With a thud, Laila's body was forcefully thrown to the ground, smashing her phone in the process. A group of burly men surrounded her, and one of them viciously kicked her shoulder, growling, "You dirty bitch, where's the money? Didn't you say you'd pay us back?"Laila scrambled to her feet, falling to her knees with a thud. "I will! Please give me a few more days. I'll definitely get the money!""You damn bitch!" A crisp sound rang out as the man slapped her face. "How many days has it been? Being stubborn, are you?""My niece is very wealthy," Laila cried in panic. "Please give me a few more days. She'll definitely give me the money!""My foot! We've heard it! Your niece won't lend you money.""Do you want to keep your left hand or your right?" the man asked."No, no!" Laila tried to scramble away, but the man roughly grabbed her and held her hands down. "Repay your debt! You're an old hag now. If you were twenty years younger, we would have sold you to repay the debt!"Th
When Rosalie arrived at Rebecca's place, dinner was being prepared in the kitchen.In the living room, Rebecca held Rosalie's hand and said, "Rose, you seem to have gained some weight. It looks like you've been eating well recently."Rosalie smiled and replied, "Grandma, I have indeed put on some weight. There's something I want to tell you.""What is it?""Can you promise me something first? If I tell you, please don't be angry. I'm most afraid of making you angry.""Go ahead. How could I be angry with you?"Rosalie hesitated for a moment, feeling uneasy. After a long pause, she finally told Rebecca about her pregnancy and her marriage to Sebastian.Rebecca fell silent after hearing this. She released Rosalie's hand, and her expression became somewhat serious."I'm sorry, Grandma. It's my fault. I should have told you earlier, but I had just gotten divorced and was afraid you might force Theo to remarry me because of my pregnancy. That's why I didn't tell you. I'm sorry."Reb
While Rosalie was driving home, she received a call from Sebastian."Rose, are you on your way back?""I'm driving back now.""Okay. Be careful on the road and don't speed.""Okay. Have you had dinner?""I have.""Alright, I'll be home soon. You…"Before Rosalie could finish her sentence, she suddenly noticed a person tailing her on a motorcycle in her rearview mirror. He was dressed like a traffic police officer, and he was waving at her."Rose, what's wrong?" Sebastian asked, noticing she had stopped talking.Rosalie said, "It's nothing. I'll be home soon. I'm driving right now.""Okay, drive safe. I won't disturb you. It's not safe to talk on the phone while driving.""Alright. I'll talk to you when I get home."They ended the call.At this moment, the traffic police officer on the motorcycle had already pulled up alongside Rosalie, signaling her to pull over to the side of the road.The section of road she was on had little traffic, with only an occasional car passing
"No. If there's a traffic accident, the consequences will be severe. Your car needs to be impounded, and will only be returned once it's confirmed that there are no issues."The officer took out his phone from his pocket as he spoke. "I'm going to call my colleague to come over. Please wait here."He dialed a number and said, "Hello, there's a vehicle with violations on Red Bridge Road that needs to be towed."Rosalie glanced at the traffic police officer, and felt something was off. She lifted her foot to walk back to her car, but he suddenly stopped her. "Trying to run away? Stay here."Rosalie noticed his strange expression. "Since you're towing my car, I need to get my bag. My documents and money are in it.""Fine, go get it.""Okay." Rosalie calmly walked to the car. Once inside, she glanced at the rearview mirror before secretly taking out her phone and dialing Christopher's number.She suspected that something was amiss with this officer, but she couldn't call the police
The man pretending to be a traffic police officer found the phone that Rosalie had dropped under the car seat. The screen showed that she was on a call. He immediately hung up and turned around. "Stupid bitch! Trying to call for help, huh?""Boss, let's leave first. We don't want any passersby to see us," one of his subordinates suggested.The man nodded. "Get her into the van. Let's go."Rosalie was forcibly dragged into the van by several men, and then they all left in a convoy. Her car was also driven away.The road was quiet and empty once again, as if nothing had happened.Inside the van, Rosalie's hands and feet were bound. A sweaty, large hand pinched her chin and turned her head to face him."I didn't expect Laila to have such a beautiful niece."Rosalie tried to stay calm. She asked coldly, "Did she ask you to capture me?""That's right. If you had just lent her the money, this wouldn't have happened. Since you're so stingy, your aunt had no choice but to cut ties with
The people seated at the back of the car exchanged glances.After pondering for a moment, the man said over the phone, “500 thousand in cash, not a cent less.”“Deal!” Christopher said, “Give me the address. I’ll immediately send the cash, and you’ll hand her to us on the spot.”Upon seeing him agree so readily, the man changed his mind. “Seems like you really dote on this niece of yours. I want to change the price.”“Don’t push your luck,” Christopher said coldly.“What do you mean by that? Your niece is very valuable. How could she only be worth 500 thousand dollars? I want five million.”“Sure, I’ll give it to you.” Christopher just wanted Rosalie to be safe.The man was in disbelief over how easy-going Christopher was. “You’re agreeing so readily to my request. Are you calling the police?”“I have plenty of money. The only thing I care about right now is my niece’s safety,” Christopher said as he suppressed his anger. “No matter how much you want, the premise is that my nie
