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
"I said you're ill-mannered!" Camila snapped haughtily. "I was wondering why you're so fierce and rude, but now it makes sense. Hmph, isn't there a rule in Monte Perry that they won't accept kids from single-parent families? How did you manage to get in? You're tarnishing the image of the kindergarten and its students!" Tubby was a transfer student, so Camila didn't know about the uproar that happened when Adie and Abby tried to register there. Besides, Renee always kept a low profile and purposely hid the background of the two children, so Camila didn't know who Adie's parents were. She assumed that Adie's parents came from new money, since the truly rich families would not easily get a divorce for their image's sake.At first, Adie did not want to lower himself to Tubby and Camila's level, he just wanted to take his eel and leave, but he couldn't let go of the things they said. It wasn't like him to let something like this go. Hence, he put the fishing tools on the ground, stood on
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St