"Here," Luke said, handing me the wallet.He probably didn't want to owe me anything. I opened the wallet, took out some cash, and handed it back. "Can you tell me about Goofy's condition?""Marianne said he's lost his appetite and has loose stools. Goofy is timid. When Marianne tried to take him to the vet, he hid under the bed. She tried everything, but couldn't coax him out. She said it's not serious and suggested I buy some medicine to mix with his food.""Goofy is quite different from other Huskies."While most Huskies were destructive, Luke's was as timid as a mouse. That terrified little look on his face was unforgettable."He's just a bit shy. He'll grow out of it. Given enough time, he'll return to his true nature.""When he does, you might miss his current personality." Raising a Husky required extreme patience, or you'd be fuming every other day."No matter how he changes, as long as it's him, I'll be fine with it."How lucky to be Luke's pet dog!If he said somethi
Luke's front door was wide open, and he was standing there, looking at Goofy lying on the ground."I wonder if Luke has any experience with pets at all. Goofy needs rest and medication, not to be outside," I thought.I tugged on the leash. "Come on, sweetie, let's go over there."Samoyeds are highly sensitive to other dogs. Before I finished speaking, he had already spotted Goofy and bolted in his direction, restrained only by the leash in my hand.Goofy, being timid, was lying there looking like a wilted flower. Hearing the commotion, he quickly opened his eyes and moved closer to Luke.Goofy was clearly unwell and not his usual agile self. I picked up my Samoyed to keep him from disturbing Goofy, and stopped about three meters away to avoid stressing Goofy further.Luke turned to me, "You're still up?""I'm walking my dog and was just about to head back." I pointed at Goofy. "He's sick and needs rest. You should wait until he feels better before taking him out.""He's worse t
When I mentioned this to Wendy later, she was amazed. She said that now women in Johnsonville would envy Luke's dog even more.Goofy needed IV treatments for the next few days. Since it was late, Luke and I left Goofy in the hospital after leaving our contact information.The streets were nearly empty past midnight. Exhausted and sleepy, I called a car on my phone. As soon as I got in, I leaned against the back seat and quickly fell asleep.When I woke up, I was lying on the back seat, covered with Luke's black suit jacket. Still a bit groggy from sleep, I touched the jacket and noticed its high-quality and faint smell of tobacco.I remembered going with Luke to take Goofy to the vet and calling a car for the return trip, but everything else was a blur.Not sure how long I had been asleep, I slowly sat up. Outside, the sky was beginning to lighten. Luke was leaning against the car, so I knocked on the window to get his attention."Where are we now?" I asked, opening the door and
The sun peeked over the horizon, casting a calm, gentle light across the misty sea. Its red glow spilled across the water, transforming its orange-red surface into a glittering expanse of golden waves in just two minutes. It was a breathtaking spectacle."It's so beautiful!" I exclaimed.I had watched the sunrise with Max back in school, but it was nowhere near as awe-inspiring as this.Luke smiled slightly.Immersed in the beauty, my fatigue faded away. However, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, I quickly checked the time on my phone.7:30! Oh no, I'm going to be late!"Jen, it's the weekend. We have a day off," Luke reminded me."Right, I completely forgot it's the weekend," I admitted. How could I forget that Luke, a workaholic, wouldn't be watching the sunrise if today were a workday?"Let's head back."Luke glanced at the driver, who immediately understood and approached the car with a smile. "Boss, where to now?""Let's go to the Dolcetto Cafe near Johnsonville Univ
Since Annie came to Johnsonville, she forbade me from going to the nursing home. She believed it was more important for me to stay home and take care of her than to take care of the residents at the nursing home. At that time, I tolerated her demands to keep Max from being caught in the middle. Looking back now, I realize how foolish I was."That's great! Anytime works for me, Jen," Patty eagerly replied."Let's meet at the nursing home at two," I confirmed.After ending the call, I spent a couple of hours reading before heading out to buy gifts.At exactly two o'clock, I arrived at the nursing home. The taxi driver kindly helped me unload the gifts from the trunk."Jen, why did you buy so many things?" Patty asked, her face beaming with joy as she greeted me. She had arrived a bit earlier."I haven't seen them in a while. This is just a small token of my appreciation.""You may not have seen them in a while, but you still send money every month. You're not related to them, yet
I couldn't contain my laughter. It felt amazing to have someone defend me."Jen, is she the woman who destroyed your family?" Mrs. Foster asked."Yes, she is!" I responded, following Mrs. Foster's lead. I couldn't let her efforts go to waste. "She's always around. I can't avoid her even if I try.""You awful woman! Are you bullying Jen because she doesn't have a family?" Mrs. Foster grabbed the sewing basket from the table and hurled it at Mandy. "Let me tell you, everyone here at the nursing home is Jen's family. If you bully her, you're bullying all of us!""You shameless person! Look at your clothes. You don't belong here. Get out before you make a mess of this place!" Mrs. Todd, still lively in her fifties, stood up to drive Mandy away."You've misunderstood. I'm not Jen's husband's lover. I...""I know you're the official wife now. You succeeded in your scheme! Pah!""It's not what you think. I...""Don't give me that nonsense about unrequited love being the real mistress.
