"Ms. Stanton? Apologize?" Willow mused as she couldn't believe what had unfolded before her. "Mr. Woodward, the manager of this establishment, wants me to apologize to Celia? How's that possible?"Lisa was the first among the two to voice how outraged she felt. Her jaw tightened with every shrieking word that left her mouth. "Are you mistaken, Mr. Woodward? Why are you apologizing to her? Willow's interested in that dress. Plus, you always known Willow, the most beloved granddaughter of Old Mr. Xanders! Offending Willow means you're offending Old Mr. Xanders himself! Are you aware of what becomes of those that cross the Xanders family? Are you even able to bear the consequences?"Walter didn't care to respond to Lisa. Instead, he wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief before resuming his apology to Celia. "Ms. Stanton, to prove how sincerely sorry we are, RD Luxuries has decided to gift this dress to you, free of charge. I hope this appeases you." Moments ago
Thunderous applause shook the entire bar when Celia finished singing. Some people in the audience even cheered for an encore.A smile flashed on Celia's face, the polite kind that almost but didn't quite reach her eyes. Then, she turned to leave the stage and return to the booth seating where Norman sat."That was—you were incredible, Celia! I could've sworn I heard angels singing along to your pure voice. You're way better than the pub's resident singer!" Norman was effervescent as he showered her in compliments. "Gosh, that's enough flattery from you." Celia twisted her lips to one side, then added, "Anyway, I'm going to use the washroom real quick."She wasn't sure if she had downed the red wine too quickly, but her stomach churned uncomfortably. She had just arrived outside the washroom when a middle-aged man in a formal suit and leather shoes stopped her. "Are you the new resident singer?"Celia sized the man up, speedily noticing he was a foreign man with a beer belly, whic
Yardley only planned to punish Celia lightly, but he sank so deeply into her irresistibly soft, candy-flavored lips that he couldn't back out anymore. The usual weight on his shoulders vanished just then, replaced with a fluttery weightlessness like never before. He couldn't help but deepen the kiss.Shame and anger roared to life in Celia's chest. She was helpless as the former pried her lips open to explore deeper inside her mouth with his tongue. Her heart thrummed erratically, and she could barely breathe, so she tried to shove Yardley away. Unfortunately, it didn't work as he had firmly pinned her down.The temperatures inside the men's washroom continued rising rapidly with every second.By then, Celia had run out of ideas and could only rely on timing to break free. She waited for the perfect chance to bite down hard on Yardley's lip. A warm, metallic scent soon permeated the insides of her mouth, then she felt Yardley wincing in pain and instantly releasing her. "Oh, thank
Yardley was so drunk that his mind was a blur. His eyes cracked open to see a fetching lady standing before him, and something about her felt familiar. It was like he had returned to that fateful day when he was thirteen.…At the time, he got locked inside a dark room with the little girl he called Candy. Apart from the man guarding the door outside, a ferocious hunting dog also got placed inside the room to prevent the two from escaping. Having grown up afraid of dogs, he was a quivering mess that day. Fortunately, the girl hugged him tight and assured him, "There, there. Doggies aren't scary. They just sense fear, so the more afraid you are, the more they'll bully you."Speckles of light twinkled in the girl's gaze. Her eyes resembled a galaxy of stars, shining so brightly that it warded off fear from creeping into Yardley's heart. The two huddled close, relying on each other for comfort. At some point, the girl joked, "Does this count as saving your life? Cause you would've been
Quinn whipped her head around upon hearing the door creak open, her face paling as if she had just seen a ghost. Celia's brows creased. "What do you think you're doing, Quinn?"Right away, Quinn's gaze flitted to the ground, but she steeled herself. "Yardley's too drunk to wash up. I wanted to clean his lips.""Oh? So, you decided to clean them with your own lips?" The corners of Celia's lips tilted into a mocking sneer. She peered at Yardley from beneath her lashes, mentally assessing the situation, "Judging from Yardley's shut eyes and steady breathing, he's likely fallen asleep out of drunkenness, which means he has no clue what Quinn is doing to him. So, do these two have a questionable relationship? No, I doubt it; Yardley kept calling out for someone named Candy, which shouldn't have anything to do with Quinn. Besides, he would never risk his position in this family and social status over an incestuous relationship. My guess? Quinn fancies Yardley to no end, but her love is u
"Again with that Candy girl? Seriously …? Who the hell is Candy?" Many questions blew up Celia's mind while her lips curled downward as she snapped, "That's enough, Yardley! Let go of me this instant! Who's Candy? Jeez, what nonsense are you blubbering?"Her snarkiness doused Yardley like a bowl of cold water, extinguishing the excitement in his heart. Immediately, he knew she wasn't his Candy; the latter wouldn't have turned him away like that. He released her hand, straightened his back, and leaned against the chair. "Why do you have one of my buttons?" Yardley asked, his expression shifting back to the cold exterior he always presented to others.The former's enthusiastic grip left Celia with an aching hand, so she massaged it while huffing. "You were drunk last night and laid on the ground, refusing to get up. I had to help get on your feet. So, in doing so, I must've yanked that button off your cuff."Yardley's features creased slightly. "Does that mean you sent me back to my
"You're the one I'm dismissing, Willow." Yardley's voice was cold as stone, and it made Willow's veins run cold."But Yardley …" Willow bit her lower lip, her eyes large with disbelief. "I haven't briefed you on the proposal yet!"Annoyance crept across his brow as he glared at her. "Just leave it.""But Roland insisted that I explain everything in detail to you …" Her fists clenched hard while her heart pounded in full swing. She simultaneously thought, "How could Yardley kick me out of his office in front of Celia? There's no way I can live this down. And why would Yardley do this to me? Granted, he's always been a little cold, but he never would've told me to leave like he's doing now! It's Celia's fault. It has to be! Ever since she moved into the Hughes residence, things between me and Yardley had changed completely! What's worse? Yardley refuses to look at me and is even forcing me to leave! This is all Celia's doing!"Seeing Willow's mouth slam shut to hold back her raw rese
Celia cleared her throat and smiled confidently. "Now, allow me to share Lady Couture's recent developments and overall situation with you."With a marker in hand, she drew out a flow chart illustrating the entire project on the whiteboard while explaining it fully. Her words were enunciated clearly, and the people in the room understood everything on the board at a glance.Sabrina looked at her in disbelief. Her fingernails dug hard into her palm, but she felt nothing. She only snapped back to reality after a long while.How could this be? How could Celia deliver the presentation so perfectly without any prep whatsoever? How could the flow chart be drawn out so beautifully? There must have been a leak somewhere that led to Celia knowing about this meeting beforehand so that she could prepare for it. Sabrina had intended for Celia to embarrass herself, but she had instead handed her a golden opportunity to flaunt her skills.Celia just had to wait! One day, Sabrina would get her ki
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