After a brief pause, she stared at Winston for a bit, even after the elevator doors slid open. He had thanked her. That was new.She should have gladly accepted the welcoming change, but deep within, she sort of wished he would be more casual and relaxed around her.She stepped out of the elevator, and he followed behind in silence. Then, she asked in concern, "Can you drive with your hand bandaged?"He lifted his right hand and blurted out, "Yes. It's really not a big deal."She narrowed her eyes quizzically. Did he say it wasn't a big deal?It had only occurred to him just now that he couldn't drive her home with his so-called injury."Millie, I'll get you a driver," he suggested."Why the trouble? I could get a cab home. That'll save you some trouble too.""Oh, it's no trouble at all." Winston never felt that Millie was trouble. Every single moment he got to spend with her was pure bliss.Millie came across an old acquaintance when they arrived in the hospital lobby."Mill
Hector wasn't about to give up yet, as the more the merrier. The class reunion would have been much more interesting if Millie had been in attendance."Mr. Greer, we welcome family members to the reunion. Would you like to join Millie?" he suggested.Millie thought he must be crazy for saying that. She quickly said, "What's the point of inviting both of us? Do you want us to perform a duet at the event?"Feeling frustrated, she decided. "I will not go, and neither will he. You clearly say family members are welcome, but he's not my family. Why would he go with me?"She checked the time. "I am indeed busy. Let's meet up again and chat next time.""Millie, can you leave me your number?" Hector asked.She shook her head. "We'll meet again if fate allows."In other words, she didn't want to stay in touch with Hector.Hector flashed her a helpless smile. He could not complain about the rejection since Millie was an important figure.He would call her gracious if she shared her numb
Millie couldn't give a comeback at Terrence's jab. He knew that wasn't her intention.Terrence interrogated them, "Did you spend the night together?"Winston admitted, "Yes. Mr. Caldwell, nothing happened between us. There was a blackout at my place, so, I—"Terrence turned to Millie and asked her calmly, "Did anything happen to you at Harfush?""No, Dad." Millie shook her head. Terrence gripped his teacup tighter. His arm froze before setting the teacup heavily on the tabletop, spilling some tea.Her heart sank. She realized that Terrence must have heard of the incident in Harfush yesterday, and he caught her lying."Dad, there was a minor incident, but I'm fine," she admitted. "I'm grateful to Winston for coming to my rescue in time."Terrence remained silent. The reason he invited Winston into the house was precisely because Winston saved Millie at the most dangerous time."You youngsters act before you think. How could you go to a place like Harfush alone?" Terrence blamed
Millie paused.Terrence joked, "And I thought my daughter was your priority. Doesn't look like it."He turned to Winston, who was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Winston struggled to come up with an appropriate reply.Winston had heard of difficult mothers-in-law, but his father-in-law was a tough nut to crack as well. He bet Terrence must have hated him to the bone, as he had rarely met up with the latter in his three years of marriage to Millie.Hence, he must have left a negative impression. He racked his brain to think of a way of winning brownie points.Amid the growing silence, Terrence finally spoke, "You should stay for dinner."Millie's eyes widened in shock. Did Terrence just invite Winston to their family dinner?Winston, too, wondered if he had heard Terrence right. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Mr. Caldwell, are you inviting me to dinner?""Yes, of course the invite is for you. I won't have to invite my daughter to dinner, that's for sure," quipped Terrence
Comments flooded Terrence's latest Facebook post."What's going on here? Terrence, are you making THE Mr. Greer your son-in-law again?""Ooh! Are Millie and Mr. Greer back together?""Told ya! Winston Greer is the most perfect match for our Mills. He's good-looking, isn't he? Makes you proud to bring him out.""Well, he's still beneath Terrence. Terrence has made him the driver of the day! LOL! Amazing."Not only did Terrence's friends gossip in the Facebook comment section, but some even went as far as to personally message Terrence to get the latest update on Millie and Winston's relationship status.Terrence only offered a non-reply, "I do not ask about their private lives." He stopped at that.…After Millie took a shower and changed into fresh clothes, she saw Terrence's Facebook post, and it nearly made her faint. Only Terrence would have the guts to make Winston his driver. Not even Millie herself dared post something as outrageous as that, even when Winston was pursui
How ridiculous.Winston's heart dropped. Guilt was written across his face. "Don't you think it's silly of a woman to cut off her family for a man?" Terrence directed the question at Winston without warning, and Winston struggled to come up with an answer."Just speak your mind. I would have felt annoyed if a woman did that for me, especially when I had no feelings for her. Besides, I would feel like she was giving me pressure. What do you think?" Terrence did not hold back at all.Winston had no choice but to engage. "Mr. Caldwell, I truly wanted to marry Millie at first.""Really? She told me you were reluctant to marry her. She said you did it for the sake of getting married. After the divorce, she once got drunk at night and cried to me, telling me that you never loved her and that she had a one-sided crush on you all along."Terrence ended his speech with a heavy sigh. The two men crossed slowly under the harsh lights of Wilmar Market. One couldn't tell if their hearts were
