Looking as if she was about to cry, Yuri apologized to Sage again, "I am so, so sorry, Miss Sage. I don't mean to cause you any inconveniences."Sage replied lightly, "You're still young and inexperienced. You should take this as a lesson. It's not wrong to admire good-looking guys, but you should know that not all good-looking guys are nice people, alright?""Yes, ma'am." At the thought that she was about to lose her job, tears welled in her eyes and then rolled down her cheeks. Just when she was about to leave with Cora, Jace stopped her. "Just a second."Looking at Sage, Jace said, "I was the one who asked her to bring me here. She's just doing what she was asked. There's no need to put her in this position. If there's anything that you're not happy with, you can talk to me instead."Yoel tried to catch Jace's eye, hinting that he should stop talking. Sage stared silently at Jace and sneered."Mr. Yuriel, do you have an obsession with being a hero, so you wish to save all t
If they would stay as friends merely because they had failed to stay married, then what would they be if they had failed to stay as lovers? Sage's question stumped Yoel.Yoel thought about it hard. Even though he was quite experienced in dating, he had yet to experience marriage, hence he did not know much about it. Yoel tossed the question to Jace instead. "What do you think?"Looking at Sage, Jace noticed the pain that lay hidden behind her smiling mask. He remembered the day when he had asked for a divorce, Sage had been heartbroken. He also remembered her plea, "Can we not get a divorce?"At that point, Jace had not felt any remorse about bringing up the divorce. He had simply wanted to end a loveless marriage so that he could provide a loving home for the one he loved, and he would be setting Sage free at the same time. However, he had felt a tug on his heartstrings, when he had heard her question. It was as if someone was clenching his heart tightly."Why did you choo
Sage retorted by countering Jace's questions. She added, "Jace Yuriel, haven’t you had enough of humiliating me during the past three years?"The light in Jace's eyes dimmed.While Jace was in a daze, Sage quickly removed her wrist from his grip. Perhaps Jace had gripped her too tightly, she felt a burning pain around her wrist.Stretching her wrist, Sage looked especially cold and distant."Jace Yuriel, it doesn't matter why I chose to marry you in the first place. In the past three years, I've done nothing wrong to you. It was you who did me wrong. It was you who took our marriage for granted, who neglected your wife, who cheated on me, and you were the one who asked for a divorce. So, tell me, what have I done wrong? Am I to blame for letting you get your way?"As if she was mocking herself, Sage scoffed, "Back then, you had loved Sienna, not me. But now that you know her true colors, you decided to stop loving her, but this has nothing to do with me since we're separated. Don'
The scent of freshly roasted coffee permeated Sunrise Roastery. The steam ascended and blurred two charming faces. Sitting in front of Jace, Finn poured him a cup of freshly-brewed coffee. "These are Colombian beans. I'm not sure if it's to your liking.""Thank you." Jace took a sip of the coffee before putting down the cup. He looked calm and elegant.He was completely different compared to when he was with Sage earlier.Finn studied Jace silently. He was aware that Jace was to inherit the Yuriel Group. Finn had heard much about him and had been wanting to meet Jace.The Yuriel Group was founded by Jace's grandfather. It was considered a family business, and their business had always been doing well, but unfortunately, Jace's uncles were not qualified enough to take over the business. It was not until Jace was elected to be next in line that the business had started flourishing. It was also Jace Yuriel who had managed to make Yuriel Group the most powerful and influential grou
"Your hand!" Feeling the rough skin, Yoel flipped her hand over in shock. "Why does a fair lady like you have so many callouses on your hand?" The palm of her hand was completely different from the back of her hand. The back of her hands looked as if they belonged to a precious lady, as they were fair and delicate with long and slender fingers; but the palms of her hands were covered in thick callouses, especially around her fingertips."It is no wonder Jace thought you were a country girl."Turing over her hands, Yoel looked as if he had found a rare object. Frowning, Sage took back her hands and said, "So what if I'm a country girl? Who says that city girls are not allowed to have callouses on their hands? I'm sure you have more callouses than I do."Yoel extended his large hands so that she might see them. "I trained with a gun almost every day when I served the military. How can you compare yourself to me?"At the mention of this, Sage was suddenly reminded of Jace who al
Seeing Sage stop, Yoel thought that Sage had finally wavered. He ran up to Sage gleefully to find that she had a dark expression on her face."Are you out of your mind?!"Yoel looked puzzled. "Huh?"Looking at Yoel with a look of disdain, Sage added, "How childish can you be for a grown-up? Do you think you're still in high school? Plus, why would I agree to be in a relationship with a playboy like you for the sake of making Jace angry? Do I look like I have a lot of free time on my hands? If you're looking to play around, I believe there are plenty of girls out there who are willing to do so. But I don't have the time, and neither do I wish to be involved with your silly games. Do you understand me?"Sage gave Yoel an earful without mercy, and Yoel took everything silently, like a high schooler being lectured by his teacher.By the time Sage was done, Yoel was already shuddering with fear. Facing Sage, he bowed politely and said, "Yes ma'am."Yoel's polite behavior nearly made S
Yoel smiled. "What a pleasure to be getting a 'thank you' from you.""As long as you stop saying nonsense, I will still be polite to you. After all, I'm someone with good manners." Sage unscrewed the cap, tilted her head back, and drank deeply from the bottle. The tilt of her head exposed her graceful neck, and Yoel was once again struck by her beauty."It's almost lunchtime. Are you hungry? Let me buy you lunch."After finishing the remaining water, Sage replied, "Let me buy you a meal instead."Since Yoel had planned to give her a horse, Sage wanted to repay him by buying him a meal."Sage brought Yoel to a famous Japanese restaurant in town. As it was lunchtime, there was a long queue of customers waiting in line. "They're doing really well, aren't they? I've been wanting to try this place, but I heard that they don't accept reservations and only serve a limited number of customers every day. However, I'm not sure if their food is as good as people say."Yoel sighed and wa
Hearing Sage mention the word 'us', Yoel felt his heart skip a beat but he did not get carried away."This is a big decision to make, please allow me to discuss this with my father."Sage nodded. "Of course."Looking up at her, Yoel said, "Would it be too risky for both of us to be working on such a big project? I suppose that the early investment would not be a small amount.""You're right. I only asked you to invest in the venture after I had taken into consideration the financial situation of the Fultons; however, if you think that it is too risky a venture with only the two of us, then you may bring another person on board." Yoel's eyes lit up. "What about Jace—""Anyone except Jace Yuriel." Sage knew exactly what Yoel was going to say, and she rejected his suggestion without hesitation.Yoel asked, "But why? We are talking business, right? Whether it's the location or economic power, Yuriel Group is our best option. Plus, Jace is interested in this project, too."Sage loo
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