“Alright. I’ll hand the phone over to your mom. Set the date and time between yourselves.”Rosalie handed the phone back to Sydney.Sydney was still stunned from what Rosalie had just done, but managed to take the phone from her and put it to her ear.Theodore said something to her before she nodded and said, “Alright, I got it.”“Alright, then.”“Okay, goodbye.”Sydney hung up, and turned to say to Rosalie, “I’ve set the date and venue of our meeting.”Rosalie heaved a sigh of relief. She was just trying her luck just now, and didn’t really expect her attempt to turn out successful. “That’s good. I just hope you two can have a good talk. Please don’t end up fighting. You two have already missed out on so much time together, so you should treasure every moment you have together. You two are mother and son, after all. I know you love your son, and that Theo really needs you,” she said. “But I really have no idea how to be a mother. I’m too trapped in my own world. I’ve lived
Rosalie didn’t know what to say at that point. Sydney’s words seemed to make sense, and she couldn’t say anything to refute it.“Do you still want to read through them?” Sydney asked.Rosalie nodded. “I do, but can I bring them back?”“Don’t bother. Just read through them here, and go back whenever you’re done. It’s tiring to take back so many documents.”“But…” Rosalie flipped through the documents in the box. “There are just too many documents. One day isn’t enough for me to go through them all. Also, I have to analyze and think through the data, and even do some checking. I think…”“Don’t worry about it. Just stay here overnight. I have everything you need anyway, so feel free to use them. Oh, yes. There’s food in the fridge. You can cook lunch this afternoon, or order takeout. I have something to attend to, and I need to head out. I’ll buy some clean underwear for you before I come home later.”In light of Sydney’s offer, Rosalie had no choice but to nod her head in agreement
Rosalie nodded with a smile. “Okay.”“Did you find anything after looking through all those documents?” Sydney asked.Rosalie said, “They crunched their numbers so beautifully, it’s almost perfect. But I don’t think it’s possible for a large company to not encounter any issues at all, what with their sudden, rapid expansion within such a short period of time. Sometimes, the more perfect something seems, the greater the hidden issues—maybe even more so than something that appears imperfect.”She went on, “What’s more, the share price of Regent Co. is very high right now. I have a feeling it’s going to be an open target.”Sydney smiled. “Not bad, you have potential. Sometimes, however, it’s not enough to just judge based on a feeling. You have to present solid evidence to convince others.”Rosalie nodded. “Okay. I’ll continue searching for it.”Sydney said, “Don’t be anxious. Take it easy. You must have patience in whatever you do.”Rosalie nodded. “I got it.”“But…” Sydney said
Sydney couldn’t explain why, either. She simply felt that Theodore liked Rosalie very much. Yet, his actions and decisions were so confusing.She also didn’t want to give Rosalie empty hope. If she were mistaken, it would only lead to disappointments for Rosalie.They were already divorced, anyway. It no longer mattered what Theodore really felt.“Yes, I have no idea what’s blinding him. I can’t figure out what’s so good about Cynthia Zeller. At least the woman Wesley fell in love with back then was a true talent.”Rosalie smiled. “Maybe Theo just found his soulmate. No matter who she is, she’s bound to make him fall in love with her.”Love sometimes didn’t make sense. Yet, sometimes it was all that mattered—even if others find it illogical and foolish.“What about you? Do you like Theo?” Sydney asked.Rosalie’s heart raced.Sydney stared at her. “What’s the matter?”“Mom, we’re already divorced. None of this matters anymore.” Rosalie’s voice was hoarse, as if a blade was stuc
Rosalie was still busy in the study. Sydney had given her a new notebook, which she had filled up.She was halfway through the box of documents; she didn’t bother counting, and simply read the documents page by page.Just then, her phone buzzed. Rosalie remained unperturbed, and continued jotting down notes until her phone buzzed again.She furrowed her brows, and grabbed her phone. Glancing at the incoming text, she saw found it was from Theodore.The first text read, ‘Are you asleep?’The second text read, ‘??’Rosalie typed on her phone, ‘I’m not asleep yet.’But before she sent it out, something came to mind.If she told him that she wasn’t asleep yet, he was bound to ask her what she was doing. It was going to take her time to reply to him.She didn’t want to chat with Theodore right now. She was long past the time when she felt excited whenever he contacted her.Time was of the essence, and she had to read through all the documents.As such, she deleted her original me
