More than ten years had passed, yet Celeste still remembered everything clearly.She recalled that day—how she had gone to the restroom, heartbroken, and when she returned, she saw Erin holding two ice creams, one for her and one for Wynn.One of them had been slightly scraped when a waiter carrying a dirty tray accidentally brushed against it, leaving a bit of grease on it.Wynn immediately picked the untouched one.Erin had merely ruffled her hair with a smile. She didn't bother to replace the dirty one with a new one.When she returned, Erin handed her the damaged ice cream without saying a word about why a chunk was missing.At that time, given the Locket family's financial status, buying not just one but a thousand, even ten thousand ice creams, would have been no issue at all.Yet, she simply didn't replace it.It was at that moment that she became acutely aware—Erin's feelings for her had long since changed.She would also never forget the look on young Wynn's face as s
As they walked further away, Oscar asked, "Is there something going on between you both and the Lockets?"Matthias and Celeste exchanged a glance. Then, Celeste said, "No, there isn't."It wasn't a misunderstanding, after all.However, Oscar misunderstood her words, thinking that she truly had no conflicts with the Lockets. "Very well then." Oscar was optimistic about YodaVision's prospects. Hence, he remarked sincerely, "Considering how highly Trevor regards Ms. Locket, the Locket family is about to skyrocket in status. The Flemings, especially Trevor, are not people to mess with. Even if you don't want to get close to the Lockets, it's best not to provoke them."Celeste smiled, realizing what Oscar had said was quite ironic. Who else but her would ever be told to maintain a good relationship with her husband's mistress, all because her husband cared about his mistress too much?Matthias couldn't stand listening to that as well.He said, "We're not afraid of Trevor at all.
Basically, Trevor wasn't going to attend the celebration.Why did Celeste have to ask any further then?Thus, without adding anything, she ended the call.Celeste used to ask him every year to join her at the Rodriguez residence for Betty's birthday. However, Trevor didn't seem to realize that she hadn't asked him this year.After Celeste ended the call, he handed the phone back to Jordyn and said, "Mom will be fetching you to Granny's place tomorrow night. Make sure you listen to her on Saturday and don't go anywhere."Jordyn pursed her lips. "But…"Trevor remained silent, staring at her expressionlessly. Jordyn then realized that there was no room for discussion. Hence, she mumbled reluctantly, "Okay…"Trevor nodded. "Good girl." With a pout, Jordyn insisted, "But I want to go see Wynn on Sunday, and you have to come along.""Alright," Trevor replied with a faint smile.…On Friday night, Celeste went to the Fleming manor after work.She noticed Trevor right after she
Jordyn didn't notice the indifference in Celeste's tone. She breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing what Celeste had just said. Ivan handed his gift to Betty, and Celeste followed afterward. The first gift she gave Betty was an embroidery painting. "Grandma had Trevor help prepare this painting for you."Betty took the painting, unfolded it, and examined it for a while. It was exactly what she wanted. Smiling with satisfaction, she said, "How considerate of her."Next, Celeste handed the emerald jewelry set to Betty. "This is from Trevor."The jewelry set was of exceptional quality. Betty liked it a lot. However, since it was a gift from Trevor, she closed the box and put it away right after she took a glance at it. She remarked in a neutral tone, "It looks lovely. Pass along my thanks to him for me."She never asked whether Trevor would come to celebrate her birthday.She didn't care enough to ask, nor did she want to. Celeste knew Betty wasn't fond of Trevor. She'd
Some of them didn't want to cross Trevor. However, some of them were eager to establish good relations with the Lockets and Shaws. After all, the Rodriguez family had been struggling quite a bit in recent years. The Lockets and Shaws, on the contrary, had Trevor backing them up, so it was clear what the right choice was. Robert left after apologizing to Ivan. Betty and Adeline didn't pay attention to it at first. As more guests arrived and only to leave shortly after, and with the meal about to begin, fewer and fewer people remained in the banquet hall. A lot of seats were left empty, and they finally realized something was off.Frowning, Betty and Adeline walked over and asked, "Why have so many guests left? What happened?"Ivan and Celeste were at a loss for words. At this point, they could only tell them the truth. Ivan uttered, "The Shaws and Lockets have moved to Baumond, and the Shaws held a housewarming party today. Besides, they have sent invitations to most of
Seeing the endless stream of arriving guests, Patricia and Mason were all smiles.It was just as what the Rodriguez family thought, they did remember Betty's birthday. No, in fact, after so many years of celebrating Betty's birthday, forgetting it was simply out of the question. Thus, it was no coincidence that they held their housewarming party today. They couldn't help but fume, thinking back to how they had planned to move across from the Rodriguez family, only for Celeste to interfere and enlist Trevor's help, throwing their plans into disarray. But Trevor later made up for it, and ironically, they ended up better off because of it. It made them even more delighted, thinking about how they had scheduled their housewarming party to clash with the Rodriguez family's event and successfully diverted their guests. "Their party must be nearly empty now, huh?" Linda stifled a quiet laugh. "They couldn't even keep their guests after all that effort. It's just humiliating at th
