Gideon was truly angry.He ignored Trevor completely and looked at Celeste instead. "Come on, Celeste. I'll take you out for a meal."Celeste set down her teacup and stood up. "Alright."With that, Gideon didn't spare Trevor another glance and left with Celeste.Trevor remained seated on the couch, calmly, sipping his tea. He neither got up to follow them nor tried to stop them from leaving.Wynn looked at their backs as they walked out. "This—"Trevor said, "It's fine. Just give it some time."In other words, after enough time passed, Gideon would accept reality and slowly start accepting her?…Gideon had witnessed the state of Celeste and Trevor's marriage during the first two or three years after they got married. He had seen clearly from the start that Trevor didn't like Celeste. And now, Trevor had someone else he cared for.Though Trevor had always had a good relationship with elders like Martha and Gideon, he was never someone easily swayed by them. So, even if they d
That afternoon, Celeste was in the middle of a meeting when a call from Jordyn came through. Without even thinking, she immediately declined it.But the moment she hung up, Jordyn called again. Celeste frowned, but still didn't answer.This time, Jordyn didn't call back.Celeste continued with her meeting.A few minutes later, her phone rang—this time, it was Trevor.Celeste pressed her lips together and turned off her phone completely.It wasn't until an hour later, after the meeting ended, that she powered it back on.As soon as she did, she saw a message from Trevor, "Jo fell down the stairs at school and was taken to the hospital."Celeste froze, her mind going completely blank.She grabbed her phone and bag and rushed out of the office, heading straight for the hospital.Once there, she quickly called Trevor to ask which part of the hospital they were in. He answered almost immediately and gave her the room number.When she reached the VIP ward floor, she pushed the d
Celeste was just about to speak when Trevor's phone rang again.It was probably Wynn. As he walked toward the door, he picked up the call and said gently, "It's not too serious, no need to worry too much—"After Trevor stepped out to take the call and returned, Jordyn had woken up. Seeing both of them, she sleepily called out, "Daddy, Mommy."Celeste and Trevor responded at the same time, "Yes."Maybe her head was still spinning—lying in bed, Jordyn glanced at Trevor, then at Celeste. Not long after waking, she frowned in discomfort and drifted back to sleep.Worried about disturbing her rest, Celeste and Trevor fell into a natural silence. After Jordyn had fully settled into sleep again, Trevor turned to Celeste. "Are you staying?"Celeste didn't respond, but by remaining in her seat, she had already given her answer.Trevor didn't say anything more either. He simply went over to the other couch and sat down.Celeste stayed seated in the chair by the bed, and after a while, wi
The Scientific and Technological Academic Exchange Conference, jointly hosted by the Baumond Association for Science and Technology and other organizations, had officially begun two days ago.This month-long conference would include nearly 200 individual sessions, drawing participation from many academicians and experts in the scientific and industrial communities. YodaVision was among the invited companies.That afternoon happened to be the main session in the field of Advanced Materials, a topic both Celeste and Matthias were particularly interested in. After returning from the hospital, Celeste went to the conference venue with Matthias and several YodaVision technical staff members.Matthias was attending as YodaVision's representative and had a reserved seat near the front. Celeste, along with the company's staff, followed the event organizer's arrangement and sat near the back.They arrived early. Not long after they took their seats, Celeste spotted Trevor, Wynn, and Mil
There were quite a few people gathered around Celeste and Matthias.When Morgan and Lucien approached, some people in the crowd were about to greet them, but Morgan smiled and gestured for them to stay quiet.Then he and the others stood at the edge of the group, quietly listening to Matthias and Celeste answer questions.Many attendees at the conference were graduates of prestigious universities. There was no shortage of capable, knowledgeable people.Celeste and Matthias not only responded to others' questions but also occasionally encountered a few individuals who could carry on more in-depth discussions with them.Those with a similarly broad knowledge base were deeply engaged in the back-and-forth. Those who lacked the technical background—especially when it came to materials and manufacturing—felt like they were listening to a foreign language.Lucien and Morgan clearly fell into the first group.Wynn could mostly keep up, too.In truth, after just a short exchange earlie
Over the next few days, Celeste made time to attend two or three more conference events. She ran into Wynn twice, but on both occasions, Trevor didn't accompany her.By March, the rain had become more frequent.After one of the events, it began to rain outside.Celeste had brought an umbrella, but she had left it in the car. She walked toward the main entrance, planning to wait until the rain eased up before leaving. She hadn't even reached the door when she saw Wynn.Wynn was speaking with someone, but her smile faded as soon as she spotted Celeste.Just then, Trevor appeared, holding an umbrella. He had clearly come to pick Wynn up.He took off his coat and draped it over Wynn's shoulder.The people nearby, also waiting out the rain, looked on enviously. Some even gasped in admiration. It was only then that Trevor noticed Celeste and paused. She looked back at him expressionlessly. He turned his gaze away, lifted the umbrella again, and left with Wynn.The wind was pick
At the restaurant, once they entered the private room and sat down, Beck poured her a glass of water and asked, "Did you gain anything from the conference this time?""More or less."She had joined the conference to spark inspiration, hoping to find new angles to study the materials Zachary had given her and Matthias a while back. After attending a few sessions, she had more or less found a new direction.As she spoke, Celeste asked, "How's Shanice doing lately?""Shanice's health has improved a lot since the second half of last year. She's started school again this year and has even made new friends. She's been pretty happy both at home and at school." Beck paused, then added as he looked at her, "But she still brings you up often. Next time we get the chance, maybe the three of us could have a meal together?"Celeste nodded. "Sure."After the personal talk, they moved on to work-related topics. Toward the end, Beck even brought up some matters about his collaboration with Iva
Celeste had a good idea of what Janet was thinking.Just as she was about to say she was fine, Lennox walked in. When she saw Janet, she snapped, "What are you doing running around? Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? You're not answering your phone—"Before she could finish, she caught sight of Celeste's back. Her expression immediately turned cold.Just then, a store clerk approached and said to Celeste, "Ms. Rodriguez, all the items you requested have been packed. Here's the receipt. The total comes to 5,897,644 dollars. Please take a look."Celeste nodded and took the receipt. They were at Luvienne now. Everything Celeste had purchased was packed and neatly arranged on the floor. There were over 30 shopping bags in total, all lined up.Celeste checked the bill, confirmed it was correct, and handed over her card to the clerk.Both Lennox and Janet were stunned. Celeste had just spent nearly six million dollars on clothes?But Lennox quickly regained her
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