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 the CEO's office at Hughes Inc., Yardley had been absentminded throughout the day. "Mr. Hughes, please sign here." Yannis handed him a document and reminded him to sign. Yardley took the document and signed it without much thought.He called Celia because he was worried about her. Yet, she didn't answer her phone.When he called the phone in Lunaria, Maria answered the call. "Where's Celia?" Yardley asked with concern."Ms. Stanton is out," Maria replied."Out?" Yardley's heart skipped a beat. Celia had just been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and her body hadn't fully recovered. Why had she gone out?"Where did she go?" Yardley inquired further.After giving it some thought, Maria said, "She went to the hotel to find Ms. Yandell.""Nicole didn't come over today?" Yardley frowned."No. Ms. Stanton couldn't reach Ms. Yandell, so she went to the hotel to find her," Maria replied. She started to feel worried, too."Got it." Yardley hung up and turned to Yann
Regina sneered and took out a bundle of explosives. She looked sinister as she glared at Celia. "You can save your friend if you want to. Come over here, replace her as my hostage, and put this on!"She then challenged Celia in a provoking tone. "Whether your friend lives or dies depends on you. If she dies, it's all on you. So don't blame me when that happens."Celia's gaze turned cold as she looked at the bomb in Regina's hand.Where did Regina get that bomb? This woman had gone insane! Was it really necessary to go to such extremes for the sake of a man?"Regina, you should know that everything you're doing now is illegal. "Even if you kill me, you won't be able to escape the law. You can still back down before it's too late," Celia advised.Regina started to grow impatient. "Don't sidetrack me with irrelevant things. I want you dead right now!"She looked at Celia in fury. She became increasingly excited by the second.She had been waiting and planning for so long. Today
Celia hadn't expected that Regina would have such tremendous strength, but she clung to Celia like glue.Regina was determined to go down with Celia. She held Celia tightly with both of her hands. Celia struggled a few times but couldn't break free.The familiar feeling of falling washed over Celia, and her face turned ashen.Was she going to die just like this? No, she couldn't die!At that moment, Celia's mind went blank. She bit her lip and forced herself to calm down."Celia!" The moment Celia fell, Yardley's expression became panicked. He had never been this worried about someone in his entire life.Regina was out of her mind! She had jumped off the cliff while holding Celia!He couldn't lose Celia! He had to save her!Without any hesitation, Yardley ran toward Celia in long strides.His hand reached out toward the direction Celia was falling, but he was a step too late. He only managed to grab Celia's arm. The next second, Yardley and Celia fell down together."
Celia sat beside Yardley. After five minutes of contemplation, she came up with an idea.Although they were in a forest, it was still on the outskirts of the city. There shouldn't be any aggressive wild animals. Celia had a fair amount of wilderness survival knowledge. Thus, leaving this place shouldn't be too difficult.Yardley was still unconscious. Celia would never abandon him and leave him alone there.If she was going to leave, she had to make a raft so that she could put Yardley on it and drag him along with her. The ground was wet enough. So she should be able to drag the raft as she walked. There were also plenty of vines to use.Celia was determined to make it work. She gathered fallen branches in the vicinity that were roughly as thick as an adult's forearm and sufficiently long. She tied them together with vines. It was just enough to support Yardley's weight.As she tied the raft, she realized that the vines were remarkably resilient. After all, they had support
"Which room is he in? Take me to him," Celia demanded impatiently.She couldn't wait a moment longer to see Yardley. She wanted to know what was wrong with him.Celia got out of bed. But as soon as her feet touched the ground, she felt a sharp, piercing pain. She almost collapsed. Luckily, Nicole was there to support her. "Celia, take it easy. I'll take you there," Nicole said.Celia nodded. She couldn't care less about her weakened condition right now.Nicole supported Celia and gave her a sideways glance."When you were found, your feet were in bad shape. Lots of coniferous leaves were stuck to the bottom of your feet. Uncle Fletcher removed them one by one. He treated your infected wounds. Otherwise, your legs were as good as gone.""Was Uncle Fletcher here?" Celia was stunned, feeling shocked.Nicole smiled a little. "Yeah. Both you and Yardley were badly hurt. Uncle Fletcher was worried about you. If it hadn't been for him, you wouldn't have woken up so soon."Celia
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