Watching them goof around, Sarah couldn’t help but laugh. As she laughed, she suddenly felt something cold on her face. She looked over to see Mia grinning mischievously—there was cream on her face. “Mia, you’ve turned naughty!” Sarah exclaimed, standing up from her seat and grabbing a plate of cream. She chased after Mia with playful determination. Melvin sipped his red wine and smiled as he watched them. His gaze drifted toward the front door, and he frowned slightly. Was Zachary really not coming? Earlier, before the cake was brought out, Melvin had noticed the disappointment in Sarah’s eyes. Though she hadn’t said anything outright, Melvin, who had watched her grow up, could read her emotions like an open book. Still, at least she seemed happy now. Lost in thought, Melvin suddenly felt a gust of wind behind him. Turning around, he saw Sarah. Her hand was already reaching for his cheek. Before he could react, Sarah smeared cream across his face with a triumph
Sarah drank the rest of her wine in one gulp, placed the glass back on the table, and said, “I’m going to rest.” “Alright,” Melvin replied, clinking his glass before sitting back down. His gaze lingered on his phone, his expression complicated. Sarah returned to her room, tidied up the gifts she’d received, and went to freshen up. By the time she sat on the edge of her bed, it was already 11:30 p.m. She held the bracelet Zachary had given her, lost in thought. Why hadn’t he come? What could have held him up? In just thirty minutes, her birthday would be over. She had received so many heartfelt wishes, but not his. While she was deep in thought, her phone chimed with a message. Picking it up, she saw a multimedia message containing text and a photo. The photo showed Zachary fast asleep. Her heart skipped a beat. Below the image was a message from Vivian: “Miss Sanders, this is Vivian. First, happy birthday! Zachary really wanted to attend your party, but he could
At that moment, a sharp pain hit Zachary’s chest. He realized something had changed—something fundamental—but even so, he wasn’t ready to give up on Sarah. “Sasa, yesterday Vivian said she was in a car accident…” “Zachary, do you know that what happened at the stables was her doing?” Sarah’s eyes widened as she waited for his answer. Zachary hesitated before nodding slowly. “I know.” “You knew and said nothing? She tried to hurt me, Zachary. You’ve let me down.” Sarah’s voice was icy. “Tell Vivian, my patience has its limits.” With that, she shoved Zachary out of the counseling room, handing the gift back to him. “We’re done, Zachary. Since we’ve broken up, there’s no need to stay in touch.” She slammed the door shut and pulled the curtains closed. ---Zachary walked back to his office, looking utterly lost. His assistant quickly approached him. “Mr. Reynolds, Miss Wilson is here.” He entered the office immediately and found Vivian sitting in his chair, a playf
Had her actions already been exposed? Did James know? Charlotte’s heart raced wildly, panic creeping in. What would she do if he had found out? James stared down at her with sharp, cold eyes. His voice was detached as he said, “If you claim you don’t understand, then I’ll take your word for it. Just focus on being Mrs. Chancer.”With that, he gave her a symbolic pat on the back before brushing past her and walking away. Charlotte felt a chill run through her entire body. What did he mean by that? Was he warning her? The thought sent a wave of anger through her. She wanted to sweep everything off the desk in frustration, but this was James’s study—she didn’t dare. Forcing herself to calm down, she reminded herself that her previous actions had already made James weary of her. She needed to rebuild the trust she once had. ---As James entered the bedroom, Charlotte’s voice called out from behind him. “Are you leaving again?” He turned to see her standing there in a
“How could he?” Charlotte silently questioned, her heart heavy with resentment. How could James treat her like this?---Adams University.Sarah was in the middle of a meeting when Dean Larson informed her she would be attending a symposium in the northern part of the city. To ensure she wouldn’t have to return late at night, the school had even reserved a room for her at the Misty Island Hotel. This news quickly reached Zachary. That evening, Sarah checked into the Misty Island Hotel, unaware of the unexpected turn her night would take. Late at night, Zachary found himself at the hotel, almost as if drawn there by an unseen force. Standing outside her room, he noticed the window was slightly ajar. He hesitated for only a moment before pushing it open and slipping inside, moving like a thief in the night. As he approached the bed, Sarah’s eyes suddenly opened, her deep brown pupils glinting in the dim light as they locked onto him. “You…” Sarah gasped, her mouth falli
“Are you threatening me?” Vivian glared angrily at the man in front of her.The man remained calm and composed. “Not at all. I’m merely reminding you, Miss Wilson, that we’re in this together. If certain things were to come to light, I imagine your reaction would be quite dramatic.”Though furious, Vivian knew this was something Zachary must never find out about.“This is the last time,” she said coolly. “Go back and wait for my instructions.”Zachary had heard enough. He quietly left, not wanting to hear more. But the words stuck in his mind. The last time for what? Waiting for what instructions?Before their conversation ended, he had already slipped away, leaving the rest unanswered.---At the Misty Island Hotel, the morning session of the symposium had just concluded. Sarah was sitting in the restaurant, quietly eating her lunch, when a woman stormed in through the doors, her face twisted with anger. “Sarah! It’s me,” Charlotte said, glaring at her with venom.Sa
