Mallory's eyes brightened upon hearing it. "Abigail, you're so nice. We're friends now. So, don't call me Ms. Guzman from now on. Call me Mallory."Abigail nodded. "Sure."Mallory then squeezed beside Abigail and asked, "Abigail, can you help me win Xander over?"Before Abigail could respond, Mallory continued to say, "If you can help me successfully marry Xander, I'll definitely ask him to give you a pay raise in the future. I'll not forget your kindness to me."'So, after all the fuss, this is her true purpose today,' Abigail thought. She felt like laughing as she responded, "Ms. Guzman, I can't help you with this."Abigail had just been working alongside Xander for a year. But many people had asked her to help them win Xander over.Mallory was not the first person who asked her for this favor. And Abigail believed Mallory would not be the last one.Back then, some people even promised Abigail houses, cars, and money if she successfully helped them. But Mallory was the first p
Esther said, "Mallory, my brother already has my sister-in-law..."Mallory interrupted her. She screamed heartbrokenly, "Your sister-in-law is just luckier than me. She was chosen by your grandmother to marry Xander. Your brother doesn't even love his wife."Esther said, "You can't read my brother's mind. How can you know whether my brother loves his wife or not?"Mallory responded, "The night before yesterday you told me yourself that your brother hasn't even made love to his wife. The only reason a man isn't willing to touch his wife is that he doesn't love the woman at all."Esther said, "You believed the nonsense I said when I was drunk?"Mallory did not care if it was the drink talking. "That woman can't even manage to sexually arouse your brother. He isn't willing to be intimate with her. And yet, you still don't allow me to marry your brother. Do you wish the Zane family's line to end?""Mallory. Please shut up and stop talking... My brother cares about his wife a lot. It'
Abigail thought, 'Right my ass. Whether or not they love each other is their business. She's just an outsider. Who's she to meddle in a married couple's business? And she even spoke so righteously.'"All right. Don't say it." Mallory then said to Esther, "Esther, your sister-in-law minds about your brother's problems in that aspect, but I don't. I don't care about your brother's capability in that aspect. As long as he accepts me, I don't mind if we'll never have coitus. If he doesn't want to marry me, it's fine too. I'm willing to stay by his side without being married to him."Mallory was like a madwoman who lost her mind.Abigail had some doubts. 'Does she truly love Xander?'Or is she just obsessed with winning him over?'No matter what it was, Abigail felt pity for Mallory who had lost her mind and whose heart was broken.She thought to herself again, 'A woman stoops so low just for a man. She doesn't even care about her dignity anymore. It's so sad.'Abigail did not want t
Nathan asked: [Why do you say that?]Abigail pondered before replying: [He's a boss, a capitalist. I'm an employee, the exploited. Do you think we can be the same kind of people?]Upon seeing this message from Abigail, Xander felt an emotion that he could not describe. He thought, 'I thought that as her boss, Abigail should somewhat have a good impression of me.'But unexpectedly, to Abigail, I'm just like any other boss, a nasty capitalist, an abhorrent exploiter...'He moved his slender fingers to reply to her: [As long as you're willing to, you two can become the same kind of people.]Abigail still wanted to reply to him. But then she received a new message. It was from Winnie.Abigail met Winnie at the 3033 Global Technology Conference. They were not free to meet up since then. But they had been constantly chatting with each other on WhatsApp.They chatted about everything. But mostly it was gossip. Abigail could guess the content of Winnie's text before she looked at it.W
Abigail: [Do you think I can discuss this with my boss? I'll ask him to let me take pictures of him and leak them online to make money. And I'll split the earnings with him after that. Or maybe I'll split eighty-twenty with him. I don't even mind me taking the twenty percent and him taking the eighty percent.]Winnie: [Your boss definitely doesn't care about this kind of small amount of money. I think you can try to win over your boss's wife. Ask her to allow you to take pictures of her and leak them online, with the caption: "The Wife of the Zane Corporation's Leader, Xander, XX's Face". Damn. I think I do really know how to make money.]Abigail felt this idea was quite feasible: [Sigh, unfortunately, I still haven't had the chance to meet my boss's wife. Or else, I'll definitely think of ways to persuade her to make money with me.]Winnie: [You still haven't met her? Speaking of that, she's actually quite pretty. I can tell she must be a beauty just by looking at her slender back.
On the other end of the phone, Xander was looking at a long string of texts from Abigail, ranting about him. Not only could he not get angry, but he also had to comfort her.Nathan: [Next time, you should take a picture of your boss and post it online.]Abigail: [Next time won't be as profitable unless I have a clear shot of Xander's face, or perhaps a candid photo of him and his wife in bed.]Xander was stunned for a few seconds when he saw Abigail's message. 'What on earth is this seemingly serious girl thinking about all day?'Abigail, like a typewriter on overdrive, was still typing away. Abigail: [Wait till the day I go to his house, secretly install a pinhole camera in his bathroom, film him undressed, or even do a live stream online. I'm sure to make a fortune.]Xander's face darkened. 'She actually wants to share a live stream of me undressed with netizens?'Abigail: [Hahaha, Nathan, don't you think I have a great business mind? Once I make money, you won't have to work s
This was reality—brutal, unyielding reality. Felix wished to reject it, yet was powerless to change it, unable to shield Abigail from the harm. That was the real core of Felix's concern.Abigail understood him too. "Fee, I'm an adult. I can protect myself. You're not obligated to take responsibility for my life, so don't blame yourself."Felix retorted, "I know you're strong. But being strong doesn't mean you don't need us."Abigail chuckled. "Our houses are next door. How do you suppose we could ever be able to separate?"Melody added more food to Felix's plate. "You worry too much, kid."The trio finished their dinner amidst their playful bickering. Afterward, Abigail spent some time drawing her comics. Just as she was about to head to bed, she received a message from Stella on WhatsApp.Stella: [Abigail, are you asleep yet?]Abigail: [Not yet.]As soon as she sent her message, her phone rang—it was Stella. Abigail picked up, hearing Stella's voice. "Abigail, can you talk rig
Abigail noticed the shift in Stella's mood. "Stella, if something's bothering you, share it with me. Don't bottle it up."Stella sighed deeply. "It's nothing specific, just sometimes I feel that being pretty isn't always a blessing, and life can seem so pointless..." She paused before continuing, "Abigail, do you know? Lately, I've been wondering if Chloe wasn't as beautiful, if she looked just like any other girl, would she still have been tormented by the local bully? If she wasn't targeted, then she wouldn't have been labeled as 'disgraced', her mother wouldn't have committed suicide over her, and she wouldn't have been cast out of her village..." Her voice broke into a laugh. "If all that never happened, her life after sixteen wouldn't have been so difficult. Not only was she unable to be with the man she loved, but she also nearly lost her life a few times."After listening patiently, Abigail softly replied, "Stella, you're right. If none of that had happened, Chloe wouldn't hav