The call was almost immediately answered."Aunty, it's Layla." Though Layla used to call Eric her uncle, she still referred to his mother as 'aunty' because Mrs. Santos was exceptionally youthful and beautiful despite her age.Every time Layla would visit them, she would address Mrs. Santos as 'aunty' and call Eric by his name.If it was any other time, Mrs. Santos would be overjoyed to have received a call from Layla, but since there was no telling if Eric would get the surgery he needed, her heart was heavy with sorrow, and she could not muster her enthusiasm. Mrs. Santos hummed in response, and Layla continued, "Aunty, I'm back in Aryadelle, and I want to pay you a visit tomorrow.Mrs. Santos hesitated before agreeing."I won't keep you from going to sleep, then. See you tomorrow," Layla said before ending the call.Though Mrs. Santos had not accused Layla of anything, Layla was still overwhelmed by guilt.Meanwhile, in Eric's mansion, Mrs. Santos sat by her bed and sobbed
"Uncle," Layla called out.Mr. Santos hummed, and when he saw that she was alone, he asked, "You drove here?""Yeah."He took the gifts from her and said, "My wife is preparing food in the kitchen. You love her cooking, so she is cooking for you.""She didn't have to. We can just go out and eat." Layla did not want them to exhaust themselves."We bought a lot of groceries, so let's eat at home!" Mr. Santos said before handing Layla a pair of clean slippers. "It's the same pair that you wore the last time you visited. We've already washed it."As Layla changed into the slippers, Mrs. Santos walked out of the kitchen."Aunty." Layla strode toward Mrs. Santos. "I'm sorry, Aunty. I came here specifically to apologize to you and Uncle.""Oh, never mind that. Your parents have called and apologized." Mrs. Santos suppressed her sorrow and said, "Did Eric leave us a message before the accident?"Layla took Mrs. Santos's hand and sat her down on the couch.Mr. Santos sat next to them,
"Layla, I've watched you grow up, and I know that you are a great young woman. This is just an accident, and you only got unlucky. You didn't mean for any of this to happen, so we don't blame you for it. Don't apologize to me. Stay and share lunch with us. I will start cooking now.""I can help," Layla said."It's fine. My husband can help. Just rest. You've just been discharged yourself, haven't you? Have you recovered?""Yeah, or my parents would have never let me out," Layla said. "That's good... If you ended up like Eric, we would be even more devastated," Mrs. Santos said, feeling slightly better. "Why don't you watch some television while you wait?"Layla did not want to watch television and said, "Can I stay in Eric's room for a while?""Sure!" Mrs. Santos said.Eric had brought Layla here before, so she knew exactly which room belonged to him.Layla was the only female apart from Mrs. Santos who had entered Eric's room as he rarely invited any woman over.Since he had
Eric would often record her when she was taking lessons, and she had once asked why he would record her.He explained that he was going to show her the videos afterward, praising her for what she had done right and correcting her for what she had done wrong.Since she felt that he was reasonable, she later got used to being filmed, and she watched all the videos after each lesson.Eric had done as he had promised and had praised her when she had done something right and corrected her when she had gone wrong. She had not expected him to keep all the recordings of her and was even more stunned to find the iPad on his table."Does he watch these all the time?" she thought to herself.Tears welled in Layla's eyes.After graduating from university, Layla decided that instead of becoming an idol, she would inherit Tate Industries, and she began to drift apart from Eric once she made that decision.They had also faded out of each other's lives because of Eric's work. He could not pos
Ivy's heart wavered at Meredith's words, but she knew that she did not qualify for the internship.A professional host must possess the skill and experience that can only be accumulated through trial and error. "I will think about it! I just feel like the recruiter will be dumbfounded by our resumes.""Haha! Believe it or not, over fifty percent of the broadcasting majors will apply for it. As for what the recruiter thinks, that is his own business. It's not like he will be able to remember all the names on the applications. Don't worry." Meredith said. "You are the one who needs to be in control of your own fate. That's what my aunt tells me. My aunt got the internship despite being a year one student because of her beauty, communication skills, and her guts. Apart from those, she did not have any sort of experience. Apart from that, she wasn't an expert in any way... of course, there weren't that many people taking this major back then."Ivy's heart fluttered at her words."I h
She also wasn't appalled by his actions because he had told her that he could pass his exams without studying much. "You've probably misunderstood, haven't you? The perks I'm talking about is that our parents gave me a brilliant mind. I'm really good when it comes to my studies." Robert burst out laughing."Robert, I might be the least talented one in this family." Ivy sat at the dining table. "I need to study really hard to get what the lecturer is talking about.""Do you know what it was like when I was younger?" said Robert with a twinkle in his eyes. "When I was young I had so many one-on-one lessons, and I also attended tuition with many other students. I never stopped taking notes till I got to university, and I'm only passing with flying colors because of those classes. I didn't relax till I graduated from high school. Our parents only stopped the extra classes when I entered university, so I'm definitely capitalizing on all the fun I missed out on in high school." Ivy ins
Ivy blushed. "I don't think I have what it takes, Robert.""Let me know if you do want to be CEO of a company, and stop thinking about how qualified you are for a second. People aren't born leaders." Robert felt that a person as sensible and quiet as Ivy would be well suited for leadership.Ivy felt lost.Before summer, her only goal had been to find a job that would allow her to make ends meet. She had never considered studying a course that would not allow her to make ends meet, nor had she— in her wildest dreams— considered any leadership positions."You are hesitating." Robert placed a pork rib onto her plate. "Which means you want to. Unlike you, I definitely don't want to be in a leadership role.""What do you want, then?" Ivy asked."If I tell you that I just want to laze around for the rest of my life, will you laugh at me?" Robert blushed. "I guess I've been spoiled, and I want someone to care for me forever."Ivy thought that it was a beautiful dream, as no one would b
To Robert, any television studio should be glad to have his sister as an intern. Plus, to him, there were many stations and only one Ivy. ...Elliot received a call from Layla and went over to Mr. and Mrs. Santos' house.Layla called because something had happened.While they were having lunch, Mr. Santos had a few drinks and started pouring his heart out whilst he was under the influence of alcohol.He wanted to donate his heart to his son.Layla was scared out of her wits.There was not a country on earth that allowed people who were alive to donate their hearts, and the best they could do would be to become organ pledgers, which enabled them to donate their organs upon their death. Elliot hurried over, and it took some time before he finally convinced Mr. Santos to give up on the idea."They said that my son's lungs are failing, right? He can have mine!" Mr. Santos' face was flushed, but his eyes were determined. "My wife and I spoke to some doctors, and they told us that