Lily smiled, “It was just a cover-up.”“A cover-up?” Alexander asked in confusion.“It was pretty easy. We’ve been discussing what we could add to the raw materials when making our scented candles and what would possibly cause them to be unstable. However, that day, I was just saying this to confuse Henry. I didn’t actually make something stable enough to be used as perfumes or candles,” Lily remarked.After hearing her explanation, Alexander could finally understand, “In other words, it did not matter whether or not the perfumes or scented candles contained that substance.”Lily nodded, “I didn’t put it in the perfume at all. I merely added some medicine that could cause drowsiness in their tea. I calculated the time needed for the medicine to work and sprayed some perfume that could help with sleep onto my wrist.“Furthermore, Henry was already panicking, and I only needed to give him a slight nudge in the right direction. Then he would think I did something to the perfume that
“I’m sure you know there’s an auction event tomorrow night, and I need a gown for that. If I didn’t go shopping today, I wouldn’t have enough time to get it,” Eloise said as she took the cup of tea handed to her by the housekeeper. She blew into the cup and took a sip while glancing briefly at her husband. “What thief? That’s Elizabeth…” He paused as if realizing that saying this name out loud at home would only cause a problem. Even though he wanted to bring Elizabeth back as soon as possible, he needed to take it slow.Since he could bring his son back, he knew Eloise would make a scene if he brought Damian’s mother home, too. If word got out, it would only affect their family and the company’s reputation. “Fine, fine. I forgot that Arianna had another card with her.” Joseph waved and turned to Arianna. He extended his hand toward her, “Arianna, give me your card.”“Why?” Arianna asked wide-eyed, obviously confused by his request.“Since your mother froze all our cards, mine i
Eloise did not expect Joseph to pull such a stunt. She was so dumbfounded that she could barely say a thing. By the time she regained her composure, he was already gone.“Miss…” The housekeeper quickly brought the first aid kit over as she noticed Eloise’s burnt hand. However, before she could touch Eloise, Eloise stood up abruptly and swept everything on the table to the ground in anger.Smash!That was the sound of the teacup as it hit the floor, glass shards flying everywhere. The housekeeper was too afraid to speak or move, and she could only stand there, not knowing how to react. Arianna jumped in surprise before telling the housekeeper gently, “Go clean up the glass shard, and you can leave.”The housekeeper was relieved to receive instructions and immediately moved to clean the glass shards.Arianna sat next to Eloise and removed an ointment tube from the first-aid kit. She gently took her mother's hand and applied ointment to her scalded area. “Mom, please don’t be angry
“How dare he?!” Eloise smacked the table hard, causing her burnt spot to hurt so much that she clenched her teeth. However, she was not going to back down. “Although it’s just an auction, everyone brings their wives as their partners. Won’t he be afraid of embarrassing himself if he brings that woman? Does he not care about his image anymore? How would the outsiders look at the Tanner family if that were to happen?”“Mom, I’ll have to be honest with you.” After a pause, Arianna said slowly, “I’ve seen men bring their mistresses to various types of events before. Some of their wives have no influence in the family at all, and their husbands would bring different women as their partners each time. In the past, that did not happen in our family because Dad didn’t dare to do it, or rather, he was not interested in that. However, now…”“What? He has the guts now?” Eloise raised her brow and rebuked sternly.“What do you think?” Arianna tossed the question back to Eloise.“I…”Eloise wa
"No way!" Holding her arm, Arianna pressed her face against Eloise's. "I'm real! If you don't believe me, pinch my face to see if it's really me!"This made Eloise laugh as she pinched Arianna's cheek. Then, Eloise joked, "Oh, it really is you. I thought you were a fake."Then, the mother and daughter broke into laughter as if all doubts had been put aside. After a moment of laughter, Eloise turned serious and said, "I didn't mean anything else. I just feel like you've grown up so much. You're no longer a kid that listens obediently. You're starting to have your own ideas and can even advise me. You've grown up!" Eloise studied her daughter's face and sighed. Her daughter was an adult now, and she was also getting old. Her beauty was fading, and no matter how reluctant she was, many things were out of her control. "I'm 26! Of course, I've grown up!" Arianna answered with a pout."That's right. You're already 26!" Then, Eloise sighed again. She seemed to remember something imp
Seeing how Arianna seemed preoccupied as she sighed and stayed silent, Eloise could not bear to ask any more questions."Forget it. You don't have to say it if you don't want to. No matter what it is, I’ll always support your decision." She patted Arianna's hand with one hand while the other fumbled around the sofa behind her. Then, she pulled out a TV remote. After a moment of thought, Eloise pressed the power button. "It's been a while since the two of us sat and watched a show together. Come, accompany me for a while." Arianna definitely felt better around Eloise. If Arianna were to return to her room, it would be hard not to get angry again. Arianna swallowed her intention of going upstairs and sat down obediently. "Okay." She had nothing better to do anyway. She was free these couple of days as she was just waiting for the results from both sides.Eloise, who rarely watched TV, didn't know what to watch. After switching around the channels a few times and finding nothing i
The man on the TV screen attracted Arianna’s focus, not because of how charming he looked or because of his audacity to retort to Lily. It was because he dared to say such a thing with so many people around, including Alexander.He was either too bold or confident that he was powerful enough not to fear Alexander. “That guy… Isn’t he…” Eloise narrowed her eyes, trailing off. The man on TV looked familiar to her. After all, she was a socialite with a broad network of connections. Just before she retired from acting, she got to know many people.When she married Joseph, she had her own circle of friends consisting of the wives of wealthy men, besides the people from the business industry whom she got in touch with from time to time. In comparison, she had met more people than Arianna ever did.“Mom, do you know that man?” Arianna excitedly asked when she noticed her mother seemed to recognize the man on the screen.Eloise could not name him right away. “He looks familiar, and I thi
‘Noah Richards, huh? I want that man!’…The woman finally revealed a satisfied smile at the sight of the big and small bags piling up in the room. Joseph leaned forward, hugged her from behind, and left a peck on her cheek. “Are you happy now?”“Hmph!” The woman rolled her eyes. “It only managed to calm me down.”“Oh dear, the one million dollars I used should be enough to do just that. I apologize, but you must know I’m using Ari’s card. I hope you can see my sincerity.” Joseph rushed over to coax his sweetheart and finally saw a smile on her face after spending over a million dollars.“Sincerity? I’ve been with you for over twenty years. I’m already going easy on you by quickly forgiving you!” Elizabeth pursed her lips and poked her finger at his head. “Do you think spending a million dollars on me is enough?“Do you know how much I’ve suffered over the years? I cared for our son independently and agreed to stay by your side. I had to face the criticisms of others and bear get