21Silence, once again, prevailed in the room. Karson was stunned and enveloped in a warm, fuzzy feeling of happiness to see his elder son join him for dinner for the first time in twenty years. Karson's heart shrunk in grief for all the sufferings Kyle went through as a child. After his divorce with Sophia, Kyle suffered the most. And the attempt to keep him away from consequences of their divorce resulted in a huge gap between them as father and son. "I'm so glad you came today, son. It still feels like a dream. I can't bring myself to believe my son is here with me!" Karson said while gazing at his son lovingly. "Speaking of my son, where is that scoundrel? Ruby?" Karson snapped, his brows furrowed as he turned to his wife. "I... Uh, honey, Kevin is busy. He's working tirelessly and putting in a lot of efforts to grow his new business." Ruby answered in a small voice while her cheeks burned in shame. She was mortified as her husband addressed their son harshly at the dinner ta
22It was a portrait of him with his mother, Sophia Lawson. Kyle was sitting in a luxurious, high-backed, curved, throne-like chair with golden arms and legs. The backrest was also painted in a shimmering golden color while the cushion was velvety and in a deep red color.His dark eyes shone and a leg was crossed over the other. His arms were on the armrest while his mother stood behind the chair, holding the curved edge of the chair. Her face was gleaming with pride. Although the portrait in itself was a masterpiece, what Kyle liked the most about it was the happy smiles on their faces and that they wore black.The portrait made him feel like it was real. Kyle's features were impressively detailed and Sophia also looked young just like he had seen as a child before she left him."This is wonderful. In fact, this is..." Kyle trailed off, his shocked gaze glued to the portrait. "This looks so real. I don't have words to praise it. It's so perfect and..." Kyle raised his eyes.Tania's h
23Jasmine's eyes flickered open to the intense light shining down on her. She kept her eyelids close for a while until she could adjust with the light. When she opened them again, her heart thudded anguishly.She curled her fingers and tried not to freak out. That's because she was back in that same old room she didn't think she would go back to— Vince and her bedroom in their marital house.The dark green color on the walls seemed like the deep and harrowing waters in an ocean. She felt like she was drowning.Correction— she didn't really feel like she was drowning, but actually as if she was being pushed into the water to drown by none other than her husband Vince.Jasmine immediately threw the blanket away and decided to get off the bed. The moment she pushed her lower body out of the bed, she collapsed as pain shot up her wait. She was hoping to run out of the house before Vince saw her. But the numbness in her legs made her cry out loud. She blinked her eyes to focus better and
24 Jasmine stared at the shameless man standing arrogantly before her with his stepmom in his arms. 'Lucy? So she's 'just' Lucy to him. Great!' She scorned to herself before she turned around to try to crawl out. She hadn't moved an inch away when she felt Vince's fingers in her hair. He pulled her back and shoved her towards Lucy where she was standing... Right at her feet. "Apologize to her now!" He ground the words out as he pushed her head against Lucy's feet until her nose was touching the fur slippers. Pain tore through Jasmine's chest. She saw her tears dampen the fur as they fell one after another from her chin. "I said apologize, Jazz!" Disgust filled Jasmine's being. After doing all this, he still had the audacity to call her by her nickname. Jasmine couldn't move. The anguish of being treated like trash by her own husband sliced through her heart like a sharp sword. She reflected back on the time she doted on him as an obedient wife. All the years she cared for him
25Jasmine's POVI opened my eyes with a heavy feeling on my belly. I sat up straight, startled, as it reminded me of my miscarriage.I was sensitive. Although I got the time and space to mourn the death of my dear baby when I was at Birdie's, I was still not used to touching my belly as freely as before. Not without feeling my heart pounding in my chest.When I looked down at my stomach, my blood ran with vengeance in my veins. My eyes shot up as I saw red.The weight was from Vince's hand and he was sleeping beside me. It was dark in the room and there was no light outside the open windows, meaning the night had crept in. My muscles jumped under my skin in enrage as I tossed his hand away from my belly.My teeth chattered as my veins pumped with the urge to strangle him in his sleep. I wasn't so lucky to have my urge fulfilled because the light filled the room and Vince sat up rubbing his eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you? I had just fallen asleep, Jazz." He complained and I wa
26My heart pounded violently in my chest and the trembling shot up in my arms and face.Vince appeared tired as if he wasn't very happy to reveal the truth. But when he started, my hatred for him grew intense."My relationship with Lucy is stronger and older than ours. I met her five years ago at a party. It was love at first sight for me. She also seemed interested in me when I made the first move. However, when I tried to touch her intimately, she'd jumped away." He paused to look up at me.I gave him a nod, showing that I wasn't affected by how the story started. But deep down, my muscles tangled as I suppressed my rage. I swallowed down the burn of acid in my throat as I tried to ignore the fact that my meeting with Vince, those days of our secret meetings after office hours I considered as dream come true, the proposal I thought was too filmy to be real, and the years I cherished as Mrs Vince has been nothing but a lie. A BIG FAT LIE. "She was wary that I might leave marks on
