'All men are... no, I can't brand all men. Nathan is also a man, but I'm certain he isn't a scoundrel.'Though Abigail kept silent, her expression provided Ron with the answer he sought. "Abigail, let me ask you; if your husband was unfaithful, would you forgive him?""Mr. Hagrid, you and Xander may be that sort of men, but don't assume every man is like you." Despite the fact that she could hardly remember Nathan's face, Abigail steadfastly believed he would not betray their marriage. This was because Nathan had once promised to live a good life with her.Ron laughed. "Hmm... Ms. Renee, when you think about your time with your husband, have you never doubted that he could betray you?"Abigail did not want to let Ron disrupt her relationship with Nathan. "So, Mr. Hagrid, did you bring me here to discuss my relationship with my husband?""No, it wasn't me who asked you to come. It was Xander who wanted me to fetch you to take him home. But judging by the sound in the room, I think
Abigail sighed heavily. After all, she was just Xander's assistant; she had no right to intervene in Xander's personal life. The first rule of a good personal assistant was to obey their employer, not to ask too many questions about things they were not supposed to know about, to pretend not to know even when they did, and certainly not to dictate the employer's private life. She told herself to let it go, to pretend she had not seen or heard anything today. Yet, something was gnawing at her, making her uncomfortable. If Xander had always presented himself as a playboy, cheating on his wife, she might have found it easier to accept. Instead, Xander's usual affectionate-husband image and his faithfulness to his marriage made her respect him even more.She had been working alongside Xander for a year now. In her mind, he was more than just her boss; he was a mentor, a guide, someone she deeply respected. Seeing such a person change so dramatically was hard for anyone to digest, but she
'No, it's not Xander! This man wears Xander's face, but the drastic difference in height and build makes it impossible,' she reasoned. An ominous feeling washed over her, causing her to back away instinctively. "Mr. Hagrid, what are you trying to do?" she asked, fear lacing her words.Ron addressed the man, "You act out the scene with her. If she can't get into character, or if her performance isn't convincing, take her for real." With those words, he walked out, leaving Mallory alone with the stranger.Clutching her clothing to her body, Mallory trembled. "I'll play along, just... don't touch me."The man laughed as he undressed. "Who do you think you are? As if I'd want to touch you!" Mallory muttered under her breath, but the man did not catch it. "What did you say?" he asked."Nothing," she replied. Desperate not to be violated, Mallory decided to play her part alongside the stranger.By the time Ron returned, the play had ended. Mallory had not yet managed to shake her fear o
Mallory asked, "Can I leave now?"Ron answered, "Sure!"Mallory got up. But her legs were so weak that she could hardly stand.Ron then asked someone to help her leave.After sending Mallory away, the man who pretended to be Xander had his makeup completely removed too. He respectfully looked at Ron. "Mr. Hagrid, I'll leave now."Ron nodded. "Your sisters' makeup skills are indeed quite good. I'll still need the three of you in the future. Don't let your skills get rusty.""Understood." The man respectfully left after he said that. He did not say any words that he should not have said.After the man left, Ron then lit up a cigarette again. He took a few deep puffs before he smiled as he said, "Xander, Xander. Why are you so stubborn? Abigail won't misunderstand you if you just return my Emma back to me. I really want to see how you can make Abigail believe there's nothing going on between you and Mallory."...When Abigail got home, Felix and Melody were having breakfast.The
Of course, Melody knew Abigail cared about her. She knew Abigail would not bother asking if it were someone else.Since both of them were here, Melody told them everything about her boyfriend, "He's from North Florivera too. He lives in Jand Town. He's an only child. His parents own a mini market. And their business isn't bad. They have two housing units in Jand Town. His parents are living in one of them. And they're leaving the other one for him to move into when he's married. He attended university in Florivera, just like us. After he graduated, he stayed in Florivera to work. He's currently working at FloodTech."FloodTech was a technology startup in Florivera that had been growing rapidly in recent years. Reportedly, they had great employee benefits. Whoever worked ten years and above in the company could receive dividends.However, no matter how well a company was, the personal qualities of an employee could not be judged based on their job.Abigail asked again, "What's his p
After Abigail got onto the train, she took her phone out to text Nathan: [Nathan, I'm on the train to Southcrest now. Do you have anything that you want me to say to our grandmothers?]Mobile communications were so convenient nowadays. He could just video call them if there was anything that he wanted to say to them.Abigail asked him that because she wanted to chat with Nathan more to strengthen their relationship.She felt that Nathan was not very good at chatting. He rarely took the initiative to contact her. She was almost always the person who reached out to him...But she did not feel it was a bad thing that Nathan was an introvert. She was just worried that he might find her annoying if she was always the one who took the initiative to start a conversation.After she sent the text, she just patiently waited for his reply.One minute had passed...Five minutes had passed...Ten minutes later, Nathan still had not replied to her. But Abigail was still cool about it.But s
