Movies and TV dramas often romanticize workplace romances: the handsome boss, stolen kisses in the elevator, passionate moments in the office. Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it?In real life? Not so much. Elevators have cameras, every corner of the office is monitored, and your boss may not be a charming heartthrob. More likely, he’s middle-aged, balding, and sporting a beer belly.Even if you did manage to land one of the rare good-looking ones, just try hugging or kissing him in public—by the next day, the entire company would know your "romantic escapades."The workplace isn’t a love story; it’s a battlefield. It’s the place where gender often ceases to matter.When all is smooth sailing, everyone plays nice. But when tangible benefits are at stake, most people abandon any pretense of loyalty.When danger looms, self-preservation reigns supreme.The person you thought was your protector? They’ll be the first to push you in harm's way. Not because you're a woman, but because you're weaker,
Seraphina Arden knew Ethan wasn’t happy. But unlike their childhood, when she would rush to soothe him at the first sign of his displeasure, she now remained composed.She didn’t feel the need to appease him anymore. His sulking face didn’t stir up her emotions as it once had.Before bed, she deliberately asked, “Ethan, are you feeling unwell?”Ethan, his tone flat, replied, “Why would I be?”Seraphina Arden chuckled, “See? I told my mom you’re not the type to get upset over small things. She scolded me for asking you to chip in for groceries, saying food doesn’t cost that much. But I told her, we’re almost 30—sharing expenses is just common sense, right? Oh, by the way, Mom’s making your favorite braised beef tomorrow, along with chicken soup for you.”Ethan forced a smile. “Please thank Aunt Chloe for me.”Seraphina couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. It’s just $1,500. Is it really worth this attitude?Her expectations for the future grew dimmer.A Holiday GatheringFor th
May 20th.A date filled with romantic symbolism.Leon Everhart’s wedding was a grand affair. Only senior managers at the company were invited, with Sophia and Seraphina Arden granted special access as staff exceptions.Watching how Leon Everhart handled his wedding made Seraphina Arden question the entire concept of marriage.The day before, May 19th, Leon was still working late. When Seraphina Arden drove him home, he showed no excitement about the big day. Exhausted, he got into the car and immediately fell asleep.The entire wedding was left in the hands of the wedding planning company.When the planners requested a rehearsal, hoping Leon would participate, he didn’t even look up. “I’m busy,” he told Sophia. “Have them send me the schedule; I’ll review it.”The Morning of the WeddingThe ceremony was set to begin at noon, with the bride and groom scheduled to greet guests at 11 a.m.At 9 a.m., Leon was still at the office, reviewing the meeting minutes Seraphina Arden had prepared
On the way to the Regent Hotel, Seraphina Arden drove while Leon Everhart reclined in his seat, watching her.“Seraphina Arden, I got married today. Say something to make me feel better,” he said, tilting his head slightly.Seraphina thought for a moment and, with an overly cheerful tone, said, “The purple roses were romantic. The crystal butterflies hanging from the ceiling were beautiful. The groom looked dashing, the bride stunning. The tables were too large, the food was excellent, but the banquet started too late, and you made us leave early, so I missed a few dishes.”Leon chuckled and shook his head. “Besides food, can you think about anything else? Ugh, weddings are exhausting—more so than work. At least today is almost over.”Later that evening, there was a reception dinner, but as Leon got out of the car, he turned to Seraphina and said, “You’re off the hook for tonight. I was hoping to see even a little bit of disappointment on your face today, but you’re still the same car
Leon Everhart was, above all, a businessman. When the Henry family betrayed him, he could have struck back immediately. However, Harper chose that exact moment to announce her pregnancy of over a month.At thirty-something, Leon knew it was time for him to have children. For the sake of his unborn child, he swallowed the humiliation of the Henry family’s deceit.He resolved property disputes for two waterfront apartment complexes on behalf of the Henry family, relinquished his shares in their aluminum extrusion factory, and married Harper.A bad deal, by any calculation.If not for the child, Leon would never have taken Harper as his wife.Leon’s interest in the wedding was minimal. Yet, for the sake of giving his unborn child legitimacy, he played his part, going through the motions to preserve appearances.During the wedding reception, Harper stood obediently by Leon’s side, greeting guests with a sweet and charming smile. Despite his focus on the event, Leon’s mind wandered.Would
Every other week, Sophia would update Leon Everhart about Olivia’s antics in the administrative department. Olivia had recently attempted to meddle in the finance department, only to hit a dead end.After her dismissal, Babi had grown close to Olivia, and their connection had become quite active.Peter, who had known Leon and Olivia since childhood, was a familiar figure. It didn’t take much for Leon Everhart to piece together that the budget leak in the pre-construction phase had been orchestrated by Olivia.The only reason Leon had caught wind of the issue in time was thanks to his years of unspoken understanding with Seraphina Arden. That seemingly casual note she left was, in fact, a subtle yet critical warning.Had the construction of the downtown residential and commercial towers fallen into Peter’s hands, TerraVantage Group would have faced significant losses.On paper, Peter’s bid, $20 million USD lower than the next contender, seemed like a saving grace. However, Leon calcula
