Theodore Balsa’s recognition was surprisingly easy. Their presence captivated everyone’s attention. Although the masks obscured their expressions, it was clear too many that they had fought over a woman. Therefore, everyone was eager to witness their interaction as soon as they were in proximity.Matthew narrowed his eyes and apologized to the guest he was talking to at that moment. After that, he quickly made his way towards the three.“Blake,” Theodore smiled. “I didn’t join the crowd because many people wanted to talk to you a moment ago,” Theodore said, grinning. Don’t tell me you’re leaving already.”Travis gently asked, “What do you want?”Theodore smiled as he looked at Hailey. “Who is this? Could you please introduce her to me, Blake?”Travis felt no need to be polite. “There’s no need to introduce her.”Theodore scoffed as he toyed with his ring. “It’s not like I’m going to take her from you. I already have my dear little Lizz.”He continued to tease Hailey, “I really can’t t
Travis remained expressionless and replied lightly, “It’s okay.”Hailey instantly knew that her cousin had misunderstood them, so she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. I guess it would be hard not to misinterpret it, considering our current position and all. Anyone would think the same if they saw us now.As the door closed once more, Travis pressed one button but still didn’t let go of Hailey. Hailey did not know if there was anyone around them since he didn’t release her, so she didn’t dare move a muscle either.However, she could hear Travis’s heartbeat. It felt too intimate, and she wasn’t used to this at all. Her whole body froze as she continued to listen to his heartbeat.Her own heart also seemed to beat faster than usual, but this only made her more anxious. The elevator was too quiet; she worried Travis could also hear her heart beating.“If he did, would he believe me if I told him I’m worried someone saw my face a moment ago?”Hailey knew they shouldn’t stay like this an
Calvin spoke. “Her name is Belle.”“Belle?” Christian and Mark exclaimed in surprise.“Where does she work?” Mark continued to ask.That name really sounded like a pseudonym.“How would I know?” Calvin rolled his eyes. “Do you really think I would ask my cousin where he got her from?”“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Mark replied. “If it were my brother, we could still ask. But damn, if we asked Travis that, we’d probably be skinned alive.”Christian felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. “Well, as long as it’s not Hailey.”He wanted to laugh at himself. What am I thinking? Why would Travis bring Hailey to this party? Let alone get intimate with each other.“Many people also share the same sentiment. Damn, I think I like Hailey so much that I’m hallucinating.”His mind relaxed from the tension he felt before. Now that he was less anxious, he could make even more cheerful jokes. Not only that, he could get the information he came for.“Hey, since Mr. Blake brought Mrs. Belle as his
Matthew wouldn’t have guessed they would reject the wine he purposely sent to their room. Hailey simply didn’t dare to drink.She was worried that if she drunk now, she might confess her true feelings to Travis, as she had passed out and forced herself to kiss him the last time.Travis didn’t drink either. He never intended to stay here with Hailey or attend the midnight party. He just waited here until the items arrived, so they could be sorted out. After that, it was time to leave.“If you want to see the scenery, do it now,” he blurted. “We won’t stay here tonight, and I’m not sure when I’ll bring you back here again.”Hailey froze and instantly knew what he meant.“Alright,” she replied. “Can I open the curtains then?”Travis pondered for a few seconds and said, “Your choice.”Hailey couldn’t hide her smile. “This is great!”Travis stared at Hailey, who was by the window. He instantly remembered that oil painting in his room. The style was like what she had now, but it felt differ
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare,”Sophia said. “At first, I thought you would help us, for the sake of our friendship.”Travis continued working. He signed with his name and then set aside the pen and the document. “I made it clear before. The help I offer is that I will not explain or handle the photos that were taken of us. And I just wanted to bring a date to the opening ceremony with me.”“I only promised not to handle the photos, but I never promised to keep playing along with your act. Besides, even if I told you I brought a date just before the party, you wouldn’t believe me either, right, Mrs. Lambert?”Sophia pressed her lips together. She believed Travis was a very calculating person. She thought he would only try to do something for special reasons.Like this time, she knew the scandal was important for the Lambert family he brought another girl to the opening ceremony of the Chalcox Club.However, she didn’t dare ask if Travis knew that someone was hired to take those photos that nigh