Just then, Beck and Miles arrived. The moment the Shaws and Lockets noticed the two, they went up to them.After all, these two were anything but ordinary in Baumond. It was only natural that they held the two in high regard. Linda had already met Beck before. The moment she laid eyes on him again today, a blush crept onto her face, barely concealed by her makeup.Ruby laughed, seeing Linda's reaction. The Harpers were just as distinguished as the Flemings, and with Beck's remarkable qualities, the Shaws were more than happy to see Linda take an interest in him.With Wynn and Trevor a certainty, and now Linda and Beck potentially forming a match, the Shaws would definitely hold undeniable power in Baumond in the future. With that in mind, the Shaws showed even greater enthusiasm when talking to Beck and Miler.Wynn furrowed her brows when she noticed the Shaws' attitude toward the two men. She thought they were being too sycophantic.As friends, Wynn and Beck were e
With that, Matthias interrupted, "Can we hold off for a bit, Mr. Rodriguez? There's someone else coming, and they should be here in ten minutes."Ivan was well aware of how Matthias and Celeste were connected.Matthias had always taken care of Celeste as well. Hence, Betty and Ivan were pretty grateful to him. Upon hearing what Matthias had just said, Ivan asked, "Is he by himself? We still have empty seats at the main table if he doesn't mind joining us.""He's totally okay with it," Matthias replied. "Okay."Ivan nodded and instructed the staff to serve the other tables first, while their dishes would be served later. As the first few dishes arrived, Matthias glanced at his phone. Then, he pulled Celeste aside and said, "The person is here. I'll go get them."Celeste nodded. The moment she turned around, she heard a familiar yet icy voice. "No need, I'm here already."Celeste was stunned. She immediately turned around. "Mr. Newman?"Zachary hummed a reply.The remaini
Melissa likes Celeste? How is that possible?If what Miles said was true, then what she told Melissa yesterday…Thinking about how Melissa had left during their conversation yesterday, Wynn's heart sank.Perhaps noticing her change in expression, Trevor, concerned, asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"Wynn snapped back to reality, forcing a smile. "No, I'm fine."Later that day, she informed her family.Upon hearing that Melissa liked Celeste so much, even agreeing to let her be their daughter-in-law, both the Shaw family and the Locket family were in disbelief."Celeste is married with a child, and her family background is ordinary. But Matthias' family is well-off and successful. How could the Yoder family possibly agree to them being together? Did Mr. Quinton misunderstand?""That's right," Linda hurriedly added, "Or maybe that woman hid her past? The Yoder family doesn't know she was married, which is why they—"Wynn also couldn't understand why the Yoder family
The next morning, Trevor, Jordyn, and Wynn arrived early at the sports hall for Jordyn's competition.After they had been there for a while, Beck and Shanice arrived as well.Jordyn saw them and greeted, "Mr. Harper, Shanice, you're here."Shanice came over and shook Jordyn's hand. "The competition is about to start. Are you nervous, Jo?"Jordyn was very calm and shook her head. "No, I'm fine."Beck had some business to attend to, and he was just dropping Shanice off.Trevor knew Beck was in a hurry and said, "I'll take care of Shanice. You can go ahead with your things."Beck nodded. "Alright, I'll join you all for lunch later.""Okay."Their relationship seemed to be as good as ever. However…Wynn listened to their conversation, her gaze shifting between Trevor and Beck. If Trevor knew that Beck had developed feelings for Celeste, would their relationship still be as good as it was now?Beck noticed her gaze and gave her a slight nod. But he didn't speak to her, just turne
After Sebastian and Melissa left, Trevor asked, "Did you finish talking to Mrs. Yoder?"Wynn smiled slightly and nodded.Looking at Melissa's expression earlier, it seemed that she was becoming increasingly displeased with Celeste.…Melissa had actually known about the issues between InnovaTech and YodaVision long before. Matthias had already informed her in advance.When Melissa was talking to Wynn, she didn't really get a phone call—she had recorded their conversation.She walked a little further away, glanced at Trevor and Wynn, and then sent the recording to Matthias.Matthias and Celeste had not finished work yet. After listening to the recording, Matthias smiled and went to Celeste's office to inform her of the situation.After hearing the news, Celeste said, "Now I can be sure that we'll definitely win the lawsuit.""Exactly."Their insistence on suing for contract termination was not only because they really wanted to break the contract with InnovaTech, but also beca
Wynn had thought she would have to wait a few more days for news.However, that afternoon, Trevor called her and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Yoder will be attending an auction tomorrow. Would you like to go?"Wynn smiled and replied, "Sure."The next evening, not long after arriving at the auction, Trevor took Wynn over to greet Sebastian and Melissa. He introduced Wynn to them.Sebastian and Melissa knew about Trevor's relationship with Celeste and were aware of all the conflicts between Celeste and Wynn. However, when they saw Trevor, they didn't let their feelings about Celeste show.They smiled and shook hands with Trevor, greeting him warmly. When Trevor introduced Wynn, Melissa also smiled and politely shook Wynn's hand, saying, "Hello."The auction was filled with the elites from high society.After some casual conversation, Trevor and Sebastian, along with others, began discussing business matters.At this moment, Wynn saw an opportunity and started chatting with Melissa alone.
