Leia was silent for a while, then decided to be honest with herself and nodded. "Yeah, I hate that you can't make up your mind. I don't care what others think—to me, love is exclusive. If we're a couple, your body and mind should only belong to me!" She knew that Xavier was physically loyal to her when they were a couple, but she didn't know if his heart had been hers entirely. "Do you remember the one question I asked you repeatedly before we became a couple?" Leia watched Xavier, her eyes watery. "I asked you if you were sure that you had moved on completely and if you truly only cared about me. You hesitated at that moment, and that was when I knew. Maybe that was the beginning of this tragedy." Back then, she had been infatuated with Xavier's good looks and just wanted to have some fun. If things went wrong, they could break up and go their separate ways. Unexpectedly, her spontaneous fling turned into infatuation, and it hurt more than when she broke up with her scumbag first love
Leia felt like a clown performing for everyone's entertainment. Humiliated and awkward, she kept her head lowered as she walked toward the entrance of the hall.However, Xavier kept looking for her onstage. Finally, he shouted, "Leia!" Immediately, everyone turned to look at Leia. Leia was struck dumb. She could neither leave nor turn around, and cursed inwardly. "A wedding proposal is a very important affair to me—it means that I'll give up every other woman and focus on only one. I don't know if I can be loyal forever, but I still want to try. So… can you please not go?" Xavier said sincerely as he stared at Leia's back. Leia's cheeks burned and she covered her face in embarrassment. That jerk! He could have just proposed to Shirley, but he insisted on humiliating Leia like this. Did he think she was a pushover? When Leia didn't move, Xavier became more confident. He smoothed his tie and straightened, then got off the stage. "Xavier!" Shirley knew what was going to happe
Undeniably, Shirley had raised Xavier's biggest concern. He knew what kind of person he was; If he acted on a whim and hurt Leia, he wouldn't be able to bear it. Time passed, and everyone was waiting for Xavier's next move... But in the end, he didn't say a thing."What a coward!" Having lost her patience, Leia swung open the door and left. She went to the washroom and splashed some cold water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror, angry at the emotions in her eyes. She slapped herself fiercely. "You're a fool, Leia Osborne! You fall for the same trap over and over again!" After calming herself down, she turned around and exited the washroom.A familiar figure was standing outside, and he smiled gently at her. "Lei, it's been a while."When Leia saw the man, her eyes widened in delight. "Mr. Dalton, you... you're finally back! That's great!" Previously, their relationship had been progressing towards something more than friends, but she hadn't paid attention to it because
Leia felt much better after hearing that. She checked the time and was disappointed to see that the ceremony was far from over. If she left now, she would seem like a coward… but she needed some courage to return to the hall. She wrung her hands, wondering if she should stay or leave."What's troubling you?" Santiago instantly noticed Leia's anxiousness and said softly, "Tell me if you need my help.""Ah, it's nothing. You don't have to worry about my petty problems," Leia waved him off and said casually. She knew that she was a fool in love, and she was too embarrassed to tell Santiago about it. Besides, he had once told her that Xavier was unreliable, and yet, she was still letting Xavier mess with her head. It would be embarrassing to bring it up again."What do you mean by people who don't deserve it?" Santiago lowered his head, looking like he was trying to suppress his emotions. "You know, I thought I wouldn't come back here so soon. I've been working at The Footstars for the
Santiago stared at Leia intently, and the atmosphere became tense. "What?" Leia never expected the solemn and calm Santiago to ask her something like that, and her cheeks turned red like a girl who had just fallen in love."You don't have to be shy. I'm not asking you to make me your man. I'm just curious about my position in your heart." Santiago tried to lighten the atmosphere so Leia wouldn't feel awkward."Oh, I see..." Leia's features instantly relaxed and she scratched her hair as she thought about it. "You don't have to doubt it, Mr. Dalton. Surely, you're still my first love! You might not understand it, but a first love is something special. You'll always have that position in my heart!""Does that mean that I'll always be your first love?" Santiago got closer to her, feeling moved. A lot of his fans loved him, but it pleased him to no end knowing that he was Leia's first love. "Yeah, you always will be!" Leia nodded generously. She would always admire him as his fan.