No matter how conflicted she felt, time and tide did not wait for her.The next morning, Hailey went to the mansion to request a leave of absence from her mother-in-law, Lilian. When Lilian found out that Hailey had to go to the museum for work, older woman told Hailey to work hard.“By the way, what is Travis up to recently? Has any woman come to the company looking for him?” Lilian asked casually before Hailey left.Hailey paused for a moment to think about what she should say. Mrs. Lambert came to the company looking for him yesterday. I have seen pictures of Mrs. Lambert, so I recognized her.“What did she want?” Lilian had not heard the news that Travis had brought a lady to attend the grand opening party at the Chalcox Club.“I don’t know, but I heard that the Lambert family is not doing very well recently. Maybe she wants to ask Travis for help,” Hailey replied.Lilian snorted. “Travis told me the Lambert family took those pictures. He will never offer them a helping hand.” Aft
After spending the entire afternoon exploring the museum, Hailey and Christian had not finished their outing yet. They planned to continue after lunch. Following the brief exchange in the morning, the atmosphere between the two became strange the entire afternoon. Perhaps it was because Christian had thought things through, but his attitude suddenly became natural. He stopped saying ambiguous words and casually made Hailey explain any beautiful exhibition that caught her interest.Hailey sighed in relief. While it was understandable for Christian to feel sad for a while, it was still preferable to him being sorrowful all day. The two enjoyed lunch near the museum before heading back inside the building. As they climbed the stairs and were about to explore the second-floor exhibition hall, a reckless teenager spilled coke on Hailey.“Ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I didn’t mean to,” the boy, who seemed about thirteen or fourteen years old, panicked.The boy had completely ruined Hail
William took Hailey to a luxurious five-star hotel. Hailey’s stained dress attracted attention once again, but it didn’t bother her. However, she was very confused. Why was Travis here? Was he socializing with some business clients today? What problems could he have encountered in a place like this? She threw the first two questions at William.William pondered it. He realized it was straightforward to answer these two questions and said, “The Lamberts invited Mr. Blake here to discuss cooperation between their companies.”“The Lamberts?” Hailey asked. “Could it be that both parties couldn’t agree and started fighting?” Hailey wondered.“If they were really fighting, do you think I would have time to come pick you up?”William never imagined that the dignified Lamberts would descend to such a low level. When William realized that the head of the Lambert family had actually encouraged his daughter to commit such a heinous act, his respectful assessment of the family crumbled beneath hi
“The grandmother has already decided for Violet to leave the company.”That was all Hailey said in her report to Travis.Travis, who was currently attending a dinner, couldn’t help but laugh at the brief statement. He thought Hailey would at least give him a full report on what exactly Lilian had said, but she didn’t.She was a woman of few words, wasn’t she?“And the others?” Travis asked when she offered nothing else.Actually, receiving a call from his mother before Hailey came to him, he didn’t need her report to know what his grandmother had said. Thalia had told him everything.But Travis wanted to hear what Hailey had to say. He felt a little regretful about having to attend this dinner tonight.“You can ask your mother about the others,” Hailey replied.Travis inwardly sighed. She was really keeping him in suspense!“Mr. Blake,” a warm voice interrupted Travis’ thoughts.Looking up, he saw a young woman who seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember who she was. He nodd
On this day, Hailey’s journey to the ancient chapel of the Blake matriarch was turbulent. First, she received a call from Rowena while on her way there.“What’s up with that video of Violet? Is it real or fake?” Rowena asked.Hailey was surprised. “You saw that video too?”“That video is all over her company right now. Why is it strange for me to see it too?” Rowena replied.“That video is real. Special effects were edited in, but the content is completely real,” Hailey responded.“You speak as if you were a personal witness to the incident.” Just as Rowena said that she halted. “It can’t be that you were the one who recorded the video, right?”Hailey covered up the truth, saying, “It had nothing to do with me. Someone else recorded it, but the content is true.”“Fine. Do you know what to say if your grandmother asks you about this?” Rowena asked.Mary Hewitt had played a good game, even shamelessly sending her niece to Travis. She had always exalted herself, and now she was going to
Hailey was stunned. What did he mean when he said he was disgusted with Violet that afternoon?“What’s wrong with him?” Hailey asked.Initially, she wanted to push Travis away. But when she heard his words, her resistant hands lightly settled on his waist.“During my lunch meeting, she hurried in, looking dirty, and asked for permission to go home and change clothes. It was really disgusting,” Travis said.Hailey knew Travis didn’t like Violet, but she didn’t expect him to feel disgusted by her as well. His obsession with cleanliness, which he was unwilling to admit, left her speechless.After giving it some thought, she couldn’t resist asking, “So, are you full now?”Travis was about to say he was fine, even if he wasn’t full, when a thought crossed his mind. He quickly changed his words.“No,” he said calmly.“So, would you like me to place an order for delivery?” Hailey inquired after a brief pause. Hailey inquired after a brief pause.“Forget it.” Travis hugged her without moving.
