It was already nighttime when Hailey left the Blake mansion, as the streetlights slowly brightened. Hailey received a call from Travis on her way home, asking where she was at the moment.“I’m going home,” Hailey said as she continued driving.“Where did you run off to?”“The mansion.”Travis was shocked. “Why did you suddenly go there? It’s not even the weekend.”Even on the weekend, Hailey wouldn't go to the mansion.As long as she had her own plans, she would inform Lilian as soon as possible. To ensure a successful leave application and avoid raising suspicions, she always made sure to inform Lilian.Therefore, she rarely visited the mansion during the weekdays.“Could Grandma have called her?”“Oh brother, weren’t you the one who told me to investigate? That’s why I went,” Hailey replied.What should I do with him? How could he forget something he had requested some time ago?“Did you find anything then?” Travis was surprised; Hailey was much more diligent than he thought.“Yeah.
Travis patiently listened to his subordinate’s report, keeping his composure throughout.“So, you’re saying that the chief engineer of Lambert Enterprise is not willing to join our company?” Travis said. He thought he misheard, as no one had ever turned down an offer from his company.“If you’re telling me this, it means all of you couldn’t get him to budge.”The subordinate was nervous. Someone is trying to buy their struggling factory, and the chief engineer is one veteran. He saw the factory grow into what it is now, so he’s attached to it. So, if someone will take over their current factory, he refuses to help us build a new one.“So, he’s being stubborn.”Travis narrowed his eyes. “What’s your plan?”The subordinate then handed him the document. “We have two plans for now. One is to find another person, and the other is to buy Lambert’s factory.”Travis didn’t express his opinions on either plan. “Who is trying to buy the factory?”“The Fords.”“The Fords?” Travis was confused. A
Hailey experienced mixed emotions upon seeing this book.“I’m just working on the project as Travis’s secretary. It’s not like I’m the one organizing it. However, Mrs. Yancey thinks a visit to the museum wasn’t enough. Is so much preparation really necessary?”She reflected on herself. “Maybe I underestimated how difficult my job is.”She sighed in her mind. “I didn’t expect to get involved in fashion again, just for revenge. I swore not to make any more dresses after all. And to be honest, I really don’t have the strength to even open the book.”However, seeing how enthusiastic Michelle was, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.“This book looks pretty good.” Hailey flipped through some pages. Some of the content really intrigued her. “But you didn’t have to bring it to me. It’s so heavy.”“It’s okay.” Michelle turned her small suitcase around and smiled mischievously. I brought it with this. If I had to carry it by hand, of course, it would be quite heavy."Hailey also smiled and jo
William’s concerns were not unreasonable. It was fortunate that he explained the situation to Sonny.Sonny advised Travis that it would be bad for his reputation if Hailey went to the airport in the same vehicle as him.However, joining the other employees on the company bus would degrade his status. Therefore, Sonny suggested a driver send Hailey to the airport individually.Not everyone would take the company bus. Two of the executives and the assistant general manager had said they would head to the airport on their own, so it was natural for Hailey to also go on her own.Travis had no issue with Sonny’s idea and thought it was a suitable plan, so he let Sonny handle it.On Monday morning, Travis returned early to the Imperial Garden and left from there. As for Hailey, she was driven by another driver to the airport.Following Sonny’s instructions, the driver was aware of the timing, and they arrived almost at the same time as the company bus.Therefore, the employees who took the
“I don’t care who you befriend outside of work. At work, however, it’s best not to get too close to anyone,” Travis repeated.Hailey nodded.Travis was right. Considering her identity, it was better to keep a little distance from others. Anyway, once she left the Blake family in the future, they would employ her. By then, she probably wouldn’t stay in touch with anyone from the company.Suddenly, she felt relieved. Why did she fight so hard to leave the Blakes? Wasn’t her goal to break all ties with the Blake family someday? If that was the case, there was no need for her to feel frustrated about her inability to make friends with the other employees.“I understand,” Hailey said.Travis observed Hailey’s expression and confirmed that she responded seriously, with no negative feelings or resistance.This gave him a slight sense of relief. “You...” He suddenly hesitated.It was rare to see Travis like this, so Hailey couldn’t help but tilt her head and ask, “What?”“Which room are you i
Travis wasn’t the only one feeling upset these days.Back at the Blake mansion, when Mary found out about Travis’s business trip, she stomped around in her garden. She shouted at everyone around her, calling them useless trash, as she had only found out about Travis’s business trip the day before they left.Even Hank didn’t expect Travis’s business trip to be planned so quickly and kept so well under wraps. It wasn’t a brief business trip. They would be away for half a month! And there are so many people, too. Why hadn’t they heard anything about it before this?“Travis doesn’t respect us at all, especially those from his maternal family side!” Mary complained to Hank.“Violet is my niece and hasn’t been to the mansion in years. As her older cousin, he should have at least shown me some respect and given Violet a warm welcome, right? He didn’t even take the time to get to know her over the weekend. Now, he’s off on a business trip and won’t be back for half a month! It’s driving me cr
