Lakeview Manor.

Olivia Young stood by the window holding her daughter, eyes fixed on the messages on her phone.

Earlier in the day, she’d bumped into Annabelle Winters across from the law firm and ended up taking her to the hospital. All these coincidences made her uneasy.

So, she’d spent a little money to have someone keep watch outside Annabelle Winters’s mother’s hospital room.

Now, news had come in.

Grace Gordon had arrived, but left soon after.

The hospital room had thin walls, and she’d heard it was Annabelle Winters who’d driven him away.

Grace Gordon’s face was thunderous when he left—about as bad as it could get.

Naturally.

Old-school CEO types are all a little hot-tempered anyway.

Ugh!

At this rate, when are those two finally going to get together? When will this plot ever end?

Only once the story is over can Olivia Young finally have some peace of mind.

“Wife!”

Frederick Fairfax came marching in cheerfully, but the moment he saw Olivia Young’s gloomy face, he frowned. “If you’re not happy at work, let’s just quit!”

“If you want to play at home, fine. Or, come goof off at the office with me—better yet, you and the baby both come keep me company at the company…”

Frederick Fairfax poked little Yana’s chubby cheek. “Baby, want to go to Dad’s office and see the empire I’ve built for you?”

“Did you really build it yourself?”

The Feng Group’s high-rise was constructed back when Frederick Fairfax’s father was in charge, after all.

“My bad, blame me for not being a first-gen rich—I'm what, maybe fifth-gen? Ever since my great-great-great-grandfather, there’s never been a day of poverty in our family!”

Ohhh.~

Lucky rich pup.

Frederick Fairfax inched closer to Olivia Young. The moment his lips brushed her cheek, the baby in her arms started to whimper.

“What’s this about, huh? Baby, can’t Dad give Mom a kiss?”

She actually has an opinion?

“She’s so little—what can she possibly know?” Frederick Fairfax thought it was a coincidence. He leaned in for a kiss on Olivia Young’s lips.

“Wahh... Wahhh...”

The little marshmallow’s lips puckered up, about to burst into tears.

Olivia Young couldn’t help but laugh.

“Without me, there’d be no you, and now you won’t let Dad kiss Mom?”

Frederick Fairfax fixed the baby with a stare. “Just watch me. I’ll kiss—kiss—kiss!”

Smooch! Smooch! Smooch!

He planted a bunch of kisses in a row.

The little one’s lips trembled, big eyes filling with tears, her cry getting louder.

“You’re really picking a fight with a child? Frederick Fairfax, when did you become so childish?” Olivia Young handed their daughter over. “You made her cry—your job to soothe her.”

Frederick Fairfax hoisted the baby up, “Come on, sweetheart, don’t cry. Mom and Dad being in love is a wonderful thing! You should be happy.”

“Can she even understand you? Why not just wipe her face, and rock her a bit?”

The older she got, the harder she was to please.

Used to be, you could just put her down in her crib. Now, the moment you set her down she’d wail.

And for her to sleep well, the bed had to smell like Mom; she needed to be surrounded by her mother’s pajamas for comfort.

As Frederick Fairfax dabbed at his daughter’s tears, he sighed, “She really is our kid—too cute for words.”

Like a living doll!

A daughter this adorable, of course he had to show her off! And his wife, too!

So, for the baby’s hundred-day banquet, he’d make it a grand affair—

Invite Grace Gordon, Zachary Shaw, Leonard Holmes, and all those other rivals. They all needed to see with their own eyes just how happy he and Olivia Young really were!!!

That Divorce Show? What a joke!

As if he’d ever go on it. If he did any show, it’d be some lovey-dovey couple show—or maybe one about a family with ten kids.

Because now, he had a kid!!

“Little stinker, from now on, when Dad kisses Mom, you’re not allowed to cry.”

Frederick Fairfax bounced the baby in his arms. “And when you’re grown and kissing your boyfriend, Dad won’t cry either!”

He wouldn’t!

Ծ‸Ծ

The next day.

Frederick Fairfax dawdled around the house—on the surface, it looked like their daughter just wanted to play with him, but really, he was waiting for Olivia Young.

She’d come home unhappy yesterday. Did she really have to go out again today?

“Honey, ride with me—I’ll drop you off.”

“Are you sure it’s on the way?” Olivia Young asked, skeptical.

“All roads lead to Rome! If I say it’s on the way, then it’s on the way!” Frederick Fairfax handed their daughter to the nanny. “Let’s go!”

But today, she didn’t want to go to the law firm.

She wanted to visit the hospital.

Olivia Young let him pull her into his car.

Was this not leaping straight into the wolf’s den?

As soon as she got in, Olivia Young somehow ended up on Frederick Fairfax’s lap instead of the leather seat.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Her voice was soft. “Are you going to put up the divider too?”

The car wasn’t that big, and her voice carried just enough that the driver heard—and immediately put up the privacy divider.

Frederick Fairfax lounged lazily. “So this is your thing, Lily? All you had to do was say so. I could’ve indulged you long ago.”

Olivia Young clapped a hand over his mouth. “Quit it! When was that ever my thing? We’re a perfectly normal married couple.”

Normal, was it?

Last night she’d been in his lap, rocking back and forth, running her hands over his abs... Just thinking about it sent her heart racing. Nothing normal about any of that!

Between husband and wife, nothing is ever really "simple."

“Mmph!”

Frederick Fairfax, the mischief-maker.

He actually licked her palm.

“Take me to the People’s Hospital.”

“Are you feeling sick?” Frederick Fairfax immediately tensed up.

“No, it’s my friend’s mother—I’m going to visit her.” Olivia Young leaned against his chest.

“Which friend? Do I know them?”

“Annabelle Winters.”

Since when did Annabelle Winters become her friend?

“You think she and Grace Gordon would make a good couple?”

“Oh, absolutely!”

“I’m not joking! I mean it, they really do suit each other. Grace Gordon should be responsible—after all, she lost the baby because of him. What kind of man does that?” Frederick Fairfax looked utterly disgusted at the mention of Grace Gordon.

Of course, gossiping about Grace Gordon in front of his own wife did sound a lot like critiquing her previous taste in men. Best to change the subject. “I’ll go with you.”

“You’ve got meetings at the office—go and be a good boss. I’ll handle the hospital. If anything comes up, I’ll call you.” Olivia Young patted his chest reassuringly.

“Alright.”

Have to listen to the wife. Otherwise, no kisses for you.

Olivia Young picked up a basket of fruit and flowers and headed for the hospital room.

Inside, Annabelle Winters’s mother had woken up.

“Wanwan, I don’t want to continue the treatments. It hurts too much…”

“Watching you now—so happy and healthy—I really have no regrets. My only wish is to see you married, to find someone who’ll take care of you…”

Her face was sunken and pale, her body frail.

She wanted to live.

But the pain was unbearable. The cancer had spread, and the thought of dying in agony left her dreading each day.

“That young man who looked after you before—Mr. Gordon, right? I could tell you cared about him. Do you think you could ask him to come?”

Olivia Young stood outside the door. Seems Annabelle Winters’s mother hadn’t woken up yet when Grace Gordon left yesterday.

“Mom, he and I…”

Annabelle Winters wanted to say they weren’t together, but with her mother so sick, how could she bring herself to say something that would worry her further? Yesterday she’d just forced Grace Gordon away, and now she needed his help. If she asked him to come, would he even agree?