Sovia Morris and her husband had only one child, Marcel Horne. They treated Ruby Bluen like their own daughter, so much so that Ruby sometimes found her mother-in-law's excessive affection a bit overwhelming.

「Upon returning from the Bluen residence, the sky had darkened, and night was falling.」

As the night deepened, a certain man, utterly devoted to doting on his wife, had already declined invitations from his close friends, preferring to retreat to his room with his beloved.

In the large, warmly heated room, the man, thoroughly addicted to pampering his wife, was lounging on the sofa, his deep-set eyes fixed on the tall, increasingly curvaceous woman drying her hair.

The woman, dressed only in a bathrobe, had a slightly rounded lower abdomen, where a baby of about three and a half months was growing.

After a moment, the man stood up, walked over to her, and gently took the hairdryer from her hands. With a soft smile, he said, "Honey, let me serve you."

With that, Glades Horne began to dry Julia Bluen's warm, damp hair. Julia's hair grew quickly and had now reached her shoulders. Mila Anderson was always complaining that the nutrients she ensured Julia received were all absorbed by her hair, implying Julia should get a haircut. The superstitious old woman claimed one shouldn't cut hair during pregnancy, saying that if one was carrying a boy, cutting the hair would snip away his male characteristics, turning him into a girl.

Mila knew this was merely rural superstition with no scientific basis. The baby's sex had long been determined and couldn't be changed even by cutting the hair a thousand times. Nevertheless, Mila stopped complaining, as she eagerly hoped for Julia to have a grandson. She cherished any talk of Julia having a son and avoided saying or doing anything that might jeopardize those chances.

"After the baby is born, your hair will be very long," Glades Horne said affectionately, his fingers lingering in her soft, lightly scented hair. He especially loved it since Julia grew her long hair for him.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Rachel said she and Hansen Ruiz are coming to extend their New Year greetings," Julia said, changing the subject.

After Rachel Bailey and Hansen Ruiz married, they weren't always together. Rachel's business boomed, especially around the New Year, making her extremely busy and leaving her with less time to meet Julia. She was a formidable businesswoman; her sharp negotiation skills and emphasis on food safety had secured her contracts to supply vegetables and meat to many factories and restaurants.

In Bailey Family Village, thanks to Rachel Bailey, every household was busy growing vegetables and raising poultry to ensure she had an ample supply for her business. As Rachel prospered, so did the villagers. Having watched her grow up, they wholeheartedly supported her endeavors; after all, Bailey Family Village was like one big family.

However, as Rachel's business expanded and her demand for vegetables and poultry grew, she also began sourcing from several nearby villages, whose residents were drawn in by her success.

Rachel was earning a good income, yet Mrs. Ruiz still looked down on her. This New Year, for instance, she forbade Hansen from bringing Rachel to the Ruiz family home. Hansen himself had no desire to go, but Rachel was still hurt by the Ruiz family's rejection. Fortunately, Hansen, taking a page from Glades's book, doted on her, which somewhat eased the hidden pain of not being accepted by his family.

"Mm," Glades affirmed softly.

"Perfect. Let's go on an outing." Glades wouldn't agree to travel abroad or even out of the province, not with this little sprout I'm carrying.

Glades's hand, holding the hairdryer, paused for a moment. When Julia turned to look at him, he smiled indulgently and agreed, "Alright."

"Let's take Adele with us. We can't leave her out."

"Adele must have done something good in her previous life to deserve a sister-in-law like you," Glades said proudly. Within a hundred miles, no one has a better wife than I do. The ladies from wealthy families, despite their glamorous exteriors, are often difficult to get along with. Few can be like Julia.

"Adele isn't inherently bad; she just lacked discernment in the past. Besides... she was just a child starved for affection. Now that she's grown, matured, and is also pregnant, the malicious gossip has wounded her deeply. Even if she acts strong, those hurtful words are a constant torment, and it's been hard on her," Julia said sympathetically.

Glades pursed his lips and remained silent. Looks like I'll have to get Jonathan Allen to cut out the tongues of those gossips.

"You can't do anything illegal, you know. Not even if you're the CEO of Valence Group, and not even if our Horne family is wealthy and influential. Cutting out someone's tongue might stop rumors, but it's still a crime," Julia said, without turning her head, yet accurately guessing Glades's thoughts.

A faint smile touched Glades's lips, and his handsome features softened with amusement. My wife is becoming more perceptive every day; she can guess my thoughts without even looking at me.

Because the Horne family was so wealthy and influential, every move Glades made attracted significant attention. Consequently, he always held himself to strict standards. Whether dealing with business rivals or romantic adversaries, he never broke the law—not even when he had desperately wanted to strangle Orlando Evans. This restraint was what Julia admired most about him.

She disliked people who acted unscrupulously just because they had some money and power.

"Julia, you practically read my mind," Glades murmured, kissing her ear with a soft chuckle.

"I learned it from you," she replied. "I don't want to be an open book to you while you remain a mystery to me." It used to be that I felt completely transparent in his presence, while he was like an unfathomable abyss to me.

Glades simply smiled gently and remained silent. He knew this was a sign of how deeply she had fallen in love with him. Their relationship had evolved from an awkward, dramatic beginning. He was immensely satisfied with her journey from not loving him to loving him as she did now, and he felt a profound gratitude for Ruby's decision to flee the marriage back then.

As they chatted leisurely, Julia's hair finished drying.