The bar was filled with beautiful women, but none quite had the presence that Lydia did. As soon as she stepped inside, men holding drinks were quick to approach her.“Hey gorgeous, I’ve got a booth over there and a bottle of whiskey. Why don’t you join us for a drink?”“Forget him, come with me. I’m a VIP member here. Whatever you want, we’ll order it.”Without so much as a glance, Lydia brushed past them, her expression unchanged. “Excuse me.”She made her way to the bar, took out her card, and rented a private booth for herself. She ordered a case of beer and sat down alone. She mechanically cracked open bottles, one after the other, pouring the liquid down her throat. Before long, the table was littered with empty bottles.Lydia had hoped the alcohol would dull the pain, but the more she drank, the clearer her mind became. Unwanted memories flooded in. Snapshots of Quincy filled her thoughts. From moments at work to their everyday life together, all these fragments blended i
The bottle shattered into countless pieces, scattering across the floor. The woman jumped back, startled by the sudden violence. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared at Quincy in disbelief. “What the hell are you doing?”“I told you to get lost,” Quincy finally looked at her.His gaze was void of any emotion or desire, filled only with pure disdain. In that moment, the woman felt a sharp sting of rejection. Was she really that undesirable? A man who wouldn’t even consider a woman throwing herself at him, going so far as to smash a bottle. How harsh.“Fine, I’ll leave! What, you think you’re the only option I’ve got?” she retorted, her pride wounded. She spat out, “With that attitude, who else would even want you? If you didn’t want to be bothered, why come to a place like this?”Bars were for unwinding, for indulging in pleasure, so what was he doing pretending to be the good guy?Quincy didn’t respond. As the noise around him quieted, he sat back down, lost in his tho
“Eugene, I’m telling you one more time. I don’t need you here. Just go home,” Lydia’s tone grew more impatient.She had come out late to have a drink, clear her mind, and ease her frustrations, not to have Eugene hovering around, nagging her endlessly.Eugene, however, didn’t budge. Instead, he sat down beside her and opened a bottle of beer for himself.“If you want to drink, then I’ll drink with you. Whenever you’ve had enough and want to go home, I’ll take you.”Lydia found herself at a loss for words. Suddenly, she no longer felt like drinking. She placed the bottle aside and looked at the men and women swaying wildly in the dance floor under the neon lights.How she wished Quincy was the one beside her right now.“Lydia, how about we head over and dance for a bit?” Eugene offered.Earlier, as he walked into the bar, he spotted Quincy. That man really was everywhere, like a shadow that refused to disappear. Or maybe it was just fate. No matter how they tried to avoid each ot
The man, dazed from the beating, looked up to see Quincy’s furious face. Instantly, he cowered, forcing a smile. “I get it, I get it. She’s all yours. I’ll leave right now, I promise not to bother you two. Take your time, big guy.”Quincy grabbed him by the collar and firmly warned him again. “A woman is a person, not something you can just hand over. You don’t have the right to talk like that.”The only reason Quincy had intervened was to stop an innocent woman from being harassed, not to claim her for himself. Apart from Lydia, he didn’t want anyone.“Yes, yes, you’re right,” the man mumbled as he scrambled to his feet and darted away, grumbling under his breath about Quincy. Acting all noble but everyone knew why guys came to a place like this. It was solely to pick up women.Quincy didn’t bother chasing him. Instead, he turned to give a word of caution to the woman. She should be careful hanging around a bar at night like this. But then he froze.It was Lydia.“Quincy? Am I s
If Lydia didn’t recognize him, Quincy would leave her to rest. He knew she was drunk, and he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation.“Quincy, I could never forget your face. Do you really think I wouldn’t know it’s you?” Lydia looked at him, her voice slightly slurred. Though her vision was hazy under the dim light, her emotions were clear. She was letting herself believe this was a dream, one where she could finally release all the feelings she had kept bottled up for so long. She repeated Quincy’s name, over and over.Hearing her say his name was intoxicating to Quincy, more so than any alcohol. He leaned down, kissed her deeply, and they lost themselves in the moment, wrapped in each other’s arms. Hours passed, and by the time they were done, Lydia was completely spent, too exhausted to even get up and shower. She drifted off to sleep almost immediately. For the first time in a long while, they both slept soundly.As the sunlight filtered through the curtains the next
He lay on the bed until Lydia opened her eyes.When she saw Eugene, she froze for a moment, her mind going blank. She struggled to speak, “Last night… how did we end up here?”The fragments of memory lingering in her mind told her that she had been with Quincy, so why was it suddenly Eugene? She couldn’t accept this reality.“Lydia, I told you to head home early last night, but you insisted on letting me go alone. How could I leave you there at the bar? Surrounded by men who were eyeing you like prey? I couldn’t risk that, but despite all my precautions, you still fell into their trap.” Eugene’s voice dripped with false sincerity as he spun his tale.His expression conveyed nothing but concern. “They slipped something into your drink. When you went to grab some juice, you lost consciousness and nearly got taken away. Luckily, I arrived just in time to save you.”Lydia struggled to remember what had happened the night before. She recalled the sleazy guy who had tried to make a move
