LOGINTalia placed the stool and brushed off nonexistent dust from her hands. Looking at the window she'd left open, she smiled with a touch of pride.Just then, a head suddenly appeared at her shoulder. "You're leaving the window open for me?"The voice was playfully teasing. She knew immediately that it was Quentin.But his sudden appearance at her ear still startled her. She pressed her hand against her racing heart and demanded indignantly, "You... How did you get in here?"Her face flushed bright red.Quentin steadied her, grinning. "Through the door, naturally."Talia frowned. "My brother is downstairs. How did he let you in?"Quentin leaned in slightly until their eyes were level. "Should we go downstairs and ask him together?"Talia was completely unwilling. "No. I'm not going."She used her crutch to make her way slowly back to the bed and made to lie down.Quentin quickly grabbed her wrist. "Come on. Let me take you out for a bit."The suggestion stirred something in her
In Yvonne's memory, Nancy had told her she was afraid of pain. Back then, Connor had tried to comfort her, explaining that Talia had said childbirth was very painful and involved a lot of bleeding, which was why she didn't want Nancy to have children.But now, Yvonne was suddenly asking Nancy to have a baby.Nancy found this confusing. She touched Yvonne's cheek gently. "Yvonne, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"Yvonne shook Nancy's arm vigorously. "Nancy, will you or won't you? If you don't, I'm telling Daddy that Uncle Connor grabbed your hand."Nancy sighed helplessly and gave in. "Alright, alright. I will."But after agreeing, Nancy quickly added, "But Yvonne, even if I do, it would have to wait until after your dad and I get married."Yvonne didn't care about the details. She only heard Nancy's agreement.She threw her arms around Nancy excitedly. "I knew it! You're the best!"Yvonne was thrilled, but Nancy's expression turned cold. For some reason, Nancy foun
Connor quickly spoke up. "Nancy, I'll lend it to you."Nancy turned back around, looking at Connor in surprise. "Connor, you..."Connor smiled gently at her. "I want to help you."Nancy hurried to say, "Connor, I'll pay you back."Connor's smile deepened. "Nancy, you're going to be my sister-in-law. The Lane family money should be partly yours anyway. I'm just giving you your share a little early."Although he said that, Nancy still felt uneasy. "But..."Connor didn't give her a chance to finish speaking. He stepped forward and pressed the bank card into Nancy's hand. "Nancy, take the card for now."Nancy looked down as her fingers closed around the card, accidentally brushing against Connor's hand. In that moment, he grasped her slender fingers.Nancy startled and tried to pull her hand back, but Connor only gripped tighter. "Connor, you... you need to let go."Her face flushed, and his heart raced at the sight of her flushed face. He stepped closer and lowered his voice plea
Nancy looked unhappy. Connor sat beside her, not daring to ask questions.Emma was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. Seeing that Connor had come over, she made extra portions.By dinnertime, Christian still hadn't returned, and Connor showed no signs of leaving. When Nancy glanced over, she caught him watching her.How could Nancy not understand Connor's feelings? She knew that he liked her. She had even flirted with him before.But right now, she really wasn't in the mood to make conversation with him.Finally, she spoke up. "Your brother's been working late a lot lately. He'll probably be back later."Connor's ears turned red at Nancy's words. "That's fine. I'll wait a bit longer. If he's still not back, I'll head home."Nancy noticed that Emma had finished preparing dinner. "It's already so late anyway. Why don't you stay for dinner?"Connor didn't refuse. "Alright."At 22 years old, his face still held a boyish quality. Unlike Christian's composed demeanor, Connor seem
Rodney said, "I don't care who you ask. You need to get me this money. What, you're just going to watch them destroy me?"Nancy couldn't find the words. "You..."Rodney pressed on. "Nancy, we're in this together. If you want to marry Christian, you need to help me with this. Otherwise, what is he going to think of you?"Let me cover the money first. When my friend pays me back, you can return it to Christian."Nancy had nothing to say to that. She left the coffee shop without saying another word.Outside, heavy snow fell, the wind cutting like knives across her face. Tears froze on her cheeks as she walked through the streets, moving mechanically through the storm.In all her years with Christian, she'd never dared ask him for anything. He gave what he wanted to give, and she accepted it. That was how their arrangement worked.But now Rodney expected her to ask for 200 million dollars. How could she possibly bring up such an enormous sum?She couldn't ask Christian for this mon
At noon, Nancy arrived at the address Rodney had sent. It was a coffee shop.The moment she sat, Rodney couldn't hold back his frustration. "I called you a while ago. Why are you only getting here now?"His voice was clearly anxious, his expression suggesting that something serious had happened.But being scolded for no reason put Nancy in a foul mood. She shot back, "I had to go to campus. I'm not free every second of the day."Rodney didn't bother arguing with Nancy. He got straight to the point. "Lend me some money."Nancy frowned. "You're asking me for money out of nowhere? What for?"Rodney ran a financial company, and both Christian's and Julian's cash flows went through his company accounts.Those amounts ranged from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. The interest alone was enough to sustain Rodney's company, and he had plenty of room for profit on top of that.His asking her for money had to be a joke.Rodney looked panicked, his face drained of color. "I bor
After speaking, Christian feared Talia wouldn't feel reassured, so he swore, "I promise you, if I don't find Yvonne today, I'll end my own life right in front of you."His promise did nothing to comfort her. She gave a cold laugh. "That won't be necessary. We'll search separately."Talia stepped o
Seeing Nancy drenched in sweat, Jennifer finally grasped the seriousness of the situation. From the start, Jennifer had never liked Yvonne. So when Nancy mentioned that the girl had gone out and hadn't returned, she hadn't cared.But now it was almost 10:00 pm. What if something had actually happen
By the time Christian carried Yvonne into the bedroom, she had woken up. She still rested against his shoulder as Talia followed behind them. When Yvonne opened her eyes and saw her mother, Talia smiled gently. "Let's get you cleaned up before bed, okay?"Yvonne was still groggy from sleep. Seeing
Christian listened to Talia's words, his heart filling with a sour ache. When he spoke again, his voice was helpless."I told William because I wanted him to know the truth first. If he still chooses to pursue Willow after thinking it through, I won't stand in his way. But some things really should







