Hearing Jordyn's words, Celeste was momentarily brought back to her thoughts.Yesterday, when she fell, Trevor didn't help her.When she got hurt, he acted indifferent.He behaved that way not just because he didn't care about her but also because he didn't want Wynn to misunderstand.In his heart, Wynn's thoughts and feelings were what mattered most.Whether Celeste lived or died didn't concern him.Otherwise, how could he have been so cold when he saw her fall and get injured?With this thought, her expression turned indifferent. Just as she was about to decline, Trevor spoke first. "Ask your Mom," he said to Jordyn.Jordyn turned to Celeste. "Mom, Dad wants to know if you want to talk to him."Celeste pressed her lips together briefly before responding, "No, I'm busy.""Oh," Jordyn relayed this to Trevor. "Dad, Mom said no."Trevor simply replied, "Okay."Jordyn said, "Okay, Mom. Bye.""Bye."After hanging up, Jordyn set down her phone and turned to Trevor. "Dad, I t
After lunch, they spent several more hours in discussion, and by the end of the day, the two companies had preliminarily established a collaborative relationship.Two days later, Celeste and Matthias went to Trevor's tech company, InnovaTech, to negotiate the contract terms.At InnovaTech, they were greeted by Henry and a core executive, Jonathan Knox.However, Jonathan arrived slightly later. Upon entering the meeting room, he immediately apologized to Celeste and Matthias."Sorry for the delay. I was upstairs in a meeting with Mr. Fleming. My apologies for being late."So, Trevor was at InnovaTech?Celeste considered this silently as she and Matthias shook hands with Jonathan. "It's fine," she replied.Once Jonathan joined, they resumed discussing the contract.A short while later, the door opened, and someone entered.Celeste and Matthias didn't pay much attention at first. They assumed it was just another employee.However, when Henry and Jonathan noticed the person, they
Wynn smiled lightly. "We'll see in the future."This clearly implied that as long as Wynn wanted to, she could join the company at any time.The many ways Trevor treated her differently no longer surprised Celeste.She picked up her glass of water and took a sip. Just then, she noticed someone standing outside the glass door.Raising her head slightly, she saw Trevor.She froze.Trevor saw her too, though his gaze didn't seem to linger on her.Celeste turned back to find Wynn smiling subtly in the direction of the door. It was clear she was greeting Trevor.Then Wynn turned to Jonathan and said, "I'll be leaving now."Only then did Jonathan and Henry realize that Trevor had arrived.It was nearing noon, and it was obvious Trevor had come down specifically to take Wynn out for lunch.Seeing Henry and Jonathan start to stand up to greet him, Trevor waved it off. "No need for formalities. Continue with your work."They quickly nodded and sat back down.Trevor then addressed M
Matthias paused. "What? This is such a coincidence."Trevor replied calmly, "It is."Matthias said, "There are a lot of us. Mr. Fleming, why don't you take the elevator first? We'll wait for the next one.""Sure. See you next time.""See you."The elevator doors closed, leaving Celeste, Matthias, and the others to wait for the next one.When the elevator arrived, Celeste's phone rang as they stepped inside. It was Jordyn calling.After excusing herself from the others, Celeste answered, "Hello?""Mom, are you off work? When are you coming home?"Ever since Celeste injured her ankle, Jordyn had been calling her daily to check in. When she heard yesterday that Celeste's ankle had healed, she had asked when Celeste would be coming home.Celeste had been too busy with work to promise anything yesterday. Now, hearing Jordyn's question again, she said, "I just finished up. I'll be home soon."By the time she ended the call, the elevator had reached the ground floor.Henry, who wa
Celeste agreed to it. Jordyn then asked Celeste to send her to school tomorrow. Celeste promised she would too. She hadn't seen Jordyn for almost ten days since visiting the hot spring retreat. Thus, she stayed at the villa that night. But she didn't sleep in the master bedroom. Instead, she wanted to stay in the same room as Jordyn. The last time Celeste stayed with Jordyn was when Jordyn was sick. However, Jordyn wasn't sick this time, and she didn't even ask Celeste to stay with her to sleep. Jordyn noticed Celeste was showering in her bathroom. The latter seemed like she wanted to stay here for the night. Jordyn found it odd that Celeste chose not to sleep in the room she shared with Trevor. She actually liked sleeping with Celeste as it felt cozy and warm to cuddle up with her. So, Jordyn didn't voice her question. Since Celeste was staying with her for the night, Jordyn had to be more careful when she said goodnight to Wynn. She didn't want Celeste to fin
