The mention of her baby made Rosalie furrow her brows. "How did you know about my child?"Vincent stood up, opened the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of beer. As he pried the cap open, he said, "You married another man while pregnant and the baby is only three months old. That means you were already pregnant when he asked for a divorce, but your baby is with your current husband. That leaves only two possibilities: either your ex-husband knows about the baby but he doesn't want him, or he doesn't know about the baby at all because you don't want him to know about it. I think it's the latter, because he's such a bastard. Why bother having a father like him?"Tears welled up in Rosalie's eyes. She could feel her throat constrict as she said hoarsely, "He's not a bad man. He's not what you think he is.""No matter what kind of a man he is, you can't deny that part of him is a philandering bastard.""Vincent, nobody's perfect. Let's not talk about him anymore. It's all in the past. I
"Aren't you?" Rosalie asked him back.Vincent placed the key in her hand. "I'd rather see this as some sort of transaction."Rosalie accepted the car key. "Why are you letting me off early?"Vincent emptied the beer bottle, then took the bottle that Rosalie drank from and emptied that too. He finished two bottles of beer at one go, his eyes looking empty and listless."Because it's time for me to wake up from my dream. You're not Youngie. I'm just grasping at memories that no longer are now."If he allowed this to go on, he would only find it harder to extricate himself from this. He might lock this woman up here forever and take her as Youngie, but he knew that would never happen.Rosalie looked at him in silence and opened her mouth, wanting to ask him something, but he had warned her repeatedly not to talk about Youngie.Therefore, she swallowed the words that were at the tip of her tongue and eventually said nothing. She simply looked quietly at him.Sorrow billowed in his
So, who exactly was Youngie to Vincent?Rosalie didn't ask that question out loud. Instead, she heard Vincent out because she felt that Vincent would eventually give her the answer to her question."I knew Youngie really liked that boy and I didn't go too hard on him. I was just mad that he cheated on Youngie when he had her. Youngie was so beautiful."But after that, that boy admitted his mistake and apologized to Youngie. She forgave him and they reconciled, dating happily once more and spending their days having fun and studying together."I was still very worried that the boy would hurt Youngie again, so I warned him behind her back that if he dared to hurt Youngie again, I'd finish him."Their relationship improved with time and they prepared to get married after graduating from university."Our parents died early, so Youngie and I only had each other to rely on. People often say that an elder brother plays a fatherly role, so I raised her like I was her father and mother. Y
It was a silent gesture of comfort.It was the only thing Rosalie could do.An expression of empathy between two human beings.People would naturally react sadly when they hear of other people's tragedies, instead of being cold or numb or even mocking them.This was probably the difference between man and beast.As it turns out, he kept hallucinating and calling out Youngie's name and apologizing to her because of this."So…so you wanted revenge by killing everyone who hurt Youngie, is that it?" Rosalie asked as she choked back tears."That's right," Vincent said, a look of viciousness flashing past his eyes. "I killed them, cooked their flesh and bones, and made them eat it. I dug out their guts and fed them to dogs. I spared none of them!"Rage boiled in his blood and hatred remained in his heart all this time. Nothing he did could erase that anger and hopelessness he experienced.Even though all of the culprits died, that hatred was deeply etched in his heart. He couldn't l
His body was covered with blood; he had been tortured so badly, a foul odor emanated from his bruised and mangled body. Rosalie felt nauseous; she covered her mouth and retched. "Who is he? What…what is he doing in your basement?""He's Youngie's boyfriend."Rosalie was shocked. "What? Why is her boyfriend here?"Vincent told her it was the hooligans who killed his sister, hence why he killed them all to seek revenge for his sister.He didn't talk about her boyfriend, though.Was Vincent so affected by the loss of his sister that he had lost his mind?"He was the one who caused Youngie harm.""What exactly happened?" Rosalie asked. "You said that it was the hooligans who hurt your sister, then this man…""It was this man who gave those hooligans the information that Youngie was my sister. That's why they took her away." Vincent approached the man. "He's the one, he's their accomplice!"Hatred filled his eyes as a strong desire to kill the man overwhelmed him.Even so, h
Rosalie furrowed her brows. She pondered for a moment before saying, "I can't decide for you. It's not wrong of you to take revenge. If you're going to torture him, can I head up first? I don't want to see you do it."The image was too gory and Rosalie was worried she might have nightmares.Vincent turned around and realized that Rosalie's face had turned pale.She was frightened indeed. She was a proper lady, unlike him who had seen it all. Of course she would be frightened.Rosalie was a clean sheet of paper, while his hands were all covered with blood."Go on upstairs. I'll head up in a while."Rosalie nodded, then turned to leave the basement.After she headed upstairs and closed the door, she could hear sounds from the basement.The man who was being tortured couldn't make a sound. All she could hear were sounds Vincent made, some of which came from the piercing of a knife, or something that was overturned.Rosalie covered her ears and leaned against the wall.All sorts
