The morning sunlight was warm and gentle. Alyssa woke up in her soft bed and did a full-body stretch under the blanket. She stretched her arms as far as she could with her bottom lifted. Her demeanor was like that of a drowsy cat.She changed into a white athleisure outfit and went rowing at the lake in the backyard as usual.Sean had freshened up early in the morning. He stood by the lake with a water bottle in his left hand. A clean towel hung on his right arm. He waited for Alyssa to be done."The videos of Betty harassing our hotel employee have been taken down from the internet. Even the trending keywords were gone." Sean handed her the white towel and thoughtfully opened the bottle cap for her. He continued, "There is some online traction on the scandal right now, but it will die down in no time. I don't think anything will come out of it.""That's unsurprising. The Beckett Group's PR and legal machinery are the best in Solana City. Plus, Jasper has taken over those departm
Alyssa could stomach the divorce, but she would never want to lose to the Becketts.When Alyssa left the patient's room, she put on a pair of sunglasses to hide the fire in her eyes. She called Axel. He answered the call and yelped, "Lyse, you finally remember me!"Axel sounded cloying and begrudged. "You probably didn't know this, but Silas laughed at me and said you were giving me the cold shoulder. I freaked out! Fuck! I will never lose out to that prick!""You are all my brothers. Why would you fight for my favor? Don't make me sound like a playgirl, please. I'm not Cleopatra."Speechless, she fell silent before telling him in a hushed voice, "Axel, may I get your help on something?""Oh my god! What's with that tone of yours? I'm done for! Lyse, tell me, do you not love me anymore? Is our relationship cooling down?" Axel, ever the drama queen, turned into the melancholic lead of a soap opera. He continued, "Why do you sound formal with me? It looks like I should go back t
At the same time, the mood was tense in the general manager's office at KS Grand Hotel.Alyssa stood before the floor-to-ceiling window with her hands on her back. Her sleek figure exuded an air of power and dominance."Has anyone ever asked you to upload that video?""You wanted me to upload something that would spark controversy …" Sean stood behind her with a straight back and a glum face."Sean, you are my secretary. Not only that, we grew up together. You should have known my pet peeve!" She turned around. "You mix your personal agenda while working for me. I know what's going on. You wanted to boost my perception online—using my kindness to further highlight Betty's wrongdoing."The more she spoke, the more he lowered his head because each word went straight to his heart."But I'm telling you now. I don't need it." Her look grew icier. "I lent a helping hand because I could. It was out of moral value. No matter how much I hate Betty, I wouldn't attack her by claiming the mo
"Are you dumb? Do you not know the reason you're trending? How could you be proud of that?" Sophia berated Betty.Betty rubbed her forehead angrily. She wasn't dumb—she was just momentarily distracted when Alice trended along with her."S-So, what do I do? The scandal is bad for me. Now that everyone knows Alice saved the girl, I can't fight back against public opinion. Am I really going to be crushed by that country bumpkin?""I've talked to your dad on your behalf. He says that you should never clarify or apologize in any way. Just keep quiet about it!" Sophia said in a low voice. She continued, "Jasper will settle this for you anyway. He won't allow any threat to the Beckett Group. Just keep a low profile and ride this out. Don't do anything stupid in public. Got it?"Betty felt better after being comforted by Sophia. She hung up and continued shopping at the luxury store she owned with the two friends she met at the bar last time.At the same time, a Rolls-Royce rolled to a
"You heard her? This bitch wanted me to apologize to that hotel employee …" Betty cackled. "Did you hit your head or something?"When Betty threw her head back laughing, her two plastic girlfriends were laughing hysterically as well."Why couldn't Betty complain as a hotel guest? Her necklace was broken. And she received crappy service.""That's right! How dare you ask for an apology? Do you own the hotel? There's no end to this."Sean squinted at the ladies. He believed the two dumb women would frantically take back their words when they found out that Alyssa owned all the KS Grand Hotel branches in the country."Aren't you worried that this incident might ruin the image of Beckett Group that Jasper has carefully maintained? You might bring shame to the company." Alyssa carelessly stared at Betty."Hmph! Don't you dare threaten me. I'm not the president of the company. Why would I care?" Unbothered, Betty rolled her eyes. Betty continued, "It's Jasper's job as the president to
"Why not? I'm not sitting back and waiting to be attacked by an animal." Alyssa dusted her hands and glared at Betty."D-Did you just call me an animal?" Betty's face reddened in anger.At that moment, the door opened. Alyssa looked across and felt a chilly air swept by her.Next, she watched in shock as Jasper showed up in front of them. The ex-couple looked stunned when they locked eyes.Alyssa looked away coldly as though he was a stranger. He pursed his lips. There was a heavy look in his eyes as he wrestled the frustration deep inside."Jasper!" Betty seemed to have found her savior. Crying and wailing, she complained to him, "Alice White has gone mad! She slapped me in the face! You'll have to see to this!""Yeah, it was me. Her cheeks are probably still burning." With a smirk, Alyssa proudly admitted to slapping Betty."Why are you here?" He gave her an unfeeling look."What do you think?" In the past, Alice always stared at him with light in her eyes. She appeared to
"You jerk! Give it back!"Alyssa blushed as she leaned softly against Jasper. To keep her balance, she pressed her left hand on his broad shoulder. She moved around endlessly. Jasper wouldn't go easy on her either and retaliated with the hand on her waist.She trembled when she sensed his tightening grip on her waist that screamed possessiveness. She felt the heat from his palm through the thin fabric. Still, Jasper remained focused on the phone. His face betrayed nothing, not even lust.The onlookers were shocked when Alyssa called Jasper a jerk. They were even more astonished when Jasper seemed unbothered by the insult.At the same time, Sean was sweating profusely but couldn't find a way to drag Alyssa back. Betty gaped at the intimacy between the two, especially knowing they weren't close during their marriage. Meanwhile, the two girlfriends almost bit their manicured nails off from burning jealousy.Frowning, Jasper swiftly deleted all the vulgar photos of Betty on Alyssa's
"No, you are too arrogant. If I could, I would erase you from my life once and for all. I'd rather have never loved you."Jasper gave her a look of shock. He felt a tremor through his body. His throat was dry. She attacked him with progressively harsher remarks.When he collected himself, she had let go of his hand and wandered past him. Sean hurried after her and didn't forget to glare at Jasper on his way out. He didn't overhear the conversation between Alyssa and Jasper, but he believed that Jasper wouldn't have said anything nice."Jasper, have you deleted those photos? What a shameless bumpkin she is, threatening me with the photos. Thanks for protecting the reputation of our family!" Betty took Jasper's arm in excitement to show off their sibling relationship.Much to her dismay, Jasper appeared sullen because he was deeply affected by the words of his ex-wife. His piercing gaze swept past her face.She cowered and quickly withdrew her hand."Were the photos Photoshopped?"