"Shanice."Beck walked over to Celeste and took the little girl from her. Just then, Beck noticed how Shanice was completely soaked. He paused for a moment. Staring at Celeste, he asked, "How did she…"Celeste didn't know that this little girl was actually his niece as well. She explained, "She fell into the pool, and I pulled her out.""Thank you," Beck responded. "You're welcome," said Celeste. "Please help her change into dry clothes, in case she catches a cold."Beck nodded in agreement. He looked at Celeste and wanted to say something, but his niece's cries interrupted him. Shanice kept sobbing as if she was scared out of her wits. Thus, Beck comforted her and walked into the elevator after giving Celeste a quick nod. Celeste went back to the pool afterward. After soaking in the hot spring, she changed into a fresh set of clothes and went to the buffet area. Before she could finish her meal, Beck appeared in front of her. He was holding Shanice's hand. "Mind if
However, when Matthias saw how Celeste greeted the man, he felt that they seemed to know each other. "He's Beck Harper.""Beck?" Matthias was surprised. "Aren't you two not that close? How did you both end up at the same table?""His niece fell into the pool just now and I saved her, and he brought his niece over to thank me."Matthias nodded. "I see."Celeste told Beck that she was with her colleagues. Thus, Beck assumed the person who had greeted her earlier was just one of her colleagues, so he didn't turn around to check. After Celeste and Matthias walked a little further away, Beck turned around, only to see a tall young man walking beside Celeste. From the way he looked from behind, he seemed like a good match for Celeste. Beck could tell that they had a good relationship as they were walking closely to each other. "Uncle Beck…"Upon hearing Shanice's voice, Beck came back to his senses. "Are you done eating? Let's head back to our room then.""Okay," Shanice repl
Feeling embarrassed, Celeste's face flushed immediately. She adjusted the collar that Shanice had tugged. Beck's expression darkened in that instant. After he snapped back to his senses, he turned around and shifted his gaze. The nanny, who had been standing aside, was mortified as well. Luckily, they were the only ones there; otherwise, it would have been even more awkward. The nanny quickly helped Celeste adjust her clothes. Celeste was reserved, and she had never revealed so much of her body to any man other than Trevor. What made it worse was that the man before her was Trevor's good friend. That made her especially uncomfortable. After adjusting her clothes, she uttered in an unnatural tone, "I have something to do, so I'll leave first."Only then did Beck turn around and face Celeste. "I'm sorry."Shanice knew she had done something wrong and thought she had upset Celeste. She looked at Celeste with teary eyes and softly apologized, "Ms. Rodriguez, I'm sorry…"
Jordyn wrapped her arms around Celeste's neck, burying her small face against it to shield herself from the cold wind.Celeste's clothes were soft and warm, and Jordyn snuggled into her embrace, rubbing her face against her neck with enjoyment.Trevor was always punctual. By the time Celeste carried Jordyn to the parking lot, his car had pulled in.Seeing them, the car stopped right beside Celeste.Even though her dad had arrived, Jordyn didn't get down from Celeste's arms. Instead, she playfully said to Trevor, who had lowered the car window, "Dad, carry me inside."Trevor didn't say anything. He simply got out of the car and took Jordyn from Celeste's arms.Happily, Jordyn swung her legs in the air while nestled in his hold.As Trevor leaned in to take her, Celeste caught a familiar scent—Wynn's perfume.When he had been sitting beside her earlier, he hadn't smelled like this.This meant that after leaving them, he had gone to the Shaw family.Trevor looked at her and said,