“Mom, are you picking on Rose again? I knew nothing good would come out of her being with you! Did you make her do all your work? And she did it the entire night! Why are you being like this? Does it make you glad to be a wicked mother-in-law?”Sydney remained calm in the face of her son’s accusations. “What do you mean, wicked mother-in-law? Just listen to yourself. She’s my daughter now. Can’t I teach my own daughter a thing or two? She’s been going through my documents since yesterday afternoon, and didn’t get a wink last night. I’m very proud of my daughter for being so resilient and hardworking.”“You’re doing this on purpose. I’m heading over right now. Stop bullying her!”“Why are you coming over? Do you want to blow things up and get Rosalie caught in the middle and feel bad about it?”Theodore said coldly, “Should I continue allowing you to harass her, then? I’m going to take her away from you!”“How do you know that she’s not doing it willingly? She was the one who ask
“No,” Theodore said in a panic. “I won’t interrupt you. Go ahead and read your documents, but don’t hang up.”He wanted to help her with her work.Rosalie’s eyes flashed with doubt. “Why?”“No particular reason. Just don’t hang up and continue with your work.”“Fine.” Rosalie didn’t know what Theodore was up to. She pushed her phone away, and continued reading.When she was finally done reading through every single document, she felt overwhelmed with fatigue. Eye bags hung heavily below her eyes.She stumbled to the hall, and saw Sydney preparing breakfast in the kitchen.Upon hearing footsteps, Sydney turned around. “You’re done?”Rosalie nodded. “Yes.”“You were up the whole night. I thought you’d at least sleep a little last night.”Rosalie smiled and sat at the table, still in a daze. She slumped on the table and said, “I felt a burst of energy, and wanted to read through everything in one go. Before I knew it, the sun was rising.”She placed her phone on the table.Syd
After a few seconds, Rosalie looked up and said, “Mom, I’ll go take a nap.”She was just too tired.“Sleep after breakfast,” Sydney said as she served up the last plate of food. “It’ll just take a few minutes. You might not be hungry, but your baby certainly is.”Rosalie nodded. “All right then,” she acquiesced.She looked down, and rubbed her belly. “I’m sorry, baby. I stayed up last night, and I’m sure you didn’t rest well, too. I’ll rest later, okay?”Sydney saw the bleary look on Rosalie’s face, and found it rather adorable.From the sound of their conversation just now, Rosalie and Theodore looked just like a married couple having a tiff. Despite the heated words, their relationship looked great. No one would have guessed that they were divorced.Had they known, they would surely be confused as to why they would be divorced despite their great relationship.It felt strange, however. They were already divorced, but Theodore seemed to be bugging Rosalie incessantly.His f
Theodore wrapped all of them up in his long arms.Under the golden sunshine, the family of four was wrapped up in each other's embraces. Sunlight shone on them, encasing them in a warm, golden glow. Everything felt calm and peaceful. The children snuggled in their parents' arms, innocent smiles lighting up their faces. They could feel the warmth of the sunshine as they found the safest and warmest haven in the entire world in their arms.In the evening sun and gentle breeze, they finally found happiness in each other's embrace.-In the deep of the night, Rosalie had a dream.Both Justin and Grandma came to her in her dream.Grandma and Justin were playing cards, surrounded by beautiful birds and flowers. They seemed to be in heaven, having the time of their lives with a look of tender love in their eyes.Grandma was very happy that she had reconciled with Theodore.Justin told Rosalie, "Rose, I'm so happy to see you happy.""Justin, do you hate me?""Silly girl, why would
Theodore made Rosalie feel like love was possible once more, and gradually opened her up.Love was ever-changing with time and the experiences they went through.Rosalie missed Justin dearly, but she also learned to treasure the people around her and every present moment of happiness. She learned how to accept the past and treasure the present amidst all her relationships.Justin would be her one and only in her heart, but Theodore also found his place in her heart amidst the unique position Justin was in.This was how their affections and love for each other grew and changed with time.Justin was dead, and Rosalie couldn't keep living in the past. She would carefully preserve her love for Justin in a corner of her heart.She would spend the rest of her life loving Theodore and their children."Chelsea," Rosalie said as she pulled Chelsea over. "Your daddy loves you very much, but he didn't get to see you come into this world. But you must remember his name. He is Justin Lynch."
