At 5:30 pm that afternoon, Gabriella arrived punctually at the kindergarten. She waited by the door.The teacher led the children out in a line. They looked like little penguins standing in rows. Gabriella was immediately confused.Felise spotted Gabriella and smiled happily. She was about to call out but suddenly shut her mouth when she thought of something.She spoke to the teacher and then ran over to Gabriella.Gabriella finally saw her. Felise walked toward her. "Lise."When she reached Gabriella, Felise turned and looked at her classmates before saying, "Let's go home, Aunt Gabriella.""Yep." Gabriella took her little bag and held Felise's chubby little hand as they walked toward the car. "How was kindergarten today, Lise?""It was pretty good. All my classmates were very friendly. But my teacher looks after me too much. It's as if I can't do anything …"The teacher knew that Felise came from a wealthy family, and she had just transferred from abroad. She was worr
Gabriella stared into Henry's eyes for a very long time.She was finally certain that Henry wasn't lying to her.Gabriella's lips parted and she asked in confusion, "Why is it Oliver?"How could it be Oliver?She felt dazed, as if she had been struck by lightning.Gabriella struggled to understand the connection between Oliver and the case of the kidnapping and the death of her father.Albert had told her that it was Oliver who had suggested adopting her. He said it was to thank her father for the liver that had saved Albert, so she had always had a sense of respect for him.Suddenly, there was a flash of understanding in her mind. She thought of what Robin had once said. The driver who had taken his family abroad had six fingers, and Oliver's driver also had six fingers. She had just never made the connection.Henry smiled bitterly at her question. "It's very surprising, isn't it? I reacted the same way when I first heard it.""What is going on?" Gabriella still felt like
Diana exited a jewelry store and spotted a familiar figure.When she turned to look, the figure had already disappeared into a store nearby.Diana looked up at the signboard and saw that it was a bar.She was surprised that Gabriella was entering that bar.She walked forward a few steps, looked around, and noticed Gabriella's car.There was a dark flash in Diana's eyes. She took out her phone to make a call.There weren't many people in the bar during the day.Several staff members were busily carrying boxes in and out, replenishing the stock.The bartender was refilling the cocktail ingredients. Gabriella ordered a few bottles and found herself a seat. She opened a bottle, poured herself a glass, and downed it at once.The bitter liquid slid down her throat. Gabriella frowned slightly. It did nothing for the pain and frustration in her heart, so she finished a few more glasses.Her father rose up in her mind, both familiar and distant. Gabriella's eyes filled with tears.
Frank had harbored feelings for Gabriella when she was studying abroad. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble for her.She knew that his hobby was photography, and he had discovered that she had some talent in this area. He had asked if she wanted to learn, but she had declined.After that, for some reason, Gabriella had distanced herself from him and even moved out of the apartment he'd recommended.Then Gabriella had returned home, deleted all his contact details, and the two of them had lost contact. The vague feelings he had held for her weren't enough to make him go back for her. And slowly he put her in the back of his mind.Then, one day after work, he opened the group chat on his phone and spotted a familiar ID. Perhaps she didn't use social media much because she hadn't changed her ID or profile picture.The Mountain Streams International Photography Competition had been partly founded by him, and he was on the panel of judges every year.Frank had neve
Frank sat on the sofa with a laptop in front of him. He seemed to be working.Gabriella propped herself up in surprise and looked around. The room did seem lived-in, not like a room they had just checked into. "Then what am I doing here?" she asked curiously.Frank's mouth twitched. "What do you think?"Gabriella thought about it earnestly. "You brought me back from the bar?"So the person who had saved her wasn't Henry, but Frank. Had she just mistaken them because she had been kind of drunk?Frank raised an eyebrow and didn't deny it. "Frank, thank you for saving me." Gabriella smiled embarrassedly. She then asked tentatively, "I didn't say anything offensive after I got drunk, did I?"Like calling him Henry or something. Although mistaking him for someone else wasn't a huge error, it wasn't polite toward the person who hadn't been recognized—especially someone like Frank. Frank smiled. "Nope."Gabriella sighed in relief. "That's good, then.""But you threw up all o
Henry grabbed her wrist. Gabriella stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "What do you want, Henry?"Henry stared intensely at her. "Were you …"Had she been with Frank?He stopped halfway through his sentence and swallowed the rest. There was a pained expression on his face.She had said she wanted to be alone. Even so, he tried to look for her, afraid she would do something stupid.But on the way there, he had received a call from Diana. Diana's voice was weak, and she said she had been in a car accident and needed a signature from a family member to get an operation. Without suspecting anything, Henry made a detour to the hospital, where Diana had held him up for a long time.When he left the hospital, Henry called Gabriella, but she didn't answer. When he called again, the phone had been turned off.Then he found her car at the entrance to the bar. When he asked the staff, he found out that she had gotten drunk and had left with another man.He looked everyw
