"I didn't know she was the one the Carvers had been searching for," Landon said.Titus stopped teasing Landon because he was extremely pleased with Aria. "You should do your best. If you have no idea how to gain her affections, you can read more novels for inspiration!"Novels? Landon had no plans to do something so dumb.However, when he unlocked his phone and saw that Aria had not replied to any of his messages, he clicked on a novel greatly adored by its readers—the comments were all praising the male lead, saying that he was their dream husband. Landon could finalize deals worth billions without breaking a sweat, but he couldn't help frowning as he read this novel.…Aria had no idea that Landon had gone astray. The next day, a hundred boxes of chocolate of various flavors and from multiple brands appeared in Aria's house, along with a sea of roses.The elderly residents walking around the neighborhood were stunned by the sight of Heartbound Hall's entrance.Aria doled a
Joel didn't care about what the other people present thought. He was happy after completing the mission Kenneth had assigned him. "Everyone misses you, Dr. Carver. They watch your stream often but haven't mustered up the nerve to log in to their main accounts.""I'll visit them at Elmer before I leave the city," Aria said as she walked.Joel was shocked. "Before you leave? You're leaving, Dr. Carver?"What should he do, then? As if he could rein the higher-ups in! He wasn't brave enough for that, no thank you!"I found my family, and they're in Janovin." Aria smiled. "Don't worry, Joel. I'll tell them about it."Joel was still in disbelief. He muttered, "Mr. Kane was posted to Janovin as well. He's going to leave soon. I can't believe that you're leaving too."Kenneth was posted to Janovin even though he was already retired. He was a more important figure than she had thought. However, Aria didn't dig too deeply into it because it was a private matter for Kenneth. She merely sa
Christian had been there when Lucas was formally appointed Secretary-General, so he knew who Lucas was. "Good afternoon, sir," he said, surprised. Lucas pushed down his anger and looked at Christian. "And you are?""I'm Christian Short from the Short family in Southbury. We specialize in medicine." Christian tried to ingratiate himself with Lucas. "My father and I met you once."Jude Reilly, who was with Lucas, tried to ease the tension. "Mr. Murray, the Short family was instrumental in helping us find the kids–""Do you know them?" Lucas cut him off. Jude paused for a moment before saying, "Yes. The Short family business is one of the most conscientious enterprises in Southbury. You might not know this yet, but they have access to some of the most advanced medical technology in the country.""Oh?" Lucas' face didn't belie any expression. "Is this the same Short family that enjoyed a close relationship with the Gunthers?"Jude's face paled instantly, and everyone else looked q
Jude, the head of Southbury's medical industry, directed the Short family to sit in the back. "Sit in the back?" Christian questioned. "But I have to go onstage to receive an award later."Lucas' gaze turned steely as he looked at Jude. "It was so nice of you to arrange that."Jude's face paled. No longer trying to maintain his image, he yanked on Christian's shirt. "You're going onstage for this award, you say? And who do you think you are? That award belongs to Dr. Carver!"Christian was stunned. Understanding the danger of speaking up, Norman stayed silent with a forced smile.The Short family moved from their front-row seats to a corner at the back. As Christian was driven out of the hall in front of everyone, he looked at Jude. "Didn't you arrange for me to go onstage, Mr. Reilly?""Don't call me that!" Jude snapped, flinging Christian's hand away when he saw no one was around.Christian lunged forward, but guards firmly blocked his path.Jude was disgusted by Christian's
Without the Layne family's backing, Lucas had struggled to make any headway in Southbury, let alone govern it. Lily felt somewhat gleeful. At times, she had no idea if Aria could be considered lucky. While Aria had built connections, they were with people destined for downfall."Don't worry, Christian," Lily said confidently, "Your family has built a solid reputation over decades. You don't need to curry favor with a short-sighted politician."Her words gave Christian a shock, and he quickly covered his phone. "You're bold, Lily.""That's nothing. You should know that I've ascended the higher rungs of the social ladder here in Janovin, Christian. Even if politicians have risen up the ladder, they can just as easily fall." Lily laughed. "The Short and Layne families will come together eventually. There's no point in chasing fleeting connections."Christian thought she had a point. He finally regained some of his composure after the embarrassment in the hall. "I didn't expect you t
A portable mic was attached to Rainie's shirt collar so everyone heard what she said. Everyone was touched by her words, especially those parents whose children had been kidnapped.Aria wasn't quite used to receiving such nice words, so she turned to the side and patted Rainie on the shoulder, saying softly, "Hang in there. If you ever need anything in the future, just call me."Only those parents who had desperately searched for their children understood the true significance of identifying the culprits in this case. Although Aria didn't show her face, the sight of her and Rainie standing together onstage filled the people's hearts with hope. There were still some children yet to be found, but the crowd here believed that every one of them would be reunited with their families eventually.The authorities were cracking down hard on human traffickers, and no one dared to protect them at such a critical moment. Everyone was pleased with the severe punishment Uludon had received.
