A tingling sensation spread through Winston's throat as he stared at the wall behind the couch. Once again, he found himself thinking of the sunset painting. He wanted to get another one to hang on the empty wall.Winston took out his phone and texted Eli, "I won't be going to the office tomorrow."Eli: "That's not feasible, Mr. Greer. You have two client meetings and two important conferences scheduled. You need to be there."Winston: "Reschedule them."After sending the message, he stared at his phone, noticing that the "typing…" indicator was still active under Eli's name. Annoyed, he tossed the phone into his glass of liquor. It seemed like the messages from the person he desired would never come, and the ones he did receive were from the people he didn't care about.Winston grabbed another glass, poured himself a drink, and took it upstairs. He opened the bedroom door to find the bed cold and unwelcoming. The closet and bathroom were spotless. Winston sat on the floor i
"Millie, it's fine," Sean said with a smile, looking quite amiable. "I'm thrilled your parents want to chat with me. It's such a wonderful opportunity to get to know them better."Terrence crossed his arms and remarked, "Look, Sean seems perfectly fine. Why are you so worried?"Millie was speechless. How had she become the anxious one? What was there for her to worry about? But since Sean seemed to enjoy the attention, she figured she might as well let him have it."I'm heading out to pick up Rachel," Millie announced, grabbing her coat.Sean immediately rose and asked, "Where are you going? I'll come with you." "It's just outside. Stay here. I'll be back soon."Sean thought it over, and eventually, he nodded in agreement. While it might be somewhat awkward for him to stay behind, following Millie might be weirder."We'll get started on dinner once Rach arrives," Terrence told Rachel's parents.They quickly apologized, "Sorry to keep everyone waiting for her. We didn't mean to
The feeling was far from pleasant. Sean's presence only drew curious eyes, but Rachel's arrival stirred up more complex reactions. One, in particular, stood out—a jealous glare from the corner. Rachel spotted it in an instant. It was Everly. Everly couldn't hide her shock. Rachel was actually here? Had she already wrapped up filming?Meanwhile, Rachel hurried over to greet Terrence and the others. As soon as Julia saw her, she announced, "Time to eat!"Thomas had already set up the cake. Standing beside Rachel, Everly met her gaze and let out a derisive snort.Millie noticed and felt a surge of things she wanted to say, but none made it out. When would Everly stop acting like she was above everyone else? It seemed like there was no one in the world she actually respected.As Thomas lit the candles, Millie turned to Rachel and remarked, "By the way, the SUV that dropped you off earlier didn't look like yours.""Oh, it was Noah Payne's. We flew back together, and since my car
Right then, Rachel's phone buzzed with a new message. Millie caught sight of the sender's name while helping herself to some food."Jake?" Millie asked with surprise. She leaned in and lowered her voice. "Are you still in contact with him? Did you finalize the deal?"Rachel nodded. "Yes, I've signed the contract, and we've finished shooting the advertisement. The official announcement is coming soon." This meant Jake was now her financial backer."I really didn't want to sign with Jake, but there was no other option. You understand, right?" Rachel said, spreading her hands.Given how Jake had previously helped her, she knew she had to go along with it. After all, being in the entertainment industry, she understood how things worked. Besides, she feared he might be petty and could try to undermine her."So, now that he's texting you, you need to handle it with care," Millie remarked with a smile.Rachel sighed. "Don't get me started. I've noticed he talks a lot. He's quite the
Out of nowhere, fireworks erupted outside the window. Everyone turned in surprise to see what was happening."Fireworks!" Everly exclaimed.She was the first to dash outside. As soon as she opened the door, she saw that it was indeed fireworks, and they were being set off close by.Terrence chuckled. "Fireworks are a rare sight in Yerwick City. What's the occasion today?"Upon seeing her father's joy, Millie's mood brightened. "It's your birthday, so it's a special day!"Everyone went outside. The fireworks illuminated the entire city in a dazzling, radiant spectacle.Millie tilted her head back, reminiscing about how much she had adored them during university. Back then, she always asked Terrence to buy as many fireworks as possible for New Year's Day. But as time passed, they had stopped being part of their celebrations. Perhaps it was because she had grown up. Millie reached out, trying to capture the fleeting brilliance of the fireworks. When they disappeared, she realize
With a sigh, Millie slowly picked up the pieces of jewelry from the floor and placed them back in the box.Seeing the jewelry, Julia crouched down and asked curiously, "Where did all this come from? Who gave them?"Surely, this wasn't meant for Terrence? Could it have been left behind by accident?Millie parted her lips slightly as if to speak. She brushed her hair aside, propped her head up, and stared at the jewelry box. Before she knew it, tears began to stream down her face.No one but her knew the significance of that jewelry box. And no one else understood the pain she had suffered in loving Winston. Millie gritted her teeth, trying to hold back her tears. But no matter how hard she tried, they kept coming. The pain was too deep.When she married Winston, the Greers went above and beyond with gifts for her. Despite Winston's indifference, his family treated her with great affection. Selma even prepared a special wedding gift—a jewelry box filled with 100 pieces of gold j
