When Layson returned to the Norman estate, he found Richard and Diana still sitting in the living room. However, Ralph was nowhere in sight."Where's Ralph?" he asked, glancing upstairs.Diana, surprised to see Layson back, hesitated before answering. Earlier that afternoon, she had struggled to console Ralph, yet Layson had managed to calm him down with just a phone call. She had no idea what he had said to him."He's in his room. What did you say to him this afternoon? I couldn’t get him to stop crying, no matter what I did."Layson didn't answer. He simply looked toward the second floor, knowing that Ralph had taken today’s events to heart. Without another word, he headed upstairs.Richard frowned. "Crying? But he barely knows her. They haven’t spent much time together."Diana shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he just naturally longs for his mother."To her, this was actually a good thing—it saved them from having to build their bond from scratch. Still, even she found it strange how dee
Adela arrived at Starry Jewelry early in the morning, wanting to familiarize herself with the environment before her first official workday began. She believed that making a good first impression was important, especially in a company filled with elite designers.Each designer at Starry Jewelry was assigned a personal assistant, and Adela had already received the contact information for hers. They had spoken briefly over the phone the previous day. As soon as she stepped into the company lobby, she spotted a young woman waiting for her."Good morning, Ms. Walton. I'm your assistant, Juliet," the young woman greeted her with a polite smile.Adela took a quick glance at the girl in front of her—she looked to be about twenty, with a soft-spoken demeanor and a hint of nervousness in her eyes. Over the phone, Juliet had sounded gentle and professional, and now in person, she seemed exactly the same. Adela extended her hand warmly."Hi, Juliet! Just call me Adela—no need for formalities."J
Adela felt a little awkward stepping into the meeting room, but the others barely acknowledged her. Once everyone was seated, Cora turned on the projector, displaying this season’s summer collection sketches. Adela carefully examined the designs and could tell immediately that they were of high quality.“These designs fit well with our summer theme, and these have been approved,” Cora began, pointing at a few selections. “But the ones toward the end don’t work. The theme alignment is weak, and their overall concept doesn’t quite fit.”As Cora listed the issues one by one, Adela nodded internally. She had noticed the same problems while reviewing the sketches. The team was engaged, discussing ideas back and forth. The meeting had been going on for nearly an hour when suddenly, Cora turned to her.“Adela, what do you think?”Caught off guard, Adela’s eyes widened. For the first time, all eyes in the room landed on her. Some looked curious, others skeptical. She could sense that not ever
Leopold Davis had been curious about Adela ever since he discovered who she was. He had looked into her background and found plenty of information about her time in the UK, but anything beyond that? A dead end. The only person who could fill in the blanks was Layson Norman, and he wasn’t talking. That, in itself, was enough to make Leopold even more intrigued. He had known Layson for years, and this was the first time he had ever heard of a woman being connected to him in such a significant way. It was practically a miracle.As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he made a beeline for the Elegance team’s workspace. Leopold wasn’t the type to go unnoticed—whenever he appeared, people paid attention. He was the biggest source of gossip in the design department, so the moment he entered, all eyes naturally followed him, landing squarely on Adela."How are you settling in?" he asked casually.Adela, caught off guard, looked up at him in surprise. She had thought she’d arrived early, y
Adela had been working at Starry Jewelry for a few days now, and everything was going smoothly. She had finally settled into her new home and had arranged with Mrs. Anderson to pick up Herbie that evening. As she glanced at the time, she realized it was almost the end of the workday, but the design department was still bustling with activity.With the first quarter coming to an end, each design team was finalizing their collections. The entire department was working overtime, making last-minute adjustments. Cora walked over to Adela’s desk and tapped lightly on it, signaling her to follow. Adela looked up, slightly puzzled but quickly got up and followed her to the conference room.“What’s going on, Cora?” Adela asked as she stepped inside, noticing Cora’s serious expression.Without responding immediately, Cora pulled out a few design sketches and placed them in front of Adela. Adela picked them up and quickly realized they were her own designs for the summer collection.“These are m
Leopold Davis twirled a pen between his fingers, lost in thought. Since this was about Adela, he figured he might as well give Layson Norman a call. Though, in all honesty, he was more interested in messing with Layson than actually solving Adela’s problem. When Layson saw Leopold’s name flash on his screen, he hesitated before answering. He had a feeling this was going to be yet another call filled with annoying questions he had no interest in answering."What?" Layson answered, his tone as indifferent as ever."Adela’s designs require a high amount of materials. The budget committee might cut them," Leopold said, amusement lacing his voice, already anticipating Layson’s reaction.Layson’s brows furrowed. He knew exactly what Leopold was up to. That half-smirk in his voice was obvious. But instead of playing along, Layson cut straight to the point."Let her do it. I’ll cover the cost."Leopold was momentarily speechless. He hadn’t expected Layson to agree so easily. Not that he minde
"Who is it, Adela?"Herbie called out from the dining table, her voice filled with curiosity. It was unusual for them to have visitors, especially since Adela had just moved in and hadn’t even told anyone about her new place. Adela frowned slightly as she set down her glass and walked toward the door."I have no idea," she replied, her brows furrowing as she cautiously opened the door just a crack to see who was outside.To her surprise, standing at the doorstep was none other than Layson Norman. Adela’s mind went blank for a moment, unable to process why he was here. Seeing her stunned reaction, Layson’s lips curled into a faint, almost amused smile."You moved into a new place, so I thought I’d come by and check it out," he said casually, his hands tucked into his pockets, his tone as composed as ever.Adela was still processing the shock of seeing him when her eyes caught sight of a small figure stepping out from behind Layson. It was the little boy she had met twice before—Ralph.
