Jepherson refused to look back, and Stella let out a scornful laugh, "Why did I fall in love with someone like you?" "That was a mistake from the start. Love needs to be mutual," Jepherson replied. "You may not love me, but you have no reason to stop me from loving you. Compared to her love for you, mine is greater, stronger, and more persistent. Nothing can cause it to waver. It's as sturdy as a rock." Hearing that, Jepherson turned to look at Stella with some amusement, "Are you sure you love me?" "A hundred percent." Stella had placed everything on the line, and there was no way she would back down. However, Jepherson did not respond and only gave her a meaningful look. They looked at each other. Finally, Stella asked, "Don't you believe me?" He turned around, answering lightly, "I don't have the right to ask for the truth from someone I had never thought of loving. "Raeleigh is hesitant with her love because she had too many concerns, but y
After the bath, Raeleigh helped find some of Xanthus' clothes for Jepherson to put on first. Then, they went up to the attic. As they walked up the stairs, Raeleigh pondered how she should explain Jepherson's presence to Xanthus. But when she arrived, Xanthus and the others were sleeping peacefully. No one seemed to notice them. Raeleigh led Jepherson to where she had been sleeping, then motioned for him to lie down next to her. There was only one quilt, so they had to share. Santiago had been sleeping next to Raeleigh before Jepherson came. But now, Jepherson lay down between them, separating the two of them with ease. After lying down, Raeleigh whispered, "Let's sleep." Jepherson turned over and hugged her from behind, then fell asleep not long after. On the contrary, Raeleigh had a fitful night's sleep. Raeleigh was worried that Jepherson would fall ill after trudging all that way through the thick snow, and she woke up to check on him sever
Raeleigh breathed a sigh of relief after Jepherson was gone. She preferred not knowing what he did. That way, she could feel more at ease. It was better than living with the fear of losing him to somebody else at any moment whenever they meet. Besides, Raeleigh much preferred to do what she liked on her own. Although Waverly Village could not compare to the hustle and bustle of Capital City, she preferred its peacefulness and serenity. There was no doubt that Capital City was a bustling city. However, to someone like her, it felt more like an empty dream filled with vanity. Although it was vibrant, everything about it felt like a fragile illusion that could be easily destroyed. "I don't plan on staying here for the long term, but it's better than staying in Capital City. Jepherson will have his hands full. The Moore family is getting ready, and the Doyle family is raring to go. Since we can't leave, it may be a good thing to stay in this small village." Xanthus
While Raeleigh was on the phone, the designer in front of her asked, "Do you think it's all right to place the exits here?" She took a look at the floor plan and raised her eyebrows, then mouthed to the guy, "Hold on a second." She turned around and said to Jepherson over the phone, "Something just came up. Let's talk some other time." After she hung up, Raeleigh continued with the discussion, and she soon forgot all about her conversation with Jepherson just a few moments ago. At the other end, Jepherson put down his cell phone and pursed his lips. After rubbing the space between his eyebrows, he stood up. "Cancel the meeting this afternoon. I have something to do," he said to his secretary curtly. After leaving the office, he drove straight to where Raeleigh was. When Raeleigh saw him, she was wearing the red coat Santiago had bought for her. She was standing in front of the site holding the site's blueprint and surrounded by a group of young men o
While Raeleigh went to whip up a meal, Jepherson sat in her room and studied her drafts. In addition to her two notebooks and phone, pens, piles of papers, and drafts littered her desk. He stared at the design and thought of the other designers he had met earlier. He placed his coat aside, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up a pen to help. When Raeleigh came out of the kitchen, Xanthus was drinking water while Jepherson was editing the drafts. Perhaps due to the small space, Jepherson had some difficulty focusing, but he persisted. Raeleigh put the dishes on the table and walked to Jepherson's side, staring intently at his drafts. Even though he only made some changes to the design, she could not help but admit that he had an innate talent for designing. She had struggled to come up with a solution for the design for days, but it only took him an hour to come up with a design that exceeded her expectations, She fixed
Raeleigh knew that Jepherson would be annoyed with her, but the displeasure would only be temporary. Raeleigh did not probe further to testify that. Although she could tell that Jepherson was sulky during dinner, he still drank on her behalf. Every time her teammates poured her a glass and urged her to drink, he would take the glass. For the first time, Raeleigh found out that Jepherson could hold his liquor very well indeed. He must have downed two bottles already, but he did not seem to have any reaction. At Waverly Village, there was no such thing as low-alcohol liquor. They had their own brewery, and the people in the village much preferred it over others. The boss also did not import or stock any other alcohol, not even red wine. Even if he did, a person of Jepherson's status was unlikely to consider it. As for beer, it would only be cracked open during the hot summer. No one liked drinking beer in such cold weather. Left without much choice, Jepherso
Raeleigh knew that as long as Jepherson did not leave, she would have no peace at Waverly Village. True to her expectations, Jepherson was awakened late at night by his phone ringing. On the other hand, Raeleigh had just fallen asleep. But when she heard the sound of his phone, she opened her eyes and saw Jepherson sitting up to answer the phone. She could hear a woman's voice on the other end of the line. It sounded like Stella's voice. Raeleigh did not pay close attention to his phone call. Instead, she got out of the bed and poured a glass of water for him. After he ended the call, she gave it to him. Jepherson raised his head and hesitated for a moment before taking the water. He held the cup with one hand and Raeleigh's hand with the other, pulling her to sit on his lap. At that moment, Raeleigh sensed that something must have happened. Jepherson kissed Raeleigh's ears and said, "Someone from the Doyle family came." She turned to loo
When Raeleigh and Jepherson arrived at the Richards Family, there were two luxury cars parked at the door. They did not have local car plate numbers, but the cars belonged to the Richards family. Jepherson explained to Raeleigh, "This car was designed by our family, so it's a limited edition model. After production, the first few cars were gifted to some families." "They had to be someone who had a good relationship with your family. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so generous, right?" Raeleigh had already guessed that the car was given to the Doyle family. Jepherson did not answer, indicating a silent admission. Raeleigh followed Jepherson in. The butler was shocked when he saw Jepherson. Then, he walked to Jepherson and greeted, "Mr. Jepherson." Jepherson's gaze was cold as he asked, "Who's here?" The butler glanced at Raeleigh, who was standing next to Jepherson. With his hands tightly grasped together, he said hesitantly, "Some members of the Do
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