Runa's words were quite clear. To marry into wealth, good looks alone were far from enough.
One also needed a matching family background, or at the very least, a high level of education.
Truly, Runa, who possessed both wisdom and beauty, could insult someone without using any dirty words, yet still precisely strike at the deepest insecurities within one's heart.
Luana clenched her hands and said, "Miss Ortega, whether I have thoughts of marrying into wealth or not is completely unrelated to my application for resignation. Even if you are the CEO, you have no right to interfere in my personal affairs, do you?"
Runa didn't expect Luana to indirectly mock her for being nosy, and her expression darkened.
She replied, "Of course, I can't interfere. I'm just giving you a friendly reminder. If you insist on giving up such a good job opportunity to pursue something that's not yours, and then regret it later, don't come back to Winward crying."
Seein
When she initially borrowed $200,000 from Winward, the penalty for breach of contract at six times the amount would be $1.2 million.She couldn't come up with such a large sum of money, so she had no choice but to compromise.Seeing that Luana had become "reasonable," Runa's demeanor became increasingly arrogant as she said, "It's simple. Just treat Mr. Coburn well, and once he returns to Washington, I'll approve your resignation."Luana could barely accept not being allowed to resign, but the idea of serving Calvert was utterly repugnant to her.She immediately objected, "Mr. Coburn may not want me to serve him."Runa's lips curled into a meaningful smile as she replied, "I've looked at that photo several times, and the way he looks at you is far from simple, so Mr. Coburn will definitely want you."Luana wanted to retort, but Runa suddenly turned stern and impatiently said, "Just do as I say."Clearly, Runa believed that Luana and C
Joan stared at Luana's retreating figure, grinding her teeth in anger and cursing, "Luana, we're not done yet!"Luana pretended not to hear it and walked straight into the restroom.The humiliations she had endured in the past were all vented out today.She couldn't quite describe how she felt, but she knew she should have done this long ago.She turned on the faucet, intending to wash her face, when Sabrina walked in.Sabrina had just left to buy coffee for everyone in the CEO's office and happened to witness Joan cursing at Luana, so she hurriedly followed Luana into the restroom."Luana, are you okay?"Sabrina wasn't clear about what had happened, but seeing Luana's expression, she guessed that Joan must have said something unpleasant.She knew Luana had always been rather soft-spoken and thought that Luana might have been bullied badly by Joan just now.Luana saw Sabrina's worried face and felt much more comfortable then. Her originally irritable heart gradually calmed down."I'm
He had just put down his phone when Stanley, standing in front of the desk, asked with a worried look, "Mr. Coburn, Miss Hammond clearly wants to get close to you under the company's name. Why did you agree to let her be your assistant?"Calvert remembered that Luana had been indifferent yesterday, but today, she was coming to host him, which was indeed suspicious.But he was more willing to believe that it was because of that photo, which made Runa mistakenly think that she and he had some kind of relationship, so she sent Luana here. That's why he just let her be an assistant, not wanting Luana to be bullied in Winward.However, Stanley wouldn't understand it. Calvert didn't explain much, just said, "I need someone."'Need someone?''Mr. Coburn brought a lot of people to Los Angeles this time.''Although he only had one assistant, Stanley could handle all the trivial matters alone.''It was obvious that he had some thoughts about that woman; otherwise, he wouldn't have saved her and
Luana was lost in thought when Calvert suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through the glass to meet hers.Without a word, he picked up his phone and sent her a message."Miss Hammond, could you please bring me a cup of coffee?"Seeing the message, Luana quickly got up and headed to the break room.Once it was ready, she carried it to the meeting room and knocked on the door.The entire room turned to look at her, including the executive who had been presenting Slides.He paused, clearly annoyed by the interruption.Luana felt a wave of embarrassment, but Calvert gestured for her to enter."Come in," he said.She walked over and placed the coffee on his table, then turned to leave.But before she could step away, Calvert spoke again. "Miss Hammond, take a seat and stay here."The room fell silent."Mr. Coburn, she's from Winward. Letting her sit in on this meeting? What if she leaks confidential in
The outfit Luana was wearing had to be worth millions. Even Gehrmann had never spent that much on her.The thought made her seethe with jealousy. 'Why does she get all the good stuff when we're both in the same line of work?'Fuming, she grabbed her phone and recorded a short video of Luana, sending it to Gehrmann with a message. "Look, Gehrmann, Luana has landed herself another rich guy. This one's even wealthier—dropped millions just to give her a makeover."She had studied all the wealthy men in Los Angeles but hadn't bothered with Washington, so she didn't recognize Calvert.She assumed he was some newly minted tycoon, given how young he looked.Gehrmann was in the middle of a golf game when he received the message. By the time he finished and checked his phone, an hour had passed.The video made his blood boil.'Luana Hammond, letting Calvert buy her haute couture?'He threw his golf club aside and immediately forwar
