Cody retaliated immediately, "Don't act like you're so innocent! You know very well that the reason you got together with me was because of my wealth! That's why you had no qualms about breaking up with your long-term boyfriend back then! We got together for ulterior motives of our own, so you have no one to blame for this! If you had been meek and obedient, I wouldn't mind keeping you as my wife, I'd just have thought of it as raising a pet!" "Fuck you, Cody! You're the dog! No, you're a bastard! You despicable bastard!" Lana's sharp voice almost broke as she screeched in despair. "If I'm a bastard, what does that make you? A promiscuous slut?" Cody refused to back down. Despite the somber setting, their insults became increasingly vulgar, making the onlookers frown with disapproval. Anthony stepped forward when he couldn't bear this any longer. "Both of you, shut up immediately!" His authoritative command silenced Lana and Cody instantly. "If you want to quarrel, do it ou

After the Seymour family left, Pine Mansion returned to its tranquil state. However, the guests' moods were completely different from before. Roland, the patriarch of the Rogers family was one of the most influential figures in the business world. He was also aptly described as a genius. Unfortunately, all three of his sons were mediocre in business management. His eldest son, Anthony, was slightly better than the other two, but only in terms of character. His intuition and shrewdness in conducting business were lacking. Despite his three sons growing up and working within Soaring Corporation, Roland still held the reins of the company's management. He never truly relinquished control of Soaring Corporation until his death. The third generation of the Rogers family continued to deteriorate, probably due to their privileged background and upbringing. They were worse than their fathers' generation. Except for Kevan, all of Roland's other grandsons ended up being useless

Gradually, Larissa's colleagues recovered from their shock just now and whispered among themselves. "I never expected there would be such chaos within a prestigious family like the Rogers." In fact, their curiosity was piqued when they heard Lana mention Larissa's name. However, Larissa was their superior. No matter how curious they were, they didn't dare to inquire personally about her connection to the Rogers family. When she returned to the hotel, it was almost time to pick Aster up from kindergarten. With a heavy heart, Larissa barely could muster up a smile when she saw Aster at kindergarten. Noticing her unusual state, Aster clung to Larissa's leg anxiously, asking over and over again, "Mommy, what's wrong?" Larissa caressed his head and explained, "I'm feeling a little sad as one of Mommy's elderly relatives passed away."Aster knew what she meant.He immediately quietened down and held Larissa's hand tightly. "Mommy, don't be sad. Those who have passed away wil

Larissa thought she was seeing things when she saw Kevan through the peephole of the door. She wondered why was he here instead of at Roland’s funeral service. She opened the door with confusion and asked after sizing up Kevan from head to toe, “Do you need something?” He appeared unusually calm, and there was not a hint of sadness in his deep-set eyes, as if he was unaffected by the passing of his grandfather.She was about to give him her condolences, but she swallowed back her words since there was no need for them in his case."My mom said you went to the funeral," Kevan watched her carefully. She looked normal, not as heartbroken or lost as Aster had described, which put his mind at ease. Larissa hummed in acknowledgment and waited for him to continue. "A lot was going on at the time, so my mom didn’t have time to see you off. She’s very sorry about it." He couldn’t sell Aster out, so he made up an excuse, and continued, "I’m here to thank you and apologize on behalf of he

Aster was hesitant to take it due to Larissa's presence nearby. Seeing how careful he was being, Larissa was upset but amused at the same time."Go ahead and eat," she said. "You can indulge yourself for a day for Uncle Kevan's sake."Aster's eyes brightened up at once, his eyes looking very much like stars in the sky."Uncle Kevan!" He hugged Kevan's arm with a hopeful expression written all over his face. "Can you come to our house every day?"Larissa poked Aster. "Don't even think about it! Uncle Kevan's busy with work. How can he come and play with you every day?"Kevan could only smile quietly and shove his regrets into the depths of his heart.…Aster's routine was quite regular. The moment it was 9 pm, he would voluntarily put his game controller down and go to bed obediently without needing Larissa to say anything.Kevan helped Larissa to put away the bags of snacks scattered all over the floor as well as put the game controller back where it belonged."I'll be heading