“Right,” Lydia suddenly stopped in her tracks. “I need to check out.”“No need for that. I booked last night’s room under my name, so we can head straight to the hospital. I’ll take care of everything else,” Eugene quickly interrupted her.Just as they were leaving, Quincy returned. He was holding breakfast from a popular spot that he had waited half an hour in line for. But it didn’t matter. If Lydia liked it, he would gladly wait even longer.“Excuse me, sir,” the receptionist suddenly called out to him. She looked at Quincy with sympathy, almost as if he were a tragic character. Here he was, up early to buy breakfast, only to find his girlfriend with another man. Unable to resist, she said, “Your girlfriend has already left. Would you like to check out?”“Uh, yeah, let’s just check out,” Quincy replied, startled. So, Lydia had woken up. She must have slipped away quietly, still unsure of how to face him. It might be best to let them both cool off for a while.After checki
She couldn’t just get divorced and then marry again right after. She also didn’t want to be tied to Eugene for the rest of her life. Even though they had slept together under the influence of the medication, her mind was always on Quincy. Now that she was awake, she felt a strong aversion to any physical contact with Eugene, even just a touch of hands.Eugene looked at her, disappointment evident in his eyes, but he was reluctant to give up. “Think it over, Lydia. There’s no rush to make a decision.”If she continued to refuse him, he would go to her parents. They had been so supportive of him and wanted to see them together. He was sure they would join forces to persuade Lydia.Lydia remained silent. No matter how long she considered it, she wouldn’t agree to marry Eugene.……Meanwhile, on Nina’s side, they hadn’t been in touch since Lydia left. During this time, Nash had approached Quincy about taking on a project, but Quincy was overwhelmed with family matters. Maintaining
Winnie reacted strongly, refusing to believe any of it. “We’ve known each other for so long. He’s always been so good to me, and he’s incredibly dedicated to his work. He’s an exceptional lawyer. How could he possibly do something like this? You have to investigate thoroughly and clear his name,” she said, her voice trembling. The captain waited until she finished before asking, “Miss Lewis, just now you called him ‘Jack.’ Is that right?” “Yes, that’s his name, Jack Green. We’re engaged, and we’re getting married soon. Is there a problem with me calling him that?” Winnie responded, momentarily stunned. Her first thought was that the captain was being unnecessarily nosy. Was it wrong for an engaged couple to call each other by their first names?The captain shook his head. “This has nothing to do with your upcoming marriage, but the name you’re using doesn’t match the one on his ID. Were you aware of that?” “You’re joking, right? That’s not funny,” Winnie said, her face
While Nash spent time with his daughter, Gemma, every day, Nina and Pharaoh had missed out on so much together. Now that the doctors had given Pharaoh only five years to live, it was clear they needed to make the most of the time they had left and create as many good memories as possible.Lydia completely understood.She waved goodbye to Nash, then linked her arm through Quincy’s as the two walked toward their parked car.“I was thinking that, since work has been slow, we could take a short trip to a nearby city,” Quincy said, glancing at her with a warm expression. “But it looks like we’ll have to postpone it.”With her by his side, life felt perfect.Lydia smiled. “If not this week, then next week or the one after. We’ve got all the time in the world.”They were still young, with plenty of time to do everything they wanted.……Meanwhile, Winnie was left alone at home since Jamie went out to work. With nothing else to do, she decided to tidy up. The villa was large, and clea
Nash was the first to speak. “Mrs. Lucas, what exactly happened to Ben? Can you tell us everything? Let’s see if there’s a way we can help.”“Alright. Thank goodness he has friends like you. Otherwise, I’d have no idea what to do right now.” Mrs. Lucas recounted the situation in detail but carefully omitted her own involvement.The living room fell silent, and everyone’s expressions darkened.“I raised Ben. I know my son. He would never do something like this. It must be a setup,” Mrs. Lucas said, her voice trembling with emotion. The more she spoke, the more heartbroken she felt. All she could think about now were her Ben’s virtues. Apart from refusing to listen to her about marriage and career plans, Ben had always been a good son.“Don’t worry, Mrs. Lucas. We’ll figure something out,” Lydia offered as she stood and gently guided Mrs. Lucas to the nearby study. “You should rest for a bit. Don’t wear yourself out.”Quincy watched Lydia closely as she left the room. Only when sh
