When Harry last saw Finley, it was months ago.She had just returned to Seaworth City from abroad and said she was going to stay for good this time. Everyone knew the reason behind this decision. After all, it was no secret that she had feelings for Chester. Although she was already 26 years old, she still made herself available for him. Thus, she stood out among the women her age.The Stones had tried talking sense into her, telling her to like someone else and that she could never be with Chester. Alas, she had been trying to win his heart for ten years. If it were possible, he would've opened up to her already.While Harry was still covered in sweat and unsure of what to do, Finley had already spotted him. She raised her hand to wave at him."Harry!" He showed a hideous smile as he approached them awkwardly. Then, he stood next to Giselle and greeted Finley. "Hey, Finley…"Upon noticing a figure next to her, Giselle finally removed her earbuds. "Hey, Harry."She hadn't hea
When Finley was gone, Harry finally let out a breath of relief."Giselle, she isn't my actual sister, and there's nothing special about our relationship."The conference hadn't officially started yet, so Harry brought Giselle on a tour of the school. As the main high school in Seaworth City, every facility there was top-notch. It was exactly how Giselle remembered it.At that moment, there were a lot of people in the field. Since classes were over, most Seaworth High students would gather there. Giselle stood by the entrance and stared at the field for a while before following Harry to their next location.They eventually arrived at a glass greenhouse with an open roof. There were various plants housed there, and it was built for students to take a rest.Harry said excitedly, "Giselle, it's incredibly comfortable to sleep here!""It sounds like you skip classes a lot by sleeping here." Giselle exposed his secrets immediately with one sentence, and he started blushing right away.
Vivian and Jonathan were standing in the distance, and they both looked distracted."Jon, I told you not to come. After all, it's just a parent-teacher conference. You don't have to waste your time here." After saying that, Vivian pouted.Normally, she would hire someone to pretend to be her parent. Since she was the daughter of the great Lawson family, the teachers would turn a blind eye to it. However, to Vivian's surprise, Jonathan showed up today without an invitation.When he arrived at the school's entrance, he called her right away and told her to bring him inside. Thinking about how she was ranked second last in her test, she could feel her head throbbing.Vivian didn't like to study. Since her family had enough money for her to spend until the day she died, she didn't see why she had to study so hard. If she couldn't get into a good university in the country, she figured she could just pay to study abroad.As for her future career, she could just join Lawson Group and ask
Finley was only being polite toward Giselle earlier for Harry's sake. In reality, she despised Giselle a lot. With a frown, she said to Giselle, "I'm warning you. Don't have any funny ideas about Harry. He's an innocent guy, and the Stone family is way out of your league."The last sentence was said with clear arrogance. Any typical person would've started losing confidence when they heard that. However, Giselle was no ordinary person either, and she shouldn't be treated as such.Facing such obvious discrimination, she smiled without any warmth in her eyes. She calmly said while spinning her pen, "Are they out of my league? By the way, do you know how passionate Harry is when it comes to me? He would talk to me every day and share everything about his day."The more Giselle spoke, the darker Finley's face became. Although Finley had known Harry longer, she had never experienced any of the things Giselle just mentioned! Even though they weren't blood-related, Finley was still Harry
At that moment, Harry thought there was something wrong with Vivian. After all, that was how he had always talked to her. He didn't understand what she meant by someone talking behind her back. It seemed to him that she was feeling a little too confident about herself.He would never sugarcoat his words, so he scolded her right away. "Vivian, can you stop thinking so highly of yourself? Who would have the time to talk behind your back? Do you think everyone is as toxic as you are?"They were both in the same class. The girls would always gossip, so it was common to hear snippets of it between lessons. Vivian's seat was right next to his, and she would always talk about other people.For example, she would instigate talk about how other students were dating or how many children their teachers had. Harry would feel bored every time she started yammering away.Vivian's face instantly turned pale. She couldn't believe he would call her toxic when she was only trying to get his attent
Back then, Jonathan was a student who didn't care about his grades. He was smart, but he didn't put much effort into his studies and would always submit an empty sheet during exams.After that, Giselle started monitoring his studies. He figured it was the Lawsons who had arranged it. Whenever he encountered a question he didn't understand, she would patiently explain it to him over and over again.When Jonathan was young, he wouldn't lower his head in front of anyone. Giselle was the only one who could make him do that. Their past together felt sweet but distant. Although they were close, fate had other things in mind for them.Presently, Jonathan was in a daze. When he finally returned to his senses, the conference was over, and Giselle was no longer sitting next to him. Thus, he got up and exited the classroom.Vivian and the rest were waiting outside, and Finley took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Lawson, would you like to have a meal together?"Finley had dressed up beautifully f
