down. I didn’t want them to resurface.Luke understood my concerns, so he always parked his car a block away from the company. Once he sent me a message, I’d grab Ian and head over.That evening, Luke prepared another full table of dishes for dinner.Ever since things thawed between us, I hadn’t said much during meals, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.“She’s already in Sharonville,” Luke said.“Hasn’t she been out of the country for years? Will she be safe there alone?”He was talking about Molly.The Walker family has been a prominent family in Sharonville for generations, with deep-rooted connections and influence. Mrs. Walker is a respected figure, and many people in Sharonville owe her favors. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone decided to teach Molly a lesson on
I watched the behind-the-scenes footage, and Mr. Lloyd looked great. After stepping out of the spotlight for a few years, his demeanor has become even more composed and sophisticated, perfectly matching the calm and collected surgeon he portrays in the show.“He’s as brilliant as ever,” Beatrice said, her eyes filled with admiration. “As long as the co-stars hold their ground, this show is bound to be a hit.”“He has an exceptional eye for picking scripts,” she added, her gaze glued to the screen.I didn’t interrupt her. Instead, I got up and went to the kitchen to check on Ian’s progress.For someone so young, Ian took everything seriously. Standing on a small stool to make up for his height, he carefully worked on brewing coffee, his movements precise and methodical.“Waiter Number One, Ian Lloyd, at your service. Your oat latte will be ready soon,” he announced cheekily.I laughed at his playful tone and played along. “Waiter Number Two will now deliver orange juice to Mr. Ian
While Beatrice chatted with Ian, I brought the gifts to the living room."You're too kind, Ms. Middleton.""Ian bought these with his pocket money."I winked at Ian.He caught on quickly, nodding.Beatrice warmly invited me to sit.Fresh fruit and two plates of nuts were on the coffee table.She placed a fruit bowl before me. "Yesterday's blueberries are fresh—crisp and sweet."The large blueberries were covered in bloom. I took one and made space for Beatrice."What would you like? Coffee or juice?""Fresh orange juice for me, and Jen likes oat milk latte," Ian said, playing with a doll, squishing its face into different shapes.Suddenly remembering our earlier conversation, he dropped the doll and ran to the kitchen. "I've learned lots from Jen. I can make juice and coffee!"Beatrice praised him: "How impressive!"She started toward the kitchen, concerned.I held her arm. "Ian's a quick learner. He does everything properly. We can trust him.""He gets along so well wit