Guillermo reluctantly transferred the money to Sonny, who gladly accepted it.Why do you think the young lady suddenly caved in? She even brought a laptop and some documents with her! She came up with a superb excuse.Sonny wanted to see Travis suffer from his unfulfilled desires for a few more days. Sonny wanted to see how long Travis could hold back and what he would do when he reached his limit. Sonny never expected Hailey to act first. In the end, Sonny won the bet too easily.William pondered for a while before saying, “I guess the text I sent to the young lady today worked.”“What kind of text?” Sonny asked, curious. “Did you send it?”“No,” William said. “The young lady unexpectedly inquired whether Mr. Halliwell was upset with her.” He then shared the contents of his conversation with Sonny.Sonny looked at William, his mouth trembling. “You’re really kind.” Unlike William, Sonny lacked kindness. Seeing Travis squirm with his unfulfilled desires was a rare opportunity. Unfortu
Hailey looked at him suspiciously. “Yes?”Wilson burped. A chilly breeze blew, and suddenly he felt bold enough to approach her. Hailey couldn’t help but take a step back. Wilson smelled too unpleasant.“Mrs. Stewart,” Wilson slurred. “Mrs. Stewart, I witnessed that man pressuring you to consume alcohol.”“He’s a wicked person! Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”“What’s your problem?” Hailey frowned.“Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine. I can protect myself,” she said, then stepped aside and left.Unexpectedly, as she passed by Wilson, he grabbed her arm.“Mrs. Stewart, I still have something to say,” Wilson’s breath reeked of alcohol. He was so drunk that Hailey couldn’t shake him off.“Wilson, you’re drunk. Let go of me,” she said sternly.“No,” Wilson smiled. “Mrs. Stewart, don’t go. I really have something to tell you.”Hailey didn’t want to talk to a drunk. She warned him again, “Let go or I’ll call someone.” She didn’t want to make this a big issue.What was he thinking?
“Has my mother left?” Travis asked, even though he already knew the answer.Hailey pretended to smile and said, “What a great moment. Don’t tell me someone already informed you of what happened here?”Travis didn’t even blush despite Hailey’s statement and said, “I don’t know about your closed-door discussion.”Hailey looked at Layla, who approached her with a thin blanket and said, “I’ll tell you later.”“Okay. I’ll go now,” Travis said as he hung up the call.Layla covered Hailey, who was resting on the couch, with the blanket. The air conditioning temperature was low.Soon after, Hailey’s phone rang again. It was Travis once more. She didn’t hesitate and answered the call.“My mom is here,”
Thalia was very punctual.Hailey, Layla, Harry, and Laura stood up and greeted her by the driver’s seat.Originally, Layla wanted to greet her with all the servants standing in a row. However, Hailey said it was unnecessary. She did not organize something so extravagant when her in-laws came last time even though the two were looking for a fight. However, Hailey believed it was more important for her to greet herself. Everything else was not as necessary. Not to mention that with all the servants around, it would be challenging to keep a low profile. They might also be curious about how she would act when Thalia was present. That’s why she managed without them.If she overdid it and accidentally leaked into the main mansion, someone would say she was trying to butter up Thalia.After Thalia exited the car and saw Hailey greeting her at the entrance, she smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around Hailey
Travis addressed Eva normally. He called her “aunt.” But Eva was so used to being called Madame Winters that she felt uncomfortable with the new term.“Ms. Blake...” She only got out two words when Travis interrupted her.“You’re my elder, so call me Travis,” Travis whispered.If any of the Blake family members had been here, their eyes would surely pop out of their sockets. Travis rarely spoke with such respect, and only a few people had been worthy of such consideration. His grandmother was one of them.Eva’s lips trembled. In the end, she couldn’t say his name. “You... What did you want to tell me?”Either way, there was no way out. She had heard too many unfortunate news, so she thought she could probably bear one more.Travis’s response caught her off guard. “I would like to talk to you about Hailey,” he replied calmly.“Eh?” Eva was f
Fortunately, Travis didn’t press on about the friend or the photo. After hearing Hailey’s response, he lowered his head and returned to the financial news section.Hailey breathed a sigh of relief. After finishing her breakfast, she gathered her things and prepared for her visit to the hospital. Her uncle’s surgery was scheduled soon, so she wanted to keep him company as much as possible before that.Travis did not know that Hailey was going out. According to his usual schedule, he usually headed to the mansion before lunch. Judging by his bare face and comfortable clothes, she could guess his destination.However, she still asked, “Where are you going?”“To the hospital,” Hailey said.“Yesterday, I went to the mansion and informed Grandma in advance. I can go to the hospital directly now.”Immediately, Travis dropped everything and stood up. “I’m coming with you.”