Seraphina Arden lay on her bed, feeling a mix of sympathy and helplessness for Lucas.Her mother’s words echoed in her mind:“We all have our own paths to walk, Seraphina. Everyone carries their own karma—no one else can bear it for them, not parents, not siblings. We help when we can, but there must be limits. Take your uncle, for example. He claimed he only owed the bank, and nothing else. We believed him, and your dad suggested we all chip in to help pay it off. That’s family—you can’t just stand by and do nothing. But then more debts kept surfacing—beyond what we could possibly help with.”“Lucas is your cousin. You’ve done your duty by offering him advice. That’s enough. Don’t let his problems drag you down. At the end of the day, everyone has to live for themselves.”Her mother’s words might have sounded selfish, but Seraphina realized their truth.Seraphina Arden was no saint. She had no intention of binding herself to someone else’s karma. That wasn’t her style. She slowly beg
After the holiday break, work became even more hectic. In the lead-up to Halloween, every department was putting in extra hours, racing to hit targets—targets tied directly to bonuses.Leon Everhart planned a site visit to the central district’s commercial-residential project.Benjamin and the representatives from Company B surrounded Leon Everhart, briefing him on every detail. As always, Seraphina Arden followed just a step behind Leon, keeping pace.Leon inspected thoroughly. He started in the control room, reviewing the project’s progress logs, material intake reports, and video footage. He pointed out several issues. The staff from Company B diligently took notes, while Seraphina Arden recorded everything herself.Afterward, Leon decided to visit the site in person.As they walked through the construction zone, Leon grew increasingly satisfied. The Company B staff were professional, the materials met specifications, and the site, despite its size, was impeccably organized.As the
Leon’s StoryWhen his eldest daughter was born, Leon Everhart would rush home every day after work and sit by the cradle, staring at his tiny child for a long time.His daughter looked like him, and Mrs. Everhart said, “A daughter who resembles her father will always have food to eat and never worry about her livelihood.”Leon Everhart chuckled, “Then I must work even harder to ensure my little girl never has to worry about food or clothing for the rest of her life.”With just a wife and a daughter, a man who once stood above all others could be pulled into the mortal world, touched by the warmth of ordinary life.When his daughter was just learning to crawl, she could only move a few steps before crying out in frustration. One evening, as soon as Leon Everhart stepped through the door, still in his black dress pants and white shirt, he heard her cries and felt his heart ache.He immediately rushed to her side, lay down on the floor, and said, “Baby, look at Daddy. Crawl like Daddy.”
That night, Liam had a few drinks and decided to stay at the Everhart family’s old mansion.On the first floor, his nieces and nephews were running around, their parents chasing after them tirelessly.Old Mr. Everhart always said, “When children are noisy at home, it means our family is thriving. It’s much better than hearing the sound of mahjong tiles all night.”Liam never called Harper “sister-in-law.”There was something Liam had never told anyone.He lived on the third floor, and one day, when he was coming downstairs, he ran into Harper. She smiled at him and called out in a soft, sweet voice, “Liam, wait for me.”Liam was no fool. He had been through countless encounters with women and had never been caught off guard. What kind of woman hadn’t he seen?The way Harper called him immediately set off alarm bells. His first instinct was that she was trying to seduce him, but he couldn’t quite believe it—after all, she had just married his brother, and on top of that, she was pregna
Harper’s brother brought her back home. As soon as she entered her room, she collapsed into bed and slept.When she woke up the next afternoon, Harper was still in a daze. She let her mother take her to get her hair done, go to the spa, and get a manicure. She moved like a puppet, allowing her mother to maneuver her as she pleased.These used to be part of her daily routine, but it had been a long time since she last enjoyed such luxuries.Ever since Lucas lost his job, Harper didn’t dare spend money recklessly. Once, she got a manicure that cost $480. When she returned home, Lucas’s mother nearly ripped her apart, acting as if every penny Harper spent belonged to Lucas—or rather, to her.When Miliya brought people to beat up Lucas’s parents and Lucas himself, Harper was the only one left untouched.Lucas’s parents blamed everything on Harper. They insisted that if she hadn’t seduced Lucas, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.Harper snapped back, “He came to me on his
