"You weren’t dating normally from the beginning. Michael, I’m only telling you this because I see you as a friend. Stop wasting time on Jane. Spend time with your grandmother in her final days, and focus on building your career. The future will bring you the happiness that belongs to you." Michael forced a smile, but it was bitter. "Charlotte, I'll remember what you said. We should go now. Frank's eyes are about to kill me." Charlotte said, "You’ve set her up, she used you, and now you're even. Neither of you owes the other anything. I left some money under the pillow in the guest room. Thanking Madam Hall for cooking for us. Even though we only stayed for one night, we still disturbed her. Michael, I wish you all the best." A deep bitterness and pain spread through Michael's heart, but he still showed a perfect smile. "Charlotte, you too. And Jane, I wish you all the best." "Alright." Michael watched as the luxury cars drove away. He opened his palm and stared
They didn't take the main road to the Civil Affairs Bureau. But even on a small road, it shouldn't have been this desolate. It was clear that these people had been waiting for him for a long time. It seemed that the news about him and Jane going to get the marriage certificate must have reached the Collins family the moment they boarded the plane. Zachary's indifferent gaze moved up, briefly landing on the middle-aged man's face. Then he raised the car window. The middle-aged man raised his hand and signaled for the armored vehicles to move aside. Roy drove past. Originally, he should have turned left toward the Civil Affairs Bureau, but he turned the steering wheel to the right. Jane had heard everything, and now she still felt a lingering fear. "Zachary." Zachary turned his head and said, "You don't have a chance to run anymore." Since the temple, Jane had been angry. Now that she was no longer in a temple, she couldn't hold it back any longer. But
Her fingers had turned red, and they were slightly swollen, but the ring still couldn't be removed. Zachary once again held her hand, gently rubbing her middle finger to ease the pain. Jane looked coldly at him. There was no emotional reaction to his careful and considerate gestures. This was not what she wanted. No matter how well he acted, it couldn't hide the domineering arrogance in him. He said he would let her be free, but in reality, he had already tied her down without her realizing it. He had confined her in a cage. She wanted to vent her anger. But then she felt it wasn't necessary anymore. He would just respond with a few words that would make her at a loss for words anyway. She couldn't even be bothered to shake off his hand. The rest of the journey was in silence. This made Roy, in the driver's seat, feel a sense of unease. This suffocating silence was worse than an argument. Perhaps if they argued it would be better. The wor
Jane felt like her wrist was about to be crushed, and tried to pull it out. "Let go, it hurts." But Zachary pulled her closer, holding her tightly in his arms. "Don't think these words of yours will work. They can't control me." His voice was cold and hard, clearly filled with anger. But Jane didn't care. She kept provoking him. "If you were really that capable, you wouldn't have been brought here today. We would already be at the Civil Affair Bureau getting the paperwork done. Zachary, you know it yourself. You're not powerful enough to beat the Collins family." Zachary's voice grew even colder. "I'm doing this for you." "I don't want you to." Jane struggled to get out of his embrace, but when that failed, she stomped on his foot. But Zachary didn't even flinch. Jane's voice turned cold as well. "Stop always saying you're doing things for me. Your family does the same for you, so why don't you accept it? Why do you have to go against them? Sometimes, I ju
Zachary rebutted, "How can I not care? If it weren't for your relationship with Michael's grandmother, I wouldn't have kept her around waiting to match the statements with Michael. Even legally, without matching statements, we can't file a case or convict anyone." Nina was not surprised. She knew Zachary's style very well. But it didn't matter anymore. At that point, there was nothing she could do, but wait for the right moment to escape the country. As long as Zachary didn't send her to prison or kill her, there was always a chance. "Miss Greenwood, even if you don't like Zachary and want to break up with him, please don't use me as a shield. We're both women, can't we be a bit more friendly?" Jane snorted coldly. "When you were setting me up, did you ever think about being 'friendly' to me as a woman?" She replied, "Michael already told me, your little act is completely unnecessary now." Zachary chimed in, "If you don't want to see her, fine. Let Michael come
Jane didn't let out a breath of relief until she passed through the gates of the house. She wiped the cold sweat that had gathered on the tip of her nose. Quickly, she walked toward the main road. She had heard about the power and influence of Zachary's family, and had imagined it in her mind, but seeing it in person was far more shocking than she had anticipated. At that point, she even felt that breaking up with him was the right decision. She was glad she had done it quickly. If she had stayed in a relationship with Zachary any longer, the Collins family would definitely have come for her. Beep— The honking sound startled Jane. Seeing the driver, Alan, her erratic heartbeat gradually settled. "Are you here for business?" "No, I'm here to pick you up." Jane sat in the passenger seat, fastening her seatbelt and asking, "Did Mr. Smith send you?" Alan nodded. "Miss Greenwood, it's not safe to stay at your place right now. Please pack your things. I
