Selena had been absent-minded since she woke up that morning.When she noticed Lucian leaving, she asked anxiously, "Where are you going?""Work," the man answered.The Northwood Corporation would not be on vacation until tomorrow. He still had two annual meetings to attend. He had to go to work. She glared irritably at his retreating figure."You should pick Calista up later. She's spending the New Year's in that tiny apartment all by herself. It must be so lonely."He recalled how Calista insisted on not wanting to be back last night. His expression grew cold."She doesn't think she's lonely. What are you so worried about?""Oh my god …"Selena was beyond frustrated with her son."Whoever marries you is the unluckiest woman alive. You got your lack of emotional intelligence from your blockheaded father."Henry, the blockhead, wasn't even there to defend himself.Since Lucian had no intention of picking Calista up, Selena decided to take matters into her own hands. She cal
Everything had happened in a blink of an eye. Calista didn't know what to think. All she saw was Hector not dodging the blow.There were quite a few onlookers but no one dared to approach because of the knife the man had in hand.Calista grabbed a stick from a booth next to them and rushed at the assailants. She relentlessly struck them over their heads.Hector kicked the last one to the ground and held Calista in his arms. He took the stick out of her hands to prevent her from accidentally harming an innocent."Enough. You scared them away."The group of men was quickly taken into custody by the police on patrol. Calista stared at Hector's ripped shirt. He was dressed in black but she could still make out the blood stains in the light."We're going to the hospital."It seemed she had recently been down on her luck. She was constantly in and out of the hospital."It's just a tiny scratch. I'll be fine by tomorrow."Hector had kept enough distance. He wasn't going to let some p
Calista knelt to examine the grave to find it sealed. Furious, she glared at the man behind her."Are you out of your mind, Lucian? What the fuck is your problem?"Her statement had Lucian frowning."Watch yourself, Calista."To think she would lower herself to use such vulgar profanities."All I'm doing right now is using my words. I'm watching myself plenty. You don't see me resorting to physical violence, do you?"She was beyond enraged."Have someone exhume the grave. I'm taking my grandfather with me.""The grave has already been sealed. You want it reopened? The man can't even rest in peace because you keep wanting to move him around. Is this how you show your care for him?"He was mocking her with his gaze."But then again, you were the one who complained about your grandfather being laid to rest in such an awful place when we were in Fort City. You insisted on relocating him then happily when on a trip with a man. Aren't you embarrassed to call yourself his granddaugh
Lily was eager in her movements. Their lips were just about to touch when Lucian stopped her.She didn't press on. Her pride would not allow her to continue to cling to him so shamelessly now that he had rejected her advances.The courage brought about by the alcohol only lasted for a moment. The haze in her eyes faded away as she regained clarity. She smiled deprecatingly and watched Lucian who was inches away from her face."I won't ever allow you to be with her."He pushed her off and left to the kitchen to fetch her a cold bottle of water. He tossed it to her. She shivered from the cold and instinctively tossed it away."Awake yet?"She said nothing in response."Go to sleep."…Calista had planned to sleep in on New Year's Day. But a call from Macy early that morning had woken her up."Can I help you, Macy?"Macy sounded frazzled."Madam Selena collapsed, Ma'am. Do you remember where you put away her medicine?Selena's medical reports stated that she had a heart condi
"If it's the first reason, I'll apologize to her myself. It's not up to you whether she chooses to see me or not. Mrs. Northwood's opinion is the only one that matters. If it's the second reason, I'll leave right now," Lily said as satisfaction bled from her eyes.Calista shot her an amused look."Hasn't the man behind you said anything to you? The relationship we share right now … We're more like siblings."Selena had mentioned already recognizing her as her godchild. Calista had rejected the notion. Becoming her ex-husband's sister sounded much too complicated.Lucian retracted his gaze and turned to Lily."Stay here," he said expressionlessly.Selena's door hadn't been closed.Before he could set foot inside, the woman spoke up, "Have Ms. Scott come see me."She had heard the commotion downstairs.He frowned."Mom …""Don't speak to me."Selena's chest started to hurt again in her agitation.She took a deep breath to calm down before continuing, "You brought her here, d
Lily's heart skipped a beat. The internet was abuzz with discussions about her and Lucian being in a relationship. With the spotlight now on them, her status in the entertainment industry would surely rise.Lucian, however, wanted to clarify the misunderstanding.This was no longer a personal attempt at breaking a rumored couple apart. He was directly contradicting what was put out there.Anyone would be able to tell the overwhelming blessings were the work of hired internet trolls."Nobody takes these rumors seriously, Lucian. The hype will die down on its own in a few days. If you issue a statement now, it'll only draw more attention to it."Before he could hang up, the manager of the PR department heard Lily speak. Lucian was now divorced.Even if he and Lily were caught together in photos, it wouldn't significantly affect the company's stock price. They had a choice of simply waiting it out. Lucian paid her no heed."Find out which media outlet was responsible for reporting
Calista didn't alight from the car, and Lucian didn't force her to. However, he was already exerting pressure on her by refusing to budge from his place at the door.The pair were left in a stalemate. It was much colder in the mountains than in the city. The wind whipping around them felt akin to a knife cutting against the skin.In the end, it was the sudden ring of a cell phone that broke the silence. It was Calista's phone.The name flashing on display was "Paul Baker". The letters seared themselves into Lucian's eyes. The man's casual expression turned grim. She picked up the phone."Did you need something, Paul?"She sounded far less lifeless than she did when speaking to Lucian."A friend of mine gave me a bunch of fireworks. I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in them. We can go somewhere to set them off."In truth, Paul had gone out of his way to buy the fireworks. He knew Calista was alone in Capeton and recently had a falling out with her uncle's family before the N
Lucian put his phone away and refused to spare Calista another glance. He simply turned and got back into the car.She lagged slightly behind when the man impatiently said, "What? Do I need to open the door for you?"Despite his harsh tone, there wasn't much anger to be heard. It sounded more like he was venting his frustrations after having been wronged.Calista violently smacked her forehead with a resounding crack. Her skin immediately reddened from the impact. It was clear how harshly she had hit herself from the sound alone.Sure enough, the weather had been so cold that it froze her perceptiveness. Why else would she think that Lucian would feel wronged? She would sooner believe that spirits walked the earth.She opened the car door and got in. She couldn't help but rub her sore neck when her gaze landed on the console between the driver and passenger seats.Had she gotten into such an uncomfortable position on her own? Lucian noticed her gaze."If I had known you'd be thi