As Valarie reached the entrance, Brandon stepped in front of her again. "Valarie, are you avoiding me?"Valarie rolled her eyes. "Mr. Sumner, we're not close. Please call me Ms. Weir. No, I'm not avoiding you. I just don't want to deal with you.""Why don't you want to deal with me? Is it because I'm too handsome and you're afraid of accidentally falling for me?" Brandon asked.Valarie was momentarily speechless, then huffed. "You're so full of yourself!""Seriously, I've been chasing you for five years now. What exactly don't you like about me? Just tell me, and I'll change!" Brandon pleaded.Valarie's heart skipped a beat as she looked into Brandon's serious eyes, and she quickly averted her gaze. "Okay, then tell me what you like about me. I'll change that too.""I like that you don't like me," Brandon countered.Valarie raised an eyebrow as she replied, "That's a hard one to change. Maybe you should pick something else to like.""No can do. From the moment I met you, I knew
"This time it's for real, I promise!" Brandon argued.He spoke with unwavering conviction, but Damon merely looked down, unwilling to engage with him any further.Brandon let out a sigh, feeling the weight of his troubles with no one to confide in. He asked again, "Uncle Damon, are we still drinking?""When did I agree to drink with you?" Damon replied.Brandon sighed, realizing he had misplaced his hopes.After turning the car around to drop Damon off at his villa, they arrived just as Nyla and Oliver were coming out, holding hands with Mason.The three of them wore smiles, appearing like a warm, happy family.Brandon noticed Damon's souring mood and instinctively quieted his breathing, fearing that Damon would take out his frustration on him.The group soon spotted Damon, and Nyla bit her lip before saying, "Mr. Sumner, I'm taking Buddy home."Damon didn't respond. His gaze remained fixed on the hand Oliver was holding—Mason's.The thought that Mason had spent several years
Nyla lowered her gaze, complicated emotions crossing her eyes. The better Oliver was to her, the guiltier she felt. After all, she didn't reciprocate his feelings in the same way. Sometimes, she felt quite bad for him. "Oliver, you don't have to be so good to me… It puts pressure on me," she said honestly. Oliver tightened his grip on the steering wheel, a hint of wryness in his eyes. "Nyla, you can't actually develop feelings for me beyond friendship, can you?" Nyla was silent for a few seconds before slowly replying, "I don't know… But I think I could. Just give me a little more time." The car fell silent until they reached her building. Neither spoke. Once Oliver parked, he turned to face Nyla instead of getting out of the car. "Nyla, feelings can't be rushed. You don't have to force yourself. If one day you realize you can't like me, just tell me. I'd rather you be free and happy than feel pressured to stay with me because of what I've done over these five years," he
Valarie suggested, "Now close your eyes and think about it. If he were to kiss you, would you resist?"Nyla imagined it and realized she didn't feel like resisting. If she had to say she was looking forward to it, that didn't seem to be the case either.She honestly shared her feelings with Valarie, who couldn't help but feel sympathy for Oliver. After chasing her for five years, Nyla still didn't seem to have any feelings for him."Okay, now imagine if it were Damon who wanted to kiss you," Valarie suggested again."Absolutely not," Nyla answered without hesitation, her tone laced with disdain.She had never considered the possibility of getting back together with Damon.The past hurt was real, and five years had passed between them. There was no way they could return to how things used to be."Why do you sound so certain?" Valarie asked.Nyla pressed her lips together. "Because I'm sure I don't want anything to do with him."Valarie sighed and slowly said, "Nyla, not wanting
Seeing Valarie start to drink the smoothie, Phoebe smiled kindly. "How was today's auction? Did you find any jewelry you liked?"Valarie nodded. "I did! Oh, I even bought a set for you! I'll get it for you!"Phoebe stopped her. "No need to do that now. You can give it to me tomorrow. Just focus on drinking the smoothie first. I came over tonight because I wanted to talk to you about something.""What is it?" Valarie asked."About tomorrow's blind date. Remember to dress modestly. The Comstocks are quite traditional and don't like women who are too flashy," Phoebe reminded her.Valarie paused, frowning at her mother. "Mom, even if I can put on an act for tomorrow, I can't pretend forever. I think it's better to show my true self during a blind date."Besides, she wasn't a product that needed to be dressed up to meet someone else's expectations."Valarie, I know you don't want to go on this blind date... but our family isn't what it used to be. You're getting older, and it's no lo
Nathaniel was enraged, veins pulsing on his forehead. He clenched his fist and struck Rebecca hard.Despite the intense pain coursing through her body, Rebecca didn't scream or beg for mercy like before. Instead, she burst into laughter.She laughed at how she and Nathaniel were like two pitiful creatures, harming and despising each other yet unable to leave one another.At first, she planned to live this pathetic life, but that changed when she saw that Nyla was still alive. Even if she were to die, she wanted to drag those who had hurt her down to hell with her!…The next morning, after Nyla woke up and washed up, she began making breakfast for Mason.By 7:30 a.m., Mason was awake. Once he brushed his teeth and got dressed, he walked out of his bedroom.Seeing Nyla bringing breakfast to the table, he cheerfully called out, "Mommy, good morning! What's for breakfast? It smells so good!""I made bacon and eggs, as well as some pancakes and waffles," Nyla replied."I love panc
There was a brief silence on the other end before Damon's voice came through, sounding a bit heavy. "Since Buddy agrees, I have no objections."With that, he hung up.In the study, Damon set down his phone, his expression darkening.He was supposed to be taking Mason to the zoo with Nyla as a family of three, and he didn't understand why Oliver had to tag along.Frowning in thought for a moment, he called Spencer."Is the Raynor Group too idle lately? Find something for Oliver to do. Ideally, he should be back in Capitarnia these days and too busy to be in Saintornia," he instructed.Spencer was taken aback. "Mr. Sumner, did Mr. Raynor offend you?""Just do as I say! Why are you talking so much?" Damon snapped.Spencer replied, "Alright, I understand."After hearing the busy tone, Spencer set down his phone and looked at Luca, who was standing in front of him.He instructed, "Take this document to the Sumner Group and give it to Mr. Brandon."Luca happily took the document.
Valarie raised an eyebrow, about to speak when her gaze suddenly fell on someone not far ahead.A hint of surprise flickered in her eyes. She hadn't expected to run into Brandon at a blind date.Their eyes met briefly, but Brandon quickly averted his gaze and acted as if he hadn't seen her. He turned to leave.Valarie's expression remained unchanged as she redirected her focus to Benjamin across from her, who was still nitpicking everything."Mr. Comstock, I think we're not a good match. Let's end this here. Goodbye," Valarie said as she stood up to leave.Benjamin blocked her way, saying with a hint of condescension, "Ms. Weir, I believe that, aside from your spending habits, everything else about you is still tolerable."After all, Valarie was beautiful and fit his idea of innocence, so he felt generally satisfied with her. If she could just listen to him a bit more after they started dating, spending money on her wouldn't be an issue.Valarie smiled. "Mr. Comstock, I can't ch