Liam ended the call and turned to gaze out the window into the pitch-black night, dense with darkness. He had simply acted on his conscience. He thought to himself, 'Blake, I just hope you're okay.'The next morning, Blake awoke in an unfamiliar, dreamlike room. The fairy-like curtains and dolls around her bed seemed to fulfill every girl's childhood fantasies. Confused, she realized this was not the Harper residence.Sitting up, Blake tried to grasp her bearings. She wondered, 'Where am I?'A few minutes later, Cecilia entered the room with a bowl of soup. "You're awake? You haven't eaten in days. Have some butternut squash soup first. Liam said he would come to see you soon."Cecilia sat beside the bed, but Blake swatted the bowl away, spilling soup on the imported Italian carpet. Despite that, Cecilia gently brushed Blake's hair aside. "It's okay if you don't like it. The maid has prepared more.""Who said you could bring me here?" Blake demanded coldly.Cecilia replied as she
After Cecilia departed, Blake, overwhelmed, grabbed her hair and squatted on the floor, murmuring in disbelief, "Impossible. It's not true. It's all a lie."About fifteen minutes later, a maid knocked on the door. "Ms. Dion, Mr. Xander is here to see you."Blake, with swollen eyes, looked up as the maid opened the door. Liam entered, immediately rushing to the distraught Blake on the floor and shut the door, disregarding the maids outside."Blake, are you alright?" Liam embraced her, trying to comfort her.Overcome with emotion, Blake clung to Liam's arm, tears streaming down her face. "Liam, tell me this is a lie, right? I'm not Cecilia's biological sister, not her sister at all. This is just a dream, isn't it?"Liam, struggling to contain his emotions, assured her, "Blake, nobody can force you to accept something you don't want. You're still the same Blake. Your parents are still your parents. I've contacted them; they wouldn't abandon you."Blake sobbed uncontrollably, "Are yo
"Blake."At the sound of this long-missed voice, a torrent of tears broke from Blake. She rushed forward, her arms enveloping the woman before her in a desperate embrace. "Mom!" she cried.Hannah Sutton, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears, held her daughter close. Years had passed since they last saw each other. "Why the tears, Blake? I'm here now, aren't I? Let me look at you," she whispered, a tremble in her voice.Blake, her face a canvas of distress, looked up."You've grown even more beautiful," Hannah observed softly, her fingers tenderly brushing Blake's hair.Yael Dion, his presence a mix of authority and warmth, joined them. "Calling only for your mother, Blake? Have you forgotten your dad?"Between sobs and laughter, Blake retorted, "Dad! How can you say that? You never responded to my messages."Yael, a leading academician in a research institute, was vital to many experiments. Even so, he had not forgotten about his daughter. He pulled out a bracelet made from
Hannah held Blake's hand. "There's actually something I want to tell you."Blake smiled as if she was covering up something. "Mom, I'm so tired! I want to sleep. If there's something, can you tell me after I wake up?"Hannah responded, "Blake, Yael and I came back because of this matter. Not long ago, someone hacked into the filing system. We don't know who it is, but Yael's and my information was stolen. It seems like someone's coming for you. I think you should know about this."Blake covered her ears emotionally. Her eyes turned red as she said, "I don't want to listen. I don't want to hear anything."Hannah saw her reaction and mustered the courage to say, "Blake, if it weren't absolutely necessary, we would've wanted to keep this matter from you forever. But the situation is different now. What I wanted to tell you is that regardless of whether you're my biological child or not, once I decided to adopt you, I'd already decided to treat you as my own daughter."For us, the ado
Blake replied to Liam. In the end, she decided that she did not want to work at Jardin Corporation and definitely did not want to become Cecilia's assistant.She had made that decision, firstly, due to their relationship, and secondly, because she believed she could not handle the position of the CEO's assistant.She wanted to take things one step at a time.Blake had rested at home for a few days, and StartReading Literary did not urge her to return to work.Hannah and Yael had stayed with Blake during the few days too. After resolving Blake's emotional struggles, they left and returned to their research institute.Around seven-thirty in the morning, after driving Hannah and Yael to the airport, Blake went to the company to work.When she arrived, some editors had already started working.An editor said, "Good morning, Ms. Dion!"Blake nodded. "Good morning."When she entered the office, she noticed that Liam had not arrived at the company yet. This surprised her because he u
Blake had just sent out the email, but within just ten minutes, she had already received confirmation that one of their novels had been greenlit for a major film adaptation and television series.She was not surprised, but she heard cheers outside her office. Perplexed, she shrugged her shoulders.She thought, 'It's just the approval of a project, what's there to be so overjoyed about?'However, at that moment, she heard someone outside the door say, "Oh my goodness, I thought our company was almost done for.""Yeah! I intended to resign.""Mr. Xander hasn't been in the company for the past two days, and Ms. Dion was absent for over half a month. Our company hasn't been performing well. My most recent paycheck was only half of what I made in the previous month. I was devastated.""Exactly! People from Jardin Corporation have never taken us seriously. Last week, I sent an email to Mr. Xander, and he told me he hasn't gotten any response from Jardin Corporation yet. And it's been h
