"I'm sorry. I got too invested in work and forgot about the time."Jack quickly replied, "Miss, please don't say that. I'm not entitled to an explanation. Please, do get in the car."Cheryl stood to the side and watched as Jack opened the door for Caroline. Then, she regarded the interior of the car and felt great admiration. She said lowly to Caroline, "Caroline, your family treats you so well. They even prepared a car just to take you places."Cheryl's mention of family was like a knife stabbing into Caroline's heart.Caroline lowered her head, hiding the hurt in her eyes. "It's not an arrangement by my family. It's by the company."Cheryl was taken aback. "The company? Then why don't the other directors get such treatment?"From what she'd seen, all the other directors drove themselves to and from work.Caroline was stunned. "What did you say?"They were speaking so quietly that Jack couldn't hear it from the front seat. Jack kept his focus on driving."I said …" Cheryl b
Kirk's nose was at Caroline's collarbones. He sniffed her familiar scent. But all that came to his mind were all the things Sarah had done to Caroline during this time.He couldn't imagine how Caroline's small, fragile body would handle her parents' betrayal.Kirk hugged Caroline even tighter. "It's nothing. I just want to hug you."Caroline felt her heartstrings being plucked and trembled minutely.She allowed Kirk to hold her. All was quiet around them. It seemed as though there were an invisible ribbon tying their hearts together.As she listened to Kirk's heartbeat, Caroline started to feel sleepy.Suddenly, a coldness spread from her collarbone. Caroline got a fright, and whatever sleepiness she felt disappeared without a trace.She opened her eyes wide and saw Kirk biting her collarbone, sucking gently."Are you a dog?"Caroline really didn't know what to do with him.Kirk looked up and touched the pretty red mark on Caroline's collarbone. "From now on, you're min
Caroline was called to the conference room the moment she arrived at the company.Everyone in the conference wore a stern expression. But when they saw Caroline, their eyes focused on her intently for a few seconds.Especially Vivian's.There was a look of unbridled mockery in her eyes.Jules said to Caroline regretfully, "Ms. Evans, I'm very sorry. Mr. French's assistant called this morning and said he has agreed to our partnership."Caroline gave a slight smile. "But this is a good thing.""But …" Jules didn't dare meet Caroline's eyes. "Mr. French has decided to use Vivian's design."Caroline's smile froze for a second but then grew bigger. "Does Mr. French not want to look at my design?""That … seems to be the case."Caroline still maintained her smile. "I think it's better if he takes a look anyway.""You think?" Vivian laughed mockingly. "Mr. French's time is precious. What makes you think he will waste his time on you?"Caroline looked at Vivian calmly. "His stub
But now …Vivian's face lost all its color for a second before going back to normal."Mr. French, shouldn't we sign the contract first?" Vivian went forward and reminded him quietly.Corvin said, "Yes, yes. We should sign the contract. It's all my fault for forgetting everything upon seeing Ms. Evans."As he spoke, he turned toward one of the seats. But Caroline called out to stop him. "Mr. French, can I please make a request?"Corvin answered, "Of course you can.""You've only seen Ms. Patterson's design, not mine. May I please take up a little of your time and have you look at my design?"Corvin hesitated. "But … I'm very happy with Vivian's design. Is it necessary to look at another one?"When Vivian heard this, she smiled in delight."Did you hear that? 'Is it necessary to look at another one?' I've been a designer for ten years, after all, Caroline. Compared to me, aren't you just embarrassing yourself and asking to be mocked?"When it came to this, many people support
Vivian's expression changed slightly. "Caroline, you've lost. Are you going to badmouth my work just because of that? Your character is just as bad as your designs. Now I know why you only managed to marry a driver!"Corvin raised an eyebrow when he heard this.He'd thought that there was something between Caroline and Kirk. But it turned out that Caroline was already married.He was just about to speak when Caroline spoke softly."Mr. French, I admit that you are a renowned and respected name in the skincare industry. When we talked about artistry a few days ago, I thought you disagreed that artistry also needed to serve business purposes. That's why your products are so good, but not all consumers agree."Caroline was going overboard by saying such things to such a renowned expert in the field.Everyone turned pale from fright. They were scared that Corvin would change his mind and refuse to sign the contract with Thorne Corporation.Even Jules thought Caroline was being too b