As soon as Herbie asked the question, Adela nearly choked on her food. She quickly reached over and pulled Herbie’s arm, her voice slightly flustered."What nonsense are you talking about? Just eat your food."Herbie, still brimming with curiosity, looked back and forth between Layson and Adela, clearly expecting an answer. Layson, on the other hand, let out a quiet chuckle, amused by how unexpectedly helpful Herbie was turning out to be. Meanwhile, Ralph, who had been quietly observing, suddenly blinked and tilted his head, his little face full of confusion."What does getting married mean?"Adela felt her temples throb. Why was this conversation still happening? She was already overwhelmed by Layson’s sudden visit with Ralph, and now they were diving headfirst into a conversation about marriage?"Getting married means two people stay together forever," Layson answered smoothly, his deep voice calm and certain.Adela’s fingers clenched slightly around her forks. Hearing those words f
Adela thought about it and decided to take Cici’s advice—she needed to get the truth from Lily. She still didn’t really know what happened that night. Layson didn’t talk much, and Barnes had brushed her off, saying he didn’t know.She didn’t tell Layson she was going to see Lily. But she’d overheard Barnes mention she was still being held at the precinct. So, right after work, she and Cici drove over together.A police officer led them toward the holding cells and casually mentioned something strange along the way.“That Lily girl—she left an impression. She admitted to everything and since the victim wasn’t really hurt, the sentence was light, only eight months. But get this—she begged for three years. Isn’t that weird?”Adela and Cici exchanged glances. “Did she lose her mind or something?”Cici clutched Adela’s arm like she expected to find a lunatic behind bars.But when they saw Lily, she actually looked surprisingly normal—none of that wild-eyed mess they’d been imagining. In fa
Several teachers rushed in to calm things down. The program director and staff tried to smooth over the tension with the parents. This was the Royal Prep Academy—more upscale than most preschools—where kids were trained in special skill sets.One young teacher nervously explained the whole incident.Apparently, three kids had gotten into a scuffle over something someone said about moms. One little girl had overheard an adult say that Ralph didn’t have a known mother, and she blurted it out today.Ralph insisted he had a mom, but the girl didn’t believe him. That led to arguing. The girl got angry and scratched Ralph first. Ralph instinctively tried to scratch back. Then two of her little friends jumped in to defend her, and suddenly the four kids were all rolling on the floor. By the time teachers stepped in, Ralph already had a big scratch across his cheek.Now, this wasn’t a huge deal—none of the kids were seriously hurt. But it wasn’t a small thing either. Ralph had clear marks on
Adela frowned at Mr. Norman, realizing just how alike he and Layson were—both stubborn and unwilling to listen.After a brief pause, she said, “Mr. Norman, I really don't see any reason for me to move into your family estate.”Mr. Norman's face turned red with anger. “You're carrying Layson's child. That means you must live at the estate. I make the decisions here.”Adela countered, “When I was pregnant with Ralph, no one mentioned moving in.”The two went back and forth, neither willing to back down.Layson, rubbing his temples, sat down on the hospital bed, watching them silently. His presence seemed to dampen their argument, and their voices gradually lowered.“Are you two done?”He smirked, though the smile didn't reach his eyes, as if watching a farce.Once the room quieted, he said, “Let's go to your room, Father.”The caregiver, relieved, quickly wheeled Mr. Norman out.Left alone, Layson pulled Adela close, one hand gripping her chin, the other around her waist. He kissed her
Adela’s first instinct was honestly to get rid of the baby.For one, she and Layson weren’t married yet—she was just his publicly acknowledged girlfriend. And having a child out of wedlock was still something she hadn’t fully come to terms with.She wasn’t ready to go through that kind of thing again.What she feared even more was if Layson decided to propose just because she was pregnant. They were still working through their relationship. Getting married for the baby wasn’t the future she wanted.Layson’s grip on her arm tightened. She looked up at him, her voice barely hiding a trace of sorrow. “Can you just give me a couple of days to think about it?”That one line cut through Layson like a knife.He didn’t understand. Their relationship had been solid. Why was Adela so unwilling to have a child with him? Did it mean she never intended to, even after marriage?That thought hit him like a chain around his neck, tightening with every second.He held her close but didn’t say a word.