Caleb was still thinking about it when Jorge asked him again, "Caleb, besides your father and my old man, do you know anyone else who has Zachary's contact info?"Caleb replied, "No one else."Then, as if something occurred to him, he added, "But didn't you say Ms. Locket had met Zachary before? I imagine she should have his contact. "If talking to Mr. Newman could resolve things, wouldn't she have already reached out to him herself?"Jorge said, "I thought about that too. But since she's directly involved, unless absolutely necessary, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to contact Mr. Newman just to complain about Matthias, right?"He was actually being pretty considerate. Seems like he liked Wynn more than he realized.Jorge said, "Forget it, I'll try asking some other people.""Alright."The fact that Celeste was also one of Zachary's students hadn't been made public meant that it was to remain confidential. Since that was the case, it wasn't his place to share it with Jorge
Theodore refused to help, so Jorge immediately decided to contact Zachary himself.However, he didn't have Zachary's contact information.He messaged Theodore asking for Zachary's number, and Theodore simply replied with a single word. "Nope."Before he could even react, Theodore sent another message. "I've already spoken to Harold too. Don't waste your time."Seeing that, Jorge was genuinely a little angry.But when he tried calling Theodore again, the call went unanswered.Since Theodore and Harold were both at a dead end, he thought of Caleb.He remembered Caleb had mentioned before that he had some work-related interactions with Zachary. They'd even had a meal together.With that in mind, Jorge reached out to Caleb.Caleb didn't return his call until the evening. After hearing that Jorge was looking for Zachary's contact info, he said, "I don't have Mr. Newman's number.""You don't? Didn't you have dinner with him and my old man before? You guys didn't exchange contacts?"
Before Jorge could finish his sentence, Theodore cut him off. "You're trying to say that he's siding with Celeste again and bullying Ms. Locket, aren't you?"Jorge was surprised that Theodore hit the nail on the head. "Old man, how'd you know? Don't tell me you already know what happened?"Theodore replied, "I don't. I guessed."Back when Celeste and Matthias agreed to work with his foolish son for his sake, it was clear they wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for him in the workplace.His son also wasn't the kind to stir up trouble at work for no reason. So, even if they couldn't become friends, their professional relationship should have stayed smooth.If Jorge didn't clash with Matthias or Celeste personally, then the conflict likely involved someone he cared about—probably Wynn.Earlier that year, when he'd met with Kael, Celeste, and the others for dinner, they'd happened to run into Wynn at the restaurant entrance.At the time, seeing how attentive his son was to
Matthias crossed his legs. "Become what exactly? Blinded by lust? Or unable to tell right from wrong?"Both.Of course, Jorge didn't say that out loud.Matthias saw right through him and smiled. "But why do I feel like the one who's blinded and can't tell right from wrong isn't me, but someone else?"Before Jorge could respond, Matthias added, "Also, the student my mentor values most isn't me. It's someone else entirely. Mr. Robinson, you're giving me far too much credit."Jorge didn't expect that, even after bringing up Zachary, Matthias still showed no sign of remorse.But Matthias wasn't about to indulge him. He said directly, "If you can't bear to watch and want to seek justice on behalf of Ms. Locket, then you're free to terminate our contract."Of course, the condition is that you'll have to compensate YodaVision for the corresponding losses."Jorge thought he had approached Matthias politely and reasonably.But Matthias had been hostile from the beginning, and now, in a
Last week, Matthias' lawyer went to InnovaTech to negotiate the contract termination, but the talks fell through. That same day, they filed a lawsuit with the court.When Celeste had that confrontation at InnovaTech with Wynn and the others, Matthias was away on a business trip.Maybe because she couldn't meet Matthias, Wynn hadn't given up on the matter yet.On Monday, when Celeste arrived at work, she saw Wynn again. As before, when the two women saw each other, neither acknowledged the other.When Celeste got to the office, she found that Matthias was already there."You're here early."Matthias shrugged. "I came in over half an hour early just in case someone tried to intercept me."Celeste smiled at that.…Jorge happened to be in YodaVision that day to discuss something with Matthias. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he spotted Wynn.He had already heard about what happened between YodaVision and InnovaTech last week. So the moment he saw her, he immediately u