When Travis appeared, Hailey continued to check both the study room and the bedroom. The sight of him shocked her greatly.“Didn’t you say you would come back tomorrow?” she asked, confused.Travis was supposed to return from his business trip tomorrow, but here he was.“I finished my work early, so I returned,” Travis replied. He didn’t tell her he had returned a day earlier because Hailey had instructed the servants to clean the villa and store his things to welcome his mother.Hailey said, “Oh, you came back just when I had someone helping me clean up the place. Can you go back to the Imperial Garden tonight? Don’t come tomorrow night either.”Frustrated, Travis questioned the obvious. “Why?”Hailey raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you know? Mrs. Thalia, your mother, will come to inspect my house in two days. I was worried she would check the upstairs, so I kept all
“About what you mentioned earlier... I think it’s a good idea.”The following day, Travis suddenly brought up this topic to Hailey.Hailey still felt quite dazed, with a bewildered expression. “What?”Travis was calm. “About getting Uncle Liam and Aunt Rowena to have another child.”Hailey instantly woke up. Travis’s words quickly dispelled her drowsiness. “What? Why suddenly?”Travis replied, “I just said; suddenly, I feel like it’s a good idea.”Hailey touched Travis’s forehead and then felt her own. “Do you have a fever or something?”Travis gently removed her hand and held it in his palm, with a serious expression. “I’m serious.”“Serious? Doesn’t it sound like you’re trying to separa
Hailey was taken aback as if Travis had said something truly horrible.“I don’t know.” She was silent for a while. Then she asked with a blank face, “Can’t you finish this contract before anyone finds out?”Travis tightened his grip on Hailey. Unable to control his strength correctly, he was about to crush her jaw.“Ah...!” Hailey cried out in pain and tried to pry his fingers off.But Travis had no intention of letting go. Hailey’s words were sharp and painful needles that pricked his heart.“So, was it all a misunderstanding? Did she not care for me at all?”At that moment, Travis had never doubted his sixth sense more.“So, what you’re saying is: if someone finds out about us tomorrow, you want to cut ties with me today?” he asked, his face grim. With each word, his heart hardened even more.Hailey thought, “I guess Travis isn’t d
Christian was a complete gentleman to Hailey. They were friends, but not the kind who had known each other for a long time and could make inappropriate jokes. Therefore, their behavior seemed normal to everyone—everyone except Travis.Travis’s expression had always been icy, so his attitude was nothing unusual to everyone. Even Helena couldn’t tell what he was thinking, let alone anyone else.After dinner, Christian drank some wine and became bolder. He boldly asked Hailey to go out with him over the weekend, saying he had plans with some friends to hike in the suburbs. If she was interested, they could go together.Hailey could feel everyone’s eyes burning holes in her. She smiled, “I’m not sure if I’m free this weekend. I’ll let you know when I’m sure.”Everything seemed normal and harmonious, at least until dinner ended, and Hailey got into the car. After she drove away and lost sight of the o
When Hailey went to sit down, she looked at Travis. His gaze was elsewhere, and he wasn’t looking at her.Christian, who had been paying attention, noticed who she was looking at. He assumed she was afraid of Travis and sighed with sadness.Since Hailey was being so cautious, he also had to be careful. He didn’t want to make things difficult for her. He knew Hailey was shunning him. If she felt the Blakes would misinterpret things if she got too close to him, she would keep her distance.When Christian arrived at the office building a moment ago, he noticed something. Hailey now had a driver and a bodyguard. The two people accompanying her were probably her driver and bodyguard. They even shamelessly followed her to the company! What the hell happened? Why didn’t he hear anything about this?He had to find the opportunity to ask her about this carefully. Thinking about it, he conclu