Mandy saw Zoe standing at the door at the same time.Alan had called for Jay, who in turn told Mandy to wait for him in the room so that he could send her back later.She had no idea why she even came here tonight in the first place.From the beginning to the end, no one in the Levine household paid any attention to her, not to mention the Stuart family.She felt extremely awkward bumping into Zoe at this point.The thought of how she used to mock and despise Zoe and talk so arrogantly to her made her utterly ashamed of herself.She could not bear to imagine how much the outside world would attack and mock her should they find out about Zoe's true identity.Zoe could of course sense Mandy's embarrassment.She sneered. A woman like Mandy did not deserve even an ounce of sympathy from her.Zoe strode past with a slight air of arrogance.Mandy felt indignant. In the past, she had been the one behaving this way toward Zoe. Yet now, not only did she have to be on the receiving end
When they arrived outside the door of Alan's study, Jay stopped in his tracks and said, "My dad's waiting for you inside." "Aren't you going in with me?""He only wants to see you.""Jay…" Mandy was getting really nervous. "Just speak your mind," Jay assured her. "It's not like he will eat you up." Mandy took a deep breath.Although it was her first time visiting Levine Manor, she knew that there were house rules that she could not object to.She had no choice but to bite the bullet and knock on the door.When she walked into the study, she saw Alan seated before his study table, sipping on tea. The door closed behind Mandy.She looked cautiously at Alan and greeted reverentially, "Mr. Levine.""Sit," Alan said as he glanced at Mandy. Mandy immediately obeyed.Perhaps because she was too nervous, her foot accidentally kicked the redwood chair while she was taking a seat, and the legs of the chair scratched against the floor, making an ear-piercing screech. "I-I'm so
They arrived at a consensus.Mandy walked out of Alan's study.Alan sipped on his tea and sighed. "I separated two couples in a span of two days.""It was necessary with Ms. Sachs, but not with Ms. Jessop." Having been with Alan for many years, the butler Lawrence could naturally understand what was going on in his mind. "Sir, you called Ms. Jessop over just to test her and not to break them up. She was the one who failed to meet your standards, sir."In fact, it had nothing to do with Jessop Corp and her previous scandals.Alan chuckled. Indeed, Lawrence was right.Had Cordy and Mandy exchanged positions, things would have turned out differently.-When Mandy walked out of the study, she burst right into tears the moment she saw Jay.Of course, Jay knew what his father had done.His father had made himself clear that whoever yearned to enter the gates of the Levine household had to first go through him. Mandy clearly did not make the mark.In fact, he knew what the outcome
'No worries,' she assured herself. 'There's ample time.'Just because they had broken up now did not mean that they could not get back together again in the future.Her agreement to a break up and gaining from it by the way was merely a delaying tactic on her end. She had never thought of giving up Jay just like this!The car arrived outside Jessop Villa.The moment Mandy stepped out of the car, Jay spoke up. "I need your help with one thing."Mandy was taken aback.Jay needed help from her?"Please keep Zoe's identity a secret."Mandy was upset.She harbored an innate sense of animosity against Zoe, and the mere mention of Zoe's name was enough to annoy her."Exposing her identity doesn't benefit you." Jay went straight to the point."Do you fancy Zoe?" Mandy looked right into Jay's eyes.Women were umpteen times sharper when it came to their rivals in love."I don't.""Then why are you treating her so well?""We're all from the Levine household.""Zoe doesn't treat yo
Cordy sipped on a cup of coffee as she looked out at North City engulfed in the night.Once again, she decided not to leave North City.How big could the city get? There was always a chance they would see each other, and she had nowhere to hide anyway.It was easy for John to see her if he wanted to.What point was there for her to force things?"I'll tell my brother." Zoe immediately broke into a huge smile.Cordy really appreciated Zoe's personality.Zoe was carefree, lively, and cheerful, and hanging out with Zoe always made Cordy feel that bit more optimistic."It's getting late. Rest early," Cordy reminded Zoe."Same goes for you too. You're always working so hard, your health will take a hit. Have you had dinner?""Yes, I have.""Take care of yourself. I'll come back tomorrow and keep you company.""Sure."Zoe happily hung up and headed straight for John's room.There were many bodyguards standing right outside, and they all looked ready to make a move the moment th
Cordy was getting really bored.She gave Winston a call. "Hi Winston, Cordy here.""How do you do, Ms. Sachs? I have your number saved in my phone. How can I help you?" Winston was very courteous."It's the weekend. Is Dicky at home?""He is.""Can I bring him over to my place and stay the night?" Cordy asked.Zoe was away over the weekend to attend an event in another city."Ms. Sachs, please hang on while I ask," Winston said respectfully."Are you asking John? He wouldn't be able to pick up your call," Cordy said straightforwardly."No. Master John previously instructed that if you want to take Master Richard, you can do so anytime. I'm just asking Master Richard for his opinion. He's playing with his toys and doesn't like being interrupted when he's focused on something.""Sure. Thank you, then," Cordy said politely.She selectively ignored some things that Winston had said.After a while, Winston came back to the phone. "Master Richard looks forward to you coming to pi