Someone walked behind them. In the quiet supermarket, Winston reassured Terrence, "Mr. Caldwell, I didn't know any better back then. Every time I dragged it out, it was because I didn't want to get a divorce. I eventually got a divorce from Millie when Joanna pressured me to."He confessed, "I have a funny story. I once hid her ID because I didn't want to get a divorce."Until now, Millie's stolen ID remained in his car. Terrence seemed visibly relieved after hearing Winston's reply. This proved that Winston had feelings for Millie. No wonder he would get onto his knees to beg for forgiveness of a woman he loved and happened to have saved his life; he would do anything to get her back.Terrence let out a sigh. He still had to put Winston through a hard time, even though Winston loved Millie. He walked over to the fish section and pointed at a live fish. "I'm going to buy that fish, but the owner is too busy to gut the fish. Can you do it for me?"Winston was caught by surprise. D
"It's Winston Greer with Terrence Caldwell! Looks like he's getting back together with Millie Caldwell!"Meanwhile, Jake, who had just left a meeting at the Webson Group building in exhaustion, became green in envy when he saw the news.He texted Winston, "Wow, you're catching fish now that you're not at work. You're giving it all to win Millie back! You're really something, Winston Greer!"At the same time, Sean felt threatened by the video of Winston with Terrence. Still on a business trip, he hurriedly texted Millie to remind her of his presence in case she forgot.Work had been increasingly busy for Sean toward the end of the year. It had been a while since he saw Millie in person, and he worried that he would come home to Millie and Winston getting back together.Back at the fish section, poor Winston had not successfully caught the fish. Amused, Terrence advised him, "There is a trick to catch a fish. You either grab it by the head or by the tail. It's hard to grab it in the
While in the hospital, Millie rubbed her arms to keep warm. Then, the person on the bed woke up.Millie turned her head and looked at the person on the hospital bed. Winston's eyes were dull and showed signs of exhaustion. Their eyes met, and neither of them said a word.The nurse entered and saw that Winston was awake, so she patiently asked about his condition.He just kept looking at Millie without saying anything.Millie glanced at the nurse, signaling that she could continue with her work. Winston seemed fine now."You're not allowed to drink anymore," Millie said, her voice calm and indifferent.He closed his eyes, turned his head away, and didn't look at her again.Millie frowned and asked, "What do you mean by turning your head?"Winston remained silent, unable to speak because of the tightness in his throat.Millie poured a glass of water and asked him, "Would you like some water?"He still remained silent.Millie grew impatient and said, "Then I'll call Eli to take
Other than that word, Everly couldn't hear anything else."Dad, I can't hear what you're saying at all." Everly was becoming frustrated.Thomas exclaimed, "I said, Mills!""Yes, you're talking about Mills. And then? What about her?" Everly was extremely confused.She picked up her phone to check the time—it was already 3:00 am.She was about to lose it. From New Year's Eve till now, she did nothing but take care of Thomas."Dad, why don't we just go to sleep?" Everly didn't want to listen anymore.Whatever it was, she would be nice to Millie and not go up against her.She didn't like Millie before, but that was simply because she disliked how obsessed Millie was with romantic relationships."Oh! Ah!" Thomas suddenly started grumbling as he threw back the blanket. "Why can't you understand?"He was getting agitated.Everly was also getting extremely agitated. What exactly did she need to understand?He wasn't even speaking loud enough."I mean your sister! Millie!" Thomas s
Everly, feeling exasperated, helped Thomas off the couch and took him to the bathroom.Thomas lifted his head. His face was flushed, and his eyes dazed over. "My daughter, my daughter, I didn't throw up…"Everly looked at the mess on the ground and felt a headache coming on. Thomas had already thrown up, yet he still claimed he hadn't."You're drinking so much even though you can't handle it!" Everly shouted."What are you saying? It's like you're saying, saying, saying… ugh!" Thomas immediately leaned over the toilet, unable to finish his sentence. It was like he was speaking in tongue twisters, and no one could understand him.Everly sighed. She twitched her nose and turned to go outside to wait for him.Ten minutes went by, and Everly had finished tidying up the house. There was no sound coming from the washroom where Thomas was.Everly furrowed her brows and called out, "Dad?"Fine. It seemed like he was going to end up sleeping on the toilet.Everly walked over and, as ex
