Ariel had been distracted since leaving Oceania Villa that day. She couldn't figure out what was going through Stephen's mind, and she didn't dare ask him about it out of fear that he'd get mad. Still, bottling everything up was making her feel uncomfortable. Hence, the only way she could vent was by working.In the remaining three days before joining the drama production crew, Ariel busied herself by filling her schedule with various activities. Even Katie had tried to make an appointment with Ariel several times but failed. Finally, she contacted Jodie instead. "Is Ariel very busy lately?" she typed. When Jodie received the message, she was at the studio, watching Ariel pose for a magazine's cover photos."Yes. Her schedule is packed," she replied. "Did something happen? I've been contacting her lately, and she doesn't seem to be in her best form," Katie asked soon after. After reading the message, Jodie flitted her eyes back to Ariel again, her brows furrowing. Ariel had b
"What? Stephen acquired an amusement park company for his son?" James exclaimed upon hearing the news from Julian. Then he turned to look at Stephen. "Buy a company for me too; I'll call you dad from now on."Not long ago, James' world had been shattered when he'd found out that Stephen and Yvonne had a son. Now, with this other piece of news, James felt like he could no longer understand the world. Stephen cast him a cold glance. "Buzz off." James became timid at once and returned to his seat. "Stephen, when are you going to introduce your son to us? I'm quite curious about him." "It's not the time yet," he replied flatly. "What does he mean by 'not the time yet'? He's clearly helpless! Look at how unfazed the kid is despite receiving such a great gift," Julian muttered inwardly. Considering how Elvin had accepted the contract and not the other gifts, it simply showed what a genius he was. He definitely hadn't just taken it because he thought it was fun, but because he knew
"Do you know that Yvonne has a son born out of wedlock?" Philip asked in a stern voice. Hazel was sitting beside Philip, looking helpless as she couldn't stop his outburst.Stephen spared her a glance and instantly guessed what had happened. "How did you know?" His question was directed at her. Guilt-ridden, Hazel stammered, "I ... I heard it through the grapevine. Lately, the wealthy women in our circle have been saying that Yvonne has an illegitimate child ..." Illegitimate child?"Who's spreading it?" Stephen asked, his gaze turning frostier. "Why are you getting angry at your aunt?" Philip was hot under the collar. "You knew that Yvonne had a child a long time ago, didn't you? You even delayed your marriage for her! What exactly are you thinking about?" He'd just learned about the news, so he hadn't fully digested it yet.Then Stephen's calm voice came through. "Since you know about the child's existence, then there's no need for me to keep you in the dark anymore," he p
"Give me some time to think about it." Noah wanted to pull his hand away, but Hazel tightened her grip on him. "Is that even necessary? Yvonne is divorced and even has a child with Stephen. If you pursue her for real, it's going to be extremely humiliating for your dad and I." The more Hazel thought about it, the more terrified she became. She couldn't believe that she'd almost fallen for Noah's words and thought Yvonne was a suitable match for him. Now, she couldn't allow Noah to pursue Yvonne, not even over her dead body. She couldn't bear the thought of her son, whom she was so proud of, becoming a laughingstock!"You'd better take our lives first if you're still thinking of being together with Yvonne." Hazel was so angry that her eyes reddened. "We can't afford to bear such a disgrace."Noah felt his head throb. "Cut it out, will you? I know what I'm doing." "If so, swear to me then! Promise me that you will never get close to Yvonne again!" Seeing that Hazel wasn't going
Caleb was stunned. "You knew about it already?"Yvonne tried hard to suppress her anger. "If Old Jim hadn't given me a call, how long were you and Conan planning to keep me in the dark?" Jim had called Yvonne today and told her that he hadn't seen Conan in the medical institution for quite some time. It wasn't until he investigated that he found out that Conan had sneakily returned to the country. After ending the call, Yvonne had immediately recalled what Caleb said to her in the car last time—the medical platform proposal. Given that Caleb had joined forces with Conan to work on the platform, he must have had something to do with the latter coming back to the country this time. Hence, she'd immediately set her work aside and gone to see Caleb. Looking at Caleb's reaction, Yvonne knew that she was right. "Conan is still young, and I can understand his recklessness. But what about you, Caleb? You aren't someone who'd act without considering the consequences." Driven by rage, she
Conan was awakened by the doorbell ringing in his hotel room. He'd been up all night, so he'd only gotten two hours of sleep. Naturally, he was very exhausted. Thanks to the doorbell's incessant ringing, Conan forced himself to get out of bed. The moment he flung the door open and saw the person standing outside his room, all traces of sleep vanished immediately."You insolent brat! I see you've grown a pair, huh?" Yvonne grabbed the young man by the ear and started dragging him into the room.Conan had grown a lot taller during the past five years. Now five feet nine inches tall, he had no choice but to bend down while scuttling behind Yvonne pathetically. The pain flaring from his ear made him grimace. "Yvonne, I didn't mean to hide anything from you! Please give me a chance to explain!""What are you going to explain, huh? I know what you're planning, Conan." Yvonne dragged Conan in front of her. "Didn't I tell you that you can't continue developing that medical platform of yours
The news of Yvonne and Caleb going to a hotel together started spreading online like wildfire that night. The original post stated that they had stayed in the hotel for over an hour before leaving together. It was apparent that they were very close to each other, judging from the way they had traveled together.There were nine high-quality pictures of Yvonne and Caleb attached to the post, revealing their faces completely. The netizens enjoyed immersing themselves in the latest scandal.User A: "Hey, do you guys still remember when Yvonne made her debut in the entertainment industry with her acting role in the music video? Didn't Turner Tech's official account leave a comment on that post?"User B: "Of course! I knew that there were traces of their relationship online! Maybe Mr. Turner had used that opportunity to proclaim his love for Yvonne!"User C: "Yvonne's super awesome! Caleb Turner is a big shot, you know! Turner Tech has an extremely bright future ahead of it, after all! C
Soon, Stephen ordered Julian to investigate Conan's whereabouts. Conan was now staying at Miller Villa, and no traces of him could be found anywhere in the entire Northerna City other than his registration records at the first hotel.Conan was now sitting at the desk in his room. Faithful Hope's website was open on the computer monitor in front of him. He'd devoted two years' worth of blood, sweat, and tears into making the healthcare platform. Now, all that was left for him was to optimize the platform before starting a crowdfunding project and advertising Faithful Hope to the entire country. How could he give up so easily at a time like this?He stared at the monitor for a very long time. Its light was reflected off his irises, and it seemed as though there were passionate flames burning in his eyes. The light resembled his ambition as well as his infinite desire for freedom.…Yvonne was under the impression that everything was proceeding according to her plan, seeing as she'd a