Semua Bab No Longer Theirs: The One They Can't Replace: Bab 381 - Bab 390

Jessica went home after work. Ruth had gone to a dinner with Jeston's high-society women and still hadn't returned. The living room sat empty, with only Steven watching television."Dad!" Like a carefree girl, Jessica darted over and hugged him affectionately. "You're finally back from your business trip! I missed you so much!""Come on, you're not a child anymore. Why are you holding onto me like this? I missed you too, Jessie."Steven gently stroked Jessica's head, his eyes radiating a father's affection. He had always been helpless against such gestures from Ruth and Jessica.Back then, Ruth had that same coquettish charm. Her soft, supple body had mesmerized him, rendering him completely defenseless. Ultimately, he abandoned Victoria and Winter, surrendering himself wholly to her embrace.Winter and Victoria were cut from the same cloth—defiant, headstrong, and incapable of playing the submissive role. With them, he could never achieve that sense of masculine satisfaction. Eve

Winter drank her iced lemon tea. At the sound of Elijah's words, she clenched the straw between her teeth. A faint ache coursed through her entire body.Initially, Victoria and Steven's relationship could be described as cordial. Steven's wings were not yet fully grown, and he depended on Victoria's abilities to find his footing. This made him consistently feign compliance and exercise restraint.As time passed, Steven began giving Victoria the cold shoulder, often insisting he was tied up with social engagements or business trips. He spent nearly half the year away from home.Winter had discreetly cautioned Victoria. Yet at the time, her mind and heart were entirely consumed by her career.To help Steven's company thrive, Victoria had completely sacrificed her social life and personal freedom. She could never have imagined that he would one day betray her. After all, Steven was the man who had once knelt at her feet, promising her a lifetime of love and care."Win, don't read too

The other person said, "Everlast? You mean that little outfit that showed up at the tech summit with their so-called proprietary home-service robot, and the thing literally lost a screw after walking two steps? With standards like that, a scandal breaking was only a matter of time."Elijah caught the ridicule drifting through the air and turned his worried gaze toward Winter.Winter lowered her gaze, a tightness settling in her chest. Her hand was trembling as she picked up her phone and opened Twitter."This time it's their chairman. He's allegedly involved in smuggling transactions. To cut costs, they replaced key components needed for R&D with dirt-cheap parts sourced through smuggling channels.""What? So they were basically using defective parts? No wonder they made garbage like that.""Exactly. That joke of a company is better at scandals than tech!""Seriously… good thing it got exposed. Otherwise, anyone who bought something developed by Everlast would've been screwed."

Winter cut Sean off, saying, "He's always indulged her, hasn't he? For five years. Hasn't it always been this way?"She took a step back. The red in her eyes crept to the corners, her words slow and deliberate. "Go back and tell Joshua that no matter what tricks he and Jessica pull, I'll stand or fall with Everlast. I'll see it through to the end."…This time, Sean hadn't come alone. He'd brought people from Stroud Group's legal department with him.He went into the office to see Nigel, and Winter waited outside.While waiting, she heard the crash of things being smashed, the sound of helpless fury, of hoarse shouting, coming from inside. It was as if the room beyond the door were no office at all, but a battlefield where only the strong survived.Winter closed her eyes, her expression calm. From another perspective, she realized that sometimes one had to let the old world fall apart to make way for something new.If Nigel hadn't made such a mess, she'd have no way to get into

The city lights flickered on at dusk.Winter arrived right on time at the six-star hotel owned by Stroud Group.Countless celebrities had held lavish weddings here. Among the social elite, securing a banquet date at this hotel was something to brag about, proof of status as much as taste.Yet she—once the wife of Stroud Group's CEO—had never eaten a single meal here, let alone held her wedding banquet here.Winter's wedding had amounted to nothing more than two tables of guests in Stroud Estate, a perfunctory meal endured under the watchful eyes of the Stroud and Lynch families—careless, almost insulting in its haste.If she had to sit through that meal again, she'd probably get sick before it was over.A few other staff members glanced at Winter with open disdain, and one said, "Hey, look at that woman! She's dressed like that and still dares to walk into our lobby. Where does she get the nerve?""Right? Who knows what backwater she crawled out of! So tacky it hurts! Once she l