Even as their eyes met, certain feelings were undoubtedly growing.Cordy genuinely did not think that after all the dark times she survived—and more recently Kyle—that she would suddenly begin another relationship. She was not actually sure about this, but she took the first step regardless.Was it John who was good at flirting, or was he not as cold as she thought—not as disenchanted with the world as she believed? And after confirming their relationship, they were suddenly both silent, making things rather awkward. "Do you hate that man who slept with you?" John suddenly asked. There was a hint of nervousness in his impassive expression, while Cordy was just confused why he would ask about that. Maybe because she disliked men after that incident?"I do," she said.John blinked subtly even as Cordy continued, "He was clearly conscious at the time. I remembered it so clearly, begging him to stop and not to touch me… but he never did."The past memory still left her with
The next day, Cordy woke up to find a text from John. [Good morning, dear.]She pursed her lips, not even realizing that her lips were curling upward in a smile as she read the text.Still, she got changed, put on her makeup, and went to work as usual… But when she arrived outside her office, she found Simon, Plum, and Sue there, waiting for her."Oh, you're here, Cordy." Sue even greeted her warmly.Cordy simply glanced at them sideways, obviously aware of what they wanted to do.She simply strode into her own office and took a seat at the desk, while they entered. "Cordy," Simon began, his attitude passable. "Your grandmother came to apologize to you."When he finished, he quickly shot a look at Plum—who was still upset she had to humble herself and apologize to Cordy. However, she had to bear with it as she knew that it meant prison otherwise, not to mention that she had all she needed to torment Cordy! She just had to resolve the issue at hand for now…Taking a momen
"Well, there's nothing I can really do against you…" Cordy said, sounding as if she could not help it.Plum was delighted inwardly, convinced that Cordy was already giving up.Age before beauty, indeed! Cordy never stood a chance against her!"Well, we are family, so we shouldn't hold grievances against each other," Plum said cheerfully. "In that case, you should go to the police station and rescind your charges—""I want ten percent of Sachs Enterprises' shares." Cordy cut Plum short right then.Both Simon and Sue's faces fell, with Sue exclaiming in agitation, "Don't be so greedy, Cordy! You're demanding a mile when we just gave you an inch!" "An outsider like you doesn't get to decide what happens to Sachs Enterprises!" Cordy snapped at Sue right then, leveling her an icy look. "Who do you think you are, criticizing me?!" Sue was left flushing, but she did not have a comeback against Cordy.That was when Simon spoke. "No. Absolutely not."Short and blunt, he meant that he
Sue's eyes were welling with tears, but she finally understood how much it hurt to take the full force of Plum's slap in the face!She thought that Cordy was faking her deafness, but now, all she could hear was her ears ringing endlessly.However, she did not have the confidence to sue Plum like Cordy would, so she just had to bear with it.But she could not believe that ten percent of Sachs Enterprises' shares would end up in Cordy's hands!Keeping her savagery in check just then, she kept playing up her delicate persona in front of Simon and Plum. "You misunderstand, Plum. It's not that I don't care, I just think Cordy is really forgets her place—""Shut up!" Plum snapped at Sue, refusing to listen to the latter's explanation.After all, Plum knew better than anyone that Cordy was really forgetting her place. It only hurt Plum more that she could not do a thing against Cordy!On the other hand, Cordy appeared aloof as she watched them with a smile on her lips.Simon and Noe
There was no stopping the press coverage at all, as if someone was encouraging every media outlet to keep pumping out more scandalous articles on Noel and Kyle. No other news seemed to make headlines either, and their scandal remained stuck at first place on every search engine, the hate only seeming to grow worse by the day!Naturally, their families' respective businesses were at a constant decline as well.If this continued, both Jessop Corp and Sachs Enterprises would be bankrupted by a single scandal… which would certainly be an unprecedented case! At a board meeting in Jessop Corp, Dandy Jessop was bellowing at Kyle in front of the other board members and executives. "You couldn't buy the media's silence on a single scandal?! How long has it been, or do you want to drag the company down with you?!'Kyle was absolutely indignant, too—he was convinced at first that the scandal would eventually cool off, but he seemed stuck at top searches after so long! Someone must be beh
Jay's expression darkened as someone barged into his room just as he took off his shirt. It was Mandy, dressed in an excessively flamboyant gown and her face full of makeup as she showed up in his room."I-I'm sorry. I got the wrong room…" Mandy exclaimed with her cheap, exaggerated acting skills, and she then pretended to turn to leave.At the same time, she deliberately stepped on the hem of her own skirt and threw herself squarely into his arms. Jay strode forward, catching her in reflex while Mandy seized the moment to press her cheek against his chest. It felt firm, even bouncy!Jay frowned, noticing her intention.But just as he was about to push her away, he suddenly saw Zoe standing at the doorway, watching coolly as Jay and Mandy tangled.There was a sneer of disdain on her lips.They were that impatient, weren't they? Or maybe hotels were too boring for them?!Nonetheless, she told Jay calmly, "You left your bowtie in my car."They both came together from the se
Mandy had no choice but to leave, gritting her teeth even as Jay looked on.Even so, she always got everything she wanted!-The fashion gala began with the celebrities taking to the red carpet according to an arranged sequence. Mandy would usually be arranged to take the stage early in such events, but thanks to her family's influence, most event organizers would let her place later. Moreover, since Jessop Corp was one of the partners in this event, she was placed second last. But when it was her turn to walk the red carpet, she refused, citing health reasons. The red carpet was vacant for ten minutes, but the organizers could not force Mandy to do anything—no one would dare to provoke her, given her family's influence.Having no choice, the organizers had to ask Zoe to save the day.Zoe was no diva, and she agreed to it despite the apparent displeasure from Linda, her manager.But just as she prepared to take the red carpet, she heard one of the crew members mention Mandy
While everyone was left gaping at Mandy and Zoe, the crew hurried to Mandy's side, helping her to her feet when they saw her doleful look.Mandy appeared to have taken a serious fall and could not move her feet, yelping loudly with each step she took."Do you need the hospital, Ms. Jessop?" one of the crew members asked."The event is starting—there's no time," Mandy moaned through the pain. "I have to return to my seat, but I can't walk…""Alright, let's get you up…" "No, I can't!" The crew did their best to be careful, but Mandy seemed to be in too much pain, leaving them at a loss.That was when Mandy pointed at a certain seat nearby. "I think I'll sit there."Naturally, it was Zoe's seat.The crew members were certainly dumbfounded. Even among the A-list stars, Zoe ranked at least among the top three. On the other hand, Mandy could barely make the B-list. What right did she have to take the central seat of an A-lister?!One of the crew members said, "Ms. Jessop, tha