The windows had also been locked, and there were patrols every day.The front door and the backyard offered no opportunity to escape.He lay on the bed, one hand resting under his head.He stared blankly at the ceiling.Nina had originally planned to take the opportunity to escape, but she failed. She wasn't restricted like Zachary, however.But with her abilities, escaping from the layers of encirclement was no easy task.Moreover, the guards at the gate of the compound had been instructed by the Collins family.The back wall of the yard no longer offered any chance to climb out.It seemed that this time, the Collins family was taking drastic measures.They would not allow Zachary and Jane to contact each other again.Recalling the words Zachary had said earlier.She couldn't help but sneer. ‘She’s the only person you will marry?’They had grown up together, but neither of them had ever loved each other to such an extent.How long had they known each other, really?What
"Grandma is fine. Mrs. Waxon next door is helping me take care of her.""I had an tryout, so I came over. I didn't expect to run into you, Jane."Looking at Michael's happy expression, Jane couldn't bring herself to smile."Michael, about what Charlotte told you...""You don't need to say anything."Michael interrupted her. "From now on, you're just my sister. If you need anything, just call me. I may not have power, but I will do everything I can to protect you."Jane felt a mix of emotions. "There's no need to go that far.""Jane, why did you suddenly come to Leacoston? Are you on a business trip?"Michael changed the subject, but Jane felt she couldn't avoid the conversation."Michael, I think we should maintain some distance. From the moment you started liking me, if I can't return those feelings, then we can't even be friends. When I went to Larecton with you before, it was because I wanted to know the truth about that night in Heliafield. I also needed to relax. There's
Westley thought back to the times before their marriage.From the moment Jordan came to the Howard family, he was the one who brought her milk every night.He took care of her meticulously in every aspect of her life—planting pear trees, picking pears, standing up for her.He even accompanied her in the childish games of playing house, which he used to disdain.He thought that Jordan had fallen for him because of these things.But these were things that anyone could have done.If someone else had become her older brother, they could have done the same.So he believed that Jordan was too young to truly understand what love meant.Yet, he never expected that she truly understood her feelings—that her love for him was not because of his care, not because he was her "brother."It was because she saw him as a man.And because of that, she now hated him to the extreme.Because she had once loved him to the extreme."Jordy, if I let you tie me up this time, can it erase my mistake
Before Jordan could react, Westley said, "Hurry, take a picture."She looked toward the water. Gentle ripples spread outward, shimmering under the light. Overjoyed, she quickly adjusted her camera and began shooting.Under the blue sky and white clouds, a pink dolphin swam playfully in the golden sunlight.This area was completely quiet—just the two of them.She could even hear the dolphin’s ethereal calls, soothing and pure.Just moments ago, she had been upset with Westley, but now, all of that frustration faded away.Her lips curved into a smile as the camera shutter clicked repeatedly—she didn’t want to miss a single frame.Pink dolphins were incredibly rare.Back when they had tried to photograph rainbow fish, they had also hoped to capture pink dolphins.But Oliver had almost died, and they had to abandon the shoot.Afterward, life had been too busy, and she never had another chance to come back.This time, though she had been brought here against her will by Westley,
"How lucky? If I catch one, will you stop pestering me for good?"Westley replied calmly, "You can try."Jordan didn’t know how to fish. When she cast the line, it got tangled.After struggling to get the hook in the water, she suddenly heard Westley chuckle beside her.It was a mocking laugh.It was only then that she realized—she hadn’t put any bait on the hook."You did that on purpose!" Jordan couldn’t hold back. "You knew I didn’t know how, so you set me up with this trick!"Westley neither confirmed nor denied it.Frustrated, Jordan reeled the hook back, properly put on some bait, and lowered it into the water again.Westley pulled a chair over and placed it behind her. "Have a seat. Take your time. There’s no rush."Jordan shot him a glare.Westley didn’t mind and walked away to make a phone call.Jordan sat there, waiting all the way until noon, as the sun rose high in the sky.She never even saw a rainbow fish.She was convinced Westley was messing with her."Ti
