Kathryn was speechless. There was no feasible way for Chris to take action against the Johnsons at this point. After all, Victor and Chris were close friends, so Chris really couldn't interfere with Tally if Victor chose to stop him.She gasped and looked at Chris in disbelief. "What are you looking at?" he asked."Do you think she was forced to do this?""You don't have to worry about that. She's smarter than you are," Chris chuckled. However, he didn't mention that although Tally was smart, she'd clearly been influenced by Kathryn.Kathryn was still worried, so she called Tally while Chris was getting some documents downstairs.Since Tally had stayed up too late last night, she was still sleeping when the call woke her up. "Kathryn?" she asked sleepily."A-Are you getting married?""I'm getting engaged. Can't you tell the difference?" Tally knew Kathryn had seen the announcement when she heard the question.At the time, she was worried Victor would regret his decision whi
Tally didn't know that Markus had been there since midnight and showed no intention of leaving. His presence had kept Randall up the whole night.At the moment, Randall's tone made it obvious just how much anger he was repressing. "If you don't want me to send my men after you, then come back here at once!""G-Got it." Tally was actually quite scared of Randall's stern voice. He only ever used that voice when things were getting serious.For example, he'd used that voice when asking her to find work outside and learn the ropes. She hadn't protested at all because of that.Pissing him off when he was being stern was a bad idea.Tally quickly changed. By the time she got back home, it was already past nine in the morning. Sure enough, Markus was there.Randall was discussing something with Markus, wearing a grim but respectful look. Tally teared up when she saw that. Who was Markus to make her father so panicked? Was he trying to abuse his power?Randall's face turned even mor
Markus' breathing sped up. Tally had no clue why he was this threatening. He was the one who had suggested this in the first place.Why wasn't he happy that she had actually pulled it off? "Oh, right. The engagement party's next week. Do come celebrate with us."They were even having an engagement party? Markus really wanted to strangle Tally to death right now. Truly, people were just like their friends. What was she spending time with Kathryn for? Now, she was just as dumb as her!When Markus got in the car and left, Tally scratched her head in confusion. "I just don't get what men want sometimes," she grumbled to herself. Suddenly, her phone buzzed, and she got a text.It was from Markus. The text read, "Get to work now!" Even through the screen, Tally could feel his anger.She had a feeling that if she went to work today, Markus would make her work overtime until she dropped dead. Just the thought of that made her shudder. Men were so scary.She had already made a sol
Over at Albert Group, Chris had called Victor Glenn over. Kathryn thought Chris was in a meeting, so she'd bought some fruit juice and snacks before bringing them in silently.When she realized Chris and Victor were there, she froze. "A-Aren't you in a meeting?" Kathryn stuttered, hiding her hands behind her back instinctively.Chris looked at her sharply. "What did you buy?""Um, food. I'm hungry." Kathryn had eaten a lot back at Sunshine Bay, but she was at a stage where she would feel hungry a lot of the time."What food?""Fruit juice and fries." There was nothing good to buy downstairs at this hour, and she was hungry."Come here." Chris' tone was the sternest she'd ever heard from him. Even Victor frowned at him, not understanding why he was so serious all of a sudden.Victor couldn't help but wonder if his wife was not allowed to eat.Kathryn walked over nervously. "W-What is it?""Give it.""What?"Chris shot her a look that she understood immediately. She quickly pl
Chris had banned food from the office, so he had one less way to get to know women. After Chris put down the juice, he shot Victor a serious look. "You need to call off your engagement with Tally Johnson."Victor was about to light a cigarette when he froze. Then, he looked at Chris confusedly. "What do you mean?"Chris had never been clear about Tally's matters in the first place, and now he'd called him over with such a serious look. Was there really something big going on?"She's currently working for Skyline Group," Chris said."So? She could work for me if she wanted." Victor still hadn't understood what Chris meant. She was just one woman, and he was rich enough to provide for her for her whole life if he wanted.When Chris noticed Victor still hadn't figured it out, he stated more directly, "Markus was the one who forced her to work there."Victor didn't know what to say. Markus? Forcing her? What on earth was going on? Why would he do that? "Wow, his recruitin
Victor had been so surprised that he'd rejected Tally without a second thought, but he didn't expect Tally to visit him for the second time."Markus probably wouldn't agree to that," Chris said. After all, the amount of interest Markus had shown in Tally wasn't exactly tiny. He was probably furious after that stunt Tally pulled.Victor scoffed. "It doesn't matter whether he agrees. Tally's already my fiancée."The way Victor saw it, women were so troublesome. So if he finally found one that wasn't, and she'd literally showed up on his doorstep, why would he let go of her?It was Markus' own fault for losing the girl. Finders keepers. In his world of criminals, this was how things worked."Then you can leave," Chris said."What?""Pretend we never met up today.""Hold on. Markus may be your former right-hand man, but there's no need to end a friendship over him, is there?" Victor didn't know what to say. Chris was not a coward, so why was he acting like this?"I'm staying out
