Trey gave a half-smile. "Oh, maybe I am a little."He ran a hand along his sharp jawline, eyes fixed on me. "But what can I do if I just can’t help myself?"He suddenly leaned in, and I sucked in a breath as he backed me up against the wall.His striking face loomed close, and that damned cologne hit me straight in the nose.I held my breath, as if even breathing might encourage this man who was clearly committed to being a menace.Trey stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly broke into a lazy smile."You’re really something, you know that? The more I talk to you, the more intrigued I get."I shot him a glare. "If you’re here to buy a painting, then pick one yourself. I don’t know anything about art. I’m heading upstairs."I turned to leave the studio.It was just the two of us in there—alone, behind closed doors. This was not exactly the safest setup."Hold on!" Trey called out.I looked back. He picked up a painting and was examining it closely."Since you're working part-tim
What I didn’t know was that Trey and Sharon exchanged a glance, both of them smiling meaningfully."Evelyn, since you’ve sold some paintings and you made a fortune, how about treating me to a meal?" Trey grinned at me.I nodded right away. "Sure, my treat!"Trey probably hadn’t expected me to agree so quickly. He froze for a second.Then he laughed. "Alright, let’s go for the most expensive fine dining restaurant."As soon as I heard the word "most expensive," I quickly asked, "How expensive are we talking?"Sharon couldn’t hold it in anymore and gave me a light smack. "Silly girl, expensive or not, you still have to treat him! Trey’s basically a walking goldmine!"Realization hit me. "Okay, I’ll treat. No matter how expensive it is!"Trey looked a little thrown off by how serious I was.He let out an awkward laugh. "Alright, let’s go."I happily followed after him.Today, Trey drove a Ferrari, different color from the one before.I placed the paintings in the trunk and they fit perfe
I cautiously broke the silence. “We're going for fine dining... at...” I gave him the name of the place.Miles’ voice came through, cold as ever. “Fine dining? Is that place really that good?”I was speechless.One second later, his voice dropped to freezing. “I’ll see you there in twenty minutes. Trey, you’d better behave.”Then he hung up.A strange silence settled in the car.Trey kept driving, his expression unreadable—somewhere between amused and indifferent. I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or entertained.I ventured carefully, “Maybe your brother’s just in a bad mood today.”Trey turned the wheel with a light laugh. “Him? It’d be a miracle if he even has moods.”“Why?”He whistled. “He barely has emotions to begin with. I always say he’s basically a money-making robot.”A robot? I was speechless. These two brothers clearly didn’t have the warmest impression of each other....Before long, we arrived at the restaurant.Just as we parked, an attendant was already waiting b
After a few more remarks, Miles realized Trey wasn’t taking anything he said seriously, so he gave up scolding him altogether.Instead, he turned to me. “How much did Trey spend on paintings today?”I hesitated for a moment before giving him the number.Miles shot Trey a cold look.Trey raised an eyebrow, half amused. “What’s with that look, bro? A little over two hundred grand isn’t that much, is it? Evelyn made forty-eight grand off me. I was just showing her some support!”Miles corrected him sharply, “Don’t call her Evelyn so casually.”Trey laughed. “Then what should I call her? Eve?”Miles’ tone was serious. “She’s your future sister-in-law. You can either call her Miss White or address her with more respect.”I wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.Trey chuckled. “That’s really bold of you, bro. I never thought someone like you, who usually acts like women don’t exist, would fall so hard. It’s like watching a cold furnace suddenly roar to life.