Vincent kept asking why. He buried his head in his arms and tore at his hair, yelling desperately, "Why? Why?!"Rosalie patted his back, not knowing what to say to comfort him.Not all pain could be soothed with mere words.He had lost a kin, and in such a terrible way. No one would be able to bear it. If it had happened to herself, she would have broken down, too.Vincent suddenly reached out to pull Rosalie into his arms and lock her in a tight embrace.Rosalie was frightened. She anxiously held her palms against his broad shoulders in a bid to push him away.Just then, Vincent pleaded in her ear, "Don't move. Let me hug you like this just for a while. Please."Rosalie sighed inwardly. She patted his back and said, "This isn't your fault. It's all the fault of those villains. I trust Youngie wouldn't blame you, either. She'd want you to treasure the present and live every day to the fullest. She wouldn't want you to be in pain anymore.""Rosalie, I'm sorry for keeping you h
'She must be Rose, it must be her!'Who was that man? What did he do to Rosalie?In Theodore's opinion, that must be the man who abducted Rosalie here.He wondered what torture Rose had to endure. Theodore felt more panic-stricken the more he thought about it.His subordinates checked out their surroundings.Sneaking into the house didn't look easy. Every inch looked heavily gated and the only option seemed to be blasting out an opening.All of a sudden, the man on the screen pushed the woman onto the couch.Fire burned in Theodore's chest; he thought that Rosalie was being hurt right there and then.He lost all of his patience and ordered his subordinate, "Blow up the lock, quick!"-Vincent hauled himself up from Rosalie on the couch."I'm sorry.""It's fine. Just be careful."Vincent had accidentally fallen onto the couch and she fell along with him, brought along by his momentum.When Vincent settled down, Rosalie said, "Let me check your wound."She carefully peeled
At night, Theodore came back looking disheveled and not in good shape.Rosalie immediately welcomed him home with Steve in her arms. "Theo, where were you?""I've been staying in a hotel these days.""Theo, Steve's your son and that's a fact no one can change.""Dada," Steve said as he stretched his arms toward Theodore, demanding a hug.Rosalie put Steve in Theodore's arms. "Carry him. He misses you and has been asking for you these few days."Theodore's heart melted as he carried Steve in his arms. He felt so fortunate to come home to his child and Rosalie and yearned for nothing more.However, the past continued haunting him, disturbing his peace and becoming a hurdle he could not cross."Did Sebastian give him his name?"Rosalie was stunned for a moment before admitting honestly, "Yes. I didn't know his true colors then. At that time, he was always by my side, helping me out."She added, "If you don't like this name, give the child another name. He doesn't need to be call
"But I'd like to take this chance to thank everyone for not believing her words. You have every right to dislike our food, and you can even tell me that my dishes are too salty, too oily, too spicy, or simply yucky. It's fine if you don't like it and I can accept constructive feedback. "But that woman was so foul-mouthed, slandering and verbally abusing me and my chef while inciting others to do the same. That's not something a normal person does. She's behaving like a mad dog barking indiscriminately.""Well said!"The customers applauded her. They could tell that she was a straightforward person who wouldn't offend others unless others offended her first. If anyone dared to offend her, she wouldn't let it rest.Rosalie didn't expect such excitement while having lunch, and was thoroughly entertained.As it turns out, most of the customers were reasonable, and only a minority were incited by the lady.The customers had originally thought that the boss was the one scolding the cu
Their raised voices were piercing to Rosalie's ears. The customer was nasty with her words, and the boss retaliated."Come, everyone! Come and see how terrible this boss is, bullying her customer!" the customer snarled scornfully, her disheveled hair blowing in the wind.Some people hadn't fully grasped the situation yet and turned around to look on curiously, thinking that the boss was truly guilty of bullying her customer."Before commenting on other people, you should take a good look at yourself and see how terrible you are! You come here every day, insulting and slandering others. Who else should I scold other than you? You're always coming here and calling my food disgusting trash. You even insulted the chef! Since you don't like it, why do you still come day after day? Are you asking for trouble? You're so foul-mouthed, do you really think you're some dainty fairy?" the boss refuted."Just look, everyone! The boss is bullying and scolding her customer again! She doesn't want
