She let her watch as they set off the fireworks. Frank stood by, lighting a large firework. In an instant, the night sky was illuminated. Under the dazzling fireworks, the four girls laughed joyfully. Frank glanced at the black car hidden in the night not far away. The back window of the black car was fully rolled down, and a wisp of white smoke dissipated in the wind. The sound of the wind seemed to carry the man's slightly low but magnetic and pleasant voice. "Jane, Happy New Year." After the New Year, Jane and Charlotte threw themselves into work. Yasmin and Jason decided to take their wedding photos in St. Penalow. At the same time, Zachary got up at nine every morning and worked until five in the evening. But he never really left work at five, always attending drinking sessions. One time, Rebecca happened to catch him leaving a drinking party, being supported by Ross to the car. His hand was pressed against his stomach, clearly showing that h
Eric pondered for a moment. "Then, in early next month, during Zachary's birthday, we'll invite the Greyson family over. At that time, we'll announce the engagement directly." Rebecca was worried. "After what happened with the Sanchez family last time, I think it's better to give him a little more time." Eric replied, "How much time have we given him already? It's no use, we should be more direct." "Then, if we force him too much, Zachary will..." "After his birthday, the position of the head of the Collins family will be passed to him. Are we just going to stand by and watch him marry that woman?" That was definitely not the outcome Rebecca wanted to see. But the alternative wasn't something she was eager to see either. "Let's have them meet at the birthday party first, but don't announce the engagement. If anyone asks, just give a vague answer." "After the birthday, Zachary will need to go on a business trip to Nelana for a while. Let the Greyson family's d
"I wasn't exactly sure, but Jordan said it was because they had different views.""Was it a love marriage, then?""Her grandfather was the deputy officer to her ex-husband's grandfather, and he once shielded the old man from bullets. He was her only relative, so after he passed away, the old man arranged for his grandson to marry her."Jane felt that she was no longer interested in the gossip she was rending. This was much more interesting."And then? Was the bugger unwilling?" After speaking, she realized she had been rude and quickly explained, "I'm just talking normally, Sparrow is here, I won’t swear."Sparrow looked at Jane. "Phew..."Yasmin pinched Sparrow’s little face and took a sip of the hot tea Jason handed her."Her ex-husband really didn’t like her. After they married, he was reassigned to another province. During that time, aside from doing photo shoots, she also went abroad to photograph wildlife. In three years of marriage, they didn’t even see each other’s face.
They stayed at the place where the photos were taken for a while, then the group returned to the hotel.Jane suddenly remembered."Her husband is so rich, and she’s rich too, yet she only gave me a 1% discount!"Yasmin smiled and said, "I didn’t even get a discount at all. Giving you 1% off means we must get along well. When she was young, she was raised by her grandfather in the Howard family. But the Howard family is huge, with many rooms, and there were constant power struggles. Later, she married Westley, but he was often absent, and there weren’t many people backing her up. If she hadn’t become famous early on, she might have suffered financially. She wouldn’t touch the Howard family’s money, so being a bit stingy is understandable."Jane tucked her hands into her sleeves. "Maybe we got along so well because we have similar experiences."Charlotte gave Jane a hug. "It’s all in the past now.""Yes, it’s all in the past."After spending five days in St. Penalow, the group ret
But Zachary’s path was different from Frank’s.He couldn’t be as reckless as Frank.Moreover, Frank had been persecuted many times before reaching this point.Zachary clearly had the option of taking a safer route, with no need to take risks.After all, he was her only son."I’ll go greet the guests, you two chat with Zachary."Frank nodded. After watching Rebecca leave, he walked over to Zachary and clinked his glass with his."Congratulations, birthday boy. You’re a year older"Zachary glanced at him. "We’re the same age.""Not the same. I was born a couple of months later than you, so I age a couple of months slower."Zachary had to continue socializing and ignored him.Frank led Charlotte to the lounge area to sit for a while.He brought her some of her favorite snacks.Charlotte had a few drinks and then needed to go to the restroom.Frank accompanied her.Suddenly, a flash of white appeared around the corner.He remembered that Annie was wearing a white gown that
At the hospital.After confirming that everything was fine, Zachary immediately went to the airport.Frank glanced at the time. "Leaving overnight?"Zachary nodded, a look of exhaustion between his brows.Frank took Charlotte and left the hospital with him, only to see two cars.He asked, "Is Annie going with you?"Zachary nodded again.Frank was confused. "What kind of game is this?""Let's go."Zachary didn't answer, opened the car door, and bent down to sit inside.After the two cars drove off, Charlotte asked, "Last night, did you interfere too much?"Frank touched his chin. "I shouldn't have...""Shouldn't have what?""Can't I tell who he likes?"The two of them went home to pack and then went to their respective companies.Charlotte noticed that Jane's dark circles under her eyes couldn't even be covered by foundation. She asked, "Did you go clubbing last night?"Jane shook her head. "I couldn't sleep, maybe the jet lag still hasn't passed."Charlotte immediately