Millie's sobs grew more frantic. It was as if she intended to cry out all the sorrow she had ever felt.This wasn't just an ordinary jewelry box. It held all her dreams and misguided hopes about marriage. The pain from her setback was unbearable. She had given her all to Winston, so why had he made her suffer such a devastating defeat? If it was because he thought she hadn't been the one to save him, it made even less sense to her.Terrence, drunk and slumped on the sofa, heard Millie's cries and staggered over. At that moment, Julia was holding her daughter.Though Terrence had no idea what had happened, he knelt beside them and awkwardly pulled both women into his embrace. "T-This family… will never fall apart… I-I'm here…" His breath stank of alcohol, and he spoke with a slur, his eyes closed. Millie wrapped her arms around her parents. She silently vowed that after this, she wouldn't cry anymore. It was time for everything to end. Julia sniffled as she tenderly patted Mi
Millie bolted upright and dashed to the bathroom. The moment she saw herself in the mirror, she froze in shock. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been in a brawl. Swallowing hard, she realized her throat was sore too. Millie then coughed lightly and discovered her voice had turned raspy. What had she done the previous night?Confused, she quickly called her mother. Julia answered almost immediately. "Mills, you're awake."Millie hesitated before asking softly, "Mom, did I do anything strange last night? My throat feels…"Before she could finish her sentence, Julia cut in, "Oh, don't worry about it. You were just really upset and told us how hard things have been for you these past few years. You had a bit too much to drink. You'll be fine. Just take it easy today, okay?"Millie was at a loss for words, unable to believe that she had poured her heart out to her parents the night before. For years, she had kept her struggles to herself. After all, this was the path she had
Millie glanced at Winston with initial shock and disbelief in her eyes. Then a hint of amusement appeared, and soon she couldn't hold it in and broke into laughter."Haha!" Millie raised her hand and placed the back of it on Winston's forehead.He didn't have a fever, right? Why else would he go along with such an absurd request?"Winston, where's your self-respect?" Millie tapped Winston's head.Winston furrowed his brow, wondering what exactly self-respect was supposed to be. Was it something edible, or could he use it to pursue Millie?She wanted to hear him, so he just played along for her. After all, women only needed a little bit of coaxing."I have none. It's all gone. Maybe the dog ate it." Winston spread his hands with a helpless expression on his face.Millie laughed and said, "You're being silly. Go help Grandpa put up the Spring Festival couplets!"Winston nodded. "Alright, let's get to work."Millie watched Winston as he bustled about, and a wave of emotions began
Winston nodded with a smile and said, "Grandma, I understand."Millie smiled warmly, unable to hold back her laughter. Layla was just so endearing."Alright, the lights are all set up. What's on the menu today, and who's cooking?" Thomas walked in casually.Everly took off her coat and saw that there was a painting in front of Layla."Oh, could this be something that Mr. Greer brought?" she asked. "This painting looks really expensive.""Mr. Greer, do I get a gift?" Everly couldn't help teasing Winston.Winston knew that this was yet another person coming to give him a challenge."Sorry. I didn't know you and Uncle Thomas were here, so I didn't prepare anything. If there's something you like, I can buy it for you," he offered."How hilarious! Do you think I can't afford it? Do I need you to buy it?" Everly scoffed.Winston smiled and said, "Yes, you can afford it, but there's always a difference between something gifted to you and something you buy for yourself.""Mr. Greer i
"Is this… a painting by Quentin Scott?" Layla asked, a bit incredulous.The Caldwell family held quite a respectable reputation in Yerwick City. Coupled with Layla's status, she was certainly not lacking in esteem.She wanted to buy this painting and had been trying to purchase it for over a year, but she still wasn't able to get it.The moment Winston nodded, she once again sensed the disparity between the Caldwell family and the Greer family.Although they didn't disagree that Winston wronged Millie, the truth was that they did have a good sense in their choices."Grandma, this is a painting by Quentin Scott. I bought it directly from Quentin Scott's assistant myself. It's absolutely genuine." Winston nodded, his demeanor gentle and well-mannered.Layla had thought Winston might give her something she liked, but she never expected that he would actually give her the painting "Where Mountains Meet the Sea" by Quentin Scott!Layla couldn't help but stand up and approach Winston.
