The reporters started getting excited about the gossip. After listening to Nathaniel's words and seeing Lily smiling warmly, they thought the matter would be settled and not have any more juicy information.Oh, but the tables had turned! Lily had indirectly slapped Nathaniel’s face in front of everyone! The reporters’ focal lengths immediately aimed at Nathaniel’s swiftly ashen face while Lily appeared calm. The duo’s expressions greatly contrasted with each other."Ms. Christian, you mean to say you didn’t plagiarize Ms. Thayer’s work, but she plagiarized yours instead?” Someone immediately asked.Lily smiled, "I would like to correct your words. The word plagiarism means counterfeiting and is also an act of infringement. Although such actions are unacceptable, there is a procedure for self-reprocessing. In addition to plagiarism, there is another act called snatching, which means taking something and changing it into one's own.""Isn't that stealing?" The reporter replied.Lily
Lily smiled faintly and looked at Melanie. "Are you sure that’s what you want? Do you want me to let the cat out of the bag?" She was so calm, making Melanie feel flustered.What was Lily plotting? What did she want exactly? She had laid all the cards on the table and could not bear to back down. Melanie gritted her teeth and bravely replied, “Don’t make a fool of yourself, Lily. I’ve done nothing wrong. I can’t say I’m the most talented person in this industry, but I am undoubtedly one who works hard. Everyone knows how much I’ve done in this company over the past few years. You can’t just come up here and spew nonsense.”"Melanie," Nathaniel was on her side, gently squeezing her forearm. He turned to look at Lily again, cleared his throat, and said, “I apologize. The purpose of this press conference was to explain everything to the competition’s organizing committee, friends, and consumers who care about us. However, we did not make enough arrangements, nor did Ms. Christian have e
"Ms. Christian, do you really have evidence, or are you making it up? Have you thought about the repercussions if this case goes to court?" Lily looked around calmly, facing the skeptical crowd. Her relaxed demeanor and mild aura quieted the noisy crowd. She parted her red lips slightly and exclaimed four words, "Bring on the lawsuit!"…Lily was aware that leaving would not be an easy task, but she did not expect Nathaniel to stop her in the alley. Did he not just go after Melanie? Why was he still here? Nathaniel's face was gloomy. His hands were in the pockets of his trousers as he leaned against the wall. The fact that his entire body was concealed from the light added to his grim appearance.Lily’s steps were hesitant, and she did not want to pay attention to him. Instead, she tried to turn around and leave in the opposite direction, but unexpectedly, someone blocked her path.It made sense why Nathaniel was whispering to some people before he left. Was he explaining thi
Nathaniel could not believe his ears, "What did you say?" "It's not that I didn't think about giving you a chance, but even now, you still want me to take the blame. Nate, do I look that stupid?" Lily's voice was icy. There was a sarcastic smile on the corners of her lips. Nathaniel felt a chill in his heart. He suddenly felt that the woman before him was a stranger. She was no longer the person he had known for several years. She became so sharp, elusive, and very unmanageable."Lily, what do you mean? You don't believe me anymore?" "I trusted you so much that I don’t even know how I was persuaded." Lily paused, then did not bother explaining, "I'm now very thankful for not signing a formal contract with you. From today onward, your MN Inc. has nothing to do with me." She emphasized the word ‘your’ as she raised her foot to walk past him and leave. Nathaniel grabbed her arm. He had not realized what she meant, but he knew he could not let her go yet."Are you still blamin
At that moment, he could not be concerned with anything else as it was more important that he calmed Lily down first. Nathaniel's words made Lily laugh. These were the words Lily had been hoping to hear for years, but now they sound ironic.Marriage? In his dreams!“That’s unnecessary. It's easy if you want to prove it,” Lily said with a soft sigh, putting her mocking smile away.Seeing her expression, Nathaniel thought he had convinced Lily to change her mind. He stepped forward and continued persuading her. “That’s right. We should trust each other. You’ve always been there for me through thick and thin. It’ll be the same this time, right?”“Alright. I have a way to prove that you’re not having an affair with Melanie and to save the company from its current predicament,” Lily said while nodding.“What way is that?” Nathaniel asked eagerly, thinking how great it would be to kill two birds with one stone. He had been trying to smooth over the situation and the media for the pa
Nathaniel gradually put away his worried and concerned expression as his face turned sullen. He stared at Lily and asked, “Are you threatening me?”“I only want what I deserve.” Lily’s request was straightforward. She was not greedy but could no longer hand over what belonged to her to others.“Haha.” Nathaniel felt a little stuffy, so he casually loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt’s top button. He stared down at Lily, arms akimbo, saying, “What do you deserve? Over the past few years, I paid for all your food, clothes, and rent. What else do you think you deserve?”Lily looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before her and thought of how ridiculous Nathaniel looked. How could this man so casually assert his reasoning to such a degree so righteously? It angered her to the point where she laughed aloud.However, she was not angry at Nathaniel but at herself. How blind was she to fall in love and become fascinated by such a man over the years? She wondered why she could no
Nathaniel held his cigarette in one hand, tilted his head, scratched his scalp with his pinky finger, and walked toward her slowly, “Still, I must be courteous enough and make the stakes clear to you. Since you insist on being so stubborn and disobedient, I have no choice but to calm you down first. Then we can talk.”He raised his chin, glanced at his men, and turned around. For such a simple matter, he felt no need to do it himself. Immediately after, he heard wind whirring and the faint sound of fists and feet colliding with bodies behind him. Nathaniel frowned and was about to turn around to tell his men to be more discrete. He wondered why his two bodyguards had so much trouble dealing with a woman.However, he froze in place just as he turned to his side. A sharp wind blew across his cheeks, and at the same time, he felt a sharp blade on his neck. The blade glinted with a frigid light, and Nathaniel could feel the cold steel. Sweat from his sideburns trickled down his cheeks as
“Why are you here?” Even though she asked, Lily was quite pleased to see Alexander at that moment.Alexander glanced at Lily, thoughtfully turned down the air conditioner in the back console, took a shawl, and put it around her. “Did you get into trouble lately?” By his estimation, Lily should have exited the building long ago. Alexander almost wanted to get out of the car to check on her himself.“It’s no big deal.” Lily gestured with her fingers, indicating no problem, but after raising her hand, she pulled her injury and involuntarily hissed. Hearing her gasp, Alexander frowned and pulled Lily closer. “Are you hurt?” His expression was grim, his tone even grimmer. The fact that he was pissed showed on his face.Lily quickly explained, “N-No, I just haven’t stretched my muscles for a long time. I feel a little sore, that’s all.” Lily was afraid Alexander would not believe her, so she turned to face him, saying, “If you don’t believe me, just look. Where am I injured?”Alexander s
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