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
It had been six days past the New Year. Everyone had spent more than enough time with friends and family.It was going to be all hands on deck starting tomorrow. Jacob had organized a team-building exercise for the staff at the workshop that would take place at a golf course.They had originally planned on going mountain climbing. But after days of snow, the roads had become slippery. There were also a few workshop staff that were getting on in years.It led to a unanimous decision to switch to golf, a less intense sport. Those who didn't enjoy playing golf could go on a leisurely walk. Calista hadn't expected to run into Paul and Cade there.Both men were dressed in sportswear and seemed to have only just left the golf course. Sweat still beaded their foreheads. Paul noticed her first."What a coincidence, Calista. Here to golf?""The workshop is having a team-building event," she replied.Paul figured she had just arrived due to how neat she appeared. He jerked his chin to ges
"They want me as a designer for the CrossTime project and are offering 200 thousand dollars in design fees. I don't have to be on shift. Meetings will be conducted at my own time. They're also offering an advance on my paycheck."Yara choked.Once she recovered, she said, "Are you an idiot? That's such a good job opportunity. Why are you even thinking about it? Say yes! What boss is that amazingly generous ….? CrossTime project. CrossTime project," she muttered to herself twice.Then, she shot Calista a teasing look and winked."Isn't that the project the Bakers are working on? Did Paul come to see you?""Is the design fee that high?"Calista wasn't familiar with that particular sector. If the offer was unreasonably high, she wouldn't take the job. Despite her financial slump, that wasn't the way she wanted to earn money."It's alright. Nothing outrageous given your worth. Once the show gets broadcast and gets good ratings, you'll be a celebrity. Your presence could boost the pr
Zachary's breaths grew heavy."What is all this about a DNA test, Calista? You would rather trust a stupid machine than your father?"Calista held the brown paper envelope up to the lights overhead to try to make out its contents."Do you think I have a stepfather because I have a stepmother? Or, have I always had a stepfather?"He sucked in a breath."I know your aunt hasn't been treating you well, and your relationship with Nikolette isn't the best either. You have reason to resent me. But, to doubt that you aren't my daughter because of this …""I thought so too. That's why I decided to go on with the test. You called just in time. Let me read you the results.""Calista!" Zachary shouted to stop her.With how loud he got, his voice shifted in tone.There was a resounding rip. Calista had torn open the envelope to make sure he could hear her. She skimmed over a major chunk of unintelligible text and fixed her gaze on the test results."The test results state that the probab