My Child and I Married a Billionaire

After a month of design, planning, and development, Zeke Walton’s "Indeed Love You" website was officially launched.

He had listened to Damien Vaughn’s advice. Not only did he use his status as the young master of the Walton Family to connect with Veridia’s famous "Fruit King," but he also spent a million to hire influencers from major platforms for promotion.

The idea of expressing love with fruit gift sets was truly novel. It aligned with the current generation’s focus on weight loss and healthy living. As a result, after going live, it received over fifty thousand orders in just two days on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

"Indeed Love You" came out of nowhere, much like the bubble tea craze, and started a new trend among young people.

In the following days, although sales weren’t as high as on Christmas Eve and Christmas, the daily order volume was still around ten thousand.

And this was just the beginning. If things continued at this pace, with word-of-mouth spreading, the idea of giving fruit to express love was bound to become as deeply ingrained as giving roses. Zeke Walton’s success was only a matter of time.

People in their social circle immediately began to see him in a new light.

The recent joke about Zeke Walton delivering food had now transformed into a story of him doing market research before starting his business.

Men were filled with jealousy, while women were filled with admiration.

Wherever Mr. Walton went, he received compliments because of his son, and the Walton Family’s status in their circle was further solidified.

With Zeke Walton’s success, Brandon Jacobs and Wyatt Wynn naturally found out right away and clamored for him to treat them to a meal.

Thinking that the credit for this success largely belonged to Damien Vaughn, and that he hadn’t properly thanked him or heard his thoughts on the next steps, Zeke Walton arranged a dinner.

It had been a while since they had all gathered, so Brandon Jacobs and Wyatt Wynn drank with Damien Vaughn like there was no tomorrow. By the time dinner was over and they left, it was already past midnight.

Ryan advised Damien Vaughn, "Why don’t you stay here tonight? The typhoon is causing a huge downpour, and the meteorological station has issued a red alert for the storm. Riverfront Avenue always floods when it rains hard, and I hear the water there is already over twenty centimeters deep."

The heating was on in the room, making it toasty. Combined with the alcohol he had drunk, Damien Vaughn felt a sweltering heat all over his body.

Hearing this, he undid a few buttons on his shirt and turned to look out the window.

The city, which usually sparkled with dazzling lights at night like a giant crystal ball, was now a murky gray.

A torrential downpour hammered against the glass, the drops racing each other as they smacked against the pane.

The few cars on the street crawled forward like snails. The large trees along the road were battered by the wind and rain, looking as if they might snap in half at any moment.

It didn’t look like rain; it looked like the apocalypse.

Damien Vaughn despised such chaotic and messy scenes. It only added to the suffocating feeling that was already congesting his heart.

After watching for a few seconds, he drew the curtains.

"I know. You can go."

Ryan had been busy at the office all day, and on top of that, he had been accompanying him until now. He was dead tired.

Receiving the order to get off work was like being granted amnesty. He turned to leave, but Damien Vaughn suddenly called him back.

"Wait."

His heart skipped a beat. "Is there anything else, President Vaughn?"

"How many days will this typhoon last?"

"About a week, they say. It’s coming from some island, and it’s covering a huge area."

"Send out a notice. If the weather is still like this tomorrow morning, everyone gets the day off. Important matters can be handled by working from home."

’So it was for the company’s employees.’

’It’s really something. To be this drunk and still be thinking of everyone.’

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. "Understood, President Vaughn."

He was about to leave, not expecting that Damien Vaughn wasn’t finished speaking.

"How wide is the typhoon’s path? The holidays are coming up, and I don’t want employees getting into trouble on their way home."

This was why the Vaughn Group was number one in the industry. Anyone who saw how President Vaughn worked would be convinced that they deserved that top spot.

Ryan struggled to keep his eyes open as he took out his phone to look it up for Damien Vaughn.

"It’s covering an area of over a thousand *li*. It will pass through Sudland, Corvane, Veridia, and Oakhaven. Oakhaven will be hit the hardest. It’s expected to stay there for about three days. The city of Oakhaven already issued a severe typhoon warning this afternoon, requiring the entire city to shut down starting tomorrow and for citizens to stay indoors unless necessary."

As he spoke, Ryan suddenly wasn’t tired anymore. He remembered Cecelia Archer and the others in Oakhaven.

Just as Ryan feared, Cecelia Archer was currently being battered by the ferocious storm.

In her twenty-plus years of life, she had never seen rain this heavy. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the house.

Grandma King’s house was built with her husband after they got married. It was now fifty years old.

The walls were made of adobe, and the roof, which used to be thatched, had been replaced with tiles some years ago.

The roof leaked even during a light drizzle. Tonight, under the assault of the violent storm, the house had turned into a waterfall cave.

Just over an hour after the rain had started, Cecelia had already suggested to Grandma King, "This isn’t good. Let’s get out of here for now. We can take shelter at the party secretary’s house and come back tomorrow."

With a calm expression, Grandma King got up from the bed, pulled out all her pots and pans to catch the leaks, and refused to leave no matter what.

"The party secretary doesn’t have much space either. With all those young men staying with him, where would the two of us sleep? We can’t just crowd into the same room as him and his wife, can we? I’m not going."

"Besides, this is my home. If I leave, what will happen to my chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs?"

Cecelia wasn’t the type to impose on others, so she understood the old woman’s feelings. Busy with work every day, she hadn’t paid attention to her phone and had no idea a typhoon was coming, so she didn’t think much of it.

"Alright then, we won’t go. I’ll help you fix up the house."

Grandma King kept a long, thin bamboo pole in her room. Usually, when the roof leaked, she would use it to poke and adjust the tiles in the leaking spot, which might fix the problem. Cecelia copied her, trying to adjust tiles all over.

But after a long time of holding up the bamboo pole, it was no use at all. Some tiles even flew right off, and it was as if several holes had been punched in the roof. Instantly, streams of water began pouring in.

Cecelia and Grandma King were soaked to the bone. The water on the floor had submerged their shoes at some point, and the cold wind and rain made their teeth chatter.

Cecelia fumbled for her phone from under the pillow and tried to call her colleagues for help, but there was no signal at all.

By the light of the incandescent bulb, she looked out into the yard. She didn’t know if it was just poor visibility creating an illusion, but it looked like the water was almost up to the windowsill.

Murky, yellow water, mixed with the curtain of rain and driven by the strong winds, was crashing against their walls in waves.

No matter how naive Cecelia might be, she realized the gravity of the situation now.

She frantically found a plastic bag, wrapped it around her phone several times, tucked it inside her clothes, and went to support Grandma King, who was swaying unsteadily in the surging water.

"Grandma, I think it’s a typhoon!"

"The water outside is so deep, it’s about to flood the house! The house might collapse soon, we have to get out of here now!"

Grandma King still had a calm expression. In all her years, she had never heard of a typhoon. She wouldn’t leave, and she wouldn’t let her house collapse.

This was her only shelter. If she abandoned it, she didn’t know where her future would be.

"I’m sorry, my house is so run-down, it must have scared you. You should go. I’m going to find some posts to prop up the walls. I can’t leave."

"Grandma!"

Just as Cecelia was about to explain how dangerous a typhoon was, the lightbulb suddenly sizzled twice and went out.