Blake continued saying, "Ms. Samford, if you don't have anything to discuss with me, I'll have to leave now as I still have work matters to attend to. My apologies."Blake came to the company just for work and had no intention of getting involved with Cecilia.However, Cecilia ignored her request and immediately asked Susan to drive away from the Jardin Tower.Blake looked at Cecilia with displeasure. "What do you want?"Cecilia replied, "It's lunchtime now, and I've reserved a table at The Deli."Blake resisted the idea of having a meal with Cecilia. "I'm just an assistant, I'm not qualified to have lunch with you. Or have you come up with a new plan to deal with me? Or is it the same as last time; pushing me to the cooperating party you set up?"Cecilia responded, "All those incidents in the past have been misunderstandings. Now that we've finally reunited, let's forget about the past. I'll make it up to you. There's a banquet tonight; I'll introduce you to some people. It'll b
Dishes were gradually brought out one after another. Then a bowl of sweet potato soup was served. Cecilia took the ladle and filled a small bowl for Blake. "I specifically requested them to make this. I used to drink it often. Of course, this can't compare to the soup that you used to make for me in the past."Now that I've made some money, you won't have to cook anymore."Blake, who had been watching Cecilia talk, avoided eye contact. "I don't know what you're talking about."Cecilia smiled at Blake. "It's okay if you can't remember that now; I remember everything."Come on, have some soup. After you finish, I'll show you what you want to see."Blake, despite her initial reluctance, grabbed the spoon and gradually succumbed to Cecilia's persuasion.Blake finished the soup in her bowl in just a few minutes. She said, "Can you tell me now? You'd better not be playing games with me."Then, Cecilia took out her phone and opened a video.In the video, Kevin was dressed in a black w
Liam was standing in the rain, and though it hadn't been long, he was thoroughly drenched.Blake quickly pulled him close, her voice laced with concern. "Are you crazy? It's pouring rain! What if you catch a cold?"Liam's look was subdued, his face showing signs of fatigue. "I'm okay. This is for you; I didn't want you to have to come out in this weather."As Blake took in his forlorn appearance, her heart softened suddenly. 'Am I losing my mind?' she thought."Now you'll have to pay more attention to me, Blake... I was just so scared of losing you. I've put everything I have into getting you to agree to marry me; the idea of you walking away is unbearable."Overwhelmed with emotion, Blake locked eyes with him. "Did she teach you to say that too?" she asked, her hand moving on its own to brush away the raindrops from his hair.A maid nearby, observing the scene, rushed over with a blanket and an umbrella. However, Grace, fully grasping the gravity of the moment, halted her. Ackno
Cecilia said, "It's fine. Let's give them a week. Rearrange the flight and all the plans for the trip. This is Blake's first time getting married and going abroad for honeymoon. I want to make sure she has a good time."Susan nodded. "Okay, Ms. Samford."Not long after Cecilia left, three editors who used to work for Olivia's company entered her office. All of them spoke in panic, "Ms. Blue, what should we do? Ms. Samford already knows everything. If the legal department finds out about it, will we go to jail?"Olivia remained calm as she said, "Don't panic. Just focus on your work.""But we got into this company through you. What if they say we got into this company through the back door and then fired us?"Olivia sat at her desk, supporting her forehead with her hands. She was obviously panicking. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."You guys can leave now."Olivia did not expect this matter to be exposed so soon. She wondered how Cecilia found out about it. 'Could it be that she'
StartReading Literary was the last place Cecilia wanted to be. But she made an exception this time.Olivia had just finalized a cooperative copyright deal with another website company. Several editors from her own company were there at StartReading Literary. As she entered the office, she saw all the editors from StartReading Literary sitting upright, not daring to make a sound.She also saw her office door was wide open. She frowned as she walked into her office and was surprised to see an unexpected gust.Olivia put down the documents in her hand. "Ms. Samford, what brings you here?"With her legs crossed and Susan standing behind her, Cecilia stared at Olivia, who was in front of her.Cecilia sneered and stood up. She ran her fingers along the desk. "StartReading is actually the last place I want to be. I came here because I found out that you enjoy meddling in other people's affairs. Otherwise, you wouldn't even qualify to see me."Olivia instantly looked wary. She remained s
