Skye Hotel's first floor was a combination of a disco and a bar. Accompanied by electronic dance music, there were always people on the dance floor, dancing mindlessly.Many guests were drinking by the bar, and some of them were flirting with the ladies. If they thought they could click after chatting a little, they would be seen leaving the bar to get a room upstairs. It was an adult's world in a free county. Only one person in the bar behaved differently from the mass of bodies.Jace was drinking whiskey glass after glass, alone. He reeked of alcohol, despite not appearing to be drunk as the air pressure around him became extremely low. The bartender checked on him from time to time, and he soon realized that Jace had almost finished the entire bottle of whisky. Many people came to this bar to get drunk, but most of them came had ladies accompany them. Jace was all alone.This bartender thought that Jace was the most perfect man he had ever seen. He held his whiskey well, an
Suki observed as Jace’s expressions shifted.Obviously, the brief gentleness in Jace's eyes was not because of her, instead he had taken her for another woman.That was not her first time seeing that microexpression. She once saw it on another man's face for countless times and everytime, she would be hurt until she could not take the heartache anymore and left him.“I looked like your lover, right?” Suki put on a mocking smile on her delicate face, and continued, “Men are all the same, always looking for a replacement from other women. Tell me, why?”"I'm sorry. I took you for someone else.” Jace apologized for his impulsive actions. He then finished his drink and told the bartender, “I’ll buy all her drinks tonight. Put it down for Room 77.”Jace then left with his jacket.Suki watched as he left, leaving her stunned as she squinted.'Is Jace playing mind games with me?''How interesting.'Meanwhile at Rosa Garden, Sage walked straight to her parents’ room after leaving Yev
Yoel rushed to Salem City from Riverside overnight. He ordered a few dishes from Tasteful Restaurant before reaching his destination at Skye Hotel.Feeling concerned of Jace being hungry, Yoel avoided the ladies who were throwing themselves all over him, swiped his card, and entered the elevator. He rushed to the top floor and opened the door Room 77.As he unlocked the door, Jace was typing furiously on his keyboard, like he was onto something. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Yoel entering the room, but his head kept down on the computer."I went to Sage’s restaurant and got you some food. It was specially prepared by Chef Damian."Yoel took out the meal boxes out of the thermal bag and his mouth watered as he prepared the food. Seeing Jace sat frozen at his desk, Yoel walked over and asked, “What are you doing? Looking all serious all of a sudden?”Yoel walked over to the side of the computer, and took a glance at the display screen; his brows narrowed, “Kane Hudson?”Jace hi
Yoel, still in shock, asked Jace, “Who won?”“We didn’t get to the end.” Jace was reminded of Kane’s ruthless moves as his pupils darkened and said, “After a few tricks, Sage called to a stop.”Yoel wrinkled his nose. He couldn’t believe he missed out on such an exciting encounter.“All these people around Sage are really excellent fighters. First Luther, and now Kane. The Norahs and Hudsons are famous families in Salem City. It’s not uncommon for them to have relations. They might even grow up together,” Yoel analyzed logically.The more Yoel said, the more upset Jace got. Jace had lost his appetite.Jace put his fork down on his plate and made a clash sound. He then said in a cold and low voice, “Childhood friends? Do you think we’re in a TV show?”Jace couldn’t accept having Kane around Sage. He needed to get him out of her life!“Are you not going to eat anymore?” Yoel asked Jace as he made way towards his computer again. “You look jealous,” added Yoel, and he couldn’t help
Sage smiled bitterly as she took another shot. The liquor was so strong that made her stick out her tongue.“Jace and I had too many unresolved debts between us, I don’t even know where to start. What can I do when he doesn’t even love me anymore,” said Sage.Kane’s brows narrowed, and he raised his voice, “That’s because he didn't know better! My dearest sister, you are the best girl in the world and you deserve the best. Jace Yuriel is not worthy of you at all!”Sage was loved by all her brothers. No one could ever bully their precious little sister.Sage smiled from her heart. She thought that having five brothers in her life was the best thing that ever happened to her, and they were the greatest blessing from her mother.“I don’t want to hear about that jerk anymore. Since we’re already divorced, he has nothing to do with me. My only goal is to get the Norah Group back on its feet. This company was the heart and soul of Dad and Mom, I will not let it fail on my watch, especia
In the group chat of “The Sage’s Guardians”, all Sage’s brothers sent out emojis of bloodied knives.The eldest brother initiated the conversation: [He’s blind!]The other brothers all agreed and replied: [Yes, he is!]Kane felt his hatred towards Jace grow even more. 'This guy is a jackass! He didn't have to marry my sister if he wasn't even interested in her. Treating Sage like she meant nothing to him, what a waste of her youth!' Kane thought in his mind.He couldn’t imagine what kind of life Sage had as Jace’s wife. 'She should’ve divorced him earlier. She’s so young and beautiful, there’s a bright future ahead of her even as a divorcee.' Kane had all these thoughts running through his mind.Kane pondered for a moment, and said, “Is Jace, well, playing for the other team?”“Pffft—” Sage choked at her sip of liquor upon hearing Kane’s words.Kane patted her back quickly and said, “Careful now… are you okay?”The group chat turned into a heated discussion.The third brother:
