The news of Ariel Clarke becoming Robinson Jewels' brand ambassador broke before Muguet's announcement of their new fragrance launch.That night, Yvonne was on the couch binge-watching a TV series when the news was sent to her phone. Stephen was on the other end of the couch, his attention focused on the documents in his hands. He didn't notice when she paused the series and looked at her phone.When she opened the notification, the news about Ariel was on the front page. The headline read, "I'm Back."Ariel's collaboration with a high-end jewelry brand for her comeback in the entertainment industry naturally caused a sensation. The news instantly went viral. It was the best proof of Ariel's influence.Yvonne continued scrolling down to the comments. They were all from Ariel's excited fans."This must have caused an uproar! Our precious Ariel Clarke has returned!""Who else could have bagged a luxury brand endorsement for their comeback? Who else!"Scrolling until the bottom, Yv
As expected, the moment Simone heard that it was an endorsement for Miller Jewels, she rejected Julian without any hesitation."I've been in the industry for so long. I don't need to do favors for anyone anymore. If Stephen wants to please his wife, he'll have to come up with another way." Then Simone threw her phone to her manager."You don't have to ask me about these low-level endorsements in the future; just reject them.""But …" Her manager said hesitatingly, "You've been so busy on set for the past two days that I couldn't find a chance to tell you that Ariel has become the brand ambassador for Robinson Jewels, announcing her comeback. I'm guessing that Mr. Anderson looked for you because he wants you to help compete with Ariel. I didn't dare to make any decision on your behalf."Ever since she'd started out in the industry all those years ago, Simone had only ever considered Ariel as her competition. Now that Ariel had made a comeback in such a high-profile manner, it wasn't
"Katie." Ariel approached Katie, interrupting her thoughts.Katie turned to look at her. The resentment in her eyes completely vanished, replaced by a wide smile."Why are you here so early?""I thought of coming early to see you. Once the launch starts, you'll get busy, and you won't have time for me anymore," Ariel said with a smile.Katie chuckled, not bothering to explain that the launch that day had nothing to do with her. She changed the topic instead. "I forgot to congratulate you. Your collaboration with Robinson Jewels is such a success.""Hmm, it's not too bad."After the announcement that night, Robinson Jewels' fame had soared too. The next day, Xavier had been so happy that he'd even popped a bottle of champagne in the middle of a meeting to celebrate.Ariel felt indifferent to it, maybe even a little disappointed. She'd thought that Stephen would at least congratulate her, given their past. However, she hadn't heard a word from him yet. Were they not even considere
"Hello, everyone." Yvonne accepted the microphone and greeted everyone in a friendly manner.Everyone finally snapped out of their shocked daze and began to whisper among themselves."Isn't Yvonne Miller in jewelry? How does she even know how to make perfumes?""Muguet made this launch such a big thing today. Is this all a joke?""And I figured that someone who could come up with such a sexy perfume must be a beautiful woman …"They were all surprised, but many of them were also disappointed. Yvonne had anticipated this reaction. She smiled, signaled the staff to pass down the perfume samples, and began to explain the entire process of creating the perfume.Any professional would be able to discern that her speech wasn't one that had been memorized. On top of that, the smell had indeed won them over.Slowly, the sounds of doubt died down. Under the spotlight, Yvonne smiled confidently. She didn't need to be overly stunning to win over the hearts of the people.In comparison, Ka
"I didn't involve you in it for your own sake." Yvonne smiled and met Katie's gaze. "It's just as you said: we're sisters. If I'd worked with you for this collaboration, how would Muguet's staff look at you? What if they assumed that I could only make perfume due to family connections or that you used your younger sister to climb up?"Katie was instantly stunned.Based on Yvonne's words, she might even have to compliment her on clearly separating her personal and professional lives.Peter suppressed his urge to laugh. Then he immediately cleared his throat and said bossily, "Yvonne's right. Muguet doesn't allow family connections. She's thought this through and protected your reputation. Shouldn't you thank her?"Katie had no choice anymore. She muttered through gritted teeth, "Thank you.""There's no need to thank me." Yvonne smiled, feeling great about how it had worked out. Katie downed her champagne in anger and left.Yvonne and Peter looked at each other and smiled. The perf
"Ariel's return was trending for the past few days, right? And now, Yvonne has such huge news too …"James scratched his chin and thought out loud in a serious manner, "Which woman would be able to stand their man's ex-girlfriend making a comeback in such a high-profile manner? I've seen a lot of women. I understand them better than all of you. Women are such jealous creatures! But this is the first time I've seen two women fighting to outshine each other in such a grand manner!"James looked at Stephen with admiration in his eyes. "Only Stephen would deserve women fighting over him on such a grand scale! If I were a woman, I might even outdo them!"Stephen furrowed his brows a little, not responding. Although James often exaggerated his words, this time he made sense. At that moment, Stephen remembered how Yvonne had looked disappointed when she'd been on her phone the other night. She'd said that she was chatting with Rachel about the news. He guessed it must have been about Ariel
