Mia propped her cheek on her palm and looked at her paycheck with a worried look. Although she had just received her salary, it was just a drop in the bucket for the investigator. “You just got your paycheck today. Why do you still look unhappy?” Her colleague asked, frowning. One look at Mia told her that she was upset. “Would you like to have a barbecue with me tonight?” “Okay. See you tomorrow.” The colleague smiled and took her bag to leave. Mia slowly packed up her laptop. When she was about to leave, someone patted her back. It was David. He was dressed in a brown windbreaker, looking fresh and pristine. He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling with delight. “Ready to go? How about I walk you to the bus stop? What’s wrong? You look upset. Having trouble at work?” Mia clasped the straps of her backpack and smiled. “No, I was just thinking about thinking about something. By the way, David, are you free tonight? I just got my paycheck today and was thinking of taking you out for
Mia’s head started to pound. It was hard for her to deal with this matter with Ease. Normally, she wouldn’t admit that she was married, especially since she had married in Eva’s stead. If people knew that she was married, their little secret would be exposed.Forcing an apologetic smile, she tried to laugh it off and said, “I time Chris just now, didn’t I?” Darren snorted but said nothing. The atmosphere among the three seemed to be as cold as ice. Mia had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead the way into the restaurant. After they sat down, David excused himself and went to the bathroom to calm himself down. He just couldn’t accept the fact that Mia was married out of the blue. Ever since he had taken his seat, Darren hadn’t even glanced at Mia. While flipping through the menu, Mia nudged him gently. “Are you mad at me?” The man rested his chin in his hand as he skimmed through the menu. His eyes were cloudy, and he didn’t even look at her when she tried to talk to him. Wi
Mia unhurriedly put down her knife and fork and calmly looked at the woman with heavy makeup. She knew that Mia just wanted to smear her name in front of all these people. But she also knew that Eva was an idiot. She was wearing a Chanel dress, an Hermes handbag, and a Dior necklace. How dare she talk about frugality while dressed like that? “I asked you for money because you owe me money. Isn’t it only natural for people to pay off their debts?” Mia's voice was clear yet calm. Tears rolled down Eva's cheeks uncontrollably. She sobbed, “mom and dad took good care of you, yet this is how you reply to them! They really can’t afford to give you money now. We are family. How can you bear to treat them like this?” Then, she suddenly took her necklace off and threw it at Mia, crying even louder. “We really don’t have the money! This necklace must be worth something. Take it as payment of our debt! Please don’t threaten mom and dad anymore. Eva carefully painted herself as the poor
The people around them felt there was an inside story, and opinions gradually changed. The opulent restaurant housed wealthy diners. Many people could tell that Eva’s attire and accessories were all real deals from renowned brands by merely looking at her. “Well, it looks like she is the shameless one. She wears only luxury brands. I'm sure she is from a wealthy family.” “I guess she is slandering the girl only to avoid paying the debt.” “Damn it! I didn’t expect the situation would reverse.” Eva felt a pang of regret. But she opened the wallet anyway that was stacked with money. “”Give it to me.” With a faint smile, Mia stood up and took out the money from Eva’s wallet. She carefully counted the bills and neatly arranged them. “Ten thousand dollars is also money. Thank you Miss Thompson.” Eva had nothing left now apart from her clothes and shoes. “ just wait and see!” She said through gritted teeth. Mia smiles and puts the necklace and the money into the Hermes birkin. “Okay
“It’s no big deal. My parents owe me a lot of money. After I fell out with them, they refused to pay me back. It’s a family matter. I can handle it. There’s no need for you to get involved.” Miss tone was relaxed even though she deliberately omitted the most important part. Darren glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and sighed. It was true that he didn’t know that much about the Thompson family, but since Mia was being stubborn about it, he respected her decision. “Fine. But if you need any help, just tell me.” Mia nodded obediently and lowered her gaze. “Okay,” she said softly. Darren pinched her cheek and warned in a low voice, “ and from now on, you have to tell others that you’re married.” “Okay, okay, okay. Do you want me to wear a sign with the word ‘married’ on it?” Mus raised her head and glared at him, pouring like a spoiled child. “It’s for your own good. It’s obvious that David had ulterior motives. Trust me. His intentions were written all over his face.” As
Trying to seem casual, Mia asked calmly, “ how much?” Glancing at the other people in the shop, the shop manager leaned closer and whispered in Mia’s ear, “ one million. What do you think?” This amount was more than Enough to cover the investigators payment. Mia was stunned. She looked carefully at the ring in her finger. The emerald best kr in the middle was like a pea that was just freed from its pod. The little gem was round and slightly cold, but its deep green colour was dazzling. She couldn’t believe that the ring Darren had given her was that valuable. “Sorry, this is my wedding ring. I can’t sell it.” Despite the tempting offer, Mia couldn’t give in. It was a gift from Darren after all, and it was left by his mother. Perhaps it was a family heirloom. Whatever the case, she couldn’t sell the ring. After refusing the shop manager, she turned around to leave. But the shop manager stopped her again. With a big smile plastered on her face, she said, “ No rush, miss. It’s ok