Cordy had thought that she would see John again sooner or later, but she did not expect it to be under such circumstances.She also thought that John and Jessica would not have the time to bring Richard out, given how busy they had been over the past few days, which was why she chose to take Richard during this period. Had she known…she probably would not have come, as much as she wanted to.She looked casually at John, being careful not to gaze at him for too long while not being overly evasive. She wanted to treat him just as she would any other stranger—neutral and normal."Daddy, may I go to Mommy's place?" Richard looked pleasingly at John and asked. John swallowed, and he shifted his eyes away from Cordy.He said to Richard, "Sure.""Thank you, Daddy." Richard could not hold back his joy.He shook Cordy's arm excitedly. "Mommy, Daddy has agreed for me to follow you to your place!"Cordy shot Richard a bright smile and turned back to look at John. "Thank you."John clenc
They did not notice John, Jessica, and the hoards of bodyguards in black behind them.They had originally planned to come to the amusement park today.The plan was to bring Richard along, but Cordy took him away at the last minute, so the two of them went along with the original plan and came here. To their surprise, they saw Cordy and Richard.Jessica's eyes shifted.Richard had never liked getting close to others since he was young, and he had never been a lively kid. Instead, he had a maturity that was beyond his years.Yet, he was completely different in front of Cordy.Jessica turned to look at John and saw how he kept his eyes on the two of them right in front until they were engulfed by the crowds."Let's go." John retracted his gaze and looked plainly at Jessica.A faint smile remained on Jessica's lips as she walked by John's side.Aside from the bodyguards surrounding them, there were also reporters deliberately planted around them.They were there to provide real-t
Soon, another nurse emerged from the delivery room with a small bundle. "Is the mother's family here?""Yes!" John exclaimed loudly."The delivery was successful," the nurse said. "The baby weighs eight pounds—""How is she?" John asked in agitation, not caring about the child."She's fine. The doctor is just helping her clean up and she'll be out soon," the nurse replied.As John breathed a sigh of relief, the nurse reminded him, "Aren't you the father? Here's your child."John took the baby off her arms, staring at her for a moment as the others flocked around him. "Oh, she's so fair!" Zoe could not help exclaiming. "That's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen.""Are you saying that your son's ugly?" Bob teased."To be honest, yeah," Zoe replied without thinking.Jay cleared his throat—even if it was a subjective opinion, it still hurt to have his own baby called ugly."Let me carry her," Zoe volunteered just then, and John did not hesitate to hand her his baby.As Zoe
"What?!" Zoe exclaimed in shock.Beside them, John's face fell despite being usually stoic.Still, even before anyone could react, he scooped Cordy up in his arms and left.Zoe did not hesitate to follow, but Jay reminded her, "We're the hosts, Zoe.""Don't care." Zoe was completely unconcerned. "Ask my mom and your sister to handle the guests. I'm going with Cordy!"Jay hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow since there was no reasoning with Zoe.Sam and Quinn also realized that something was out of place.As they pulled away reluctantly, Bob shouted from below, "If you're done kissing, we're going to the hospital! Cordy's going into labor!"Quinn hurried after them as soon as she hurt, but Sam caught her. "Slow down. We can catch up."In fact, most of the guests were leaving as well—it was as if the banquet for Zoe's son was actually intended for everyone else.The poor boy was certainly unlucky to have such unreliable parents!-As everyone rushed to the hospit
"I'm swelling from my pregnancy," Quinn explained. "It's not your fault."Sam was left staring at her for a while before asking, "So, what should I do?""I'll put it on when I slim down.""Oh." Sam was a little disappointed, since he had always dreamed of having her put on the ring he had custom made.But this was fine—they had all the time they needed, and the most important thing for him is that Quinn was marrying him!He rose to his feet just then, and everyone was cheering as soon as he did. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"Quinn blushed right then, and Sam could see that she was embarrassed.He did not want to make things awkward for her, even if he was quite eager at the moment.Heaven knows how much he missed that night's drunken fumble they had. In fact, during the times he remembered it in dreams, he had to wash his pants when he woke up.Still, just as he took Quinn's hand and started to leave, he felt a softness on his lips—Quinn was kissing him! Sam's heart pounded thunderous
