In a hotel room elsewhere, Nona woke up to find herself lying next to a stranger. Then, she came to realize that she was completely naked. She couldn't believe that she had slept with some man whom she didn't even know. This dealt a huge blow to her. Looking at the unfamiliar man beside her, she couldn't help but shiver.The sound of her sobs woke Zayden up. He opened his eyes and saw Nona sitting beside him, crying.Rubbing his temples, he took in the glaring sunlight streaming in from outside. He wasn't sure what to do."W-Why did you do this to me?"Nona was furious and was about to hit Zayden to vent her frustrations. But the next second, his words took her by surprise."I heard what you said last night. You hate Celia, don't you?" Zayden asked.The mention of Celia's name made Nona pause. "How do you know Celia?"She narrowed her eyes, instantly becoming cautious of the man in front of her."Don't look at me like that. Celia Stanton is also my archenemy," Zayden replied.
Celia widened her eyes, desperately trying to resist. However, a woman's strength was no match for trained men. Eventually, Celia gave up struggling. Instead, she decided it was better to conserve her energy for thinking instead.Thus, she forced herself to calm down. She knew she couldn't afford to panic at a time like this. She stayed quiet and thought about her next step.Celia could feel that she was put into a bag and carried away by several men. They seemed to have planned this abduction.Since that was the case, it was all the more reason for her not to panic. She guessed that their next step would be putting her in a vehicle. Once they managed to do that, it would be hard for her to escape.Without delay, Celia removed one of her earrings and pricked her fingers. She tore a small hole in the bag so that the blood from her finger would leave a trail. She hoped that by doing this, she could leave a clue for Yardley.The moment Yardley realized that she hadn't come home, he
When Celia hadn't returned home or sent him any messages, Yardley had sensed that something was amiss. He had rushed to Starlight Entertainment and found traces of Celia's blood not far away from the parking lot.So he had checked the surveillance footage of the highway and tracked the car that had taken Celia. Finally, it led him here.Yardley signaled to the people behind him. A few approached stealthily and took down Zayden's henchmen when the latter were briefly distracted.Upon seeing the men being subdued, Yardley relaxed a little. He entered the cabin and found two people arguing inside.Just as Zayden and Nona's argument escalated, the door of the cabin suddenly swung open.Celia squinted her eyes. Not having been exposed to bright light for a while, her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness.Nona and Zayden stood dumbfounded in their spots. "Y-Yardley!"Celia's eyes lit up as she got up with all her might. While Zayden and Nona were still frozen in their s
In the office, Jasmine was dressed in an elegant black suit, and her hair was styled in large curls. She appeared mature and composed.Today, she wore bright red lipstick. When her lips curved at the corners as she smiled, she looked even more captivating.Her alluring figure attracted the attention of many of the company's top executives. Just as Jasmine was going to make copies of some documents, several men from the company's top management intercepted her."Ms. Silva."A few of these executives were around Yardley's age, but in terms of appearance, they were far from his league. Jasmine scoffed at them inwardly. Yet, considering they were at the office, she didn't let her disdain show too obviously."Mr. Addler, Mr. Wilham, is there something I can assist you with?"Jasmine smiled gently, further bewitching the men."You caught my attention just by standing there." David Addler then sniffed around Jasmine. "Hmm … Even the air around you smells so good."Jasmine chuckled,
The rumor about Yardley being jealous spread, and things escalated, with many suggesting he had been secretly infatuated with Jasmine.All these whispers reached Jasmine's ears. She smirked, surprised to find that Yardley was also someone who would fall for the hard-to-get act. Seeing Yardley punish those who pursued her, Jasmine believed in the idea that Yardley liked her.…The next day, Jasmine brought a lunchbox. Her colleagues gathered around her, asking, "Which of the top executives sent you lunch today?"Looking at her gossiping colleagues, Jasmine blushed. "No, this is the lunch I made for Yardley.""Oh, you're calling him by his first name. That's so intimate."Her colleagues teased her, wanting to ask more. However, Jasmine hastily left with the lunchbox. Seeing Jasmine's shy expression, everyone chuckled.Soon, Jasmine took the lunchbox to Yardley's office. He was in a meeting at the time. So she decided to leave the lunchbox on his desk and left.For several days
It wasn't until Yardley woke up and left the office that the staff quieted down.However, when they saw Yardley's serious expression and imagined his amorous stunt with Jasmine in his office during lunch break, they couldn't help but giggle at the stark contrast.As the afternoon went by, Yardley felt something was amiss. Whenever someone passed him, they covered their mouths and seemed to be smiling discreetly.The entire company fell into gossip mode, and many even referred to Jasmine as Mrs. Hughes.Yardley had heard the term "Mrs. Hughes" mentioned in the office several times. He thought that Celia had come to the company. But upon scanning around, he didn't see her anywhere.When Yardley returned to his office, he texted Celia: "Are you at my office?"But he didn't get a reply for a long time. Finally, after Yardley finished a meeting and returned, he received a text saying, "No."This caught Yardley's attention. It seemed that the people in the company were making up some
Otto fell silent when he heard that."Her actions have caused me nothing but trouble. Jasmine's willing to sacrifice her own innocence to claim the title of Mrs. Hughes. What would Celia think if she found out about these things?"Yardley's words undoubtedly snapped Otto out of it. He had always been protective of Celia. Yet Jasmine had taken advantage of him.The Hughes family was very affluent. He would never let a woman tear it down."That is indeed infuriating." Otto calmed down. He thought of everything Jasmine had done that had caught him off guard. "I didn't mean for you to go through that. I can't believe Paul would dare to question me after what Jasmine has done. The Silvas are so shameless!"He then gritted his teeth and leaned heavily on his walking stick. "I support you. It'll be the end of our company if we don't fire Jasmine for what she's done."Yardley was relieved that Otto was on his side this time.Otto wore a solemn expression after the phone call ended.
"Alright, alright," Patrick said helplessly as he yanked Jasmine's body around to face him."I was being a jerk just now. I didn't take your feelings into consideration. Don't be made at me, please."Jasmine's expression softened when she looked at Patrick's expression. Then, she pouted. "Fine, but you better not do this again, or I'll ignore you forever.""Alright." He smiled before pulling her into his arms. "Why don't you come over to work in my company for a few days now that you've left Hughes Incorporated and have nothing to do?"Her brows knitted as soon as she heard that. "No way. It's so tiring to work a 9-to-5 job.""Our company is missing out on a great employee. You'll have to compensate me then, Ms. Silva."Jasmine covered her mouth and chuckled when she noticed Patrick's regretful expression. "Hmm, I'll ask my dad to help you out as compensation. How's that?"Patrick had been waiting for Jasmine to say that, so he readily agreed. "But what Yardley did this time w
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