After hearing that, the server breathed a sigh of relief, hurried over, and waved to let Helen up. Helen saw the signal and rushed forward in three steps but was stunned when she saw Lily and Lisa.She immediately turned her attention to Mike, saying, "Mike, I went to the hospital and discovered that you brought Nick home. Why didn’t you tell me about the discharge? Do you know how worried I was about him?!""Since you can see that he’s okay now, you can go," Mike said without any particular expression.Helen failed to convince Mike, so she looked at the child instead, "Nick, thank goodness you’re okay! Do you know how worried I was? It was all my fault! I’m so sorry! Are you feeling better now? Do you want me to accompany you and take care of you?”She opened her arms to hug Nick as she spoke. Lily glanced over, seeing Nick subconsciously avoid his mother’s hug. His body naturally moved back. "You don't need to take care of him. Just stay away from him," Mike said unceremoni
“Me?" Lisa did not expect Helen to blame her. Lisa pointed at herself, as she was shocked and angry. "You told me Lily was your friend last time. You asked me to trust her, which I did. Now you’re taking her to dinner with my man and son? What’s wrong with you" The more Helen spoke, the more it felt like the truth. Lisa was also annoyed and repeatedly nodded, "Yes, I didn't have a good heart! I didn't have the heart to help you bring Nick out to eat with you. I didn't have the heart to think that I could help you connect with your son. I didn’t have the heart to help you both make peace. Go ahead and blame me! It’s my fault for being blind and being friends with you!”"Lisa," Lily called softly, trying to ease the argument because it would negatively impact the child.She noticed Nick wanted to hide under the table as he nervously clenched his fingers together while his shoulders trembled. Lily would have gone to hug and coax him if it were not for the table between them.
Lily's smile widened when she noticed he was looking at her. Nick was a little surprised when Lily smiled at him. He stared at her for a while as his tense little face relaxed, and a glimmer of a smile appeared.The smile appeared to vanish in an instant because it was so brief. Lily did not rush to speak but instead offered him her hand. Her fingers curled slightly, and the palm face-up as if to extend an invitation. Looking at the hand full of kindness, he hesitated for a while, then carefully placed his little hand into her palm. Lily immediately held his hand and smiled even brighter at him. Then, she got a surprise. Nick's arms flew open, and he rushed to her, hugging her tightly. Lily was taken aback as she only wanted to soothe him. She did not expect him to be so vulnerable with her. Holding him gently while stroking his back with one hand to comfort him, she could feel that he was in distress. Mike watched the scene silently as his eyes brightened up.
The trip to Westwood finally came to an end. Lily and Alexander took the same flight back. Once they returned home, everything went back to normal. They resumed their work and were intensely busy. After all, they returned with honor. This was not only Lily’s honor but also the most significant award Rebirth had won since its establishment. After the competition, international perfumers would be aware of the company named "Rebirth," and they would know that its perfumer came in first place at the sampling competition, besting competitors from all over the world.The staff made special arrangements. When Lily returned to the company, they would open the doors to salute her with ribbons and balloons. "We congratulate our star on her honorable return!" Jenny was front and center. She started the applause, and after that, everyone else joined in to show their appreciation for Lily's accomplishment. Her abilities won over even those who had held prejudices against Lily
"Okay," Lily nodded and followed George to his office. He closed the door and peeked out before pulling down the blinds, giving off an air of mystery. He did not completely block the view from outside, though. "Ms. Christian."Lily was confused. Why did he suddenly address her differently?"I didn't know the relationship between you and Alexander earlier. Please forgive me if I did or said anything wrong,” he scratched the bridge of his nose and said a little embarrassedly.Lily understood now. Although George knew the headquarters assigned Lily, he did not know of her relationship with Alexander. After the kidnapping incident, it probably wouldn't be kept a secret much longer. However, he still did not know what the actual relationship between them was. He only knew that there was something between them. "Mr. Will, Mr. Russell and I…" "I don't know what the relationship is, but I won't ask. Don't worry. I’ll keep my mouth shut. Since you can’t say much about it
After leaving George’s office, Lily went directly to Jenny's office.Jenny was already waiting there, with Olivia as well. Not only was she there, but there was an opened bottle of champagne and three glasses on the table, apparently waiting for Lily to return to celebrate."Drinking during work hours? You girls are terrible!" Lily shook her head and said smilingly."Who said we were drinking? We’re just having a toast to celebrate!" Jenny corrected her, "Hurry up! Close the door!"After closing the office door and pulling down the blinds, the trio felt like criminals."Isn't the celebration after work? What's the hurry?" Lily said, but she still went over and picked up the glass."Tonight’s celebration is with everyone else. Now, it’s just the three of us. It's different!" Olivia raised her glass to clink Lily’s glass. "Congratulations! I'm so happy that you won the competition!”The trio was thrilled, especially Olivia. She had witnessed how Lily achieved success step by step.
Lily roughly talked about getting kidnapped in Westwood but skipped over Alexander's trip to Westwood to find her. In addition, she omitted and understated the part about herself dealing with the kidnappers. Even so, her two friends looked pale with fright."Yikes! The kidnappers had guns?!""They must be terrorists!" "How did you get yourself into that situation?"The duo sighed in amazement. Just imagining the scene was already terrifying, and seeing Lily seemingly unscathed was a miracle. Jenny looked at Lily worriedly and said, "Lily, are you sure you're okay? Please let us know if there’s anything wrong. Don’t keep it to yourself.”Olivia, on the sidelines, added, "Yeah! Don’t let it traumatize you! No matter what they did, you must tell us! We’re your best friends, and we’ll help you keep it a secret! Lily was at a loss for words but replied, "Why does it sound like you two wanted something to happen to me?”"How is that possible!""Don't talk nonsense!"It was t
Lily knew Alexander would not do such a pompous thing, so she did not know what was happening. She just kept thinking that someone was pranking her.The balloon floated up and formed a beautiful scene. The ladies in the crowd thought the balloons were romantic, so they stuck their heads out the window to see who had sent them."Look! There's someone there!""Yeah! Right downstairs!""Is he holding flowers? Wow! What a big bouquet!""Let's see! It's a big bunch of red roses! Exactly ninety-nine, right?"The exclamations came one after another, and many had already begun looking toward Jenny's office with envious eyes."T-That’s…" The trio in the office was stunned. Initially, Olivia thought it was Alexander’s doing, but when she turned to look at Lily's face, Lily was not happy at all. People were calling someone downstairs, so she poked her head out the window to look down.Initially, the person standing downstairs was far away, so Olivia could not see clearly. Coincidentally,
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