Celia felt inexplicably annoyed as soon as she heard Yardley's name. She slammed her glass onto the table and said, "Can we not talk about him?""Oh, it looks like I guessed it right." Nicole grinned. "I have to say, Yardley is quite impressive. I had heard of him long ago while I was abroad. Now that I've seen him today, he truly lives up to his reputation." "What reputation is there to live up to?" Celia frowned. She recalled what Yardley had just said in the elevator."He's tall, handsome, wealthy, and powerful—a perfect match for you," Nicole joked.Celia picked up her glass and chugged it. "Tacky!"Nicole cleared her throat. "My eyes are sharp, you know. Both of you were perfectly in sync during the press conference, as if you were made for each other. Don't tell me you haven't caught feelings for him, Celia.""Oh, hush." Celia leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath."You know that there's nothing between Yardley and I. Gramps just insisted I come to Ashvale City
The music was blaring, and everyone was having a great time on the dance floor. No one noticed the commotion in the corner of the bar.The man in the red shirt was a notorious ruffian named Ian. He frequented the bar to pursue women. So far, he'd gotten every woman he'd set his sights on.Ian had been determined to get his hands on Celia since he'd first laid eyes on her. He thought he could thoroughly enjoy himself that night. He hadn't expected Celia to smash a bottle on his head, though. Ian lost it as pain surged through his head. He called out to his henchmen, who were nearby. "What are you guys waiting for? Get your asses over here!" Several burly men immediately surrounded Celia. "Catch her!" Ian held his head and stared menacingly at Celia. "How dare you hit me, you audacious bitch? I'll make you pay tonight!"Celia frowned, but she remained calm and composed. There were four people in total, including Ian. She probably had a fair shot at dealing with this group o
"Don't move, Celia!" Yardley's tone was stern. He took a few deep breaths to suppress his desire. He used one hand to restrain Celia's restless hand, which was touching his body. Then, he used his other hand to take out his phone and call Maxon. "Get over here, Maxon."Maxon was sleeping soundly when the ringing of his phone woke him up. He answered the call groggily. "Do you know what time it is right now? I was already asleep.""Stop yapping and get over here!" Yardley urged.Maxon put on his clothes and said in resignation, "Alright, alright. Where are you? Send me the address."Yardley hung up and sent Maxon his location."Hold on, Celia. The doctor will be here soon." Yardley removed his suit and wrapped Celia in it.Celia became restless again. "It's hot …" She reached out to remove Yardley's clothes, but he held onto her hands tightly, rendering her immobile.Celia licked her dry lips and writhed uncomfortably. She murmured incessantly, "Yardley, let go of me … I feel
"Last night? What happened last night?" Celia looked at Yardley suspiciously. She rubbed her temples and slowly regained consciousness. Then, it hit her. Last night, she had made plans to meet Nicole at the bar for drinks. She'd ended up encountering that thug, Ian. Then, she had been drugged.Yardley had appeared later and whisked her away. Celia remembered that she was burning up all over at that moment before she lost consciousness. Things between Yardley and her seemed to have gone further. At that thought, Celia hurriedly checked herself. Fortunately, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Celia still felt a little uneasy, so she asked, "You … didn't do anything last night, did you?" Yardley arched his brow as he observed the woman's nervous demeanor. "What's the matter? Do you want me to do something?""Of course not!" Celia glared at him before breathing a sigh of relief. She felt somewhat fortunate that she had encountered Yardley last night and that he was st
Fall in love with him within two months? Celia bit her lip and solemnly said, "That's impossible.""But what if you do fall in love? Will you stay?" Yardley persisted, his gaze filled with determination."It's not going to happen." Celia walked out of the CEO's office without looking back. Yet her heart couldn't help but race. What did Yardley want? Did he genuinely want her to stay? What about his Candy?Celia kept telling herself that Yardley was only saying such things because she looked like Candy. Regardless, she refused to be anyone's substitute!The days that followed were peaceful. Sabrina was sentenced to a year in prison for intentionally causing harm to others.Flames of Ice achieved unprecedented success. Bruce was very satisfied with the collaboration and returned to Festras with his assistant. Meanwhile, at Norman's earnest invitation, Nicole spent the next few days exploring Ashvale. Then, she returned to Frestas. The Flames of Ice jewelry collection skyrocket
Celia followed the security guard to the entrance, where a crowd had gathered. There were also a lot of reporters with cameras and microphones.A man pointed at her when Celia arrived. He exclaimed loudly, "That's her! I've seen her on TV. She's Celia Stanton, the head of the Flames of Ice project."A group of people gathered around Celia. "What's going on?" she inquired with a frown.Reporters scrambled to interview her one after another. "Someone has revealed that the materials in your Flames of Ice series are subpar and contain radioactive elements. What are your thoughts on this, Ms. Stanton?""Ms. Stanton, is it true that Hughes Inc. cut corners and used materials containing radioactive elements to save costs? This resulted in people being poisoned after wearing the Flames of Ice jewelry?" Celia took a deep breath as she was bombarded with questions. Radioactive elements in the Flames of Ice jewelry? How was that even possible? Hughes Inc. had very strict protocols about i
