LOGINKelly had it all planned out already. She smiled. "Sharon may not be easy to fool, but her friend Wendy is a different story. "We'll figure out a way to spill a drink all over her, get her under control, and use her phone to send Sharon a message. Once you get Sharon isolated, Sean, I'll handle the rest."Sean looked at Kelly. With everything already arranged for him, hesitating any further would make him look weak. If it ever came out and the Kalens came after him, he could always claim he'd walked into the wrong room, or push the blame onto Kelly. With someone else there to take the fall, what did he have to worry about?"Fine," Sean said. "Let's do it."Kelly finally broke into a smile. "I'll go set things up. I'll let you know the moment everything's ready."Once Kelly and Sean left, Julliard stepped out of the shadows. He watched the direction they'd gone, his eyes deep and unreadable.Lately, his relationship with Sharon had grown distant, thanks to Thomas's constant sti
Julliard's steps came to a halt.A scent?Ruined?His brow furrowed. He'd already caught on that the person plotting against Sharon was none other than Carter's ex-girlfriend, Kelly."Don't worry, Ms. Walt, I've got this handled.""Keep it clean. Don't let anyone find out," Kelly said coldly. "If anything goes wrong, you know what happens.""Yes, yes, don't worry!"Footsteps sounded, as if the man were leaving.Julliard slipped out of sight and waited for the footsteps to fade before glancing over quietly.Kelly stood there alone, a satisfied smile on her face, malicious pleasure gleaming in her eyes."Sharon," she muttered, thick with resentment. "Let's see if those men still flock around you once your reputation's in ruins."Julliard's eyes turned cold. But instead of confronting Kelly outright, he followed her at a distance to see exactly what she was planning.After she finished with the shifty-looking man, Kelly went on to meet with a younger man.Julliard recognized
Seeing Thomas approach, Wendy smiled and greeted him."Thomas, you made it.""Yeah, something came up and held me up, so I'm a bit late," he said.At his words, Carmen's face surfaced in Sharon's mind. Maybe he'd been held up meeting with her.At the thought, Sharon lowered her eyes.Julliard was in the middle of a conversation with someone else, but his attention never strayed far from Sharon. At the sight of Thomas arriving, a cold glint flashed through his eyes. He excused himself from his business partner and walked over to join the group."Thomas, I thought you weren't coming today," Julliard said. "Sharon and I were just talking about you."Thomas gave a light laugh. "Of course I'd come to your birthday party. Every time I run into you, something good happens. You're my lucky star."Julliard's smile thinned. He knew better than to fall into Thomas's trap again, so he ignored the remark. He turned to Sharon instead, his tone gentle."Sharon, you and Wendy haven't had dinn
Sharon followed Wendy's gaze and found herself looking straight at Carter.He stood beside Kelly, tall and striking, radiating the kind of aloofness that kept people at a distance. Yet his deep-set eyes cut through the crowd and landed precisely on her.Sharon's brow furrowed slightly, and she looked away."Don't know him," she said flatly.Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Don't know him, and he stares at you like that? The woman next to him looks about ready to turn green."Nearby, watching Carter's gaze follow Sharon without fail, Kelly's fingertips trembled. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.She hooked her arm through his, her voice sweet enough to drip."Carter, it's stuffy in here. Let's go get some air."He pulled his arm free, glancing down at her. "Go on your own. I have something to take care of."With that, he walked off without a backward glance.Kelly froze in place, her nails digging into her palms, the pain barely enough to hold her expression toget
Her sense of danger wasn't wrong. Women like Sharon drew men's attention far too easily.To protect what she had, what she'd done in Neldene hadn't been wrong at all. Kelly told herself as much.She'd wondered, more than once, whether it was her own repeated scheming against Sharon back then that had actually drawn Carter's attention in the first place. But Kelly refused to admit that his growing interest in Sharon had anything to do with her own actions. No, it wasn't her fault. It was everyone else's.Telling herself that only deepened the resentment she felt toward Sharon.She was determined to ruin Sharon at this party tonight, to make Carter see with his own eyes what a shameless woman Sharon really was.Kelly lowered her head slightly, hiding the malice in her expression.The moment Sharon stepped into the party, Julliard came straight over to her."Sharon, you made it."Ever since the clash with Thomas, Julliard had genuinely worried she might not come. Thankfully, she
Julliard's birthday party arrived quickly. He'd gone all out this time, inviting no shortage of guests. Even Carter and Nate, both based in Amstern City, made the trip to Marcentine.Nate had heard that Julliard planned to settle permanently in Marcentine for the woman he loved, and he wanted to see for himself just what kind of woman could captivate someone as famously detached as Julliard.Carter and Kelly were currently on the outs, so he hadn't brought her along. But Kelly had begged Nate to bring her to the party anyway, hoping to use the occasion to patch things up with Carter, so Nate ended up escorting her in.The real point of hosting a party like this was usually networking, and Julliard was no exception. Since he wanted to build a future in Marcentine, he needed to make connections with the city's elite to lay the groundwork. Fortunately, the previous generation of the Macaron family had left behind solid connections in Marcentine, and with Carter's help, Julliard had m
Kelly's eyes reddened in an instant. Tears welled up, threatening to spill over.Just then, Matty's young, puzzled voice cut through the silence."Excuse me, why do you cry so much? Every time I see you, you're crying... Even when Theo and I got hurt fighting, we didn't cry. You're already a grown
The situation was critical. Sharon had no interest in wasting time arguing."Carter, let go," she said firmly. "If we delay any longer, Theo's life will really be in danger."Kelly stepped in front of her, blocking the way. "Sharon, I know you're worried too. But none of us are professionals. We c
"I'm paying for my kid to come to this kindergarten to learn, not to be summoned every time something happens just so I can sit here and be lectured," Xavier said. "If your school can't even handle basic conflicts between children, you may as well shut it down before you ruin more kids."The teache
The sound of Theo's irritated voice still echoed in the conference room."She's just a housewife who doesn't have a single useful skill. So she cooks a little—what's so great about that? Even my housekeeper can do all that. If you think she's so wonderful, then fine—take her. She can be your mom. K







