Margaret had an air of arrogance about her as she walked in. However, she couldn't help but frown when she walked through the door and no one was there. "Where's that woman?"She did not acknowledge Lily’s status as "Mrs. Russell.” To Margaret, she was just "that woman." The maid hesitated, and just as she was about to tell Margaret that Lily wasn't feeling well, she heard footsteps from the stairs. It was Lily.When Margaret and Celine heard the sound, they turned toward the stairs and noticed Lily descending with one hand on the handrail. Naturally, Lily was not dressed up because she was not working, had spent most of her days at home, and was sick that day. Her long hair went past her shoulders and fell naturally around her face, and because of her fever and discomfort, she was ambling down the stairs. Even so, she still looked beautiful.Celine was taken aback by Lily's beauty.The last time they met at the jewelry store, Celine paid little attention to Lily as she was qui
Lily frowned slightly when Margaret brought up the subject of her parents' untimely deaths on their first meeting, as it was a thorn in her heart. "All I know is that respect goes both ways. I have no idea who the two of you are, yet you barge in here, expecting me to know how to address you.""Well, didn't we tell you who we are already?!" Celine snapped. "Why haven't you greeted us?""Yes, you did introduce yourself, but how would I know if it's true?""You-" Celine felt that Lily was doing it on purpose, and she was fighting the urge to go up to Lily and slap her in the face. Margaret raised her hand and said, "Enough. What's the point of playing games? You already know if I'm telling the truth about being Alex's grandma. I also know who you are. Today, I'm not here to play along with your games. There's one thing I'd like to tell you. If you want to be a part of the Russell family, you'd have to go through me. Alex's approval is nothing in comparison to mine."Hearing this,
The words were so harsh that Celine gasped. After all, Margaret was a mother herself. However, what she said was true. The only reason women like these married into affluent families was for wealth and power. For this reason, Margaret told Lily that she would never have any of that, even if she had a child. If they were to get a divorce one day, Lily would be left with nothing. This was all too shocking for Celine. If her mother-in-law were to say that to her back then, she would definitely not be able to bear it.Sure enough, Lily fell silent. Margaret was secretly a little proud, thinking that Lily must have been so shaken that she needed time to digest what she had heard. However, the look in Lily's eyes was strange.Before Margaret could bask in her victory any longer, Lily spoke. "Grandma, it must have been hard on you."Hearing this, both Margaret and Celine were puzzled. Was this girl crazy? Could she have decided to try and grovel up to Margaret so she would let her go
She was surprised. Lily did not expect that they would actually do it, being two noble ladies. Lily could only instinctively protect herself, but in an instant, what appeared to be a solid wall appeared in front of her, and she was not at all scalded. "My goodness!" Celine exclaimed, staring at the person in front of her with wide eyes. She had no idea Alexander had returned! Not only did he return, but he had also dashed to assist Lily in blocking the cup of hot water, keeping her firmly behind him."Alexander!" Margaret yelled, looking at him with both anger and helplessness. "Haven’t you caused enough trouble?" Alexander spoke in a deep voice with an icy face. It was true that he had meetings at the company, but he also knew his family. After receiving the cold shoulder yesterday, Aunt Celine would not give up so quickly. She was very predictable, but she always had to be on guard. Sure enough, today, she brought his grandmother to the do
Margaret looked fierce but was actually afraid of her husband.When Hugo was still alive, she dared not say a word. He was the master of the family, so even if she did not like the eldest daughter-in-law or the grandson, she could not say a word about it. Hugo decided to entrust them with the family business and would even carefully guide them. No matter how dissatisfied she was, she could not say anything. She did not possess the authority to speak in this family until Hugo's passing. She wanted to handle everything because she believed she had great power. However, by then, Alexander had grown up and no longer listened to her, so she disliked him even more. He moved out of the Russell Estate and lived away all these years. Margaret did not care because he was an eyesore. However, she could not ignore the fact that he wanted to get married and bring someone into the Russell family. Margaret arrived intending to slap Lily in the face, but she did not expect Alexa
Observing her anxious demeanor, frayed thoughts, and tiny hands hastily unbuttoning him, Alexander started laughing at how nervous Lily had become. He gently held her hand and said, "The water was not that hot. What are you so anxious about? Don’t worry about it." "Hey, since you have the time to talk, can you unbutton yourself? Burns can be big or small. It's not a joke!" Lily was about to get angry. How could he not know how to take care of himself?"What did you say?" Raising his eyebrows, Alexander smiled. His fingers slid down the shirt, unbuttoning one at a time. Although it was a simple action, Lily felt herself warming up as she watched his fingers flick lightly on the button. He was gradually opening the button, exposing his skin. She looked over and swallowed unconsciously. "Would you like to..." Her expression changed completely. Alexander chuckled, and just as he was about to tease her, his clothes were torn apart. His shirt was ripped, and a few
After getting out the ointment, Lily gently dipped a little with her fingers and applied it to the reddened area. To Alexander, this minor injury was nothing at all, but when her fingers were pressed to his skin with the cold ointment, he had to admit that it was still quite pleasant. A cool feeling penetrated the skin, and he was about to refuse, but he actually enjoyed it. He stretched out his body, tilted his head back, and let her little hand slide over his belly. However, as the ointment was slowly put on, along with a slight coolness, there was also a feeling that was hard to describe. That fiery feeling rose from the lower abdomen all the way up, making his mouth dry. Lily's full attention was on the place where he was scalded. Although shocked, she was still so moved that he would rush over at that moment. It was still his grandma and his aunt, and no matter how bad their relationship was, they were still his relatives in the end. However, he would put
How could Alexander feel relieved when Lily was in this condition? He said, "No, even if nothing is wrong, I have to take you to the hospital. Let’s go to the doctor immediately!"His stubbornness was quite scary, and it was impossible to negotiate with him. In addition, she was unwell and had little strength, so he carried her and walked quickly outside. She was placed in the car, and he sped off to the hospital. Lily was in the passenger seat and had no strength to speak. She did not want to talk and only wanted a good night's sleep.She reluctantly opened his eyelids, and watched Alexander in the driver's seat start the car. She said, "I'm really fine. I just want to sleep for a while. I said that I don't want to go to the hospital.” Lily continued to cough. "Shut up! Stop talking!" Alexander said, with a gloomy and terrifying face. Her condition was seemingly getting worse. He handed her a bottle and said, "Drink more water and talk less. We’ll reach it soon
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