It was already dark outside at this point. Yardley felt more anxious as the seconds ticked by.Celia wasn't the kind of person who would go off the radar without telling anyone. She wouldn't disappear for no reason.What had happened to her? Had she encountered any danger?Yardley couldn't shake the feeling that Celia was in trouble.He hurriedly dialed Yannis' number. "Help me look into Celia's whereabouts.""Alright, Mr. Hughes," Yannis immediately answered.He called Yardley back a few minutes later. "Mr. Hughes, we checked the traffic surveillance footage. Ms. Stanton's car … is a little strange.""Strange?" Yardley frowned."Yes, she ran several red lights," Yannis answered truthfully.According to the surveillance footage, Celia had been driving abnormally. She had run red lights and headed for the suburbs.Then, she had driven into a blind spot in the surveillance cameras, so no one knew where her car had gone after that.A vein popped out in Yardley's neck as he orde
Celia had a very long dream.In the dream, she was being pursued by a lot of people, and she was running for her life.There was a cliff in front of her, and the people who were chasing after her were behind her … She was at a dead end!"Yardley, save me …" Celia subconsciously cried out, but her throat was extremely dry, and she couldn't utter a word.She was pushed off the cliff, and she kept falling down.Celia woke up with a start.What was that? Was that a nightmare?But it had been so vivid. It felt like it had actually happened. It was definitely not a dream!Celia tried to move her fingers, but her muscles were so sore and tired.Then, it hit her. Earl's men had tampered with her car's brakes. Then, she had been surrounded and attacked by his henchmen after she had managed to get out of the car.Celia had knocked them down one after another, but she had been seriously outnumbered. She had felt as though she had been fighting an endless stream of people.Later, she
"Okay." Celia massaged her temples as she wondered who wanted her dead.There was a knock on the door just then. "May I come in, Mr. Hughes?"Yardley's clear voice rang out. "Come in."Yannis pushed the door open and walked up to Yardley. "I've found something, Mr. Hughes," he said respectfully."Is it about the person behind Earl?" Celia inquired eagerly."Yes, Ms. Stanton." Yannis nodded."Have you found out who was behind Earl?" she asked urgently.Celia was eager to find out who despised her so much that they would actually hire Earl to kill her."It's Regina Wright," Yannis said solemnly.Regina? Celia was taken aback, as she hadn't expected it to be her.It wasn't unexpected, though. After all, Regina had a deep-seated hatred for her and had attempted to harm her several times. Zephyr had repeatedly promised her that he would keep an eye on Regina and prevent her from causing trouble when he had taken her away that day.Moreover, Celia didn't believe that Regina ha
"This man is …" Celia frowned as a vague suspicion arose in her heart.Anthony reached out, pointed at the screen, and said calmly, "It's Chandler Lawrence. This photograph was taken at Atria.""So it is him." She narrowed her eyes.Her previous guess was correct.In other words, Angelica and Chandler had known each other for a long time. The two hadn't just happened to meet when they framed her for leaking the bid to BPL."Have you found out what their relationship is?" she asked.Anthony shook his head. "Not yet."Celia smiled. "Look into it for me.""You can count on me, Ava!" he readily agreed.All of a sudden, he thought of something. "By the way, Ava, Regina was the one who ordered Earl to get rid of you.""I know. Yardley just told me." Celia nodded."I didn't expect this woman to hate me to the point where she would wish for my death."If she had known Regina was such a psychopath, she wouldn't have let Zephyr take her away back then."Zephyr can't be blamed for th
"Alright." Parker glanced deeply at Celia with saddened eyes. Then, he turned and left.Just now, Yardley had referred to Celia as his fiancée, and she hadn't denied it.Did this mean she had acquiesced to it? The thought left Parker troubled.However, he was indeed in the wrong and couldn't refute what Yardley had said.After all, Celia was seriously injured this time. He was responsible for the harm that had befallen her. Who knew Regina would be this crazy?Parker blamed himself immensely. His failure to handle things between him and Regina properly had led to Celia getting hurt.The moment Parker walked away, Celia glared at Yardley with displeasure. "I don't recall becoming your fiancée. Why are you claiming that I am?"Yardley's cold eyes narrowed slightly. There was a faint glint in his attractive eyes. He remarked, "You're so cold and unfeeling."Celia was baffled."It seems you've forgotten." Yardley looked disappointed. With his hands in his pockets, he bent towa
Yardley's eyes dimmed slightly at her reaction. "You've misunderstood me."He then spoke calmly, "I just wanted to wipe off the risotto at the corner of your mouth."What? Celia quickly wiped the corner of her mouth, and her finger located the grain of rice.Had she misunderstood him? Celia's face turned red in embarrassment.She cleared her throat and changed the subject. "I want to go to sleep."With that, she lay down, turned her back to Yardley, and covered her head with the blanket.Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, a pair of large hands encircled her waist from behind and hugged her tightly. She was pulled into a warm and cozy embrace."What are you doing?" Celia's body stiffened, and she started to struggle against him.She heard Yardley's tired and hoarse voice from behind her. "Don't move. I'm tired too. I haven't slept for two days and two nights while taking care of you."Celia turned around upon hearing this.She met Yardley's gaze. In such proximity,
Yardley drove back to Lunaria with Celia."Mr. Hughes, Ms. Stanton, you're back," Maria greeted them with a smile.For the past few days, Maria had noticed Yardley's worried and tense demeanor due to Celia's hospitalization. During the two days when Celia had been unconscious, Yardley had had no appetite for anything Maria had prepared for him. Now that they were back together and Celia was fine, it seemed the storm had passed.Celia returned to her room and was about to tidy her things when Yardley suddenly embraced her. "You've just recovered. Go and rest.""But—"Before Celia could finish her sentence, Yardley lifted her off the ground and placed her on the large bed. "Rest well, and don't move around.""Alright ..." Celia felt helpless.She had wanted to research more about the Padea Fashion Design Competition. Now, she would have to do it secretly while Yardley was at work. Celia took out her phone and started scrolling through it. The first thing that caught he
Celia waited for a while more. When she checked the time again, it was almost noon. Yet, there was still no sign of Nicole. Celia began to feel a growing sense of worry. She tried calling Nicole, but her phone was off. Nicole was usually very disciplined. If she had planned to meet Celia in the morning, she wouldn't have stayed out of touch for so long. Could something have happened?Celia drove to the hotel where Nicole was staying and knocked on her room's door. No response came from inside. Sje furrowed her brows, sensing that something was amiss. In the end, she asked the hotel manager for help. The hotel manager opened the door only to find the room empty. Nicole was nowhere to be found. Next, they checked the security footage. They saw that Nicole had gone to a nearby supermarket after leaving the hotel last night. She had walked into a blind spot in the surveillance. After that, she had disappeared.Celia realized that something was seriously wrong. Nicole was
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