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19: Trial and Error
Last Updated:
2025-01-23 22:02:24
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Sunshine and The Beast 20: Proud Husband
AltheaThankfully, because of a certain someone, my mood this morning was ruined even before I started to do anything.When I checked my phone as I prepared to work, Rebecca had sent me a few article links about the plagiarism case. Rebecca M.They sure are trying to attack you personally this timeI got an instant headache when I looked at the news, seeing a photo of my face blurred, with another incredible headline: CEO of Erbeauty got several plagiarism cases in college.What the hell are they talking about?It was almost like the news and accusations thrown toward me was getting worse each day. The amount of nonsense in those articles was so ridiculous, to the point it wasn't believable. But people love to believe things that were untrue, even if they knew it was a blatant lie. Some people were invested in the drama, not the truth.Althea C.We really need to look for a lawyer, right?Can you look up for the writers of those articles? Give me the list once we meet at the officeW
Last Updated : 2025-01-26Sunshine and The Beast 21: Must Be The Fever
AltheaThe first trial would be held next week.So far, the progress was good on my side. I couldn’t explain how exactly, but Matthias found out the writers of those ugly lies–as he called them–were paid by the owner of Cleoraque, Martha Anastasia, that one brand that claimed my product was only a copycat. “Martha is one of Davos’s nieces,” Matthias informed me. “You know what that means.”Even if I didn’t really like the idea, he was right. I wasn’t sure of what method my father used to get to business. From what I’ve seen, he chose to invest in something rather than creating another product on his own. Erbeauty haven’t released any new products in years. It was only an updated formula or packaging, or special editions. It didn’t matter anyway. My father still got his money running with his investment.The launch of my Art Palette was a good sign for the company, and also a warning for my rivals. I never wanted to have one, but business was a cruel world. When Matthias said it like
Last Updated : 2025-01-27Sunshine and The Beast 22: His Grandmother (I)
AltheaI didn’t know much about marriage. So, I might not be a suitable person to comment on this, but I knew we were skipping steps a lot. Like … A LOT. You would take your spouse or partner to meet your family before you marry them. While Matthias took me to his family once, this was my first time to meet his grandmother. I’ve met his uncles, aunts, cousins, niece, and so on. The meeting didn’t go long, so I wasn’t thinking about it too much. There was no important or meaningful conversation going. But this time, it was different. Despite Matthias kept telling me it wouldn’t be much, I could feel it was different for him. We did not meet in some grand luxurious hotel or fancy restaurant, nor in our penthouse, but in Osman Cox’old house. We stayed there for two days to clean up and prepare the whole house. This was also my first time to visit.“It will be easier for her to be in here rather than ours.” He once told me that. Matthias reasoned it was because of the lift, stairs, a
Last Updated : 2025-01-28Sunshine and The Beast 6B: Before The Deal
(This was before chapter 7, I forgot to add this, so I upload this to minimize plot hole. Sorry for the inconvenience.)-AltheaIt was only two o’clock in the evening, and I already missed my bed.Not because I wanted to sleep that bad, but because I needed it. I barely had any sleep for a few days. I went to my new office yesterday. I haven’t met anyone face to face, but I had a few Zoom meetings about business in the morning until evening, and I got to catch up to learn anything I didn’t understand, which was basically everything. In my free time, I had to do my social activity–at least that's how Josh called it. It was a softer version of “looking for a husband, call if interested”.No one asked me if I was interested in this or not. Free answer: I totally did not.I thought by being rich, one would feel sufficient enough to be alone. Once you got money, what more would you want?Then I knew the answer. Of course, more money. Enough was nothing but a concept, an illusion created
Last Updated : 2025-01-28Sunshine and The Beast 23: His Grandmother (II)
Ilya might be the nicest and funniest person in the Cox family.Despite only knowing her for a short period of time, I felt like it was safe to assume so. She had this laidback personality that I haven’t seen in any other Coxes. When I met Matthias’s family, they looked at me as if they questioned my existence and why I was in front of them. I was like a threat rather than a family member.Here with Ilya, I felt more humane. Like she saw me as a person, a girl that married his favorite grandson. There were no questionable stares of suspicious gaze directed to me, even if I realized she did look at me several times when we ate.Ilya used the time to catch up with whatever happened to us–our wedding, honeymoon, and current life. She asked about the business–Matthias’s and mine–but that was all. There was no discussion about inheritance, investment percentage, stock and share. It was all about simple questions filled with genuine care.“I’m still sad that I couldn’t attend your wedding.
