After pausing, Aurum softened his tone. "I'm not here to argue with you, Shawn. You want to protect Gale, and so do I. If you can't, then let me. I've done a lot of things I shouldn't have, and I know I was wrong.""But, Gale doesn't know the truth. Let's keep her in the dark. Otherwise, with your illness and my despicable actions, how could she bear all of it?"Shawn lifted his chin. "Aurum, listen. The reason I haven't given the evidence to Gale yet isn't because of my illness. It's because you have those photos of Ivy. Understand?"Aurum hadn't expected that Shawn still intended to give the evidence to Gale."Shawn, you're dying, and you still want to expose me in front of Gale, making her hate me?""If she hates you, it's your own doing, you deserve it!"Shawn's stance didn't waver. In fact, he loathed Aurum's hypocriticism even more."Fine, Shawn, have you considered that if you tell Gale everything I've done, she'll distance herself from me? After you're gone, if somethi
"Goodbye," Shawn said, not even bothering to glance at Aurum. With swift strides, he pulled Gale away.He had long legs, so Gale had to quicken her steps to keep up with him."Jealous again?" She looked up at him and asked softly."Jealous? Of Aurum?" "Yes, otherwise why would you walk so fast?""I just don't want to see him," Shawn said, pursing his lips. "Let's not mention him anymore. The children's clothing section is on the third floor. Let's go buy some things for the kids."Gale nodded but then stopped suddenly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.Shawn raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.Shawn raised his eyebrows even higher. "Trying to seduce me?""I just wanted to kiss you," Gale said. "I'm kissing my husband. What's wrong with that?""Nothing wrong at all..."As soon as he finished speaking, Shawn cupped the back of her head with his hand and kissed her on the lips. It was no simple peck.Gale's eyes widened, her
Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn watched Aurum walk away before he slowly released Gale. He even wiped away the drool at the corner of her mouth.“This is so embarrassing. How am I supposed to face people now?” Gale buried her face in his chest. “So many people saw it!”“So what if they saw? I'm kissing my wife; it's perfectly natural,” Shawn said.“It's not prudent to do it in public.”Shawn replied calmly, “What's the harm? What's so bad about it? If someone wants to kiss someone but doesn't have anyone, I'm just making single people envious."Gale burst out laughing. Just then, her phone rang. She thought it was Shawn's and said, “See, you're playing hooky from work, and now Fiona is calling... I really feel sorry for Fiona. Being the assistant to the president is such a tough job.”“It’s your phone, Galey.”“What?!”Gale checked and saw it was indeed her phone ringing, and the call was from Ivy. She answered immediately, “Hello, Ivy.”“Gale, are you free tonight?” Ivy a
"Ivy!" Joshua and Nicole stood at the door, joyfully shouting her name. Their clear, sweet voices instantly lifted the mood."Oh, it's Joshua and Nicole." Ivy patted their heads. "Come on in, you're always welcome here!"Joshua tilted his head up. "Ivy, you look much better than last time, even prettier.""Yes, yes," Nicole chimed in. "And you smell so nice.""You think I smell nice?" Ivy sniffed herself. "I didn't even use any perfume."She had been staying home all day, lounging in her pajamas, often too lazy to even wash her face, let alone use perfume."It's the scent of a beautiful woman," Joshua replied. "Pretty girls always have a nice scent. Mommy has it too!"With that, he turned to look at Shawn. "Right? You must smell it all the time.""Yes."Ivy laughed heartily.Gale sat down on the couch. "I saw Aurum at the mall this afternoon, and now I'm at your house tonight. Why aren't you two sticking together?""He's busy with work, and I'm busy with my things.""When
He hadn't handed over the evidence yet because he had to protect Ivy.“President Wood, that’s not what I want. It's what you and Aurum want.” Ivy's voice pulled Shawn back to reality. “I’ve always said, I want to make the evidence public, I want Aurum's true face exposed. I want him and Paul to bear the consequences and pay the price!”“Ivy, you know better than I do what will happen if those photos of you and Paul get online!”“I don’t care! If my career is ruined, so be it!”Shawn frowned. “You can give up your career, but not your life! You’re still so young!”Those unsightly photos would circulate online, to be viewed and talked about by many. No matter how many years passed, people would still remember. The humiliation would torture her for years.“The moment Aurum sent me to Paul's bed, I was already destroyed!” Ivy said, shaking her head. “No, it’s not right. From the day I met Aurum, I was no longer myself.”Shawn's sharp gaze fell on her. “Do you still love him?”“Yes.
Gale patted her hand, "You and Aurum have a stable relationship now. If you date for another year or two, get married, and have kids, won't everything fall into place?""Me and Aurum get married?" Ivy shook her head, her smile carrying a hint of deeper meaning. "I haven't thought about it, and I don't really dare to think about it.""What's there to be afraid of? Dating without marriage in mind is just playing around."Gale finished speaking and looked at Shawn. "Don't you agree?"If a man and a woman are in a relationship and not considering marriage, they're just toying with each other’s feelings. That definitely wasn't acceptable. Every relationship is precious, and once you decide to be together, you should include the other person in your future plans."Right," Shawn nodded, "You're absolutely right."He then stood up and waved his phone. "Fiona is messaging me nonstop. I need to take care of some work. You two take your time chatting."With Shawn gone, the conversation bet
Ivy stared at Gale, her eyes bright and clear.“Gale, if I hold the truth in my hands, would you want me to reveal it?”Gale nodded firmly. “Yes!”“Do you want to know the whole truth?”“I do!”Ivy blinked, then suddenly smiled. “Okay, okay, Gale, I know what to do now.”“Can you tell me now?”“Not yet.”“Why?” Gale asked. “Have you been threatened?”She grew tense all of a sudden.Ivy shook her head. “No. It’s just too complicated to explain in a few words. But with your support, I suddenly feel stronger and know what I need to do!”Even if President Wood tried to stop her, she would expose it. She would vent her anger, punish Paul, tear off Aurum’s hypocritical mask, let Gale know Aurum's ugliness... Ivy decided to act on her own. She resolved silently.Smells of food wafted from the kitchen.“Dinner’s ready,” Ivy smiled. “Joshua, Nicole, did you wash your hands?”They replied, “We’re going now!”“I’ll take you.”“No,” Gale stopped her. “They’re big enough to wash the
Joshua reluctantly said goodbye to Ivy, "Bye-bye, Ivy. I'll come over again when I have time. You can come to my house too! Love you! Mwah mwah!"He kept blowing kisses."Shawn," Gale looked at him, "Does your son know no shame?""I'm starting to suspect he might have a genetic mutation."Both Shawn and Gale were quite reserved by nature, especially in expressing their feelings. They loved subtly and rarely voiced it openly. But Joshua was different. He worked his charm on everyone from the old Lucas down to babies. He could make anyone happy if he wanted to!The car moved along the road.Gale asked, "What do you think about Ivy's condition today?""What do I think?""Yes.""I didn’t observe closely," Shawn replied. "Why?"Gale couldn't help but laugh, "I allow you to look and give your opinion. It's fine. You don’t have to create your distance so strictly.""She's better than last time," Shawn said. "Beyond that, I don’t know."Even if he knew, he couldn't say.Gale reac