Lily’s mind was all over the place. She stared at the man in front of her, someone who seemed almost god-like, then finally dropped her gaze and whispered, “It wasn’t her who told me to do it.”Even Barnes was shocked.“Lily, seriously? You’re telling me you came up with all that on your own? That’s wild.”He looked at her with exasperation. Honestly, he couldn’t understand what kind of dark magic Marah had over people. First Richard, now Lily—they both let themselves be used like pawns.But Lily spoke again, this time even firmer. “I did everything. It was me alone.”Layson, holding Adela in his arms, didn’t move. He just stared coldly at the woman kneeling on the floor. “Why?”Lily bit back her pain, slowly raised her head, and looked at him with a bitter, broken smile. “Because I was jealous. Why does she get to be by your side? Why won’t you even look at me? I miss you so much, it’s driven me insane. The only way I could see you... was through Adela.”The room fell into heavy sile
Cici was buzzing with excitement as she got home from work on Friday. The weekend was finally here! She fired up her computer and dove into a game, but something felt off—like she was missing something important.From the kitchen, her mom hollered, “Are you just gonna sit there playing all day? Come help out!”Cici grumbled and stepped out of her room. Her little brother darted out of his own room, hand outstretched.“Gimme your phone! Your game account's way better—I need to crush my classmates this time.”She rummaged through her bag and realized her phone was missing. Panic set in—so many accounts were linked to that phone.Ignoring her mom’s yelling, she dashed out to check the car. Still no sign of it. Desperate, she drove back to the office. The place was empty, but there it was—her phone, lying quietly on her desk.“Thank goodness,” she sighed in relief. She unlocked it with a quick Z-pattern swipe and checked for missed calls. Nothing. She pocketed the phone, turned off the li
Juliet walked over with a glass of red wine and smiled sweetly at Layson. “Mr. Norman, since you’re already here, why not stay a bit longer?”Adela glanced at Juliet, speechless. What was this woman, some kind of wine-serving hostess?Carl was staring straight at her, making her feel uncomfortable all over. Adela had no clue what was going through his mind, but she didn’t want to stir up any drama and was ready to decline whatever he had in mind.Then Mia suddenly spoke up. “Your grandma gets a bunch of jewelry every year for her birthday. You sure you wanna give her another piece?”She was asking Carl, but her eyes were locked on Adela.Adela tightened her grip on Layson’s hand. His warm, dry touch grounded her instantly.She looked up at Carl. He took a sip from his glass, lazy and casual, then tilted his head toward Mia and said, “My grandma dotes on me. Doesn’t matter what I give her, she’ll love it. Don’t you think?”Mia bit her lip, clearly caught off guard. She looked flustered
For a moment, a flicker of awkwardness flashed across Gina’s face, but she quickly returned to her usual flirtatious charm.She let go of the man’s arm with a lazy smile and said, “You're a guest, Adela. No need to be shy. I heard from Gina you two are good friends.”Adela frowned. She really couldn’t understand all the scheming behind these people’s fake smiles.Gina pulled her aside and handed her a glass of juice. “There’s still time before you have to head back to work. You came here to deliver the design draft for me, so I’m sure you’ve already told your company. Don’t worry.”The guy with the punk outfit also came over. He seemed to enjoy sticking close to Adela, and no one even batted an eye at it.He raised a cocktail glass and clinked it against her juice. “I’m Zach. Nice to meet you.”Adela figured she wouldn’t be getting out of here easily, so she just nodded politely. “Adela. Nice to meet you.”“I already know who you are,” Zach grinned as he set his drink down and rested
Gina drove like she had something to prove. A few sharp brakes later, Adela was already feeling a bit nauseous. She’d gotten used to Layson’s steady, smooth driving—anyone else behind the wheel just didn’t feel right anymore.“That girl back there—your friend?” Gina glanced over at Adela in the passenger seat, a little too casually.Adela really wished she’d focus on the road instead of looking around like that. It was dangerous.“She’s not a friend. Just someone I know,” Adela replied coolly after a beat.Gina didn’t seem to mind her tone and just kept talking.It was mostly Gina chatting the whole way, and Adela occasionally tossing in a single-word reply. But Gina’s enthusiasm didn’t waver a bit.In less than twenty minutes, they pulled up to a lavish-looking villa. Adela followed Gina in, watching her ring the bell. A housekeeper answered and led them upstairs.They stepped into a massive rooftop lounge—easily over 5,000 square feet—with everything from arcade machines to karaoke.