Aria smiled as she watched Seth walk down the stage. Her mind buzzed with suspicion—someone high up must be behind the Uludon kidnappings. Birth certificates and DNA reports were very difficult to legitimize without the overseeing efforts of the relevant authorities.However, everything seemed perfectly normal under investigation, and this was why many people found it extremely difficult to search for their children and verify the relevant information.When the HOU tried to investigate who among the higher-ups would be behind this, they failed to uncover anything. So Seth was from the Layne family in Janovin, huh? Did he just basically serve his family to her on a silver platter?Aria's gaze darkened as she held her trophy in her hands. To Seth, she was nothing but an ordinary citizen with the audacity to disrespect him. The Layne family had been among the most powerful in Janovin for too long. They could dictate how an ordinary citizen's life would go with just a single order
With every word Aria uttered, Norman's face grew thunderous. Though she never directly mentioned his family, everyone understood the target of her scathing remarks.Norman felt suffocated under the weight of their collective scrutiny. He had underestimated Aria's eloquence. In just a few sentences, she had brought the Short family to a profound humiliation.Given her feelings for Christian, Norman had assumed Aria would be easily manipulated. According to Christian's account, Aria had harbored resentment since their annulment and had been relentlessly pursuing him. Besides, Christian also mentioned that what had happened in the manor back then was nothing but an act. Hence, Norman had attempted to flaunt his family's closeness to Kenneth's student. But Aria's ruthlessness caught him off guard.Aria coolly said, "Mr. Short, your son made it clear he wanted me ousted from the hall. Yet you were there, dismissing it all as a misunderstanding. Does this overconfidence run in your fami
Landon cast a glance at Aria, curious about how much she actually knew about the stock market. She had always been modest about her knowledge, but he suspected there was more to her than she let on. The only one oblivious to Aria's true capabilities was Jett. Yet, he dared not refuse any request she made. Without hesitation, he tapped into his social circles, pulling strings where needed.Less than an hour later, Orion received word. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face. "So, the Grisham family wants to dip their hands into real estate too?"Arlo handed him a report. "Just as you predicted. It's not just real estate—Ms. Carver's making moves in the stock market as well. Fortunately, you already set a trap for Mr. Jett in advance."For the first time in days, Orion’s tension seemed to ease. A dark glint flickered in his eyes. "Fine. Let them struggle their way in. I don't care how they do it, but make sure the Carver family is crushed in the stock market.""Understood." A
Jett asked, "What exactly are you after? There's no need to bring down the Draycott family so quickly. It's not like you can win. Didn't you join the Chamber of Commerce to take things slow? You just arrived in Ludwiten. Why the rush?""Am I in a rush?" Aria asked. She wasn't after the mastermind behind the Draycott family. If she were, she would've tied Orion to the financial building and let people take pictures all day—no need for mind games.The situation was too tangled, too many people involved. The Draycott family had managed to cover up something as blatant as that incident at the bar. Someone had to be cleaning up after them.Finding a few scapegoats would have been easy, but Aria wanted more. She wanted to uncover everyone who had spread rumors about Fiona in the past.And for some reason, despite their focus on the Grisham family, it felt like they were up against the Carvers. Whoever was behind this didn't want the Carvers to regain control of the Chamber of Commerce.