Zamora fed Sage and Kane some aspirin before they were asleep. This morning they both felt good without any headaches despite all the alcohol they drank last night. Sage was so grateful that she hugged her and kissed her on the cheeks.Kane wanted to kiss her, too, but Sage pushed him away, “Behave yourself! Why are you taking advantage of Madam Zamora?”“I only take advantage of pretty girls,” Kane said righteously, “Are you saying Madam Zamora isn’t one?”Sage squinted her eyes at Kane.Zamora looked at both of them lovingly. 'It has been a while since I saw both of them bickering like old times. This house used to feel like home.''But now…'Zamora swallowed her sighs and hurried them to have breakfast.Leah came down the stairs and greeted everyone. She took the seat next to Sage. Sage placed a bowl of congee in front of Leah, and asked, “Have you seen Yeva?”“I knocked on her door, but there was no answer. I thought she came down,” answered Leah; she added, “I’ll go get h
Leah curiously asked Sage, too, “How did you guess it?”“Easy. She ran off to her lover after a night of grievances.” Sage said as she smirked, “Sadly, she went to the wrong guy. I’m quite certain she’s going to have another episode of grievance.”Leah blinked her eyes and looked at Kane all confused, “What does it mean?”Kane, looking as confused as Leah, asked, “Yeah, what do you mean, Sage?”Sage put jam on a piece of toast. ‘He’s a cheater,’ she thought to herself.Meanwhile, Yeva hobbled towards Julian’s apartment, hands on her waist as she cursed.She was sleepless the whole night from the pain she got from being spanked a hundred times by Sage. Her buttocks were swollen; it was as red as a beetroot. She couldn’t even pull up her jeans and resorted to wearing a dress instead.She tried dressing herself up as she was prepared to act pity in front of Julian, but he didn’t even pick up any of her calls.Yeva was almost stopped by the security guards at his apartment lobby.
Sage heard of the saying, 'Marriage is for happiness, and so does divorce.'Based on Wikipedia, the definition of marriage was, 'Marriage is a long-term contractual relationship between a man and a woman based on equal consent.'Someone once said, 'Marriage is like a siege. Those outside wanted to break in, while people inside wanted to break out of the siege.'Sage and Jace had been through marriage once. In their first marriage, they were both losers. This time, they were both determined to win. They wanted to live their lives well. Even if their passion were to fade in the future, they would never leave each other. There were eight couples in line ahead of them. Sage and Jace were the ninth.Jace was eager for their turn. He counted carefully and then said with a smile, "It's nine again. It's a good day for this number."Jace suddenly came up with a good idea, "Let's have a daughter and call her Little Nine, okay?"'Did he just come up with that? How brave,' Sage thought and
The ninth of September arrived quickly.Sage was worried that Jace would not be able to get up on time, but Sage turned out to be the one who overslept. Sage had not slept all night because of a certain someone. She was so sleepy, while Jace was full of energy.Jace carried Sage to the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. "Open your mouth. Ah…"Sage squinted as she saw the terrible dark circles under her eyes. She turned around in anger and bumped Jace's head.Jace was caught off guard and felt dizzy from the impact. He rubbed his head. "Dear, aren't you hurting yourself by doing this…""Look at my dark circles. They're so ugly. How am I supposed to take pictures? Sage complained in anger.Jace squinted and rubbed his eyes. "Let me see. What's ugly?"He held Sage's face and observed it. "What's ugly? It's not ugly. My wife is the prettiest in the world!"Jace did not care about the toothpaste foam all over Sage's mouth and kissed her anyway.Primrose opened the door and
Jace made Sage stay up all night. Sage was so sleepy that her eyes were closing."Sleep. I'll wake you up later."Jace leaned down and kissed her forehead. As he closed his eyes, he remembered something and sat up sharply."By the way, we have to wear white shirts for tomorrow's photo session. We haven't prepared the shirt…"Jace rolled over and jumped off the bed right after saying that. Sage could not stop him in time, so she turned on the lamp helplessly. She leaned over the bed and waited for Jace in silence.Shortly after, Jace came back with two shirts. His eyes were shining. "Dear, you've prepared for us?""Yeah." Sage nodded weakly. "I've got them ready. I've had Zamora iron them for me."Jace could finally put his mind at ease. "What about the documents and identifications…"Sage pulled open the drawer of the bedside table and took out the papers and documents she had prepared ahead. "It's all here."Sage looked at Jace. "Everything is ready. You've checked three time