27"I had no other choice. But it wasn't as terrifying as it sounds after we've found a way out." His lips curled into a dark smirk that made shivers erupt in my body. "My father can't go to bed without drinking. So Lucy makes sure he's utterly drunk before they get into bed." "Then a maid that we've hired to replace Lucy jumps into the bed with my father. She leaves only in the morning and then Lucy pretends that it's been her with him. This way she avoids my father from trying to touch her.""But those kisses in public? The way he gropes her ass in the parties, doesn't that infuriate you?" "Not as much as the thought of Lucy going back to GoldenRidge to her oppressor's brother." He shrugged coolly. "I can handle my father touching my woman more than other rascals. Not that my father's done anything more than that. He thinks he has Lucy at his mercy, but you know the truth." It makes sense. It's better to have a single bite of a tasty cake than to never have it. Vince is enjoying L
28Kyle's POVThe last few days have been pretty rough for me. I barely ate food or met my friends or anyone else given I was locked up in my cabin taking back to back conferences or online meetings with overseas clients. Being the CEO of the rapidly rising business group is not easy, but I have to do it anyhow. This was my dream, after all. To be so successful that I wouldn't have a single second to think back about my past. I wanted this life and I have it. In the past few years I worked on climbing every ladder I could to make my name. I left no stone unturned, and in fact, there were no more rungs left after all these years of working so hard. I've climbed all the ladders that were there and now I'm aiming for whatever is there beyond the zenith of success I've achieved. But I wish my mother was alive. I wish I could show her what her departure did to me. What her decision of divorcing my father led me to become. I'm a heartless mercenary today. A man so focused on doubling an
28Kyle's POVThe last few days have been pretty rough for me. I barely ate food or met my friends or anyone else given I was locked up in my cabin taking back to back conferences or online meetings with overseas clients. Being the CEO of the rapidly rising business group is not easy, but I have to do it anyhow. This was my dream, after all. To be so successful that I wouldn't have a single second to think back about my past. I wanted this life and I have it. In the past few years I worked on climbing every ladder I could to make my name. I left no stone unturned, and in fact, there were no more rungs left after all these years of working so hard. I've climbed all the ladders that were there and now I'm aiming for whatever is there beyond the zenith of success I've achieved. But I wish my mother was alive. I wish I could show her what her departure did to me. What her decision of divorcing my father led me to become. I'm a heartless mercenary today. A man so focused on doubling an
27"I had no other choice. But it wasn't as terrifying as it sounds after we've found a way out." His lips curled into a dark smirk that made shivers erupt in my body. "My father can't go to bed without drinking. So Lucy makes sure he's utterly drunk before they get into bed." "Then a maid that we've hired to replace Lucy jumps into the bed with my father. She leaves only in the morning and then Lucy pretends that it's been her with him. This way she avoids my father from trying to touch her.""But those kisses in public? The way he gropes her ass in the parties, doesn't that infuriate you?" "Not as much as the thought of Lucy going back to GoldenRidge to her oppressor's brother." He shrugged coolly. "I can handle my father touching my woman more than other rascals. Not that my father's done anything more than that. He thinks he has Lucy at his mercy, but you know the truth." It makes sense. It's better to have a single bite of a tasty cake than to never have it. Vince is enjoying L
26My heart pounded violently in my chest and the trembling shot up in my arms and face.Vince appeared tired as if he wasn't very happy to reveal the truth. But when he started, my hatred for him grew intense."My relationship with Lucy is stronger and older than ours. I met her five years ago at a party. It was love at first sight for me. She also seemed interested in me when I made the first move. However, when I tried to touch her intimately, she'd jumped away." He paused to look up at me.I gave him a nod, showing that I wasn't affected by how the story started. But deep down, my muscles tangled as I suppressed my rage. I swallowed down the burn of acid in my throat as I tried to ignore the fact that my meeting with Vince, those days of our secret meetings after office hours I considered as dream come true, the proposal I thought was too filmy to be real, and the years I cherished as Mrs Vince has been nothing but a lie. A BIG FAT LIE. "She was wary that I might leave marks on