Meanwhile, Renee had arrived at the place for the children's kindergarten graduation photos. It was a beautiful island, and they needed to ride on speedboats to get there.The children were very excited and could not stop talking during the journey. They happily discussed how to spend their two days and one night there. Adie and Abby had grown up on an island, so this place felt like home to them.Adie held Renee's hand and said confidently, "Mommy, you and Abby should just enjoy yourself. I'll catch some fish and prawns so I can make a seafood feast for you both." "Okay, I look forward to it!" Renee touched Adie's head and said gently. Both Adie and Abby had great survival skills because they had grown up on an island. They were good at swimming and diving, and were probably even better at it than many adults. The kindergarten children and their parents reached the island in batches, and Renee, Adie, and Abby were among the last to arrive. The island was large, and didn't seem t
However, it was too late to regret it. Renee shook her head and decided to stop being pessimistic. "Okay, Adie. You can find food and set up the tent while Abby and I go look for treasures. Let's see if we can nab the mystery prize!""Okay, Mommy. We'll work hard!" Adie carried the fishing tools to the beach to catch some fish and prawns.Renee smiled, her worries fading when she saw how enthusiastic Adie was. Adie had always been a smart kid, and Renee knew he would be fine since he even managed to get to Beach City from Sun Island on his own."Let's go look for treasures, Abby!" Renee watched Adie briefly, then held Abby's hand as they set off to look for the treasures. Based on the map they were given, the treasures were hidden in a small karst cave on the island, and it was quite a hike to get there. Renee squatted down to Abby's level and asked gently, "Are you scared, Abby? If you're scared, you can stay at the campsite and wait for me. I can do this on my own too." Renee was
A plump boy kept jumping on the beach, trying to catch some fish but failing to get any. "This isn't fun at all!" The plump boy named Tubby grabbed the fishing tools and threw them onto the sand angrily. He grabbed his father's hand and wailed. "Why can't our family catch any fish? What are you both doing? If this goes on, we won't have any dinner. We might even be in last place! Hurry up and think of something!""What can we do, son? We're not professional fishermen, so it's only normal that we can't catch any fish. Maybe there aren't any fish here either. Don't worry, we can get food from others later." Glenn Bardot, Tubby's father, was rather laidback about the whole thing. However, Camila Bardot, Tubby's mother, became restless. She pinched Glenn. "How can you say that? The minute something becomes tough, you immediately give up! No wonder our boy is always lagging." Camila looked around and was surprised to see Adie catching a lot of fish nearby. Camila said to Tubby, "Look at
When Renee noticed Lucas' growing trust in her, she started begging for mercy for Leia.Unexpectedly, Lucas turned hostile and cunning. "So, you said that much to me just because you wanted to beg for mercy for your friend. Were you talking nonsense?" he snapped. "No, it was a sincere suggestion! I mean it! I wanted to help you make this company bigger and stronger." Renee swallowed, and added, "My friend and I are close. A normal person like me wouldn't want her to suffer so much." "Yes, any normal person wouldn't. But people in our industry can't afford to be normal. Only crazy people can do this kind of work."Lucas raised his brow, and looked at Leia before turning back to Renee. "How about this? You punish her to prove your loyalty. Then, I'll believe that you're on my side. What do you think?" "Motherfucker! Just come at me! Stop talking crap! I'm not afraid of you!" Leia suddenly shrieked.Lying on the table, her initial fear gradually turned into anger. Finally, sh
"Flying Clouds? What does that mean? What do you want?" Leia demanded. She trembled all over and subconsciously retreated.Two guards held her and pushed her on the table. They untied her shackles and tied her limbs to the four corners of the table. Then, another guard carried a basin of hot water over. It was steaming."Just start!" Lucas ordered as he sat. He took a drag of his cigarette as he watched Leia's slightly revealed figure while struggling. He looked very obscene. Renee, standing at the side, grew nervous. However, she tried her best to put on a smile and said to Lucas, "Lucas, we can talk it out. You told us we could help you earn a lot. We're your best tool for earning money. But if you do this and ruin your tool, you'll suffer." "Calm down…" Lucas turned to Renee, finding her quite obedient and sensible. He said to a guard, "Bring a chair for this pretty girl and make her learn well. When our business gets big, she can be a manager!"The guard quickly carried
There were various kinds of torture instruments hanging around the cage. There was even a saw that would function with just a pull.Upon closer inspection, Renee noticed bloodstains on the instruments. The corners were full of piles of human hair. There was also a rotten and damp scent lingering around."What… What kind of place is this?" Leia screamed.She stood at the door of the cage and swallowed in fright, now timid. She found that place very familiar. After some contemplation, she realized it was something related to what she had seen before in the deep web.The so-called deep web was more horrible than the dark web. Only ten percent of netizens could find the websites. These websites weren't under supervision, and were full of outrageous videos and business deals.For example, the sellers would buy beautiful models to make vulgar videos of for the buyers' viewing. The buyers would make outrageous requests based on their insane desires. They would spend some money for the se
