FAZER LOGINLeonard did not answer immediately."I can't simply abandon Kara," Adrian continued. "She's the mother of my child. No matter what happens, I will take responsibility for her. But I also can't give up the opportunity to become the CEO of Ashbourne."Leonard closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell as he struggled to contain his anger. In all the decades he had spent building the Valmont family, never once had he felt manipulated the way he did that day.Yet he also knew that Adrian was right. If the man truly became the CEO of Ashbourne, the Valmont family would benefit as well.Slowly...his anger began to give way to careful consideration. "Tell me, what's your plan?"Two days later—after meeting with the Valmont family—Adrian returned to the Ashbourne mansion with a little girl who clutched a worn rabbit doll tightly against her chest.Tara, who had just come downstairs, immediately stopped in her tracks. "Whose child is this?"Adrian gently stroked Liora's little head. "Her name i
That wedding day marked the beginning of five years of a life built on a lie.No one realized that from the very first day she wore the ring on her finger, Tara had never been Adrian's legal wife. Ironically, Tara was completely blinded. She loved Adrian with all her heart and believed that their marriage was the beginning of the future she had always dreamed of.That was why she gave him everything she had, without ever holding back even the slightest doubt.After joining Adrian's division, Tara became the person who understood the direction of Ashbourne's development better than anyone. Nearly every major project passed through her hands. She analyzed reports, refined strategies, identified gaps that the senior directors had never noticed, then handed all the results over to Adrian without ever asking for recognition.Every time a project succeeded, Adrian's name shone even brighter. Victor praised his son more and more often in front of the board of directors. "I was right to place
Adrian and Tara's relationship developed far more quickly than he had expected. Day by day, the distance between them grew smaller.Adrian was always there at just the right moment. Reminding Tara to eat whenever she became too absorbed in her work. Waiting until late at night after all the employees had gone home. Offering support every time Tara began to doubt her own abilities.Not once did Adrian behave excessively. It was precisely because of that that Tara felt comfortable around him. She began to believe that his care came from a place of genuine sincerity.Meanwhile, Adrian was simply carrying out the first step of the plan he had devised with Kara.Little by little, Tara found herself waiting for Adrian's message every morning. A smile would unconsciously appear on her face whenever his name lit up her phone screen. She gradually got used to telling him about the little things that happened throughout her day, something she had never done with anyone before.Without realizing
Adrian's relationship with Tara developed far more quickly than he had expected.At first, Adrian only wanted to maintain a good relationship with her for the sake of the Ashbourne project. He invited Tara to lunch after meetings, occasionally drove her home when they had to work late into the night, and gradually made her the first person he turned to whenever he faced a problem at the company.The more time they spent together, the more Adrian realized one thing. Tara wasn't just intelligent. She was able to see things that never even occurred to Ashbourne's senior directors.Several projects that had previously stalled began moving forward after Tara offered her input. Even Victor began praising Adrian's work in front of the board of directors on several occasions, never realizing that most of those ideas had come from Tara.For the first time, Adrian felt that his position within Ashbourne was truly beginning to change. He was no longer seen merely as a member of the Ashbourne fam
The steel door slammed shut behind Adrian, the sharp clang echoing down the detention corridor. He didn't look back. Usually, several other detainees had already returned, their voices filling the cramped room. This time, only silence greeted him.He continued walking until he reached the metal bunk in the corner of the room. The cell was lit only by a dim white light that made every corner feel cold and unfamiliar. Leonard was still outside, discussing the possibility of an appeal with the legal team. Adrian didn't even know whether they still had any chance.For the first time in years, the outcome of the trial was no longer what occupied his mind the most.The only thing that kept echoing in his head was Kara's words."I've already told Vivian everything."Adrian lowered his head. His fingers intertwined so tightly that his knuckles turned pale.Vivian.In the entire Ashbourne family, there was only one person who was never satisfied with hearing only one side of a story. One perso
The confidence on Kara's face began to waver. Even so, she still tried to defend herself. "But... she didn't say anything while I was telling her what happened."The corners of Adrian's lips moved slightly, forming a faint smile that held no trace of joy. "Did she say she believed everything you told her?"Kara could only stare at Adrian without blinking. For the first time since entering the visitation room, her confidence began to crumble. The meeting she had considered a turning point the night before was slowly becoming something she was no longer even sure could be called good fortune.The room fell silent once more.Adrian met Kara's gaze directly. His eyes were no longer filled with anger, but with a far more troubling unease. He seemed to be piecing together fragments of information in his mind, trying to understand how much Vivian had already learned."Do you know why she became one of the most respected painters in Europe?"Kara did not answer."Because she's spent her entir
“How is she?” Tara asked.There was worry in her eyes—soft, aching, unmistakable. She stepped forward the moment the door to her room opened, as if she had been waiting for this exact second.Adrian paused, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected her to still be awake. He had assumed she’d gone to bed
Dinner that evening unfolded exactly as Tara had expected Kara was there too.Normally, Tara would have welcomed her sister’s presence with genuine warmth. Whenever their parents joined them, the house would feel livelier filled with conversation and laughter. Though often, those conversations revo
Victor sat calmly in the back seat, as though the conversation that had just taken place between him and Tara had been nothing significant. But for Tara, it had taken immense courage, along with the sacrifice of her pride, to say those words aloud.For a long moment, she watched him through the rea
The road stretched ahead, quiet and almost eerily calm. Tara drove at a steady pace, the traffic lights shifting from red to green as cars moved along in an orderly rhythm. The afternoon sky was clear—bright, almost indifferent.Nothing likes her.Inside the car, it felt as though a storm had settl







