Maria fell silent. She knew her jealousy had crossed the line. Hailey’s car was the exact model she wanted, but her husband refused to let her get it. Secretly, she slapped herself and thought, “Ugh, why did I have to get jealous? It’s just a car, no big deal! If I cannot travel abroad next month, wouldn’t that result in me losing face in the eyes of my closest friends? She paced back and forth in her room.”
“If I really can’t go, I’ll pretend to be sick. I even agreed to go shopping with my girls! We said we would buy watches, jewelry, bags, clothes, and all that jazz! If they find out my husband is punishing me and my spending is cut short, how can I maintain my reputation as a leader?”
Mary regretted everything and cursed Hailey over and over. “Why did she have to gain that model? And it’s in the same color I wanted! Lilian said little to Hailey about the car. However
Scarlet rarely asked her son about such small matters. She just thought she’d bring it up since they ran into each other today.Travis Blake replied, “It’s nothing, really. I didn’t hit her either.” Even though he wanted to do it out of anger twice, he controlled his temper. His opinion of Hailey was strictly his own business. He didn’t need to explain it to anyone. Since he said little, Scarlet didn’t ask further.She simply added, “Don’t be too harsh on her when she works at your company. No matter how you see it, she’s just a pitiful soul. Just take it as giving yourself positive karma by being kinder to her.”Travis Blake pondered, “It’s okay for mom to think that way. If someone in the family mistreats Hailey, it also affects me.”After that, they both left in separate cars. Travis Blake had other things to attend to, an
Delilah looked at Travis Blake’s car in shock. To think that the boss would arrive so early today! Honestly, I couldn’t believe. Another surprise came when she saw the car slowing down before fully entering her parking spot. At that moment, Guillermo and Sonny got out of the car. William quickly approached Hailey’s car, while Sonny turned around to take his place in the driver’s seat and stopped the car completely. Delilah was speechless. William was being too reckless now, surely. Did William dart out of a moving vehicle in such a manner merely to glimpse Hailey?She frowned despite herself. She had heard some gossip about those two, but when she considered how Hailey had come to this company in person, pushing aside William and asserting herself to Mr. Blake. This suggested to her that even if Hailey and William were an item, their relationship was already falling apart. Hailey believed she had better p
It would be some time before the official office hours began. Hailey and Delilah were now in the office, along with a third person. Hailey glanced towards Travis Blake’s office, wondering if he had really arrived early today for her first day here. Delilah gave Hailey a sidelong glance. She felt lucky today because Travis Blake had arrived early, allowing her to enter the office with him as if they had come together. She chuckled quietly to herself and glanced at her rival’s desk.She wasn’t here yet. Oh, joy! Hailey’s sudden appearance had slightly tarnished this otherwise perfect morning, but things were going splendidly.Travis Blake liked to have a cup of coffee in the morning after arriving at work. Delilah had already prepared a pot of his favorite blend and brought it to him. The moment Travis Blake saw her, he said, “Leave that and bring Hailey here. I want to see both of you.”
Hailey’s hint of a smile became more clear when she received permission to speak.“Well, I just found out something today. Turns out you are surprisingly popular, huh?”She smiled enigmatically. “Be honest now. Is it because you felt someone was trying to get close to you, one cup of coffee at a time? Is that why you pushed these tasks on me?”Travis Blake looked at her expressionlessly. What was the purpose of her question? “Isn’t it common for a new secretary to start with such tasks?” he asked foolishly. Could it be that he was dissatisfied and preferred not to have to do it?“Now, how could that be?” Hailey said, smiling. “You know very well that I am eager to work. I won’t refuse such tasks.” It was a rare opportunity to tease him. His frozen face brought her immense delight.“If you permit me, sir.”
Michelle sensed Delilah held a grudge against Hailey.Michelle reveled in Delilah’s misfortune. Michelle described Delilah as a foolish innocent who always maintained a virtuous front. By the way, Hailey had behaved all this time; Delilah shouldn’t have made Hailey a target, even if she did not know Hailey’s true identity.Michelle was quite proud of herself. It was possible that the young Mrs. Blake would be a highly revered figure. Although Hailey Stewart was no longer the family favorite, she was still the young lady in a powerful family. Humiliating Hailey was equivalent to humiliating the entire Blake family, and nothing beneficial could come of that. Michelle expected Delilah’s unfortunate end. When Hailey excused herself to go to the bathroom, Michelle pretended to have received a phone call and rushed out to answer it. In reality, she wanted to talk to Hailey.Hailey heard Michelle call
Travis Blake pushed Hailey forward, further shortening the distance between them.“You seem to be in a positive mood today,” Travis Blake asked, his voice deep.Apart from that day when Hailey was drunk, today was possibly another moment when she showed a myriad of expressions.Hailey wasn’t sure if it was the distance between them or his breath on her face, but suddenly she felt her face flush. When she spoke, her voice sounded stiff.“Everything went well today, so of course, I would be in a good mood.”“You even teased me. Your mood is more than good.” Travis Blake didn’t forget the joke Hailey made earlier in his office. This woman was sometimes too bold.Hailey couldn’t help but smile. She looked at Travis Blake’s chiseled features and said, “I wasn’t teasing you. I was just stating the truth that I saw with my own e
“Secretary Morris,” Hailey greeted with a smile. She didn’t actually intend to engage in small talk. However, that didn’t mean the other party felt the same way.Delilah scanned Hailey up and down several times, but she found no opening. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she said with a smile, “Did Mr. Blake tell you if he liked the coffee you made for him?”Stunned, Hailey quickly thought about the question before responding, “When I asked Mr. Blake if the coffee was to his liking yesterday, he said it was fine.”Delilah didn’t pick up anything unusual from Hailey’s response, but that wasn’t her main concern. She took a sip and pretended nonchalance as she asked, “So, why were you in Mr. Haliwell’s office for so long?”Hailey was prepared for this question. As she lay face down o
Through the intercom, Sonny called Hailey into his office and asked her to transcribe a page for him.“Have you found someone to transcribe the sutra?” Hailey asked, surprised.“Yes,” Sonny replied with a smile. “That person needs to study your handwriting; therefore, transcribe a page of the sutra for me.”After some thought, Hailey said, “I’ll transcribe a few more pages once I get off work today. Also, please send that person the Agarwood incense I got from the butler and have them light it while transcribing. I imagine the incense scent could linger on the papers, so the copy of the sutra might smell like that. If you light a different incense, the smell might change.”Sonny said, “You are very thoughtful, young lady.”Hailey was quite embarrassed. “Don’t you think I’m just cheating?”Sonny smiled. “Young lady, I’ve heard that you have to pray every day. Sincerity can move mountains. As long as you are sincere, praying and transcribing wouldn’t be very different. Young lady, you’v
“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