The van sped across the road, but Rosalie had no idea where the car was going as she was blindfolded. The van drove for a long time, until she felt herself being dragged out and pulled along an uneven road.She didn’t know where she was, but she could hear the sound of the wind blowing. She felt herself pushed into a musty-smelling place and thrown on the ground.“Take turns to watch her. Don’t let this wench run or die, or we won’t be able to get the money.”“Bro, will her family call the police?”“They wouldn’t have the guts to! If they do, I’ll kill this bitch.”“Come to think of it…” he went on after pondering for a moment, “better to be safe than sorry. Come here.”The other man approached him, and he whispered something into his ear. He spoke so softly, Rosalie couldn’t hear what he said. The other man nodded and said, “Sure, got it. I’ll get on it right away.”Right after that, Rosalie heard footsteps. The man was approaching her.She shrunk back into the corner of the
“Sure, but I’m warning you—don’t install any surveillance equipment or tracking devices in it. We’ll bring a detector. If we find anything suspicious, Rosalie Young is dead. Got that?”“Got it. We will be careful, please don’t act rashly. Is Rose safe right now? Let me hear her voice.”“She’s great. Don’t worry.”“How can I be assured with your words? I want to hear her voice with my own ears. Do you still want the money? Five million in cold hard cash. That’s something you won’t be able to finish spending in one lifetime.”“Fine. Wait!”Rosalie was almost dozing off when someone pulled her hard. “Your family wants to speak to you. Tell them you’re very safe.”The man put the phone to Rosalie’s ear and Sebastian blurted out, “Rose, how are you?”“Seb? I’m fine, don’t worry. I’ll be home very soon.”The abductor realized that something was wrong. “Seb? Damn it, what’s going on? Didn’t you say that it’s your uncle? Why did your voice change?”Christopher was worried that the abd
'Why?! Why are you doing this to me? What's so good about Rosalie Young? Why are you like this? She's another man's wife!' she cried inwardly.Aurora clutched her chest and stumbled back to her ward. 'Theodore Spencer, how could you stomp on my feelings so cruelly?'Aurora shut her eyes, overwhelmed by pain. She felt as though her world had turned dark. All she could see was black and white. Colors no longer existed in her life.That was all there was to life. Where was its beauty? Only lies and schemes existed between people, even between kin and loved ones.Aurora suddenly thought of something and pulled out a pill from her pocket. It was the pill Yerick gave her last night.'Should I really take it? What if I die?' she thought.However, if that man really wanted to kill her, he would have done it long ago. There was no need for him to do it in such a roundabout manner.Aside from getting a heart transplant, there was no way around her heart disease.However, if she were
When Aurora arrived, she noticed Theodore leaving the ward.She hurriedly hid behind a corner as he walked forward. At first, she wanted to call out to him. Then a thought came to mind, and she followed him in secret. Theodore left the hospital to buy breakfast from a nearby store. Who was he buying breakfast for? Was it for her?Aurora saw a glimmer of hope.Since Theodore stayed with Rosalie for an entire night last night, was he buying breakfast for her out of guilt?She saw Theodore buying two portions of breakfast in two boxes before returning.Aurora quickly hid herself again. She continued following Theodore, and saw him walking back into Rosalie's ward with breakfast in hand.Her world imploded before her eyes. Was Theodore going to have breakfast with Rosalie, too? He had already spent the entire night with her!'Oh Theo, what do you see me as? Am I not your girlfriend? Why are you keeping your ex-wife company?' Aurora thought, anguished. Gritting her teeth, she p
"You'll…you'll help me get a new heart? How will you do that?" Aurora asked."Why not? You can choose not to believe me, but once you miss this chance, it's gone," Yerick said. "The pill is right here. Eat it when you feel like it. If you really don't want it, you can throw it away—but that's akin to throwing away an opportunity."Yerick released his hand. "It's late. Go to sleep."Aurora looked coldly at the pill in her hand. "How can I possibly fall asleep?"She couldn't eat or sleep knowing that Theodore was with Rosalie. Hatred filled her heart right now.Suddenly, a pocket watch appeared before her and started swinging. Yerick's voice drifted into her ears as he fixed his gaze upon her. "Go to sleep."The pocket watch swung before her for around ten seconds. Aurora suddenly felt dizzy; she then collapsed on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.Yerick looked coldly at her as he kept the pocket watch away. He reached out to pull the sheets over her. "Good night, Ms. Payne.
