This time, however, their positions were reversed, and it was Serenity who did the slapping.Lyra held her cheek in disbelief as she asked, "How... How dare you slap me?!""If you could slap me," Serenity countered, "then why the hell can't I slap you back?"If she had to bear the responsibility, it stood to reason that Lyra had to bear some too."Who do you think you are?!" Lyra spat, mad with anger. "You're nothing but a third-rate minor celebrity! How dare you slap me?!"Serenity was not at all offended being called the "minor celebrity" as Lyra put it, but still..."Then what right did you have to slap me? You're a minor celebrity yourself! If it hadn't been for Lucas Gomez, do you really think that you'd be where you are today? You're well aware of why you came here to throw a fit like a madwoman! It's all because you broke up with Lucas, and you're afraid that you will lose everything, right? Because everything you have was all given to you by that man! And you actually thi

She remembered reading in gossip columns about how much Lucas used to shower Lyra with love, how she could land a leading role in any film she liked, how any director who did not get along with Lyra would instantly get replaced with a different one, how he would rent the entire hotel, even if it was the most expensive and luxurious hotel in Solaria, if Lyra wanted to have a birthday party in it...With such treatment from Lucas, it was no wonder that everyone thought Lyra would soon be marrying into the wealthy Gomez family.Yet, who would have thought that, in the blink of an eye, things would take such a dramatic turn?!No matter how Lyra begged for his mercy, Lucas showed absolutely no sign of sympathy for her. To be more precise, there seemed to be no sign of emotion in his eyes at all—not for Lyra, nor for Serenity!While it was true that right now Lucas seemed to be taking Serenity's side, the way he looked at her was nothing but distant and aloof. It was as if no one could t

"If it had been her, she would never cry."Lyra heard Lucas utter such a vague sentence, and it instantly made her fear shoot up to such a level that she could not help but yell out, "Who is she? Who exactly is that woman?! Lucas Gomez, you'll never love anyone else but that woman, won't you? But you'll never get her! You've been treating other people's feelings with disdain, so one day, she will treat your feelings with disdain as well!"Lucas stopped in his tracks and turned around, his piercing eyes dead-focused on Lyra. At that moment, his usually indifferent gaze was filled with a biting coldness, but he merely glared at her and said nothing at all before turning around and leaving.Lyra slumped onto the floor, her whole body limp and powerless. Judging by the look that Lucas had just given her, it seemed as though he wanted to kill her right then and there.She knew then that she was toast!***Serenity was hit by a gust of frigid wind when she walked out of the restaurant,

What Serenity's aunt was saying was nothing more than an attempt to whitewash the crimes and guilt of what her relatives had done to her. Still, no matter what they said to her, it seemed like she did not even hear it at all. She just stared blankly at her grandmother who was lying on the hospital bed.The only person in this world she cared about was her grandmother.Suddenly, she noticed her grandmother's lips moving, almost as if she was mumbling about something in her coma. Serenity leaned down close to her grandmother's lips, and she froze when she realized that her grandmother was mumbling the names of her uncles and aunt.Serenity stood up straight without saying a word and left the room. Her uncles' wives followed her, urging her to promise them that she would withdraw the case."What right do you have to demand me to withdraw the case?" She snapped back coldly. "None of you even thought of me as family back then, so I have no reason to treat you like family now!""You col

In desperation, Serenity could only call the number with faint hope. The call went through, but no one picked up. All she could hear was the beeping tone.But she would not give up just yet. She called the number for a second time, then a third time...Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, a few top executives were in Jackson Valor's CEO office, their attention fixed on the ringing cheap old phone. All the top executives knew that recently, the CEO had started to have two phones with him at all times. One was his usual phone, and the other was this curious cheap old mobile phone.As for the phone's origin, the only person apart from Mr. Valor himself who knew about it would be Connor Gunn, his secretary. But if anyone asked Connor about it, the latter would just smile and refuse to say a single word about it.Because of this, the top executives could not help but speculate about this strange phone. In the past, Mr. Valor would instantly pick the phone up as soon as it rang,

