According to the sequence, Delphine won the semifinals, so she was supposed to face Sharmila first, and the winner would then compete against Hesper in the final match. Delphine realized that she had no chance of defeating Sharmila, so she made the decision to surrender without even making an attempt. As Delphine exhibited her fear of pain and her reluctance to engage in the fight, her family members' expressions grew disheartened. They were well aware of the importance of this competition, and even Lamarie was prepared to fight with all her might for the pharmaceutical rights and the well-being of her family. However, their cherished "Princess Elphie" chose to give up without even putting up a fight.Even though Delphine was not the brightest, she could feel the difference in how others looked at her, and it made her feel sad. She knew she had no chance of winning against Sharmila, and even if Sharmila surrendered, she would still be no match for Hesper. So why bother with such fut
She and Rickard had never had any interaction with Ranfik before. Yet, Ranfik somehow knew the true purpose of her visit to Leafdelle island and even managed to disguise himself as her father. Hesper could not fathom this fact. However, as Hesper looked at Sharmila before her, it seemed to her that she had no idea what her brother had been up to during this time. She set aside her curiosity about Ranfik's activities and focused solely on fighting Sharmila. Sharmila was on a different level compared to Delphine, and it took Hesper some effort to defeat her. In the end, Sharmila was defeated and lost the match."How is this possible?" Sharmila exclaimed. She had never considered the idea of losing to anyone. As she stared at her own hand and heard the cheers from the Savatiers behind her, Hesper reached out and helped her up from the ground. Sharmila was momentarily stunned and instinctively glanced at Ranfik.Ranfik's expression revealed nothing, but Sharmila knew how signific
It was the Mustafas that proposed the three-year pharmaceutical rights plan, but unexpectedly, it ended up in the hands of the Savatiers. This tournament brought nothing but shame to the Mustafas. If they chose to remain, they would subject themselves to endless taunting and ridicule."Hesper, Rickard… I'll remember this."*After leaving the venue, Juliette finally had the opportunity to bombard Hesper with questions."Has my dad already recovered? How did you suddenly find out about the situation here and come to the rescue?" Juliette asked. She was still in an excited state, seemingly astonished that the Savatiers managed to turn the tables even in such a dire situation. "I never expected my dad to entrust you with the gold medal."Hesper smiled, offering no extensive explanations and only answering Juliette's first question, "Your father has already recovered and should be reorganizing the Savatiers at home."Hesper had always maintained a sense of distrust towards "Benjamin.
The originally planned grand banquet ended up with only a few people remaining. The Mustafas had already left early, and as for Hesper and Rickard, they had no intention of staying from the beginning. Lamarie was limping after being beaten up by Delphine, so she was in no mood to attend such a meaningless celebration. Consequently, the Savatiers left as well.Only the two lowest-ranking families were left. They had no other choice but to put on forced smiles to complete the final stage of the tournament.After returning, it would be Hesper's birthday. The people from the Savatiers were now aware of it, so they decided not to kill their fun. Even if there were any urgent matters, they could be dealt with the next day.After all, Hesper and Rickard were now the great heroes of the Savatiers.The first thing Juliette did upon returning to the Savatiers estate was to visit Quincey. Although Hesper had told her that her father had fully recovered and was no longer in danger, she still w
Lamarie leaned on her cane and instructed her people to light up some fireworks while she scratched her head irritably. "I don't even know if they're asleep, but this is my birthday present. Whether they see it or not is up to fate," Lamarie said as she pursed her lips. "You're so annoying, Hesper, acting like a saviour of the world."Lamarie paused then continued, "But thank you."Hesper watched the fireworks without knowing what Lamarie was mumbling about. She turned around and smiled at Rickard. Renfrew, who was on the video call, had already fallen asleep, so she hung up. "Happy birthday," Rickard said under his breath next to her ear. She looked at him with a half-smile. "The fireworks aren't even from you; you're just borrowing them. You should thank the person who's secretly lighting them."Even though they couldn't see who it was, Hesper guessed that the only person who would light up fireworks at this hour and insisted on not letting them see was Lamarie. Remembering
After the Savatier were done with their family affairs, Hesper and Rickard showed up before them again. The Savatiers' affairs were messy and included secrets neither of them knew about. Even though the tournament and the healing proved their worth, Hesper didn't want to get involved in their family affairs just yet. With the newly earned trust and contribution, Quincey would no doubt get them involved, but when that time came, more problems would arise and it would destroy the trust they just built. Hesper didn't want that. Quincey probably guessed that was her plan, so he took his time to let them back in. He wanted to meet the couple after he had gotten rid of all the spies. "This leisure time is not bad at all, right?" Quincey smiled as he looked at them. "I didn't ask anyone to bother you. I'm sure that's what you want."Hesper knew it was impossible Quincey couldn't read her mind. However, they were able to stay clean in this messy situation and keep their minds sharp,