Theodore and Rosalie brought both children to Justin's tomb.Before they left, Rosalie said that she and Chelsea wanted to spend some time alone with Justin.Theodore brought Jake to the car to wait for them.Golden sunlight shone on the land, feeling warm and toasty and giving the earth a beautiful glow.Rosalie caressed the tombstone. "Justin, I'm sorry for not coming to visit for such a long time."The last time she came back was a few months ago, during which she snuck a peak at his tombstone.Rosalie pulled out a bone fragment. "That's because you're always by my side, which is why I think that I can bring you everywhere I go. You're not just here at this tombstone."Justin, Theo and I have reconciled. He did so much for me, even sacrificing his own life for me. I can't just stand idly by and do nothing about it. I can't bring myself to reject him ruthlessly again and again."You can say that I'm moved, or that I fell in love with him once more. He's just too good, and I c
Jake had so much fun today and was exhausted by the time he reached home. After his shower, he crawled into bed and fell right asleep without any coaxing whatsoever. Jake would sometimes sleep in the bedroom with Chelsea, and sometimes they slept separately.At night, when Rosalie went to Chelsea's room to tuck her in and tell her a bedtime story, she asked, "Chelsea, how was your day with Theodore?""Hmm, it was alright," Chelsea said. "But Mr. Spencer was so silly, he burnt the food. I only got to eat lunch very late.""Is that so?" Rosalie burst out laughing. "How silly of him indeed.""But Mr. Spencer is quite nice," Chelsea said. "I like him. He said that I can call him Daddy."Rosalie's eyes lit up. "Do you want to call him that?""I do," Chelsea said with a nod, "but I'll do that tomorrow."Chelsea yawned. She felt tired, too.Rosalie caressed her cheek. "Goodnight, my darling. Go to sleep."-Rosalie returned to her room, took a shower, and laid on the bed. Theodo
Their parent-child bonding efforts officially began the next day.Rosalie brought Jake to the theme park. In the beginning, Jake felt rather stiff and reserved. It was his first time alone with his mom, after all.As time went by, Rosalie's earnestness, concern, and gentle patience with him slowly opened him up.They sat on the carousel, drove the bumper cars, rode on the Viking ship, zoomed down slides, bounced on the trampolines, and sailed on mini-boats. They had a whale of a time.Jake was covered with sweat, but he was so happy, he didn't want the day to end.He had grown closer to his mom, so much so that he would jump into her arms, hugging her and asking for kisses.Rosalie did not hold back from expressing her love for him and even carried him on her back as they continued exploring the park.Jake was very obedient and came down very soon, for fear that Rosalie might get tired. They moved on to the next attraction hand-in-hand.Rosalie found out one thing from Jake, wh
Some time later, Rosalie realized that Jake was being rather sullen.Each time she asked him whether something was wrong, he would brush her away, claiming that he was fine before running off.It was a Saturday, and Rosalie didn't need to go to work. She was seated on the couch with a book when Chelsea ran over, her braids swaying behind her. "Mommy, can you give me a hug?"How could Rosalie say no to her adorable little daughter? She shut the book and said, "But of course. Come on over."Rosalie opened her arms, very willing to show Chelsea affection.Chelsea crawled up onto the couch happily, sitting on Rosalie's lap and diving into her embrace.Jake happened to see it all.Rosalie noticed Jake standing a short distance away and was about to say something to him when he ran off.The smile on Rosalie's face faded as a look of worry took over.At night, Rosalie put Chelsea under Theodore's care and went to Jake, wanting to speak to him alone."Jake, what's with you recently
A gentle breeze lifted the curtains slightly in the deep of the night.Rosalie laid in Theodore's embrace, panting slightly. Her cheek leaned against his chest, feeling his heart pounding heavily, and her cheeks flushed.She never expected this day to come between her and Theodore, yet everything happened in a flash. He went to bed with her just like that, bewitched and completely infatuated with her.Although they were once husband and wife and had been intimate countless times, this felt different from the last. Things felt more intense this time around."Rose, are you happy?"Although Theodore's liver had been doing well over the last three months of recuperation, he was still worried that his fitness level might be affected before his liver was fully recovered.Rosalie gave him a slight smile. "Of course, I am. You almost crushed me."Her face flushed the moment she spoke those words. She hugged Theodore tight, feeling safe and secure.She could sense that he was telling th
"Theo, have you had a woman over the past five years?" Rosalie asked very frankly.They weren't naive young men and women but mature adults with experience in this matter.Theodore was a red-blooded young man who had his needs. Suppressing his desires, which were absolutely normal, would only jeopardize his health.Theodore was getting angry. "Am I someone like that to you, going to bed with a woman I don't love just to satisfy my physical needs?""Aren't men all like that?" Rosalie said. She didn't mean it in a scornful way but simply highlighted it as a typical observation.Lonely men and women in the city were bound to seek companionship in some places and part ways after the night.Someone as powerful and influential as Theodore wouldn't even need to go searching for someone else. Women flocked toward him like bees to honey."Why can't I be an exception?" He was in no state whatsoever to find another woman over the past five years and would always deal with his sexual desire
Time flew by, and three months later, Rosalie was fully recovered and back at work.Her colleagues welcomed her back with a bash.Everything seemed to have returned to normal.To keep Jake company, Rosalie would go back to Theodore's house every day after work. She was practically living there.Rosalie and Jake's relationship had improved over time, and they were looking more and more like they were truly mother and son.Everything was going well.At night, the four of them sat around the dining table and chatted happily with each other.After dinner, Rosalie and Theodore sat in the living room chatting. She suddenly noticed a book on the table. It looked so familiar that it caught her eye.It was the book she had written. Over the past five years, not only was she busy learning and working, but she also managed to write the book she had conceptualized and even gotten it published. However, this book was only available in Briusian and not exported to Blencalgo.Rosalie's book