That’s right, Serenity was the cause of this! She was the reason why Aria had lost everything. Unfortunately, Aria’s train of reasoning stopped there. She failed to consider the fact that Serenity was also the reason she had gotten so far with Lucas. ***Having just returned from delivering an order, Serenity stepped into the restaurant. The moment she came in, two people walked up to her, and one of them gave her a tight slap across the face. The slap was so forceful that she stumbled backward. The very next second, she tasted the metallic flavor of blood in her mouth. “You shameless wh*re! How dare you snatch your sister’s boyfriend away! I can’t believe our family raised a daughter like you!” Catherine yelled sharply as soon as she delivered the blow. Serenity stared coldly at her stepmother who was still berating her. Catherine was about to deliver a second slap when she reached up and grabbed her wrist. Catherine glared at her. “What?! Don’t forget, I’m still your mot

Upon being called, Grayson quickly intervened in his wife’s favor. He stepped forward and began yelling at his daughter, “How could you treat Catherine like this?! No matter what has happened, she’s still your elder. Hurry up and apologize to her!” Serenity stared coldly back at her father. She used to put herself through hell just to gain his approval, just so he would treat her like he did Aria. In the end, she realized that it was just her wishful thinking. At this point, she had truly given up on him. “Apologize? What should I apologize for? Are you implying that I should let her do whatever she wants with me when she starts abusing me? Do you think I should sit back and let her humiliate me and even my mother? I don’t think I need to say out loud who betrayed Mom all those years ago.” An embarrassed expression appeared on Grayson’s face. Amidst Catherine’s incessant wailing, he retorted, “So what if Catherine slapped you a few times? Why didn’t you mention the things you d

Serenity was much luckier than herself, she thought. Thinking of her past, the light in Clara’s eyes fizzled out. Back then, she had also thought that she had found a man who was willing to fight the world for her. In the end, she discovered that he regarded her as his enemy. Pathetic and absurd. Those two words described her love for him perfectly. Now, she just wanted to raise Yanny properly. Jackson looked down at Serenity’s bleeding lips. Her cheek was red and swollen from the slap, and a trail of blood ran down her chin. The sight of her in such a state enraged him. Wearing a deep frown, Jackson brushed his fingers gently across her wound. “Who hit you?” “What are you doing here?” asked Serenity. “I finished my work, and I was nearby, and I wanted to see you,” he explained. She was lucky that Jackson had decided to pay her a visit. Otherwise, she would have to continue being bullied by Grayson and Catherine. “Who hit you just now?” he asked again. “My stepmothe

Serenity hesitated for a moment before she replied, “Actually, I’m quite happy working at this place. Besides...” She paused for a moment and then continued speaking with an earnest expression, “Jack, I’d like to continue relying on myself. If I joined your company and people found out I’m your girlfriend, I’m worried that they’ll put me in a token position who gets paid for doing nothing.” “Isn’t that good?” asked Jackson. “At the very least, I’d like to see how far I can make it on my own. I don’t plan to work as a delivery driver all my life. I’ve been reading some research papers in my free time, and I hope it’ll help my future career,” explained Serenity. She already had a rough idea about her career development. Upon hearing her reply, Jackson frowned slightly as he stroked her reddened cheeks. It hurt so much that she gasped silently. “Let’s go back and treat your wounds. Also, didn’t I tell you to call me whenever you need help? Why didn’t you call me?” He wonde

Through the one-way mirror, Lucas could observe the activities happening in the main hall outside. There were various singers and dancers performing on the stage. Compared to that, the inside of Lucas’ private room was relatively quiet. He poured himself a cup of tea and began sipping it slowly as he observed the chaos that was happening outside. Then, the door swung open, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the room. Lucas lifted his head to gaze at the newcomer. “You’re finally here. Would you like some tea?” “No need,” replied Jackson before he sat down directly facing Lucas. “I’m just here to talk to you, it won’t take long.” Lucas raised his brow. “Is that so? What would you like to discuss?” “You can break up with Aria all you want, but don’t drag Serenity into this. My patience has its limits. I’m not going to stand by and watch her suffer because of you,” warned Jackson. Lucas’ expression changed immediately. “Aria’s parents came looking for Serenity today