Mrs. Lucas deeply regretted her decision. If she had known it would come to this, she would never have sought out this man for help. “You hide behind a mask and won’t even show your face. How can you call yourself a man?”“Mrs. Lucas, do you really think throwing insults will make me take off the mask and obediently do your bidding like a dog?” The masked man remained calm, his tone even laced with amusement, which only added to Mrs. Lucas’s frustration.She was on the verge of breaking down. “Just name your price. How much will it take to get my son out of there?”As long as Ben could walk out safely and unharmed, no amount of money was too much.But the masked man shook his head. “This isn’t about money. If it were that simple, you wouldn’t be here begging me for help.”The truth was, Mrs. Lucas had come to him because she had run out of options. He was her last hope. Yet, he shrugged nonchalantly, as if to show her just how powerless he really was.“I don’t make the laws, an
Why would Caden do this?“And then there’s that recent case you handled. The client is suspected of laundering money for an international corporation, and these are the ‘evidences’ you submitted.” The captain’s brows furrowed as he pulled a file from the side, placing it in front of Ben. “Take a look at what you turned in.”The documents were full of evasive arguments, but the worst part was that a check had somehow been slipped between the pages. With all this evidence piled up against him, even as a lawyer, Ben had no way to prove his innocence.He had no idea how things had come to this. He had personally organized and submitted these files to the court, but the ones on record were completely different. Someone had swapped them out.But who?Ben handled everything himself, except for having his assistant print the documents. Could it be…?“Mr. Lucas, the evidence is overwhelming. You’d better think about how to clear your name,” the captain said, standing up and looking at Ben
“Please come with us,” one of the officers stepped up, holding a pair of silver handcuffs.Ben was even more puzzled. He hadn’t done anything illegal. Why were these officers showing up at his office? And why the cuffs?His first reaction was to step back. “You must have the wrong person.”“Your name is Ben Lucas, right? We’ve already matched your photo. I suggest you don’t resist and just come along quietly,” the officer barked.They wouldn’t be here without solid evidence. There was no mistake.“If you’re taking me in, I’d like to know the reason,” Ben replied, still trying to make sense of what was happening.To the officers, his reaction came across as defiant, making him look even more suspicious.“Don’t tell me you’re unaware of your own wrongdoing? You’re supposed to be a lawyer, familiar with the law. How convenient to play ignorant when it applies to you!“Think carefully! Confess, and things might go easier for you. Resist, and you’ll only make it worse. Don’t interfe
How could Jamie feel right about taking the money? In just a few days, Winnie had already lent her so much. She couldn’t keep taking advantage of her.“Jamie, if I were living alone, I wouldn’t care so much. But now, with Jack and the baby on the way, it’s unrealistic for us to keep living together forever. Take this money. It’s enough to cover at least half a month’s rent,” Winnie said firmly.Jamie could hear the underlying message. Winnie was trying to hint, as gently as possible, that it might be time for Jamie to find her own place. It made sense. Winnie was building her own family and naturally wanted privacy. Having a relative around wasn’t exactly ideal, especially with everything Ben had been doing lately. While he hadn’t openly revealed anything about their past, it was clear enough that Winnie had noticed something.Jamie truly wanted to move out, but the moment she started looking for a place, Ben would make her life difficult. She didn’t mind for herself, but with
The next morning, Ben opened his eyes. He immediately noticed the blanket covering him. Could Jamie have been the one taking care of him last night?He sat up, only to see Winnie sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor.“You’re awake? You were so drunk last night that you passed out on the way home. It was a struggle just getting you here. I even tried to wake you up for some tea to help sober you up, but you were completely out,” Winnie said as she woke up, too.After straightening up the living room a bit, she went to the kitchen and came back with a mug of warm herbal tea. “I’m guessing the hangover’s mostly gone, so you probably don’t need anything strong. But this will soothe your throat.”“You don’t have to go through all this trouble,” Ben replied, placing the mug on the coffee table without drinking it.Ben looked around the room. It was just the two of them. Where had Jamie gone?The thought nagged at him, so he asked directly.“Jack, I’m not sure if I should say this…
“He… likes my sister?” The shocking thought had barely surfaced before it jolted Winnie. “You’ve got the wrong person. I’m not Winnie,” Jamie quickly pushed Ben toward Winnie’s side.A look of irritation crossed Ben’s face. It was Jamie he wanted to hold. What did Winnie have to do with him?Annoyed, he grumbled, “Why do you keep pushing me away?”“Jack, you’re mistaken. I’m your fiancée!” Winnie finally couldn’t hold back anymore. She strode over, took Ben’s hand, and placed it around her waist. “I get that my sister and I look a bit alike, but you can’t keep confusing us like this!”She had brushed it off the first couple of times, but this was going too far.Ben still seemed inclined to push her away.Just then, the taxi arrived, and Jamie opened the front passenger door, slipping inside. Seeing this, Ben staggered in her direction, while Winnie hurried to open the back door for him.Once inside, Ben leaned back in the seat and fell asleep almost immediately.Not wanti