Gabriella felt cold air on the upper half of her body, and she was immediately more alert. She said faintly, "… Henry! No …"In the next second, Henry was kneeling over her, looking down at her. His eyes traveled downward inch by inch, and there was a fiery light in his eyes. Her chest heaved with anger as she trembled slightly. When Gabriella saw his eyes, she blushed hotly and tried to pull her wrists out of his grip but failed. "Henry, let go of me! If you keep doing this, I'll get angry!"Henry looked calm and began loosening his tie with one hand as if he hadn't heard her. Gabriella was shocked.Henry had tied her wrists together with his tie. She struggled to sit up. "No! Henry, calm down!"He didn't stop. He circled her wrists twice and tied a neat bow. "Henry, what's the matter with you? Can't we have a proper conversation? Go and sleep, and we'll talk tomorrow morning."She had just finished when his huge hand covered her mouth. She was frustrated. Henry was
How … how could … how could he have bewitched her so easily!He was such an annoying flirt!While she was in the shower, Gabriella saw the marks on the inside of her thigh and felt even more embarrassed. She had felt so aggrieved just yesterday morning! How had things changed in the space of one night?Henry had forced her into this!Gabriella told herself repeatedly. She got dressed and walked calmly out of the bedroom, acting as if nothing had happened. There was no one in the living room. Gabriella looked around curiously. Had he left?Then, she heard the sound of chopping coming from the kitchen.Oh, he hadn't left. Her pajamas were scattered on the floor beside the sofa. Gabriella went over to pick them up and stopped in her tracks just as she was about to turn away.There was a huge, wet patch on the sofa.That was where … Gabriella turned bright red. Her cheeks felt so hot that an egg could be fried on them.She looked right and left, then tossed a cushion o
Carmila, dressed in a gorgeous wedding gown, entered with Zain.After exchanging rings, Shawn and Carmila headed toward their parents in the front row.Layla's seat was on the opposite side, and the gorgeous flowers on stage hid her view, so she could only hear what was happening.The newlyweds appeared on stage with the four elders for a group shot.She narrowed her eyes and noticed that Shawn's mother resembled her landlord.Chris also had the same realization and whispered to her, "Layla, do you think that person looks like our landlord?""They do look quite similar."The ceremony was over. The newlyweds left, and the waiters began serving dishes.Carmila was pregnant and didn't need to toast. Only Shawn came forward to drink with the Sanderson elders.After toasting, he placed the wine glass on the tray, followed the elders' instructions, and turned to the next table.When he noticed a familiar figure at the table, he stopped and narrowed his eyes. He looked at Layla, the
Shawn and Carmila's wedding was rescheduled once Henry had been safely released from the detention center.However, Carmila's pregnancy was already showing, so the wedding was kept simple.Firstly, everyone thought she would appear unsightly if she married while being visibly pregnant. The second reason was that they feared the complex wedding would exhaust her and the child in her womb.Carmila was displeased, but she had no say in the matter. Furthermore, insisting on a bigger ceremony would make it appear that she didn't care about the child.The wedding car left Florin around 5:00 am and picked her up at 8:00 am.Shawn was in a suit, and Carmila was in a wedding gown. They stood together and carried out the ceremony amidst their elders' blessings.Then, he helped her into the bridal chamber.Meanwhile, Gabriella, along with Megan and several close relatives, entertained the guests who were seeing off the bride.Everyone left for the hotel around 10:00 a.m.Although the wed
Naturally, Elaine wouldn't tell the truth. "I've told you about Moabia before. They're the ones who took the watch. "I ran into Fay's friend at the mall two days ago. She recognized and mocked me! I was outraged and tried to scare them today. But they smashed my car, pinned me to the ground, and beat me!"Unexpectedly, Sam scowled. "Nothing would happen if you didn't scare them."As soon as he heard about Moabia, he knew that Gabriella's friend, whom Elaine mentioned, was Colene.Although he hadn't returned to Chatan at that time, he had been following Colene's Twitter account and checking it frequently. He knew she had accompanied Gabriella to Moabia.She wouldn't let herself suffer, and she wouldn't mock others without reason. There must be a reason for everything.Furthermore, Elaine's words lacked credibility.Everyone would choose to portray themselves favorably, including her. Just like when she broke a person's leg and said it was just a minor injury. Elaine couldn't b