Jackson pursed his lips at the thought of that possibility. He would never let Lucas have his way! In the private room, Lucas pulled out the silver bracelet he wore on his neck. He brushed his fingertips over it. Its surface was smooth and shiny from being polished by his fingers over the years. To him, this bracelet was his entire world. As it turned out, people who keep longing for another despite the passage of time do indeed exist. In fact, the more time passed, the more intense their feelings grew...***“Cut!” yelled the director. Sullen-faced, he snapped at Aria, “What’s the matter with you? Is it that hard to play a character whose mother had just died? It’s not like you just started acting yesterday...” As he scolded her, Aria nodded silently and swallowed the discontent that was boiling up inside. He had never talked to her like this. Her scenes used to be filmed in one take unless she requested a retake. Compared to the past when the director never criticized h

Did Lucas change his mind?Looking around at the people who were taunting and mocking her a moment ago, Aria felt truly vindicated!Hmph, as long as she could become Lucas Gomez's girlfriend again, she could get all of them blacklisted by the entertainment industry!Aria walked out of the filming site in a haughty manner.However, when she met with Lucas, she realized that... things were not the way she thought they were.Because... Lucas asked to meet her in a detention facility, and her parents were in that detention facility.Lucas was sitting on a chair, casually sipping tea.Her parents, on the other hand, were trembling and cowering on one side of the table. They looked afraid.Aria bit her lip, her heart thumping with apprehension.What's going on? What's Lucas doing here?She was aware that her parents were in police custody, but since it was only for a few days, she didn't think it was a big deal. It would be fine as long as the media did not find out about it.But

Lucas stared at Aria coldly. Fair? The world had never been fair. If it was, he would have found the girl from back then by now! He poured in so much effort throughout the years!But... he hadn’t found her!It was as if that girl had never existed at all.But... she clearly existed!"You want fairness? Fine. Your mother slapped Serenity, so it's only fair if she slaps you too," Lucas said indifferently.Aria, Catherine and Grayson froze when they heard that.Catherine, in particular, jumped up from her chair and yelled, "Why would I hit my own daughter?! Even if you're rich and powerful, you can't make me do this!""You can't hit your own daughter?" Lucas snorted as if he had heard a joke, "Yet you were so ready to hit your stepdaughter who's not related to you by blood."Catherine's face went red, but she still argued emotionally, "Th-There's a good reason for that... Serenity Lewis is a shameless woman who barged into your relationship with Aria..."Lucas' expression got pro

Some reporters also discovered that Aria Lewis was currently selling her real estate and jewelry. Even the house that Aria's parents were living in was listed for sale online. They speculated that it was to pay for her breach of contracts.Someone even revealed all the contracts that Aria had breached to the public. The total amount of compensation she had to pay was over 10 million dollars.For a person like Aria who came from an ordinary family and was only a C-list actress before she became Lucas Gomez's girlfriend, this was naturally a large sum of money. Even if she sold all her family assets, it might not be enough.Serenity saw the news on her phone. She also saw a picture of her family house, which was being listed for sale by a real estate agent.There was a collage of photos showing the interior of the house.The price listed was 900 thousand dollars.The house that contained memories of her and her mother was now being sold for 900 thousand dollars. Serenity sighed.M

Jackson said, "Well, since you asked, I guess there's no harm telling you." Even if he did not tell her now, she would find out soon.After all, the matter was no longer a secret among Solaria's high society.Therefore, instead of letting her hear it from others, he would rather tell her about it himself."Lucas is indeed looking for someone – a girl from his early childhood. However, he hasn't been able to find her so far. Those girlfriends of his can be considered that girl's substitute. He can't find the right person, so he found some substitutes to comfort himself," Jackson spoke while observing Serenity's reaction closely.Serenity frowned a little. "They're substitutes for a little girl?""All his ex-girlfriends reminded him of that little girl in some ways.""But they’re not the person he's looking for. Why does he go through one substitute after another when he knows that?" she wondered."Maybe he's obsessed. Or maybe, he's reached a point of desperation. Maybe even he d