Russell was the first to step out of the car. He opened the door of a Koenigsegg and helped the man in the back seat—a figure of immense importance—step out.Under the warm yellow lights, the man in a sleek black suit stood by the car door, hands in his pockets.His face, sharp and perfectly sculpted, looked as if it had been carved by the god.His eyes, dark and turbulent, radiated a coldness sharper than winter ice.The moment he appeared, the entire estate buzzed with activity.The elite guests rushed to greet him, and even Lonnie Adams, the patriarch of the Adams family who had been absent until now, hurried out of the mansion to welcome Cline."Mr. Moriarty," Lonnie said, bowing slightly as he approached with his family in tow."I had no idea you would grace our humble gathering. Had I known, I would have personally greeted you at the door with my entire family. Please forgive our oversight."Cline responded wi
Gehrmann shot Lonnie a cold glance. "What's it to you?"Lonnie said, "Fine, forget it. He's too rude."Cline, meanwhile, glanced through the banquet hall's floor-to-ceiling windows and noticed Calvert walking toward the dining area, seemingly searching for someone.After pacing around for a bit, Calvert answered a phone call and headed in the direction of the restroom.Cline frowned, cutting off Lonnie's rambling with a raised hand before standing up and walking out.Luana was hiding in the restroom, scrolling through her phone, when a soft-spoken but angry young woman stormed in.Prunella froze when she saw Luana. "You?"Earlier, from the second-floor balcony, Prunella had seen Calvert enter the estate hand in hand with Luana.They looked dazzling together, a sight that had nearly driven Prunella mad with jealousy.Thankfully, Herbert had managed to separate them, giving her a chance to be alone with Calvert.She
But it wasn't really her fault. If it weren't for Runa, she'd have been sitting at home waiting to die. She wouldn't be here.Luana didn't plan to hide anything. She just told it like it was. "I was trying to stay away from Calvert. But Runa insisted I host him. If I didn't, she'd make me pay. So I had to do it."She was basically saying, "Blame Runa, not me."Cline sneered, "If you hadn't gotten into Calvert's bed, would she have made you host him?"He was implying it was her own fault.Typical Cline—his perfect woman. No matter what she did, he'd never blame her.Luana decided to keep quiet.Cline took a step closer, pinning her against the wall. He propped one hand above her head and looked down at her."Calvert just publicly called off the engagement to the Moriarty Group. Did you say something to him?"Calvert called off the engagement?Luana was stunned. Then she felt like a huge load of blame was bein
Clarissa, who had been crying her heart out, also sensed that Luana was barely holding on, waiting for Cline.She remembered Luana mentioning that Cline's private phone was never turned off and quickly said to Eva, "Luana's phone has his private number. Could someone please get her phone? It's in the paper bag on the bedside table in the ward..."The young nurse guarding the door heard this and immediately turned around and ran into the ward, quickly returning with Luana's phone.Eva took the phone, swiped the unlock button while asking Clarissa, "What's the password?"Clarissa knew the password and quickly told Eva.The phone unlocked swiftly, and Eva quickly scrolled to Cline's number.She noticed that he had been blocked by Luana and immediately removed him from the blacklist, dialing quickly.The phone no longer prompted that it was turned off. It connected...Eva was anxious, muttering under her breath, "Cline, please answ
In her dream, she saw a woman standing in the sunlight, reaching out her hand as if to say, "Luana, Mommy's here to take you."She thought it might be her mother, the same one who had left her in the sunlight with such reluctance and helplessness...Or perhaps it wasn't her mother at all. Maybe it was just her deep longing for a mother that conjured up this image in her dream.After all, she had never experienced the love of a mother or a father in her life.She had come into this world alone and was destined to leave it the same way, which was, in the end, a bit regrettable...Seeing her bitter smile, Calvert felt as if a thorn had pierced his heart, causing him pain all over.This pain made him involuntarily lean down and hold her tightly, not daring to let go for a moment...Luana weakly patted his back, "Albion, don't be sad..."Calvert, like a child, buried his head in the crook of her neck, cold tears silently dripping on
Calvert sat by the bedside, motionless, staring at her pale face.Only after she had completely fallen asleep did he take out his phone and call Gath.Gath, who was at that moment talking with Eva in the dean's office, was taken aback for a moment upon seeing Calvert's call.After Calvert had last messaged him for an explanation, he had been ignored, so this initiative to contact him now made Gath somewhat pleased.He immediately released Eva, swiped the unlock button on his phone, and answered the call, "Hello, Calvert, what can I do for you?"Calvert's voice was deep as he asked, "Can you treat heart failure?"Upon hearing this, Gath knew exactly who he was referring to. "Is there a suitable heart donor available?"A wave of helplessness surged through Calvert, and he unclenched his tightly held fists. "No..."Gath pondered for a moment before responding earnestly, "Calvert, without a suitable donor, even God couldn't save he