Aster's room had a double bed too. It was more than enough for an adult and a child to sleep together. Aster had fallen asleep earlier on, and Larissa lay on the other side of the bed, tossing and turning because she could not stop worrying about Kevan, who was sick.By midnight, she could not stop herself and got up from the bed. She carefully snuck over and opened the master bedroom door. The orange night light at the head of the bed was turned on, and she was able to clearly see Kevan's open eyes with its aid.Hearing the noise, he turned over to look. Their gazes locked, and an embarrassed smile appeared on Larissa's face."You're not asleep yet?" She entered the room and closed the door, but left it open by a crack instead of closing it completely.Kevan sat up slowly, his voice sounding pitiful. "Head hurts. Can't sleep."Larissa became alert at once. "Do you still have a fever?" She took a few steps closer and felt his forehead with her hand.As she was in an air-condition

She'd frequently wondered if Kevan had not had that accident all those years ago, would Ruby not become so extreme? Maybe they could have lived together happily and blissfully as a family of three.But it was no use dwelling on those things now.Kevan frowned harder. "Forgetting Ruby is probably the only good thing about losing my memories," he said. "Heaven gave me a chance to right a wrong—to let me correct a mistake that I made before."Larissa did not comment with regard to his words. "You may not think like this when you've recovered your memory."He loved Ruby so deeply that when he remembered everything, the only thing left would probably be a huge sense of regret."I won't." Kevan's attitude was firm, and Larissa could not be bothered to argue with him.Kevan suddenly asked, "Although … How is it that you know my past so well?" He eyed her skeptically. "You've met my grandpa, and are good friends with Dylan … Larissa, are you hiding something from me?"His scorching gaze

Larissa's movements of getting up halted abruptly. Bracing herself against the edge of the bed, she sat down again. "Do you … need me to help you massage the spot?" Kevan pressed a hand on his pounding heart and said with restraint, "No need."Larissa suddenly remembered his weird quirk of not letting others touch him. "Forgive me, I was too forward." She apologized to him before adding, "Wait a moment—"She retrieved the aromatherapy machine she had bought but never used—it was still in its original packaging—from the closet she used to put her sundries in. After filling it with water, she added a few drops of lavender oil into the machine."This will help you relax and sleep." She introduced the product to Kevan. "Just close your eyes, and you'll be able to sleep soon."The faint smell of lavender filled the air via the mist from the machine.Kevan obediently closed his eyes, though his headache did not lessen likely due to his tense nerves. After some time, he opened his eyes a

Aster fidgeted and asked, "Mommy, is Uncle Kevan feeling better?""I guess." Larissa was not too sure, but Kevan was sleeping well, and he did not say anything crazy … He had to feel much better now."You guess?" Aster was not satisfied with her answer and he scolded her with a serious demeanor which was not quite fitting for his age. "Mommy, how could you be so irresponsible?"Larissa raised an eyebrow. "What?"Aster pushed her. "Hurry and go take care of Uncle Kevan! What if he relapses or something? I can sleep on my own, I don't need you to sleep with me!""What are you talking about?" Larissa closed her eyes and yawned widely. "I'm tired. If you're so worried about your Uncle Kevan, feel free to go over and take care of him yourself."Aster froze for one second before he escaped from her arms. Larissa squinted at him and saw him get out of bed from the other side."I'm going to stay with Uncle Kevan!" He ran out of the bedroom in his slippers, pitter-pattering across the sp

Aster frequently followed Larissa when she went to work, so he knew most of the people she interacted with at work. Due to Larissa's identity, the attitudes of those people were very friendly. He could not tell who were the ones trying to woo Larissa or who were the ones who were only just flattering her.So, he gave Kevan a vague answer. "I guess so?"There was a little bit of his cunningness involved in this. If Uncle Kevan really liked his mommy, he might feel a sense of danger knowing that his mommy had other potential partners, so he would speed up the process of trying to bag his mommy. The moment Aster thought of how Uncle Kevan would soon be his daddy, he could not stop himself from smiling, and the happy glint in his eyes was unmistakable.Kevan could not understand Aster's expression. He could sense Aster's joy, but he could not get where it was coming from.Could it be … he really hoped that other men would pursue Larissa?But—"Aster, when you said that you liked me,