Winston had already decided to humble himself completely to make sure his wife remained happy."Go on in," Thomas finally said.Millie and Winston went inside, where Everly was crouching next to Arthur, working on the lights with him.Winston put down the gifts he brought and asked, "Can I help with anything?""Ah, Winston, you're here. Come on in and warm up a bit." Arthur smiled and didn't say anything more.Millie nodded, indicating that Winston should go in first.Thomas and Everly stayed outside working on the lights while Millie, Winston, and Arthur went inside the house.In the living room, Layla was eating chips and watching TV. When she saw that Winston had arrived, she remained expressionless.Millie glanced cautiously at her grandmother with a gentle expression."Grandpa, I brought some good coffee beans." Winston placed a gift box on the coffee table.Arthur chuckled and said, "You didn't need to bring any gifts. You already brought plenty last time."The last gi
Soon, it was New Year's Eve. Yerwick City didn't have a ban on fireworks, so the neighborhood had been lively since early in the day.Arthur wanted to hang some lights to bring more festive spirit into the house. However, when he looked at the high places where he needed to hang them, he felt like he just couldn't manage it.Just as Thomas and Everly arrived outside the door, he called out to them, "Hurry and hang up these lights.""Oh dear, be careful not to fall at this age." Thomas quickly took the string of lights from Arthur's hands.Arthur replied, "I was just waiting for you all!"Everly joked, "Grandpa, are you upset that we arrived late?""Hmph! You weren't early enough. Millie hasn't even shown up yet!"But as soon as he finished speaking, Millie walked in holding some things. "Grandpa, I heard you talking about me from far away, and I've sneezed several times because of it," she said with a slight smile, her voice bright and cheerful.The group turned their attention
At that moment, a cold snort came from the staircase.Arthur looked up. Wasn't that Layla standing there?Layla walked downstairs, her tone sounding incredulous as she said, "Is this guy really willing to go to such lengths to get what he wants? He even had the nerve to say something like that?""When pursuing someone you like, there's nothing you wouldn't do, no matter how embarrassing. Back when I was trying to win you over, didn't I wait for you outside your house every day?" The thought brought Arthur a sense of sorrow.The Cadmores were a medical family, and Arthur was a businessman. Even though he also made a fortune in the medical field, the Cadmore family wasn't willing for the two of them to be together. They just wanted Layla to marry someone who was also studying medicine.Believe it or not, back then, there really was another medical student as her suitor. The Cadmore family liked them, and outsiders also thought they were a good match.In the end, the persistent suit
The car was parked in front of the Caldwell residence. Eli took out the items and silently handed them to Winston. He wanted to see if Winston could help escort the two elderly people to the door."No need to accompany me any further. Let's leave it here," Layla insisted, maintaining her refusal.She always maintained a sense of propriety, even in how she addressed Winston.Winston found Layla harder to impress than Millie."Grandma, let me help you take it inside. It's not far. I'll just go in and come right out. I won't stay long," Winston said with a smile.Layla was about to speak. Arthur nudged her arm, suggesting she let it go, as she had been bothered enough already.Layla remained silent for a moment before nodding.Winston was given permission, and he immediately followed the two elderly people into the Caldwell residence with the items.Eli sighed and couldn't help but take a video of Winston, feeling really humbled.It was really hard to believe this was Winston.W
"The shop shutting down for rectifications is necessary. If she keeps up this attitude, there's no point in having the store here. You all should remove her from this place," Layla said, intending to rid Clara of a job.When Clara heard it, her face turned pale. However, she didn't dare to speak at the moment, fearing that the more she said, the more mistakes she might make.These people all seemed to be important figures!"Alright!" Bernard clapped his hands and agreed, "Professor Cadmore, we agree. If she doesn't give the proper compensation, we will definitely fire her!"Arthur supported Layla and gently patted her back, gesturing for her to calm down and not be upset anymore.Layla had finally started to calm down a bit. She had actually become much more mellow with her temper. In the past, whether in the lab or outside, she was always decisive and assertive.This was also why Arthur had been obedient all these years. He would always go along with her."Hurry up, apologize t
Bernard gave Clara a strong push. She fell to the ground, crying out in anger, "What's the meaning of this!"Bernard approached Winston with his hands tightly clasped and bowed respectfully as he exclaimed, "Mr. Greer!"Winston raised his hand, signaling for him to get up.Clara sat on the ground, feeling completely dumbfounded. Why was Bernard treating him with such respect? Who was this person? What was his background?Winston, with a cold expression, adjusted his sleeve and looked indifferently at Clara on the ground.Bernard said, "Mr. Greer, you should have told us you were coming! I would have had someone prepared to welcome you long ago. I'm really sorry for any inconvenience you experienced. Please accept my apologies!""What's wrong with her? Is she unwell?" Winston asked, pointing to Clara on the ground.Bernard quickly said, "She…""No matter what's up with her, disrespecting customers is a big mistake. I am demanding that her shop undergo rectifications before reope