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Chapter 427
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The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 428
Hearing that, Scarlett’s heart sank a little. “Mrs. Harris Sr., may I ask who did you invite?”“Who else? The hottest photographer in town these days — Begonia,” Mrs. Harris Sr. replied calmly. “It’s not every day the whole family gets together like this. I figured it’d be nice to have her come by and take some photos for everyone to remember the day.”“Grandma, why would you…” One sharp look from Mrs. Harris Sr., and Gwen immediately shut her mouth.The other Lucas family ladies exchanged glances. It was obvious to everyone now that Mrs. Harris Sr. came fully prepared.Scarlett’s face twitched slightly, but she forced a light laugh. “Mrs. Harris Sr., it’s just a few photos for memory’s sake. There’s really no need to trouble a professional photographer. We’ve got plenty of staff here who can help take pictures.”“That’s way too casual.”Mrs. Harris Sr. took a slow sip of tea, her every move relaxed and effortless, yet her quiet dominance filled the air and pressed down on ever
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 429
“That’s actually a pretty good idea.” Lucien met William’s gaze head-on. “Didn’t expect you to not only let it go but actually want to help the guy. Very generous of you.” The last few words came out with just the slightest edge, his emphasis unmistakable.William smiled faintly, his expression unreadable. “There’s one more thing that’s been bothering me. I had planned to help his kid get treatment, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to track down the mother and child.”He paused before adding casually, “Word is, someone arranged for them to go overseas for medical treatment. Makes me wonder if that car accident really was just an accident.”“What?” Mr. Lucas Sr.'s voice sharpened instantly. “You think someone was behind it?”“Just a theory,” William replied calmly, his gaze never leaving Lucien’s face. “What do you think, Lucien?”“If someone really orchestrated that crash, then you should definitely get to the bottom of it,” Lucien answered smoothly, his tone open and dir
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 430
Since Layla hadn’t brought her camera, she could only wait for her assistant to bring it over.But during that wait, Mrs. Harris Sr. didn’t offer her a seat or even acknowledge her presence. She was left standing there like an afterthought, no different from the household staff hovering nearby.Feeling increasingly awkward, Gwen finally spoke up. “Miss Xander, why don’t you have a seat?”“There’s no seat left,” Scarlett cut in sharply, making it clear she was more than happy to play along with Mrs. Harris Sr.’s little power move.Layla didn’t mind. Honestly, standing suited her better than squeezing herself into that shark tank of a seating arrangement.Just then, Maggie stood up with a gentle smile. “I was about to head to the kitchen to make some snacks. I could use an extra pair of hands. Miss Xander, would you mind helping me?”Maggie was Carter’s mom, which already made Layla feel a little more at ease. At least she didn’t seem hostile.“Sure,” Layla agreed, following her t
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 431
“A misunderstanding?” Maggie blinked in surprise, her hand pausing mid-air as she poured flour into the mixing bowl. She lifted her gaze toward Layla. “You mean... they misunderstood your relationship with William?”Layla nodded, calm and straightforward. “Yeah.”Maggie stared at her, momentarily at a loss for words.Everyone in the Lucas family knew William had gone toe-to-toe with Mr. Lucas Sr., risking his position as heir, all for Layla. He had made it so obvious and yet Layla still thought this was all just a misunderstanding?Did that mean Layla didn’t feel the same way? Had this whole thing been one-sided from the start? Just William chasing after her on his own?That was completely beyond what Maggie had expected.Realizing Maggie had gone quiet, Layla asked, curious, “Is something wrong?”“No, no...” Maggie quickly shook her head and returned to her task, adding more flour into the bowl.Maggie had survived this long in the Lucas family because she never asked too m
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 432
Just then, Maggie’s voice called from outside the storage room. “Layla, did you get the flour? Gwen’s here too. She’s going to help.”Layla reacted quickly. She raised her voice and called out, “Got it! I’ll be right there.”Without missing a beat, she turned on her phone flashlight, grabbed a bag of flour from the shelf, and stepped around William to leave. As she passed him, his low voice rumbled behind her.“This isn’t your problem. Stay out of it.”Layla didn’t answer. She simply pushed open the door and walked out, leaving William standing alone in the dark.She carried the flour back to the kitchen island, casually positioning herself just enough to block Gwen’s view of the storage room.“Miss Harris, what are you doing here?” Layla asked, her voice light. “Shouldn’t you be waiting in the pavilion?”Gwen smiled like nothing was out of the ordinary. “It was getting boring just sitting there. Thought I’d look around and find something to do.”As she spoke, her eyes lande
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 433
“How thoughtful of you.” Mrs. Harris Sr. gave a polite nod, then turned to Layla. “Your camera’s here. You can get to work now.” Her tone was casual, almost dismissive, like she was giving orders to a servant rather than speaking to a guest. There wasn’t the slightest trace of respect in it.Layla’s assistant instantly bristled. But knowing full well these were not people she could afford to offend, she forced herself to swallow her irritation.Instead, she pulled out her iPad and switched to full professional mode. “Since this was a last-minute request, we had to cancel two pre-booked shoots to accommodate today,” the assistant said evenly. “Miss Xander’s schedule is fully packed, so rescheduling wasn’t an option. We’ll have to pay a cancellation fee which I’m sure you don’t expect us to cover out of pocket.“On top of that, Miss Xander’s rate for on-location shoots is not cheap. If you really want her to handle this personally, we’ll need to sign a contract and collect a
