Sage pressed her lips together. She could still feel Jace on her lips.She could feel heat spreading from her face to her neck.She was as red as a tomato.Jace noticed her expression and hurriedly walked over to her. "Why is your face so red? Are you getting a fever?"He then placed his hand on his forehead.With her lips pressed tightly together, Sage remained quiet.Yoel could not hold back anymore and sighed softly, "I was about to praise you for being smart but here you are, acting all silly again. How is it that you're getting a fever after just a kiss?"Yoel continued yapping, "It's obvious that Sage is getting shy.""Shut up!"Jace and Sage shouted at Yoel at the same time."..."Covering his face with a pillow, Yoel concluded that both of them were equally hot-tempered.Yoel thought that he should protect his life by staying away from both of them.***Yoel only showed up because he had something to discuss with Sage.He imported horses from Riverside City and h
Yoel inhaled sharply as he felt his skin crawl. He forcefully stood in between Jace and Sage as he sulked, "Drop the lovey-dovey exchange, please show some mercy and consideration to a single man like me. "Sage and Jace ignored him and strode into the restaurant."Urgh! Can you please watch it? Your umbrella is pulling onto my hair!"Someone from the queue shouted, "It's not even sunny and there's shade right above you, why are you even holding up an umbrella?""It's my umbrella and I am allowed to use it when I like, what is it with you?"The girl had a soft voice but she sounded bossy, "My skin is precious and I can't get even a tiny bit of sunlight on them. Do you even know what a UV ray is? Oh, wait, I don't think you do. After all, you look all dark-skinned and ugly, it's obvious that you don't take care of yourself. It's your choice to want to be tanned, but I have to stay fair because that's what my husband likes.""Who are you calling dark-skinned and ugly? If you're tha
Sienna was shocked to the core. It was as if she was struck by lightning.She attended Jace's funeral. How was he possibly still alive?He stood right in front of her.She knew Jace's face like the back of her hand. It was impossible that she would mistake him for someone else. It was just simply impossible.It was him! It was him!"Jace..."Sienna called out to Jace and was about to make her way to where he stood but she was stopped in her tracks by the young lady that was still feeling pissed."Where do you think you're going? Don't even think of leaving here before this thing is settled between us!" Ladies from Salem City were notorious for their hot temper.Sienna still had her gaze glued on Jace but Jace did not even look at her.Jace had his eyes fixated on Sage. It was as if he could only see Sage and no one else."Sage," Jace called out to her softly, "Is everything okay?"Sage looked at him. "Yeah. You guys should head in first."Jace listened well to her and heade
"What a time to be alive now, don't you think? Look at all these people trying to show off. Does she have no shame at all?""..."Sienna overheard the gossiping and whispers. Anger spread through her as she quivered in rage. Sienne shot a deadly glare at Sage."Are you happy now? You're done humiliating me, aren't you? Can we go in and eat now?"For some reason, Sage felt slightly bad for her.Sage simply frowned and looked at her with a 'Hello, are you nuts?' expression at Sienna.Dave was flustered and immediately scowled at Sienna. "Are you out of your mind? How dare you speak to Miss Sage in that manner?"He then quickly put on a slick wide grin and said to Sage, "Miss Sage, please don't take it to heart about what she said. She's not good with words. I'll make sure to teach her a lesson.""Mister Dave, you don't have to ask my opinion on your family business."Sage went on flatly, "We're all business colleagues, aren't we? I'd be happy to welcome you as my guest but I am
The small episode seemingly did not affect their mood to eat.Well, at least, not for Yoel.After rounds of begging and pleading, Sage finally agreed to cook several dishes for them. And every bite of the food that Yoel took, he exclaimed and praised Sage's cooking.He took some pasta onto his plate and started slurping away. "Man, every time I eat your dishes, I have the urge to make you my wife."Jace replied flatly, "Sad to bring it to you but it'll never happen."He then put some pasta onto Sage's plate before Yoel cleared up the entire dish."You can't be too sure now, can you? As long as you guys are not official yet, I'll still have a winning chance."Yoel was full of confidence. He looked at Sage and arched his brow, "They say men in their thirties are like a precious flower, what do you think of me?""No comment."Sage then added, "I think you're more like a dog tail grass than a flower.""..."Yoel's face crumbled instantly.However, Jace burst into laughter as he
Sage was used to signing contract documents and she never experienced signing an autograph. Some of her fans even requested for her to draw hearts and write some wishes and Sage made sure that she fulfilled all of their requests.With a few strokes, Sage drew a few roses and they looked amazing.Her fans were all excited."Goodness, you have really pretty hands!""You look so much prettier than when you're on screen, you're stunning!""Not only do we like your character in the movie, but we also think that you're really pretty! Will you be starring in more movies? I've rewatched The Double Life of Veronique three times now. I like you a lot!"The female fans showered Sage with praises and compliments and they only had eyes for Sage. Neither of them noticed the two good-looking men that were in the same room as them.Yoel and Jace were pushed to a corner of the room and they were even asked to help take pictures for them.The two grown men were speechless."Hey handsome, would
Dave had offended Sage and was not even given a chance to eat. He was furious because of the humiliation he faced in front of the client.He sat in the car with a grim face on the way back. He was so angry that Sienna was scared and dared not even breathe. Sienna knew she was in trouble. She would have been leaning on him and coaxing him softly on any other day, but she was very distracted.She had been in a daze since she saw Jace and Sage earlier. The image of Jace and Sage filled her mind, making her feel uncomfortable.It was unpleasant.Dave sat in the passenger seat and ordered his driver in a deep, muffled voice, "Lynch, stop the car and go for a smoke." The car stopped by the side of the road. Sienna looked out the window and did not know where she was. When she saw a familiar-looking bush, she vaguely knew it was near the apartment.Ten minutes to the east from here was a middle-to-high-end community. It was also the place where Dave used to hide his mistress.Well,
Offending Sage was never a good idea. His reputation in Salem City and his jewelry business might be affected. He must not let this destroy his hard-earned success.It was hard to divide the assets, so his wife had not divorced him yet. He might become poor and lose his home after the divorce.He moved slightly harder and pulled Sienna's hair so hard that her scalp hurt. Sienna opened her mouth and gasped. She thought he would make other moves on her, but he suddenly stopped. His angry face disappeared.Even so, he still had a stern face. "Answer me honestly. What's your problem with Sage? Who is Jace?" Half of Sienna's face was still red and swollen. Even the corner of her mouth cracked, looking quite pitiful.Dave looked at her pitiful appearance, but he did not feel soft-hearted for her.Sienna read Dave's emotion and did not dare to tell him the whole story. She only said that Sage's ex-husband used to like her and that they were love rivals. "Ex-husband?" The answer sur
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