Mrs. Chancer remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Lucy continued, her voice breaking with desperation. “Mom, you have to tell James to do something! If nothing else, have someone create a psychological evaluation report like last time. As long as they can prove I have mental health issues, I can be bailed out!” Her sobs grew louder. “Mom, I can’t stay here a single day longer!” Mrs. Chancer sighed deeply, feeling helpless. She had spent the past few days trying to convince James to get Lucy out, but her son had grown unyielding. He hadn’t even come home, let alone answered her calls. She understood that James had made up his mind this time. “I think your brother is determined not to help you this time. And it’s not just him—your grandfather even called specifically to tell us to leave you be.” Lucy stared at her mother in disbelief, clinging to her arm as tears streamed down her face. “Mom! Even if James and Grandpa don’t believe me, you have to! They’ve all been t
Lucy stared fearfully at the two police officers. “What are you doing?” They didn’t answer. Instead, they escorted her out of the police station. Standing at the entrance, she saw Vivian leaning casually against a car door. “Get in,” Vivian said coolly. Once inside the car, it finally hit Lucy—she had been released! She looked at Vivian in disbelief. “Miss Wilson, you really got me out. But I still want to know—how did you do it?” After the incident at the stables, Zachary and Melvin had worked together to put pressure on the Chancer family. That was why James had refused to help her. It must have taken a lot to get her released under Zachary and Melvin’s watchful eyes. Vivian let out a soft laugh, her eyes filled with mockery. “It was simple—I just found a scapegoat.” The smile on Vivian’s face sent a chill down Lucy’s spine, making her shudder involuntarily. “You truly are remarkable, Miss Wilson,” Lucy said awkwardly, forcing a compliment. “Don’t celebr
Vivian never expected that despite her orders to keep the detained shipment a secret, the board of directors would somehow catch wind of it.As soon as the meeting began, the middle-aged man sitting in the first seat on the right frowned and questioned her, "Ms. Wilson, are you hiding something from us?"Mr. Jefferson had the largest shareholding in the Wilson Group after Vivian and her grandfather. Compared to others, his words carried more authority.Naturally, Vivian had to show him some respect, given that she was the younger generation."Mr. Jefferson, by seniority, I should call you Uncle. You've watched me grow up. Do you think I would hide anything from you?" Vivian decided to play dumb first. She was certain these people had only heard rumors and hadn't yet gathered evidence.This was indeed the case. Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, speaking in a tone that was half-joking, half-threatening, "Ms. Wilson, please don't say that. When it comes to bus
Charlotte ignored her, still peering behind the caretaker.The caretaker patted her chest and smiled as she approached. "Are you looking for Mr. Chancer? He went back to work. He asked me to take care of you. I thought you might wake up soon, so I went out to buy some nutritious soup for you.""You're saying he left? He left before I even woke up?" Charlotte struggled to open her dry lips, her voice raspier than ever before.Hearing this, the caretaker quickly set down the thermos and handed her the cup of tea from the table. "Please drink some water to soothe your throat, but don't drink too much. You've just given birth, so try to stay in bed and rest as much as possible."Charlotte found the water being offered to her ironically bitter.She had endured excruciating pain to give birth to James's child, yet he couldn't even spare a simple "thank you" for her efforts. Was this the marriage she had schemed so hard to get?Did she regret it? If someone asked, she might answer yes, b
"Answer me. Do you most hope it's heads or tails?" Sarah's voice carried an undeniable authority.The woman finally spoke. "Tails."Before Sarah's hand moved, the woman hurriedly corrected herself, "No, no, no—heads."Her indecisiveness reminded Sarah of her former self. Choosing between reason and emotion was often the hardest decision. It had once taken her several days to make up her mind.Sarah opened her palm. The woman's eyes widened, staring as if trying to burn a hole through Sarah's hand. But quickly, she discovered that Sarah's palm was completely empty. There was no coin at all.No heads or tails—there wasn't even a coin to begin with.Seeing the woman's confused expression, Sarah smiled and said, "In the moment I opened my hand, your heart already had the answer. I can't tell you how to solve your problem, nor can I make the decision for you. But you should know that you only have one life, while love can be found more than once. The fact that you're troubled by this s