When Seraphina Arden said, "I owe you nothing in this life, and I hope we never meet in the next," Ethan knew that there was no way to salvage their relationship.Ethan was born with good looks and intelligence. His maternal grandfather’s family was well-off, and his mother was a beautiful and refined woman.His mother once told him that she had pursued Sebastian—she had chased after his father.Because his mother loved his father deeply, she was always anxious about him. No matter where Sebastian went, she had to ask about it, and if she didn’t get a clear answer, she would sulk.Whenever Sebastian came home late, his mother would pick fights and argue.No matter how exhausted he was, Sebastian would always lower his voice to coax his delicate wife and make her happy.His mother was fragile. Even with a housekeeper managing the home, and even after having Ethan, she paid little attention to him. Most of her time was devoted to her husband, as if she had been born solely for Sebastian
Leon Everhart and Seraphina Arden’s wedding took place as scheduled. However, Leon Everhart did not grant Seraphina Arden’s wish to keep it simple.In this city, Leon Everhart had some money, but there were many people wealthier and more powerful than him. Compared to them, he was far from being a true second-generation heir. He positioned himself as a self-made entrepreneur, the second generation of a growing business.The Everhart family lacked deep roots, and he was not able to marry a truly influential family’s daughter. Even in the past, the wealthy Henry family had looked down on him, and Harper had treated him the same way.Choosing Seraphina Arden was seen as "marrying down" in the eyes of the Everhart family.But for Leon Everhart, it was the perfect fulfillment of his wishes.If the wedding was too casual, people would look down on Seraphina Arden. Leon Everhart wanted to give her a surprise—he didn’t want to shortchange her in any way.At one point, Everhart’s mother had tr
Olivia was now at her wit’s end, isolated and helpless.In her darkest times, the appearance of her biological mother, Miliya, made her feel that there was still warmth in the world, that she still had a mother. She had once been moved and had come to believe that, in this world, only a mother’s love was truly unconditional.During her postpartum confinement, Miliya took meticulous care of Olivia, tending to her and the child with great dedication.Olivia started calling Miliya “Mom.”When Olivia’s child reached one month old, there was no sign of acknowledgment from the Everhart family. Miliya found it strange and asked Olivia, “The Everhart family values bloodline and heirs. Back then, I put such a big scandal on old Mr. Everhart’s head, and he let me go for your sake. He even made me promise never to seek you out again. To ensure I wouldn’t interfere in your life, he gave me a huge sum of money. That house in the village was built with the money that old man gave me. Now that you’v
Not long after Seraphina Arden's technology company resumed operations, an unexpected visitor arrived—Jerry.Upon hearing that Seraphina Arden had started a tech company in the same field as his, Jerry was furious. Subconsciously, he believed that the reason he wasn’t making sales was because Seraphina Arden had stolen his clients.Jerry stormed into Seraphina Arden’s office, slamming his hands on her desk.Seeing Jerry’s furious face, Seraphina Arden remained exceptionally calm. She showed no sign of worry; instead, she was tranquil. “Mr. Jerry, if you have something to discuss, we can talk it out properly. This is a workplace, and I have surveillance cameras here.”Jerry was fuming. “Seraphina Arden, are you stealing my business?”He ranted continuously, repeating over and over how Seraphina Arden was ungrateful and unethical for selling patents that should have been his.Seraphina Arden didn’t respond. She simply waited for Jerry to tire himself out.Once Jerry had shouted enough,
Seraphina Arden’s tech company closed for a one-week holiday and resumed operations afterward.Before the break, her flamboyant Leon heard that she wanted to give gifts to the professors who had supported her. That evening, he returned home with boxes of presents. The gifts, prepared by TerraVantage Group, were impressive and perfectly suitable for the occasion.Having a resourceful and thoughtful partner like Leon made Seraphina’s work remarkably efficient.Seraphina cherished her job deeply, knowing how hard-earned it was. After all, it was the only condition her father had set when negotiating her marriage with the Everhart family.Yet, over Christmas, Everhart’s mother subtly suggested that she quit her job and become a housewife.At the time, Seraphina had retorted sharply, but the suggestion left a lingering discomfort.When they were alone, Seraphina shared this with her mother, asking, “Mom, what do you think Leon’s mom was thinking?”Chloe responded, “She’s spent her whole li
This Christmas, Lucas and his family didn’t return to their hometown to visit his grandmother.The household had turned into utter chaos, with no sign of peace or holiday spirit.Over the past few months, far too many things had happened—things Lucas was afraid to even think about.Olivia’s mother, Miliya, was not someone to be trifled with. When she learned that Lucas and Olivia were still married while Lucas was living with Harper, she became furious. Adding insult to injury, Lucas’s parents didn’t care about their daughter-in-law Olivia but went to care for the mistress instead. This sent Miliya into a rage.She went back home, rallied her husband and two sons, and even hired a few extra hands. Together, they stormed into Harper’s house, where Lucas and his parents were staying. Dragging Lucas and his parents out, they began to beat them in public.With the door wide open, Miliya yelled through a megaphone:“Come one, come all! Look at this shameless family! Their lawful daughter-i