Liam stood up. He watched as Blake, who looked weary, walked away. "Blake, what do you want me to do so you'll like me?"Blake did not stop walking. Instead, she took even bigger steps and left.She went to the Harper residence, which surprised everyone.Grace asked, "Blake? Why did you come back here? Where's Liam? Why didn't he come back with you?"Blake stuttered, unable to find the words. She just made up an excuse, saying, "It's nothing. I just wanted to come back."After Hannah and Yael left the wedding last night, they went back to the research institute.As for Simon, he went to the farm to manage the business.After Blake went to her room, Grace became worried. She followed her and saw her sitting with a blank expression in the room, not knowing what to do.When Blake saw Grace, she quickly adjusted her mood. "Grace, why are you here?""I came to check on you. Blake, what's wrong? Did you have a fight with Liam? You just had your wedding yesterday, and you're already
The pregnancy test report came out fifteen minutes after Blake did the test. She was indeed pregnant. She was even seven weeks pregnant.Blake had indeed been involved with Kevin while in Northern Myanmar over a month ago.She held the medical report while standing bewildered in the cold hospital corridor. Lights shone through the floor-to-ceiling window onto her body, but all Blake felt was the cold, which made her hands and feet numb.She was lost in her thoughts. 'I'm really pregnant. What should I do with this baby? I want it to be born more than anyone else. But now, everything has changed. This child shouldn't come into this world.'She wandered in the corridor. Suddenly, she saw someone coming out of another gynecological room.She thought, 'Some things are just destined by fate. When I long to see him, even catching a glimpse of him in a dream feels like a luxury, an unattainable wish. But now, when I don't want to see him, it seems he appears everywhere I go.'Kevin supp
Blake wondered, 'I'm now pregnant with Kevin's child. What should I do?'She woke up groggily when she felt someone carry her. She opened her heavy eyelids and asked, "What time is it now?"Liam responded, "It's four-thirty in the morning. It's still early; go back to sleep for a while more."Blake said in a hoarse voice, "I've made an appointment for an abortion at eight o'clock. Regardless of whether I'm really pregnant or not, I don't want to keep this child."She had thought about it all night and believed this was the best decision.Kevin was going to get engaged. Blake believed he would get married and Audrey would give birth to his children. There was simply no need for her to complicate things further.She thought, 'If I choose to be selfish and decide to keep this baby, and if people find out about it, my child will be treated as an illegitimate child. I don't even dare to imagine how badly the child will be treated.'If giving birth to the baby will bring it a lifetime
Blake continued, "What about you, Liam? Do you mind?"If you do, you can choose to divorce me. After all, I've wronged you. No one wants to marry a woman who's carrying someone else's child."Liam stepped forward on the shattered cup and hugged her tightly. "I don't mind. Blake, I love you, including everything about you. I don't mind your past. I just want to start over with you. I didn't tell you about the pregnancy because I was selfish; I wanted to keep you by my side."Blake, your child is my child. I want to raise the baby with you."Don't leave me, okay?"Blake did not know why, but she was not surprised by her pregnancy. However, she felt that there were still some things that she could not let go of, though she was unsure what those were.She was not as calm as she had imagined.She thought about her past events. Then, she indifferently said, "Liam, I don't want this child. Since I'm prepared to be with you, I won't keep this child. It wouldn't be fair to you."Liam di
On this romantic night, the moon was obscured by the clouds.Breathing heavily, Blake felt some pain in her abdomen. She asked to stop. "Liam, my stomach hurts. I think I'm going to have my period soon."Liam sobered up instantly. "I'll go get you some medicine."She peeked out from under the blanket as the bedside lamp turned on. She could clearly see Liam's naked upper body. Her face flushed as she averted her gaze. "It's fine. Just help me call the front desk and ask them to bring up a pack of sanitary pads. I'll go to the bathroom to deal with it."Liam replied, "Let's go to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up."Blake picked up her clothes from the floor and went to the bathroom. "It's okay. It's probably just my period."However, judging by the blood flowing out, it did not seem like menstrual blood to Blake. It looked like something else.Blake's voice came from the bathroom again. "I think we should go to the hospital."She sat on the toilet and watched the tall, slende
Blake had no bridesmaids, so she returned to the hotel room alone. As she stepped out of the elevator and was ready to use the room key card in her hand to swipe and enter the room, she suddenly saw a figure appear from the corner of her eye.She stopped her action and looked at the person who had left the wedding earlier.At that moment, Blake felt her breath catch, but it was only fleeting. She then quickly regained her composure and averted her gaze. She asked, "Didn't you leave? Why are you still here?"Kevin replied, "Congratulations."Upon hearing his congratulations, Blake felt a mix of amusement and discomfort. "There's nothing to congratulate. If anything, I should congratulate you. You're soon to be the mayor's son-in-law. In the future, we won't belong in the same social class anymore."I'm tired and came back to rest. You should leave now before Liam comes up and sees you here."Don't look for me again. I don't want him to misunderstand."Kevin responded, "Audrey and