The door opened and Santiago walked in with a sheaf of documents in his hand. As soon as he started speaking, the conference room immediately fell silent. Coupled with his clothes and the way he carried himself, he looked incredibly elegant despite being a man. His posture was more glamorous than a supermodel's and even better than some movie stars. He was the worldwide recognized standard of style and charisma. Everyone's eyes were glued on Santiago. When he entered the room, he tossed the documents in his hand in front of Jepherson and scoffed, "This is my proof of assignment and all my details and recognitions. I've received 14 international awards as proof of my capabilities. I am now the general manager of the company. I, personally, will oversee Raeleigh. I am not comfortable with anyone else doing so. I'm sure you understand." After saying that, Santiago looked at Raeleigh with a smile on his face, which shocked her. But now, she realized she was very fortunate becau
"Let's go together. We can talk about things while we're at it." Jepherson stepped forward, and Raeleigh instantly felt pressured. Although she wasn't too pleased with Santiago's sabotage, she still felt intimidated to face Jepherson. She took a deep breath. Closing the door, she turned around and followed Santiago into the elevator. With him around, she felt safe and secure. The three of them rode the elevator down. Raeleigh stood closer to Santiago, averting her eyes from Jepherson's face. Soon, the elevator doors pinged open. Santiago waited for Raeleigh to step out first before leaving the elevator, while Jepherson trailed behind them. The three of them were very capable and the company staff looked up to them. However, the relationship between them was a complicated one, which made everyone feel awkward around them. They didn't know what was going on. After they exited the building, Raeleigh sat in the car. Jepherson followed suit. Raeleig
"I'm not kidding. I swear on my life, I really like you. I like you more than anything else." "Impossible... This can't be. You're much too young, you don't understand this at all..." Raeleigh was shaking her head when Santiago kissed her face. She flinched, turning utterly unresponsive. Santiago lowered his eyes slightly and smiled. He then spun around and walked away. The entire time, he had his hands in his pockets. With an exaggerated swagger he shuffled away, as though he were a god sashaying among the grass. Raeleigh slowly turned around and looked at Santiago, gasping, "Are you out of your mind?" Stopping short, Santiago swung around, observing her. She had taken a step back as though she had been hurt. However, she found it strange as she wasn't afraid of Santiago. What could account for her sudden backing off? With pouted lips, Raeleigh looked at Santiago, her face impassive. She felt like she was cocooned in bleakness. Yet, the corners of S
Deanna was disinclined to do so at first. She felt that she shouldn't have kissed him since she had just woken up. Although she didn't really have bad breath and she had brushed her teeth before going to bed... Moving about too much wasn't good for the baby, and Deanna wasn't willing to give in just like that. The problem was that women were weak when compared to men. Deanna was starting to reject his foreplay. However, after a little while, she began to respond positively. Jacky gently patted her gently since she was weak. He controlled his pent-up drive and allowed her to straddle him in his lap. Slowly he started to give her what she wanted and made her happy. On the other hand, Raeleigh felt a breakdown incoming. For more than an hour she squatted in the room before she eventually rose and climbed onto her bed, the physical exertion instantly sapping all of her strength. She fell ill the next day. She wondered: did she catch a cold? Her night had been punctu
"Master Jepherson!" Seeing Jepherson head up the stairs, Scarlette called out to him. Jepherson stopped and turned around to look at her. Her lips trembled as she wondered if it would be best to say what was on her mind. "Although I'm quite the gruff person, I can feel that Raeleigh is really bothered about Stella. No matter what the reason may be, you have already accepted Madam Marissa's orders to marry Stella. I don't know what this means for Raeleigh, but if Hadrian ever told me that he loved me yet promised to marry another woman for whatever reason it may be, and even if it was for me, then I will never forgive him." After saying that, she spun around and left. She went back to her room, afraid that she would get yelled at by Jepherson. After she closed the door, Scarlette panted in her room. Hadrian was reading a book about maternity care. He was surprised to see Scarlette so rattled. Seeing how scared she was, he put the book down, stood up, and qu
Jepherson turned towards him. "Do me a favor and shut your mouth." "Whatever!" Smirking, Santiago turned on his heel and buried his hands in his pockets. He swaggered his way upstairs. When he reached the middle of the staircase, Xanthus had come out of the room. He stood at the kitchen door and said to Santiago, "I'll give you three seconds. Make a sensible choice." After saying that, Xanthus turned around. Santiago sighed and said, "Seriously, I find you quite nosy. You'd better mind your own business." Turning around, Santiago went back down. He walked to the couch, sat down, and watched TV. Jepherson went into the kitchen and cooked some soup for Raeleigh. With the soup prepared, Xanthus carried the bowl up as Jepherson went to sit down. Santiago laughed. "Just like my brother, he can keep calm. Pops often said that I could never maintain my composure, didn't he?" Santiago tilted his head to look at Jepherson. Jepherson raised his han
