If something had really happened to Layla, Ivan wouldn’t have just taken a few punches—it would have been much worse. Scarlett, still fuming, huffed, “I didn’t say anything extreme. I just told her I’d be taking over her treatment and that she shouldn’t drag William down.” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How did William find out so fast? Layla must have twisted the truth and exaggerated everything.” “She didn’t.” Ivan shook his head. “She just went out to get some fresh air. William panicked and lost his mind.“Aunt Scarlett, you saw it yourself.” He gestured to the bruises on his face, his expression dry. “I took a beating for you. So next time you have a ‘brilliant’ plan like this, leave me out of it.” Scarlett glanced at his injuries but said nothing. She was still too angry. She had barely left, and the very next moment, Layla had run off. If that wasn’t intentional, then what was? That woman was calculating. A master manipulator. She was driving
Following William’s orders, the doctors scheduled Layla’s chemotherapy. No matter how much she resisted, William still sent her into the treatment room. Standing beside him, Carter hesitated before asking, “Uncle William, aren’t you afraid she’ll hate you for forcing her into this?” “Her life is more important than anything else.” William’s gaze never left the tightly shut doors, his expression dark and unreadable. Carter sighed. “You’re right. At this point, chemo is the only option. She has to hold on until Levi gets here.“Once her treatment ends, I’ll go back to North City,” he added. William had already told Layla that he needed to go home for Thanksgiving.By now, saying no wasn’t an option.And with the Lucas family in complete chaos, his parents had subtly warned him to stay out of it.“Your uncle isn’t like you. He can handle any mess, and your grandfather would never truly abandon him. But you? You’re disposable.”“Carter, trust your uncle. He’s not an
“I look like a ghost now… What’s the point of staying alive like this…? Can I even keep going…?” Layla sobbed, her voice breaking between gasps.William’s heart twisted in pain. He held onto her trembling body beneath the blanket, his arms tightening protectively. His eyes burned red. Taking a deep breath, he forced his voice to remain steady. “Layla, listen to me. You’re not going to die. You can make it through this.“I know it hurts, but you have to hold on. If you push through this, there’s hope. Trust me—things will get better.” But Layla was too lost in her own emotions to hear him. She cried, her sobs raw and gut-wrenching, until all that remained was a desperate, anguished wail echoing through the hospital room. *News of Layla’s emotional breakdown reached the doctor. By the time he rushed back from his rounds, she had already fallen into a medicated sleep. “This kind of situation is actually quite common,” the doctor said, looking at Layla with deep concern. “
Carter walked into the hospital room and immediately spotted the two people stuck in a silent standoff at the bathroom door. Curious, he asked, “Uncle William, Sis, what are you two doing?” Layla waved him over. “Perfect timing. Help me get Mr. Lucas out of here.” “Stay right there.” At William’s firm command, Carter froze on the spot, not even daring to lift a foot. Feeling torn, he suggested, “Uh… maybe you two should talk this out first?” “No need.” Without hesitation, William grabbed the wheelchair and smoothly pushed Layla into the bathroom. Layla panicked. “William Lucas! You’re being completely unreasonable!” He responded in an unhurried tone, “Letting a patient take care of herself—that would be unreasonable.” Layla was momentarily speechless. He used to be so respectful of boundaries. But lately, he was becoming more and more overbearing. Had his so-called gentlemanly behavior before all been an act? “I can do it myself.“Stay away from me.
“Even if they regret not spending more time with him, it’s too late now. Who are they trying to impress, crying so loudly? Weren’t they just as loud when they were arguing before?“Everyone knew they were doing it on purpose, making a scene so the old man would give in.”Carter had always hated how fake adults could be, and right now, he felt even more indignant on the old man’s behalf.“He’s gone…” Layla murmured, repeating the words as if in deep thought. Sensing the sudden shift in her emotions, William lifted his gaze and shot Carter a look. Carter instantly shut up. “Crap. Did I just say something I shouldn’t have?” he wondered.*Thankfully, Layla didn’t seem to dwell on the conversation. She continued her treatments and checkups as usual throughout the day. That evening, Carter returned with dinner, just as William stepped out to take a work call. He had just set the thermos down when Layla suddenly spoke. “Mrs. Lucas hasn’t gone back yet, has she?” Car
The next day, the moment William stepped out of the hospital room, Carter slipped a folded note into Layla’s hand. “Sis, I went home last night and thought about it for a long time. You rarely ask me for favors—how could I possibly say no?“This is Grandma Scarlett’s contact information. You can meet her in person or just talk over the phone, whichever you prefer. But…” Carter hesitated for a moment. “You absolutely cannot do anything else beyond that.” “Don’t worry.” Layla clenched the note tightly and smiled at him. “Would I ever set you up?” Carter didn’t reply, but internally, he was a wreck. Being a double agent was seriously exhausting. *That afternoon, William was in the living room, locked in a video meeting. Finally, Layla found the chance to message Scarlett. “Mrs. Lucas, this is Layla Xander. Do your words from before still stand?” On the other end, Scarlett received the message and scoffed under her breath. “What kind of trick is Layla up to no
Sean sniffled, then quickly composed himself. “Sorry, I lost my cool.” Scarlett, however, was unfazed. She cut straight to the point. “So what you’re saying is, if you see Layla, she’ll leave with you. Is that right?” Sean nodded without hesitation. “That’s right. William won’t let me see her because he’s afraid I’ll take her away.” Seeing how confident he was, Scarlett thought for a moment before nodding. “Good. Then I found the right person.“I’ll arrange for you to see Layla. Your job is to take her away for further treatment. I’ll keep William distracted. Whatever happens, I’ll take full responsibility. Do we have a deal?” Sean’s face lit up. “Of course! No problem at all!” “Good. Then it’s settled.” Scarlett picked up her phone and replied to Layla’s message. “I stand by what I said. What’s your plan?” Layla’s response came almost immediately. “Let’s go with what you suggested before. But it has to be done behind Mr. Lucas’s back. That part is up to you
With five days left until Thanksgiving, Carter had already returned to North City, but William remained by Layla’s bedside, just as he always did.Layla had been asleep all day. When she finally woke up, the hospital room was dim, lit only by a single warm bedside lamp. Outside the window, the night was deep and quiet. A sudden unease gripped her. She called out softly, “Mr. Lucas…” But instead of William, two men in black suits appeared. Layla’s expression darkened. “Who are you?” “Miss Xander, there’s no need to be afraid. We’re here under Mrs. Lucas’s orders. She sent us to take you out of the hospital.” One of them pushed a wheelchair forward. “Time is tight. Please come with us now.” “Where’s Mr. Lucas?” Layla blurted out without thinking. “Mrs. Lucas is keeping him busy. We don’t know how long she can hold him off.” Layla was silent for a moment, pressing down the sudden, inexplicable feeling of reluctance in her chest. Then, she nodded. “Alright, let’
Watching Carly turn and leave without looking back, Layla’s assistant was still fuming. She instinctively took a step to chase after her, wanting to argue. However, Layla reached out and stopped her.“Miss Xander, that was way out of line! Total ungrateful brat!” The assistant couldn’t help venting. “Did she forget how much you’ve done for her since she started here?“If it weren’t for you giving her so many chances, would a fresh grad like her even have gotten to go out on assignments with us?”“It’s fine,” Layla patted her assistant’s shoulder lightly. “Guess I misjudged her.”“But…” The assistant could only sigh in frustration. “Whatever. Right now, the most important thing is figuring out how to fill all these canceled bookings. If this keeps up, she might actually end up being right.”Layla frowned slightly. “You’re not going to ask me…”The assistant gave her an exasperated look. “I’ve worked with you long enough to know what kind of person you are, Miss Xander.”Layla
“You looking for me?” “Where are you going?” They both spoke at the same time.For a second, the moment felt awkward. Layla quickly explained, “Something came up at the studio. I need to head over and deal with it.”“What happened?” William asked, his voice low and serious.“It’s nothing major.”As she spoke, Layla tried to walk past him but William reached out and caught her wrist.“Does it have something to do with the Lucas family?”Layla paused but didn’t look back at him. After a beat of silence, she replied softly, “I’m not sure yet. But even if it does, I’ll take it.“This whole thing is partly my responsibility anyway. Since I chose to get involved from the very beginning, I should’ve been prepared to deal with the fallout. Consider it paying you back for saving me that night — for taking the hit from that car.“Besides,” she added, “you lost your position at Lucas Corporation because of all this. Compared to that, me losing a few client appointments really isn’t
“Miss Jenkins?”The nurse called out to Kiera several times, but she didn’t respond at all. Finally, the nurse reached out and gently tapped her on the shoulder.Kiera snapped back to reality, her tear-reddened eyes turning toward the nurse, making her flinch in shock.“Miss Jenkins, are you okay?” the nurse asked with concern.“I... I’m fine...” Kiera hurriedly put her phone away and wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, not even caring how messy it looked. “Did you need something?”“Your test results are ready. The doctor wants to see you,” the nurse explained. “Also, didn’t you have another report you wanted the doctor to check? If you give it to me, I can help you book the appointment with the right department.”Seeing the nurse reach her hand out, Kiera hesitated for a second. Then she shook her head.“No need. I don’t want it checked anymore.”She looked up at the nurse with a faint smile. Her eyes, still glistening from tears, looked clearer than ever. Along w
“It’s really a boy?” Sean asked.“Mhm. I even brought the report with me.” Xena turned and pulled a folder from her bag. Unfolding the paternity test results, she handed it to Sean, her lips curling into a proud smile. “I had it done at one of the best labs. No chance of a mistake.”Sean glanced at the report, satisfaction flashing across his face. “Good. A son’s good.”Xena leaned closer, her voice sweet and coy. “So… what are you planning to do? In another month, there’s no way I’ll be able to hide this bump.”Like a bucket of cold water, her words instantly doused the small flicker of joy that had just risen in Sean’s heart.“We’ll talk about it later.”Sean folded the report neatly and handed it back to her. “Kiera’s still overseas. We’ll have to wait until she’s back.”Xena had expected this. She wasn’t planning to press him now anyway. She just showed a hint of disappointment. “Okay, I’ll do whatever you say.”Sean gave a quiet hum of approval.Her obedience earned he
Right on time, Xena showed up at Sean’s villa, holding a shopping bag in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. She pressed the doorbell without hesitation.When Sean opened the door, the first thing he saw was the bright red roses and Xena’s radiant, smiling face framed perfectly behind them.“Sean!” Xena threw herself straight into his arms, acting sweet and clingy like a spoiled girlfriend. “I missed you so much.”Sean hesitated for a second before raising a hand to lightly rest on her shoulder. “Didn’t you say you had something to talk to me about? Let’s talk first.”“What’s the rush?”Xena held up the bag in her hand. “I bought some things and I’ve been learning how to cook from videos online. Tonight, I want you to try my cooking. We can eat and talk at the same time.”Before Sean could respond, Xena was already happily skipping toward the kitchen, casually setting the bouquet down on the island counter.Sean followed her to the doorway, watching her busy figure
Chris had actually been thinking about this for a while. He just hadn’t found the right opportunity to bring it up. Now that Mr. Xander had asked him directly, he decided to go with it.“I want to represent the Xander family and apologize to her. See where she stands.”Mr. Xander fell silent.If Chris had brought this up a while ago, Mr. Xander would have scolded him on the spot without hesitation.But now, things were different.He had just seen Layla shine at the recent charity gala. And after that night, he had given it a lot of thought.If Layla was willing to come back to the Xander family, it would absolutely be a good thing for them.“Alright,” Mr. Xander finally said, making his decision. “Go see how she feels. Now that William’s been kicked out of the Lucas Corporation, if she knows what’s good for her, she should realize that coming back to the Xanders is the smart move.”Hearing this, Shane immediately jumped in. “Chris, I want to go too!”Chris gave him a look. “
Outside the door, Layla hesitated, unsure if she should ring the bell.Suddenly, the door swung open.She froze for a second when she came face-to-face with William.“You need something?” he asked.Snapping out of it, Layla cleared her throat. “Uh… I just wanted to check if you’ve eaten. I made a little too much food tonight.”“I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s go.”Without waiting for her response, William walked right past her and headed straight into the apartment next door like it was the most natural thing in the world.Layla followed behind, feeling more and more puzzled. Why did it feel like William was getting way too comfortable around here? He didn’t even bother with the usual polite small talk anymore.She watched him sit down at the dining table like he owned the place. After hesitating for a moment, she sat across from him and casually served him a bowl of soup.Then, almost without thinking, she started, “I don’t know what your plan is, but if—”“Let’s eat first.”Wil
“If that’s the choice he’s made, then so be it!” Mr. Lucas Sr. said coldly. “As long as he refuses to admit his mistake, he can forget about ever coming back to the Lucas family! From this moment on, I don’t have a son like him!”“Honey, you can’t—” Scarlett tried to plead.But one sharp look from Mr. Lucas Sr. stopped her cold.Facing his overwhelming fury, Scarlett froze in place.Her own son was being kicked out of the family. Her husband was blaming her too. And for the first time ever in this house, Scarlett felt completely alone.She could only stand there helplessly, watching Mr. Lucas Sr. storm off. It wasn’t until Hazel called her name several times that she finally snapped out of it.Scarlett turned to Lucien, guilt filling her heart.“I’m sorry, Lucien. On William’s behalf, I apologize. Focus on recovering. If you need anything, just let me know.”With that, she turned and walked away like a woman who had lost her soul.Zion, of course, didn’t miss the chance to kis
Half an hour later, William walked out of the office with Mike following close behind.His suit jacket was gone. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up, revealing the lean, muscular lines of his forearms.William had always been known for being precise and put-together. He was always calm and composed. But right now, there was nothing calm about him. He carried a dangerous, almost violent edge that sent chills down anyone watching.The secretaries from the Executive Office stood quietly, watching the two men leave without daring to say a word.Outside the Lucas Corporation building, William had just gotten into the car when his phone started to buzz. He glanced at the caller ID, frowning slightly.Not surprisingly, the moment he answered, a man’s gloating voice came through.“Word is, you got kicked out of Lucas Corporation? Damn, looks like the old man finally lost it for real this time!”The man laughed even harder. “Man, this is the best news I’ve heard in forever. Hur