"Jen, I grew up in a foster home and joined Mulligan after graduation. I thought that if I worked hard, my life would improve. But after three years, I'm still just a design assistant, doing menial tasks. My designs always end up in the trash," Patty said, her expression pained."Whenever something goes wrong, I'm the scapegoat. I'm always the one working overtime, but never on the list for a raise. I'm tired of this job.""Patty, you told me about your work situation before, and I had Wendy find you a new job, but you turned it down, saying you didn't want to adapt to a new environment."I remembered Wendy had found her a position as a designer at Origin Real Estate. Although Origin was smaller than Mulligan at the time, its founder was the son of a well-known wealthy entrepreneur in Johnsonville. There were many rumors about Origin; some said the founder wasn't serious and wouldn't last long, while others believed the company had strong backing. Wendy, knowing the founder well, be
When I arrived at the Pet Pavilion, I saw Luke standing at the entrance, talking on the phone. He looked different from his usual business attire, wearing a black tracksuit and styled hair that made him appear a few years younger.In that moment, I felt a sense of déjà vu. Years ago, I had seen him in a similar outfit at my house. Luke could pull off anything, even a simple tracksuit, with his tall frame, broad shoulders, and narrow waist. Back then, he had stood under a wall of blooming roses, lost in thought with his hands in his pockets. At that time, I was focused on Max and barely noticed Luke. However, that brief glimpse of him had left a lasting impression on me. The memory felt so vivid, as if it had happened just yesterday, despite the passage of years and the many changes that had occurred.I overheard a snippet of Luke's phone conversation, so I positioned myself a bit further away to avoid eavesdropping. When Luke spotted me, he ended the call."Sorry for the inconvenien
Due to jet lag, I was already exhausted though it wasn't dark yet.Ian was drooping too, suddenly slumping against me.Worried he'd fall, I quickly steadied him.He glanced at me before contentedly closing his eyes again.He was completely worn out.Mr. Lloyd, who had been chatting with the director, noticed this and quickly wrapped up his conversation to join us.Still half-awake, Ian instinctively held onto my arm when his father reached for him."It's your Dad."At my words, Ian let go.Mr. Lloyd picked him up and strode toward the car, while I gathered Ian's things and followed.On the way back, I offered to drive.Mr. Lloyd was quiet. I turned on the car's music system, and soft music filled the space.Having debuted overseas as a trainee, Mr. Lloyd's fingers unconsciously tapped along to the rhythm on his leg.At a red light, I caught this movement in the rearview mirror.Mr. Lloyd had been an all rounder superstar - consistently among the top three highest-earning
Since Penelope was mid-flight and unreachable, I sent her a message and forwarded Sara's letter."Are you okay, Jen? You seem worried," Ian asked."Just blown away by your amazing performance. I'm still thinking about it."Ian was a natural - his acting could really move people."I might be cocky,” Ian grinned.He looked proud, and I ruffled his hair. "No chance of that."For a four-year-old, he'd shown remarkable composure during the preschool incident.Even after being cleared, he hadn't played the victim. That kind of emotional strength showed real character.A few compliments wouldn't change that.Ian's smile lit up his whole face, showing perfect baby teeth."When do you start filming your scenes?"The director was clearly impressed - Ian's role was locked in."Not sure yet."Ian looked up at his father."Soon," Mr. Lloyd said, clearly proud of Ian's performance. "I'll stay on set with Ian these next few days. Jen, feel free to explore the city. I'll call if we need
Just when they thought they'd found hope, the bad guys caught up with them.During their escape, his best friend fell off a cliff. When Bobby was finally rescued and led them back, they found his friend's body, mangled beyond recognition. He was devastated."I'll start now!"In an instant, Ian transformed. He walked heavily toward a chair, his expression gradually filling with pain.Kneeling beside the chair, he reached out as if to touch "him" but couldn't bring himself to do it. Tears silently rolled down his face.The director checked the script and signaled his assistant to remove the chair, simulating the scene where the friend's body would be placed in a body bag.At this, Ian broke into heart-wrenching sobs.His emotional outburst impressed everyone watching on set.Mr. Lloyd looked proud, and the director, as if discovering a treasure, praised Ian after his performance: "Your acting reminds me of your father in his prime.""If I'm as good as Dad was at my age, imagine