Last Updated : 2025-01-29Sunshine and The Beast 24: Take Me To Dinner
AltheaThe presence of Ilya Cox didn’t make my daily routine hard in any particular way, but something sure did change. She was going to stay in New York for ten days, so Matthias and I stayed with her. We agreed to do our work from home, and we used Osman Cox’ previous home office. We did what we usually did before, but it seemed Ilya had different ideas in mind.“I know you two have these big responsibilities for your business, but it’s okay to take a break and enjoy your time together, you know? The work can wait.”I thought she wanted us three to go somewhere, but it turned out she wanted us to have dinner. Only the two of us. That was why Matthias took me to a western restaurant in Cooperstown–Ilya’s recommendation, she said we could find one of the best steakhouses in New York there–to dine together. I wasn’t sure if this could be called a date, since none of us planned this. But we did go either way with Matthias’s Ford. He only wore a simple navy blue shirt, and I matched hi
Last Updated : 2025-01-30Sunshine and The Beast 25: Ruined Dinner
AltheaEveryone knew who Matthias Cox was. It wasn’t a new thing for me to hear someone greet him all of a sudden, let it be men or women. This was definitely not my first rodeo. When we were out together on our date before the wedding, people greeted us on our way. Some media outlets openly approached us and asked for photos.But this was different. There was no camera, recorder, or any devices. It was only a woman with red plump lipstick, perfect manicure, and big boobs that came to our table. “You remember me, right?” When I heard it the second time, I felt like something was off. I knew I wasn’t that experienced with people and their personality, but even so I could feel when something was fake. Rather than sweet, I found it annoying. If I was Matthias, I would make the same expression too.Well, maybe not exactly that. I didn’t like it, but hearing it wouldn’t make me stiff and turned into a stone all of a sudden.“There is no way you will forget me,” she said once again, this
Last Updated : 2025-01-31Sunshine and The Beast 26: Distraction
MatthiasAfter all these years, she appeared.Five years have already passed, but she hadn’t not changed much. She was still the same Sloane Floyd I knew back then. Still with that bold look, flirtatious smile, and touchy as ever. She was definitely still with the same mindset too: she thought I was still in her grasp. Meeting her tonight wasn’t on my wishlist, or any other time. She was like a thorn in my body, so small that I didn’t notice, but when she appeared, I remembered the scars she caused. It was still there, burnt, and it needed to be calmed down. I wanted to take my mind from something I’ve thrown away years ago. I needed some distraction.And Althea happened to be with me.Since the start, she had stolen my attention. I didn’t think much of Sloane. She was not the reason why I took Althea with me. It was Althea herself. She took my sole focus with the way she looked at me and Sloane, to the way she stood up and said, “He is mine.”She said it as if she wanted to claim
Last Updated : 2025-02-01
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Sunshine and The Beast 103: New Life
AltheaThe day I moved into some apartment I rented impulsively, it had rained.Not a cinematic kind of rain; the poetic kind that makes you feel reborn or something melodramatic like that. No. It was just grey and annoying, the kind that soaked through your sweater before you realized it and turned cardboard boxes soggy at the edges.A neighbor helped me carry a few things upstairs, some guy with AirPods in and no questions asked. I didn’t even catch his name. He handed me a dripping box labeled Bedroom and disappeared before I could say thank you. The elevator doors closed and I just stood there, clutching my new keys like they might anchor me to something.This was supposed to be a new beginning. But it didn’t feel like a beginning at all. It felt like a concession.The apartment was on the twelfth floor. I picked it because of the view. Something about seeing the whole city stretch below me made me think I’d feel less trapped. But instead, the height only made the silence louder.
Sunshine and The Beast 102: Separate Ways
AltheaWhen I thought everything was okay, all the walls were tumbling down. My life, my happiness, everything.I woke up in a haze, my head pounding as if I had been hit by a hundred storms. The sharp scent of antiseptic stung my nose, and I felt the unfamiliar weight of a hospital blanket over me. My limbs were heavy, uncooperative, as if they belonged to someone else, and my chest felt tight. It took a moment for my eyes to focus, the world around me blurry and indistinct.The pain was the first thing I recognized. A dull, aching throb in my lower abdomen, deep and unrelenting. I reached for it instinctively, as if I could touch the wound and make it go away. But when my hand brushed against the skin, it felt foreign—empty. As if the very thing I was searching for was no longer there.The memories rushed back like a flood.The blood. The pain. The terror that had washed over me in the moments before I lost consciousness. The frantic urgency of Matthias’s voice, calling my name, the
Sunshine and The Beast 102: The Truth
MatthiasThe elevator groaned as it descended, like the machine itself was reluctant to take me where I was going. Each floor ticked past with a hollow ding, echoing up the shaft like a countdown I hadn’t agreed to. Somewhere in the stillness between the fifth and the fourth floor, I caught my reflection in the polished steel of the doors; drawn face, bloodshot eyes, jaw clenched so tight it ached. I looked like a man walking into something he might not walk out of.The feeling of unease settled in the pit of my stomach, growing heavier with each passing second. The soft hum of the elevator's motor seemed to mock me, as if it knew the uncertainty that lay ahead. I tried to shake off the sense of foreboding, reminding myself that I had a job to do, a mission to complete. But as the elevator finally reached the ground floor and the doors slid open with a hiss, I couldn't help but wonder if I was walking into a trap.I didn’t bother adjusting my coat when the doors opened. The hallway ou