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 434
Layla let out a faint, almost amused laugh. “Mr. Zion Lucas, you sound awfully sure of yourself. What is it? Did you plant a camera on me, or did you put one on Mr. William Lucas?”She turned slightly, her gaze cool. “I’ve been in the kitchen this whole time with Mrs. Maggie Lucas, helping her with the pastries. Even Miss Harris stopped by for a while. Why don’t you ask her if she happened to see Mr. William anywhere?”All eyes immediately shifted to Gwen. She hesitated for half a second, then shook her head. “I didn’t see him.”Layla smiled, calm and unbothered. “If one person’s word isn’t enough, Mrs. Maggie should be here soon too. I’m sure she can confirm it for you.”She looked right at Zion, meeting his gaze head-on, completely at ease.Zion stiffened, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Layla to push back like this, especially not here on the Lucas family’s turf.Lucien stepped in, his voice calm but edged. “Miss Xander, my brother was only asking if you’d seen William. T
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 435
Layla pulled out her camera and began attaching the lens with practiced ease. “Wouldn’t that mean we wasted the whole morning for nothing?”She glanced at her assistant, her tone calm. “You can head back first if you want. I’ll be fine handling the rest on my own.”“But...” The assistant hesitated, clearly worried.Before she could say anything else, Layla gave her a reassuring look. The assistant paused, then finally nodded. “Alright. I understand.”Layla gave a small smile and patted her shoulder lightly before stepping past her. With her camera in hand, she made her way down the stone steps, starting to search for the best angle to capture the peaceful, harmonious scene around the pavilion.After what her assistant had just pulled, Layla decided to treat this like any other job. As long as she told herself everyone in front of her was just another client, it became easy to shut off her personal feelings and slip into full professional mode.Or at least, that was the plan.B
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The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 526
When William got home and pushed open the door, he immediately saw Scarlett sitting on the sofa, stewing in anger. The living room lights weren’t even on.Even from a distance, he could feel the heavy cloud of resentment surrounding her.He casually flipped on the lights and walked over. “You really didn’t eat tonight?”Scarlett huffed, puffing up like an angry cat. “I was going to, but your father pissed me off so much I’m full of rage instead.”“Oh?” William raised an eyebrow with interest. “He came by?”“He was skulking around like a thief. I ran into him outside.”Scarlett turned to him, her eyes sharp. “Be honest with me—over the years, you’ve seen how I treated your father, haven’t you? I was good to him, right? I did everything he said!”William thought for a moment, taking the question quite seriously. “I guess you could say that.”“What do you mean, ‘guess’?” Scarlett shot him a glare. “It’s a fact! Back when I was at the Dixon family home, I got anything I wante
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 525
“Don’t get involved in her business anymore.” William picked up his utensils and bowl, clearly signaling he wanted to end the conversation.Layla hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just lowered her gaze, hiding the flicker of thought in her eyes.*Meanwhile, Scarlett was tossing and turning in bed, completely unable to sleep. Her stomach growled loudly, and eventually, she gave up and got out of bed, heading to the kitchen to raid the fridge.Inside, there was only half a bag of sad-looking whole wheat bread and a few eggs.Scarlett shut the door with a hopeless look, instantly regretting her earlier stubbornness. Why had she refused dinner?Clenching her teeth, she downed a glass of warm water, threw on a jacket, and headed out the door.She figured, after years of being spoiled with gourmet food, just a few meals of Layla’s home cooking had completely won her over. There had to be some home-style restaurant nearby that could satisfy
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 524
That evening, William knocked on the door next door.When Layla opened it, she didn’t see Scarlett anywhere and couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Mrs. Lucas?”“She’s not coming. Probably ate enough at the gathering today.”After a brief explanation, William stepped inside, speaking casually, “I saw today’s trending topics.”“I actually invited you over to talk about that!” Layla followed behind him, her face lit up with excitement. “I really didn’t expect the promotional video to attract such a major corporation! Fabian told me the kids will soon have a brand-new space to play and learn. They’re all thrilled!“I didn’t know much about YT Corporation before this, but after hearing about everything they’ve done, I was really impressed. They’ve been committed to children’s charities for years—building schools, sponsoring education for kids in the mountains.“For a company to care so much about children’s welfare, the CEO must have a really kind heart.“He even asked Fabian for
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 523