"People are really into these things now. I often see them on live streams," said Jane.Dominic poured her a cup of barley tea. "The houses people want aren’t just any ordinary houses."Jane knew buying a house wasn't easy. It had taken her some time to secure her little place.If it weren't for Charlotte helping her out, she probably wouldn't have gotten it so quickly."Don’t worry. If I like what I see this time, when I go back and combine it with our brand, we'll promote it. You’ll be able to make money and buy a house.""That sounds good. I know how influential your brand is."The two of them chatted happily in the private room.In the room next door, however, the atmosphere was cold and tense.Annie, seemingly unaware, picked up some food for Zachary and even peeled an apple for him."I grew up in Nelana. I have lung issues, so I’m not really suited to Jeswood’s weather.""This restaurant has been around for almost 100 years. It’s a Nelana specialty. Try this, the apples
Before Jane finished speaking, she watched as Zachary slowly stood up on his own.But then he suddenly leaned towards her.She quickly held him up.Zachary rested his head on her shoulder, his breath hot and heavy against her neck, so hot it felt alarming."Wait, weren't the people around you supposed to be sticking with you at all times? How did you end up like this, all alone?"She heard the man's voice, weak and faint."Take me back to the hotel..."Jane was really at her wit's end.He didn't even tell her the name of the hotel. How was she supposed to know where to take him?In the end, with no other choice, she reached into his pocket to find his phone.She searched both side pockets of his pants, but there was no phone.He was only wearing a white shirt, no coat.That meant his phone wasn't on him.No wonder he hadn't contacted his subordinates.But that didn't make sense either—his subordinates were supposed to be with him at all times.Before she could figure it
The fireworks were dazzling and brilliant.Westley looked up in a certain direction.At the moment the fireworks bloomed, a figure appeared in the window of that place.Jordan couldn’t sleep because of Westley’s injury.As she tossed and turned in bed, a sudden bright light appeared in front of the window.She walked over to the window, opened it, and saw the fireworks bursting in the night sky.There seemed to be a few figures on the beach.But Westley was tall enough that she could spot him at a glance.At that moment, she forgot to watch the fireworks.It was only when Westley raised his hand and pointed upward that she looked up.She realized that the fireworks formed a few words.“I’m sorry, Jordan.”“Happy birthday.”Jordan had originally planned to spend her birthday with Nathan and Jane.But when she was brought over by Westley, she completely forgot about her birthday.She glanced at the time, and it was exactly midnight.Her birthday had begun.The night sky
Jordan had eaten and drunk enough and was about to return to her room.Westley called out to her."Wait a moment."Jordan ignored him and kept on walking.But Westley grabbed her arms and she was pulled back.She lost her balance and fell into the man's arms.As she fell, she instinctively reached out to support herself.She felt something change under her hand.Jordan jumped up as if she had been burned.She forgot there was a grill nearby, and as she was about to fall into it, she was pulled away by a force.She only heard a series of cracking sounds, and she landed on something soft but firm.When she looked closely, it was Westley's chest. She was in his arms, and his tall frame was completely shielding her.Before she could react, Buck and the others arrived.The area was crowded."Quick, put out the fire!""Call a doctor. Don’t move Mr. Howard. Help Mrs. Howard up."Jordan was stunned as she was pulled up.It was then that she saw the scene on the ground.The gr
Frank took the soup from her hands and drank it in a few gulps.Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately.It had been several days since they had been close like this.The heat built up quickly.By the time Charlotte reacted, she was already lying on the bed.She covered his mouth and gently pushed him away a little."Let's finish talking about the important things.""This is the important thing," Frank said as he moved her hand away and pressed it on top of her head. He bent down and started unbuttoning her blouse."Frank..."Charlotte's voice was broken by his actions.After several days of separation, his movements were obviously more intense.She couldn't hold back, and the corners of her eyes filled with tears, as the wave of emotions overwhelmed her...Zachary set the food on the dining table and went to the bedroom to carry Jane out.But Jane wanted to walk by herself, and Zachary helped her sit down.Jane picked up her cutlery and started eatin