25Jasmine's POVI opened my eyes with a heavy feeling on my belly. I sat up straight, startled, as it reminded me of my miscarriage.I was sensitive. Although I got the time and space to mourn the death of my dear baby when I was at Birdie's, I was still not used to touching my belly as freely as before. Not without feeling my heart pounding in my chest.When I looked down at my stomach, my blood ran with vengeance in my veins. My eyes shot up as I saw red.The weight was from Vince's hand and he was sleeping beside me. It was dark in the room and there was no light outside the open windows, meaning the night had crept in. My muscles jumped under my skin in enrage as I tossed his hand away from my belly.My teeth chattered as my veins pumped with the urge to strangle him in his sleep. I wasn't so lucky to have my urge fulfilled because the light filled the room and Vince sat up rubbing his eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you? I had just fallen asleep, Jazz." He complained and I wa
24 Jasmine stared at the shameless man standing arrogantly before her with his stepmom in his arms. 'Lucy? So she's 'just' Lucy to him. Great!' She scorned to herself before she turned around to try to crawl out. She hadn't moved an inch away when she felt Vince's fingers in her hair. He pulled her back and shoved her towards Lucy where she was standing... Right at her feet. "Apologize to her now!" He ground the words out as he pushed her head against Lucy's feet until her nose was touching the fur slippers. Pain tore through Jasmine's chest. She saw her tears dampen the fur as they fell one after another from her chin. "I said apologize, Jazz!" Disgust filled Jasmine's being. After doing all this, he still had the audacity to call her by her nickname. Jasmine couldn't move. The anguish of being treated like trash by her own husband sliced through her heart like a sharp sword. She reflected back on the time she doted on him as an obedient wife. All the years she cared for him
23Jasmine's eyes flickered open to the intense light shining down on her. She kept her eyelids close for a while until she could adjust with the light. When she opened them again, her heart thudded anguishly.She curled her fingers and tried not to freak out. That's because she was back in that same old room she didn't think she would go back to— Vince and her bedroom in their marital house.The dark green color on the walls seemed like the deep and harrowing waters in an ocean. She felt like she was drowning.Correction— she didn't really feel like she was drowning, but actually as if she was being pushed into the water to drown by none other than her husband Vince.Jasmine immediately threw the blanket away and decided to get off the bed. The moment she pushed her lower body out of the bed, she collapsed as pain shot up her wait. She was hoping to run out of the house before Vince saw her. But the numbness in her legs made her cry out loud. She blinked her eyes to focus better and
22It was a portrait of him with his mother, Sophia Lawson. Kyle was sitting in a luxurious, high-backed, curved, throne-like chair with golden arms and legs. The backrest was also painted in a shimmering golden color while the cushion was velvety and in a deep red color.His dark eyes shone and a leg was crossed over the other. His arms were on the armrest while his mother stood behind the chair, holding the curved edge of the chair. Her face was gleaming with pride. Although the portrait in itself was a masterpiece, what Kyle liked the most about it was the happy smiles on their faces and that they wore black.The portrait made him feel like it was real. Kyle's features were impressively detailed and Sophia also looked young just like he had seen as a child before she left him."This is wonderful. In fact, this is..." Kyle trailed off, his shocked gaze glued to the portrait. "This looks so real. I don't have words to praise it. It's so perfect and..." Kyle raised his eyes.Tania's h
21Silence, once again, prevailed in the room. Karson was stunned and enveloped in a warm, fuzzy feeling of happiness to see his elder son join him for dinner for the first time in twenty years. Karson's heart shrunk in grief for all the sufferings Kyle went through as a child. After his divorce with Sophia, Kyle suffered the most. And the attempt to keep him away from consequences of their divorce resulted in a huge gap between them as father and son. "I'm so glad you came today, son. It still feels like a dream. I can't bring myself to believe my son is here with me!" Karson said while gazing at his son lovingly. "Speaking of my son, where is that scoundrel? Ruby?" Karson snapped, his brows furrowed as he turned to his wife. "I... Uh, honey, Kevin is busy. He's working tirelessly and putting in a lot of efforts to grow his new business." Ruby answered in a small voice while her cheeks burned in shame. She was mortified as her husband addressed their son harshly at the dinner ta
20"How dare you touch my man, bitch!" Lila purred indignantly as she pressed Tania's head against the pillar."Asks who... The queen of all the bitches!" Tania sneered before she freed herself from Lila's hold and kicked her under her knee, making her almost go down on her knees.The air around them crackled. Both the girls growled at each other before grabbing each other's collars.Both of them pulled each other closer until their noses touched as they breathed heavily in exasperation."He's mine, whore! He's been mine since we were kids." Lila whispered in a scary tone.Tania rolled her eyes, not even one percent freaked out.If Lila was crazy... Tania was crazier in love with Kyle. Hence, she wasn't scared of Lila or her threats."Save that, wench! All he's ever been to you since childhood is a friend... Or more so, a brother." Tania sniggered, sending a jolt of maddening fury through Lila.Lila planted her against the pillar as she yanked her little top, tearing it from the middl