Re-entering the job market was a challenge, especially for a long-term homemaker like Fiona.Fiona sat surrounded by fresh university graduates, some even high-performing students returning from overseas.Operations Management, particularly Network Operations Management, was a booming field. Even top celebrities had to be marketed, and advertisements about them were published everywhere to amass support further and attract attention. One of the candidates gave Fiona a dismissive look before turning to chat with another candidate. Fiona overheard snippets of their conversation."Seriously? She's practically ancient! Why is she even here competing with us?""They won't hire her. I peeked at her résumé—she was just a housewife."The term "housewife" had somehow become a derogatory term despite the immense contributions these women made to their families. It was disheartening that these young women themselves disregarded Fiona. After all, everyone would grow old eventually, and no o
Clary interrupted the interview. "Are you willing to start working as an assistant?" she asked Fiona decisively. "If that's fine with you, you can stay."From what she had read about Fiona, it was clear that her marriage had devastated her life. Clary's decision to offer Fiona a position wasn't solely based on empathy for a woman in a similar age group. She saw a spark in Fiona, a potential that transcended the limitations of an ordinary housewife. If she proved inadequate for the job later on, Clary would handle it."Yes, please." Fiona smiled. "I'll prove to you that I'm not just a housewife."Fiona had asserted her position without being overly arrogant or humble, which was an extra point in Clary's book.They had made an exception for Fiona, so instead of sending her home to wait, they told her to report to the office the next day.Meanwhile, Evelyn Charters, the elite student who'd mocked Fiona earlier, emerged from another room. She was on her phone, grumbling, "Mom, I don
Abraham was worried sick. "It's almost time for everyone to choose their schools. We must first transfer her formally so that she can enroll as soon as possible."As a medical professional who devoted his life to saving people and helping the injured, it was rare that he'd come across someone like Aria. She'd given him hope that the younger generation could take up the reins of traditional medicine.No matter what Aria was doing right now, she must continue her studies, and Abraham was worried that she'd fall behind.This was what Aria heard the moment she walked in. She knew that Abraham was truly worried about her. "Mr. Lowe Senior, I can just study by myself at home. I'll still be a student in your vocational high school and take the SATs there.""This won't do, Aria. With how excellent you are, you should find a better school to prepare for SATs," Abraham insisted. He didn't want his school to hold Aria back. "How about this?" Abraham proposed. "I'm meeting someone at Janovin
Dorothy and Mindy remained unaware that the hotel's manifestation had been dismantled. Aria considered interrogating them, but after some thought, she decided it wouldn't be productive. She opted to let the suspects act freely. This would make it easier for her to discover the full extent of the truth.Aria handed Philip a blackened hair clip. "Help me return this to its owner—leave it in the unit."Philip had no clue where the hair clip originated until he reached the neighborhood and met a property agent. A chill ran down his spine as he ascended the stairs. Even the agent found the coldness strange. "Perhaps you could take a look around the unit yourself, sir? Just lock the door behind you when you leave."Philip stood in the corridor, keys in hand when the door of the adjacent unit opened. He heard the sounds of a couple fighting. Argus Ratcher, clearly intoxicated, screamed at his wife, Polly Wells, "Why did I hit you? If you can keep working, do it! If not, just fucking resi
Inside the Special Cases Unit's conference room, officers huddled around a screen, studying Philip."Did the boss send him here?""Yeah. She said that he's special and can help with solving the case.""When is she coming back? Has she said anything about that?""She said after everything at school is settled.""Settled? Who are you kidding? What does she need an education for?""You don't believe me? Take a look at this."Everyone in the room fell silent as they pored over the chat records on the screen. What could make Aria decide to go to school? Her good manners, of course. …Aria and Abraham had been waiting at the bookshop near the academy from early on. Abraham's friend had agreed to meet him at 2:00 pm, but he had yet to show up even though it was currently a couple minutes to four.Abraham finished his tea and was about to message his friend when a group of academics entered the store. One of them, a scholar named Xavier Shepherd, was bragging about his student, Li
"Time sure is unforgiving. Abraham was such a stickler for rules, and yet he's having a difficult time at this age," Xavier said as he patted Abraham on the shoulder. "We've both become older, Abraham. My memory isn't what it used to be. I forgot we agreed to meet. Uh, this shop isn't the best place to discuss your friend's transfer to the Academy, is it?""She wants to transfer to the Academy?" Lily exclaimed in surprise. "She can't, Mr. Lowe Senior. Not with her abysmal grades. She's always been a student in your vocational school, hasn't she?"Many of the academics present turned to look at them. However, Xavier didn't stop Lily.Abraham, understanding the situation, felt a deep sense of resignation. He looked apologetically at Aria, for he had repeatedly assured her that everything would be alright—this wasn't the Xavier he remembered."Mr. Lowe Senior," Aria, ever perceptive, recognized the potential humiliation Abraham would face regardless of his response. To steer the conve
"It's certainly been a long time since we last met in Mr. Carver Senior's office, Mr. Watson." Xavier was trying hard to ingratiate himself with Keith, who he didn't even deign to shake his hand. Keith acknowledged Xavier with a brief glance, but Xavier remained unfazed and continued the conversation. "And what brings you here, Mr. Watson?""I'm here to pick up Mr. Lowe," Keith explained, aware of what Aria wanted him to do. He walked past Xavier and directly addressed Abraham. "Mr. Lowe Senior, Mr. Carver Senior learned about your meeting with an old friend and asked me to pick you up and drive you to the Carver residence afterward. He's been eager to see you after he left Southbury."A hush fell over the room. Keith's respectful demeanor toward Abraham was a slap in the face to Xavier, who was visibly stunned.Oswald, who'd been going on about how Aria and Abraham were lying to make themselves look good, was now flushed scarlet. Keith would deal with Xavier later. For now, Osw
Even Lily, with her exceptional acupuncture skills, couldn't heal every illness. There were bound to be times when her diagnoses were inaccurate.Xavier suspected Abraham was exaggerating Aria's abilities to facilitate her transfer to the Academy. He couldn't resist a sarcastic quip. "While I appreciate your attempt to bolster a young doctor, Abraham, there's no need to let Aria take credit for your work just to help her out.""You think I'm letting her take the credit? Mr. Watson is right here. As if I can do that!" Abraham said righteously, looking at Lily, who was trying hard to stay unnoticed, "Lily was Salome's student. She should know who treated Mr. Carver Senior."Abraham hadn't wanted to cause trouble for Lily, so he'd remained silent when he saw her. However, every word out of Lily's mouth seemed designed to sabotage Aria and paint her as incompetent. He'd had enough.He said, "Aria is the most skilled doctor in Southbury. It's baffling that her vocational background lead
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