Mercer stared at Calla for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What did she accuse you of?""She accused me of being after your money, of course! Do you even have to ask?" Calla felt that Mercer had suddenly become less intelligent. "So you're saying that you're not interested in my money?" Mercer's lip curled upward."Of course not!" Calla raised her voice by several octaves.Mercer suddenly asked cheekily, "So you're just in it for me?" Calla hesitated for a moment. She randomly picked up the glass of juice next to her to disguise her sudden discomfort. She quickly exclaimed, "Please! Your money is more attractive than you are!"She had only married him so that her child would have legal recognition. Had he forgotten what he had said to persuade her? Still, why did Calla suddenly feel nervous? She suppressed the strange feeling and tried to keep herself calm. Mercer was startled. He suddenly said, "After we eat, we're going back to Riverford.""So quickly?" Calla was surprised

"Go back to your room and study! This has nothing to do with you." Carol immediately tried to stop Zoey from blabbering.Zoey shook her head in exasperation. She turned and went back inside, but immediately stuck her head out and called out to Calla. "Rudy told Mom to persuade you to talk to Mercer! He wants you to let that insurance company of his take care of Atlas' property insurance!" Zoey immediately shut the door so that Carol could not scold her.Calla was furious. She turned and glared at Carol.Carol immediately waved her hand and said, "He did make the request, but I didn't agree to it! I only agreed to talk to you about it. Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for Mercer."This made Calla even more angry, but she had to suppress her emotions. She said tiredly, "Mom, how many times do I need to tell you before you understand? Why do you let Rudy use you time and time again? "He no longer has any feelings for you at all! All his attention is on Jill and Peggy. If

"I'm going on a business trip tomorrow," Mercer suddenly spoke up behind her.He knew that she wasn't asleep, so Calla decided not to keep up the act. She asked, "Where are you going?" "Morvenia," he replied.Calla was startled. Did Atlas have business in Morvenia too? She had worked at Atlas for several years, but she had never heard about such a thing. Was this a private business trip?Calla knew that he might not want to speak about it further, so she did not press him anymore. She only asked, "How long will you be gone?""About a week," he answered after a moment's thought."I'll pack for you," Calla said, getting up."It's alright!" He stopped her at once.Calla turned to look at Mercer in the dark, and her brow furrowed."I'll only need to take a few changes of clothes. Jasmine will pack for me tomorrow. It's late. You should get some rest," he said.It was already 1:00 am, and packing right now would affect both of their sleep. Calla decided not to persist.After tha

It seemed that Sophie had once been very important to Mercer. Did he perhaps still love her?Calla suddenly felt strangely fearful. Her chest felt stuffy and tight, and she was extremely upset. Why was she feeling this way? What was wrong with her?Before she could think about it any further, she changed into the clothes she had worn to visit Garland Mansion in Sedonia, and notified Jasmine before going out.When she arrived at the entrance to the café, she took a deep breath before walking in.There weren't many people here for coffee at this hour. The moment Calla looked up, she spotted a young woman at a seat by the windows. When she saw the woman's face, she suddenly felt nervous.Sophie was very beautiful, and seeing her would make anyone light up. She had a perfectly oval face, finely shaped brows, a straight nose, and a rosebud mouth. She was very fair and clearly a typical beauty. Calla stumbled and almost slipped. Luckily, the woman hadn't seen her yet and hadn't caug

Calla felt a myriad of emotions rush through her. No wonder Mercer had said that he was going to Morvenia on a business trip. Atlas didn't have any business there at all; he had gone there for Sophie, the woman in front of Calla right now. Calla felt her gut twist. She had believed Mercer wholeheartedly."Since the two of you are so in love, why didn't you stay together?" Calla knew that it was dumb of her, but she still decided to ask. Sophie turned to look out of the huge glass windows, as if she was reminiscing about the past. "My family and Mercer's family were friends, and we grew up together. We were classmates in high school and at college, so naturally, we got together. Both of our families were very happy about it. After all, our standings are evenly matched."The thinly veiled jab about her family made Calla uncomfortable. She knew that she and Mercer were not of the same status at all, and they had never crossed paths before now. That said, Calla hadn't expected So