The middle-aged woman looked at Hailey, and she knew she was a secretary in the secretarial department. After a brief pause, she said, “That was the new secretary, right? When he passed by me, his leg twisted. He stumbled into me, causing my bucket to tip over. The dirty water from the bucket splashed on his body and dirtied his clothes.”Seeing that she was talking to someone from the secretarial department who could report to the boss on her behalf, the middle-aged woman recounted the dispute she had just had with Violet. She told the story vividly.Wiping away tears, she added sadly, “I can’t afford to compensate her with such expensive clothes, so she threatened to kill me. I’m uncertain about her intentions, but if Mr. Blake inquires about this incident, you were also present. Say something positive on my behalf.”Hailey was speechless. This cleaner had quite a talent for acting. Hailey thought Violet’s leg might have twisted because of the pain from her shoes. She might have acc
“I didn’t go for Mr. Blake’s sake. To fulfill my family’s task, I felt compelled to take part in the matchmaking party.”If Michelle had never said those words to Hailey, then even if the latter had found out that the former was interested in Travis, she wouldn’t have held a grudge. However, it was precisely because of those words that Hailey felt deceived. No one would feel comfortable with this kind of feeling, especially Hailey, who had fallen in love with Travis.Michelle was well aware of this. Although Michelle was unaware that Hailey also harbored feelings for Travis, that Michelle had deceived Hailey and planned to exploit her left a negative impression on this junior member of the Blake family.Even though Hailey didn’t hold a significant position in the family, she was still considered a young lady. Being part of the Blake family, she could meet the elders at any time. If she were to utter disparaging remarks about Michelle in their presence, she might face consequences.Mic
Helena listened to Travis’s words with fear. She had never mentioned Luna in front of Hailey, so the latter must have heard about her from others.“Mr. Blake, Mrs. Stewart asked me before if any participant required special care, but I didn’t tell her,” Helena said anxiously.“I didn’t ask you who revealed the news to her,” Travis replied.Mrs. Lilian learned about this matter from the moment she appointed Hailey as her secretary. Travis had no intention of assigning blame to anyone.And he continued, “I just wanted to tell you that in the future, if Hailey wants to know something about the competition, you can tell her everything. Luna is my friend, so I will take care of her specially. However, I want to avoid any rumors that suggest Luna and I are more than just friends.”Helena’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that someone had told Hailey something they shouldn’t have? And did Travis also hear it? However, given his reluctance to probe into the source of the information, it’s l
“I am a person who is... practical and realistic. Hailey laughed and said, “If someone is ugly, then they are ugly, and vice versa.”Travis replied, “The range of people you think are charming is too broad.” He pointed with a finger at the hero’s face, where the video had stopped. “This guy is ugly. It’s a waste of time and life to look at them.”Hailey looked at Travis resentfully. Then, her gaze drifted to the ambiguous hero on the tablet. Suddenly, she felt that the TV drama she was currently watching was boring.The living Travis stood in front of her. He could defeat all the heroes with his looks and behavior. Indeed, his romance and sweetness paled compared to those of the drama heroes.At first, she didn’t find it difficult to eat or sleep without watching TV dramas. Sometimes, she found herself at a loss for what to do when she was with Travis. As a result, she would either play, read a book, or watch a TV drama as entertainment, just as she was doing now.She closed the video
If it were any other matter, Hailey would certainly accept it happily. She could learn many things from a project as it developed from scratch. Regrettably, the project required cooperation with Christian. She couldn’t meet Christian too often.“Let’s forget about it.” She pretended to consider it briefly before saying, “I don’t want to get involved with my friend at work.”Her response was in line with her attitude of always avoiding trouble. Therefore, Travis didn’t dwell on it too much.Hailey was reluctant, so he didn’t want to force her. Next time, he wouldn’t force Hailey to do something she didn’t want to. If Hailey didn’t want to supervise Christian’s new project, he would forget it.“By the way, Hailey. Do you know about Christian’s family background?” Matthew was curious and wanted to know if Hailey knew about Jodie.Hailey still had a blank look. “I don’t. I’ve never asked about that. I know his family established a company, and their family status is quite good. Regarding
“Yes,” Matthew said. “What did you talk about?”When Hailey heard Matthew’s question, she immediately perked up. Her eyes were still on her phone, but her attention was now fully on the conversation between Travis and Matthew.Travis described the conversation he had with Christian that day. In the end, he said, “I plan to accept his proposal and cooperate with the Ford family. Do you have any opinions?”Travis still hadn’t mentioned Jodie, Christian’s sister, to Hailey. Currently, Hailey held a grudge against Matthew. If Hailey learned that a celebrity was interested in Matthew, she might resort to the same tactic Matthew had used against them the previous day to exact revenge. The situation might lead to significant issues.Travis didn’t mention that. Certainly, Matthew also didn’t mention Jodie. Christian...Matthew said, “I have no opinions.” It is not possible to discuss those two distinct incidents simultaneously. We should distinguish between business and personal matters.Trav