"You don't have to go through so much trouble. Ariel and I ended things long ago; you don't have to compete with her." Stephen lowered his head, his gaze becoming softer by the second. "You don't have to prove that you're better than anybody either."Upon hearing this, Yvonne suddenly came to her senses and said without thinking, "Don't tell me you think that I did the launch because I want to compete with Ariel? Stephen, you're overthinking this. I'm doing this to get back at Katie. She'd previously framed me …"Halfway through, Yvonne realized that Stephen's expression had darkened. The temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees too, as the atmosphere changed immediately.She stopped herself from talking and bit her tongue. Why did she talk without thinking? She timidly added, "Of course, it was also partially because of Ariel. She's Robinson Jewels' brand ambassador, and if we only let her have all the attention, then … ""Enough." In a short time, Stephen's ego was brui
"What else can I do? If I want to stop people from gossiping, I have to pretend to be on friendly terms with Yvonne. I'm not going to air our family's dirty laundry out in public."Although Katie had always thought that Thomas and the others would lose to Yvonne purely because they were dumb, she'd never considered Yvonne worthy of being her rival. Yet now she'd found herself defeated by Yvonne. She knew she needed to learn more about Yvonne. She couldn't go against Yvonne head-on unless she had any leverage against her. Katie had worked hard to get where she was; she wasn't going to let that ugly bitch ruin it all. All she needed to do was stay low for a while. She'd have a lot of opportunities to hit back in the future!When Thomas heard Katie's response, he thought that she was concerned about the bigger picture and trying not to embarrass their family. Little did he know that Katie was just looking out for herself. He felt extremely relieved. "Katie, I'm sorry you had to go thr
A light breeze blew by in the courtyard. Agatha slowly recounted the past.Back then, Daniel and his wife, Katherine, had just had Mark. The entire Carrington family had been celebrating.They had doted on Mark and taken him wherever they went.That day, they had headed out. Before they'd known it, Mark had been taken away.Just when Daniel and Katherine had been on the brink of losing it, they had received a call from the kidnapper to bring the ransom to a specific spot.They had gotten the money and driven there without any hesitation. No one had thought that they would ever return after that. Even Mark had disappeared.When Agatha finished recounting this, her cup of tea had already cooled.She wiped her tears away. She said through a catch in her throat, "Katherine was hugging the bag of money tightly until the moment she passed away, as though she were hugging you."Mark furrowed his brows. Now that he'd heard the truth about Daniel and Katherine, he should have felt pain
As Yvonne left the room, she could tell that Stephen's mood was much better.She looked at him. "Are you thinking of something nice?""No." Stephen looked at Yvonne with a rare twinkle in his eyes."Let me take you to breakfast." Before Yvonne could respond, he took her hand and led her to the elevator.Thinking about how he'd stood outside her room the entire night, Yvonne decided to let him hold her hand.Then, her thoughts drifted to Otto. Somehow, she had a bad feeling.…At the same time, Mark was in the courtyard of Carrington Mansion. He sat next to Agatha and poured some tea for her.He handed her a cup of hot tea. "Great-Grandma, try this."When he noticed that Agatha had no reaction, he called out to her once more. "Great-Grandma?""Huh?" Agatha came to her senses. She looked at Mark in confusion. "What is it?""You've been distracted since yesterday. Are you thinking of something?" Mark asked.Agatha shook her head. "Nothing." Then, she picked up her teacup and
Yvonne stood by the door of the bedroom and looked at Otto, who was looking out of the window in a daze on the bed.The sun shone on his face. He looked quite hungover and had a sickly pale face.Yvonne hesitated for a while before saying gently, "Mrs. Jenner called me last night. She's worried about you."Otto didn't respond.Yvonne went in closer and added, "She said that you called her and asked about your father. She found it strange."Mr. Carrington, why did you suddenly think about your father? Did Mrs. Carrington Senior bring him up yesterday?"All Yvonne got was silence.Luckily, she was patient. She sat on the couch and followed Otto's line of sight. Tiny dust particles were floating among the sunbeams. Yvonne also fell into a daze as she watched them float about.Suddenly, Otto asked, "Have you ever felt like your world was falling apart?""Hmm?" Yvonne was confused. "For example?""I mean, like the person that you trust turns out to be different from what you'd t
