Yvonne had a restless sleep that night. She dreamt about the dazzling dance floor, where a menacing Kayle thrust a knife into her belly, leaving a pool of blood on the floor.The scene shifted, and she was lying on a cold operating table. She flung her arms frantically and grabbed the doctor's surgical gown with bloody hands. Red smeared across the garment. Everything around her was stiflingly red.She woke up from the nightmare drenched in cold sweat. The sun was barely up when she entered Elvin's room and sneaked into his bed. The little boy opened his groggy eyes and muttered, “Mommy.”“Mommy's here.” She pulled her son close and inhaled his faint, milky scent, her apprehension finally giving way to comfort. Lowering her head, she kissed his forehead. Her nose started to prickle as she recalled her nightmare.She'd almost lost her precious baby that day. Fortunately, she'd managed to hold onto the knife at that moment. Otherwise…She couldn't bring herself to think further.
"This is Jax Crawford; he's a singer. He recently released a song, but he's yet to release the music video because he can't find the right person for the female lead. He came across the music video I produced, so he approached me." Simone cut to the chase.Jax had contacted her to get in touch with the female lead star in the music video, and she'd hesitated for quite a while. After all, Yvonne was a non-showbiz personality, and she didn't wish to get involved in entertainment. Hence, Simone had been reluctant to reveal Yvonne's identity.Yet Jax was as stubborn as a bull; he didn't give up after he'd made up his mind. He'd jumped through hoops just to find out Yvonne's name from Simone. Now he was on his own to persuade Yvonne.From the moment he'd sat down, he'd rambled nonstop about his recent song releases and how he'd yet to find the perfect female lead for his music video despite going through countless interviews with actresses. But that was until he'd seen Yvonne. He went
Countless technology companies attended the technology convention in Northerna City.Every company displayed their latest product. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, it allowed them to showcase their products to tech enthusiasts, and secondly, they could also attract potential investors.The product that caught everyone's attention was Turner Tech's smart household robot, which would soon be available for sale.Turner Tech had uploaded a concept map of the robot on their official Twitter account before the convention, and it had sparked an enthusiastic discussion among netizens. As a result, the tweet had gone viral and became one of the hottest Twitter topics for three days after the news had been announced. Naturally, the public had extremely high hopes for the robot.Today was the day when the smart household robot would be finally revealed to the public.The organizer was sensible enough to give Turner Tech the best and biggest spot in the convention center. When people
The group proceeded to check out the rest of the convention. Not only did Jax obtain a smart household robot that bore Caleb's autograph, but he was also able to score an opportunity to have dinner with the man himself. It was all thanks to Jax's affiliation with Yvonne.The celebrity had long since forgotten about convincing Yvonne to become the female lead of his music video. He started being a lot more friendly with her as well."As long as I can maintain a good relationship with Yvonne, I'll have a steady stream of Turner Tech's new products coming my way in the future!" Jax thought merrily.Once everyone was done with dinner, Jax got up right away to foot the bill. Yvonne and Caleb were the only ones left in the private room."He seems very eager to please you." Caleb loosened his tie with one hand while resting his other arm on the back of his chair. His posture was meant to make him look lazy and laid-back, yet he still looked elegant and distinguished.Yvonne didn't notice
Once Ariel received the text, she replied, "Got it."Jodie yearned to make Ariel the female lead of the music video for Jax's new song. When the news of the audition for the role had been released, she'd arranged for Ariel to take part in it right away.Unfortunately, the result was disappointing.Ariel had already given up on the role, but Jodie didn't want to let it go. Every now and then, she would lecture Ariel on how the female lead role was a great opportunity for her to become even more famous.Jodie would never give up on getting Ariel the role as long as the spot remained vacant.Ariel slid her phone back into her pocket. Britney was sound asleep by then, so she tucked her in properly before leaving the room as quietly as she could.When she walked past the study, she noticed the light pouring through the small gap in the door. Ariel wanted to say goodbye to Stephen before leaving the mansion, but just as she placed her hand on the doorknob, she heard his voice coming fr
"What do you mean 'underhanded tricks'?" Jodie was used to the dark side of the entertainment industry. Naturally, she didn't think she'd done anything wrong. "The netizens kept comparing you to Yvonne for a couple of days after her return, so I pulled off the same stunt that she'd used in the past."Jodie sounded very irritated as she continued, "Besides, that Yvonne woman loves going viral, doesn't she? Maybe that's a sign that she wants to join the entertainment industry just so she can keep competing with you. I decided to let her have a taste of her own medicine in advance so that she'd give up on that idea. What's wrong with that?"Ariel, you're an extremely kind soul. That's why you got bullied relentlessly by Yvonne in the past. Things are different now. You're Mr. Anderson's partner right now, but the thing is, Yvonne still leeches off his popularity. We shouldn't be courteous to despicable women like her."Ariel wanted to say something else, but Jodie quickly sat her dow
