Hailey furrowed her eyebrows. "Hmm, I see. Just don’t do it again."The doctor said you have to eat something. Is there anything I can do for you to bolt?“I’ll get it for you.”“I have nothing,” Christian said. “I’ve been so busy that I didn’t even have time to go back home. There’s nothing in the house.”“I’ll order takeout. I’ll see if there’s someone selling porridge.” Hailey searched for takeout on her phone. After ordering, she told Christian, “Work is important, but your body is just as important. If it breaks down because you overwork yourself, you won’t get anything out of it.”“It’s not really something I can choose,” Christian said immediately. “It’s all because of my awful sister.”Christian suppressed his emotions, but his voice was bitter. “My careless words upset her.” She retaliated and made my family arrange a lot of work for me. You can’t even imagine how awful it was! I worked consistently for almost 50 hours straight! I really thought I was going to die. Luckily, I
“That’s right,” Rochelle began. “I would like a master card for this house. How could I check in unexpectedly if I had to ring the bell? Aunt Rochelle, this house is under Hailey’s name. I can’t make that decision. If you want a master card for this place, you’ll have to ask Hailey.”“Do you think she would really give it to me even if I asked?” Rochelle snorted coldly. She was already thinking about getting the property manager to make a copy of the access card.Travis said, “Aunt Rochelle, I’ve seen your dispute with Hailey before. I also know she’s quite fierce. I think it’s better if you don’t push her too much. If one of the Blakes causes someone’s death, and their family takes it seriously, it would be difficult for us to justify our actions.”“Death?” Rochelle was startled. “It’s not that serious, is it?”“It’s difficult to say,” Travis replied indifferently.“Some time ago, an employee of one company under our umbrella jumped from the building,” Travis narrated.Before jumping
Hailey took more than half an hour to return to Heron Peninsula from Christian’s house. When she opened the door and entered the house, Travis and Rochelle were just finishing dinner and drinking tea.She composed herself and greeted them politely, “Mother, Travis. Do you have time to come see me?”During her journey back home, Hailey had already thought about it. No matter what, she had to pretend that she had a terrible relationship with Travis and that they rarely interacted with each other.Rochelle frowned at Hailey’s indifferent face and thought to herself, “This woman always looks like someone owes her money. Just looking at her puts a damper on my mood!”Rochelle gently blew on the tea in her hand and said ominously, “Hmm. I just thought I hadn’t been here before, so I stopped by to look. I didn’t expect you not to be here when I came. What a coincidence!”Hailey repeated what she had told Layla over the phone. “I came back as soon as I received the call,” she replied.“You ca
Hailey pursed her lips. “How long have I been with you? How could we have such a deep understanding of each other? Let me know some things sometimes.”“The lack of tacit understanding just means you don’t know me well enough,” Travis said. “That’s also your own problem.”Hailey chuckled. “You talk as if you know me so well.”Travis stiffened. “I’m slowly getting there.”Hailey felt their conversation heading in a dubious and indescribable direction. Sensing something was off, she quickly put on a fake smile and said, “I’ll gradually get to know you. So, before we can understand each other well, if you want to act next time, remember to let me know.”Travis said nothing in response.Hailey then asked, “Do I need to do anything else next? Can I do anything else to make it seem more genuine?”“It’s already very realistic,” Travis said. “And the performance is done. Let’s go out and eat first.”“Okay.” Hailey pressed her hand against Travis’s as she hopped off the desk. She then straighte
Only in certain situations did the ability to understand someone come into play. If Travis had strange fetishes, Hailey could never understand them. However, it was fortunate that he didn’t seem to have any for now. After sleeping with him for so long, Hailey was more than familiar with how to please him.This time she even took the first step, which made Travis very satisfied with the experience. He was so satisfied that he felt the need to prevent her from leaving his side without permission. At first, Hailey still had some resistance, but Travis couldn’t contain her and immobilized her, draining the little resistance she had left. She couldn’t even use any of the ridiculous words she wrote in her mind.“The pairing was just a matter of courtesy,” Hailey heard Travis say while she was still dazed. “If I rejected this one, they would still arrange another, and grandma would definitely continue thinking of more ways to pair me with another girl.”Travis did not know why he felt the ne
Both Hailey and Travis did not expect Rochelle’s sudden “attack” on them to help, let alone expose their relationship.Everyone now believed they were strongly against each other, expecting their next conflict to occur. No one would even suspect that they were friends with benefits for now.They checked each other, doubting this was happening.“Even though we got out of trouble this time, we can’t let our guard down,” Hailey said. “I’m still going to throw away your toothbrush.”Travis didn’t care about the toothbrush at all. He just wanted his second aunt to spy less on Hailey; otherwise, it would be inconvenient for him to come. However, he did not expect this, of all things, to be the outcome.He responded nonchalantly, “You can do whatever you want.”The toothbrushes he told Layla to buy were for Hailey to discard, anyway.***Hailey left for the day in order to do something else.William entered the secretary’s office and noticed that some of them had gathered, gossiping about so
It was fortunate that the card included nothing flirtatious; otherwise, Hailey thought she definitely had to throw away these flowers. She didn’t immediately text Christian to tell him she received the flowers. She wanted to say it in her head first.She didn’t want to bring the flowers home, so she didn’t bring the gift home even after leaving work.“Eh? Mrs. Stewart, aren’t you going to bring the flowers home?” Delilah had been paying close attention to Hailey’s actions all this time. Therefore, she instantly noticed that Hailey didn’t bring the flowers home.Hailey turned around with a smile. “No. If I do, I’ll be the only one who can enjoy their beauty. Anyway, it’s here in the office, I’ll leave it here for everyone to enjoy.”Delilah narrowed her eyes; this reason seemed too exaggerated. She really wanted to know why Hailey didn’t want to bring it back home.“Oh, and, Mrs. Stewart, didn’t you say we were welcome to come to your house at any time? We don’t have to choose a time,
The corner of Hailey’s mouth twitched. “What else?”“There’s only one answer,” she replied. “A friend.”“I was thinking you’d say that,” said Christian, seemingly regretful. “Ah, I wonder when I’ll rise to the status of being your boyfriend.”Hailey forced a fake smile. “You’re so straightforward about this. Aren’t you concerned that someone has tapped my phone?”Christian jumped. “What? Has it really been tapped?”Hailey laughed. “I’m just kidding.”She then changed her expression and said in a low voice, “But I hope you’re kidding about that too.”“You know how serious I am about this.” Christian didn’t want to hide his feelings for Hailey. “I never joke about such matters.”Hailey paused, looking out at the grass by the roadside. It was glowing under the dim streetlights.She spoke in a slow and serious tone, “Then I won’t joke with you either. I won’t go out with you, I mean it.”“I knew you’d say that.” Christian sounded slightly deflated.Hailey smiled helplessly. “I’ve been tel
“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