Serenity was not even sure if she could meet Jackson if she really went to Valor Group's office building in the afternoon, but there was nowhere else she could go to find him anyway. Thinking of this, she suddenly realized how little she knew of him. She did not even know where he lived!When she finally arrived at Valor Group headquarters, she discovered that not only was there no chance to meet Jackson Valor, but she could not even get inside the building because the security guards had blocked her entrance at the door.She told them that she was there to meet Jackson Valor, but all she got was their sneers and mocking looks."If Mr. Valor would meet everyone who wants to meet him, he'd have no time to do anything else! Do you know how many people like you come here demanding to see him every day?""But at least the others would dress up nicely before asking to meet Mr. Valor. Who would believe that you know Mr. Valor personally when you're wearing shabby clothes like that?"Ser

Serenity walked into the office, after which Connor gently closed the door behind her. He decided to bring Serenity here not just because of what she had told him, of course, but because he knew how much his own boss cared about this woman. Perhaps he only wanted her to coax him a little. Besides, Serenity looked very visibly troubled just now, so it might give Jackson a great chance to swoop in and save her.The thought of this somehow brightened Connor's mood. Afterward, when he returned to his office, his colleague came over to him and asked, "Who was that woman who went into the CEO's office with you just now, Mr. Gunn?"The employee was especially curious because judging by the way the woman dressed, there was no way that she was the kind of person who usually went in and out of Mr. Valor's office at all.Nevertheless, the only reply from Connor was, "That's none of your business. If you needed to know about it, you would've known it already."All along, gossiping about Ja

"But all I ask is for them to be released," Serenity hastily argued. "This is no trouble for you. It can be done after a short phone call from you.""It might be something I can do with a short phone call, but... what, then?"He looked at her with complete nonchalance, which was in stark contrast with her anxiety.Her hands, which had been hanging limply by her side, now clenched tightly. She took a deep breath and braved his gaze before telling him, "What do you want me to do to get them released?"His eyes darkened slightly, and he put down his pen and stood up before slowly walking up to Serenity. He gently took her hand and said, "Your hand is pretty cold, Sis."Her whole body stiffened. Compared to his hands, hers were indeed icy cold. He lowered his head and took both of her hands into his own before gently massaging them, giving them warmth. He did this so effortlessly that it seemed like he had done it countless times before, and his touch was also very gentle and cautio

How could a proud man like him ever allow it?"So, you agreed to see me just so you could tell me that you would never do what I ask no matter how I beg you?"Each word came out of her mouth with great difficulty, but she asked the question anyway.There was a faint smile on his lips. He raised his hand and gently brushed a stray strand of hair on her face behind her ear with his long fingers."Back then, you told me that you wouldn't stay with me, that you didn't need me to change your fate, that you would never regret it..."His moves were graceful, and his voice was soft and gentle. He bent over and leaned his lips closer to her ear, and she could feel his breath brushing against it, his breath enveloping her ear and neck.In contrast, her whole body was frozen stiff. She felt as if a heavy boulder was pressing down against her chest, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. "I wanted to see you so you'd understand how comically wrong you were when you said you wouldn

She got no sleep at all the day before yesterday, and she could not sleep last night either because of what had happened to her grandmother. At that moment, she felt as if her steps were so light that she was merely gliding across the floor. She had been walking for a while when someone bumped into her shoulder. The next moment, she staggered and fell to the ground right away. Fortunately, her clothes had been thick enough to pad her fall, so it didn't hurt much.Just as she was about to struggle her way up onto her feet again, someone swiftly rushed over to her side and helped her up.She turned to that person and realized that it was Peter."How did you...""I parked my car by the side of the road," He explained. "I think I'd better drive you home, after all."Although she had refused his offer earlier, he was still too concerned about her that he had to follow behind her in his car."No, it's fine. I can walk home by myself.""But someone merely brushed past you just now an