Back at Miller Villa, Yvonne received a video clip that Rachel had recorded at the venue. It was Jax's live performance, where he could be seen singing on the stage.The audio quality was terrible since Rachel's phone was unable to record the sounds crisply, not to mention that there were other sounds mixed into the video clip as well. Still, Yvonne was able to hear Jax's melodious voice.Rachel's following text read, "Are you sure you don't want to think it through?"Yvonne didn't even bother to reply to her best friend. She threw her phone onto the couch before approaching Elvin and Caleb eagerly. "How is it?"The little boy hadn't wanted to unbox the smart household robot when it had been delivered to Miller Villa. He'd insisted on waiting for Caleb before doing so.When Caleb was finally free enough to drop by the villa for a quick visit, the first thing he spotted was Elvin's eager look when he stepped through the entrance. Just the sight of the little boy caused his fatigue
Two days later, Miller Jewels made an official announcement. The company would be hosting a jewelry fair named Butterfly's Dream on the 25th of the month. All of Tara Miller's jewelry and drafts would be showcased at the fair.Also, the company would announce the identity of its new brand ambassador at the fair. Miller Jewels even made an extra tweet on its official Twitter account. There was an image of the brand ambassador's silhouette attached to the tweet.Even though it was just a shadow, the fans were able to recognize the brand ambassador right away."I can't believe Miller Jewels actually hired Simone Moore as its brand ambassador! This is an amazing partnership!""Apparently, Yvonne and Simone are friends! They're working hard to advance their careers together!""Seriously, a famous celebrity like Simone should be the spokesperson of luxury brands befitting her status.""Are you guys this forgetful? Yvonne isn't working hard to advance her career! She's been relying on m
A light breeze blew by in the courtyard. Agatha slowly recounted the past.Back then, Daniel and his wife, Katherine, had just had Mark. The entire Carrington family had been celebrating.They had doted on Mark and taken him wherever they went.That day, they had headed out. Before they'd known it, Mark had been taken away.Just when Daniel and Katherine had been on the brink of losing it, they had received a call from the kidnapper to bring the ransom to a specific spot.They had gotten the money and driven there without any hesitation. No one had thought that they would ever return after that. Even Mark had disappeared.When Agatha finished recounting this, her cup of tea had already cooled.She wiped her tears away. She said through a catch in her throat, "Katherine was hugging the bag of money tightly until the moment she passed away, as though she were hugging you."Mark furrowed his brows. Now that he'd heard the truth about Daniel and Katherine, he should have felt pain
As Yvonne left the room, she could tell that Stephen's mood was much better.She looked at him. "Are you thinking of something nice?""No." Stephen looked at Yvonne with a rare twinkle in his eyes."Let me take you to breakfast." Before Yvonne could respond, he took her hand and led her to the elevator.Thinking about how he'd stood outside her room the entire night, Yvonne decided to let him hold her hand.Then, her thoughts drifted to Otto. Somehow, she had a bad feeling.…At the same time, Mark was in the courtyard of Carrington Mansion. He sat next to Agatha and poured some tea for her.He handed her a cup of hot tea. "Great-Grandma, try this."When he noticed that Agatha had no reaction, he called out to her once more. "Great-Grandma?""Huh?" Agatha came to her senses. She looked at Mark in confusion. "What is it?""You've been distracted since yesterday. Are you thinking of something?" Mark asked.Agatha shook her head. "Nothing." Then, she picked up her teacup and
Yvonne stood by the door of the bedroom and looked at Otto, who was looking out of the window in a daze on the bed.The sun shone on his face. He looked quite hungover and had a sickly pale face.Yvonne hesitated for a while before saying gently, "Mrs. Jenner called me last night. She's worried about you."Otto didn't respond.Yvonne went in closer and added, "She said that you called her and asked about your father. She found it strange."Mr. Carrington, why did you suddenly think about your father? Did Mrs. Carrington Senior bring him up yesterday?"All Yvonne got was silence.Luckily, she was patient. She sat on the couch and followed Otto's line of sight. Tiny dust particles were floating among the sunbeams. Yvonne also fell into a daze as she watched them float about.Suddenly, Otto asked, "Have you ever felt like your world was falling apart?""Hmm?" Yvonne was confused. "For example?""I mean, like the person that you trust turns out to be different from what you'd t
