Half an hour later, Emily left Howard Group with a dark expression.
Just thinking about the humiliation she suffered in Aiden's office made her want to destroy the Howard family.
The Howard family was not what it used to be. In her eyes, if it weren't for them annexing the Jones family and her connections with influential people, the Howard family wouldn't be in such a good position now.
They were thriving, but it was all built on the ruins of the Jones family and her own suffering!
If they wanted to burn bridges, they would have to get her approval first!
Meanwhile, Deanna was unaware of what had happened.
After spending some time with her grandmother, she realized it was almost time for the kids to get out of school. She drove to pick them up and sent a message to Lance to prevent him from making a wasted trip.
When she arrived, school had already let out.
Deanna immediately saw the strikingly handsome trio of father and sons standing at the school gate.
"Mommy!"
The two little ones saw Deanna and ran towards her excitedly.
Lance walked behind them, hands in his pockets, smiling as he watched their interaction.
"Mummy, are you done with work?"
"Mummy, are you staying home tonight?"
The two little ones looked at Deanna with bright, hopeful eyes.
Deanna apologized, "My work isn't finished yet. I had some urgent matters today and thought I hadn't spent time with you in a while, so I came to see you."
"Oh, Mommy's not done with work."
The little faces fell instantly.
Seeing this, Deanna couldn't help but pinch their chubby cheeks with a smile.
And so, the family returned to the villa, chatting and laughing.
After dinner, Deanna helped the kids with their homework and played with them for a while before heading back to her room.
In the bedroom, Lance had just finished showering. He walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
His upper body was bare, muscles well-defined, and droplets of water slid down his skin, creating a visually striking scene.
Even though Deanna had seen it many times before, she couldn't help but stare in awe.
Lance noticed and enjoyed Deanna's captivated gaze.
He chuckled softly and walked over to her, leaning in close. "Do you like what you see?"
"Yes!"
Deanna nodded instinctively.
Realizing what she had said, her cheeks turned bright red.
She glared at Lance in embarrassment, calling out his name sternly, "Lance!"
"Yes, I'm here."
Lance looked at her with a teasing yet tender gaze that seemed to draw her in.
Meeting his eyes, Deanna's heart raced, and she found herself once again entranced by Lance's charm.
Seeing Deanna's infatuated look, Lance couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.
Deanna snapped back to reality, her face still flushed. She blushed even more deeply.
Before she could say anything, she was suddenly lifted into the air. Startled, she clung tightly to Lance's neck.
Lance carried her to the bed, and they both fell onto it together.
Everything happened naturally.
The passionate night left Deanna so exhausted that she couldn't keep her eyes open. She even forgot what she had wanted to discuss with Lance.
They slept soundly through the night.
...
The next morning, Deanna woke up from her sleep. The sky outside was still gray, but Lance was no longer in bed.
She glanced at the clock on the bedside table; it was only around six o'clock. Rubbing her eyes, she got up.
After tidying herself up briefly, she walked out of the room and headed towards the study. As expected, she saw Lance sitting at his desk.
"I knew you'd be here."
Deanna pushed the door open and walked in helplessly.
Hearing the noise, Lance stopped what he was doing and looked up with a gentle smile. "You're awake? Why not sleep a bit more?"
"Once I'm awake, I can't go back to sleep. But you got up so early; were you working all night?"
Deanna looked at him with concern.
Lance shook his head. "No way. I woke up around five and couldn't fall back asleep. I remembered I had some work left from last night, so I decided to get it done."
Hearing this, Deanna nodded and sat across from Lance. She then remembered something from yesterday that she hadn't told him yet.
"By the way, do you want to know what I went out to handle yesterday?"
Originally, she wanted to tease Lance by making him guess.
Unexpectedly, Lance spoke up directly. "Mia is dead. Garrett sought your help to escape abroad, but you brought the police to him."
He couldn't help but laugh at the end.
Deanna was stunned.
"You knew?"
She looked at Lance in surprise.
Lance nodded with a smile. "You forgot? I've always had someone keeping an eye on them."
Hearing this, Deanna remembered that indeed he did have someone monitoring them.
She couldn't help but slump over the desk in frustration. "Logically speaking, Mia is dead and Garrett is in jail. I should be happy since my mother's revenge is complete. But I don't feel any sense of achievement at all. Why do I feel this way?"