"My goodness, I'm getting goosebumps!""Help, this is too amazing! No one could do this without ten years of honing one's skills!""Go and see if an artist with ten years of experience can do something like this. Goodness, this isn't just some simple design with commercial value. It's a masterwork with artistic and commercial value!"Compared to Caroline's design, Vivian's twelve-flower design became plain and uninteresting.Corvin pulled his admiring gaze away from Caroline's design. "I've decided to use Ms. Evans' design!"Once he said this, Vivian's expression twisted in anger.She bit her lip hard. Just when she was about to speak, Corvin cut her off."Vivian's design is great too, but compared with Ms. Evans' … Hmm, how should I put it? They're as different as heaven and earth. Vivian, you need to learn more from Ms. Evans."His last comment made Vivian want to scream.Why should she, someone with ten years of experience, learn from a newbie?Everyone in the room wore di
When Caroline returned to the design department, she could feel that the atmosphere was different from before.The way the others looked at her had changed. Their expressions were no longer filled with mockery and disdain. They were full of fear.Caroline knew what they were thinking. She regarded each of them. "The design department allows constructive competition and also questioning. But it doesn't allow slander. As long as you do your jobs, no one will make life difficult for you."Her words brought relief to those who had stood behind Vivian before.After saying this, Caroline went to her office.Cheryl followed Caroline into the office. Open admiration filled her face."Ms. Evans, you're amazing. I admire you so much! How did you draw those eyes? Can you teach me?"Caroline smiled and took out her phone. It was filled with notifications. People from other departments were adding her on social media.She accepted every one of them.The second she put down her phone,
Kirk answered the phone very quickly. He sounded like he was in a good mood. "Darling, is something the matter?"When Caroline heard Kirk's low and magnetic voice through the phone, goosebumps rose on the skin of her arm.She settled her emotions and said, "I'll be attending a welcome party at the company tonight. Do you want to come?"Kirk smiled devilishly. "This is your company's welcome party. How can I attend when I'm an outsider?"Caroline was dumbstruck.Why did she feel like Kirk was doing this on purpose?"Of course because …"Kirk stretched out his legs. He gave a slightly playful look to his astounded underlings. Then, he turned around, lightly cajoling. "Because?""You're my family! Is that good enough for you?"Caroline had no more words to say to him.Kirk's voice became lower. It was deep and smooth. "You're finally acknowledging me.""Are you coming or not?" Caroline's face was starting to burn.Kirk sighed. "Of course I want to attend. It's such a great
Soon, Kirk and Caroline met up with Thomas. When he saw the two of them, his eyes turned bloodshot from the rage boiling within him. "You won!" He spat with so much force that it seemed like he had used up all his strength for it. "Things didn't have to come to this," Kirk said calmly as he sat down beside Thomas. Thomas snorted derisively. "Oh really? If you hadn't chosen to marry Caroline at such short notice, do you think Eddy would have died? You two were the cause of the tragedy!" Caroline didn't feel like talking anymore after seeing how foolishly adamant Thomas was. She gave Kirk a look, and he hummed in acknowledgment. When he turned to face Thomas again, his eyes were frosty "I'm here to tell you something," he said.Thomas let out a bark of scornful laughter. "Why? What else do you have to tell me, huh? Are you going to tell me that you have a child now?" "It's not about me and Caroline's child. It's about yours," Kirk stated plainly as he stared at Thomas
"Yes, it's true! Why would I lie to you about something so important?" Betty said. "This is wonderful! Marietta's wish has finally come true." Caroline turned to look at Marietta, who had just stopped by the door. Marietta was so shocked by the results that she was too stunned to speak. All she did was stare at Caroline in silence. Caroline opened her lips to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. She and Marietta stood facing each other, tears streaming down their cheeks. The next second, the two of them rushed toward each other and hugged each other as tightly as they could. The words that were at the tip of their tongues turned into tears at this significant moment. The others felt touched as they witnessed the mother-daughter duo's reunion. After some time, Betty broke the silence. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and call her 'Mom'!"Caroline had once used that word to address Marietta, but she hadn't known that Marietta was her biological mother back then.