Later, he didn’t know why Westley was so determined to be with Jordan.Even now, he still didn’t understand.He had long known that Jordan’s mother’s heirloom would be auctioned, and he had put in a great deal of effort to prepare for it in advance.Before Nathan appeared, they had already known about Jordan’s background.Knowing that she and Jane were biological sisters, they began investigating.Zachary intervened to mislead the information, trying to prevent them from finding out.They simply went along with it, pretending they couldn't find anything.Westley’s attitude toward Nathan was the same—he knew he had made a mistake, and even being polite wouldn’t help anymore.This time, because of the heirloom, he had offended the entire country.The heirloom had never been put up for auction before, great effort had been made to orchestrate things so Jordan would receive them.Back then, Leanne had been waiting at the door every day for Westley, trying to solve the obstacles s
It was always going to come to this, there had to be a resolution.If Westley didn't keep his word this time and unilaterally tore up the agreement, she would have to take other measures."Can I give my sister a video call?"As soon as she asked, Roy’s phone vibrated.He handed it to Jordan.Jordan took it and pressed the answer button.Jane's face appeared on the screen."Jane.""What's wrong? Did something happen to you?"Jane moved closer to the screen. "Why are your eyes so red?"Jordan was worked up and shocked.She cried very easily."I just went to the auction..." She explained everything again. "I wasn't hurt in any way. It’s just about that estate..."Jane asked her, "So, you think he never hurt you before?"Jordan used to think Westley had stepped over the line before, but after this period of time, she felt that Westley hadn’t actually done anything wrong.He didn’t love her, and he was forced to marry her—why would he show her any kindness?If he had been ni
She didn’t dare to move.It was Westley who came over, holding her hand and signing at the bottom of the document."No, no, no!"Jordan quickly shook off Westley’s hand, repeatedly refusing."I don’t want it!"Westley chuckled. "Don’t you like money?""You can stay in this estate if you want, or you can sell it. If you sell it, it should be 20 billion dollars."Jordan’s hand that was holding the pen trembled.Her eyes widened, and she could hardly believe what she had just heard."You, you, you..."Westley forcefully held her hand and signed her name.Buck wisely left the room."What else do you want?"Jordan couldn’t say a word, her whole body frozen in the action of signing.Westley sighed softly and reached out to pat her head."Forget it, no need to say anything."Jordan bit her lip, unable to find her voice.She actually wanted to say that she didn’t need anything else.After all, the estate was enough for her to spend for several lifetimes.But for some reason,
Rhianna blinked her beautiful purple eyes and said coquettishly, "Yes, Westley, are you going to increase the bid? If you don't, the jewelry Mrs. Howard wants will belong to me. But it’s a fair competition, don’t get mad, okay?"Westley curved his lips, a strong and obvious hint of sarcasm in his expression."I could give it to you..."Jordan suddenly looked up, almost thinking she had misheard.But then she realized, Westley was someone with a deep sense of revenge.It was likely that he wasn’t increasing the bid out of desire, but to set a trap for Rhianna.Sure enough, the next words she heard were his cold, indifferent tone."400 million and 200 thousand. It’s not that I look down on you. It is possible for you to come up with 200 thousand dollars, but where are you going to get the 400 million from? Will you sell your family’s castle, or pull all the investments out of your business?"Rhianna wasn’t foolish. She sensed something was wrong and tried to get Westley to raise
"I don't like it." Jordan threw the paddle she was holding at him and stood up, intending to leave.Out of sight, out of mind.Westley grabbed her arm. "This is your mother's heirloom. You really don't want it?""What?"Jordan's head was about to explode. There had been too many shocks tonight.She still didn’t even know who her mother was.And yet, Westley knew that this was her mother’s heirloom?"Stop making things up. I don’t like this..."Westley still didn’t plan to reveal her true identity.Nathan was intentionally playing this hidden identity game.He was playing along.Besides, whether Jordan was from the Jackson family or not didn’t matter to him.As long as she was his, that was all that mattered."You’ll regret not bidding. Really, are you sure you don’t want it?" he said with a cryptic tone, guiding her subtly.He had already said that Jordan could bid on anything she liked.Yet here she was, hesitating.Jordan stared at the pear blossom jewelry on the stag
Her hand, resting on her lap, slowly clenched into a fist.Westley admired the change in her expression, silently smirking.Rhianna watched the whole scene and asked Westley in a foreign language, "Why does it feel like your wife doesn’t want to talk to you? Westley, did you intentionally arrange someone to act with you to reject me?"Westley answered indifferently, "If it were acting, wouldn’t the person I arranged cooperate with me? I made her unhappy before we came here, so it's normal for her to give me the cold shoulder. I brought her here to apologize and make her happy."Jordan couldn’t understand what they were saying and didn’t care. She was looking at the auction booklet.She was drawn to a set of pear blossom jewelry displayed in the catalog.She didn’t know why, but it felt as if there was some kind of connection.If the set wasn’t too expensive, she might try to bid on it.Her entire fortune should be enough, right?Westley’s gaze shifted over and saw her thumb ge