"Thank you so much! How much are all these? I'll pay you back," Kathryn said. "No need. These are all considered business expenses.""Chris asked you to get these?" Kathryn finally remembered that when Tara had brought the fruits in, she already mentioned Chris had gotten her to buy them. That made Kathryn feel warm inside.Everyone knew that if Chris asked you to get something, it could be claimed as a business expense.After Tara left, Kathryn took the fruit bowl and sat near the balcony. She wasn't really picky. In fact, she got hungry so easily that anything was fine with her. But fruit juice was her favorite.When she thought about spending five dollars on the fruit juice and not being able to drink it, she died a little on the inside.Chris was handling documents when Tara came out and said, "I've given her the fruits, Mr. Albert. She seemed to like all of them.""Mm-hmm, good work. Take note of what she likes.""Alright, I will." Tara nodded. She had a feeling that Chri
Wasn't Tally supposed to be busy right now? Where did she get the time to go on a date with Victor? Markus' gaze turned sharp as he picked up the phone and called the sales manager, who picked up almost instantly. "Mr. Hunt?""Where's Tally?""W-What?" The sudden question confused the manager a little. After all, why would Markus call her just to ask about one worker? And why did he sound a little off?Markus gripped his phone a little tighter. "Did she sign the deals?""I don't think so. The two clients from this morning were major clients, and they'd asked specifically for her."Clients this big usually took up a lot of time during the negotiation stage, so they probably hadn't signed the contracts yet.The sales manager could already tell something was up with Markus and quickly left her office. When she saw that Lisa was the one dealing with the clients, she broke into a cold sweat."Tally must have left. A different employee is doing the signing.""Why did she leave he
After leaving the Hunt residence, Tally made her way directly to Victor's company.Worried she might lose her way, Drew had been waiting downstairs in anticipation of her arrival.When Tally saw Victor, her face lit up with joy."You should've seen Mr. Hunt Senior's expression earlier. He looked like he wanted to eat me alive." Tally couldn't help but laugh.Victor reached for her hand as they sat down on the couch together. "Were you scared?" he asked.As Tally sat down, she casually looked back and noticed a framed photograph on Victor's desk.Out of curiosity, she picked it up and examined it. But with just one glance, she froze in surprise."When... when was this taken?" she asked. Her shock was evident as she turned to Victor.The picture was taken back when they were at Beverly Peak, during his hospital stay after being bitten by a wolf.She remembered looking after him until she herself fell asleep.In the picture, her eyes were closed, her expression peaceful.Victor
What made it even more absurd was that Elijah bought into it, too.Tally couldn't believe Elijah couldn't see through Markus' façade. He actually bought into Markus' excuse that his behavior was all because of her.And now he was acting like he'd rather die than leave her."Fucking hell," Tally muttered inwardly. She wondered who came up with this messed-up plan for Markus.Clearly, Tally couldn't quite grasp how Markus' mental state could deteriorate like this. However, given his history of going insane, this outrageous plan didn't seem entirely implausible.He was perfectly fine when he was with Albert Group, so how did he end up like this back at Skyline Group?Tally just couldn't figure it out.Elijah shot her a sharp look, gritting his teeth as he said, "You, leave!"Zane hesitated, saying, "Sir, but…""Just let her leave!" Elijah insisted.Elijah's words were punctuated by short, hurried breaths.Tally nodded, saying, "Mr. Hunt Senior, you're indeed the more rational o
Elijah and Zane glanced at each other. Then, their stares turned sharper as they both fixed their eyes on Tally.Tally swallowed nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?""You're not even married to Victor, so why are you calling yourself a married woman?" Elijah snapped, his anger evident.Tally remained silent.Observing Elijah's furious expression, she nonchalantly rummaged through her bag, retrieving the marriage certificate and wedding invitation.Then, she handed them over to Zane.Zane took the documents and swiftly flipped them open. His eyes widened in disbelief as he read through them.He promptly handed both documents over to Elijah.As Elijah took them and examined them, his expression darkened significantly upon seeing Tally and Victor's marriage certificate.He was shocked when he saw that their wedding date was today, along with the printed timestamp.In that instant, Elijah's breathing grew heavier.He glared at Tally with an