Giselle was currently in a private room. She had no idea what Vivian and the rest were thinking of her or what they were saying.Harry excitedly ordered all the signature dishes the restaurant had to offer and said, "Giselle, what else would you like to eat? Feel free to order anything you want! It'll be my treat today!"He had successfully averted a crisis. Since his family hadn't contacted him yet, he was certain that they didn't know about the parent-teacher conference. As for Finley, from what he knew about her, she wasn't loosely lipped. If she did say anything about it, he would cause a scene!As he pushed the menu toward Giselle, he still hadn't figured out how Finley found out about the event. After all, she couldn't have suddenly cared about him. The terrifying thought made him shudder, and he shook his head to erase the idea."These will be enough." Giselle and Harry had similar tastes. They both loved spicy food and disliked anything sour.Harry checked his phone after
Right after Finley sent that message, she received a notification."You have been removed from the group."She was confused at first. Then, when she realized that Harry had kicked her out, she scoffed in anger. Vivian was sitting next to her and immediately realized something was wrong. She hurriedly asked, "Finley, you look terrible. Are you feeling unwell?"When Vivian spoke, the other people at the table turned to look at Finley at the same time. Finley tightened her grip on her phone before looking at Jonathan. "Mr. Lawson, I have a question, but I'm not sure if I should ask you about it.""Go ahead.""What's Giselle's relationship with your uncle?"From what Finley had heard, Giselle was once Jonathan's fiancée, and they were in love for seven years. Jonathan and Giselle grew up together and had a strong bond. However, they later split up and went their separate ways.When Finley saw Harry's messages, her heart sank. Upon finding out that Giselle's relationship with Chest
After Sebastian finished shouting, the entire hall fell silent.What did he just say? That the reason Wendy wanted a divorce from him was to go look for the man from that night?Wendy's eyes widened in disbelief. "A man?"Sebastian was her first love. Throughout the past 20 years, Sebastian was the only man for her. How could he say that she had some other man? This was a great insult to her!With a loud smack, Sebastian was slapped across the cheek.This blow had unintentionally dragged him back to his senses. As he watched the tears falling incessantly down his wife's cheeks, panic took over him.Sebastian loosened himself from the grip of the two policemen who were restraining him and hurriedly reached out, wanting to hold Wendy in his arms. However, she took two steps back, leaving his arms hovering in mid-air."It was wrong of me to say that, Wendy. I-I didn't mean that. Please hear me out…"Yarick did not understand what had just happened. All he knew was that his parents
Anthony had to have done this to avenge Wendy. The relationship between the two was a mystery to Giselle. However, she could not speculate. Otherwise, it would reflect poorly on Wendy."You're just an outsider, Giselle. This has nothing to do with you!"What happened did not matter to Sebastian. Giselle simply had no right to stick her nose into their business.Giselle was not upset at all. She clicked her tongue twice before saying, "Did I say anything? Stop being so desperate! Why? Do you see yourself as a coward as well?"Sebastian did not hold back as he yelled, "Giselle Stone!"Jim was the first to chide him. "Mr. Grant, this is the police station. Do mind your volume!"It could be said that they favored Giselle. How dare Sebastian yell at the apple of their eye? Now they had no choice but to use their power on him.Sebastian's frustration only deepened, and his expression became dark. He clenched his fists tightly as he tried to control his anger.Meanwhile, Wendy went
Giselle assumed Fred had seen her online. After all, her dispute with Charlotte had caused quite a stir on the internet and remained a trending topic for almost half a month. It wouldn't be surprising if Fred had come across it.Fred shook his head. "I can't tell you."He knew Chester would be offended if he spilled the beans.Giselle was confused. Why couldn't he tell her? Was it too awkward to explain?Fred kept quiet, and Giselle didn't press him further. She was here to gather information about Anthony, after all. Once that was done, she didn't intend to linger and interrupt the father-son reunion.As she left the office, she found Danny still waiting outside. "Detective Stone." Danny turned to her. His features were sharp and well-defined, and he exuded a domineering presence just by standing there.Danny was the second son of the Stone family.Though he came from a wealthy and privileged family, he chose one of the most dangerous professions. And despite his backgroun
