When Lily laughed, Alexander grabbed her chin, and this caused her to be surprised. She blinked at him when she heard him ask, “Is he so interesting?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “U-Um, no, not really,” Lily stammered. She was only trying to solve her wood issue, so why was Alexander suddenly jealous? She was not even thinking about that guy. Alexander could be too possessive sometimes.“So, he isn't interesting now? Didn’t you say that he was a while ago?” Alexander was difficult to deal with. Lily was not taking this seriously until now. It looked like he was heartbroken this time around.“What I meant was his wood carvings were interesting. Yup, his wood carvings!” She lifted her head to observe him closely, “Remember the two wooden dolls I brought home the other day? You even said they were cute. You said they looked like a pair of twins, right? “I would think of us whenever I see them. You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met, and I’m only interested in you!” Her
After being discharged from the hospital, Melanie finally discovered that Nathaniel had stripped her of her director title. Even though he had gotten hospitalized, his staff carried out his orders promptly and even took away Melanie’s office.Everyone in MN Inc. knew Melanie was the CEO’s fiancee. However, she never imagined something like this to happen to her. Before she could even officially marry the CEO, her title disappeared just like that.Though the staff would not talk about it to her face, they would sometimes steal glances at her. Melanie could not help but feel others ridiculing her, and she was furious at how heartless Nathaniel was. She did not even stay long before collecting her things and leaving. Moments later, Nathaniel’s secretary called, “Mr. Hall, Director… M-Ms. Thayer came to the office, but she left after discovering that you’ve taken away her title and office.”“That’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Nathaniel replied calmly. Even though he did not want t
Frank mocked her, but Melanie ignored it and got straight to the point. “I’m here with a business proposal.”“A business proposal? You?” Frank snickered, unconvinced. “If I remember correctly, you don’t have enough money to talk business with me. Besides, what kind of deal could you offer? You haven’t even been able to fulfill your last promise.” He was losing patience with her. If this were the old Melanie, she would have lowered her voice and tried to coax him or even begged him. This time, though, she was already over her head, so there was nothing to lose. Melanie replied, “You didn’t keep your word, either. You promised to help me enter this year’s perfume championship and win the trophy. However, the formula you gave me had several flaws!” “I’ve already settled that for you, haven’t I? What more do you want?” Frank questioned her heatedly. “Right, you settled that, but you’ve also ruined me! Now that Nathaniel knows about us, he doesn’t want me anymore. He’s even kicke
After Benedict, the young lad from the woodcarving shop, refused Lily's order, she lost contact with him, and his phone number was changed. She wanted to know about the source of the wood, but the owner of the wood carving shop refused to say where he had gone. It was as if he had vanished.Alexander said he would help her locate Benedict, but he had never even met the guy. She did not hold her breath because she knew it would not be easy.There were more urgent things to do. Before Lily could focus on finding him, she had a perfume convention to attend in Westwood. She was representing Rebirth at a major event for the first time, and she had no one she knew and trusted by her side.Jenny had work to do, and Olivia could not accompany her either. The company sent an assistant named Giselle Schmidt with her instead. It seemed that the assistant had a lot of experience and a good command of the Westwood language, which was why she was assigned the role.The journey was peaceful. None
“Can I not go?” Lily asked. All she wanted to do at that moment was snooze, as having an insufficient sleep was awful.“Technically, yes,” Giselle continued without waiting for her to cheer, “However, out of courtesy, you can’t.”“I don’t care about courtesy. I want to sleep.” Lily turned around, walked back into the room, spread both arms, and dropped onto the bed. She thought, ‘Oh, this is so comfortable.’Giselle followed her in. “Ms. Christian, even if not out of courtesy, from a biological standpoint, you shouldn't sleep anymore to acclimatize yourself. Otherwise, you won’t be able to sleep tonight, which will make you sleepy tomorrow morning.”“According to research, if you’re sleepy in the morning, you won’t be in good shape for the whole day. This will directly affect the product competition in the afternoon. If you don’t do well in the preliminary round due to lack of sleep, you’d feel bad about it even if the company does not penalize you.”Lily was speechless.She
Upon arriving at the so-called reception banquet venue, Lily was stunned. She never expected the reception banquet to be as exquisite as a wedding’s. The only difference was that the buffet was at a garden villa, and the staff had carefully decorated the venue. It was jam-packed with a huge crowd. Lily felt a little anxious seeing people of various races speaking various languages. She smiled awkwardly at strangers and tilted her head to ask Giselle, "Are they all here to participate in the competition?"Giselle lowered her head and looked at the brochure she was holding, "Yes, they should be."‘What the heck? Why are there so many participants? Isn’t there supposed to be a limited number of contestants since it’s a tough competition to enter?’ Lily had a slight headache just seeing the number of people around, not to mention participating in the competition."Haha, so who’s the organizer we’re going to meet?" Lily thought she should greet the organizer and quit. She would be bett
‘What the heck?! Speak of the devil!’ Well, Lily did not even speak of Melanie. She just thought of her.Seeing Melanie walking toward her step by step, Lily rubbed her eyes and turned to look into the distance. ‘It can’t be! I’m in Woodland, and this is the review competition’s reception banquet. Melanie couldn’t come as she pleased even if she wanted to! It must be a doppelganger.’With that thought in mind, Lily turned to look at the person again. The person standing before her looked just like Melanie. Her face, eyes, and especially the tone of her voice were annoyingly familiar. "What's the matter? Are you surprised to see me?" Melanie just wanted to see the surprise and displeasure in Lily’s eyes.‘Did Lily think she’s the only one who’s good enough to be here? Well, if there’s a will, there’s a way. I can use my brain to get what I want.’Lily sneered when she confirmed it was indeed Melanie, "You have no self-awareness at all, do you?"Melanie was pleased with her resp
“What did you say?!" Melanie’s face dropped. She was about to continue when someone walked in their direction, "Hi, Ms. Christian. We meet again."Lily raised her eyebrows. ‘Is that Frank? It seems these two came prepared. Did they come all the way here for me?’Well, whatever it was, Lily was not the type to back down easily. She looked at them and smiled slightly, “It would seem you didn’t learn your lesson, Mr. Moreau. Are you asking for another round?”Frank was embarrassed by her sarcasm and mockery, and he recalled the defeat he had faced the last time. "This is a public place, Ms. Christian. I don't think you would be so reckless." He was confident Lily would not dare do anything to him in public, so he continued to provoke her.He did not expect a little lady like Lily to be so skilled at kickboxing, which made it tricky for him to get his way with her. However, this aroused Frank’s desire to conquer Lily. It would be such an incredible feat for him to get such a woman.
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 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 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
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust