When Sean awoke from the general anesthesia, it was already evening. Xena was by his bedside. The moment his eyes opened, she quickly stood up. “Sean, how are you feeling? Does your stomach still hurt?” A voice suddenly called out. “Sean!” Susan rushed over, her face filled with concern. “How did you end up in the hospital like this?” she cried, her heart aching at the sight of him. Sean furrowed his brows and tried to speak, but his throat felt like it was being slashed with razors. Xena stepped in to explain, “Aunt Susan, Sean just had an endoscopy. He probably can’t speak much right now…” But Susan cut her off, her voice sharp and cold. “Why are you here!” she snapped, her expression darkening. “This is all your fault! Get out!” Xena’s face fell in shock. “Aunt Susan, I rushed over as soon as I heard Sean was in the hospital. How can you say this is because of me?” “It is because of you!” Susan spat, her eyes burning with fury as she pointed st
Sean’s hands trembled slightly as he gripped Susan’s. Layla still cared about him. She had gone to Susan on purpose to push her into targeting Xena. It was a petty trick. She was jealous. There was no way she could simply stop loving him overnight. “Mom…” Sean’s voice was filled with desperate hope as he looked at Susan. “She’s being so cruel to me. Is it because she knows she’s sick and doesn’t want to drag me down?“She’s pushing me away… so I’ll give up on her. That way, she can leave without regrets. Is that it?” His voice cracked, and his chest felt like it was being ripped apart. Layla loved him so much that she would leave him in the most painful way possible. “Mom… I’m such a bastard.” His eyes reddened, and suddenly—SMACK! He slapped himself across the face, the sound sharp and harsh. Susan gasped and rushed to grab his hand. “Sean! Stop this! This… this is all just your guess, isn’t it?” But Sean’s voice was firm, his eyes burning wi
“What are your plans for this weekend?” William asked. Layla paused for a second before replying, “I don’t really have anything in mind.” For years, her life had revolved around just one person—Sean.Her days had long since grown dull, but she never minded it. She was happy in her own quiet way and never felt anything was wrong. It wasn’t until she let go of Sean that she realized how much of herself she had lost. After circling around him for so long, she hadn’t just drifted from friends. She had almost lost herself, her own voice, and her sense of direction.Suddenly, she remembered something she had seen online a few days ago—a bucket list with a hundred little things to do. Most of them didn’t stick with her, but one did: watching the sunrise. “Camping on the mountain to watch the sunrise would be nice,” she said casually. But William took her words seriously. He nodded without hesitation. “Sure. Let’s go this weekend.” “Huh?” Layla was caught off guard. “You’re
“Exactly!” Layla flashed a bright smile. “Just the two of us might get boring, don’t you think? With Carter along, it'll be much livelier.”William was rendered speechless and a vein twitched subtly on his temple. He had imagined countless versions of their sunrise trip—quiet, peaceful, just the two of them. Never, not once, did he picture Carter crashing the scene. For the first time, William found Carter genuinely annoying. Bathed in the golden sunlight, Carter felt a sudden chill prickle up his spine. Goosebumps rose on his arms, and an unexplained sense of dread crawled up his back. He swallowed nervously, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He didn’t dare meet William’s eyes. Instead, he forced an awkward smile at Layla. “Uh… Layla, how about I sit this one out?” Layla frowned, puzzled. “Why?” “I just, uh… something came up—” But before he could finish, he caught sight of William’s icy glare. The unspoken warning hit him like a slap, and he instantly clammed up, his
In the end, Layla couldn’t even reach the halfway point. She had to ride up the mountain in the small trail shuttle that William had arranged in advance, the cool breeze brushing against her face as they climbed higher.There was a hint of regret, but she knew she had to accept reality. Her body simply could not handle the strain anymore. Just a few extra steps had her swaying on her feet, barely holding herself up. When they reached the campsite, two large tents stood proudly on the open platform. The mouthwatering aroma of noodles wafted through the air from where Mike was cooking over a portable stove. The fatigue and disappointment that had weighed on Layla vanished instantly. She lit up with curiosity, taking a quick tour of the spacious tents before returning to Mike’s side with wide-eyed amazement. “You set all this up by yourself?”“Yeah,” Mike replied, stirring the pot. “That’s incredible!” Layla’s praise was genuine. The tents weren’t small. They were practic
Carter’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Uncle William, are you… are you planning to come clean to Grandpa?” “He’s going to find out sooner or later,” William replied calmly, rising to his feet. “I’m tired.” “Wait, wait—” Carter sounded exasperated. “Uncle William, you can’t just drop a bomb like that and walk off! At least explain it to me first!” But William was already walking away. Carter rubbed his temples with a long, defeated sigh. “Great… The Lucas family’s about to be turned upside down.” *That night, everyone turned in early. Carter, exhausted from the climb, barely lasted a minute before sleep started pulling him under. Between yawns, he muttered to William, “Uncle William, wake me up in the morning, okay? I want to see the sunrise too.” He didn’t even wait for a reply before he drifted off into a deep sleep. Lying on his air mattress, William picked up his phone and sent a message to Layla. “I forgot to ask—do you want me to wake you up for the sunr
A sudden flutter of wings broke the silence as a flock of birds took off from the trees. Layla flinched, startled by the noise. When she looked back at William, the tenderness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a calm, unreadable gaze. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Nothing…” Layla turned her face away, her eyes returning to the morning sun on the horizon. A small frown tugged at her brows. “It must be the sunlight,” she told herself. “That’s the only reason I thought I saw something in his eyes.”William followed her gaze, his fingers curling into a subtle fist. So close... Just a moment ago, the urge to pull her into his arms had been almost impossible to resist. *“You can’t be serious, Uncle William! How could you not wake me up? I climbed that mountain for the sunrise!” Carter’s voice was loud and full of frustration. “I did call you,” William replied evenly. “No, you definitely didn’t! There’s no way I would’ve slept through it!” “Are you question
Hearing this, Mr. Lucas Sr.'s face flushed red with anger. “You… Are you threatening me?” “It’s just a reminder,” William replied calmly. His eyes swept over both of them, and he added slowly, “You both know my temperament well enough. There’s no need to test my limits.” “You… you—” Mr. Lucas Sr. was so furious that he could not find his voice. He had never imagined that the son he trusted the most, the one who had always been his greatest source of pride, would defy him so completely. And it was all because of a woman who was utterly ordinary, painfully insignificant, and cursed with misfortune. “William,” Scarlett’s voice softened as she reached out to tug his arm, “Don’t provoke your father anymore.” But before her hand could land on his sleeve, she faltered, shrinking back from the sheer force of his presence. Scarlett, spoiled and domineering for most of her life, feared no one—except her only son. Now, caught between her husband and William, she stood froz
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