The next morning, Yvonne opened her door to see Stephen standing outside. She was caught off guard."What is wrong with you this morning? Why didn't you knock…"While talking, Yvonne noticed that Stephen was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Don't tell me you didn't leave last night? Have you been standing outside this door all this while?""Hmm." Stephen looked at Yvonne intently. "I thought you would've figured it out quickly."Yvonne was speechless, but she thought to herself that she'd slept like a baby the night before.She smiled at him. "Figure what out?" She noticed Stephen frowning as though he were on the brink of losing his temper.She quickly added, "I-I mean, you have to give me a hint, right? I've thought about it the entire night, but I still don't understand. My brain isn't functioning well."Stephen asked suspiciously, "You've been thinking about it the entire night?""Yes, which is why I didn't look for yo
"If I hadn't come to find you tonight, you probably wouldn't tell me anything about what happened tonight, would you?" Stephen asked in retort.It wasn't a big deal, as long as they returned safely. Yvonne wondered why she needed to report this to him.But she still smiled. "It's late. How could I disrupt your rest? It would've been the same if I told you about it tomorrow morning, right?"Stephen sniggered. "Yvonne, you still don't know where you've gone wrong."He suddenly went in closer to her. Yvonne instinctively retreated until her back was up against the wall. She glared at him."What on earth is wrong with you? I've already said that I would've told you tomorrow morning—"A punch went past Yvonne and landed brutally on the wall.Yvonne was a little stunned. She looked into Stephen's eyes and furrowed her brows. "Stephen, I don't want to quarrel with you for no reason. "Mrs. Carrington Senior went to look for Otto today. Calbert couldn't reach him the entire day, so he
Jane returned to the private room, distracted.She sat down next to Cory. She looked at him as he reached his hand out to her in confusion.Cory furrowed his brows and asked unhappily, "Where's the wine?""Wine… Yes! Wine!" Jane came to her senses. She was just about to get up when Cory pulled her back.He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at him. "What happened when you went out?""N-Nothing."Cory tightened his grip. Jane furrowed her brows in pain. "I-I… I saw Yvonne. She told me that she and Stephen got remarried.""What?" Cory relaxed his grip a little. "They got remarried?""Hmm.""So, what?" He had no intention of letting her go, and he looked at her sharply. "Does it bother you so much that Stephen got remarried?"Jane looked at Cory frantically. "Cory, what do you mean by that?""What do I mean? You know what I mean."Cory went in closer. His tone turned icy. "You used to pursue Stephen. Now that you know he's gotten married, you're in this shitty mood
Yvonne turned around to see Jane smiling at her ambiguously. She furrowed her brows. How were they always bumping into each other?Jane crossed her hands in front of her chest and leaned against the wall. She swept her gaze at Calbert and Otto. "Two guys and one woman. You sure know how to have fun!"Calbert instantly snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?""Why are you being so fierce? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Jane snickered. "Two guys and a woman came out of a private room in the middle of the night. Anyone would come to the same conclusion. We're all adults. There's no need to pretend to be innocent.""You—" Calbert was about to go up to Jane, but Yvonne stopped him."Since Ms. Ford is here, I'm guessing so is Cory?" Yvonne smiled, yet her smile didn't reach her eyes. "If you cause a scene here and this bar gets raided, guess who'll be the ones walking out here alive?"Jane's expression turned ugly. "Are you threatening me?""It's just a kind reminder." Yvon
Calbert and Yvonne managed to track Otto's car to a bar, thanks to the information they'd gotten from his staff. Otto's car was right outside the bar.Calbert looked at the neon sign and furrowed his brows. "Why is Otto here? Did what Mrs. Carrington Senior said really hit him so badly that he has to drown himself in alcohol?"Yvonne said nothing and headed directly inside the bar."Wait up for me!" Calbert went after her. He subconsciously protected her from all the drunk patrons.The lighting in the bar was dim. Many of the patrons were drunk and having fun.Yvonne and Calbert walked around the booth area, but Otto was nowhere to be found. They pulled a server over to ask if there was a patron by the name of Otto Carrington who had reserved a private room.Coincidentally, the server had just taken two bottles of wine to Otto's room. So, he led them to the private room.Calbert tipped the server before opening the door and entering. The entire room reeked of alcohol.He looked
After Agatha left, Otto stood in the same spot without moving.A long time later, Zac entered the office. He looked at Otto's back and asked quietly, "Mr. Carrington, will you still see the client?""No." Otto sounded heartbroken.Zac didn't dare ask further questions. He gently closed the door and reminded the secretary that no one was to disturb Otto.In the office, Otto was alone. He slowly walked over to the couch and slumped into it. His mind was in a mess."Alexander was the one who planned the kidnapping back then."Agatha's words rang in his mind for a long time.Alexander's young face appeared in Otto's mind, smiling at him affectionately."Otto! Amazing! Yes! Just like that!""You're amazing at badminton! You're going to make the country proud! I'm going to be so proud of you!""Otto, my son!"Memories of his interactions with Alexander flashed across his mind at that moment.Otto couldn't imagine that such a loving father would do such an absurd thing. Alexander