"Many people were afraid and terrified of him because he personally sent his father to jail. But there were many people who didn't believe in his capabilities because he was too young. Countless people wanted to take the Zane Corporation away from him. He had a lot of enemies at that time."The project in Alvonia was the key project for him to revive the Zane Corporation. It was also an opportunity for him to show the world his capabilities. But the project was huge. Many people wanted to take on the project, not only him."After rounds and rounds of competition, his chances of getting the project grew larger. When the competitors realized that, they started to use dirty tricks on him as they couldn't win against him above board.""That has something to do with Mr. Zane's illness now?" Samuel knew about that incident. But Xander sent him for another mission at that time. So, he did not go to Alvonia with them. And that was why he did not know how dangerous the incident was.Dr. San
Dr. Sander looked very glad when she thought about that scene. It was like she was watching her own child.But when she thought about what happened after that, the smile on her face suddenly disappeared completely. She just looked extremely worried and wistful.She spoke again, "Xander successfully signed the contract with his team. After he secured the project, he remarkably led the Zane Corporation to turn around their situation. But because he worked while he was still injured, he got a permanent illness. If he continues to not take good care of his body, he might end up making his wife a young widow."Samuel responded, "So, this time Mr. Zane still hasn't woken up from his coma not just because he injured his stomach from drinking, but his injuries back then have a great deal to do with this too?"Dr. Sander replied, "Of course."Upon hearing that, Samuel pondered for a while before saying, "Should we inform Ms. Renee and ask her to come and take care of Mr. Zane? Maybe Mr. Za
Emma turned and dashed into the bathroom. She cranked the faucet on and splashed water on her face, aiming to soothe her nerves.Although they were engaged, they were still too young, with countless uncertainties looming over their future. The possibility of actually walking down the aisle was up in the air.Decisions made in a rush of happiness could eventually become sources of regret. And Emma knew all too well that she couldn't afford any regrets.She thought that fortunately, Ron hadn't pushed things further, which gave her time to cool off.After freshening up, Emma stepped out to find Ron on the balcony, a cigarette in hand.She couldn't resist chiding him, "I've told you to cut down on smoking. Why can't you seem to remember?"This time, Ron complied, snuffing out the cigarette. "We should get some sleep. We've got to put our best foot forward when we meet your family tomorrow.""Okay, I'll sleep on the couch. You take the bed," Emma responded.Ron simply replied, "As y
Ron looked at her dawdling pace with disdain. "If you, a lady, can handle it, why can't I, a grown man, stay?"His words sounded noble, but Ron regretted them the moment they arrived at the hotel.Despite now earning a decent income, Emma was still reluctant to spend money.This place was hardly a hotel; it was clearly a budget inn charging only a few dozen bucks a night. The hygiene was questionable at best, and safety seemed like a gamble.Ron turned on his heel, dragging her suitcase behind him. "We're leaving, now.""It's too late, and we can't get a refund for the room.""Are you trying to get us killed?"Emma fell silent, her thoughts a whirlwind of frustration. 'I told him he wouldn't be used to cheap places. He insisted on coming with me, and now he won't even let me stay here alone. Why is he so annoying?'However, considering Ron had rushed over in the middle of the night to help her, Emma decided not to hold it against him.Ron picked the best hotel in the area—the
Rebekah glanced over at Ron; she exchanged a knowing look with him before saying, "I'll have someone tidy up the rooms. Why don't you two stay here tonight and keep me company?"Ron replied simply, "Sure."Emma had purchased a midnight flight back to South Florivera, necessitating a rush to the airport, which made staying over after dinner impossible.Yet, she found herself at a loss for words, struggling to decline Rebekah's kind offer.As she hesitated, Ron stepped in to clear the air. "Mom, I've got something on tonight. After dinner, I'll drive Emma back to her dorm."Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "What's so important?" she wondered aloud, thinking, 'Wasn't he the one insisting Emma stay over? What's he up to now?'Ron kept it mysterious. "Life stuff."Rebekah could not help but chide him lightly, "You, always the joker."Right after dinner, Ron insisted on leaving to take Emma back to her dormitory. But as soon as they were out of the gated community, he asked, "So, you reall
