MasuklThe long-awaited lunch bell finally rang. In the design department of Ashford Company, the employees began tidying up their desks with cheerful expressions. However, the relaxed atmosphere instantly turned tense—in a very sweet way—the moment the glass doors of the department swung open wide.A tall man in an expensive suit stepped inside. Calvin Ashford. His handsome face and absolute dominant aura immediately drew the attention of the entire room. Without glancing left or right, his gaze was fixed on only one point: Camelia’s workspace cubicle.Camelia, who had just closed her laptop, looked up with widened eyes in surprise. “Calvin? Why are you here? I could’ve gone up to your office.”“I missed you,” Calvin answered bluntly, his baritone voice sounding clearly through the sudden silence in the room.Jealous whispers and amazed murmurs immediately broke out among the female staff. “Oh my God, the CEO is so romantic... I want to be picked up like that too!” one of the junior design
The morning sunlight slipped through the gaps in the curtains of the master bedroom at Ashford Mansion, bringing warmth after such an intense long night. Camelia slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a pair of dark eyes that had been admiring her sleeping face for quite some time.Calvin smiled faintly and briefly kissed his wife’s lips. “Good morning, Mrs. Ashford.”Camelia’s face instantly flushed red as memories of last night resurfaced. She pulled the blanket up to her nose. “Morning... Hurry and get ready, we have to take the kids to school today.”At exactly seven-thirty in the morning, Calvin’s luxurious car stopped in front of the gates of the Elementary School. Daven and Aurora stepped out of the car in their neat uniforms with backpacks hanging on their small shoulders.Camelia got out briefly to straighten Daven’s collar. “Remember what Mommy told you, okay? Study well, take care of your sister, and if anything happens…”“Report it to the teacher immediately or step
The man inside the Presidential Suite slowly turned his executive chair around. The reflection from the laptop screen illuminated the sharp and cold lines of his face. His full name was Jhonson Ashford. He was Calvin’s biological uncle, although the age gap between them was not very far apart, only a few years.For the past ten years, Jhonson had been forced to live in exile overseas because of the unilateral decision made by the Ashford family council of elders, who had instead allowed Calvin to ascend as the head of the family at a young age.Jhonson finished the rest of the drink in his glass, letting the warmth burn his throat together with the resentment that had rotted inside him for an entire decade.“Ten years, Calvin...” Jhonson hissed sharply. His fingers tapped lightly against the laptop screen displaying Camelia’s profile photo as Calvin’s legal wife. “You’ve sat in my seat for far too long. Now it’s time for me to take back all the wealth and power that should have been u
The CEO office at the top floor of Ashford Corporation was shrouded in thick tension. The cold air from the air conditioner seemed incapable of suppressing the heated atmosphere radiating from behind Calvin’s large work desk.Ronal stood stiffly with a digital tablet in his hands. The personal assistant’s face looked extraordinarily pale.“Explain it again,” Calvin ordered. His voice was low, yet the cold vibration within it was enough to make anyone shudder in fear.Ronal swallowed hard before presenting the tablet screen to his boss. “Two hours ago, our central security system detected a massive cyberattack, Sir. This anonymous attack deliberately targeted the main financial server database. The strange thing is... the encryption they used to break through our defenses.”Calvin narrowed his eagle-sharp eyes, staring at the lines of flashing red code on the screen. “Not an ordinary hacker?”“No, Sir,” Ronal replied quickly. “Our IT forensic team just submitted the preliminary report.
The sheet of documents bearing the national emblem was finally stamped onto the wooden desk. Inside the civil registry office that morning, the tense silence transformed into a long sigh of relief.Calvin and Camelia exchanged glances. On the official papers, their names were now legally registered as husband and wife in the eyes of the law. There would be no more running away, no more uncertain status, and most importantly, no more chance for the past to separate them.“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Calvin,” the civil officer said with a friendly smile as he handed over their marriage book.Calvin accepted the book, then his sturdy fingers immediately clasped Camelia’s hand tightly, conveying deep warmth. “Thank you,” Calvin replied flatly, yet filled with absolute firmness.As they stepped out of the civil registry building, the silhouette of the morning sunlight welcomed them. Camelia stared at the ring wrapped around her ring finger with teary eyes.“Finally...” Camelia murmured s
The digital clock in the corner of the CEO office at Collyn Group already showed eight at night. Yet, the atmosphere inside the tightly closed room still felt unbearably hot and thick. The passion that had exploded since the afternoon had yet to subside; instead, it continued to tremble intensely through every corner of the room.Sweat drenched the bodies of Juna and Ziyi as they remained entangled without a single thread covering them. On top of the leather sofa, they had gone through various waves of intense emotions and physical desire. Ziyi, who had initially been beneath him, at several moments turned things around and took control on top, moving according to the instincts that had suddenly awakened within her.It did not stop there. Their union shifted again. Juna carried Ziyi’s slender body into a standing position, pressing her against the sturdy wall before eventually changing to a position that made both of their breaths grow even more ragged. For Ziyi, this was indeed her f
Chapter 13Camelia Collyn closed her eyes. Her body lay on the sofa in Jonathan’s apartment, a thin blanket covering her. It was already late at night, the city lights faintly visible behind the curtains. That quiet atmosphere instead made her mind noisy.Old memories slowly surfaced.Ten years ago
Chapter 14Two months passed quickly, but for Calvin Ashford, his days felt heavier instead.That morning, Calvin had just sat down at the dining table when nausea hit him again. He covered his mouth, stood up in a hurry, and rushed to the bathroom.“Ugh—”The sound of vomiting was clearly heard.S
Calvin closed his eyes in his office chair. The lights in the office were still brightly lit, but his head felt heavy. Somehow, his thoughts had been drifting more and more often without permission. He took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.Yet the memory still came.That night, the rain was p
Chapter 11The sharp smell of antiseptic stung Camelia’s nose as her consciousness slowly returned. Her eyelids felt heavy. She tried to open her eyes, then closed them again because the light was too bright.“You’re awake?”A man’s voice sounded near her. His tone was firm, but there was something