Jett grew more agitated as he spoke, waving his hands as if he wanted to tear Owen apart. Aria promptly stopped him. Otherwise, passersby might think he was an escaped patient from Ludwiten's mental asylum.Owen had done many foolish things, which Aria only discovered after arriving in Ludwiten and conducting her own investigation. Warren carried guilt toward Clyde because of Owen. And while Jett was normally timid, his words weren't wrong.When Owen first came to Ludwiten, he thought he could make it big, recklessly using the Grisham family's funds and resources. But he had been deceived by several people and lost everything.Not only was he foolish, but he was also malicious—leaving behind a disaster for the Grisham family to clean up. "Jett, calm down," Aria said. "I know Owen dragged the Grisham family down. He's already been punished and won't be coming out anytime soon."You and I both despise him, but let's stop dwelling on the past. He's not worth it."Jett had never
With Landon monitoring the stock market, Aria could walk right into Orion's trap. This way, Orion would let his guard down. When people felt confident, they invested more. Aria, well-versed in the stock market, understood this all too well. She had never intended to get rid of Lily. However, things were different this time. There was a limit to how much one could withstand another's viciousness. Aria doubted Lily could predict the market flawlessly—it was impossible, just as it was impossible for her to know everything.The logic was simple. If something fell outside one's area of expertise, even the most attentive observer would only grasp the outcome, not the details. Thinking it over, Aria realized Lily only knew about major events. The smaller ones seemed to escape her notice.If she put herself in Lily's shoes, it was like remembering which lottery would have a winner but not the exact numbers drawn.After all, no one knew when they would be reborn. The only way to acce
Malcolm did not know why Aria was asking, but he remembered the details clearly. "It was after that day." Aria tapped on the desk. "No wonder the Draycotts suddenly changed their market strategy. I get it now." What was she talking about? Before Malcolm could ask, Aria continued, "Some people are trying to cheat the system. Keep an eye on things, but stay safe. If anything happens, come to me first. "Like you said, they've got deep connections. Don't bother with the police—just keep the evidence." "Got it." Before hanging up, Malcolm asked, "Should we still watch the stock market?" Aria smirked. "Yes. They're not the only ones who can play dirty." Lily had probably been reborn too. But whatever Lily knew, Aria knew as well. She had never thought to use that knowledge this way before since it hadn't seemed necessary, but things were not the same now. If her dreams were real, then in her past life, Lily had only made it to Janovin. She had played the star medical student at
After being together all this time, Aria suddenly had a thought. Were she and Landon too distant from each other? No, "distant" was not quite the right word. It was more like they did not know each other well enough. Landon always felt just out of reach, like there was a fog between them. Simply put, he was not being straight with her. The thought left her feeling uneasy. Before she could say anything, her phone rang. It must be news about the Draycotts. It had to be something big for them to call so urgently. Aria glanced at the pair. Landon smiled. "If you have questions, Jett, feel free to talk with my manager, Ms. Virelle." Manager? Seraphina caught on quickly. "Mr. Grisham, shall we step outside?" Jett was still trying to process everything. "Wait." Balancing business and personal matters as usual, Aria held her phone up and said, "I heard Ms. Virelle used to work at the Draycotts' club. Let's have a chat later." Seraphina froze, glancing at Landon. Seeing his bl
Seraphina could not let her mind go there. Maybe she should've stayed in Netherrealm for a few more years. It was not so bad down there anyway. Landon barely spared her a glance, keeping his eyes on Jett with polite interest. "Won't you sit, Jett?"Sit? Jett could barely remember why he had come in the first place. Landon's voice snapped him back. "I... Mr. York, excuse me for asking, but what's your relationship with Ms. Virelle?""She works for me." Landon glanced at Seraphina. "Ms. Virelle? That's a new title."Jett stumbled over his words. "She works for you?""Yes," Landon said casually, like it was the most obvious thing. "Isn't it obvious?"Jett could not imagine the Yorks being in that kind of business. From Jett's expression alone, Landon could guess what kind of mess his people had made in Ludwiten. Since he had been dragged into it now, he figured he owed the Grishams an explanation. "I planted her in the Draycott family. The Yorks need a foothold in Ludwiten."So
Getting out of there wasn't going to be easy. Aria did not waste any time. She moved fast behind the suite divider, her laugh carrying a different note than usual. "What a shame."Landon's hand paused as he fixed her hair, his voice as smooth as ever. "I could have them leave.""Bad timing. My cousin's out there." Aria glanced at him, taking in that perfect collarbone of his. No wonder they used to call him the untouchable one, with all those socialites dying for just a smile.She had never given much thought to that kind of thing before. All those times working with patients, she had kept things strictly professional. But things felt different now, and she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Her gorgeous fiancé had a way of making her lose her head.Landon pulled his hand back while looking down. "We should meet with your cousin. I hear the Grishams like to evaluate their in-laws.""Huh?" That had not crossed her mind. He did not seem like someone who would care about app
Aria felt something wild coming off him. It was not hatred, but something close. She was too caught up to figure out what it was. She had never felt anything like this before; it was like she was floating. Her eyes were open, but she could not focus. Even his breathing felt like an invasion, starting at her ear and spreading through her whole body. When his fingers pressed into her waist, instinct made her try to push him away. That was a bad move—it only made things more intense. He lit her up like a match, heat spreading from her neck downward till she had to tilt her head back just to breathe. It reminded her of that hazy dream, the one in which she had been caught between sleep and waking, her pulse racing and her skin on fire. But it did not feel exactly the same because what she was feeling now was real. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of the river through the massive windows. The view was blurry, but it was enough to remind her where she was. Unable t