Katie was stunned. "You saw the news too?""Hmm." Ariel smiled. "It seems like Yvonne wanted everyone to know, right?" Then she paused for a while before saying, "She's different from before …"The night before, Ariel had waited for Stephen to return and used the excuse of taking his suit jacket to Tabitha for cleaning. After she'd left his room, she'd smelled a hint of a woman's perfume on his jacket.Stephen had never fooled around with other women. Neither had he returned home with the scent of another woman before. However, the moment Yvonne had returned, he'd gotten the scent of a woman on him.Ariel guessed that he must have gone to see Yvonne."You've been with Stephen for so long. He won't just leave you because of Yvonne." Katie gently comforted Ariel. "Furthermore, they had gotten into such a terrible fight years ago. Stephen's finally gotten out of it. He's a smart guy. He knows not to go back to old lovers."Ariel smiled sadly. Only she knew that Stephen only kept her
Since Yvonne had decided to stay back in Northerna City, she naturally had to consider Elvin's education.Elvin was much more mature than the children his age. If he were to go to kindergarten, he might find it difficult to get along with other children. The teachers who had taught Elvin in the past had suspected that he might be autistic and had advised Yvonne a few times to take him to a therapist.However, to Yvonne, Elvin was no different from any other child. He was even more obedient and understanding than them. Once, Yvonne had gone to pick up Elvin early and found out that the children at the kindergarten deliberately picked on him. She'd witnessed Elvin pinning a child on the ground, threatening him not to mention the word 'father' in front of him.Later, Yvonne had apologized and compensated that child's parents, and Elvin left the kindergarten too. She'd lectured Elvin, but she never mentioned the father incident. Soon, they had an understanding among themselves—Elvin
Britney wanted to play hide-and-seek with her friends, but when she left the classroom, she saw that many of her friends were outside the door of the next class."Want to play hide-and-seek?" Britney asked.Usually, a dozen or so friends would have surrounded her by now. However, this time, no one heard her. They were trying to look inside the classroom.Britney pouted and walked over. "What are you all looking at?" Seeing no one answering her, she reached out and made space for herself, finally managing to squeeze into the front. "What are we looking at?""There's a newcomer," a boy said to Britney, pointing to another boy in the corner.Britney looked over to see the little boy quickly solving a Rubik's cube. Then he casually threw the Rubik's cube into the basket. His actions were so smooth, he looked very cool!Britney was in a daze. The last person she'd seen who played with a Rubik's cube like that was her father! This boy was also as good-looking as her father! She was sti
Ariel intentionally waited for Stephen to return to Oceania Villa that night.The moment Stephen came in, she went over and reached out to take his coat. However, he avoided her expressionlessly. She felt unnervingly awkward as she watched Stephen pass his coat to Tabitha instead.She clenched her fists but immediately turned 180 degrees and put on a smile. "Stephen, I took up a business project that requires me to travel for a week. Britney…""I'll ask Julian to pick her up." Stephen made the decision before Ariel could even finish speaking.Ariel's mouth was gaping open, but she forced out another smile. "Great. I feel comfortable knowing Julian will pick her up.""It’s getting late. You should head back." With that, Stephen swerved past Ariel and headed upstairs.Ariel bit her lip resentfully. She wasn’t sure if she was thinking too much, but Stephen had become colder to her since Yvonne’s return.…At Miller Villa, Yvonne was half asleep. She was immediately woken up by Elv
Noah was sitting on the couch in her office. He had one hand on his forehead as his pinky adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. He looked elegant.Yvonne entered the office and made eye contact with him.There was a slight smile on Noah’s face. "It’s been a while, Yvonne."Yvonne returned the smile, but she was complaining in her heart. She was better off not seeing certain people for the rest of her life. Noah and Stephen were cousins, yet they were so different in character. Stephen had his emotions written on his face, but Noah kept everything to himself.Yvonne didn’t like dealing with Noah. After all, it was easier to dodge an open attack than defend against a concealed one. Plus, she wasn’t fond of the coward Noah was, considering how he'd abandoned Simone.However, she remained polite and sat on the couch. She asked, "What do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Anderson?"Oh, being courteous now, are we?" Noah smiled. "Didn’t you use to call me Noah?""I have nothing to do with Stephen
Elizabeth was lying on the bed in her room. She was hanging by a thread through a ventilator.Philip was sitting by her bedside. He was talking to her, but there was no response from her. When he heard a knock on the door, the old man turned and saw Stephen. "You’re here."Stephen walked over to his side and said, "How is Grandma?"Philip shook his head and replied, "She's slowly losing consciousness.""What did the people from Hope say?" Stephen asked.Philip sighed and replied, "We have no more options."Hope Health Services had managed Elizabeth's medical care for the past two years. The results had been decent at the start. However, the people from Hope had mentioned that Elizabeth wouldn’t last long and had asked them to be mentally prepared.They'd tried everything to keep Elizabeth alive. Elizabeth had accepted her fate. She always said that death was inevitable—no one could stop it. However, for the Anderson family, as long as she was breathing, they couldn’t give up o
Before James could take a close look, the boy was already seated in the car.He thought, "I guess kids look about the same." Hence, he didn't take it to heart. He turned toward Britney and teased, "Don't tell me you like the new kid, hmm? Britney, you have such good taste at such a young age."Britney was barely five years old. How could she understand what it meant to like someone? She just thought the little kid was more good-looking compared to the rest, so she wanted to be friends with him.Plus, she wasn't the only one who thought so in kindergarten.Britney had her eyes wide open like a Barbie doll. Before he could react, she buried her head into James' chest. James was instantly overwhelmed by her crying. He hugged Britney tightly and said, "Darling, listen to me. Men are bad. Don't like them. I'll buy you ice cream for the rest of your life if you listen to me."Britney didn't understand a single word. All she knew was that she was getting ice cream. Her tiny chubby hands
"I know."Yvonne couldn't be bothered. "Since she's your grandmother, obviously you'd be affected by it, but I'm different. I used to help her hold on to my status. Now I don't have anything to do with her. Mr. Anderson, I'm a busy woman. I have no time to meddle in your family matters."Besides, I haven't forgotten how Old Mrs. Anderson used to look down on me and make things difficult for me when I was with you. I have every right not to be bothered by her based on the way she treated me."She's rather old now. It's time for her to go, and you need to come to terms with that. Don't waste time and money on an old person like her."Even though Yvonne was speaking casually about it, she was implying something deeper.Stephen's heart was slowly sinking into the depths of his thoughts. His gaze was like the night sky—ever so grim and desolate.He stared at Yvonne silently, attempting to find any trace of pretense in her face. However, Yvonne was calm. Insouciance was hanging on the