Clarissa, recalling Luana's plea not to blame Calvert, said nothing more and simply stepped around him to get some water, ignoring him completely.Calvert stood at the ward door, gazing at the frail and weak figure on the hospital bed, his vision gradually blurring with tears.He struggled to steady his trembling body, clenched his fists tightly, and with heavy steps, he walked slowly to the bedside.Blind Luana sensed someone approaching and thought Clarissa had returned, so she reached out to grab her clothes."Clarissa..."Before her hand could make contact, it was grasped by a broad and slender hand.The hand that held hers trembled slightly, as if it had a thousand words to say but couldn't utter a single one, so it just held on tightly.Luana realized it was a man's hand and thought of Cline's stern and handsome face, but she didn't think it could be him.She tentatively called out, "Albion..."Calvert hadn't expec
Tears rolled down Clarissa's cheeks, dripping onto Luana's hand and making her body stiffen.Luana tried to raise her other hand to wipe Clarissa's tears, but after feeling around for a while without success, her wrist was grabbed by Clarissa instead."Luana, are you... blind now?"Clarissa held Luana's hand, her face full of shock as she stared intently into Luana's eyes.This time, Luana didn't hide it from Clarissa and nodded calmly, "Probably triggered some other conditions..."She had experienced blurred vision during her dizziness before, but she hadn't expected to wake up completely blind this time.Seeing her like this, Clarissa broke down and cried again.She threw herself onto the hospital bed, hugged Luana tightly, and wept her heart out.Luana no longer tried to console her not to cry. Instead, she reached out to hug her back, gently patting her back and whispering, "I'm okay..."If she couldn't see, then so
After returning to the hospital, Clarissa encountered Albert at the triage desk on the first floor, where he was handling discharge procedures.Seeing her, he was somewhat surprised and asked why she had come. Clarissa pursed her lips and didn't respond.Albert, feeling uneasy under her penetrating gaze, which seemed to see through him, instinctively averted his eyes."Honey..." he called out tentatively, then asked guiltily, "The doctor said Angela's pregnancy is unstable, and it would be best for her to stay near the hospital until the baby is born. Since our place is close to the hospital, how about she stays with us for a while?""With a pregnancy so unstable, it's no wonder she's acting out," Clarissa thought, resisting the urge to retort.She had a flaw—having grown up without much love, she was easily swayed by affection.But she also had a strength—she could quickly dismiss anyone or anything that betrayed her.She
Luana had long been aware of her physical condition, so she wasn't particularly concerned. She asked, "How much... longer do I have?"Eva, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat, looked down at Luana's pale face and said seriously, "About a week."If she hadn't sustained such severe injuries, with the help of special medications, she might have been able to hold on for another two months.But the nail piercing the back of her head had accelerated her heart failure. The fact that she could still last a week was nothing short of a medical miracle.Eva couldn't help but shudder as she recalled the scene of the nail piercing the back of Luana's head."Luana, who on earth nailed the back of your head?"Cline had only messaged her that Sidney, Runa, and he had attacked Luana, urging her to come and save her.He hadn't mentioned who had caused the injuries.Eva suspected it might have been a group attack, but she couldn't bel
After shouting, Clarissa covered her face and cried almost hysterically.Luana, seeing her like this, couldn't help but feel her eyes well up with tears.She mustered all her strength to reach out and pull at Clarissa's clothes.But Clarissa, unable to accept the reality, kept backing away...She cried and ran out of the ward in a state of collapse.Watching Clarissa's retreating figure, the tears that Luana had been holding back began to fall drop by drop.Clarissa ran out of the VIP ward in one breath and unconsciously stopped in front of the door of an ordinary ward.She wanted to ask Albert for help. Although she wasn't sure what kind of help he could provide, she desperately needed someone to lean on at the moment.She walked to the ward door, crying, but instead of seeing the Albert siblings, she heard a series of embarrassing noises coming from the adjacent single room...Instinctively, she wanted to avoid them, b
After speaking, Eva gave Clarissa a gentle smile, which temporarily relieved Clarissa of her worries and shifted her focus to Luana.Seeing Luana sweating from pain in her coma, Clarissa felt heartbroken and quickly took out a towel to wipe her sweat.After finishing, she turned to Eva and asked nervously, "Dr. Woodward, is Luana's heart okay?"Luana had congenital heart disease and had to be very careful in her daily life.Being beaten into a coma could have caused damage to her heart, just like how she had become weaker after being kicked before. Clarissa was very worried about this.Eva glanced at Clarissa, unsure of how to respond.As a doctor, she should tell the patient's family about such a life-or-death issue.But without the patient's consent, she didn't feel right making the decision.Moreover, seeing Clarissa's worried face, she was afraid that Clarissa wouldn't be able to handle it.After thinking for a while