This was definitely the truth. Even though based on the wealth accumulation, the Savatiers were far greater than the Duvals or Lanes, why would a normal person need so much money?They didn't need it. Quincey went into deep thought.Hesper continued. "We came back for our own motives, only to find out the family isn't as powerful as the rumors say. You're a smart man, so I'm sure you know we're the ones who brought the chance to turn things around for this family."They didn't need the hindrance the Savatiers caused, and Quicney quickly realized that. Even though Rickard didn't say anything, his thoughts echoed Hesper's. "You're sitting here talking terms with me as equals." Quincey smiled and pointed at Hesper, "You're good."Hesper had the power to do that, so she wasn't elusive about it. If the powerful Savatiers would go back on their words, there was nothing more she could say. "Just say you won't work with me. That will do."Even though he didn't want to admit it, Hesp
"Where is she?" Quincey sighed as he looked into Hesper's searing eyes then shook his head. "I know better than anyone where she is. I'm not the strict father others imagine me to be, but when Brigette married someone outside of the island, I tried to stop her."Quincey's gaze became distant as he imagined what happened in the past, then he sighed again. "We were born and raised on Leafdelle, so we knew this was the richest place on earth. Maybe our DNA recognized that and thought no one would leave the island."How was that not pathetic?Hearing Quincey's story, Hesper suddenly thought of the saying 'living in a bubble'. If the residents of Leafdelle didn't lock themselves up and weren't so proud, they might be even better developed. "After she left the island, we rarely heard from Brigette. The last message I got from her was a letter describing her beautiful son. She would bring him and her husband back when I was no longer angry with her."Quincey paused as if he found it d
He had never anticipated that he would end up loving her so deeply.It could be said that amidst all the misunderstandings and complexities, their journey together had taken many winding paths."I wouldn't risk getting into trouble just to set off fireworks for someone I didn't even like," Rickard said, his voice gentle. "You dummy."His words were soft, but as Hesper listened to his explanation, she cleared her throat, and her eyes turned bloodshot. She had never imagined that the person she had loved so intensely in her youth had, at some point in their lives, secretly admired her.Hesper attempted to smile but ended up with teary eyes. Seeing this, Rickard reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair. "If it's going to make you cry, I won't say anything more."Hesper pursed her lips. "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't."Rickard, despite understanding her reluctance, couldn't help but reflect on the past and openly admitted to the emotions he had felt in his you
They were flooded with memories, and Hesper couldn't help but admit that she had been through so much with Rickard. Her eyes welled up with emotion.The livestream ended, as they couldn't maintain constant surveillance of their lives. Even though they hadn't gone home yet, the crew had left.In the past two days, people had gotten to know them quite well, so the crew decided to give them some alone time.Hesper sat in the passenger seat and stole a glance at Rickard. She couldn't help but say, "I never expected that the only time you were seen as making a mistake in Grandpa's eyes was because of me.""There are many things you don't know," he replied. Hesper raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like what? Tell me."Suddenly, Hesper recalled the countless times Rickard had looked at her. Yet, during those moments, Rickard had always had feelings for Juniper. She knew that was the reality, so she never expected that Rickard might have had the same strong feelings for her as she had for h
Hesper glanced at Rickard, who remained emotionless, but she still reached out to hold his hand.[This is tough to see. Both of Rickard's parents are no longer here… Sigh.][Hesper immediately checked on Rickard. If I were Rickard, I'd love her so much.]Ernest shook his head and remained silent as he flipped to the next page. Most of the pictures were of Hesper after that. She hadn't realized she had so many childhood photos. Julian appeared in some of them, too.Before everything went sour.Rickard didn't have many pictures. As he grew older, he became quieter.Most of them showed Hesper standing next to Julian, but there was something off about them.[Did you notice... In many of those pictures, Hesper was looking at Rickard, and in others, Rickard was looking at her.][Oh my god, is this puppy love? I had no idea!][I remember Rickard had another lover.]Hesper had noticed, too, but there was no need to remind people that Rickard used to hate her, so she dismissed it as a