I was completely frozen. My brain had short-circuited. The more I tried to explain, the worse it got.Trey, ever so helpful, chimed in dryly, “What she means is, she doesn’t need your money. Bro, you’re dating her, and she still doesn’t think you’re essential.”“Shut up!” I snapped, completely losing it. “Say one more word and I’m never selling you another painting!”The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how empty that threat sounded. Yeah, that wasn’t exactly intimidating.Thankfully, Trey finally decided to quit messing with me.He grinned. “Alright, bro, I’m out. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to talk it out.”And with a tilt of his head, he slipped out of the room.Now the spacious private room felt too quiet—with just me and Miles left.He looked at me with that deep, unreadable gaze. “Now that he’s gone, you can speak freely.”I let out a helpless laugh. “You totally got played by that jerk Trey. He’s full of it. He was just being a troll.”Miles looked half amused. “
Julian posted, “Personal statement: Regarding all slander and false accusations made by Ms. Chloe Clarke, I reserve the right to pursue legal action...”I froze. Then, snapping out of it, I immediately opened Julian’s page.It was clean—only three posts in total.The first two were from five years ago: one was a repost of a company interview, the other was a friendly share from a business partner.This new post was the third.I read it again and again, every word sharp and distant. His message was utterly cold.Was Julian really cutting ties with Chloe for good?My brain couldn’t quite process it. After all, Chloe claimed she was pregnant with his child.I went back to comb through Chloe’s posts more carefully and realized that she never actually said she was pregnant outright.What the hell were they playing at?I closed the app, thinking that the whole thing felt like a soap opera.Right then, Dolly’s voice call popped up.“Eve, did you see it? Julian’s done with Chloe for real th
I forced a laugh. "I really didn’t plan to take his money. After all, we’ve only just started dating casually..."At that point, I smacked my lips in frustration.Thinking back on my relationship with Miles, there wasn’t much spark. He’d appeared in my dark, messy life like a quiet breeze and simply stayed. Our relationship sounded decent on paper, but it always felt like something was missing—passion, maybe.Was it because we were both deliberately keeping our distance?That word “distance” flashed through my mind, and suddenly, the black card in my hand didn’t feel all that exciting anymore.Dolly had no idea why my mood had dropped out of nowhere. She kept urging me to dress up and hurry out to swipe the card.So, I went to change into a dress and put on some light makeup.Just as I was getting ready, James called."Miss White, Mr. Moore wants to settle out of court."I blinked. "He agreed to settle?""Yes. My advice is to hear him out first. If the terms are reasonable, we won’t
There was one suspicion buried deep in my heart that I never dared to face.From Dolly, I found out that five years ago, I recklessly invested the one hundred million my grandfather left me, under my name, into the struggling Moore Group.That decision led my parents to publicly sever ties with me in the papers.No matter how many times I asked, Dolly refused to tell me what happened to them afterward.And then there was my brother.Even though Nicholas and I had mended our relationship, every time I brought up wanting to see our parents or told him how much I missed them, he would always find a way to dodge the conversation.All of this made me afraid to dig deeper.I was scared the truth would be more than I could handle. For now, my only focus was to recover that one hundred million dollars, along with the shares and dividends Julian owed me.Family could be mended after being hurt, but the only way I could make up for my past mistake was with money.A deep sense of powerlessness c
I let out a breath of relief. "Good. I guess I’ll stop taking baths from now on. Who knew something so relaxing could nearly kill me?"I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but neither Miles nor Joseph smiled.Forcing a small grin, I added, "Just… don’t tell my brother, okay?"Miles gave a warm smile. "I won’t."Joseph glanced at him, then said, "I’ve checked everything—she’s fine. Just be careful not to catch a cold."Miles walked him out.When he returned to the room, I was already sitting up against the headboard, my expression uneasy.The mattress dipped slightly beside me as Miles sat down. He looked at me gently. "Eve, what’s wrong?"My voice was low. "Miles... I had a dream about Julian."Miles let out a quiet breath. "That’s normal. I was worried it might be something worse."I shook my head, a flicker of panic rising in my eyes. "But I’ve never dreamed about him since the memory loss. And this time… I saw the first time I met him."My hands trembled slightly. "I shouldn’t r
Warm water swirled gently around me, and the weight of exhaustion began to pull me under.Sleep crept in, soft and heavy....“Eve, come on! I heard the campus heartthrob’s here today!”I looked up, my vision blurry.Where was I?Dolly’s face appeared in front of me, lit with excitement. “Hurry! If we’re late, we won’t get a good view. The club’s short on people, so they brought in the heartthrob to help out. Come on, everyone’s rushing over.”I reached out and grabbed her arm. “No, I’m not going.”She gave me a puzzled look. “Why not? That’s Julian Moore! He’s literally the most popular guy on campus. He’s good looking and comes from a wealthy family.”Something caught in my throat. I wanted to speak but couldn’t get the words out.Dolly, getting impatient, tugged at my hand and started dragging me forward.There were people everywhere, too many to count.Eventually, we arrived at the small rehearsal theater.I looked around in confusion. There were crowds all around, but no one I re
