“After getting married, any woman should act obediently and virtuously just like your mother. She takes good care of her family, her children, and her husband. However, the husband thinks those are all that she should do. He’s never given her a single word of approval or appreciation. You should know it yourself. Your mother has never dared to go against my father’s will.”The car was parked outside the apartment. Lucy unfastened her seat belt but did not get out of the car. Instead, she turned to look at Elaine.“So, is that why you don’t like my mother?” Lucy waited for her answer in silence.Elaine leaned on the back of the seat. “I just can’t stand your mother’s aggrieved looks and pleading manners.”Lucy lowered her gaze and said nothing.It was not that she did not know that her mother felt aggrieved and wronged. After getting married to the Xaviers, she could no longer engage in the profession that she liked. Edward wanted her to be a housewife and even asked her to cut tie
Maisie was stunned. “Does she have a bad father-daughter relationship with Edward?”Saydie shook her head. “I'm not sure about that, but that's the general situation. Ms. Xavier would have a fight with her father from time to time, and the staff often heard him say that it's a shame that Ms. Xavier is a woman.”‘It’s a shame that Elaine is a woman?’Maisie frowned, and understanding soon dawned upon her.Edward did not plan to nurture Elaine at all. In his eyes, his daughter was going to marry another man in the future, so no matter how capable she was, she would never stay in Beyond Technology and the Xaviers forever.She thought for a while and said to Saydie, “Help me to make an appointment with Ms. Xavier.”Several days later, at Beyond Technology…Elaine walked toward the CEO's office with a document in her hands, her face grim. The staff in the department had already gotten used to it, and just as they expected, a “smack” echoed from the CEO's office as she hurled the docu
Elaine ignored his anger and continued. “Dad, I hate your selfishness, and I hate your toxic masculinity even more. My mom made the right decision when she left you.”She grabbed her ID card and threw it on the floor. “You look down on me just because I'm a woman, right? Alright then. I'll quit. I'll show you that I'm no worse than any man!”Without waiting for Edward to say anything, she pulled the door open and went out.She lifted her head and saw Maisie. She was stunned for a moment and said, “If you’re looking for my father, he’s in there.”Maisie smiled and said, “I’m here looking for you.”Elaine was stunned.Elaine led Maisie to a small restaurant not far away from Beyond Technology. Although this restaurant was not as classy and comfortable as those upscale restaurants, it was her favorite. She took two bottles of beer out of the fridge, popped one open, and poured it into her glass. “Since you asked me to pick a place, I picked this one. I'm sure you don't mind, right?”
Maisie lifted her eyelids to look at Elaine. “Marriage is something that's difficult to understand. Everyone has their own difficulties. Women can understand men's difficulties, but not every man can understand women's difficulties. You aren’t married yet, so you can choose whatever life you want without caring about the views of others, right?”Elaine was stunned for a while. She lowered her head and chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s a little bit too soon for me to trouble myself with something like this. Life is long. There are still many meaningful things to do besides getting married.”“Are you sure you want to leave Beyond Technology?” Maisie asked.She nodded. “Yes. I want to prove to my dad that I’m not inferior to any man.”Maisie smiled and did not say anything.Elaine was an independent woman who knew what she wanted. She bore a bit of resemblance to Madam Nera. She chose what she wanted to have in her own life.Everyone had the right to choose what kind of lifestyle
Maisie was stunned. “You’re kidding, right?”Nolan smiled at her and replied, “I know you can’t wait any longer, but I still need to work. So, let’s wait until we get home, alright?”Maisie was so exasperated that she was tongue-tied, and her face turned red in embarrassment. At the Lakeview Apartment…Lucy had just finished making her dinner when she heard someone knock on the door. She did not know who it was, so she went to answer the door. She was stunned when she saw Elaine standing in front of the door with her luggage. “What on earth is—”Elaine went into her apartment directly and said, “I need to stay with you for the time being.”Lucy closed the door and looked at her. “Are you serious? You have a big villa to stay in yet want to squeeze in with me in a small apartment?”“I have fallen out with my dad,” Elaine replied with her arms in front of her chest. “Even though we’re not blood-related, I’m still your elder sister. Why can’t I stay here with you?”Lucy did not s
Pearl lowered her head and didn’t speak. Kamala put her hand on her shoulder. “Pearl, I know you’ve been wronged, but the past is already in the past, and we need to move forward. You should think about your child.”Pearl nodded, then answered, “I know.”Tanner only came back with their son in the afternoon. Noah happily ran toward Kamala with a toy in hand. “Grandma, Daddy’s toy!”Kamala touched his hair and smiled. “Do you like it?”Noah nodded and continued playing with the toy plane. “Yes!”Kamala didn’t want to interrupt her grandchild’s happiness. Tanner walked toward her. “Where’s Pearl, Ma’am?”She answered neutrally, “In the room.”Tanner walked to her room and opened the door. He saw Pearl standing in front of the window, the pink curtains covering her body. She looked as if she was floating by the window, suddenly disappearing in front of his eyes.His heart ached immensely, and he suddenly ran forward to hug her.Pearl was shocked. “What are you doing?”“I… I
Tanner smiled. “I’m fine.”Kamala turned around and left without a word.When Pearl looked back at Tanner, she looked into his eyes and then looked down. “Are you… really fine?”Tanner looked away. “I’m fine. Let me put the nest back.”After placing the nest back, Tanner turned to look at Pearl, who stood there unmoving. He slowly got closer and stopped in front of her. “Pearl, there’s no need to feel guilty. I’m fine.”But when he saw her tears falling, he was surprised and didn’t know what to do.He held her face and wiped away her tears. “Pearl, why are you crying?”She didn’t know why she was feeling so bad. Maybe she remembered their past, or maybe she just remembered the feeling, but her tears just kept falling.Tanner lowered his head and lightly kissed where the tears rolled past. Pearl’s lashes fluttered, but she didn’t move away when he stopped at the side of her lips. Tanner stared at her for a long moment before slowly kissing her when she didn’t push him away as
Daisie walked over and sat down next to Lisa. “Lisa, are you alright?”She didn’t reply.Daisie was worried about her, so she placed a hand on her shoulder, but at that moment, Lisa moved it away. “Daisie, let’s not be friends.”Daisie was startled and curious. “Why?” Something came to her mind, “Did Leah say something to you?”Lisa lowered her head and wiped her tears away. “I know that I’m not from a rich family. My parents can’t give me anything more than the fees for this school. I just wanted friends. Why… Why did they have to say that about me?”Daisie slowly walked in front of her and knelt down. “Lisa, ignore what they say and think. You know that Leah loves to manipulate people. I only see you as my friend.”Seeing that Lisa was still crying, Daisie got up because she was angry. “I’m going to speak to Leah!”“Don’t—”Lisa held her back, “Please, Daisie, there’s no point. Do you think she will stop targeting me if you speak to her?”Daisie paused because she made sense