There was an uproar when the news about Hughes Inc.'s jewelry containing radioactive elements spread on social media. Soon, it was trending online. "Mr. Hughes, should we consider getting someone to suppress the news?" Yannis inquired. "No, that won't be necessary." Yardley rubbed his temples."The news has already spread. If we were to have the media retract the news and suppress the matter now, people will think we have a guilty conscience." Yannis nodded. "Alright, Mr. Hughes. I understand.""The most important thing right now is uncovering the truth about the radioactive element poisoning," Yardley said with a frown.A string of poisoning incidents had been linked to Flames of Ice. Public outrage had a negative impact on Hughes Inc. "Alright, I'll have someone look into it immediately. We'll get to the bottom of it as soon as possible," Yannis said solemnly. Celia had ordered all Flames of Ice sales to halt. All the products were to undergo testing. Yannis' i
Yardley's expression darkened. He arched his brow as he asked, "The factory in Festras?""Yes." Celia nodded. Frowning, she continued, "The results just came in. Some of the jewelry manufactured there contains radioactive elements."He rubbed his temples and said coldly, "We've overlooked the factory. In Festras. It appears that someone took advantage of the situation and tampered with things."Celia's mind raced as she thought about it. Compared to the headquarters, the management at Festras' factory was much more lax. Since Festras was far away and not strictly monitored, it was easier to get away with meddling. She spoke up again. "We need to look into it immediately and find out at what stage the radioactive elements were introduced. In theory, it shouldn't be that easy to tamper with our products, even at the factory in Festras. It's highly likely that we have a mole within our company." Yardley narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I'll have someone look into it immedi
In fact, Yardley didn't tell anyone. … Meanwhile, Morgan stumbled upon a surprising find. She discovered two healthy, month-old babies at the orphanage. "Director, is it true that no one wants such young babies?" Morgan felt a bit emotional. How could people be so heartless as to abandon their own babies? The director of the orphanage let out a deep sigh. "You don't know the whole story. Our janitor found these babies at the orphanage's entrance. Someone left them there and disappeared. "We've been taking care of them for about half a month now, and their condition has improved significantly." Looking at the adorable babies, Morgan couldn't shake the feeling that they belonged to Celia. "I'm here on behalf of Yardley Hughes else to adopt these children, but..." Morgan expressed her concerns. Morgan anticipated the orphanage director's refusal. To her surprise, he actually agreed. "The opportunity for these two babies to have some good days is preferable to nothing.
"Let's go, Celia. We shouldn't disturb the twins' rest," said Yardley as he supported Celia and got ready to leave. Celia waved her hand and stood in front of the incubator. Even with the glass barrier, she could still discern the condition of her children. She reached out to touch them, as if her touch could make them feel her presence. She resolved to take her children home safely. Celia lingered for a while before finally leaving the hospital. Once they were home, Celia locked herself in her room, disregarding any attempts anyone made to talk to her. Yardley headed to the company to attend to some matters, while the housekeepers remained at home. Meanwhile, Morgan couldn't shake her concern for Celia, so she came to visit her. Upon entering, she heard the housekeepers upstairs calling out, "Mrs. Hughes, are you feeling better? Come out and have some soup!" However, there was no response from inside. "What's going on?" Morgan asked. The housekeepers promptly briefed
Sophie had failed to get Celia's forgiveness. So, she had no choice but to pin all her hopes on Morgan.She took all the supplements to Morgan's apartment. Richard was staying there with her.Ever since the incident with Celia, Sophie's relationship with Richard had become very strained. They barely talked to one another.Sophie knocked on the door for a long time, but no one came out.She could only wait outside. After two hours, she finally saw Morgan and Richard. They came into view, laughing and holding each other's hands.This scene pained Sophie deeply."What are you doing here?" Morgan's cheerful expression faltered the moment she saw Sophie.Sophie could only put on a smile and say, "I brought all these for you. I was wrong to come between your relationship with my son."Richard glanced at the items on the ground. He could tell from a glance that they were meant for postpartum care and immediately understood why Sophie was there."Mom, you should be honest. You got the
