It was obvious that Aria didn't want to continue on that subject. Aria strode forward, her long legs carrying her with practiced ease. The click of her black boots echoed in the silence, her unbound hair catching the faint breeze. Landon's gaze, however, remained fixed on her right hand."What happened?" he asked abruptly, reaching out to examine it.Aria offered no resistance. "Just a scratch from a tree branch. I wanted to avoid hitting the wrong person. It's nothing major. I'll just head back and…"She suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence.Landon, with an air of sudden elegance, dipped down. His lips brushed the angry red wound on Aria's wrist. The touch, though undeniably seductive, held a surprising gentleness. It wasn't a kiss on the hand, barely a graze, yet the cool press of his lips soothed the burning ache in its wake.Aria, unused to such closeness, instinctively recoiled. But before she could pull away, he tightened his grip on her, his gaze locking with h
"Sure," Aria agreed without much thought. After Landon departed, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that he had crossed a boundary with his intimacy. Plus, the lingering coolness on her wrist constantly reminded her of Landon's presence.Meanwhile, Landon walked to the intersection where a limited edition Maybach was waiting. The chauffeur graciously opened the car door.In this moment, Landon appeared entirely different from his demeanor with Aria. Adjusting his diamond cufflinks, he exuded a commanding presence that made the person on the other end of his video call hesitant to meet his gaze."Dispose of all of them. We'll discuss the rest upon arrival," he commanded without preamble.Removing the bracelet seemed to lift a restraint. Landon's usual indifference morphed into a dangerous glint that flickered in his eyes.Unbeknownst to Landon, Sarah, zipping by on her electric motorbike, witnessed the scene. She skidded to a stop, a frown creasing her brow. "Isn't that Aria's hands
Aria looked at the worn-out passbook. "Grandma, I have money.""That was before. I'm sure they froze your credit card when they kicked you out. Thanks for trying to console me, though," Georgina said, affectionately stroking Aria's hair.Aria continued to smile. "Grandma, I…"Before Aria could explain, Georgina's phone began ringing incessantly, the sound grating on their ears. The gentleness in Georgina's eyes disappeared when she saw who was calling. She made a move to take the call outside. Aria ventured a guess. "Is it Karen?"Seeing that she couldn't hide it, Georgina nodded.Aria smiled. "Grandma, take the call here. Sam and I are old enough to handle anything that comes up."Touched by Aria's words, Georgina found a sudden surge of strength to face the dreaded call."You finally picked up! You're making everyone think that I treated you poorly. The Bush family just contacted me, saying you asked them for money to reopen the clinic." Karen's sharp, sarcastic voice pier
Georgina replied with a message to thank the Bush family for their time and understanding. After all, no one was obligated to help her. Georgina understood that much. The Bush family suggested, "Why not forget about reopening the clinic? Frankly, your business may not thrive. If you need financial support for daily expenses, we can still help discreetly."The underlying implication was clear from the way the Bush family phrased their offer. After all, 5,000 dollars meant little to families like theirs. While five grand might not have sufficed for Karen to host a lavish feast for everyone, the reality was that such an amount wouldn't even make a dent in their wallets.Karen's refusal to contribute wasn't enough; she actively discouraged others from helping. The stereotype painted mothers-in-law as the villains, but Karen's behavior proved some daughters-in-law could be just as cold-hearted.Aria's eyes darkened as she drummed her fingers on the table.Though her expression rem
"Of course we'll earn more than that, Grandma. When Heartbound Hall gets popular, we'll even get to open some branches." Aria tucked the loose strands of hair behind Georgina's ears. "Didn't you always want to visit Janovin? We'll open a clinic there."Georgina laughed as she listened to Aria. "My adorable granddaughter, not everyone can open a clinic in Janovin—that's the capital, after all. The fact that you have such great ambitions already fills me with joy."Georgina had been somewhat overbearing in her youth, lacking finesse in navigating human nature. In her old age, she had lost her job, her mobility, and her family's status as one of the Great Medical Families. Her son had disappointed her and his wife even more so.Sitting in her small garden, she often contemplated what she would have done differently if given the chance to choose again.Ultimately, she concluded that she wouldn't change a thing. With Aria and Sam by her side, she could still practice medicine and bring
The elderly residents in the neighborhood had just returned from their morning walk when they saw Aria standing in front of the clinic, tinkering with something.Someone asked, "What are you doing here, Aria?"Aria stifled a yawn before answering, "Live streaming."Live streaming? All the neighbors found this fascinating. Live streaming was a novelty to them, despite their frequent browsing of TikTok and Instagram. They gathered around Aria, eager to see how she would livestream. Aria didn't stop them. She'd chosen Shark, one of the most popular live streaming platforms. Aria knew these platforms often supported fresh faces, offering promotional boosts to new accounts. As long as she went live at a specific time, the platform would showcase her stream for three minutes, guaranteeing at least a hundred viewers.Aria had studied the platform's policies the previous day. After the initial hour, the promotion would likely increase, drawing in even more viewers.However, it was up
The chat exploded. "Are you sure you really can hold consultations like that?""She's a liar. Don't believe in her, everyone!""She's the fake daughter of the Kent family, and she's trying to scam people here because she can't earn money elsewhere. Disgusting!"The comments were getting progressively worse, but Aria didn't reply to them. Instead, she opened the medical book she was holding and started to read. The promotion time limit was almost up, but Aria remained unaffected. The more aggressive the comments were, the more people joined the stream and the more support given by the streaming platform. This in turn increased the number of viewers.100 people joined, then 200, until the viewer count was about to surpass 2,000. At that moment, the stream with the name "Heartbound Hall" became the most popular one among all new accounts, even showing up in the Hot Trending List.Although the number of viewers increased, there were also some viewers who didn't know Aria. Desp
Eric hesitated. He turned on his mic and asked, "How did you know that my upper abdomen is hurting all the time?""Holy shit! The streamer really guessed the symptoms correctly!""I gotta follow her now. That was miraculous!"Aria drummed her fingers on the table from time to time and said without much inflection in her voice, "We learned the four diagnosis methods at school, didn't we? It's obvious just by looking at you."Eric said hesitantly, "Then my illness…"Aria said professionally, "It's not stomach cancer, but I suggest that you get it treated as soon as possible. Also, eat takeout food less often and consume foods that are easier to digest, such as soup and oatmeal. Don't jeopardize your health just for the sake of your studies."The viewers had been waiting for Aria to make a fool of herself, but they were all surprised now.Eric's friends asked, "What's going on with you, Eric? Is what she said true? Are you really sick?"Eric didn't reply. He'd asked his roommates