“You’re a perfectly decent young woman. Why do you have to go and steal someone else’s man?”“Hannah,” Layla gently tugged on Hannah’s sleeve, giving her a look to stop.As Gwen walked toward the lounge door, Layla spoke up calmly, “The matching engagement ring—the woman’s one. You don’t have it, do you?”Gwen paused for a second at the doorway but didn’t reply. Without looking back, she walked out.That was all the answer Layla needed.She had suspected for a while that Gwen didn’t have the ring.William had always worn the man’s band. And knowing how much Gwen loved him, there was no way she would have hidden the woman’s ring if it had truly been hers.Now it seemed clear that he had never given that ring to anyone. Not yet.“What was that question about?” Hannah asked, suspicious.Layla snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh… nothing. I was just curious.”Hannah rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. “Seriously? That’s all you had to say after everything Gwen just threw at you? Y
“No, thanks.”Layla gave a tired smile and gently turned down William’s offer. “I have an early meeting tomorrow, and eating late messes with my sleep.“Mr. Lucas, you should get some rest too. Good night.”With that, she walked past him and returned to her apartment, closing the door behind her without hesitation.The sound of the door clicking shut made William frown slightly. Something felt off.Meanwhile, Layla stood in the entryway, slipping off her shoes as her mind wandered.“Layla Xander, you ruined him. You ruined the Lucas family,” she thought to herself.Gwen’s harsh words echoed suddenly in her mind, stirring the emotions she had tried to bury.All this time, she had avoided thinking too deeply about William’s choices. She was afraid that if she read too much into them, she would just end up fooling herself.But after seeing Gwen today, it finally hit her.William had stepped down from his pedestal for her. And she was still pretending not to see it.If the dista
After thinking it over, William figured the whole thing felt more like a guilt-trip performance. It seemed like Scarlett was putting on an emotional act to pressure him into going back to the Lucas family. The only question was how long she planned to keep it up.Still, Scarlett had been pampered all her life. Living in his place, with no one to wait on her hand and foot, she probably wouldn’t last long. Sooner or later, she would give up and leave.With that in mind, William didn’t bother chasing her out. He simply gave her a cold warning. “You can stay. But don’t cause trouble for Layla.”“No problem at all!”Scarlett agreed far too quickly. “I already made up my mind before I came. I won’t interfere in your love life ever again. You can count on that.”William was rendered speechless and frowned. Now he was even more certain. Something about her behavior just wasn’t right.*Meanwhile, Layla had left early that morning. The roads were clear, and after a smooth half-hour drive
The internal review meeting wrapped up smoothly, and everyone left the conference room full of confidence.That afternoon, the finalized promo video was handed over to Fabian, who would submit it to the local publicity office for the final round of approval.With nothing left to do until feedback came in, Layla gave the whole team a well-deserved break.By the time the workday ended, the office had completely emptied out.Layla stayed behind to chat with Fabian after receiving a message from him, and as a result, she ended up being the last one to leave the studio.After locking the front door, she headed toward her car out of habit, thinking about stopping by the market on the way home. She was planning to cook dinner and invite William over.She didn’t notice the stern figure getting out of a nearby car—her father.“Layla Xander.”She turned at the sound of his voice and met his displeased gaze, her brow twitching slightly.With a cane in hand, Mr. Xander approached her, his
Inside the car, Layla caught a glimpse of Mr. Xander through the rearview mirror, hurling his cane several feet in a fit of rage. A cold smirk tugged at her lips.The Xander family really hadn’t changed one bit. They only showed kindness to people they could use. They acted like their condescension was generosity, then expected gratitude in return.But to her, this so-called “Xander bloodline” was nothing but bad luck.Shaking off the thought, she turned up the volume on the stereo, letting the music drown out the lingering irritation. If anything, she felt even more satisfied than before.Humming along to the tune, she swung by the market and picked up groceries before heading home.When she got off the elevator, she walked over and rang the doorbell to William’s apartment.Just as the door opened, a woman’s voice called from inside, “William, I ordered food from Stonebridge Bistro. Let’s have dinner together tonight!”William gave a quick explanation, “That’s my mom.”He glan
Layla braced herself as she welcomed William and Scarlett into her apartment. After a quick round of small talk, she headed into the kitchen with the groceries.She had just started unpacking when she heard William call from behind, “Need a hand with anything?”“No, I—”She was about to turn him down, but then thought of Mr. Xander and hesitated. Instead, she handed him a bag of snap peas. “Help me trim these.”“Sure.”William stepped up beside her without hesitation. As he got to work, she lowered her voice. “How’s Grandpa Perry doing?”“He’s fine,” William replied, eyeing her curiously. “Why are you suddenly asking about him?”“Gerald Xander came to see me today. He wants to meet with Grandpa Perry.”Layla said her father’s name without a trace of emotion, as if she were talking about a stranger.William glanced over at her. “Did he give you any trouble?”“Not really. He can barely walk straight, can’t argue, and definitely can’t catch up to me. What else is he going to do
“If you don’t like it here,” William said coolly, “the elevator’s just to the right.”Scarlett was fuming. Just a few words in and she was already being shown the door? Was she not even allowed to speak?And she hadn’t even said anything bad about Layla. She was just feeling protective of her precious son. Was that so wrong?For the rest of the time, Scarlett sat stiffly on the couch, clutching her glass of water and sipping from it every now and then. William sat across from her on another sofa, silently scrolling through his phone.Neither of them spoke. The only sound in the apartment came from the kitchen, where the soft clatter of cooking echoed faintly.Soon, the scent of food filled the air.Scarlett couldn’t help glancing toward the kitchen. Through the frosted glass, she could only make out the blur of Layla’s figure. Doubts crept into her mind. “Could Layla’s cooking actually be edible?” she wondered.After all, she was still a woman who had grown up with a silver sp
From the moment Mr. Xander stepped through the door, his face was clouded with anger. He didn’t even bother putting on a friendly face for Felix like he normally would.It wasn’t until Felix left after dinner that Xena finally approached her father. “Dad, did you go see my sister today?”“She’s no sister of yours! There’s no place in this family for someone as heartless as her!”Furious, Mr. Xander slammed his hand against the table, the loud thud making Xena flinch.Mrs. Xander rushed over to shield her daughter. “Easy, don’t scare her. She’s pregnant, remember?”“I’m fine, Mom.” Xena lowered her gaze, looking guilty. “Dad only lost his temper because of me. Maybe we should just drop it. I’ll talk to Felix myself. I’ll keep the baby, and we’ll figure the rest out later.”“What are you saying? You can’t have that baby now!”Mrs. Xander immediately objected. “Even if you two get married afterward, people will still talk! If the baby comes before the wedding, everyone will trea
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
“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
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
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
“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
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 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
“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
“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