"Really? Pinky promise." Jerry's eyes lit up as he wrapped his arms around Hansen's neck and kissed him on the face. Then, he patted his shoulder and said righteously, "Worry not, Dad. I'll take care of you when you're old." Jerry's words amused Hansen, with tears moistening his eyes. Holding Jerry in his arms, Hansen leaned against the headboard of the bed. Then, he said seriously, "Jerry, since I promised you, then you have to promise me one thing as well. You have to make a pinky promise, alright?" "Oh, what is it?" Jerry tilted his head. "Here's the thing, Jerry. You are turning four this year. Your mother has left us and will not be able to take care of you. As for me, I will be heading over to Capital City to work in a few days. Your grandparents are old now, and they don't have the energy to take care of you. According to my observations, you haven't been behaving well lately, and it's not a good thing. In fact, this is very serious. That's why I'm planni
"Mom, is this the only thing you want to talk about? I know what to do. It's getting late, you should go to sleep. Tomorrow, I have to fly over to B City's World Trade Center." Hansen did not want to listen to Marissa any longer, so he urged her to go downstairs. He wanted to have a good sleep as he had an early flight to catch the next day. Marissa understood what his intentions were. She remained seated on the couch. "Hansen, yesterday Johan sent someone over..." Marissa said after she thought for a while. "Mom, I need to get some sleep now." Hansen cut his mother off. His face was full of impatience, and his tone was heavy. Marissa had no choice but to rise to her feet and leave. However, before she left, she said in a stern voice, "Hansen, it has already been one year. You really should get your life together. I only have you, my only son. I feel distressed whenever I see you. Eventually, you will have to come to terms with it and start all over again."
"You don't know it but people only appreciate the good things. The Richards family is very brilliant. Everything that has happened seems to be accidental, but in fact, it is inevitable. Think about it. How many wealthy families have ever experienced such a thing? Why did it have to happen to the Richards family? That's because the Richards family is very spectacular. It's not a bad thing to have such an experience. Hansen is in the prime of his youth. After experiencing these hardships, I'm sure he will mature quickly. He is unrivalled with Luqman's backing. Isn't every woman's dream to marry a rich, powerful, and devoted man? You have to trust Grandpa, he has a good eye," Nuncio patiently explained to Marilyn. After listening to Nuncio's words, Marilyn's worries dissipated and a happy smile appeared on her face. The unprecedented International Auto Show was taking place at the World Trade Center in B City. Hansen had decided to take part in the event as part of the p
Two months later. Srirano, a small island country. The snow was steadily falling from the sky. Occasional drops of snowflakes would drift along with the wind. Pedestrians huddled underneath their coats as they hurried home. Steffan was sitting in his office. He had the heater turned on to an ideal temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. It was warm and cozy. He was tall and wore a well-fitting suit. He was sitting leisurely on the couch and he held a cup of tea in his hand. From time to time, he would take a sip of tea. He had a dark, steady gaze. The Yintern family was very well-known in Capital City. Steffan was the youngest among his siblings. Even though he was the youngest in the family, he was not getting any younger. He was 38 years old that year. Unlike many heirs from rich and powerful families, he was mature and introverted. He was indifferent to fame and fortune. He was not keen on social gatherings, but he was enthusiastic ab
Steffan was happy and easygoing. He was also very considerate. The slight crow's feet at the outer corner of his eyes made him look more mature and masculine. Jenna smiled helplessly. She was a conscientious and proactive worker. She was the complete opposite of Steffan. "Steffan, I'm not hungry yet," she said softly as she lowered her head. Steffan would frequently take her out to eat all kinds of delicious food. As long as it was what she wanted to eat, he would not hesitate to take her to eat it. He would not take no for an answer. Over the past year, he had become her guardian. After a long period of time, she developed some sort of dependence on him. However, deep down, she had an uneasy feeling. She was unable to get over it. Steffan once told her that he had found her by the river. A year ago, he was in the depths of Sunshine Mountain in A City, searching for inspiration. He sat by the riverbank as he sketched an image of a car. Suddenly
The Yintern family villa was huge. It was a three-storey mansion which had its own entrance and courtyard. The interior decorations were luxurious and the place was equipped with central heating. Jenna entered the house and took a seat on the couch. Steffan brought her a glass of warm milk and said, "Women must know how to maintain their health. Otherwise, they will age faster." He then opened the refrigerator and took out the ingredients that were needed to make dinner. The kitchen was very big and exquisite. After Steffan gathered all the ingredients, he then began chopping the vegetables to make soup. Jenna walked over and leaned against the kitchen door. She was surprised at his cooking abilities. "Steffan, did you often cook when you were abroad?" "Not really, but I'd occasionally cook. I don't really like French cuisine," Steffan explained as he shifted his focus to cleaning the ham and chicken. Jenna sighed inwardly as she watched
Jenna suddenly smiled. "It doesn't matter what kind of family we are from. What's more important is a person's character. How noble and lowly we are is decided by our own cultivation. It has nothing to do with our family's background." Steffan blinked slightly. The smile on the corners of his mouth was more intriguing. "Of course, Dory. I'm not surprised that you think that way. I'm just curious." Steffan smiled and said, "It's late. You should go to bed early. There's an important meeting tomorrow." "Alright." Jenna lightly smiled as she nodded her head. She picked up the bag and made her way into the room. "If you need anything, let me know. I'll be downstairs," he said as he watched Jenna entering the room, with a smile on his face. "Okay, thank you." Jenna quickly closed the door and leaned against the back of the door. She actually felt that her heart was racing and her palms were a little sweaty. The bedroom was comfortable and tidy. It was als
"Here, have something to eat. Don't starve yourself." Steffan handed the breakfast to her in a doting manner. Zevulon put on his slippers and slowly made his way to the design room. His stomach growled when he smelled the aroma of cheese and said, "Young man, why didn't you bring me breakfast? It seems like you prioritize Dory over me." Zevulon could see Steffan's intentions. He had been keeping a close eye on his every move. Since he accepted Jenna as his apprentice, Steffan, who lacked perseverance in his work, would stay back and accompany Jenna in the design room. He was attracted to Jenna's artistic abilities and began to be more open-minded. He was addicted to the beauty and abstraction in art. He began to understand the market demands and became less self-centered in his designs. Presumably, everything in the world mutually reinforced and balanced out each other. Zevulon sighed inwardly. In the past, no matter how much he lectured Steffan, he just w
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