"Mr. Jackson, what are you talking about? Westley isn’t a fool. Since he managed to take Jordan from your turf in Impelia, it shows he was well-prepared. This preparation probably started a long time ago, and once he found out you were Jordan's cousin, he just sped up the process."Nathan caught the key point. "So, you and Zachary both guessed that Westley would take Jordan and make all the necessary preparations, but you didn’t say a word?"Frank leaned against the doorframe lazily and said, "I don’t know, I’m not close to Westley. As for Zachary, I’m not sure either. Recently, he’s been too busy with his wife and hasn’t been drinking with me anymore."Nathan didn’t believe him, but didn’t say much.Westley taking Jordan from him was his fault.When he was younger, he couldn’t protect his cousin from being taken away.Now, even with power in his hands, he still couldn’t do anything.He had to ask others for help."You keep searching abroad, I’ll assist you domestically." Fra
On the small table beside them, there were several bottles cluttered around.There were no labels on them.Jordan was cautious and didn’t drink immediately. She picked up a bottle, sniffed it to make sure there was no alcohol smell before inserting the straw and sipping slowly.Westley lit a cigarette, biting it at the corner of his mouth. He flipped the lamb skewers over and sprinkled them with cumin.Watching her unnecessary actions, he laughed. "It doesn’t really matter if you’re drunk or not. On my turf, if I want to do something, do you think you can resist?"Jordan paused.She suddenly remembered that the bet wasn’t clearly defined.“Westley, you said that if I’m moved, but before I’m moved, you can’t do anything out of line. You’re clear about that, right?”Westley handed her the grilled lamb skewer and flicked the ash off his cigarette.He glanced at her and said deliberately, "Wrong."Jordan took a big bite of the lamb skewer.She couldn’t help but exclaim, "So deli
Jordan finished her meal and was taken away by Westley.They took a helicopter and then transferred to a ship.In the end, she had no idea where they were.The journey was bumpy, and after days and nights, she was physically and mentally exhausted.Yet, she refused to say a word to Westley.She buried herself under the blankets.Everything she could say or do, she had already done.Now, she could only pray for heaven to open its eyes and make Westley a decent person, letting her go back."How about a bet?"Westley pulled the blanket off, helping her sit up."There are still some days before Jane gives birth.""We’ll forget our grudges for now. If, during this time, you can develop feelings for me, then you’ll lose, and we’ll remarry. If you don’t fall for me, I’ll let you go back."Jordan's mind was racing.She felt like Westley wouldn’t let her go so easily.But there was no flaw in his words.For her, it still seemed to give her an advantage.After all, she only felt
Jane said lightly, “Do you think Westley would let you find him easily?”“No, but if we keep chasing him, we will eventually find him.” Zachary brought the food to her. “Eat something.”Jane refused his feeding, took the plate and ate by herself.Zachary then placed some more food in front of her.Jane said, “You don’t need to take care of me. I can eat by myself. You should eat too.”Those words made Zachary feel a sense of relief.It seemed she wasn’t angry, nor was she blaming him.“This matter was indeed my oversight. I thought that since Jordan was with your cousin in Impelia, Westley wouldn’t be able to reach her. But I never expected that he would be so bold and take Jordan away directly.”Jane understood. “You want me to put the blame on my cousin, right?”Zachary replied without changing his expression, “How could that be? This matter is entirely my responsibility.”Jane didn’t say anything, only remarking, “When I give birth, I want to see Jordan.”Zachary reassure
Westley handed her the phone.“Tell him yourself.”Jordan was surprised the moment she took the phone, but then she realized something didn’t feel right.He gave it to her so easily...She snapped, “You did this on purpose!”Westley didn’t deny it.Jordan didn’t care much about that anymore and immediately dialed Zachary’s number.When Zachary saw the caller ID, his right eyelid twitched violently.Frank glanced at him. “Why aren’t you answering?”Zachary sighed in frustration. “Stop watching the show, you answer it.”Frank raised his hands. “My wife and your wife are on the same page.”Frank’s position was the same as Zachary’s. He didn’t dare answer the phone either.He pursed his lips as he didn’t have the right to criticize Frank.This phone felt like something that neither of them wanted to have anything to do with.In the end, Zachary still answered it.“Westley, you only have one chance...”“It’s me, Zachary.”Zachary thought something was terribly wrong. “Give
Westley was indeed cunning, but when Zachary said he couldn’t guess Westley’s plan, that was purely pretending to be ignorant.Even he knew that intercepting a plane wouldn’t work.Since Nathan was pursuing so closely, if Westley wanted to take someone away, he must have prepared multiple plans.For example, parachuting mid-way.But he was enjoying watching the drama and didn’t expose it.“I do have some responsibility in this matter.” Nathan was always someone who took responsibility for his actions. “But the responsibility of not saving Jordan falls on you.”Zachary felt like his head was going to explode.He could roughly guess where Westley had parachuted.But that place had many landing spots, and it wasn’t something that could be found in just a day or two.Moreover, since Westley dared to take Jordan away from Nathan, he must have made detailed plans.Knowing they were searching, he would definitely change locations.This was a tug-of-war.It was hard to explain to J