LOGINYvonne was their daughter.No one understood her temperament better than they did."We don't have a choice," Charles said, gently patting Michelle's hand. "This is the only way forward. Whether we like it or not, we have to do it."Don't worry. All we're asking is for our daughter to apologize. We'll be there with her the whole time. Nothing's going to happen."Besides, I don't believe the Carter family would stoop to anything beneath them. More importantly, this time, we really are the ones in the wrong."As reluctant as he was to admit it, this was also a reflection of his own failure as a father.Otherwise, none of this would have happened.Michelle finally fell silent.She had always harbored some resentment toward Charles.As Yvonne's father, he hadn't even been able to protect his own daughter, leaving her to suffer through everything alone.But now, after hearing what he had to say, Michelle suddenly realized something.Their daughter had been the one at fault.Under the circums
To put it bluntly, all it would really cost them was a little damage to Yvonne's reputation.And Charles could live with that.He understood exactly what the Carter family wanted."Are you serious?" Diana asked, studying him closely.Charles nodded."I have no reason to lie about something like this. Besides, this is our fault. We failed to raise our daughter properly, so it's only right that we hold her accountable."As the words left his mouth, an unexpected sense of relief washed over him.For the first time, he felt he was doing the right thing.Yvonne wasn't getting any younger.Yet her entire world still revolved around Lucas.If they didn't put an end to this now, she would never truly grow up."Good," Philip said. "Since both families have agreed, there's no point putting it off. Let's go apologize to my granddaughter-in-law right now."As the eldest present, and the one who had brought both sides together, he was the natural person to settle the matter.Michelle watched as eve
"Do you really take the Carter family for fools?" Philip snapped. "Did you honestly think we'd swallow that nonsense after hearing a few empty promises?"He let out a cold laugh."Don't you realize how ridiculous that sounds? If I let you leave the country, do you really think you'd ever come back? Or, better yet, do you think you'd remember the harm your daughter has done to my granddaughter-in-law?""W-Well..."Charles opened his mouth, then closed it again.He had no answer.He knew Philip would be angry.What he hadn't expected was how fiercely Philip would stand up for Aurora."Mr. Carter Sr., please don't be upset. I promise I'll give you a satisfactory explanation."Charles did his best to calm him down.But nothing he said made the slightest difference.Seeing how furious Philip remained, Michelle realized she'd made a serious mistake.To be honest, she'd only wanted to placate him long enough for them to get back overseas.Once they were safely out of the country, everything e
They'd barely made it to the front door before the Carters blocked their way."What an unfortunate coincidence," Charles said with a strained smile."Oh, enough with the excuses," Philip cut him off. "Let's talk about how we're going to settle this. This isn't just your family's problem anymore. It's a matter between our two families."His expression turned steely."More importantly, Aurora is a member of the Carter family now. There's no chance we're letting this slide."The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere changed.Philip's commanding presence became almost overwhelming.Charles and Michelle would have been lying if they claimed they weren't afraid.They both knew the Carter family held far more power than they ever could.If things truly came to a head, they stood no chance."So, what exactly do you want?" Charles asked.He genuinely couldn't figure out what the Carters were after.Michelle had already offered a solution, yet they'd rejected it outright.If that was
Charles wore an almost reverent smile, as though he hadn't been calling Philip an old bastard in his head just moments ago."Enough of the act," Philip said flatly."I've spent my whole life dealing with people like you. Don't think I can't tell what you're really thinking. Every wrinkle on your face screams insincerity. We're here today to settle the score for what your precious daughter did."Charles and Michelle exchanged a glance.Their hearts sank.Michelle, especially, knew there was no hiding the truth anymore.When she spoke again, her voice was already trembling."Mr. Carter Sr., our daughter just made a terrible mistake. Please, be the bigger person and don't hold it against her."I promise we'll discipline her properly from now on. We won't let her do anything to hurt Miss Walton again. We'll take her overseas, and I swear she won't trouble your family anymore."Diana immediately frowned."Only another woman would catch what you're trying to do here." Her voice turned sharp
Yvonne had already begun tarnishing Aurora's reputation.There was no way Diana could tolerate that.Besides, if they let this slide once, there would be a second time.The only way to solve the problem was to stop it before it went any further.By the time the Carter family arrived, Yvonne's parents were already in a state of panic.Michelle clutched Charles' arm, her eyes filled with fear."What do we do? The Carters are definitely coming after us. They've already sent us the video."If they find out our daughter really did something this awful... who knows what they'll do next?"Charles's face drained of color.He nearly fainted before finally speaking in a trembling voice."Take a guess. Who do you think sent us that video?""You mean..."Michelle hesitated, but deep down she already knew the answer.After all, she couldn't think of anyone besides Lucas who would do something like this.Charles gave a resigned nod."Who else could it have been? It had to be Lucas. He's protecting A
“You could’ve just sent me a message,” Aurora said, her voice stumbling slightly.Lucas shook his head, looking a little embarrassed. “I wanted to surprise you, so I didn’t text.”Aurora was speechless.So that was his idea of a surprise.And that, she thought, was exactly the problem between them—m
“Miss Walton, you could’ve told us about your identity much earlier.”Aurora looked puzzled. “Mr. Smith, is there something wrong with my identity?”“It’s all over the internet now. Everyone knows about you and Lucas. You remember how arrogant Yvonne was before? A big part of that came from her supp
Hearing that, Aurora raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.“I didn’t expect to hear that from you.”Yvonne’s fists tightened at her sides. She knew her actions hadn’t exactly been honorable, but she had no other choice.If she wanted Lucas’ help, this was the only way.She couldn’t let her studio co
“You hiding behind her. What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t need your apology,” Yvonne said coldly.The moment she said that, Megan instinctively tried to step out from behind Aurora.But Aurora quickly stopped her, refusing to let her take the fall.She couldn’t bear to see Megan humiliated like







