Celia looked down at Quinn indifferently. With her arms folded in front of her chest, Celia chuckled and asked, "My dear Quinn, it's been so long since we last met. Why are you giving me such a big curtsy when I'm in no place to accept that?" Quinn's expression turned savage in an instant. She tried to stand up, but Celia was stepping on the corner of her blouse, so she stumbled back down forcibly. Her chin hit the floor hard, and her eyes turned red immediately due to the pain.Celia arched her eyebrows and watched Quinn's miserable state with a smile.Beside them, Willow saw everything and quickly went forward to help Quinn up. She looked up at Celia, chastising, "Celia, how could you do this? This is simply too much."Her eyes flickered toward Yardley's face before she continued, "After all, Quinn is Yardley's little cousin. How can you treat her like this?"Celia almost burst out laughing at Willow's kind voice. Blinking innocently, she turned to look at Yardley and asked
Seeing the situation, Otto placed his hands behind his back and said, "Continue, what are you looking at me for?""Grandpa."Yardley's voice grew colder. Noticing that something wasn't right, Otto turned and walked out, muttering, "Young people nowadays … can't even close the bedroom door properly."Celia had never been in such an awkward situation before. She covered her face and buried it in Yardley's chest, not knowing what to say for a moment.After a pause, she stood up and said, "I'll go take a shower first."She went to the bathroom and was about to close the door when a hand pressed against the door frame, startling her."What are you doing?" asked Celia, glancing at Yardley's cheek.Yardley slyly curled his lips and squeezed himself into the bathroom. He looked at Celia innocently and said, "Taking a shower.""You!"She immediately saw through Yardley. She blinked. The blush on her face from earlier still hadn't completely faded away, making her look cute and charming
Celia paid no attention to them and walked straight to the kitchen, where Maria was making something. "Maria, is there anything else to eat?" she asked softlyUpon hearing this, Maria turned around. When she saw Celia, a smile appeared on her face."Ms. Stanton, Mr. Hughes specially instructed me to stew some beef soup for you. It's in the pot right now."As she spoke, she took out a bowl and a ladle. "Please wait at the dining table. I'll bring it over to you."Celia curved her lips and replied, "Thank you, Mrs. Lopez."While she was waiting at the dining table, Quinn, who had been sitting on the couch, suddenly stood up and muttered in Celia's ear, "Some people are just naturally lazy."Coincidentally, Maria was approaching them with the beef soup. Quinn's eyes flashed a hint of coldness as she deliberately bumped Maria's wrist with her elbow. Maria lost her balance and couldn't hold the bowl steady. It fell to the ground, spilling the soup all over."Mrs. Lopez, why are y
Otto naturally believed Celia. After all, based on his understanding, she had never been a bully. Although he had some doubts, he wanted to hear an explanation from her.Celia remained calm and spoke softly, "Quinn volunteered to serve me soup, but she lost her balance."She skipped the details and only reported the main points. In fact, she didn't want to say much in front of Otto, choosing to spare Lillian's and Quinn's reputations."Celia, you're uttering nonsense! You're the one who instructed me to do the work! Then you were dissatisfied and poured the soup on me!"Quinn continued to shout, "Grandpa, you can't allow this kind of person to be a part of our family!""Celia, if you don't like us, you can say so directly. There's no need to torment us in secret," Lillian chimed in, exaggerating the whole thing.Celia found it amusing. She looked at Quinn and chuckled, saying, "Mrs. Lopez witnessed everything that happened. Why don't we ask her what she saw?""Mrs. Lopez, tell u
"Really? Has that person been found?" Upon hearing what Emma had said, Morgan stood up and inquired seriously, "Who is that person? Can I see him?"If it hadn't been for that despicable person, Richard wouldn't have gotten injured trying to save her. Morgan's heart was filled with rage. She was waiting for the right moment to vent it out.Seeing her agitated reaction, Emma hurriedly gestured for her to sit down.Then, she advised, "Calm down, Morgan. I don't know who it is, but he's supposedly from our company. Although we've caught him, we don't have any information about the accomplice who worked with him."Besides, there must be a mastermind behind this whole incident. It won't be too late for you to hold them accountable after we find out who was plotting everything behind the scenes.""Why do I still need to wait?" Morgan questioned, sitting in the chair with her arms crossed. From her expression, it was clear she was livid. "They were too despicable! No matter how many p
"Don't be nervous. The Hughes family is holding a banquet to celebrate Mr. Hughes Senior's birthday. My family was invited, but my brother is too busy. So my dad asked me to go instead," Richard explained."The Hughes family?" Morgan paused upon realizing something.Understanding what was on Morgan's mind, Richard nodded and added, "Yes, the CEO of your company, Ms. Stanton, will be there too.""So … Are we heading to the event with your parents?" Morgan asked.Richard shook his head. "No. We'll just meet up at the old Hughes estate later. There's no need to be nervous."He paused for a bit before he teased her, "You'll have to meet your parents-in-law sooner or later. Just think of it as a preliminary meetup."As soon as Richard said that, Morgan landed a playful punch on his chest.Richard grasped her hand and pressed a gentle kiss on it. "I'll wait for you. I'll wait for the day when you make up your mind."Morgan's gaze flickered, and she nodded in response. After that, Ric
"Fortunately, what's inside this box isn't the gown you gifted me," Celia said, glancing at the torn gown with a grim look in her eyes.She had intentionally made it known to Willow that her gown would be in the blue box to see if she would do anything. But she hadn't expected Willow to really take the bait. It was a good thing that Celia had swapped the gown in the box beforehand."You should go back to the banquet first. I'll be there in a while." Celia glanced at Yardley, indicating that he should head back out. Yet she didn't budge an inch. After all, the real drama hadn't even begun. How could she show herself so soon?"Was it Willow?" Yardley suddenly spoke up.Celia wasn't surprised to hear this. She merely responded to Yardley's question with a smile and a sly glint in her eyes. Resting her elbow on her knees, she propped her face on her palms and looked at Yardley. "Do you have any thoughts on this, Mr. Hughes?"Yardley remained silent. Upon receiving no response fr
"No! It can't be! These are all fake! The photos are fake! Why is this happening?" Willow screamed and rushed forward. She tugged at the projection screen while shouting repeatedly, "Turn this thing off quickly!"The guests looked at Willow with a myriad of expressions. They were eager to witness how she would embarrass herself further.Just then, a voice sounded from behind the crowd, drawing everyone's attention."What's going on?"Celia was standing behind the crowd, looking somewhat surprised. When she caught sight of what was on the screen, she winced, showing an expression of disgust.In the next second, she seemed to suddenly recognize the face of the woman in the photos. While pointing at Willow, Celia asked, "Hey ... Isn't that you in the photos?"Willow turned her head and saw Celia wearing the gown she had seen earlier. She thought she had destroyed that gown! She had done it so that Celia wouldn't be able to explain herself in time when the indecent photos of he
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