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
The figure wore a simple and plain white dress. The lights focused on her body, and everyone was dazzled when she walked out with a graceful aura around her. Lily dressed simply and did not wear any jewelry. Her makeup was also faint, yet it accentuated her natural beauty.“L-Lily?!” Nathaniel could not believe his eyes and could not digest what exactly happened. He instinctively took a few quick steps forward and faced Lily. He lowered his voice and said, "What are you doing here?""I came here to participate in the competition, of course." Lily glanced at him. Her lips revealed a mischievous smile as she leaned over and continued to move forward."Lily!" Nathaniel pulled her wrist, his low voice exasperated, "Stop fooling around! This is not the occasion for such things!"Alexander squinted at the screen in the VIP room, looking at Lily’s restless hand. Then his glance sharpened suddenly.The next second, Lily pulled her arm away from Nathaniel's grasp with force. “Mr. Hall, sin
The crowd was astonished. Few people knew Lily’s whereabouts after she disappeared from the industry, let alone her relationship with Nathaniel.At this moment, the reporters were the most excited ones. Initially, they thought they would only get to write an ordinary news article about the event tonight. No one expected there to be any plagiarism and betrayal affairs. It was exhilarating for them just thinking about it. Lily watched as Nathaniel walked toward her while he said regretfully, “You’re part of us at MN Inc. When did you become a social climber and move to another company? You did not inform me, and… you even took my company’s product with you?”His voice was not loud, but because there was a microphone next to him, everyone in the audience could hear him.“She’s a traitor then. Now I see why there’s an issue of plagiarism,” someone said in realization.“Everyone praised her too highly back then. I remember the media had exaggerated her talent when she won the Best New
“These two bottles are the samples from Rebirth and MN Inc., respectively. Mr. Hall, please try them and see if there’s any difference.” Lily raised her hands high so everyone present could see the bottles she was holding.“So what if there’s a difference or not?” Nathaniel narrowed his eyes slightly. Then he continued disapprovingly, “Even the judges said the scents and the ingredients are alike. What will charade this prove?”“This can prove why Rebirth won the competition. Mr. Hall, you insisted I stole MN Inc.’s product, didn’t you? Since you insisted it’s plagiarism, and there’s a difference between the samples, the original product should be the better one, am I right? Since you think it’s unfair, this is your best chance to clarify everything to everyone in our industry and the media.”All along, Lily had a faint smile and spoke in a gentle voice. Due to the incident in the past, many held prejudices against Lily. However, they found they could not say harsh things to her whe