Everyone waited patiently for the final outcome.Quinn's eyes were welling up with tears, threatening to gush if she so much as blinked.She did her best to hold back her tears—to be strong!Sam pursed his lips in turn, his Adam's apple bobbing.A long while passed, and it felt like a century for Quinn when she finally heard him say, "Yes."Quinn's tears started falling in happiness as Sam declared loudly, "I'll marry you, Quinn—it's what I've always wanted to do! I won't let you go even if you regret it eventually! You only get to be with me, and I'll never let any other man claim you! I'll become very overbearing… eventually!""I won't regret it," Quinn said, determined.She certainly would not regret marrying him!Zoe walked up to them with perfect timing just then, and Sam did a double take.He finally remembered that Zoe was the host of this luncheon and was going to leave with Quinn when Zoe whipped out a small red velvet box."You know what's in here, don't you?" Zoe a
However, Sam had already pushed Quinn away before she could tell him. But even if he did not love her or did not want to be with her, she would never stay with Ryan.She had been disappointed in Sam, wondering why he would give up so easily.Was she that unimportant to him?Therefore, if it were not for Zoe and Cordy showing her that video or telling her so much, she would never have known that he loved her for years…Sam's heart ached even as he looked into Quinn's tearful eyes.He reached out a hand, but soon withdrew it—would he not burden her?Even so, it hurt to restrain himself as he watched her, and he was actually getting the feeling that Quinn loved him…But she already had Ryan's child…Well, he was fine with that, as long as the child was Quinn's.But would she not mind?"I will marry you, Sam," Quinn said slowly and clearly then. "Not because you're a good man, not because you prepared so much for me, and not because of how much you prepared for me, but because I
Everyone in the hall was staring at Sam and Quinn, while Quinn took center stage, staring fixedly at Sam.He stood in the middle of the crowd, watching her silently.She in turn felt fear that he would turn and leave, just as she did not know if she had the courage to stand before him again and to declare her feelings for him in front of so many others.Nonetheless, amid the deafening silence, Sam suddenly walked toward the stage.His pace was slow as if his feet were made of lead, but he was also unusually determined.Quinn's heart raced uncontrollably right then!Everyone else was watching them nervously, especially Cordy and Zoe, with the latter being especially concerned that the cowardly Sam would bail.Fortunately, he was a man who showed responsibility. He would not leave Quinn alone and embarrassed.Hence, as everyone looked on, Sam stood before Quinn, his gaze flickering as their eyes met.He gulped ever so slightly, his emotions clearly ruffled even as he did his bes
The guests were encouraging, loudly asking, "Why?!""Because of a woman," Sam's recording replied."Who is it?""Quinn Summer," the Sam on the screen said slowly and clearly, leaving the Sam who was in the hall stunned.What the hell?! That was the proposal video he prepared before! Why did it show up here? Did Zoe make a mistake?!He knew it—leave anything to Zoe, and she would mess it up!He started striding toward the stage, intent on stopping the recording, when John and Bob intercepted him with a look of utter guilt while the recording continued. "Quinn is my wife, and we've been married for years, but I've never really loved her—not because I don't, but because I'm afraid to. I feel too insignificant in comparison to the one she loves, so I'd always hurt her… painfully and childishly. I regret that so much now, Quinn. How could I have abandoned you for so long because of my own jealousy? I'd rather hold you in my sleep every night, but my damned pride denied me that for y
At the banquet hall, Jay and Zoe were thanking their guests with their children in their arms.Then, Zoe announced excitedly, "Please give my best friend, who is also my son's godmother, a warm applause as she comes on stage!"Sam stood at a corner of the hall, watching as Quinn walked up the stage, only realizing just then that her belly was clearly swelling despite her baggy clothes.Time flies—he had not left that long ago, but she and Ryan already had a child.She was not worried about giving him a stroke, was she?He watched as Quinn took the mic and looked around below searching, seemingly searching.After a while, he thought she was looking at him, but by the time he looked up, she had already turned away.Maybe she was looking for Ryan before remembering that Ryan was not there?Nonetheless, Quinn spoke into the mic, saying, "I'm honored to be chosen as the godmother to Zoe's son, and she's been saying he'd be engaged to my child if it's a girl. I already love my godson
As their eyes met, Sam turned frantic and averted his. "Of course.""Really?" Quinn asked."Would I lie to you?" Sam asked a little grumpily."And you didn't bring her back?" Quinn asked."I'm on a schedule, and it'd be taxing for her if I bought her along," Sam said, making things up as he went along. "I'll bring her along when things are less busy.""Is she pretty?" Quinn pressed."What, have I ever picked an ugly one?" Sam snorted smugly. "You know I prefer curvaceous types, and there are plenty of those abroad.""Do you have a photo?"Sam was silent for a while and eventually said, "Yeah.""Can I see it?""What, does she have to pass your assessment?""Just curious about the girl who can tempt you to settle down," Quinn replied. "You'd be humbled." Sam hastily came up with an excuse."I won't," Quinn said, determined."You'll see her when I bring her home." Sam refused nonetheless."I would like to see a photo now.""No, she's not that photogenic. It'd be slander a