Rosalie felt rather distracted after leaving the hospital.For some reason, she felt very disappointed.She knew how to stop herself from feeling disappointed, but she didn't dare to do it. She didn't know how the future would unfold.Rosalie suddenly wanted to get some fresh air alone, so instead of driving, she walked along the roadside. Somehow, she ended up on another street, far away from where she parked her car. The street was very crowded and lively, packed with many restaurants.Feeling rather hungry, Rosalie walked into a buffet restaurant along the street.There was a sign hung up on the door, with the words, 'If this is your first time in this city and you face some difficulties with no money to your name, come in and order set number #0 for free.'This was an ordinary buffet restaurant, with dishes displayed that diners could help themselves to. There was a good variety of dishes which looked ordinary but delicious. The food looked and smelled so good, it whetted R
The topic of impending separation felt rather heavy and neither of them wanted to continue."Let me peel an apple for you." Rosalie picked an apple from the basket and peeled it with a knife.They remained silent, not saying a word for a long time."Rose, how is Theodore?""Some things happened recently and he wanted some time alone. He said he'll be back soon.""What happened?"Rosalie told Justin about it.Justin's brows furrowed. "Turns out that they are siblings. That's unfortunate for Theodore. Not only does he have a madman for a younger brother, but he also has an older brother who wants to kill him.""Yeah. We don't know what to do about it. After he returns, I want to have a good chat with him. Even if I can't help him with much, I can offer some words of consolation.""Do you still live with him now?" Justin asked.Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, I'm staying with him now and taking care of Steve with him. I feel like Steve has been quite happy recently, perhaps because both
"I used to be like that too," Justin said, "but with time, I realized that we live on this earth to enjoy every day, every minute and every second of the entire process. No one grows up in one minute, gets married in the second minute, and dies in the third. The endpoint might be important, but it only comes around from the accumulation of many little, ordinary things in life. Only when there are lows will we appreciate the highs. Only when we're sad will we appreciate happy times. It is only in the ordinary that we can see the extraordinary."I wondered if I should feel a complicated piece by myself, understanding the ups and downs of its story, or if I should listen to others. I eventually chose the former. Many things in life aren't black and white and you'll have to look at the whole picture to understand its complexity instead of just hearing a superficial summary."I subsequently began enjoying watching a movie, a drama series, or a novel without being affected by other people'
Rosalie hadn't seen Theodore for several days and didn't know where he had gone. The two of them had spoken on the phone, but he only told her that he was fine and that he needed a few days to handle some things.Theodore assured her that nothing was wrong and that he would be back soon, telling her not to worry.Rosalie felt that he probably needed some time to calm down, so she gave him space and decided not to bother him, waiting for his return to address things.She was currently staying at his place, taking his earlier suggestion to live together, which would make it easier for them to take care of Steve.As for Sebastian, he had already escaped as Yerick said.Rosalie had asked Christopher about this, but he said he didn't know anything.Christopher told her that in a few days, it would be Chandra's 70th birthday, and he wanted her to join the celebration.Rosalie naturally didn't want to go and directly refused. She still hadn't accepted her own identity.That morning, she went
Upon hearing Sydney finally speak those words, Theodore smiled. "You've been holding it in for so long, and now you've finally said it."Seeing Theodore's calm expression, Sydney immediately realized something."You've known all along. That wasn't easy, was it? You have a son outside, and all these years, you must have missed him terribly, right?""Theo, listen to me. When I gave birth to Sebastian, Geoffrey took him away. I thought the child was dead, but a year ago, Geoffrey told me that Sebastian was my son. I was unaware all these years." Sydney held Theodore's hand tightly.Theodore shook her hand off. "Mom, now that you know, do you feel guilty? Your biological son grew up without you, so you're doing everything to make it up to him, even trying to match him with Rose. Now I finally understand why you acted so out of character. It turns out he's your son."When Theodore said this, he smiled bitterly."You... How did you know?" Sydney asked, shocked."So you admit it now. You int
Theodore's anger burned like a raging fire. His brow furrowed and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His hands clenched into fists so hard that his knuckles cracked, as if he wanted to tear everything apart.Theodore felt like a pitiful fool.With a loud crash, he slammed the phone onto the ground, and the screen shattered.But the phone was of excellent quality. Even though it had hit the ground, Yerick's voice continued to echo. Theodore stepped forward and stomped on it a few times."Shut up! Shut up!"Finally, the phone was crushed into two pieces, and Yerick's voice ceased."Theo." Rosalie tried to stop him, but she couldn't quench the fury inside him. The evidence had been destroyed beneath his feet. "Theo, he said all those things to provoke you. Don't fall for it, or he'll have won.""Rose, everyone knew except me, right?"His face flushed red, his lips trembling as if he were about to unleash a torrent of rage. His entire body was taut."Theo, it's all in the past now."