Blushing, Caroline nodded. However, Kirk couldn't lift his head due to his injuries. So, Caroline took the initiative to bend over so that she was closer to him. Their lips touched. Yet before Caroline could get that warm, fuzzy feeling she always had when they kissed, she heard Gwen's voice. "Oh? Did we come at the wrong time?" Gwen grinned.It gave Caroline such a shock that she almost fell to the ground. Cheryl reacted quickly and gave Caroline an arm to hold on to for support. Steadying herself, Caroline stared daggers at Gwen, who giggled and placed the supplements she had brought on a table. Sean and Kirk started discussing what had happened that day, while Caroline led Gwen and Cheryl out of the ward. "Are you two back together?" Gwen asked. There was a sparkle in her eyes, which said enough about how eager she was to gossip. When Caroline nodded, Gwen patted her back gleefully and said, "Great! We all know how much Kirk loves you, even though he kept his ident
As Caroline mentally prepared to face death, there was a sudden, loud commotion. The noise was followed by gusts of wind that were so strong that no one could pry their eyes open to see what was going on. Still, Caroline could make out the silhouette of a helicopter above her. She had no idea what had happened next, though. …When she woke up, she was already lying on a bed in a ward. Beside her were Betty and Marietta, their eyes red and puffy from crying. When they noticed that Caroline was awake, the two of them shot up from their chairs."Carrie? You're finally awake!" Still groggy, Caroline forced herself to hum in response. After getting up, she grabbed Betty's hand and said, "Where's Kirk?" "He's fine," said Betty while wiping the tears off her cheeks. "He's in another ward, but he hasn't woken up yet." "Can I see him?" Caroline asked, tearing up. Betty nodded and asked Sean to push Caroline's wheelchair to the ward next door. Caroline couldn't hold back her
Kirk and Caroline hadn't even caught their breaths yet when they sensed a more intense attack coming their way. It didn't seem like these people were human. They seemed like monsters, bringing destruction wherever they went. Caroline watched the situation outside in concern. "Why hasn't Nightshade come back yet? Did he lie to us?" she asked. Kirk gritted his teeth and replied, "No, he wouldn't. They're all people from the dark web, and they're all honorable. Since he promised to bring the top two assassins, he'll definitely come back."As he spoke, he pushed her into a car. "But before that, you have to leave first," he insisted.Caroline noticed that his words were only directed at her. She grabbed his hand tightly. "What do you mean by that?"What did he mean she had to leave first?He replied, "Finn has sent over all his trump cards. If you don't leave, I have no doubt that he'll come here too. So, you need to leave now!" Caroline grabbed his hand. "We haven't gone to Ci
When she saw his reaction, Caroline couldn't help but smile. "What I mean is, let's head to City Hall to re-register our marriage certificate. The information we used to register our marriage before was all fake. "Can we update it with the real information now?"Kirk brightened up. "No problem."She looked at him and smiled again. However, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Oh, I forgot about Thomas. Do you think he'll send someone to ambush us when we go to City Hall?"Kirk fell silent. He didn't want to change the plans, but he still said, "Then, let's wait for Nightshade to find the assassins—"Before he could finish his sentence, gunshots rang out from downstairs. His face dropped, and he rushed to the window, where he saw two groups of people engaged in a gunfight. One of the groups was Thomas' men."What's going on?" Caroline asked as she got up from bed."Thomas must have found out that Nightshade left, so he took the chance to ambush us."Kirk led her to a
"If you make up with Kirk, I'll help you find them both."Caroline and Kirk were stunned to hear Nightshade's condition. Kirk had never expected Nightshade to say such a thing. Caroline was also in disbelief. She felt somewhat reluctant to agree to it."You don't agree?" Nightshade asked when Caroline remained silent. "Alright then, if you disagree, I won't look for them. Besides, Thomas is already planning to go all out against you. "When the time comes, I can escape. But what about you two?"Caroline looked at Kirk. "Thomas plans to go all out against us? You're not lying to me?"Kirk met her eyes and gulped. "No."She pondered for a moment, then looked at Nightshade again. "Do you really have a way to help us find the two assassins?""Of course.""Okay." Caroline lowered her head. "As long as you can help us find those two assassins, I'll agree to your condition."On the other side of the room, Betty and Marietta exclaimed excitedly when they heard her words. "Carrie, do
When Betty noticed how confused everyone looked, she said, "Oh, dear. Did you all forget?"Back then, when Marietta did the DNA test with that girl from the Hackett family—no, the fake Ms. Hackett—Caroline was the one who went to the restaurant with her."She continued, "Didn't we look through the footage from that day? Then, we called in the people who were at the restaurant that day to do another DNA test."Although they had unfortunately been unable to find Marietta's daughter, Betty still considered it a great effort. "We had thought that we had tested everyone. But there was someone who we didn't test!" Betty's eyes lit up as she looked at Caroline. Marietta immediately understood what she meant. She looked at Caroline with excitement, but she didn't dare to get her hopes up. "Caroline…"Caroline also looked at Marietta excitedly. "I… Aunt Mary… this… Is it possible?"Betty replied, "Why wouldn't it be possible? We tested so many people back then, and you were the only
Sarah was about to tell Caroline, but Dan stopped her."Don't tell her. Let her live in pain without ever knowing who her real parents are. Besides, do you really think she will get us the best lawyer?"Caroline wasn't upset that they hadn't taken the bait. Instead, a small smile appeared on her face. "You still have some sanity left."Upon realizing her trick, Sarah shouted angrily, "You liar!"However, she was taken away before she could shout more. Caroline watched as Sarah and Dan disappeared in the police cars. The feigned strength on her face finally disappeared. She might never find her parents in this life. But she didn't regret it. She tilted her head and glanced at Kirk, Cheryl, and Jack beside her. She had no regrets anymore.Even though she couldn't get her parents back, she was content that she had so many friends."Let's head back." Caroline's voice was weary. She needed a good rest, but there was still a tough battle waiting for her. The news about Caroline n