Time flew by, and before Michael knew it, Monday finally came.It had been a while since he last paid serious attention to his appearance. Of course, being the head of the company, he was expected to dress appropriately and carry himself with a dignified aura. He needed to be consistent and professional at all times, something that he learned through years of training and experience.However, this was the first time that he really looked at himself in the mirror, wondering if he looked good enough to impress. He had light-brown hair with a few strands that fell across his eyes, and his skin seemed smoother than average. The lighting in the room cast shadows on his features and highlighted the contours of his face, making him think for a moment that he was staring at a stranger in the mirror.How curious. So this was what he looked like up close…‘It’s not like I look at my face in the mirror each day,’ he surmised. ‘Usually, I would only pay attention to my outfit and then go about my

‘This isn’t good for my heart. Imagine a handsome and successful man saying that…’ Camille swallowed. ‘Even though I know he’s just being polite… Because look at me, I don’t even look that great.’“…Who are you and what have you done with Michael Noah McGregor?” Camille finally said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. “Have the aliens finally abducted you? Is the man sitting before me right now an impostor?”Michael looked amused, as though he had already expected this. “I am simply telling the truth,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I wasn’t obligated to do so. I just said it from the heart.”‘That’s… surprisingly sweet,’ Camille thought.“I remember I had to force you to give me a compliment back at our high school prom,” she couldn’t help but tease. “You looked like you hated to say it, but in the end, you admitted that I looked nice.”The corners of Michael’s lips curved upwards. “Hmm. That I did. Your face was better looking. But that dress you wore was indeed atrocious,” he

“I’m fine,” Camille said. “Don’t worry about me. Just… keep it with you for a while, okay?”‘Please don’t ask anything more,’ she begged.“All right, then. If you say so.” Michael said. Thank god. “Anyway, I’m sure you must be wondering how much I know about you, especially how I managed to get your private number.”Camille nodded, the knots in her stomach becoming tighter and tighter.He couldn’t possibly know anything. She had to reassure herself of that.Christian had firmly kept their relationship under wraps for now here at Penburg. He probably had something up his sleeve, just like he always did.“I had my assistant check on your whereabouts,” Michael admitted. “Sorry about that, by the way. You must’ve wanted to lie low… but I just needed to know that you’re alive and well.”Camille shook her head. “It’s okay. You have your reasons.”“But don’t worry. I didn’t make a thorough investigation on you or anything like that,” he said quickly. “I just wanted to know your number and wh

Paul immediately got up from his chair and walked over to Hailey, hastily wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.“Sis…” he said quietly. “I’m going to be honest with you. I knew about this two years ago when Ben and I opened Dad’s private study for a prank. We… The two of us were snooping around. You know us.”He pulled away to look Hailey in the eyes, as though trying to convey his sincerity.“We found… adoption papers along with your records. There were so many, we couldn’t read them all. Dad was about to return home. That’s when we realized that… you’re not related to us by blood.”Paul swallowed.“Ben and I… we wanted to ask Mom and Dad about it, but we didn’t have the courage. We even thought at one point that we might have imagined the whole thing. But we knew it was true. Still, it didn’t change anything. We still think of you as our older sister, even now. After all, even if we’re not related by blood, we’re still family, right?” he said softly.Hailey felt tears wel

The atmosphere was positively stifling, in Hailey’s opinion.She had never felt this way before whenever she talked with her parents. Even when she got a failing grade one time, Luther and Emilia didn’t scold her that much. Not at all, in fact.Instead, Luther simply told her that she could do better next time, while Emilia suggested tutoring for that subject in case Hailey had a hard time understanding the lectures.Even when she accidentally broke an expensive antique in the house, when she fought with her brothers as a kid, when she argued with her parents as a young teenager going through puberty and menstrual cramps…They never hit her or reprimanded her so harshly. They were never cold to her and treated her just like how they treated her brothers. She loved them because they were fair and didn’t have any favorites among them.But now…It felt like she was conversing with a pair of strangers.No, that was wrong.Maybe she was the stranger all along.Maybe she had missed all the