The boy's mother was shocked when she heard that. "Why can't our son go to school?""How would I—"As the boy's father entered the house, he was surprised to see what was going on in the living room. He stammered, "M—Mr. Anderson, what ... Why are you here?""You might want to ask your dear wife about that," Yvonne said casually. "Ask her what she did last night."As the realization sank in, the boy's father quickly went to his wife and asked, "What did you do?""I—"Before she could explain, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He retreated to the balcony to answer the call. Moments later, his voice grew frantic. "Why have I been suspended from work? I ..."The conversation on the phone rendered him speechless. After hanging up, he stormed toward his wife. Without a word, he slapped her.Startled, she held her stinging cheek and looked at him in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? You—"Another slap followed, making her lose her balance, and she plopped to the ground.Seeing
The walls in the subsidized housing building weren't very good at keeping sound out. So the woman's cries quickly caught the attention of other residents on the floor.Julian went outside to warn the residents. "Everyone on this floor will get in trouble if even a word of today's event leaks out."The residents weren't sure what was happening. But after hearing such a serious warning, they quickly went back to their homes. They were afraid of getting caught up in whatever was going on.After everyone was gone, Yvonne and Stephen left together, ignoring the crying woman.Yvonne's lawyer and Julian stayed behind to handle the next steps. They planned to take legal action if the boy's mother started spreading rumors again.After getting into the elevator, Stephen asked Yvonne, "How is El doing?""He's not aware of the online rumors yet. I made up an excuse for him to stay home for a while."At the thought of Elvin, Yvonne's anger returned tenfold. She clenched her teeth. "If I had
"We—"Yvonne wanted to explain, but Caleb interrupted her with a smile. "Anyway, congratulations." With that, he entered the house.She stood in a daze, unsure if she had correctly perceived the bitterness and disappointment in his tone.She sighed and turned to Rachel. "El still doesn't know about all this."Rachel stopped climbing the stairs and looked at Yvonne. "You haven't told him yet?""No, this mess was caused by the adults, and it's our responsibility to deal with it. El is only a child; he doesn't need to know any of this." As a mother, Yvonne felt it was her duty to shield her son from the harsh realities of the adult world.She headed to the kitchen. "Please make yourself at home. By the way, what would you like to drink?""Just plain water will do," Rachel replied.Rachel came down the stairs, walked over to Caleb, and nudged him with her elbow. "Did you ask Vonnie about the camping trip?""Yes," he replied indifferently. "There's nothing unusual about them go
Katie didn't even want to sit down. She placed a check on the table. "Take it and leave."The woman snickered. She looked at the number written on the check. "Mrs. Anderson, only a million dollars? Is Mr. Anderson only worth that much to you?"Katie slapped the table with one hand. She leaned in closer to the woman. "Stop haggling with me. In my eyes, all you women who flock around him are worthless. Don't delude yourself into thinking that you're priceless just because he's gotten into bed with you. You're nothing to him."The woman leaned back and asked, "Then why go through all the effort to meet me and pay me?""Fine. If you don't want to listen to me, I don't need to sit here and explain it to you. After all, he'll soon be sick of you. I'll go and find someone who's willing to talk."Then, Katie reached out and took the check.The woman stopped Katie frantically and smiled. "Mrs. Anderson, I was just joking. I'll take the money and leave."Katie said nothing. She let the
In her room, Katie took a hot shower and finally felt like herself once more.She had just laid in bed when her door opened. She jumped and immediately sat up. Noah had no intention of entering the room. He stood by the door and looked at Katie. "Emerald Group has invited me to a meeting next month. Do you want to come along?"Katie was surprised. "Why?""What why?" Noah said impatiently, "I have to take a partner. Who else would I take if not you?"Katie furrowed her brows. He had many other women he could take with him."If you don't want to go, forget about it. I—""Do you really want me there?" she asked.Noah leaned against the door. "If it had been before, I could just take any woman. But now we're married. I can only take you to the important events."Katie put her worries to rest. "Alright, I'll go with you."Noah turned to leave. "Where are you going?" Katie asked anxiously."None of your business," Noah replied before leaving.Hearing his footsteps get further
That night, Stephen got busy in the kitchen, while Yvonne helped out. She was in a rather good mood. She even hummed cheerfully while washing the vegetables.Stephen stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. "You know about everything?""Yes." Yvonne waved the vegetables in her hand. She said with a smile, "You should be honored. A living saint is washing vegetables for you.""You don't blame me for not talking to you about it first?""Hmm, at first I did." Yvonne thought for a while."After all, I didn't want to get famous when I went to Taloria. I went over because you were there. Now that I think about it, I'm not as great as people make me out to be. I don't have so much compassion for the world."Yvonne leaned against the kitchen island, seeming a little troubled. "Conan made me look too great. I'll have to be even more discreet when I go out from now on."Stephen was amused. When he had discussed this with Conan, he hadn't thought as much about it as Yvonne wa
In the blink of an eye, it was time for Yvonne to leave. Stephen came to Miller Villa to pick her up on time.Before getting in the car, Yvonne turned to look upstairs at the Miller Villa. "Elvin came to look for me just now."Then, she looked at Stephen and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Did you secretly get in touch with him? Why do I feel like his attitude toward you has changed?""How so?" Stephen asked."He told me to have fun with you and not worry about him." The more Yvonne thought about it, the weirder she felt. Elvin had still been Stephen "evil man not" until just recently. So why had he bid her farewell so calmly?Stephen sensed a pair of eyes on him. He looked up and caught a little figure running behind the white curtains. He smiled and took Yvonne's luggage. "When you return, ask him, and you'll know what he thinks."Yvonne thought about it. "Okay."…The journey took an entire day before they reached the cruise. First, they had to take a flight and then a
Stephen stood by the side. He saw the surprise in Yvonne's eyes. He followed her gaze. "Who is that?""You don't know Chuck Jensen?" Yvonne was surprised. She explained, "He's a partner in one of the largest international pharmaceutical companies. Or rather, I should say that he's the boss."The pharmaceutical company had been founded by Chuck and a few other foreigners. As the business had grown over the past few years, Chuck had played dirty and bought over the other partners' shares.Apparently, he had over 60% of the shares in his hands at that moment. This meant that he had the power to decide everything at the shareholders' meetings.A man like him who had conquered an international pharmaceutical company was a legend in the medical industry!Yvonne has long heard about him, but she had never met him in person. She had never thought that the first time she would meet him would be under such circumstances.She couldn't help but lament. "Mark sure is powerful. He even managed