But what did she say?Julian’s grip tightened around the charm, his fingers curling into it as pain filled his eyes...."Julian, I know there’s nothing I can do for you… Just keep this charm. They say the priest there is the real deal. You’re not supposed to throw it away once it’s been blessed.""Julian, I don’t care if you ever become rich or powerful. I just want you to be safe."That foolish woman had clutched the charm in her hands, smiling at him with such innocence and blind faith....The knot dug into his palm, sharp enough to hurt. Julian opened his hand, then closed it tightly around it again.Chloe, who had been rambling on, finally noticed something was off.She caught sight of the charm in his hand and scoffed. "What is that? It looks so tacky."She reached over, trying to take a closer look.Julian quickly slipped it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.Chloe’s eyes narrowed. "Did she give you that?"He started the car, his voice flat. "No. I got it myself. Some p
Julian looked at me, confused.I took a deep breath. "Julian, stop. I know why you're apologizing. You're doing this for Chloe’s child, right? You just don’t want things to get ugly."He lowered his head, then gave a small nod. "Yes, that’s part of it... but I really…"I cut him off quickly. "Don’t. Goodbye, Mr. Moore."Without looking back, I turned and got into the car.Miles noticed something was off the moment he saw my face. "What did he say?"I steadied myself. "He wants to settle everything privately. He doesn’t want it to go to court."Miles glanced toward Julian’s lonely figure in the distance, his eyes flickering."You okay?" he asked.I shook my head. "I’m fine."He paused, then handed me a tissue. "If it hurts, just cry."I looked at him, my eyes dry. "I can’t cry. But why do I still feel so awful?"His gaze softened. "Julian's pulling all this to protect his pride because of Chloe’s child, isn’t he?"I drew in a shaky breath. "Yeah. He apologized, but in the end, it’s still
Julian's expression darkened as he stared at me. "Evelyn, I thought you said you loved me? And yet here you are with Miles already—what, were you two sneaking around while we were together?"Without thinking, I slapped him.He grabbed my wrist, sneering coldly. "Did I strike a nerve?"I laughed in anger. "I shouldn’t have let Miles in the car earlier. If I hadn’t, the one slapping you right now would’ve been him."Julian let go of my hand and said coolly, "Enough nonsense. Evelyn, dragging this to court would just be a spectacle. After five years of marriage, I don’t want things to end like this."Was he trying to reconcile?I forced down my fury and asked, "What do you have in mind?"Julian hesitated, his gaze complicated. "I’ll return everything that belongs to you... just give me some time."I was stunned.I hadn’t expected Julian, who always seemed so tough, to willingly give up fighting and hand over what I deserved.I went quiet. "Alright. How much time do you need?"Julian tugged
Julian blurted out, “What?!”Then, snapping out of his shock, his face twisted with fury. “Miles Wynn, what the hell do you mean by that?!”Miles smiled, calm and unbothered. “Nothing more than the truth.”Julian’s voice rose, livid. “Truth? This is nothing but one of your dirty tricks!”Miles raised a brow, pretending to be confused. “Dirty? Hmm. I’d actually call it a fresh idea.”Julian’s already dark expression grew stormier.Chloe stood beside him, jaw clenched, eyes locked on us with thinly veiled rage. Suddenly, she cut in sharply, “But wasn’t it Miss White who transferred the 1.2 million to Elmwood?”Dolly stepped forward without missing a beat. “That money was loaned to Eve by me. Got a problem with that?”That shut them both up.I felt a wave of satisfaction rise in my chest. But I also knew Julian wasn’t going to let this slide so easily.Sure enough, he turned to me, eyes cold. “Eve, this is going to court anyway. You can spin the story however you want. We’ll see what the
The moment I saw that elegant, refined face, so striking it felt almost divine, every bit of the frustration I’d buried surged to the surface.Without a second thought, I rushed into his arms. “Miles!”Warmth enveloped me, and the familiar clean scent of pine wrapped around my senses. My eyes stung instantly.Miles lowered his head, chuckling softly. “What’s wrong? You look like a little bunny with those red eyes.”Feeling embarrassed, I gave his chest a light smack. “Why are you here?”He studied my face carefully, then gently brushed his fingers across my cheek. “I heard someone was picking on my darling, so I came running.”That warmth spread through my chest, overflowing, making it hard to hold back tears.He leaned down, his voice low in my ear. “Don’t cry, silly girl.”Then he straightened and looked around the room.His gaze passed over Sarah and Dolly, finally landing on Julian.Julian instinctively straightened his back.He stepped forward, voice laced with sarcasm. “What brin
I turned to Sarah with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, Miss Care. It seems I’m not in a position to work with your company until I sort out my personal matters.”Sarah shook her head regretfully. “Please don’t apologize. Our company is moving forward with expansion this year. We’ve already allocated the available investment slots. If you decide not to invest… we’ll have to open the opportunity to others.”She gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Miss White. But once this window closes, there will be no further opportunity.”I offered a bitter smile and nodded. “I understand.”Dolly was so angry, she could barely hold back a choked sob. “That shameless bastard… absolutely shameless!”I squeezed her hand, silently telling her it was time to go.Julian stepped in front of us, blocking the way. His expression was conflicted, and when he spoke, his voice was softer than I’d ever heard it.“Eve, maybe we can talk this through.”“Julian, you… you’re still not done?” Chloe’s voice r
The moment I heard those words, a rush of blood surged to my head.My ears rang, and that all-too-familiar wave of dizziness came crashing back.I barely registered Dolly's voice rising in fury. “Julian Moore, do you have no shame? You really dare say that was marital property?! Eve paid for it herself! You… you're absolutely disgusting!”I could barely stay on my feet, the world tilting around me.“Dolly… I…” I whispered weakly.She quickly caught me and helped me sit down.I took a few deep breaths to steady myself, then looked up at Julian. And for a split second, though maybe it was the dizziness playing tricks on me, I thought I saw a flicker of concern flash through his eyes.Sarah noticed something was off and immediately stepped in. “Miss White, don’t worry. We can take this slowly.”I fought to calm my pounding heart and spoke, voice steady but cold. “What exactly is it that you want, Mr. Moore?”Julian hesitated for a moment, but soon the polished businessman returned to his