Yardley's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly answered the call, "What's wrong, Grandpa?""Yardley, I hope I'm not bothering you, am I?" Otto's deep voice came through the phone."No, of course not. What can I do for you?" Yardley inquired, concerned."Oh, it's nothing," Otto said nonchalantly."I just wanted to ask you, how do you plan on handling your mother and Quinn?""Grandpa, I'll never let them get away with what they did to you. You can rest assured that they will never have the opportunity to hurt you again."Yardley's handsome face turned cold as he thought about his mother and cousin's actions."Are you planning to keep them locked up for the rest of their lives?" Otto frowned."What else?" Yardley was puzzled by Otto's reaction."No matter what, she's still your mother. Let them out in a few days." Otto narrowed his eyes, his tone apathetic.Yardley couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard that.Was he hearing things? Had Otto actually told him to let
The banquet for Xanders Group's 50th anniversary was held in the hotel owned by the Xanders.Willow had arrived at the banquet hall early. She had been constantly looking toward the entrance, waiting for the man she had been in love with for so long to finally show up."Don't worry. Mr. Hughes will be here soon." Lisa comforted Willow when she noticed her nervousness."Is everything ready?" Willow glanced at Lisa."Of course, everything's ready. Rest assured." Lisa smiled."Alright." Willow nodded.Just then, someone exclaimed, "Mr. Hughes! Mr. Hughes is here!"Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the banquet hall's entrance.Yardley stood tall, dressed in a bespoke black suit that showed off his exquisitely chiseled features. His commanding presence made it hard for people to take their eyes off him.Willow's heart skipped a beat as she stared at him.This exceptional man would be hers if everything went according to plan tonight.Her heart raced as she thought of
With that in mind, Willow leaned in and kissed the man in front of her.Yardley snapped out of it as her perfume wafted over him.He realized this woman wasn't Celia.Celia never wore perfume.Yardley turned away and avoided the kiss."Look at me, Yardley." Disappointment washed over Willow when she noticed that.She was determined to seize the opportunity that day. There was no room for failure!"Yardley, I like you a lot. I've liked you for ten years, ever since I learned what love was. You have feelings for me too, right?" Willow asked, looking at him affectionately.She wrapped her arms around Yardley again and threw herself at him."Go away!" Yardley took a deep breath and pushed her away.Yannis arrived just then. He pushed open the door to the lounge and found Yardley sitting on the couch and Willow on the floor."Mr. Hughes, are you alright?" Yannis realized what had happened after noticing Yardley's restrained demeanor. Yardley stood up and looked down at Willow,
At the lounge, Willow had been shoved to the ground by Yardley, leaving her weak and powerless. She tried to get up, but she couldn't.Just then, the door to the lounge opened once more. A man in a floral shirt and dyed yellow hair walked in."Miss, did you send for me to come and keep you company?" The man was a gigolo from the nightclub. Yannis had specially arranged for him to come here. Willow struggled to raise her head and look at the man. "Who are you? Get out of here …""Miss, are you sure you want me to go? Who will keep you company if I go?" The man in the floral shirt leered at Willow.This woman had smooth skin, a slender figure, and a graceful charm. She was truly a rare beauty in this world!He eagerly helped her up and placed her on the couch. His eyes were filled with lust as he looked her up and down."Let's get down to business. Don't worry, I'll be sure to satisfy you!" The man said as he reached out to undo Willow's clothes and caressed her body with his big
The brilliant sunlight shone through the glass window onto Yardley's body early in the morning.He opened his eyes blearily and found himself lying in Celia's bed.He massaged his temples, and memories of the previous night gradually came back to him.He remembered attending Xanders Group's banquet last night and being drugged by Willow.Fortunately, he'd had strong willpower and hadn't fallen into Willow's trap. He had left at a critical juncture. Then, Yannis had brought him to Celia's place.Celia pushed the door open and entered at that moment. "You're awake!""Yeah." Yardley nodded apathetically.His expression darkened when he remembered his conversation with Celia last night."How are you feeling? Do you feel better?" Celia asked as she walked up to Yardley."Much better," Yardley responded coldly.Celia took his hand in hers after noticing that he looked unwell. "What's wrong?""Why did you reject me last night?" His expression hardened, and his tone was irritated.
However, Celia refused to let Yardley come with her.She looked over at him and said, "Stay here and keep an eye on Angelica."All their efforts would be in vain if the both of them went to Yrendale together."I can't let you go to such a dangerous place alone." He frowned, concern tinging his tone.Mulling it over, she said, "Get a few more people to go with me."More hands on deck was always beneficial in disaster relief.He didn't say anything else. He made a few calls and asked Yannis to help him arrange manpower and an airplane.Then, Celia and Yardley hurried to the hotel.On the way there, Celia scrolled through her phone. The latest updates on the Yrendale earthquake flooded the news.Her brows were knitted. Henry's location happened to be the epicenter of the earthquake, and the situation didn't seem promising.When they reached the hotel, Celia went straight to Nicole's room. Nicole was beside herself with worry. As soon as she spotted Celia, she ran up to her and
Meanwhile, at Xanders Residence, Willow lay weakly on the couch. Her eyes were glued to the news online reporting how she had been fooling around with a gigolo in the lounge that night.Marc had tried everything he could to stop the news from spreading, but to no avail."Look at the mess you've made. You've tarnished our family's reputation!" Marc was furious and disappointed with his younger sister."Marc, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Willow looked aggrieved. "I had everything planned out. I didn't know Yardley would—"Marc cut Willow off before she could finish her sentence. "I can't believe you still have the nerve to say that! "Grandpa would literally have a heart attack if he found out that his beloved granddaughter, the esteemed young lady of the Xanders family, had resorted to such heinous means.""What else could I have done?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I love Yardley a lot, Marc. You've never been in love, so you have no idea how I feel."Marc was flabberg
Frowning, Willow glanced at Lisa. "What is Yardley doing at the hospital? Hasn't Mr. Hughes Senior already been discharged?" "Since Mr. Hughes Senior has been discharged, Mr. Hughes must have gone to visit Angelica," Lisa responded after giving it some thought."Let's go and have a look." Jealousy welled up within Willow as she thought of Yardley visiting another woman.When they reached the hospital, Lisa asked around for Angelica's room number. Then, the two took the elevator together and reached the door of Angelica's ward.The door was slightly ajar. Willow could see Yardley inside through the crack. "How're you feeling, Candy?" Yardley asked apathetically as he looked down at Angelica in the hospital bed.He had been in a meeting when he had received a call from the doctor. "This is bad, Mr. Hughes. Ms. Martinez's condition has deteriorated."Yardley frowned slightly. "Deteriorated? How could that be? How is she?"The doctor replied, "Ms. Martinez's condition was initial
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