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
Hailey waited until it was almost time to leave work to tell Luna where she had met.As it was rush hour, there was more traffic. Hailey wanted to meet in the city center, so she had to drive for over an hour to reach her destination.When she arrived, Luna had been waiting there for quite some time.Hailey was surprised, but she still kept her guard up. “This is too strange. Did Luna Michelle really wait for me with such patience? Did she not lose her temper when I arrived so late? I have to be careful, she might be up to something.”“Sorry for making you wait, the traffic was too heavy.” Hailey put on a fake but sweet smile.“Don’t worry, I just got here too.” Luna didn’t want Hailey to know that she had already been waiting for almost 20 minutes. No matter how many times she insulted Hailey in her mind, she still endured it.Hailey mocked in her mind. “Look at her attitude, she’s definitely up to something.”They both smiled cheerfully, but they both noticed the caution and rivalry
Before Hailey could finish her sentence, Luna changed the subject. “Since you have such excellent chances, you should be with... What’s his name? The man who saved you?”“We’re not even official yet.” Hailey smiled softly. “I can’t talk about things that are not official yet. If I talk about it and it doesn’t happen, it won’t look good.”Luna immediately said, “That’s true, so focus on becoming official. After that, you can enjoy life however you want.”She felt a headache coming on, blaming Hailey for all of this. She regretted attending this meeting; she shouldn’t torture herself.“That’s what I think too.” Hailey scanned her surroundings and noticed that the private room didn’t have attached bathrooms. She then turned to Luna and said, “Michelle, I need to use the restroom first. You can wait for me here, I’ll be back in a while.”“Okay.” Luna smiled.After Hailey left, Luna kicked the chair next to her hard. She even clenched her fingers around the chopsticks to release her anger.
Hailey was very tense at that moment. Travis placed one of his hands on her beautiful shoulder, recalling the precise spot where he had bitten her.Back then, this woman had successfully seduced him, but also prevented him from doing anything rash.He then bent down and bit Hailey’s shoulder without warning.At first, Hailey had her eyes half-closed in pleasure. However, she screamed in surprise at the sudden bite and opened her eyes.“Why did you bite me?” She looked at Travis in disbelief.Travis’s eyes seemed deep—as deep as an endless abyss. If he hadn’t bitten her first, she could have drowned in his beautiful eyes.“What are you, a dog?” she asked, clearly annoyed.There were visible teeth marks on her shoulder, but it was lucky that it didn’t leave a wound.“Even if I were a dog, wouldn’t you already know?” Travis squinted his eyes slightly.At first, he thought Hailey resembled Luna. But as he looked at her, he realized they were very different. Hailey was undoubtedly more bea
Luna booked a luxurious private room that was neither too large nor too small. Although the room was big for just two people, it was lovely and elegant. Of course, this was the most appropriate choice since she was the one inviting Travis to dinner. It would be impolite to have him sit outdoors or in a booth near the door, where people were constantly coming and going.Luna had cautiously approached Travis. They had eaten together several times, and except for the first time they went out, she was always the one choosing the place. Luna was skilled at choosing restaurants.She would never take Travis to five-star or high-class restaurants meant only for the rich and powerful. She didn’t fully understand those restaurants and was concerned about missing certain rules or etiquette.She might end up making a fool of herself. Typically, she chose restaurants that ordinary people were familiar with. Places like these could bring out her carefully cultivated veneer of refinement and give Tr
Gary couldn’t comprehend Hailey’s interesting reason, but it wouldn’t come easily.“I hope that day comes,” he said.Hailey smiled, unsure of how to respond.“You should get a boyfriend,” Gary suddenly said.Hailey was stunned, and she gave him a look of disbelief. “Why do I feel like everything you’ve said tonight is a cliché?”“I’m serious,” he said. “It’s better if he’s a dress fanatic like me. He’ll ask you to make dresses every day.”“How will my boyfriend know I can make dresses?” Hailey found his words quite amusing.Gary smiled slyly. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell him.”“Even if I find a boyfriend, I won’t tell you,” Hailey shot back immediately. “I definitely won’t introduce him to you.”Gary said, “We can still be good friends if you change your mind.”Hailey laughed.Even as she chatted happily with Gary, she didn’t forget about Cynthia. “I’ll call Cynthia later and talk to her about it. You should also convince her. I have completely forgiven her sister-in-law and brother for th
When Luna heard Hailey call her “sister,” she was stunned. She did not know what Hailey was trying to do, and she couldn’t understand the reason behind it. Hailey pretended to have a stomachache before quickly pulling Gary away.Luna frowned. While Hailey didn’t embarrass her, her anxiety persisted.Mr. Wellner is Annie’s younger sister’s boyfriend, that’s why he called me “sister.” Luna explained to Travis that his tone was unnatural. Despite realizing that her wonderful evening with Travis was over, she felt compelled to provide an explanation.Travis hummed indifferently. “Does that make the girl next to you Annie’s younger sister?”Luna felt a tug at her heart. Why did Travis ask about Hailey? Was he interested in her?She forced herself to stay calm. “No, Annie’s sister is attending university in another city. I don’t know who that girl is. Maybe she’s a friend of Mr. Wellner.” Luna didn’t dare to badmouth Gary and Hailey. She and Hailey could not criticize one another because it
Travis looked at her in silence.They gazed at each other for a while. When Hailey realized he would not speak, she continued. "If you say nothing, I'll assume you're okay with me asking you a question." She cleared her throat."I just want to know. What's the point of you coming here tonight?"Travis wasn't expecting such a question. He thought that if she cared about him, she'd at least ask who Luna was. After all, women desired exclusivity. Even though they were only together because of an agreement, she would probably joke about the situation and say something like "I thought you wouldn't come back tonight" if she didn't care about him. He was convinced she wanted to say something like that.However, she didn't. Instead, she asked him why he had come here.This question baffled even Travis.He wanted to explain himself. He also wanted to ask Hailey about Mr. Wellner. He wasn't blind. He could see that she had lunch alone with that man today, just like she did with Luna. The man af
“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