Ron chuckled. "I didn't know you were aware that even a cornered rat will fight."Emma shot him a glare. "Are we going or not?"Ron quickly said, "Of course. When Miss Blue commands, how can I dare not obey?"Fearing another of his notorious driving escapades, Emma hastily buckled her seatbelt as she settled into the car.Thankfully, this time Ron kept it smooth, driving steadily.As they neared their destination, Ron finally spoke up, "You know, that Tucker guy is a married man. Don't let his kindness fool you into being the other woman."Emma's gaze on Ron was fiery, seething with anger. "Do you even hear yourself? Is that what you think of me? For the last time: Tucker and I share nothing more than a mentor-mentee relationship. There's nothing else between us.""I'm just looking out for you, worried you might get deceived," Ron said, witnessing Emma's fury for the first time. Yet, he could not help but find her anger not at all intimidating, but rather endearingly foolish.R
The two sisters had a pact: no cell phones at home to keep their secrets from the prying eyes of the Blue family. Thus, Emma could call only at prearranged times, the sole window for Rihanna to catch up.Rihanna's voice bubbled with excitement over the phone, as she chattered away about her life's minutiae.Knowing Rihanna was doing well eased Emma's mind.Just as Emma was about to end the call, she heard Rihanna's voice, soft and wistful. "You're really not coming home for the holidays? If you don't, I'll be all alone."Emma's heart clenched at those words, and she made up her mind in an instant. "I'll come back the day before New Year's Eve."The Blue family had their hands full with festivities that day, too busy to notice Rihanna's absence. Emma figured slipping back unnoticed then would be her best shot.After hanging up, Emma immediately booked a flight from Valtara to South Florivera. With her ticket secured and her last bit of work finished, Emma prepared to leave her off
Emma had no interest in romance, let alone the audacity to dream that Ron might fancy her.This time, she did not pick up the thread of conversation.After dinner, Ron, as usual, drove Emma back to the university.Before parting, Ron said, "Winter break is almost upon us, and the dorms might be off-limits. Are you sure you don't want to stay at my place for a couple of months?"Emma offered a smile in response. "Thanks for the offer. I've spoken with the dorm supervisor and submitted an application in advance. I'll be able to stay over the holiday period."Ron paused before saying, "Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'll text you my number in a bit; make sure you save it."Emma nodded. "Sure."Without further ado, Ron drove off.Upon returning to her dorm, Emma saw Evelyn and Cassie, busy packing their bags, surrounded by gifts for their parents bought from Valtara.Evelyn asked Emma, "Are you really not going home for the winter break?"Emma replied, "No, I won't
Emma did not have the guts to risk failure because she did not have a safe haven to fall back on.Lucas kicked Ron in the shin. "Come on, if you fancy her, out with it. No Hagrid heir dithers like this."Ron glared at him. "Mind your own business." In his head, Emma was already his. The thought of losing her was unimaginable.Lucas said, "Without my meddling, she'd never be yours."Ron changed the subject. "I called you here for a serious discussion."Lucas replied, "No matter how serious, it can't outweigh the matter of your lifetime happiness."Ron was exasperated. "Lucas!"Lucas relented. "Alright, alright, you talk, I'm all ears."Ron spelled out Emma's music venture with Tucker. After hearing it all, Lucas could not help but see Emma in a new light."Never pegged Emma as such a dark horse," Lucas said.Silently listening to their conversation, Emma was thrilled to have her work recognized.Lucas said, "But, getting back to it, whether a song makes money, and how much, d
Ron barked, "Lucas!"With a chuckle, Lucas responded, "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing Emma. I'm starving. Let's grab some food and talk business while we eat."Ron snapped, "Get lost!"Lucas could not help but revel in Ron's frustration. "Ron, have you fallen so quickly? Who was it that told me they would never accept an arranged marriage?"Emma was increasingly confused by their banter. "If it's inconvenient for me to be here, I can just take a cab and leave."Ron said, "Call you dumb and you won't admit it!"Emma thought to herself, 'I didn't want to be a third wheel, cramping their style. Was that really so wrong? No good deed goes unpunished, apparently.'Suddenly, Ron grabbed Emma's hand and led her inside. "It's cold out; let's go inside."Emma had to quicken her pace, practically being dragged along.Seeing them together, Lucas laughed heartily from behind. "Ron, oh Ron, never thought I'd see the day.""Don't laugh too soon. Your day is coming," Ron shot back.Th
Emma said, "Okay."Ron asked, "Have you won over your crush?"Lucas responded, "Secret."Ron replied, "Looks like you haven't won her over."Lucas said, "As long as I make a move, there's no girl I can't win over. But I haven't made a move yet because the timing isn't right."Ron asked, "Is it because of the Sandow family?"Lucas answered, "The Sandow family wants to marry their daughter to me, and my family wants me to marry her too. But I've told them long ago that I'm not willing to do that. Nobody can make me marry a girl I don't like."Emma remained silent. 'I didn't expect that Lucas would also have the same problem as me and Ron.'It seems like the wealthier the family, the more they'll arrange marriages based on social status without considering personal preferences.'Lucas seemed to sense Emma's thoughts. "Emma, my situation with the Sandow girl is different from yours and Ron's. Don't lump us together."Ron looked at Emma and suddenly said, "There isn't any other gi