Zachary said, "Sure."Trevor nodded and turned to Celeste. "Are you going home tonight?"Celeste had still been going over the conversation between Trevor and Zachary in her head. When he suddenly spoke to her, she paused for a moment before responding, "No."Trevor nodded again. "Got it." Then he stood up and said, "I'll come by later to pick Jo up."That meant he was leaving.Celeste replied coldly, "Got it."Trevor didn't say anything else to her. Instead, he walked over to Betty and said, "Madam Klein, I have things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."Betty didn't stand up, and her tone was equally cold, "Sure. I won't see you off."Trevor didn't seem bothered by her indifference. He turned to Ivan, gave him a slight nod as a form of greeting, and then left the banquet hall.Outside the hotel, Beck had just stepped out of his car when he saw Trevor walking out. His movements stalled for a brief moment.Trevor quickly got into his car and drove off.Beck watched but re
Neither Celeste nor Trevor spoke again.Celeste's younger cousins had rarely seen Trevor before. Now that they were seeing him in person, they couldn't help but look at him with curiosity.As someone who had held a position of power for years, Trevor exuded authority effortlessly, even without trying. When he noticed their gazes, he glanced at them briefly.Unable to meet his eyes, they instinctively looked away, not daring to stare any longer.Trevor showed no reaction to this, nor did he make any effort to exchange pleasantries. He simply shifted his gaze away, calm and indifferent.Trevor was the man Celeste loved. She had thrown herself into this love headfirst, and after all these years, she still couldn't escape.Given the way Trevor had treated his own niece for so long, it was impossible for Ivan not to harbor resentment toward him.However, what could he do?The Rodriguez family was powerless against Trevor.Now that Trevor was here, as the host, Ivan had no choice bu
Wynn didn't panic at all when she heard that Trevor was at the Rodriguez family's party.After all, Martha had such a close relationship with Betty. She'd definitely let Trevor attend Betty's 70th birthday on her behalf since she couldn't make it herself.Wynn had known this long ago. Still, she was a little upset even though Trevor was there because of Martha's order. When the crowd found out that Trevor went to the Rodriguez family's party instead of coming here, they assumed something had happened between Wynn and Trevor. Wynn remarked in a cold voice, "Madam Daniels and Madam Klein have a good relationship, and Trevor was only there as instructed by Madam Daniels."There had been rumors that the Rodriguez family and the Fleming family were on good terms.But people hadn't seen them interacting with each other before, so they only took it as a rumor.Perhaps it was true then, judging by what Wynn had said. At that moment, someone came in. They had a gift box in their
"Yes."Linda scoffed. "That's so shameless of her!"Just talking about that made her upset. "Could it be that they have a great connection, which is why such a significant person is attending her birthday?""No," Wynn replied coldly. "They just barely know each other." From her perspective, Celeste got to know Zachary through Matthias. So, the reason why Zachary was there today was probably because of Matthias."Oh, okay," Linda said.Beck and Miles were sitting at the table beside Wynn's, right behind her.Initially, Beck was quietly enjoying his meal. He paused for a moment when he heard how Zachary was at Betty's birthday party. He asked, "The Rodriguez family's birthday party?"Miles then explained, "Oh, today's the birthday of Celeste's maternal grandmother. The parties for the Rodriguez family and the Shaw family are on the same day, and the guest lists coincide. Thus, most of the overlapping guests are attending this one because of Trevor and Wynn."Miles had no prio
Celeste was sitting beside Zachary.He was still talking to Betty, and he hadn't spared her a glance yet. Celeste turned a little to Matthias. "Thank you, Matthias."She could tell that Betty was in a much better mood after Zachary came. "There's no need to thank me." Matthias shrugged. "Mr. Newman just happened to reply to me regarding the project you came up with not long ago. Then I told him about this, and he came. So, really, you should be thanking yourself."As Celeste was about to speak, she heard someone mention Trevor's name. Hesitating for a moment, she turned around, only to see Trevor at the entrance. With all eyes on him, he approached Betty with steady steps. "Happy birthday."Then, he handed the gift box to her and said, "Just in case the first gift wasn't to your taste, I brought another. I hope you like it."Betty didn't realize Trevor would attend at all. Yet his arrival didn't bring joy to her.Sure, the Shaws were shameless, but without his support,
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
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
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