I'd dug my own grave, hadn't I?I swallowed my food, took a sip of water, and kept my head down while eating.Luke pushed the mild seafood soup toward me. "This is less spicy."Stubborn as I was, I ignored him.Luke called the server over, trying to order milder versions of the fish and pork."Don't bother, I love extra spicy food."Even though I needed water after every bite, I was determined to finish what I'd ordered.Seeing my stubbornness, Luke apologized to the server and let her go."Jen...""Don't talk while eating."By now, my soul had practically left my body from the spice. I wasn't in the mood for conversation.My throat felt like it was on fire as I gulped down more water.Luke quietly refilled my empty glass. He'd barely touched his seafood soup, his elegant movements making me feel even more ungraceful.I was suffering from my own spite!I wanted to throw down my chopsticks and leave.No, stay calm!I tried to maintain my composure, fighting the urge to d
Just as I finished speaking, my stomach let out an embarrassing growl."There's an excellent Chinese place around the corner," Luke said."You've been here before?""No.""..." Then how did he know about a good restaurant?Did he research every place this thoroughly?He'd make a perfect travel companion.I later learned he'd researched local restaurants knowing my passion for food.I'd only had water since waking up. The film crew would have finished lunch by now, with no leftovers available. I needed to find something on the way.Being in a bad mood lately, I hadn't researched any local restaurants before coming here.Craving authentic Chinese food, I decided to take Luke's suggestion.It was an upscale Chinese restaurant specializing in spicy cuisine. As soon as we sat down, a cheerful server brought out place settings and started listing their specialties."Our portions are generous. For a couple, I'd recommend one appetizer and a soup to start.""We're not a couple," I
Luke came to search for his birth mother himself?As I looked at him, he noticed me too.I greeted him and was about to get a taxi to the set."If you have time, can you show me where you saw her yesterday?""I... okay."Mr. Lloyd and Ian would be fine - finding Luke's mother was more urgent.After weighing the pros and cons, I agreed.Luke hadn't brought an assistant. I waited outside while he took his luggage to his hotel room, then we walked to where I'd seen his mother yesterday.It wasn't far from the hotel, so we went on foot.Without thinking, I kept about three feet between us.Luke: "Do I look like some kind of monster?"With his model-like features that made you want to break rules just looking at him, how could he possibly look like a monster?I shook my head."Then why are you keeping such a distance?""..." So that's what he meant...Though I'd decided to stay just friends, my heart - already full of him - still skipped beats when we were together.He was t
"If you can't find her, Luke can! Now that he has a general area, he can track her down quickly.""I'll let him know."Mrs. Walker was also searching for her, planning to use her to manipulate Luke. We needed to contact her before Mrs. Walker did.After hanging up with Wendy, I looked at Luke’s number on my phone. Several times I almost called him, but kept backing out.After hesitating, I tried calling Emily, but hung up just before it connected.Although Emily had been open with me, I couldn't be sure if she was genuinely helping Luke.To be safe, I called Luke instead. He answered on the first ring.Luke stayed silent."Mr. Walker, this is Jen.""I wasn't planning to cut you out of my life completely. I kept your number."Me: ...There he went again with his sharp tongue. I almost hung up, but remembering how much he'd helped me, and that I could finally do something for him, I told him about possibly seeing his birth mother near the hotel.After a moment of silence, Luk
"Dad, he's a bad guy!" Ian pointed at the man who was already several yards away.The robber was huge - well over 6'2", wearing a denim vest that showed off his muscular arms. Mr. Lloyd probably couldn't take many punches from him, and we didn't know if he was armed. It wasn't worth the risk.I ruffled Ian's hair. "Let's go get something to eat.""Help! Stop the robber!"A woman was running after him, desperately grabbing passersby for help, out of breath.Following the 'better safe than sorry' principle, no one stepped forward to help.She reached us, and seeing we were Asian, her eyes lit up with hope. "Please help me, I have something very important in my bag."Mr. Lloyd looked down at his arm where she was clutching it. "I'm sorry, we're new here and unfamiliar with the area. We can't help."She let go, disappointed, staring dejectedly in the direction the robber had disappeared.Ian said in his sweet voice, "When you're in trouble, find a police officer."The woman was a
His stern look only made Penelope more nervous.When Director Nolan called "Cut!", she was already drenched in cold sweat.She quickly apologized to the director.Director Nolan watched the playback with a grave expression.As the makeup artist touched up Penelope's makeup, I went to her side and encouraged her: "It gets easier after the first try. You'll do better in the next take.""Jen..." Penelope glanced at the crew members around us. "This is my first time on such a major production.""You'll have many more opportunities like this."One Entertainment had been investing most of its resources in Penelope lately, and with her connection to Jethro, her popularity wasn't waning.One hit was all she needed to skyrocket to stardom."Jen..."Penelope's voice trembled with worry.George was particularly anxious too. "You've done well in other productions. We can't mess up at this crucial moment!"A good performance in Director Nolan's film could lead to future collaborations,