Tally was completely baffled by what was happening."I've been straightforward about my feelings for him," Tally complained under her breath.From her perspective, if something were to happen to Markus now, she shouldn't be blamed solely for her decision to get married. Victor nodded, saying, "Yeah, I know."Victor had always been aware of this. By now, Markus had become such a puzzle that Victor couldn't quite figure him out.Considering how clear Tally had always been about her feelings toward Markus, it was puzzling how he got himself involved in this mess.This time, Victor didn't accompany Tally to the Hunt Residence. He believed she could handle the Hunt family on her own.The atmosphere at the Hunt residence was incredibly tense at the moment.The moment Tally stepped inside, she could practically feel the frost coming off Elijah. His gaze seemed to pierce right through her.Zane's tone was far from pleasant as he said, "Um, take a look at this."With that, he passed
Tally was pretty happy a moment ago. But now, she was all worked up talking about the Hunts.Earlier on the road, Tally filled Victor in on the phone call she received from the Hunt residence.Victor's lips twitched as he heard the news. "So Markus left a suicide note and vanished?""Exactly. Can you believe the trouble he's stirring up now?" Tally shook her head incredulously.Tally was utterly exasperated with Markus by now. It had been a while since this whole thing started.She had to admit, these days had been incredibly "fulfilling" for her. It was so fulfilling that it almost left her reeling.And it wasn't just Tally struggling to keep up. Even Victor had been taken aback by how things were unfolding.He shot Tally a look of disbelief. "So you're going to the Hunt residence now?""Yeah, I'm going. I want those Hunts to know that I'm officially yours. Let's see if they have more shameless tricks up their sleeves."When it came to describing the Hunts, Tally summed it up
Tally was beginning to see where Markus got his persistent nature from. It ran in the family. It was as the saying went—like father, like son.No sooner had she ended the call, the phone rang again.Tally took a deep breath, reminding herself that today was supposed to be a happy day, not one filled with annoyance.But dealing with these people…After giving it some thought, she hesitantly answered, "Zane!""Ms. Johnson, you might want to come over to the Hunt residence."Tally asked, "What's going on now?"She was almost out of patience with these people.Zane explained, "Mr. Markus left behind a suicide note."Tally's expression froze in disbelief.A suicide note? Tally couldn't comprehend what was happening. She wondered if Markus was pulling another one of his stunts.It had only been less than an hour since Elijah arranged his marriage, and now he went ahead and left a suicide note."Where is he?" Tally raised an eyebrow.With everything happening so quickly, it all f
Looking at her identification papers, Tally let out a sigh of relief.Fortunately, Tally had some knowledge of her father's habits. Otherwise, guessing the password for the safe, which belonged to her comatose father, would have been a daunting task.When Irina called, Tally answered, "Hey, Irina.""Guess what? Markus is engaged!""What?" Tally was shocked.Irina shared her surprise."This time, it seems Mr. Hunt Senior might genuinely have it out for you. We haven't even made a move, and suddenly they're announcing Markus and Sarah's engagement.""Sarah?" Tally was even more surprised.It was only today that they found out who had been secretly admiring Markus. Before they could even step in, Elijah had taken the initiative.It seemed like all these years, Elijah appeared unconcerned, but he actually knew everything.But if he was dead set on hating her, then so be it. Tally couldn't care less.On the other hand, if Elijah truly desired for her and Markus to be together all
Elijah said, "Very well, then."Thinking about his troublesome son, Elijah wondered how he hadn't noticed Markus' extremity in his romantic pursuits before.Elijah was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath.Giving Markus a fierce look, he tried to hold back. Despite that, he couldn't resist putting in one final word, "No matter how much you want to be with Tally, I won't allow it."This time, there was no room for negotiation.At Elijah's words, Markus' eyes turned cold. "I'm afraid you have no say in this.""You..." Elijah's breath hitched as he heard Markus' retort. In a fit of rage, he grabbed a teacup and hurled it toward him.At that moment, Elijah felt an overwhelming urge to lash out at Markus.Elijah insisted, "Regardless of your decision, you and Sarah are officially engaged starting today."His tone was unusually firm.At this point, Elijah wasn't asking for Markus' opinion. He was simply informing him.Regarding Tally becoming Elijah's daughter-in-law, Elijah
Kathryn was confused when Jessica suddenly shoved her into the car and promptly closed the door. With her hand still gripping the door handle, Kathryn looked up at Jessica and suggested, "Uh, how about dinner tonight?"Upon hearing Kathryn's dinner suggestion, Jessica paused before nodding and responding, "Let's talk about it later. I'll give you a call."Jessica seemed really busy, and Kathryn could tell from the way she talked that she was in a rush.Kathryn couldn't help but feel for Jessica as she watched her close the car door and hurried off toward the nearby office building, waving goodbye as she went.Kathryn found herself wondering who Jessica was in such a rush to meet.Kathryn couldn't resist stealing a glance back as the car pulled away. In that brief moment, Kathryn's heart skipped a beat as she saw Jessica walking alongside Lloyd. They were heading toward the glass doors of the building.Before Kathryn could double-check what she saw, the car had already turned.