Mia was startled and confused. With the bottle of water in her other hand, she took a sip nonchalantly and shook her head. “No. It’s right there on my finger! Or are you blind?” She looked at him playfully. Darren on the other hand was in no mood to joke. His expression darkened and his voice lowered. “Let me see.” Unlike Mia, he was very familiar with the ring. He knew something was wrong with it at just a glance. As she took off the ring, Mia muttered to herself, “weird”. Darren pressed his fingers against his temple and pucker up the ring to have a closer look. His expression grew even more serious. “The back of the ring I have you is engraved with my mother’s initials, but this ring has no such engravings.” Darren knew she was short on money, but he didn’t expect her to sell the ring just like that. He wouldn’t have minded if it were any other ring, but this ring in particular was left by his mother. “Is this a fake?” Mias eyes went wide in shock. She took the ring b
Without waiting for a response, Mia strides out. As he watched her leave, Darren frowned. He felt depressed. Sighing heavily, he quickly picked up his jacket and rushed out to follow her. It was late June now, and it was extremely hot in the afternoon. As he followed Mia from a distance. Darren stared at her long hair fluttering in the wind. Where on earth was she headed? Darren had no clue. Judging from the woman’s hurt tone just now, he could tell that there was more to the story. Moreover, he would’ve been able to tell if she was lying. Darren quickened his pace and collected the woman closely. As they walked, he couldn’t help but feel bad. Did he wrongfully accuse Mia?” After passing Two streets and traffic lights, Mia finally veered off the sidewalk and entered a second hand shop. Darren followed her silently. “I want to see your shop manager!” Mia slapped the ring hard on the counter. Her beautiful face was ice cold and sullen. When she wasn’t smiling, she always loo
Mia picked up the design draft she had submitted and carefully examined it. “The design is in complete accordance with the requirements they asked for. I’m surprised they had rejected it. Maybe because I’m too inexperienced to understand where I had gone wrong, Ma pls give me some advice, or perhaps just choose someone else's designs.” Not only Mia, the director was also equally surprised and confused. She looked at the design and shook her head, “ I can’t give you any advice, I think this draft design is also good. That's why I chose it and presented it to the client. Well frankly, if a client is not happy with our design, they can reject it right away. They usually ask us to modify it based on their requirements. I can’t believe they rejected our design without giving a proper explanation this time.” “Then what do we now?” Mia asked hesitantly. “Since we can’t figure out the reason, let’s go to their company and ask them why they rejected it. It would be better to talk to them
“Wow,” Mia said breathlessly. “It’s beautiful….and it looks expensive.” All of a sudden, she sighed. “Don’t tell me you spent a fortune on me again” “Don’t worry, it didn’t cost much. I got it from a friend.” Darren said affectionately, lying as easily as breathing. As he spoke he ran his fingers across the woman’s slender waist restlessly. It never occurred to her that the gem in front of her was a real diamond. And how could it be real? If it was, Darren had to be extremely rich. Eyeing her twinkling gemstone, she said awe, “ Technology these days must be amazing, it looks like a real diamond.” Darren looked at her cute face and had to hold back a smile that kept tugging at the Corner of his lips. Lowering his head so she couldn’t see his face, he took the diamond ring out of the bottom and slipped it onto her index finger. Her fair, slender finger made the diamond pop out even more. Delighted, he nibbled her neck and whispered “you’re right. It does look real.” “Ouch! Hey!” M
It was July now, and the first and the first wave of scorching summer heat rolled over seacisco. The days were longer and the sun set later. Mia came home one day just as the sun was sinking in the horizon. The warm yellow light flooded the apartment, illuminating everything in a hazy glow. In the kitchen the man was cooking something that smelled delicious. “Why are you home early?” Mia hid her surprise as she walked to the kitchen slowly. Piping hot dumplings bounded on the pot as Darren flipped them over with the light flick of his wrist. Afterwards, he turned off the gas and transferred the dumplings to a plate, then fetched a pair of bowls and chopsticks. “Have dinner with me, why are you just standing there?” “Okay.” Mia said without protest. As Darren set the table, she sat down hesitantly. Staring at the steaming dumplings in her bowl, she commented in surprise, “you can even make dumplings?” Darren pulled out a chair and sat down opposite her. In the setting sun, his us
