Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily Christian woke up with a headache and dry mouth in the middle of the night. She was over the moon because she had finally created the “First Love” formula, the perfume she had worked on for many years. After winning the upcoming competition, Lily and Nathaniel Hall’s wedding would be on the agenda.The couple met in university, known each other for five years, and dated for three. Lily left everything behind to focus on perfume formulas and finally managed to help Nathaniel expand his company. Thinking of the beautiful future ahead, she indulged more in drinking.She rubbed her temples, wanting to get some water to quench her thirst. However, she heard strange noises coming from the adjacent room.Lily lived alone in a rented apartment. Occasionally, Nathaniel would stay overnight, but he typically slept in the other room.The noise Lily heard made her worry if Nathaniel was feeling unwell. When she got closer to the source, she heard a woman’s voice instead.“Nate, won’t L
Lily had to buck up when dealing with someone like Alexander Russell, so she got straight to the point, “I understand that La Beauté Group is also participating in this season’s perfumery competition tonight. I have a new formulation and wish to join your team.”“We’ve already chosen our participating member,” Alexander said slowly. Lily knew about this. “But you can have more than one entry. I just want to be an addition, not a replacement to the team…”Alexander bluntly interrupted Lily. “Why should I trust you?”Lily quickly opened her bag and removed a stack of documents from it. “This is First Love’s research and data formula. I hope it’s enough to prove my sincerity in working with you. You offered me a role three years ago, so I assume your company understands my capabilities. I’ve even brought a sample for you.”“What sample?”After talking for some time, Alexander’s expression finally changed. He raised his brow, seemingly interested.Lily nodded and suddenly stretched
Lily looked down at her instep and raised her head calmly. "What's wrong?""Where are the First Love's documents?! We can't find it in the lab. Do you know what day it is today?! Rather than staying in the lab, you chose to wander around?!"Nathaniel followed Lily’s line of sight and saw the small cut on her instep. He felt guilty for a while but soon thought of the upcoming competition, which was more critical to him.“Isn’t the new product’s reveal and competition starting tonight? I thought I still had some time left, so I bought myself some new clothes to prepare for it.”Before Nathaniel could speak, Melanie beside him laughed. "Why? Are you planning to attend?""Can't I?" Lily turned to look at her former friend and asked back.Melanie's smile deepened. "It's not that. I'm just worried you will feel out of place. Also, didn't you avoid participating in such activities in the past?""Yeah, you've never liked these places nor pursued fame and fortune. You can stay at home an
Alexander placed Lily on the sofa and turned to get some ointment and alcohol swabs. He cleaned Lily’s wound and carefully applied some medicine.The small cut had already stopped bleeding on the way to La Beauté. With the ointment applied now, Lily’s skin felt iced cool.Lily looked at the man in front of her, lowering his head and focused on applying the ointment. Alexander’s impassive expression made it seem as if it was nothing. However, Nathaniel had never done something like this for Lily over the years because he never cared about Lily.After applying the ointment, Alexander looked up and saw Lily’s absent-minded expression. "What is it?""N-Nothing…" She shook her head and quickly put down her feet. "Thank you.""You are my wife, so there's no need to say thanks. However, there is one thing I hope you’ll remember,” Alexander said as he screwed the cap onto the ointment tube."Please, what is it?" Lily nodded."I don’t care about the past, but since we’re married, you can
"In the spirit of fairness, we’ve decided to postpone awarding to the top three. Instead, we’ll announce them after some investigation.”When the host said that, Nathaniel and everyone else were in an uproar.“Why must they postpone the award ceremony? It’s unfair to everyone!”“The judges should disqualify both companies since they’re involved in a controversy!”“Hey, tell us the names of the two companies!”Various comments were on the scene, and the reporters were even more excited. Initially, everyone thought the competition would go on without a hitch and did not expect any complications, so there would be no concerning headlines the following day.Still, Nathaniel was sure his company would be fine, so he confidently stepped forward and raised his voice, “You guys are right! Given the situation, the organizing committee should disclose the results right now. I believe the representatives of the two suspected companies are present so we, as their peers, can witness their unj