He knew that their baby had wrought a bottomless rift between them. It was one that was, for all intents and purposes, impossible to bridge. In truth, that gaping crack was best left untouched, so that he would always be reminded of the pain, so much so that it would always lurk in his memory, that he had murdered his little princess. But what did this woman want? After such a long time together, she still refused to admit that they were meant for each other. She was deeply loved and appreciated. Neither of them said a word to each other as Raeleigh had drifted off to sleep. Jepherson wasn't sure if he ought to get into another argument with her, but for ages he hadn't felt as real as then. Even if it was just to watch her sleep peacefully for a moment. Raeleigh slept soundly for a very long time. When she woke up, he was no longer in the room. When Raeleigh went to see him again, Xanthus, who was taking her temperature, was sitting in the room. "You
Raeleigh and the others knew how Deanna and Zorion felt about each other as siblings. There must have been a reason for her to have said such things all of a sudden, but what was it? "Deanna, let's leave and talk elsewhere." When Zorion approached her, she quickly hid from him. "I'm not going back. I'm going to Waverly Village. That's where I want to go. You can leave. I'll tell Dad and Mom about it." "Deanna, let's go home." Zorion was only ever mild-tempered when he was with his younger sister. Deanna. However, he didn't appreciate it. Instead, she hid behind Jacky and refused to see him. "No, I won't." "Deanna, you are way too unpredictable. You can spend time outside, but you should always come back home. Do you understand?" Zorion attempted a conciliatory tone, but she couldn't and refused to understand him. She was very anxious and shouted at Zorion, "No, never! I will never go back home." "Deanna." Worried that something bad might happen
Santiago went home once more to retrieve Jepherson's sperm from the sperm bank. After that, Raeleigh got pregnant through medical procedures. However, when Raeleigh was only three days pregnant, the doctor made a major discovery. He informed her that he made progress with Shaney's illness , and that he might have misdiagnosed her condition. At that time, Raeleigh had been so overjoyed that Shaney was fine, and she only remembered that she was pregnant after half a month since learning about Shaney. By the time she remembered that she was with child, she wanted to stop her pregnancy. However, Santiago persuaded her to give the baby to him. Raeleigh pondered about it for a long time before finally agreeing. ...... Time passed in a blink of an eye, and Raeleigh had never expected for things to turn out the way it did. She gave birth to her second child, and Shaney had made a full recovery. Santiago had told her that the baby was the will of God, and he
When Raeleigh got out of the car, she began staring at the Richards family's courtyard. Although the Richards family had already buried Marissa's body, Raeleigh was still unwilling to go back. However, as she gazed at Carsten's precious little face that was looking at her expectantly, she had no choice but to follow Jepherson inside. At that moment, Santigo and the other children were in the yard. When Santiago saw Raeleigh and Jepherson, he smiled and gestured at Jepherson. "What are you doing?" Raeleigh asked when she saw Santiago. "Nothing." Though Raeleigh did not believe Jepherson, she decided not to ask further. When Carsten saw Forden and Shaney, he immediately tried to break away from Jepherson's arms, wanting to get to them. The children were all gathered in the Richards family manor that day. Coupled with the four other children of the Whalen family, there were ten children altogether, and they almost occupied the entire courtyard. Ra
Raeleigh said nothing as Carsten continued sinking his teeth into Jepherson's neck. She stared in shock as blood seeped out of his wound. Jepherson raised his hand and patted Carsten gently, then walked to the bed and sat down. After a while, Carsten finally fell asleep. He closed his eyes as he dozed off in Jepherson's arms. Meanwhile, Raeleigh had rushed out of the room to ask the hotel staff to prepare disinfectants before going back into the room to help Jepherson clean his wound. Jepherson leaned against the wall, still holding Carsten in his arms and unwilling to let go. Raeleigh frowned. "What should we do?" Jepherson's voice was a little hoarse. He had been busy for the past two days entertaining guests. "He got scared because of the crowd. He thought that you didn't want him anymore since he couldn't find you, and probably thinks that I'm the one who forced him to stay there." After bandaging Jepherson's wound, Raeleigh helped wipe Carsten's mouth. Sudd
After Raeleigh and the others left, Santiago walked to Zorion's car and stopped him. Zorion casted a glance outside. "Rossie, you should go first. He won't show any mercy once I get off." "You knew he wouldn't show you mercy, so why didn't you think of that before you caused trouble?" "I was just kidding! Who knew he'd have such a bad temper? I didn't expect him to take it seriously." Rossie sighed and gave in. Glancing at Zorion, she finally understood that he was only using her as an excuse to escape whenever he got into trouble. She got out of the car and looked at Santiago who stood opposite her. "Long time no see." "Where's Zorion?" "He's so afraid of you that he doesn't even dare to come out," said Rossie. "It's too late to be scared." He walked up to Zorion's car with the rod in his hand, then raised the stick and smashed it against the car until it was completely wrecked. When he was done, he tossed the stick aside, turned to pick
After leaving the kindergarten, Raeleigh followed Santiago to the Richards family manor. It had been four years since she returned, so she was no longer familiar with the place. Santiago went in, put Carsten down and asked the children to keep themselves entertained. He then looked at Raeleigh and said, "I came back this time because Mrs. Richards is dying. She has been unconscious for a while now. I came back to see her for the last time." Raeleigh asked, "Mrs. Richards?" "Yes. Jepherson hasn't been home these couple of days because he has gone to visit her. He didn't tell you about it because Mrs. Richards doesn't want to see you. While she was still herself, she did say that she would never let you into the family, and that she didn't want to see you ever again. Jepherson went to take care of her but was worried about you. So, he asked me to come home to take a look and it was only then did I find out that Carsten is autistic. This is on your plate now."