Though the building looked ordinary and old, it was filled with many things.However, it was not very accurate. The place resembled thematic scenes more.The first floor was an ordinary office area. The second floor looked like a hotel, while the third floor looked like classrooms… The themes for each place were centered around obscenity.Renee wasn't dumb. She instantly understood why Lucas brought her and Leia there by force. She also finally understood why Lucas prohibited his subordinate from touching Leia's face even though she had been rude to him. If she guessed right, these bastards wanted her and Leia to shoot pornos. "Do you like these scenes, my friends?" Lucas was smoking, in a great mood to see the film and television site he had established. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Renee and Leia. "Other than wire fraud and online casinos, the thing that makes most money is the limited and short videos. You girls are so pretty. Just work with me and shoot some R-rated
The motorbikes raced the narrow streets noisily, passing through crowds and messy alleyways. After a winding journey, they got on the large roads and drove toward a growingly remote and unknown place.At last, they stopped in front of a large iron gate with guards and two large German Shepherds. There were a few large words above the iron gate that spelled Gold Investment. As Renee and Leia walked inside, they saw a large park, like a factory. Both of them exchanged a look of deep helplessness. They had bumped into something terrible. If they guessed it right, Lucas and his gang were involved in wire fraud. They had been brought to Lucas' scamming site.Men in uniforms happened to walk toward the cafeteria to get food under the supervision of guards. Their faces or bodies were full of new or old injuries. They looked numb and dispirited, as if they had lost all hope in life.Both Renee and Leia exchanged another look. They could confirm they were brought to an infamous scamming
Lucas' lackey brought out a dagger. He pulled Leia, and pushed the dagger against her neck.Lucas stared at Renee, and sneered, "I hope you and your friend can behave. We're from the same country. We can get along, can't we?" "Ren, ignore me! Just get them! I'm sure they can't kill me in front of everyone!" Leia shouted.She was fearless and tried all means to resist, but the man was rather fierce. He pinned her wrists behind her while pushing the dagger against her neck.As Leia wasn't standing still, the blade scratched her neck and caused it to bleed.Renee could only unclench her fists, and asked Lucas coldly, "What do you want?" "Don't be scared. We mean you no harm. We like you girls because we're from the same country. We'd like to invite you to my place as guests," Lucas mouthed off insufferably as he touched his chin. His face was swollen from being punched. "Let my friend go now!" Renee ordered Lucas. She could easily handle those bastards alone, but she was too tim
"I need to congratulate you, since you'll get another person who can teach you how to be a human being aside from Draco from today onward." Renee glared at Lucas angrily, her tone icy."Who? You? Just you?" Lucas held his belly and burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! How could you? You—"The next second, Renee interrupted him and punched him. His head tilted to the side, and his teeth were knocked out and fell off. Renee grabbed his hair and demanded icily, "What about now? Where are our phones?""You… You…" Lucas' cheek was swollen. He couldn't move at all, and waved for his lackeys to act.They jumped off their motorbikes and waved their steel pipes and knives, about to attack Renee."Ren, be careful!" While resisting, Leia reminded Renee to be careful. Renee remained composed as she kept her grip on Lucas' hair. She used him as a shield as she kicked and punched the other men, defeating them with ease.She suffered no injury while attacking others as Lucas had to endur
Renee and Leia crossed the sidewalk and walked toward the bus stop some distance away from them. Before they could enter the bus stop, however, the tanned man who approached them at the airport just now stopped in front of them on a motorbike.Behind him were six or seven men, also on a motorbike, looking fierce and dangerous. "Hey, gorgeous. Didn't you say your friend was coming to get you? Why are you catching a ride here? Listen, I own the buses here. Just tell me where you're going. I'll give you a free ride!"When Leia saw him, she could no longer hold herself back. She rushed forward and grabbed his collar. "You have the nerve to stop us! Give us back our cell phones, or you'll be sorry!" "Cell phones? What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about." The man smiled slyly as he held Leia's hand. "What's wrong? Did you lose your phone, gorgeous? Tell me what it looks like. I've got quite a lot of connections. I'll get it back for you quick.""You're asking
Under such circumstances, the best solution was to quickly get away from that man.Both Renee and Leia took the escalator and walked a long way before they finally exited the airport. Only then did Renee breathe a sigh of relief. She said to Leia, "Okay, call Liam. Ask him to get someone to pick us up."They kept their trip to Goldshire a secret from Liam, as he didn't want Leia to attend the wedding with the excuse that the city came with a complicated environment. It would be easy for her to run into bad guys. Giving him her blessings was enough. At first, Leia hesitated to come, but after planning it out with Renee, she became bolder. She felt that it was fine since she was just there to attend a wedding.Unfortunately, they ran into an annoying sleazebag at the airport. It was a real bummer."Okay." Leia nodded. "I know this place would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this serious! What the hell was that? I have to ask Liam to get someone here quickly. If not, thos