Estelle was feeling under the weather, barely managing to force down a bowl of chicken soup before it all came back up.


    Mrs. Hartman didn''t mind the mess as she patted Estelle''s back, saying, "I remember when I was pregnant with Dominic. It was tough, and now it''s your turn. Once the baby arrives, you''ll have to teach them a lesson or two."


    After sipping some water to settle her stomach, Estelle replied, "Thank you for your care, Mrs. Hartman. I won''t let your efforts go to waste..."


    "Let it be, dear. I''ll look after you tomorrow."


    Mrs. Hartman felt a pang of sympathy for Estelle, who had lost a noticeable amount of weight in just a few days.


    As Dominic often said, Mrs. Hartman had seen Estelle grow up. Seeing her suffer like this was heart-wrenching.


    Estelle wasforted by Mrs. Hartman''s experienced care, finding remedies that eased her morning sickness significantly. Over time, Mrs. Hartman''s fondness for Estelle grew, even returning to the levels of affection she had shown in the past.


    Brittany had spent a full month in the customer service department, dealing with all sorts of guests and learning the ropes of hotel operations. From initial struggles to bing adept, she finally got transferred to another department.


    The Lte family valued their hotel business highly, and Brittany was eager to prove herself, securing several long-term contracts withrge travel groups. These deals alone ensured financialfort for the uing year.


    At first, the senior executives had been skeptical about Brittany''s sudden arrival, but her impressive performance soon silenced any doubts. In contrast, Saskia''s efforts were unremarkable. She was determined to outperform Brittany but instead caused several losses for her department, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among her colleagues.


    At another family dinner, Yuri expressed his satisfaction with Brittany''s work and mentioned a possible move to the headquarters.


    "What department would you like to join?" he asked.


    Having familiarized herself with the operations of thepany, Brittany was interested in the finance department.


    "I''d like to go to finance," she said.


    "Alright, I''ll make arrangements."


    "Dad, I''d like to change departments too," Saskia chimed in, feeling sabotaged in her current role.


    "Isn''t your current department suitable? Yuri asked, knowing he had ced Saskia in a secondary department-a bnce between critical and non-essential.


    Given Saskia''s recent poor performance, which had prompted severalints, Yuri was hesitant. "You haven''t fully adapted to your current role yet. Show. you can excel there, and then we''ll consider a department change."


    wme


    Saskia tried to argue further, but Yuri quickly moved on from the topic, indicating the discussion was over. Feeling slighted, she couldn''t help but think Yuri was favoring Brittany because she wasn''t his biological daughter and hence, had less ess to pivotal roles in thepany.


    Yuri, a seasoned businessman, wasn''t swayed by mere pleas.


    Holden, always aligned with Yuri, wasn''t inclined to intervene on Saskia''s behalf either.


    Switching topics, Yuri asked Brittany, "I heard you''ve been seen with a college senior recently?"


    "Dad, stop. Hugh is already married," Brittany rified, aware of her father''s extensivework but dismissing the rumor.


    "And when do you n to start dating?"Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g