Back at the Russell family estate, Margaret still had not recovered. It had already been two days, but she was still in a foul mood. “Mom,” Celine came in with a bowl of porridge and sat by her bed. “You should stop being angry. We knew from the start what the outcome would be and you know very well what Alex is like.““Don’t remind me about him!” Margaret roared, and then she started coughing incessantly. Celine quickly stroked her mother’s back and advised, “See, you should stop being angry as it only worsens your health. Besides, she’d only be happier if she knew you were sick. Alex is such a silly boy to be helping an outsider instead of his own family.”“That girl has a sharp tongue. I thought someone from the Lodge family would be taught how to act appropriately. I never expected her to be such a rowdy kid who doesn’t even know basic manners. I’m still his grandmother. How could she speak to me like that? Is this how Wilfred taught her?!” The more she thought about
When Margaret had Ralph, her eldest son was already about to get married, so Ralph was only a few years older than Alexander. Margaret had spent most of her time caring for and nurturing her youngest son, and she was unhappy with her eldest daughter-in-law, so naturally, she did not like her grandson either. She wanted to pass the family business on to her youngest son, but her husband disagreed. Hugo had high hopes for his eldest, and his eldest did not disappoint him either. Unfortunately, Patrick passed away at a young age, and Hugo had no choice but to nurture his grandson, Alexander, into taking over the family business. To Hugo’s pleasant surprise, Alexander had proved to be an outstanding successor as he was excellent at handling the family businesses and relations. When Hugo knew he would not make it, he made his will and appointed Alexander as his official successor to the Russell family’s wealth. When the will was announced, there was a big internal feud between mem
Ever since Lily was pregnant, Alexander had hired people to make sure that Lily was well taken care of. He had instructed his employees to lock the door to the lab to prevent Lily from entering. Alexander had even asked Olivia to keep an eye on her, and if Lily tried to charm her way into the lab, Olivia should call him. Otherwise, he would make sure she was fired. For the sake of her well-paid and comfortable job, Olivia was strict toward Lily. She would not even allow Lily to see her current workplace. Her actions rendered Lily speechless. “You know I have nothing to do, right? I promise I won’t touch anything. Just let me watch!” “I can’t. Mr. Russell has already instructed me that you need to rest. Besides, there are so many chemicals in the lab that they’ll only affect your baby negatively. Please, just go home and rest,” Olivia advised.Seeing Olivia standing in her way, Lily tried to threaten her, “You do know who’s the one paying your salary, right?”Olivia almos
“You were wrong!” Olivia threw a glare at her and snapped. “Yes, yes. It’s all my fault. Now can you please forgive me, your majesty?” Lily comforted her by dragging her to the chair. “You’re the royalty!” Olivia immediately stood up and gave up her seat to Lily. “No, that’s not right either. The baby in your tummy is the real royalty!” Lily was still taken aback by surprise when Olivia gently nudged her to sit on the chair and placed her ear over Lily’s tummy. Lily sat stiffly and asked, “What are you doing?” “I’m trying to hear if His Majesty is awake,” Olivia replied seriously. “Please! The baby’s only two months old. How could it even move when it has no hands or legs? It’s still a fetus!” Lily explained in bewilderment. “Nonsense! It’s getting bigger, and although it’s not fully grown, I can hear its heartbeat. I’m serious!” Olivia was so serious that it made Lily laugh. After leaning against Lily’s tummy for a while, she finally moved away from Lily with he
Since she was on the way home from her workplace, Lily was surprised to see a car with a foreign number plate parked outside the entrance of her house. She could not help but glance at the car in curiosity. She was about to walk through the gates when a car door opened and a person stepped out. To her pleasant surprise, it was Justin. She had just thought about him a while back at her office, and now he surprised her by coming over without even giving her a call. Lily immediately instructed the driver to stop the car and got out, asking, “What are you doing here?” Lily had never been particularly close to Justin, and it was as if there was an invisible wall between them. However, after their grandfather passed away, their relationship improved as they were comrades ‘battling’ a common enemy. “How could I not be here for your wedding? We’re family, after all,” Justin studied her carefully and concluded with a frown, “You’ve lost weight.” “No, I didn’t. I think I’ve got
Lily chose not to look at the gifts and invited Justin into the house for tea. She instructed a housekeeper to brew a pot of flower tea since the weather was so hot. Justin rarely drinks anything sweet, and he prefers water or tea. They had kept it a habit for many years since they were all fighters. They had to ensure their bodies were healthy and in top shape. Even when they sat on the sofa, they made sure that their postures were upright. “Have you decided on the venue for the wedding ceremony?” Justin took a sip of his tea and asked. “Alex has decided on the Isles Hotel,” Lily told Justin, as she had heard some details from Alexander. Justin nodded his head. It was just as he had predicted. The Isles Hotel was, after all, one of the city's most famous ones. "How many guests have you decided on? Did his side of the family say anything?”“I’m not sure about the exact number of guests. As for the Russell family…” Lily hesitated for a moment. The Russell family’s situation
“P-Preg…” Justin was too shocked to speak and stuttered for a while before saying, “You’re saying that I’m going to be an uncle soon?” This was huge news, and he needed time to digest it. Lily nodded as she looked at Justin. Even though he looked calm while sitting in his chair, he was rubbing his palms against each other. He glanced at her, then lowered his gaze and looked again at her.Lily could tell that he was excited about this news, and she found it funny. His reaction toward this news was even stronger than Alexander’s, but then again, Lily was half asleep when Alexander heard the news of her pregnancy, so she could not see his reaction. “This is good news, very good news,” he said, “So…make sure you get adequate rest, and you should let Alexander worry about the others.”“Yeah, he has decided to do everything himself. He doesn’t want me to worry about the wedding plans or allow me to even go to my own lab,” Lily was whining to Justin. After getting pregnant, th
Lily did not know that Justin had something to tell her, but he swallowed his words after learning about her pregnancy.Justin sat silently in his car for a long moment before finally saying, “Go to La Beauté Group.”Alexander had just finished signing a document for his employee, who then walked out of his office. Soon after, Justin came into the room unannounced. “I heard from Lily that you came over to our place earlier. Why didn’t you stay longer instead of coming here?” Alexander put the cap back on his pen and continued, “You’re not here to talk business with me, are you?”Justin walked over and sat on the sofa opposite Alexander’s desk. Both his hands were on his knees as he looked up. “Have you heard of the Riggs?”“Pigs?” Alexander frowned, puzzled by Justin’s random question, which he had misheard.It rendered Justin speechless for a moment before he explained, “No, I meant the Riggs family, that’s known for their family’s kickboxing skills. They’re similar to my famil
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