Sage spread out the notebook and looked at the blurred handwriting. She slowly read it out loud, "Step one, conquer her with sweet talking. Use sweeter and flirtatious words that would make people blush. Forget about modesty and shame in bed. It's best to whisper them into her ears…"Sage read the notes with a straight face, making Jace so embarrassed that he could hardly keep his feet on the ground.Jace strode forward with a stiff face and tried to snatch the notebook away. Sage was quick to dodge and continued reading with her head down."Step two, be aggressive at your offense. Focus and remember this, being rough yet gentle. You can use props such as blindfolds, ties, handcuffs, and so on…"Sage's face turned red while reading it. As the images popped into her mind, she had to stop reading.Jace was about to go crazy. He buried his face in his hands, unable to look up at Sage."Where did you learn all these?" Sage threw the notebook at Jace. "Rough yet gentle? Are you seriou
'Electric drill? Seriously?!' Jace thought and got a headache.Seeing that Sage was about to open her mouth again, he panicked and kissed her directly to shut her up.Dean was stunned by Jace's quick action. When he saw the couple kissing in the light, he suddenly raised his hand and hit his head.'I must be on the set… Who else would be so shameless as to kiss in public like that?' Dean thought.Sage finally calmed down after a long kiss. Jace breathed a sigh of relief and picked her up. He told Logan, "I'll leave the other guy to you!""Oh," Logan responded. Then he picked Dean up like a kid and walked out the door.Jace was tired and sweaty by the time he arrived at the hotel. Sage was already soundly asleep. Jace put her to bed and took off her shoes, socks, pants, and clothes. He stripped her clean.Sage drank a lot and was reeking of alcohol. Jace did not want to wake her up, so he did not carry her to the bathroom and bathe her. Instead, he wet the towel with hot water to
In the words of the commentators, the basketball game was very smooth. The national team played well! At last, the national team defeated the opponent team by a score of 106-73.The crowd was thrilled that the national team had won the game. The internet was buzzing with excitement too. There were several hot searches about the national team's victory. The topic #RisingStarJim made the headlines too.Sage had lost her usual composure. She was following the fans and shouting wildly, cheering for the victory.Perhaps this was the power of sports. It made the audience exhilarated and trembling with excitement. Jace looked calm on the outside, but he was actually quite excited on the inside.Sage was cheering in excitement. She jumped up and down like a child while hugging Jace. Jace followed and laughed with her too.They were planning to leave after the game, but Sage was really happy and stayed for the team's celebration party. Sage even asked Jim for his teammates' shoe sizes and
"Is that so?" A trace of interest flashed in Jace's eyes.Sage did not understand, so she asked, "What does a small forward do?"Jace explained, "The small forwards are typically the tallest and most athletic of all players. They are responsible for scoring points and defending. The main goal of strong shooters is to score and create opportunities for teammates. In other cases, they would operate as off-ball specialists. They would wait for teammates to pass the ball, catch the ball, and shoot to score."Seeing Sage's confused look, Jace added, "James and Durant, for example, are playing as small forwards.""Oh!" Sage immediately understood after hearing the name of these famous basketball stars. Her eyes lit up. "Isn't that amazing?"Jace saw the sparkle in her eyes and found her really adorable. He said, smiling, "It is. Basketball is all about teamwork. Small forward is probably the most versatile of the five main basketball positions and carries multiple functions in the game.
The next morning, Sage, Jace, and Dean went to the basketball arena for the World Championships after breakfast.It was the men's basketball world championship, where their country's basketball team was up against another country. By the time they got to the arena, many people were in the audience.The staff guided Sage and the group to their designated seat in the family section.As soon as Dean sat down, someone next to him called out his name. Dean seemed unsurprised by this. He even smiled and waved at them. After that, he gestured for them to be polite and silent. It was not Dean's first time watching his younger brother's basketball game live. Many of his fans knew that Dean's younger brother was playing on the national team. They especially came over to get closer to him. Some were Jim's fans too. They knew Dean was Jim's brother, so they would greet him.After listening to Dean's explanation, Sage's businessman side as the owner of Norah Entertainment appeared again."If
Jace muffled his laughs and relaxed in the night light. He said, "I have to work harder, or someone will call me old.""Hey." Sage knew he would get back at her.She rolled over and lay on top of Jace. She played with his chest and said in a muffled voice, "I have a new nickname for you."Jace responded, "Hm?"Sage looked up at him. "Vengeance."Jace was stunned and soon broke into a peal of laughter. Sage leaned on him and felt the rise and fall of his breathing. As his chest resonated with his laughter, Sage followed along with his laughter. Both of them were laughing like fools. Sage and Jace lay flat on the bed after laughing nonstop. They opened up and improved their intimacy so much. As a result, their whole body and mind were very relaxed tonight. "Hey..." The two spoke in unison, exchanged a glance, and smiled again.Sage said, "Go ahead."Jace looked at Sage and muttered, "I'll say something, but don't get mad at it.""Just say it." Sage looked at him.Jace though