"However, I heard that Mostal is a quaint and beautiful place, great for a recovering patient. After working for so many years, I thought it was time for me to take a break anyway."Sage nodded in agreement and said, "That sounds great. Mostal is indeed a beautiful place. The weather is great, and the sceneries are out of this world. It's definitely heaven on earth.""It's even more tempting now that you put it that way."Freya's eyes sparkled with hope and excitement as she tugged on Sage's sleeve. Her usual strong and independent woman demeanor was nowhere to be seen.Sage laughed happily, not a trace of annoyance on her face. It had been a while since she had a heart-to-heart conversation with Freya."Look at me, I'm such a talker."Freya became self-aware and stopped herself from talking. "I really do become more talkative the older I get.""Not at all. I enjoy talking to you." Sage chuckled lightly.Freya stared affectionately at Sage, having so much love for her."Back t
Sage did not understand Freya's horrified expression. "What's wrong, Freya?"Freya snapped back into reality and said, "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how I should've been stricter with Jace when he was younger.""Look at you, so talented and smart. Unlike Jace, who knows nothing but to annoy me."Freya nagged about her own son like he was an adoptive child. Every parent acted the same way toward their own children. Sage thought about what her mother would always say to her--"You're so stupid. How did your father and I get a dumb daughter with our high IQs?! How I wish I could shove you back into my womb and give birth again to a smarter one!"Sage used to get really annoyed and would talk back, "Go ahead and try. I'd like to see if you'd be able to give birth to such a smart and beautiful girl like me."Primrose would get so angry, but Sawyer would try to stop her.He would put Sage in his embrace and save her from her trouble."No way, one daughter is enough for
Wendy looked defeated. "Ma'am, you're 'the' Missus Yuriel. You should act like one!""Come on, Primrose complimented me! So what if I'm 'the' Missus Yuriel? I'll never be able to achieve what Primrose achieved in my lifetime.""Look at her sons and daughter, and look at mine! Look at the difference! I had already lost."Wendy said helplessly, "Don't just think about yourself; think about your son too. You have to help him!""Help him how? What else can I do if he doesn't step up his game?" said Freya.Freya continued, "When it comes to relationships, you have to just let it go with the flow. Forcing it will only make it worse. Even if Sage will never be my daughter-in-law, I'll still treat her like my own daughter.""So you're really just going to be selfish and not help your son now, are you?" Wendy said in frustration.Freya shook her head. "That's right. He has to learn to bear his own consequences. Now that I have a daughter, why should I care about that son of mine?""...
They went to a mall a short distance away from the hospital, with a Yusimite restaurant with good reviews.They went during dinner time, and it was pretty crowded.The lighting in the restaurant was warm and atmospheric, and the order bell was of a dancing panda.Sage asked Jim what he would like to eat.Jim poured Sage a glass of water and said, "Go ahead and order. I'm fine with anything."Sage ordered based on an athlete's stomach and got orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, stir fry vermicelli, and a steamed fish with ginger and shallots.She also got herself a serving of Yusimite wine."Are these enough?" Sage asked Jim.Jim smiled and said, "Yes, I eat less for dinner anyway. We can order more if I'm still hungry later."Sage returned the menu to the waiter and said, "That's all for now."The dishes were served promptly. Sage got a bowl of chicken soup and a big piece of drumstick for Jim and said, "Have more protein. Look at how skinny you are.""Okay, you should eat
Jim raised his bowl of soup up and cheered, "Thanks, Sage."Sage told Jim to focus on his training and not worry about the restaurant as they could hire someone else to help if needed. She also said to prioritize his basketball career and that culinary could be his hobby.Jim nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought as well."Sage changed her tone. "But, it's not a bad thing to date someone. If you have someone you're into, go for it."Jim was in the midst of sipping his soup and almost choked."Whoa, calm down." Sage's lashes twitched as she laughed. "Did someone pop up in your mind?" "No…" Jim's head hung low as he said shyly and took a few more sips of the chicken soup. "Right now, I'm prioritizing my studies. Dating is not something I am thinking about at the moment.""Business and romantic relationships can go hand in hand. You don't necessarily have to just focus on one thing."Sage said as she poured him another bowl of soup. "If you have someone that you're into, go
Valentine's Day was just around the corner. Sage packed her things and was getting ready to head back to Salem City to attend the racecourse launch party.Yoel, as one of the partners, was attending as well.Melody, on the other hand, was heading back to Mostal with Ross.Melody had been massaging and doing chiropractic treatment for Yoel since he injured his lower back. Melody might seem like a playful child at times, but medically, she was skillful.Yoel and Melody bonded over time and formed a special friendship.For Yoel, that 'special friendship' between them was built upon the fact that Melody had helped treat him with chiropractic, and in return, he would let go of the pistachio incident.However, his generosity was not what Melody was after."Brother Rich, will you miss me when I'm gone?" Melody asked with her big sparkly doe eyes, staring at Yoel with anticipation.Yoel had been stared at by plenty of women before, but he was overwhelmed by Melody's gaze. He dodged her
Sage gifted a thinner silk blanket to Freya."Aunt Freya, since I didn't have enough time to sew, I brought you one instead. You take it for now. I'll sew you a new one when I have time. Send me the design you'd like me to sew onto the blanket."Freya was pleased. "My daughter is the best. I sure will, thank you so much.""No problem at all."Sage smiled as she passed a gift to Wendy. "Aunt Wendy, the weather in Mostal is cold. Here's some medicine patch for when your rheumatism acts up."Wendy accepted the gift gratefully.Sage would always prepare a gift for Wendy whenever she gave Freya something.In other people's eyes, Wendy was just a servant. However, Sage was different. She treated and respected Wendy like she was any other elderly.For that, Wendy was grateful.Wendy gave Sage a pair of leather pouches that she made herself. Sage was stunned. "This is?"Wendy uttered under her breath, "You're always carrying a knife with you. It's sharp and dangerous. Put them into t
Sage's appearance immediately stopped the quarrel between the three old men."Grandpa."Sage called out to Wayne and greeted Mister Mendoza and Grandpa Yuriel.The three old men retreated their fangs immediately upon seeing Sage and sat upright and decent."You're here, Sage. Come have a seat."Simon looked at Sage, his eyes filled with affection. Wayne glared at Simon and called out for Sage to sit next to him, showing off his badge of 'biological grandfather' to the rest."What brings you here today?"Wayne had been talking whilst carving. He managed to carve out a lively and delicate tiger while he was chatting with the other two.Sage's eyes were glued onto the tiger. How she wished she could stay and observe every single line and curve on it. "I'm going back to Salem City. I came to say goodbye before I leave," Sage answered."Leaving so soon?" Before Wayne could say anything, Mendoza and Simon stood up straight and asked with concern.Sage finally peeled her eyes of
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