As Carl nced at Grace’s gentle and charming posture, he began to have hallucinations.


    The voices echoing in his ears turned into Nana’s murmurs.


    The face that once disgusted him to the extreme now transformed into Nana’s delicate visage.


    “Nana, is it really you?”


    Carl’s eyes showed long-lost anticipation and joy as he tightly embraced his beloved, hoping that time would stand still and they would grow old together.


    However, even though Grace was about to achieve her goal, she felt increasingly dissatisfied.


    Carl’s heart was simply not with her, and no matter how hard she tried to please him, it was all in vain.


    “Carl, do you really like me that much?”


    With a hint of resentment towards Nana in her eyes, Grace had no other choice but to continue pretending to be her number one rival in love.


    “Yes, I want to be with you and watch Janelle grow up. No one will interfere with us, and no third person will enter our lives…”


    In a dazed state of mind, Carl confided his sincerest feelings to the woman nestled in his arms.


    Grace, however, listened with a furrowed brow. She didn’t want to be a substitute for Nana.


    But in order to sessfully win Carl over and truly conceive the Waters family’s bloodline, all she could do for now was endure.


    “Okay, we’ll take care of our daughter together. I promise you everything.”


    Grace’s voice became even more gentle as she simultaneously unbuttoned Carl’s shirt.


    Realizing her desires, Carl’s desire surged through his veins, growing infinitely stronger.


    Suddenly, Carl’s long arms supported her waist as he forcefully rose and pressed her down.


    In an instant, Grace’s breathing and heartbeat elerated simultaneously.


    This moment, she didn’t know how long she had been waiting for, finally came true.


    “Carl, hold me tight!”


    A blush of excitement appeared on Grace’s cheeks, and she couldn’t help but forget herself, her eyes filled with both excitement and shyness.


    The drug was starting to take effect, and Carl followed her orders.


    Just as he was about to give her a passionate kiss, he suddenly realized that the face in front of him was blurred.


    Carl blinked hard, feeling as if she was Nana, but upon closer inspection, it inexplicably changed back to Grace’s face.


    How could this be…


    Carl suddenly became alert. He forced himself to sober up, not allowing the current ambiguous atmosphere to cloud his mind.


    “Carl, stop daydreaming and get on with it…”


    After a few seconds, just as Grace was bing impatient and urging him tenderly, Carl suddenly realized that everything that had just happened was just an illusion.


    Since he arrived home, his mother had picked him up from the airport, and Nana’s phone had been unreachable.


    Looking again at the woman lying beneath him, Carl clearly recognized her as Grace.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    “Why are you in my room?”


    In an instant, Carl’s face turned pale.


    He quickly jumped off the bed, staring at the woman upying the space, and expelled her sternly, “Get out! Leave immediately!”


    Startled by his voice, Grace panicked. She was afraid that Carl would think she was plotting against him and hastily defended herself, “Carl, how can you me me? You’re the one who dragged me into the room!”


    At this moment, Carl hadn’t fully awakened yet. Barefoot, he stood unsteadily on the floor, unable to determine the authenticity of Grace’s exnation.


    Thest memory he had was his mother leaving the room, but he couldn’t recall what happened afterward.


    Could it be that Grace’s words were true?


    Carl wasn’t sure, but he still didn’t want to share a room with Grace.


    “Sorry, I must have been disoriented from sleep.”


    He apologized to Grace in a cold voice and then walked to the bedroom door. “Go back to your room and rest. Let’s not disturb each other!”


    When Grace saw the cold determination on Carl’s face, she knew the night was over.


    The next morning, Mrs. Waters got up and headed straight to Carl’s room.


    However, before she could knock on the door, Carl happened to open it and walked out.


    “Mom, do you need something?” Carl asked calmly.


    Seeing him dressed to go out, Mrs. Waters nced into the room but didn’t see Grace’s figure.


    At that moment, Grace walked out of her room listlessly.


    Mrs. Waters turned her head and, in the instant their eyes met, she understood everything.


    Clearly, nothing had happened between Carl and Gracest night.


    Since the oue was already decided, Mrs. Waters could only pretend that everything was fine.


    With a stiff smile on her lips, Mrs. Waters asked insincerely, “Carl, did you sleep wellst night? Why are you leaving so early?”


    “It was fine.”


    Carl replied, brushing off his mother. “I have a meeting with my agent. I’ll grab breakfast outside.”


    After briefly exining his ns to her, Carl didn’t want to linger at home for too long. He hastily left the vi.


    Soon, he met Hailey at a hotel buffet, where they had breakfast and discussed business matters.


    Upon hearing that thepany was considering rebranding him, Carl didn’t readily ept the proposal.


    He told Hailey that he wanted to work behind the scenes, whether as a screenwriter or a director.


    Hailey felt helpless about this. She didn’t understand why Carl had a sudden change of heart. If he ended up bing an unknown figure behind the scenes in the future, it would be a waste of his exceptional looks andmendable acting skills.


    But Carl had his own persistence. He didn’t exin the reasons in detail, and after expressing his intention, he bid farewell to Hailey outside the hotel.


    Once they parted ways, Carl decided to go to Nana’s house to find out what was going on.


    On his way, when passing through the city center, he thought about meeting Nana’s parentster and decided to buy some small gifts.


    Carl parked his car on the side of the road, ready to go to the mall first.


    However, as he passed by a mobile phone store, he suddenly caught sight of two familiar figures in his peripheral vision.


    Carl’s footsteps came to a halt as he looked through the store’s floor-to-ceiling windows, seeing the two silhouettes inside frozen in ce.


    He was certain he hadn’t mistaken them. The two people in the mobile phone store were Nana and William.


    The shock was like a thunderbolt. Carl witnessed William helping Nana choose a phone, with a smile on his face.


    They…


    Carl’s mind went nk, and his steps almost involuntarily led him into the mobile phone store.


    Approaching the two from behind, Carl clearly heard their conversation.


    “Nana, which color do you like? I think white suits you better.”


    “Okay, let’s get white.”


    Nana responded and took a step back to prepare for payment.


    At that moment, she identally bumped into Carl, who was standing behind her.


    “Carl? You… you’re back?”


    Nana’s face also showed astonishment. She knew Carl woulde back these days, but she didn’t expect to see him here.


    Carl’s gaze wasplex, filled with bitterness, as he spoke with a hint of mockery, “No wonder you’ve been unreachable. Were you afraid I would interfere with you two?”


    In his eyes, Nana wanted to change phones and numbers, severing all tiespletely.


    “No, it’s my phone…”


    Nana wanted to exin, but her words were interrupted by William beside her.