This single subtle gesture revealed her inner feelings. Without needing to look further, Sarah immediately understood. Through the monitor, she could see that the photograph was a selfie of a man.Beyond heartbreak, she couldn't think of any other explanation.The emotion release room had been open for nearly a week. During this time, she had observed many clients. Those who came to release their emotions fell into several categories: heartbreak, work conflicts, friendship issues, personal disputes, or being stuck at a crossroads in life, unable to make the right choice.They came here to vent their emotions, and often only after destroying everything could they finally see what they truly wanted in their hearts.This was Sarah's original purpose in creating the emotion release room. But more importantly, this wasn't just a simple place to vent emotions—it offered clients more valuable services, such as guidance from top psychological counselors to help them quickly resolve their tr
"Enough. I've heard too many words like these. It's all for my own good, it's all to protect me—using these noble-sounding excuses to make me believe him, to understand him. Well then, why don't you who want me to believe him try to convince him to believe in me? Are you all underestimating me, or overestimating Vivian? I don't want to hear this kind of talk anymore. Everything he suffered today was his own choice."In this moment, Sarah's coldness fully erupted. She was no longer indifferent or dismissive, because she simply couldn't ignore the pain in her heart.Mia hadn't expected Sarah to say such things today. She held Sarah's hand sympathetically. "Sarah, I'm sorry. It's because I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said those things that upset you."When emotions reach their breaking point, they tend to explode, but often calm down shortly after the outburst.Sarah had regained her composure. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "This isn't your fault. Since the doctor is he
They both looked at Zachary. Sarah frowned slightly and asked uncertainly, "Are you sure the two of us can lift him?"Mia paused for a moment, then pressed the drain button. In less than five minutes, all the cold water had drained from the tub.Zachary had a towel wrapped around his lower half, but it could easily fall off. Sarah first found a bathrobe in the closet, and together with Mia, they struggled to put it on him."Zachary, wake up!"Sarah didn't smell any alcohol on Zachary, so she determined he probably hadn't been drinking, but for some reason had passed out.She used all her strength to pull on Zachary's arm, trying to lift him up.Ten minutes later, when Steven arrived, Zachary was still in the bathtub."Miss Sanders, Miss Reynolds, let me handle this." He walked in with a man in a suit and lifted Zachary to the bed without much effort.He said to the suited man, "Doctor, please examine him."Only then did Sarah realize that Steven had brought a doctor. They waite
Sarah couldn't say much, since she hadn't seen either the truth or the evidence herself.But seeing how hurt Mia looked, she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and said gently, "Though I don't know exactly what happened or what truth and evidence you're talking about, you should trust your brother. When we were in West Ridge, his reaction after learning the truth wasn't much better than yours. His eyes were filled with shock."She paused before continuing, "Now that you know the truth, you both clearly understand what you need to do. Isn't it better to see things clearly rather than remain in the dark?"At least they wouldn't need to keep guessing or lie awake night after night.Mia nodded gravely, then asked with confusion, "Sarah, my brother hasn't told you about it?"Sarah smiled faintly and shook her head. "If he wanted me to know, he would tell me himself.""Sarah, whatever decision my brother makes, I believe he would never hurt you. Just like you told me, we can trust h
When the call connected again, Sarah asked impatiently, "Zachary! What exactly do you want? You seem to have forgotten your position. Do I need to remind you?""Sasa, why do I see you everywhere but can't touch you?" he asked in confusion.Clearly, Sarah had no idea what Zachary was talking about. She thought he was playing games with her. "You're the marvellous Mr. Reynolds,Vivian's fiancé. Have you forgotten your engagement ceremony is just a week away?"Zachary frowned deeply. He knew that, but at this moment, he didn't want to think about any of it.He didn't respond. Sarah felt a moment of frustration. She was tired of being dragged into Vivian's schemes and tired of the things Zachary always refused to say.Beep, beep, beep! Zachary lowered the phone dejectedly. She had hung up again.He called back, but no one answered. Panicking, he dialed several more times. On the third attempt, she finally picked up."Zachary! If you call again, I'm going to block you on my phone." Z
He never imagined Vivian would dare do such a thing. Drugging someone's drink was despicable behavior. He never thought the normally proud Vivian would stoop to this level.He weakly held onto the car door, took a deep breath, and dug his right hand hard into his thigh. The intense pain brought him a moment of clarity.But this brief lucidity only allowed him to make the most rational decision. He could clearly feel the burning heat throughout his body, as if thousands of ants were crawling all over him.When they finally reached Void Bay, the driver looked at Zachary's condition with concern. "Mr. Reynolds, should I take you to the hospital instead?"Zachary refused with a cold stare. "Not necessary."He knew with certainty that if he appeared at a hospital tonight, tomorrow's trending news would definitely be about his hospital visit. At this stage, he couldn't afford to openly start fire with Vivian.He looked weakly at the driver. "Help me inside."If he couldn't stay calm no