But now that she thought about it, if she had really done that, Theodore would surely have found out."Let's go back to your ward first. I'll tell you what to do," Yerick said, extending his hand.Aurora took his hand, following him back to the room in a daze. Once inside, she sat on the bed and burst into tears."Theodore lied to me! Why did he lie to me? How could he do this to me?" She clutched her chest, struggling to catch her breath.Yerick's lips curled into a cruel smile, and he said seriously, "With your frail health, how can you compete with Rosalie?""What should I do, then? It's not my fault that I have bad health! I have no other choice."Yerick raised an eyebrow. "What if I told you that you do have a choice?""What do you mean? Can you help me?" She grabbed his arm, her voice trembling with emotion. "You can help me, right? Please think of a way for me! I can't lose Theo. I've fallen deeply in love with him. If I have to leave him now, I'll go crazy. I'd rather die!"Th
Aurora collapsed onto the bed and gripped the sheets tightly, tears streaming down her face. "What do you want from me? What do you want?""Welcome to my game, Aurora. What I want is random, based on my mood. Before this, all of you were players in my game. The rules are set by me."Aurora lifted her head, finally realizing that she had walked straight into a trap. Yet now, she had no choice. If she told Theodore, it would prove that she had been lying to him. She had saved Theodore not by accident, but by deliberate design.Aurora wiped the tears from her face. "Are you going to hurt Theodore?""That depends on how cooperative you are. When the game's over, if you listen well, maybe I'll let you both grow old together. After all, I was the one who made you two go from strangers to being acquainted, to being in bed together. My abilities are greater than you think."Yerick's eyes gleamed with confident amusement. Aurora knew she was no match for him, so she could only resign herself a
"Aurora, you still haven't seen the thing that will break your heart even more. If you saw it, you wouldn't be saying this," Yerick countered."I still don't know your name," Aurora said. "You've been telling me you're Theo's friend, but he never mentioned he had such a friend.""He certainly wouldn't mention me, because things between him and I are very strained."Aurora was rendered speechless. He had told her that they had severed ties."By the way, Aurora, did he go back?" Yerick asked.Aurora nodded. "Yes. He originally wanted to stay and take care of me, but I was worried he'd get tired, so I told him to go back and rest. He'll come to see me again tomorrow.""Did he really go back?""I'm absolutely sure," Aurora said. "I told him to go back. Otherwise, where else could he go?""Have you thought about the possibility that he went to find Rosalie?""Rosalie! Are you saying he's with Rosalie now? No, that's impossible! Theodore wouldn't do that," Aurora protested."Why not? Didn't
"Next time, I'll make sure to not leave evidence behind." Sebastian gently caressed Steve's face."Steve, Daddy will win in the end. Just wait and see. When you grow up, you'll be like Daddy, always winning. We'll never lose." Sebastian laughed, his eyes bloodshot.Steve seemed startled, fear beginning to show on his face. He seemed like he was about to cry.-In the middle of the night…A peaceful atmosphere filled the ward, with the soft light of the night lamp casting a warm glow on Aurora's pale face. She lay alone in bed, her body seemingly blending into the silent night.Through the window, the night scenery appeared calm. Moonlight shone on the curtains, casting shadows in her room. Stars adorned the sky like diamonds, flickering as if silently telling tales of endless loneliness and thoughts.The door creaked open, and a man in black quietly entered the room. He was slender, and walked lightly. He blended into the shadows of the darkness. His gaze was sharp, like a star in th
Theodore gripped the magazine tightly in his hands, flipping through the pages. In truth, he didn't absorb a single word.Rosalie felt like she was suffocating. She couldn't continue speaking to Sebastian. "Seb, I'll hang up now. I'm going to rest."She was afraid that if she kept talking, she would lose control."Alright," Sebastian said, gently waving Steve's hand. "Steve, say goodbye to Mommy.""Goodbye, darling." Rosalie waved at the camera.Thinking about Steve made her heart ache deeply. This whole situation was just absurd. Steve's biological father was right next to her, but he could only remain invisible.After a while, Rosalie ended the video call with Sebastian. She set her phone aside and covered her mouth, crying.She was deeply upset. So many things had happened recently.On one hand, Theodore suddenly appeared in Melrine with his pregnant girlfriend. On the other hand, there was Justin. And then, Sebastian had done something terrible and lied to her. Now, he had returned
Rosalie asked this on purpose as she wanted to hear Sebastian's response. Had he truly returned to the country out of guilt, or was everything just a coincidence and the company issues had truly forced him back?"Actually, Rose," Sebastian said, "after I came back, I realized the situation is worse than I thought, so I won't be going to Melrine anytime soon. I just can't find the time.""I see." Rosalie lowered her gaze, a little disappointed.It just so happened that he returned to the country now, but it seemed that he also didn't dare to come back to Melrine. Was he really avoiding the authorities?But who had tipped Sebastian off? Could Sebastian have planted someone around Theodore? Who could it be?Rosalie forced a smile. "Alright then, I hope you sort out the company's matters at home. Don't worry about things here in Melrine. I'll come back as soon as I finish my studies.""Okay. Rose, why don't you talk to Steve for a bit?"Rosalie looked at the child on the screen, her eyes f