“Well, wasn’t it his job to cook for us and take care of us?” Maria Long said defensively, though her tone betrayed a hint of guilt.“He’s gone now. That food was made for me, not for you. What gave you the right to take it without asking me?” Heidi snapped, her anger barely contained.“Enough. Can we not argue about this? Ever since Joseph left, we haven’t had a single decent meal in this house,” Stephen Cooper said, trying to sound reasonable. “You can’t blame your mom and me. The food we make ourselves is so bad it’s barely edible. What, were we supposed to starve?”“You’re the ones who drove him away, so if anyone’s starving, it should be you! How can you even say something so shameless? I’m honestly amazed at you!” Heidi said, her voice trembling with anger and frustration.Maria Long coughed awkwardly, unable to meet Heidi’s gaze.“Maria, this can’t go on. Didn’t we say we’d hire a housekeeper? Let’s stop being so picky and just find someone already,” Stephen Cooper said with a

"That’s great. Can you take a photo of it and send it to me now? Or, if you’re not in a rush, just bring it to me tomorrow." Joseph smiled faintly, relieved by the unexpected turn of events."If you’re not in a hurry, I’ll bring it to you tomorrow," Heidi replied, her tone suddenly mischievous. "But…I have a condition.""A condition?" Joseph raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued."I want you to make me breakfast tomorrow morning. I’ve got an early class, and if I don’t get a proper breakfast from you, forget about getting that divorce certificate from me," Heidi teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.Joseph sighed, visibly exasperated. "Fine, I’ll make you breakfast. I’ll come over early tomorrow. Just wait for my call.""Hehe, deal!" Heidi grinned triumphantly, clearly pleased with herself."By the way, Brother-in-law, Mom really drove me up the wall earlier." Her tone shifted abruptly, a trace of grievance creeping into her voice. It was almost as if she were on the verge of te

"I’m not a fan of her personality either," Joseph admitted as he sank onto the sofa, a faint trace of bitterness in his voice. "Even being around her felt suffocating. But some things aren’t up to me."He reached for a document on the table and slid it toward Alice. "Here, take a look at this.""What’s this?" Alice asked, leaning closer in curiosity."A file Leonard Sanchez gave me today. He wants me to take on a graduate student," Joseph explained, pouring a glass of water for both of them.As Alice opened the file and caught sight of the accompanying photo, her eyes widened in shock. "Wait… is this…?""I know," Joseph said with a bitter smile. "I was just as surprised when I first saw it.""Joseph, if you don’t want to work with her, you should talk to Professor Sanchez or Mr. Harris about it. If you’re too polite to bring it up, I can ask Grandpa to step in. They’d definitely listen to him," Alice suggested, her brows furrowed in concern."It’s fine," Joseph replied with a shake of

Time slipped by, and soon it was 10 PM.At Nova General Hospital, in the radiology department, Charles Martin paced anxiously, holding his swollen right hand."Are Charles Martin’s test results ready yet? It’s been over two hours!" Charles snapped impatiently at the nurse behind the counter."The results will be announced over the intercom once they’re ready. What’s the rush?" The nurse shot him an irritated look. Frustrated but left with no choice, Charles resumed pacing the waiting area, his agitation growing by the minute.Finally, after another ten minutes or so, the intercom crackled to life: "Patient Charles Martin, please proceed to Orthopedics Room 2 on the third floor to consult and collect your test results."Hearing his name, Charles hurriedly made his way upstairs.Inside Room 2, a middle-aged doctor in his thirties glanced up as Charles walked in."You’re Charles Martin?" the doctor asked, confirming his identity."Yes, that’s me," Charles replied quickly."Your situation

Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a series of notifications. The sound of her group chat exploding with activity jolted her out of her thoughts."Alice, get out here! @Alice""You sneaky little minx, what else are you hiding from us? @Alice""Your lover’s in big trouble! @Alice"Her roommates had flooded the group chat with dozens of messages, all of them tagging her.“What are you guys talking about? Why are you all tagging me? What’s this about my ‘lover’ being in trouble? What happened?” Alice typed back, utterly confused as she scrolled through the avalanche of messages.“Just to confirm, Alice, is the Joseph Wilson who started at the medical school today *your* little lover, Joseph?” Rebecca, one of Alice’s roommates, was the first to speak.“Huh? Yeah, it’s the same person. Why?” Alice replied, a little puzzled.“Wow, girl, you’re something else. Managed to bag a professor? You’ve been hiding your talents well,” Faith teased with a tone of admiration.“They’ve known each other for