Unexpectedly, Scarlett didn’t react the way Mrs. Jenkins had hoped. Instead, she seemed distracted.“She...” Scarlett frowned, forcing out a stiff response. “She’s definitely not a good person.”But... she didn’t seem that bad either.The second half of her thought, Scarlett kept to herself.After all, in this setting, if she dared to speak up for Layla, she would only make herself stand out and not in a good way.Besides, it was her own son that Layla had "harmed."And yet, after watching quietly these past few days, Scarlett had seen a side of Layla she had never seen before.Since the promotional video’s success, Layla had been leaving early and coming back late, throwing herself completely into her work. She didn’t even bother cooking anymore, much less looking for opportunities to see William.This didn’t look like a woman desperate to cling to someone rich. It looked more like a woman determined to become someone successful on her own.Back at the round table
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 522
“Yeah.”Just a soft, low response.Ivan was caught off guard for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. “Nice! All that hard work wasn’t for nothing. You two are finally making progress!”William had always been steady and cautious. If something didn’t fully meet his expectations, he wouldn’t give a definite answer. So even without any detailed explanation, just that one word was enough.“By the way...” Ivan suddenly thought of something, his eyes lighting up with a teasing glint. “Was it because of that kiss the other night?”A cold glare shot his way.But Ivan just laughed even harder. “What’s the big deal? We’re all adults here. It was just a kiss. You don’t have to be so uptight about it!”He leaned in with a mischievous grin. “But seriously... under those circumstances, you still managed to stop at just a kiss? Are you sure you’re... fully functional?”As he spoke, Ivan deliberately gave William a once-over, grinning wickedly.“Are you looking to die toda
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 521
Hearing this, Layla agreed. “All right. Please go ahead and give him my contact information.”“Got it!”*At that moment, Xavier was on the phone, proudly reporting his success.“How about it? I came through for you, didn’t I? I got your girl trending at the top of the hot search list!“Spending thirty million for a good cause and earning a huge favor from you—this is hands down the best money I’ve ever spent!”Listening to the smug laughter on the other end of the line, William remained quiet for a few seconds before giving a flat reply. “Good job.”Xavier immediately felt frustrated. “That’s it? Nothing else?”“Yeah.”Standing by the tall window, sunlight in his eyes, William asked casually, “Has Zion come after you again?”“It’s been two days since he last contacted me. But now that the news is out today, you can bet he’s not going to leave me alone.”Xavier sighed heavily. “I sacrificed a lot for your woman, you know. If I end up traumatized from all this, yo
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 520
“The first time I watched the promotional video, I was blown away by the scenery. The second time, I realized there was a deeper meaning. Layla Xander filmed those children who had been left behind, showing their everyday lives. She clearly wanted to draw attention to their reality!” “I grew up as a left-behind kid myself. I know exactly how hard it is. Thank you, Miss Xander, for letting people see them! From now on, if anyone dares to bash her, I'll be the first to stand up and fight back!” “If it weren't for how beautifully she shot the promotional video, YT Corporation would never have noticed the town or the children. Layla truly did something incredible.” “Beauty, kindness, and talent—Layla Xander is the full package!” At the top of the trending page, an account called “LittleDianaHere” (who claimed to be a local) shared another piece of information:“Miss Xander is personally sponsoring every child who appeared in the promotional video, covering their education all
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 519
“Mr. Zion, Mr. Lucien is getting impatient...” the secretary reminded him quietly.Zion snapped back to attention, scowling. “Fine. Let’s go.”When they arrived outside the CEO’s office, Zion knocked lightly on the door. A sharp, furious voice came from inside.“Get in here!”Zion hurriedly pushed the door open. “Lucien, what happened? Who got you so worked up?”“You mean you still don't know?”Lucien’s temper flared even hotter. He slammed his palm against the desk several times, making the whole table shake.“I told you to get in touch with Xavier Taylor. Did you handle it?”Zion panicked. “I... I'm still working on it. His side keeps giving excuses, saying he's too busy lately. I didn’t want to bother him...”“Busy?”Lucien waved him closer with an icy smile. “Come here. Take a good look at what he’s so busy with.”Zion did as he was told and stepped closer.The next second, Lucien grabbed him by the back of the neck and forced him to bend over, his hands instinctively b
The CEO’s Obsession: Layla, You’re Not Allowed to Die Chapter 518
“I’m talking to you about something serious, and you’re still glued to your phone?” Zion’s voice was full of irritation.Only then did Carly finally put her phone away, looking at him with a hint of impatience.“You've repeated yourself three times already. I’m not stupid.”“I just don’t want you brushing it off,” Zion said, frowning. He then narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the pocket where Carly had stashed her phone. “Don't tell me you're still thinking about Layla Xander’s studio.” Carly's heart sank. “How did you know?” “Your mom told me.” Zion stepped closer, his expression serious. “Look, Carly, I'm willing to chalk up what you did before to immaturity. But if you even think about pulling something like that again—” “You’re spying on me?” Carly’s face turned cold. “I’m an adult. Can’t I even have a little privacy?” “You’re our daughter. As your parents, we have every right to know what you’re up to! It's a good thing you realized you were heading down