The next morning, Yvonne opened her door to see Stephen standing outside. She was caught off guard."What is wrong with you this morning? Why didn't you knock…"While talking, Yvonne noticed that Stephen was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Don't tell me you didn't leave last night? Have you been standing outside this door all this while?""Hmm." Stephen looked at Yvonne intently. "I thought you would've figured it out quickly."Yvonne was speechless, but she thought to herself that she'd slept like a baby the night before.She smiled at him. "Figure what out?" She noticed Stephen frowning as though he were on the brink of losing his temper.She quickly added, "I-I mean, you have to give me a hint, right? I've thought about it the entire night, but I still don't understand. My brain isn't functioning well."Stephen asked suspiciously, "You've been thinking about it the entire night?""Yes, which is why I didn't look for yo
"If I hadn't come to find you tonight, you probably wouldn't tell me anything about what happened tonight, would you?" Stephen asked in retort.It wasn't a big deal, as long as they returned safely. Yvonne wondered why she needed to report this to him.But she still smiled. "It's late. How could I disrupt your rest? It would've been the same if I told you about it tomorrow morning, right?"Stephen sniggered. "Yvonne, you still don't know where you've gone wrong."He suddenly went in closer to her. Yvonne instinctively retreated until her back was up against the wall. She glared at him."What on earth is wrong with you? I've already said that I would've told you tomorrow morning—"A punch went past Yvonne and landed brutally on the wall.Yvonne was a little stunned. She looked into Stephen's eyes and furrowed her brows. "Stephen, I don't want to quarrel with you for no reason. "Mrs. Carrington Senior went to look for Otto today. Calbert couldn't reach him the entire day, so he
Jane returned to the private room, distracted.She sat down next to Cory. She looked at him as he reached his hand out to her in confusion.Cory furrowed his brows and asked unhappily, "Where's the wine?""Wine… Yes! Wine!" Jane came to her senses. She was just about to get up when Cory pulled her back.He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at him. "What happened when you went out?""N-Nothing."Cory tightened his grip. Jane furrowed her brows in pain. "I-I… I saw Yvonne. She told me that she and Stephen got remarried.""What?" Cory relaxed his grip a little. "They got remarried?""Hmm.""So, what?" He had no intention of letting her go, and he looked at her sharply. "Does it bother you so much that Stephen got remarried?"Jane looked at Cory frantically. "Cory, what do you mean by that?""What do I mean? You know what I mean."Cory went in closer. His tone turned icy. "You used to pursue Stephen. Now that you know he's gotten married, you're in this shitty mood
Yvonne turned around to see Jane smiling at her ambiguously. She furrowed her brows. How were they always bumping into each other?Jane crossed her hands in front of her chest and leaned against the wall. She swept her gaze at Calbert and Otto. "Two guys and one woman. You sure know how to have fun!"Calbert instantly snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?""Why are you being so fierce? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Jane snickered. "Two guys and a woman came out of a private room in the middle of the night. Anyone would come to the same conclusion. We're all adults. There's no need to pretend to be innocent.""You—" Calbert was about to go up to Jane, but Yvonne stopped him."Since Ms. Ford is here, I'm guessing so is Cory?" Yvonne smiled, yet her smile didn't reach her eyes. "If you cause a scene here and this bar gets raided, guess who'll be the ones walking out here alive?"Jane's expression turned ugly. "Are you threatening me?""It's just a kind reminder." Yvon
Calbert and Yvonne managed to track Otto's car to a bar, thanks to the information they'd gotten from his staff. Otto's car was right outside the bar.Calbert looked at the neon sign and furrowed his brows. "Why is Otto here? Did what Mrs. Carrington Senior said really hit him so badly that he has to drown himself in alcohol?"Yvonne said nothing and headed directly inside the bar."Wait up for me!" Calbert went after her. He subconsciously protected her from all the drunk patrons.The lighting in the bar was dim. Many of the patrons were drunk and having fun.Yvonne and Calbert walked around the booth area, but Otto was nowhere to be found. They pulled a server over to ask if there was a patron by the name of Otto Carrington who had reserved a private room.Coincidentally, the server had just taken two bottles of wine to Otto's room. So, he led them to the private room.Calbert tipped the server before opening the door and entering. The entire room reeked of alcohol.He looked
After Agatha left, Otto stood in the same spot without moving.A long time later, Zac entered the office. He looked at Otto's back and asked quietly, "Mr. Carrington, will you still see the client?""No." Otto sounded heartbroken.Zac didn't dare ask further questions. He gently closed the door and reminded the secretary that no one was to disturb Otto.In the office, Otto was alone. He slowly walked over to the couch and slumped into it. His mind was in a mess."Alexander was the one who planned the kidnapping back then."Agatha's words rang in his mind for a long time.Alexander's young face appeared in Otto's mind, smiling at him affectionately."Otto! Amazing! Yes! Just like that!""You're amazing at badminton! You're going to make the country proud! I'm going to be so proud of you!""Otto, my son!"Memories of his interactions with Alexander flashed across his mind at that moment.Otto couldn't imagine that such a loving father would do such an absurd thing. Alexander