When the time came, Raeleigh enrolled Carsten into a kindergarten. On the first day of school, Carsten was bullied. Raeleigh felt sorry for him as she gently touched his swollen face. He had been beaten because he could not speak. She wanted to confront the bully, but Jepherson stopped her. He told her that Carsten should resolve this matter by himself. That year, Raeleigh could not sleep well at night. Hair loss became an issue, and she was exhausted all the time. But after half a month, the children stopped bullying Carsten. Instead, their parents came to Raeleigh's home. "Just take a look at your child..." The parents pointed to their child, and Raeleigh was confused when she saw a boy about the same height as Carsten. The boy seemed to have taken a serious beating, but when Carsten had gotten beaten up like this, Raeleigh hadn't gone to look for trouble with the bully's parents, did she? Raeleigh retorted, "And? It's normal for
The snow was falling heavily. Jepherson put away the phone and took Raeleigh back into the house. The two stood inside and watched the snow. Meanwhile, Hadrian and Scarlette were busy in the kitchen, not daring to make a sound. The Richards family manor remained quiet when winter was approaching. None of the family members returned even on New Year's Day. Raeleigh went to the yard and waited for them in advance, but no one came back. After New Year's Day, Raeleigh returned to her home with Jepherson. Her family members were all surprised to see her pregnant when she got home. They did not expect Raeleigh to be pregnant after being missing for several months. Moreover, she was almost due. Everyone in the Osteen family knew that Raeleigh stayed because of the baby inside her belly. Undoubtedly, the baby was Jepherson's. However, they wondered where Santiago went. Since Raeleigh said nothing, no one dared to ask about it. They all ignored the incident and sil
Raeleigh was stopped by Jepherson's men at the entrance of the village. 'I knew it wouldn't be easy for me to run away.' "Madam Raeleigh, Mr. Richards is waiting for you." Raeleigh had no choice but to go back with them. At the same time, Jepherson sat on his wheelchair outside the village with a blanket on his lap and upon seeing Raeleigh, he breathed a sigh of relief. Raeleigh walked up to him, "Don't be complacent. I'll leave one day." Shifting his gaze to Raeleigh's belly, Jepherson stretched out his hand and pulled her to him. Despite being too weak to walk, he had a firm grip. Raeleigh lost her balance and fell onto his lap. She tried to escape, but he said immediately, "Don't move." Although his voice sounded terrifying to others, he was trying to negotiate. Everyone turned around to look at them, and Raeleigh blushed. Jepherson covered her body with the blanket, then placed his hand onto her belly. Raeleigh tensed up immediately. She ra
Raeleigh had been depressed for a while after Santiago's departure. After a few days, she finally calmed down a little. Jepherson's health had not improved during this period of time. Whenever he was free, he would stare at Shaney's photo in a daze. Deanna and Jacky had helped take care of Jepherson when Raeleigh fell ill. After Raeleigh recovered, she returned to taking care of him herself. However, Jepherson had been in such poor health that he couldn't even go downstairs. It took Raeleigh a lot of effort to help him get down, especially when he was unwilling to go downstairs. "Autumn is coming. I don't want to go down." He was saying that it was cold downstairs. Raeleigh replied, "I can't take care of you all the time. Are you going to exhaust me to death? Your parents left you alone and ignored you. Santiago abandoned you too. What do you want me to do? I have to work. I also have to take care of you..." "Then stop working. Take care of me." Rael