Raeleigh picked up the soup, turned off the fire, and put it aside. Then, she scooped some into a bowl and brought it to Stuart. Standing at the door, Alvin accepted the soup from Raeleigh. "You don't look well. Go to bed early. Don't pull an all-nighter just to cook soup for Stuart. It's not good for your health." Alvin turned around and went into the ward. Raeleigh looked up at Xanthus and said, "Is it your break now?" "Yeah. Let's take five." Xanthus followed Raeleigh back without saying anything on the way. When he walked in, he saw Jepherson lying on the bed. Raeleigh said, "He forced his way in. What am I to do?" It sounded like Raeleigh was wronged, as if she had met a rogue. Xanthus looked at his strong-willed sister. Jepherson was her undoing. "Have you eaten yet? Let's eat." "No. I cooked some soup and brought it for you." Raeleigh went to get the soup and Xanthus followed her out. The brother and sister had breakfast and
Raeleigh looked strangely at the two men who were cooking. One was making a tofu dish, while the other was deboning fish. As though they had agreed to a truce, they were then minding their own tasks in peace. It seemed that they heard the sound of Raeleigh's footsteps. Jepherson took a look at the door of the kitchen. Seeing Raeleigh, he blinked his eyes and said, "Wash your hands." Raeleigh froze for a moment. Then, Xanthus, with his gaze on her, said, "Wash your hands. Dinner's coming right up." "Okay," Raeleigh promised Xanthus. As for Jepherson, Raeleigh dismissed his greetings away. After washing her hands, she went to the kitchen to help. With four dishes and one soup, it was quite the assorted menu. The three of them sat down. Jepherson looked at the person standing by the side and said, "Come and eat." He, who was called, went to Raeleigh's side and began eating. Raeleigh sat beside Xanthus, while Jepherson's aide sat opposite him
After Xanthus left, she began to take care of Jepherson. Although there was not much to do, she didn't get a wink of sleep at night. After all, she was looking after a patient with a high fever. In the morning, Raeleigh fell asleep leaning against the bed. Jepherson got up and opened his eyes, looking at Raeleigh. She was exhausted all over. He raised his hand and touched her. Then, he continued to lie down. Raeleigh woke up to Jepherson staring at the roof. Sitting for a while, she raised her hand and touched Jepherson's forehead. She finally breathed a sigh of relief. Jepherson raised his hand and held Raeleigh's. "I don't think death is all that terrible. On the contrary, I feel so warm that it wards off the cold. Do you know why?" Raeleigh froze for a moment, trying to pull her hand back, but she was held down by Jepherson. Staring at Raeleigh, Jepherson said, "It's you. You're the source of the warmth!" Raeleigh said sarcastically, "Yeah, right.
What should Raeleigh have said? Silence was sometimes the best answer. Jepherson sat there for a while. He had planned to go out, but then he called Santiago and informed him that he might have to hold off the plan. "You don't have to worry about me. You can leave now." Raeleigh wiped the sweat off her face. All of a sudden, Jepherson held Raeleigh from the side. The look in his eyes wasn't what one would call amiable. Sitting on one side was Xanthus. He did not expect that Jepherson would feel uncomfortable. "Jepherson, let go..." "It will be better this way." Jepherson held Raeleigh in his arms and gently caressed her back. Raeleigh was completely at a loss. She hadn't seen this coming. It seemed as though he was in more pain than she was. After holding Raeleigh for a while, he let her go. Jepherson studied Raeleigh's head. It was alright then. "C'mon. I'll take you out for a walk." Jepherson stood up, took Raeleigh's shoes, and w
A trace of suspicion rose in Raeleigh's heart when she came in. Logically, the Whalen family would not act like this if Zorion's parents were at home. There would at least be someone who would come out to welcome them. After all, Deanna and Zorion had a different upbringing from the other families. But right then, there was no one around other than the Whalen family's butler, Tetsuo. It seemed like Zorion's parents were not at home. Could it be that... Raeleigh's head shook, and she looked at Jepherson. His facial expression was dark, yet he still followed Tetsuo inside without a word. Meanwhile, Santiago followed behind them and entered the house nonchalantly. Tetsuo invited Raeleigh and the others to sit down. Jepherson sank into the couch as he waited for Zorion to attend to them. It didn't take long for Zorion to come downstairs. He was wearing matching purple pyjamas, and his physique no longer seemed as fit as before, with his thin face terrifyingly
Zorion pondered for a moment, and he then asked, "So, what can I do to make her like me?" Raeleigh and the others froze. Raeleigh thought for a while and said, "Treat her like how you treat Deanna. If you can't be honest with her, then you should let her go. It will be good for both of you. In fact..." She hesitated for a moment. Zorion asked, "What?" "Actually, she's not your prisoner. You chained her up, and she can't go anywhere. Although keeping her by your side might have prevented her from escaping, you'll never win her heart. If I were her, then I would also find ways to escape. It's better to let her go and let her realize who treats her the best." Raeleigh stared at Zorion quietly. For the first time, Zorion thought that this was a painful and bad decision. Leaning against the couch, Zorion remained silent for a long time before replying, "I understand now. Thank you." Raeleigh's grip on the apple tightened. "Thank you too." Zorion smi
Zorion hesitated for a long while before he spoke, "I'll prepare some money and bank in the amount to your account tomorrow. I'll change your name, nationality, passport, and everything else, and I'll enrol you into a new school overseas, so you may continue your studies. Please don't contact me anymore and pretend that I don't exist. Starting from tomorrow, don't come back. Since this place is like a prison for you, you don't have to return." Rossie slowly turned her head towards him and asked, "Are you really allowing me to leave?" Zorion laughed. "Have I ever lied to you?" Rossie pondered over his words carefully. Actually, he had lied to her more than once. But what was the point of saying all these then? It would be best if she kept quiet. She stared at Zorion intently and smiled. It was her first time seeing him from such a close distance. "If what you said is true, then I'm extremely grateful to you." Zorion was stunned for a moment. "Can I stay her
Initially, Raeleigh thought they were going back to the hospital, but instead, they went to Jepherson's company. She stared at the company building from inside the car, wondering why Jepherson would return to his company at night. She did not know what to say. So, she only sat there in silence. "Come out." Jepherson got out of the car and waited for Raeleigh. However, she didn't seem to acknowledge him. Instead, she stayed in the car, refusing to come out. She came out to relax, not to follow Jepherson to the company. She felt that she was not ready yet, and it was not the right time to go to work, not to mention it was then late at night. "I'm not coming out. You may go in if you have something to do. I will wait for you outside," she said. Then, she turned her face away from him. Jepherson gazed at the company's entrance. Just like any other company, they were also closed at night. But sometimes, there were exceptions. His eyes wandered to Ra
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