The next day, Mia went to the company early in the morning. Darren couldn’t sleep well that night. When he went to brush his teeth the next morning, he looked at himself in the mirror and found three red marks on his forehead. He could neither cover it with a mask, nor did he have long hair to hide it. He had no choice but to go out this way. There was a meeting for the senior executives in the Preston group today. Everyone was well prepared for the meeting with a solemn look on their faces. Micheal sat down on the left, idly rotating a pen on his fingers. Just then, the room of the meeting room flew open. Darren walked in, wearing a dark blue suit, followed by his assistant James. Who was carrying a laptop and the necessary documents for the meeting. He excluded his usual majestic aura. However, the red marks on his cold face seemed to catch everyone’s attention. Everyone stared at Darren with bated breath as if they had seen a ghost. They wondered who had scratched the CEO of
Darren’s nose cringed. He felt the urge to trash away the books into the garbage, but after a moment of hesitation he picked one and read it. His knitted brows didn’t loosen until he put it down. The content of the books were even more shocking than their titles. Darren felt the need to wash his eyes after reading it. But perhaps the books were t completely useless. There were common themes in all the books. Whenever the hero and heroine quarreled, they would solve the problem by making passionate love. The hero would always push the heroine down forcefully and kiss her, and things would escalate until they made it to their bed. Then all their problems would be solved.Darren frowned slightly wondering if he should also give it a try. At night, Mia wore her headphones and sat on the chair, with one leg under her bum, and began working on her designs. Her elegant fingers had a way of their own with the pen, she painted at ease, drawing bold, confident strokes. The window was open,
“Do you have the flower shop's phone number? Ask if the flowers can be returned.” After clearing the petals on the floor, Mia laid a pile of flowers on the dining table. Darren painstakingly removed all the candles from the floor and made a call to have his men take the flowers away. It was already midnight by the time they finished cleaning. Exhausted, Mia leaned against the sofa. “I was able to get this much back from the flower shop.” With one hand in his pocket, Darren walked over to Mia and put a wad of cash next to her. “Why are you giving it to me? It’s your money.” Mia looked tired, but her tone was as cold as it was that morning. As she spoke, she dumped the money on the coffee table and then got up to walk to her room, before closing the door behind her, she stole one last glance at the man. Truth be told, she was delighted to have received flowers from Darren. She had never seen so many flowers before, let alone the fact that they were from Darren.But the most impo
There was a woman nestled in Micheal’s arms. He squinted sleepily and spoke in a voice that didn’t sound completely sober. “You can’t do this to me. It’s seven o’clock in the morning. Even servants should have time to rest.” “I’m not joking. Hurry up and find a way to help me. I can’t sleep until this problem is solved.” As he spoke, Darren sullenly stared at the scenery framed by the window. “Okay, okay. Just give me a minute, will you?” Micheal struggled to climb out of bed and lumbered to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. Then, when he was fully awake, he returned and said “buddy, I can tell from just a glance that your wife’s a little tricky. I’ve seen her a couple of times. She looked gentle and easy going, but I could never tell what was on her mind.” Darren sneered with disdain. “Don’t talk about her like that. Do you want to die Micheal?” Micheal smiled sheepishly. “Well anyways, my point is since money does not work, then you need to change tactics. Try woo
The bar looked dim except for the occasional neon lights that flashed from time to time. The loud music vibrated through the floor. Seeing Darren walking into the bar, Micheal quickly drove away the beautiful women clinging to him and straightened his clothes. After hearing why Darren was here today, Micheal burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you’d come to me one day for such a thing.” Darren slowly picked up the glass. The dim lights softened his features, making him look more handsome. He leaned against the sofa, stretching out his long legs. “Mind your tongues. Unless you don’t want to have weekends this month.” Micheal cleared his throat and swallowed the rest of his words. He picked a glass of wine and sat beside Darren. “Do you want me to be single all my life? My eighteenth girlfriend is waiting for me to take her on a date this weekend.” “Didn’t you say that your seventeenth girlfriend was pregnant? Don’t you want to get married?” Darren frowned and took a sip of the w
The three sides of the interrogation room were made of dark grey glass. People outside would have a clear view of everything inside. Darren was standing outside the glass door. His shiny leather shoes looked spotless, and his dark eyes narrowed at the dazzling emerald ring he held between his slender fingers. His fingertips rubbed against the initials carved on the inner wall of the ring he looked dangerous. The coffee in Jane’s hands had turned cold. He cautiously handed it to Darren again. “Boss, we found the woman. Well bring her in for interrogation right away. I’ll make sure she confesses everything.” Darren nodded and looked at the interrogation room. The shop manager was brought in. She was no longer arrogant and domineering as before. She looked around and found men clad in suits staring at her. “Where did you get this ring?” James pounded the table. He sounded just like a fierce detective. The shop manager rubbed her hands nervously. Judging from their clothes and