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
Yardley hadn't expected Celia to be so bold. He lifted his hand and grasped the back of her head, taking control and deepening the kiss.Celia couldn't help but let out a soft moan.Her response only fueled Yardley's desire further. He held her face in his hands and kissed her passionately, like a torrential storm raining down on her.Things got hot and heavy in the hospital room.It wasn't until Celia could no longer bear the pain in her feet that she pushed Yardley away with heavy breaths. With that, she ended the deep kiss.Blushing, she returned to her wheelchair.Her heart was pounding rapidly.As Celia looked at herself and then at Yardley. They sat facing each other in their respective wheelchairs. They were every bit the couple who went through thick and thin together.Celia looked at Yardley's handsome and compelling face.She made up her mind. In this lifetime, no matter what became of Yardley, she would be with him.Even Candy's existence didn't matter anymore.Si
The next day, Celia woke up feeling groggy and rubbed her eyes.Nicole was sitting by her bedside."Celia, you're awake? How do you feel?" Nicole asked with concern."Much better," Celia replied, feeling warmed by Nicole's concern."By the way, Uncle Fletcher asked me to give you this," Nicole said.She handed a bottle to Celia while carefully going over Joaquin's instructions.Celia took the ointment bottle from Nicole. "Has Uncle Fletcher left?""Yes, he asked you to take good care of your injuries," Nicole replied.Celia nodded. "Nicole, could you do me a favor and bring my laptop over here?""Your injuries aren't fully healed yet. You should take a break from work," Nicole said, thinking that Celia was about to dive into her work again. She frowned in disapproval.Nicole had come to discuss the design competition with Celia. But she didn't want to see Celia overexert herself, especially with her current injuries.Celia smiled. "I don't want to work. Yardley and I are get
"If you hadn't jumped to save me, you wouldn't have gotten injured, and ..." Celia looked up at Yardley, her eyes filled with tenderness and guilt.Before she could finish her sentence, Yardley lowered his head and kissed the corner of her eye. He wiped away the glistening tears on her face gently.He whispered in her ear huskily, "Celia, I saved you willingly because you are the woman I love the most. I must protect you."At that moment, Celia's heart beat fiercely. She threw herself into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist.Right now, all she wanted was to lean against the man she loved and feel his warmth. She nestled herself in his arms in a docile manner.Celia bit her lip and said, "Yardley, let's get engaged soon."He had done so much for her. She didn't want to wait any longer."There's no need to rush. Ramsey is helping us select a suitable date," Yardley replied in a low voice.They should take their time with their engagement. He wanted to give Celia
Celia lifted her other hand to check if Yardley had gone delirious from a fever, but he grabbed her wrist and pinned both her hands down.Then, he lowered his head and closed the gap between them. The tips of their noses touched.At this moment, Celia was even scared to breathe. It was as if she was afraid that Yardley would steal her breath away."Hey …" Celia grimaced. She didn't know where to look, so she just shut her eyes. "Let's talk about that kind of thing on the night of our wedding ...""What kind of thing?" Yardley asked with a puzzled tone. There was a hint of playfulness in his voice as he whispered in her ear, "So, you've been wanting to do that with me all along?"Darn it! He was teasing her!Celia glared at him with wide eyes, realizing that Yardley had provoked her to say those words. He didn't mean what Celia thought he was insinuating at all.No … Even if he did, he couldn't!Celia glared at Yardley. "You're an incorrigible scoundrel!""Am I now?" He c
Upon hearing this, Angelica immediately teared up. She timidly asked while biting her lip, "Ms. Stanton, are you still unwilling to forgive me?"Before Celia could respond, Angelica looked pitifully at Yardley. "Yardley, I know you're still angry with me. I know I was wrong. "I shouldn't have been jealous of Ms. Stanton. I shouldn't have framed her, and I definitely shouldn't have disregarded Hughes Inc.'s interests. "Before coming to the hospital, I went to a church and sincerely reflected on my actions."Angelica took out an amulet and placed it in front of Yardley."This is an amulet I got from the church. I hope you'll always be safe and sound. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness. Right now, all I want is for you to recover and see you get married to Ms. Stanton."Angelica's words sounded heartfelt and touching.Celia sat at the bedside and watched Angelica's performance disdainfully.What a hypocrite!Yardley had a complicated look in his eyes. He finally looked at A
Celia gripped the edge of the rooftop; her mind had gone blank."Yardley, please be alright!" Celia muttered to herself.Just as she was about to call Yannis to ask him to send someone to look for Yardley, she heard a familiar, husky voice from behind her. "Celia."Yardley?Celia turned around and saw Yardley sitting in a wheelchair."Yardley, you scared me!" Celia rushed toward him.She knelt down and buried her head in Yardley's lap.Yardley reached out and stroked her hair. "Silly girl, what did you think happened to me?"Celia took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Suddenly, she felt that something wasn't right.When she had reached the rooftop just now, Yardley clearly hadn't been around.But in just a few minutes, he had appeared in his wheelchair. There was no one else around!Wasn't Yardley supposed to be crippled? How had he managed that?The more Celia thought about it, the more doubtful she felt.If her guess was correct, Yardley must have been pretending!
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