Sunshine and The Beast 101: Meet Me
MatthiasAlthea's condition was getting worse, to the point she had to get into an operation room.Time did not make everything calmer; instead, every second scraped across my nerves like the edge of a dull blade. Each tick of the wall clock sounded louder than the last, a metronome counting down to something I couldn’t name. The longer I sat there, the more I felt like I was unraveling by degrees, breath by breath.I sat stiffly in the dimly lit waiting area just past the ICU doors, one foot tapping without rhythm against the waxed linoleum floor. That smell—the sour tang of antiseptic—clung to everything: the walls, the plastic seats, and the inside of my throat. It mixed with the faint scent of coffee long gone cold and something metallic, like the memory of blood. The air was cool, but my jacket stuck to me anyway, and every breath I took felt borrowed.I tried to distract myself by flipping through a magazine left on the table, but the words blurred together and the pictures seem
Sunshine and The Beast Folded Page: Her Parents (II)
[Folded Page]Flashback, Part IIThe phone rang just past three in the morning.The burner, tucked beneath a drawer in the dresser, buzzed once—twice—its low hum slicing through the silence like a blade. Jess hadn’t been asleep. Not really. His body had settled, eyes closed for just minutes, but his mind had remained wired, straining through the dark for sounds that didn’t belong.His hand moved automatically, fingers closing around the phone, the sickening feeling of dread blooming in his stomach before his brain could even process why. Something was wrong. He knew it.The moment he answered, his voice was rough, hoarse from a mix of exhaustion and a deep, gnawing fear.“Reiley?” The word came out more as a prayer than a question, but it was too late. His heart was already sinking.The voice on the other end wasn’t hers. It was too calm. Too controlled.“Jessen,” the woman said. Her tone was efficient, practiced — not one ounce of emotion, not one crack of humanity breaking through.
Sunshine and The Beast Folded Page: Her Parents
[Folded Page]FlashbackThe rain battered the windows of the small house like fists of fury, the storm outside a violent mirror of the one raging within. Wind shrieked through the trees like lost souls, and every thunderclap seemed to rattle the very bones of the house.Reiley Alden paced the length of the living room, her bare feet soundless against the worn, splintered hardwood. She moved like a caged thing, restless, hunted. In the cradle tucked tightly into the corner — the safest corner she could find — baby Althea slept fitfully, her tiny face scrunched in some fretful dream only infants understood. The occasional twitch of her small hands made Reiley’s heart ache in a way that almost brought her to her knees.The storm outside was nothing compared to the one brewing inside her chest. She longed for it to pass, for the world to somehow become kind again — but some part of her, the part that had survived too much already, knew it never would.She paused by the fireplace, the flic
Sunshine and The Beast 100: Emergency
MatthiasA panic attack slammed into me like a freight train the moment they wheeled her through the emergency room doors.Althea lay so still on the gurney, her skin almost translucent under the harsh fluorescent lights, her breathing shallow and uneven, as if each breath cost her more than she could give. Her head lolled slightly to one side, and the sight of it—of her, usually so vibrant and stubbornly full of life, now fragile and terrifyingly still—carved something brutal and cold through my chest, a feeling I couldn't shake even as I stumbled forward.I tried to follow—I needed to follow—but a nurse stepped into my path, palm up, firm but not unkind. "Sir, you have to wait here. We'll update you as soon as we can," she said, her voice kind but leaving no room for argument."No—" I rasped, the sound of it cracking out of me, unfamiliar and raw. "I’m sorry," she said again, softer this time, her eyes flickering with sympathy. "Please. Let us help her."Helplessness crashed over
Sunshine and The Beast 99: Warm Hug, Closer Danger
AltheaThe world tilted when I tried to sit up, but I was okay. My stomach did a little dance, and I bit my lip, blinking against the wave of nausea that swept over me. The old couch moaned as I settled back into its cushions, pulling the cozy blanket even tighter around my shoulders, as if it could hold me together."Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Then, Matthias's voice broke through the quiet, low and urgent.I shook my head firmly, even though the motion made the room spin again. "I'm doing well, Matt," I said, though I could see he was worried. "It's just a feeling of nausea. It's just the usual stuff that happens during pregnancy."Matthias remained seated near the window, but the tension in his body was almost tangible. His arms were crossed, his broad shoulders stiff beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Golden shafts of fading afternoon light slanted across the room, casting long shadows that made everything feel both too still and too fragile."You've bee
Sunshine and The Beast 98: Destructive Plan
Folded PageThe room was pretty dark, with only a desk lamp lighting up a bit, making everything look a bit dull and sickly. The curtains were drawn tight, shutting out the world, as if even the night outside didn't deserve to witness what was about to go down.He was sitting still, and you could barely see him because he was so dark. The only sign of his anger was the soft, regular tapping of his finger against the armrest.On the desk, a small bottle of medicine sat upright — harmless at first glance, and pretty ordinary.But it wasn't a typical situation.Not to him.Not to her.And definitely not to Matthias Cox.He took a slow, thoughtful breath as he leaned forward, his hand hovering over the bottle before finally picking it up. The glass felt cold against his skin, but he welcomed the chill. It helped him think. It reminded him why he had waited so long for this.Althea; The ideal crack in Matthias's armor.He was turning the bottle slowly between his fingers, studying it like
