The distance from the elevator to Caroline's office was short, but it took Cheryl five whole minutes to get there. When she finally placed her hand on the doorknob, she was so overwhelmed with emotions that she was on the verge of breaking down. "Is that you, Cheryl?" Caroline heard someone outside and raised her head to look at the door. Cheryl recomposed herself, straightened her back, and replied, "Yes."Caroline's assistant, who had just finished preparing coffee and was standing by the door, looked at Cheryl with puzzled eyes. Cheryl stood stock-still at the door without moving an inch. She glanced at the cup of coffee, which had steam rising from it. "Give it to me," said Cheryl. The assistant stared at Cheryl in confusion for a brief moment before handing her the tray. After picking it up, Cheryl walked into Caroline's office. "Caroline," she said as she placed the coffee on Caroline's table. "I remember preparing coffee for you when we worked at Thorne Corp be
Cheryl looked at Caroline with a meaningful glance again. She began to tear up once more, so she hastily said, "Um … I won't delay you from working any longer. Bye.""Okay. Let me see you off," said Caroline. "Don't." Cheryl shook her head lightly. "I want to leave the company like I always do, like I'm getting off work on a normal day. As if I'll still come back here tomorrow after I clock out today." Caroline's face fell. A while later, she said, "Okay. Go ahead." Cheryl got out of the office and walked to the elevator as usual. She went downstairs and headed to the punch clock. She clocked out, placed the card aside, and left. The rays of the setting sun shone on her when she stepped out of the building, but she felt no warmth from them. The next instant, she saw the car parked in front of the building. The person standing beside the car was none other than Jack. "Tired, huh?" Jack reached out one hand to her as he approached her. Cheryl stared at him for some time
Cheryl laughed. "You're so childish!" she teased. Despite her words, she stuck out her little finger and made a pinky promise to Jack. When their thumbs pressed against each other, she suddenly thought that maybe the future wouldn't be that bad after all. At the very least, she would always have Jack. …Caroline sat in Cheryl's office until it was time to get off work. Her assistant entered the room and asked, "Ms. Evans, Ms. Hackett's resigned. Should we tidy up the place for the next—""That's not necessary. Just clear out another office when the new one comes. We'll keep this office as is." "Wouldn't it be a waste, though?" the assistant asked gingerly. "Are you saying that I don't have the power to decide how a room should be left now?" Caroline snapped. The assistant paled. "N-No! That's not what I meant. I'll go and tell the cleaners about this then." That said, she walked out of the room in haste. Since Caroline wasn't in a good mood right now, the best optio
"I heard that the Hacketts are going to hold a banquet for Cheryl to welcome her back home. It's said to be held in three days' time. Is it true?""Of course it is! I heard that all the members of the big four families have received invitations for the banquet.""Hackett Group and Evans Group were enemies before this. Will Caroline attend it?""She probably will. Didn't Cheryl work at Evans Group before this? Besides, the Hacketts have promised that they won't make things tough for Evans Group anymore." "Who knows? We'll get our answers on the day of the banquet." …At the Hacketts' residence, Cheryl was occupied with checking the invitations."Have we sent one to Eddy Morrison?" she asked. One day ago, Kirk had called her and specifically asked her to make sure that Eddy would attend the banquet. Although she wasn't sure what Kirk was up to, she knew that he wanted to teach Eddy a lesson. The maid in charge of the invites replied, "We sent it to him a couple of days ago
At Morrison Manor, Simon knocked on the door and entered the room. "Mr. Morrison, Mr. Eddy, the Hacketts called us again. They're asking if Mr. Eddy will attend the banquet for Ms. Cheryl." Eddy scoffed. "They called us again? Weren't they rude enough to stop working with us all of a sudden?" Thomas said, "It's always been nothing more than mutual cooperation between us and the Hacketts. But they betrayed us by chickening out so suddenly."He continued, "If we attend their banquet, it will only seem like we're the ones who fear them. I don't think you should attend it this time." "Why not?" Eddy didn't agree. "The Hacketts must have invited Caroline. This is a golden opportunity for me to see her. Why shouldn't I attend it?" This made Thomas frown in displeasure. "Eddy, didn't I tell you to let go of her? It does you no good to keep on thinking about her." "You want me to give up on her just like this? No. I want to tell her in person that the man she loves is a coward who w
"Got it," said Simon. He left the room to do what he was told. …Soon after that, the Hacketts received news that Eddy would attend the banquet. Cheryl told Kirk about it too. "It seems like Eddy's made up his mind. He's not giving up any chance to see Caroline," said Kirk. Sean stared at him for a while before saying, "Is he going to tell Caroline your identity during the banquet?"Kirk's face was as impassive as ever as he glanced at the map in front of him. There was a tiny red circle on it. Someone had drawn it there. Sean looked at the spot that was circled and realized that it was a place called 'Royals Tomb'. He took a sharp intake of breath. "Your plan … Is it completed?" After a while, Kirk finally raised his eyes to meet Sean's. "Yes. Everything's in place. Three days later, I'll end things with Eddy once and for all." Sean regarded Kirk with worried eyes, but he swallowed his words. Instead of providing words of concern, he simply smiled and said, "I've go
"Why won't you let me say hi to her?" Gwen asked, watching Cheryl enter the mall with a few other women. "Forget it. It doesn't matter," said Caroline. "See those women with her just now? They're all from the Hackett family, and all of them are powerful figures. What would they think if we approached Cheryl just to say hi?" She continued, "She's in the spotlight, so she has to be careful with everything she does. We shouldn't cause her any trouble. Besides, we'll get to see her in three days. There's no need to rush." "Fine," Gwen relented. "I would have hugged her already if it hadn't been for them. Look at how skinny she looks! I bet she's not happy living with the Hacketts." Caroline glanced in the direction where they had seen Cheryl. No one was there anymore, so she looked away. "What about us? Should we go shopping at this mall too?""Why not? I haven't prepared a gift for Cheryl," said Caroline. "Let's go." With that, the two of them went into the mall. It was so
The clothes were either too childish or too mature."Thank you. I still think this suits me better." Cheryl rejected everyone's deceptive suggestions and walked over to an aqua dress.This dress had gentle colors and didn't appear too inappropriate. However, it was so plain that it downplayed her brilliance as the lady of the hour. But it also wasn't so showy that it outshone the brilliance of the other members of the Hackett family."I'd like to try this one," Cheryl told the saleswoman.The saleswoman glanced at the manager. Seeing that the manager didn't nod, the clerk dared not take matters into her own hands. The manager acted based on the mood of the women in the Hackett family. These ladies were all regular customers. The manager knew everything about them.When he saw the dresses they showed to Cheryl, he could tell they were trying to embarrass her. Hence, he couldn't decide what to do. He could only look at Theodora Langley, the most distinguished woman of the bunch.