Sebastian was nothing but a coward.Emma despised men like him the most. Who was he planning to protect if he couldn't even protect his wife and child? They sneered at Sebastian.Just as Wendy was about to call the police, her phone rang."Hello, is this Ms. Scott? This is the Seaworth Police Department. Mr. Grant has been arrested as a suspect for assault," said the caller.Mr. Grant? Wendy was confused about who the officer was referring to. Sebastian was with her, so who could this "Mr. Grant" be? Only Giselle figured out who it was. After the call ended, Giselle said, "It's Anthony."Sebastian knew who Anthony was. For the past two weeks, their household had been filled with Harold and Linda's constant arguments.Anthony's name kept coming up in their disputes, as Linda was sure Anthony was Harold's illegitimate son. She also warned Sebastian to watch out for the man.Anthony wasn't just here to meddle. He was here to fight for the family inheritance.If he was Harold
Yarick drank his orange juice, the corners of his mouth stained with ketchup.Hearing Giselle's question, he thought carefully for a moment. "Dad is nice to me."Just as Giselle and Emma thought they were overthinking, Yarick added, "Dad buys me whatever I want. But he never hugs or kisses me unless I ask him to. Mom says it's because Dad is too tired."Never initiating affection. That was weird. But why exactly…Giselle felt she needed to investigate this further. She checked her watch and decided it was time to take Yarick back to the hotel.When they returned, the argument between Wendy and Sebastian seemed to have ended.Sebastian was stood by the window, smoking a cigarette, while Wendy sat on the couch, holding back tears.Seeing Yarick come back, Wendy forced a smile. "Yarick, you're back? Come here."Yarick instinctively sensed Wendy's sadness. He nestled in her arms, rubbing his cheek against hers, showing a sensitive side beyond his age. He was a sweet child. "Seba
Children had incredibly sharp memories. By the age of three or four, they could already remember certain events.Yarick was now five years old. Although he seemed cheerful and lively, he kept many thoughts to himself.As they walked to the elevator, Yarick wiggled in Giselle's arms. "You can put me down. I'm heavy."Giselle told him he wasn't heavy but still respected his wishes and gently put him down.Holding his hands on either side, Giselle and Emma walked alongside him. Yarick kept his head lowered, his sadness written plainly on his face.Once out of the elevator, Yarick looked up at Giselle. "Giselle, are Dad and Mom fighting because of me?"Judging from the question, it was clear that Sebastian and Wendy had frequently quarreled even while they were abroad.Emma and Giselle exchanged glances before they began comforting him."Yarick, you're such a sweet boy! Your parents love you so much. There's no way they would fight because of you. Don't overthink it. Come on, we'll
The familiar voice and tone—it was Anthony. Giselle calmly ended the call, logged into her email, and found the email Anthony sent. She tentatively opened it. At the top of the email was a photo. After skimming through the text below, Giselle quickly understood the situation."What is it, Gigi?" Emma asked curiously.Giselle handed her phone over. "It seems to be information about the thugs from earlier."But how did Anthony have this information? The question lingered until Sebastian arrived, breaking the tense silence."Wendy! Are you alright? Were you hurt? How's Yarick?" Sebastian looked disheveled, his face tinged with worry. He grabbed Wendy by the shoulders, scanning her and the surroundings.However, his expression darkened when he saw Giselle."What are you doing here?" His accusatory tone angered everyone present. Wendy tried to hold herself back but failed. "Sebastian Grant! Giselle is my friend. Watch your tone!"Giselle had gone from being Wendy's sister-in-
"Why not?" Giselle frowned.She looked at Wendy seriously. "This isn't about you or Yarick. You and Sebastian aren't divorced yet, so he's still your husband and Yarick's father. You've been hurt, and he has the right to know and resolve this issue."Even if they were divorced, Sebastian was still responsible. He was the one who offended these people. Why should his wife and child pay the price? This was ridiculous.Wendy fell silent. Her hands fidgeted as she struggled with her thoughts. After a moment, she accepted Giselle's suggestions. Under the watchful eyes of both Giselle and Emma, Wendy called Sebastian for the first time in days.The phone rang for a while before it was answered. Sebastian's stern voice soon came through. "Have you changed your mind?"Sebastian believed Wendy was just throwing a tantrum by staying outside. On top of that, his work had been keeping him busy, leaving him with no time to coax her.Charlotte had warned him to not coddle women or they would b
Giselle hurried to the hotel where Wendy was staying. When she arrived, Emma was already there.Yarick was in Emma's arms, his eyes puffy from crying. The moment he saw Giselle, he struggled against Emma to get down. Emma set Yarick on the ground, and he immediately ran toward Giselle."Giselle." He looked up at her with teary eyes, "The bad guys hurt Mom."Half an hour earlier, a group of thugs had barged in and started smashing the room. In the chaos, Wendy was accidentally elbowed in the nose. She was now in the bathroom, trying to stop the bleeding.Emma had come by to speak to Wendy and learn more about her situation, only to witness the mayhem. Fortunately, she managed to snap a picture of one of the intruders.Giselle glanced at the photo and shook her head. "I don't recognize him." She bent down and picked up Yarick before giving him a piece of candy to comfort him.Yarick held the candy tightly and turned toward the bathroom. "Mom was hurt. I want to give the candy to