Hesper and Rickard entered the room and awkwardly informed Ernest that everything had been live-streamed just now. Ernest was shocked, but upon hearing that it was something people do, he nodded."It's fine. There's nothing that others can't hear."Hesper pursed her lips and glanced at Rickard before saying, "We didn't expect the Summers to come and see you. You should move in with us so these people will leave you alone."If Ernest lived with them, no one would dare intrude because they represented power and influence.Who would dare challenge them?"I don't want to get involved in your life. Renfew and Renarie would keep you occupied enough."Hesper understood that he had already made up his mind not to live with them, so she didn't press the matter further.She could understand his concerns, as many things might become inconvenient. Besides, Ernest didn't want to disrupt their lives either."We'll be heading to Fredonia soon, so even though we have filming to do, we wanted t
So what if the cameras were still recording?"Was my son's life not as valuable as your son's?"If he had grasped this earlier, recent events might not have unfolded. Jade had a point.The live chat fell silent. Though they lacked the full backstory, they could deduce what had transpired in the past.[I heard Rickard lost his parents when he was a child. I feel sorry for him.][His parents died because of that incident. It's no surprise if he harbors resentment.][Truthfully, this old man has no shame. If my child were responsible for another child's death, I'd beg for forgiveness.]Everything unfolding before their eyes was purely coincidental, and no one had control over the situation. They could only watch and terminate the livestream immediately if anything escalated.Fortunately, Jade received a stern talking-to and refrained from discussing the matter further, but Mrs. Summers did not fare as well. Hesper and the others bore witness to her irrational behavior.[This is e
"We've known each other for years, Ernest. I saved your life once, and now your descendants want to take my son's life!"As they approached, Jade Summers was angrily berating Ernest before him. Hesper's countenance immediately turned frosty as she walked over to Ernest."You should conduct yourself more appropriately, Mr. Summers Sr."Jade was taken aback to see Hesper, but he composed himself, took a deep breath, and fixed her with a hatred-filled gaze."If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened. You're just a woman. Since when do you get a say in the Duval family matters?"In the 21st century, people were all for equality. Besides, Hesper was no ordinary or unintelligent woman. Naturally, she had a voice in these matters.The viewers were inundated with comments when they heard Jade's words, and the live chat exploded.[Who is this guy? He looks old but lacks respect.][What's the argument about?][I sense some drama.]Rickard walked over. Jade had thought he
[Didn't Hesper mention that Mr. Duval Sr. took care of her? Maybe she did grow up well.][I'm certain she did. Hesper doesn't strike me as someone who would tolerate mistreatment.]Hesper and Rickard were under constant surveillance throughout the journey, and they hadn't allowed Benji to accompany them. Rickard was behind the wheel, with Hesper in the passenger seat.During the drive, they remained silent, but to observers, it appeared as though they were in harmony.Upon arriving at the ancestral mansion, Hesper noticed other cars parked around and cast a curious glance at Rickard. Visitors to Ernest's home were a rarity."Sir, Ma'am, you're back," a young housekeeper greeted them. It was the same person who had assisted Wendy earlier, but they couldn't recall her name. Nevertheless, Hesper had faith in her.Noticing the housekeeper's troubled demeanor, Hesper deduced that the guest inside was likely unwelcome. However, she couldn't fathom who would disrupt Ernest's life. Given
Rickard noticed something in Hesper's expression, prompting him to ask, "Is there something else you haven't told me?"Being intimately familiar with each other wasn't always without its challenges. Hesper could never conceal anything from him.She sighed and replied, "It's nothing. Just that Pennleigh will also be on the list."Rickard fell silent.Hesper was aware that sometimes Rickard might not appear bothered, but Pennleigh's presence did bother him.Observing Hesper's awkward expression, Rickard lowered his gaze and suddenly took on a pitiful appearance, like a big dog caught in the rain.Yet, she knew he was merely putting on an act. Still, every time she saw him like that, she couldn't help but miss the Rickard who didn't engage in such playful antics. His character had undergone a change.Hesper found it amusing but didn't quite know how to express it. She sighed and added, "It's a fantastic opportunity. I know you'll let me go, right?"Rickard had no intention of inte
"Sullivan lied to her. He had her parents quietly killed. She found out after she turned her back on you."Benji lowered his gaze. "She was already dead when you came back. It was suicide."The conclusion lacked the weight necessary for such a betrayal. Hesper shut her eyes. The person she had trusted most was Renee. They had shared countless years together.Hesper acknowledged that their bond might not have been a genuine friendship. Renee had abandoned her when given the choice.However, Hesper had faced such situations before.Thankfully, there had been someone who had placed her first in their heart, reassuring her that she wasn't always relegated to being an option. Hesper stood in silence for a while before simply nodding.There was nothing she could do to aid Renee now. Renee had entered and departed alone, leaving no trace behind with Hesper.When the topic was broached, it weighed heavily on her heart. Hesper understood the situation but found herself at a loss for word