Otto didn't back down and insisted on his right to see his grandchildren. However, Yardley paid him no mind. He shook his head and said, "Celia needs rest. Please come back another day."The next second, he instructed the housekeepers to close the door and left Otto standing outside. Otto stomped his walking cane on the ground in frustration but had no choice but to leave.As Yardley made his way back inside the villa, he thought of another troubling matter.Although they had brought their children home, the twins had been weak because they had been born prematurely. They had appointed a family doctor to treat the twins but hadn't seen much improvement in their health. Yardley sanitized himself before he went into the nursery. He felt pained when he heard the twins' weak breaths."Mr. Hughes." The family doctor spoke up with a frown, indicating that the situation was far from ideal."The baby girl has been slowly recovering, but the boy remains very weak. I don't think the n
"Don't worry. She's fine. She's just a bit weak at the moment."Remembering Yardley's words outside the ward, the doctor felt a wave of nervousness. He could tell that Yardley and Celia weren't ordinary people judging by their attire. They were certainly not ones to be trifled with."Did you say that we had twins?" Yardley turned to ask the nurse after learning that Celia was alright."Yes, sir." The nurse chuckled inwardly. She found that, despite Yardley's intimidating appearance, he was a very devoted husband.Soon, Celia was moved out of the operating room and into a VIP ward.Yardley gently wiped the sweat from Celia's face again. He took in her pale complexion; it was a sign of how much she had suffered."How's Celia?"Sounds of hurried footsteps came from outside. Ashley and the others had come over. Yardley turned and signaled them to leave.Celia had just given birth, so she needed a quiet environment to rest. Having too many visitors might affect her recovery.Ever
"How could you hit me because of her? I'm the mother of your child!" Sophie shrieked.She had never suffered such humiliation. She had been showered with love from a young age and wasn't accustomed to such harsh treatment. So, she became agitated and emotional."Isn't it all because of you that things turned out this way? Would such a thing have happened to our company? Would Richard suddenly want to break all ties with us? It's all because of your reckless behavior!" Chester vented years of suppressed grievances and dissatisfaction as if it would make him feel better.Celia watched as Chester and Sophie argued fiercely. She stepped forward to stop them, especially since there were many people outside watching the spectacle."Stop fighting. This isn't the time or the place for arguments!"Sophie went at Chester and started hitting him. Celia tried to break up their fight, but Sophie pushed her. Celia took a few steps back at that. She didn't attempt to intervene anymore."It's
"Mrs. Black, we'd intended to negotiate amicably with you and achieve a satisfactory outcome for both parties. "The decision to move out was mine, and I asked Celia to come over and help me out. If you're unwilling to be decent and compromise, then let's end things between our families here."Morgan felt relieved after expressing her thoughts. It was like a significant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "What do you mean?" Richard panicked. Just when their relationship had slightly improved, the situation took a turn for the worse again."We're breaking up for good!"Morgan left after saying that. Jessica and Darby left with her, leaving the Blacks behind."This is all your doing! Look what you've done! How many times have I told you not to be so assertive and bossy? Why don't you ever consider my feelings?" Richard punched the couch angrily, his heart filled with bitterness.Sophie hadn't wanted things to turn out this way either, but she had been too angry and spoke
"It's fine. You two can go if you have something else to attend to," Jessica said.Soon, Celia arrived at the Blacks' residence with Jessica and Darby.Sophie opened the door and was surprised to see Celia standing at the doorstep with Jessica and Darby. She couldn't understand what Celia was up to.Once they were inside, Celia didn't beat around the bush and stated her purpose directly. "I think you might be having some misunderstandings about Morgan."Sophie smiled without saying anything."Don't you think you're interfering too much in Morgan's personal life?" Celia questioned.Upon hearing this, Sophie realized why they were there. Having discussed the issue with Chester, Sophie had finally agreed not to interfere in Richard's and Morgan's lives.So, she didn't object to Celia's words. She even agreed with Celia, much to the latter's surprise.Under normal circumstances, Sophie would have argued with her. Why was she being so agreeable this time?"How about you sign a writ
After saying that, Celia hung up.On the other end, Quinn felt very displeased. After all, it was her party, and she had personally called Celia to invite her. Quinn felt that Celia had snubbed her by refusing to attend.Quinn thought about it for a moment. If Celia didn't come, Yardley probably wouldn't either. If both of them didn't show up, it would be embarrassing for Quinn.So, she decided to go and find Celia.…Morgan was taking refuge at Celia's place, so she answered the door when Quinn came over."I'm here to see Celia."Celia had instructed Morgan to turn away anyone she didn't recognize, no matter who it was. Hence, Morgan said, "Celia isn't seeing anyone today. Please come back another time."To Morgan's surprise, her words ignited the anger that Quinn had been suppressing in her heart. The two quickly started arguing.Celia listened to their argument from her room. She regretted asking Morgan to handle Quinn. She had expected that Quinn would come looking for her