"I'll go get your medicine for you. Wait a moment." Millie intended to get the medicine from the bedside table.But then, Winston grabbed her arm. His palms were sweaty, and when he held her hand, it felt so hot it was as if he might burn her.Millie looked down at him.Winston looked up at her face, worried that if he let go, she might disappear.However, he knew very well that Millie wanted to leave, and he couldn't stop her."Millie, do you really have to give up on me?" Winston asked again, seeming determined to get an answer.Millie furrowed her brows, breathing heavily."Do you have to?" He looked at her. "Hmm?"Millie felt her heart tighten, and she just couldn't bring herself to say, "I have to let you go.""Winston," she called to him.Winston had no more strength left in him, as if he couldn't wait any longer to hear those words from her.He suddenly bent over and fell to the ground.Millie paused for a moment, then she quickly crouched down. "Winston?"She immed
Millie tightened her grip on the doorknob and turned to look at Winston.He stood next to the coffee table, his hands dangling awkwardly at his sides. The expression on his face seemed profoundly sorrowful. Although they were close, it felt as if a huge ocean stood between them when he looked at her, making it impossible for him to bridge the gap.Winston made a slight groaning sound, licking his lips and breathing heavily. His body was also swaying a bit. His stomach felt extremely uncomfortable, churning violently as if he might throw up at any moment.What bothered him even more was the comment Millie had just made.She said, "Let's end this."End it? But how would they just end it? Then were her seven years over just like that? Did his guilt and regret count for anything?She could move on from him, love someone else, and marry them. But what about him? He could never forgive himself for the rest of his life…Could they just end it?"Millie. Tell me, how are we supposed to
"Listen." Millie bit her lip but finally mustered up the courage to speak. "Let's end this between us."During those years with him, she caused her family a lot of worry and concern. She no longer wanted her family to worry about her.Or perhaps, she had become scared. She didn't want to gamble with her feelings anymore."Winston, I admit defeat. I don't have the courage to go through this with you again." Millie's voice was choked with emotion as she struggled to hold back her sadness while saying this.Winston instinctively reached for her hand."Millie, you promised me. You said you'd give me a chance. Why?" His eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, and his voice was so hoarse it seemed like he could barely speak."There's no reason. The new year has begun, and I hope you get better. Don't come looking for me anymore." Millie pulled away from Winston's hand, turned around, and got ready to leave.He suddenly hugged Millie tightly and said, "Don't…"Winston's voice seemed to pierce
Millie opened the car door and pushed Winston inside the car.Winston fastened his seatbelt in the dark by himself.Millie got into the car and saw him sitting there quietly, which made her smile and sigh.Millie drove at a moderate speed. The road was busy, with many people out to watch fireworks, while others were heading home.Winston looked to the driver's side, his gaze fixed on Millie.Millie could sense that he was watching her, but she kept avoiding eye contact. Her mind was preoccupied with the messages her dad had sent.Let him go… The question was, could she give up on him?Millie furrowed her brow and rested her hand on her forehead, deep in thought."Did I make you hate me…?" Winston's raspy voice suddenly sounded next to her ear.Millie looked over at him with confusion."Does my drinking make you hate me?" he asked again, just like a child afraid of upsetting Millie."No." Millie shook her head.Despite having drunk too much, he still made an effort to pay at
After the video call ended, Millie placed her phone on the table.Thomas said to Millie, "Hahaha! Mills, look, he can't handle his drink!"Having been the son-in-law of the Caldwell family for three years, I only just found out that he can't hold his liquor."Millie gave a wry smile. This statement seemed to be a double-edged sword. For three years, he hadn't visited the Caldwell family even once. Winston was truly ruthless at that time.Winston quickly explained to Millie, "Millie, I haven't had too much. I can still drink, honestly."His face was completely flushed, and it was clear that his speech was slurred.The two of them had already finished a bottle of vodka.Thomas was even ready to switch to a different type of alcohol.Thomas had spent many years away from home and was quite a heavy drinker. His drinking ability was different from that of Winston.Winston could ask Eli to drink on his behalf if he didn't want to, but if Thomas was trying to win resources for Rach
At the dining table, Thomas and Winston started drinking vodka.The TV was showing this year's New Year Gala while Millie was quietly eating pierogi.She hadn't had homemade pierogi for three years, and they tasted so good. It felt like being back in her childhood, celebrating the New Year with her family. That was what made the festival truly special.Millie looked at her grandparents with a constant smile on her face. She felt happier than she had ever been before.She wished her parents were here too. Oh, those two…Just as she was thinking about this, her phone rang. It was Terrence calling.Millie answered the call without saying a word and pointed the camera toward Thomas.This year, Thomas had no one to drink with, so he turned to Winston for company.Terrence was lounging in the sun when he caught sight of Winston. His eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately set down his juice."Who is that? Am I seeing this right?" Terrence sat up straight, his voice filled with