Alicia looked over and saw Colene drag Elaine by the hair and push her to the ground. Colene even tied her hands with a rope as she struggled.Gabriella straddled Elaine, grabbed her chin, and slapped her twice.It was a rare opportunity to teach Elaine a lesson. She naturally wanted to settle the scores!Alicia was speechless. Sam's plane was about to land. She didn't want to face him with a bruised and swollen face."Ah! Just wait and see! I'll kill you bitches! Let go of me! My uncle will shoot you both! Ah! Fay, you bitch!"Elaine was crying and howling on the ground, her voice shrill. It was the first time in her life that she had suffered such humiliation! She swore to take revenge on them!She would make sure Blake had them jailed and executed!Elaine's cries attracted several passersby.Seeing that the destroyed car was a Maserati, they realized they couldn't intervene. So, they just watched from the side. No one dared to step forward.Someone was filming Gabriella, bu
They were her nemesis!Elaine fixed her gaze on Gabriella and Colene, filled with rage. "I must teach them a lesson!"Alicia, trying to discourage her, said, "Elaine, I don't think it's a good idea. We're in Chatan…""My uncle's here. What are you afraid of?" Elaine replied unconcernedly, "Follow me."Gabriella and Colene stepped into a clothing store while talking. The clothing in the store was stylish. Gabriella chose a one-shoulder dress and entered the changing room.Colene was outside and exclaimed with astonishment, "Damn! So the woman standing with Henry outside the women's restroom door that day was Elaine?"Gabriella frequently videocalled her while in Draken, telling her about her situation there.She then realized that Gabriella had met the self-righteous foolish Elaine, the young lady of the Draken's wealthy family, on the plane again."It's her," Gabriella responded as she changed clothes."She came to Florin?""Do you remember that we met a big shot at the pol
Then she turned slightly to see that Felise was still fast asleep. However, they were so close that they might wake her up.Gabriella didn't want Felise to catch them in the act.Henry didn't answer. He blew hot air onto Gabriella's neck, and goosebumps prickled her skin. He caught her earlobe and sucked it hard.A jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through her, and she shuddered. She curled her toes and shrank back.Suddenly, Gabriella became fully awake, and she tightened around Henry's hand. "What… what are you doing?"Henry's mouth was next to her ear, and his breath was hot on her earlobes. "I'm helping you relax.""No…""When you're relaxed, I'll sleep."Gabriella remained silent. Then, she bit her lip. "No, Henry… don't… uh, Lise is beside me… don't…"A light seemed to flash across her brain, and she stiffened suddenly, and her eyes went out of focus as she stared at the ceiling. Her breathing turned heavy.Henry kissed her cheek and got some wet towels to wipe her do
Felise hadn't seen Gabriella in two months, and she missed her dearly.After school, Felise got in line with the other children to leave the kindergarten. She looked around and heard her seatmate say, "Lise, your parents have come together to get you!"Felise followed the gaze of her seatmate, and she saw a man and a woman standing side by side, their eyes searching through the crowd of kindergarteners. The man wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his lean forearms. He wore black pants and a leather belt, which showed off his long legs. He looked like a model.The woman wore a fitting white lace blouse, and there was a white-gold necklace around her creamy neck. Her arms were fair and slender, like snow, and she wore a short khaki-colored miniskirt. Her legs were slim and fair, and her skin was flawless. They were a very good-looking couple, and they attracted the attention of many of the parents. Even the children couldn't help looking over at
It was already noon. Henry told the driver to make a detour to a restaurant. The waiter led them to a private room on the second floor and politely handed them a menu.Henry had come here a few times before. Perhaps it was because he didn't like lamb, but he only just noticed that there were several signature lamb dishes on the menu. Gabriella looked through the menu and ordered a few at random.Henry heard her orders and told the waiter, "Add a braised lamb and lamb rack.""You have great taste, sir. These are our signature dishes." The waiter smiled and noted it down."Will it be too much?""It's okay. We can bring it back if we can't finish it." Henry gave the menu to the waiter. "That's all."While they waited for the food to be served, the two of them chatted casually.Henry told her in detail about all the affiliated companies under Toussaint Holdings and the new products the studios were about to launch. He asked Gabriella which of these she was interested in. As lo
Then Layla heard something that made her lose all hope."Layla, come to my office."She opened her mouth, then deflated and said, "Okay."The intern looked curiously at Shawn's retreating figure and said, "Why does Mr. Shawn want to see you?""I don't know. Whatever it is, I'll find out when I go. I'm leaving." Layla carried an expression of dignified resignation.She guessed that Shawn wanted to see her about the office romance issue. She wasn't dating Robin, but it was worse than dating. Shawn had just stepped into the office when Layla followed him in. Her head was lowered, and she looked uneasy. "Mr. Shawn, what do you want to see me about?" she asked, her voice hoarse. Shawn sat down behind the desk and arranged the documents on it. He asked casually, "Do you remember what I asked you during your interview?""Y-yes… you asked me what I think about office romances." Layla lowered her gaze and answered in a small voice. Her palms were sweating, and her heart was in her t