Leah was naturally beautiful and with meticulous makeup coupled with a beautiful dress, she looked stunning. “It’s getting late. We have to leave now. Your mother is already there and she’s expecting us soon,” Joey said. Leah had planned to make a fuss by changing into a different dress, showing her unwillingness to take the dinner seriously. However, after hearing Joey’s words, she realized she was out of time. “Don’t try to defy your mother anymore. It’s over now. Just let it be in the past,” Joey said, afraid that the girl would get into a fight with her mother again. “I’ll just zip my mouth,” Leah said. That was the only thing she could do now. Katie changed into something formal for the dinner as well. The person she and her daughter would be meeting was her ideal son-in-law candidate. She wanted Leah to meet him because she wanted her daughter to develop a relationship with the man. Ever since she slapped Leah, she had been feeling sorry and she wanted to use this
Katie was a woman and it was not easy for her to become the CEO of Northborn Group and a member of the Viper’s Den all at once. Jet invited her to dinner because he wanted her to find out who was behind the malicious attacks on his projects. Leah knew her mother had brought her to this dinner for matchmaking, but the moment she saw Jet, she felt less than satisfied. Before she met Kaze, she might have been interested in Jet. Jet was a well-known figure in Butterworth and his presence could easily attract young ladies. He was a tall and handsome man; a gentleman who exuded elegance, an ideal man who could capture any young lady’s heart. In addition to his family background and his position as heir, he became the ideal candidate for husband and son-in-law to many. Leah used to fantasize about him but she had a boyfriend back then and did not want to cheat. However, when she saw Jet in person, she did not feel anything, not even the slightest excitement. Looking at Jet,
“I’m okay with anything. Thank you,” Leah said. “I’ve spoiled my daughter. Please don’t mind her,” Katie said, trying to ease the tension. The three of them entered the VIP room with dishes already served on the table. Jet came early to prepare for the dinner. “It seems like you’ve been waiting for us for a while. I should have urged the girl to be quicker just now.” Katie was happy with Jet’s attentiveness. “I don’t have anything particular today, so it’s okay that I wait. Leah is really beautiful in her dress. It’s only normal for a girl to doll up and look great,” Jet answered. His tone sounded casual and it was his attitude that won Katie’s fondness. “You are really kind. I bet you are a great boyfriend,” Katie asked, hoping to find out more. “Madam Loren, I am solely focused on my career, I do not have a girlfriend,” Jet said as he got up and poured them water. “You are young and successful, how could you be alone and single? What a waste!” “A man should alwa
“It just feels right to talk to you in person.” Jet stood up and served the dishes onto their plates, making an effort to appear polite and considerate. Katie grew fond of her future son-in-law. “I heard a few of your projects were canceled. Did anything happen?” As the CEO of Northborn Group, she was aware of the news circulating around. She heard about the Frost family as well but she had never gotten to know Jet, so she was not concerned. “Yes. We are in a little trouble. Everything was progressing smoothly and we should be able to see profit soon but something held us up,” Jet explained with a smile on his face, his tone casual. He made it sound like the delay and seizure of the operation was no big deal. “You are still young and maybe it’s because you don’t have enough experience. Don’t worry, take it slow.” “I understand. I should learn from you, Madam Loren,” Jet said politely. “If you need any help, let me know. I’ll do what I can,” Katie said. Jet had bee
“That means we share the same taste, which is great because I can ask her out for dinner next time.” Jet seemed to have understood Katie’s intention, and he started to carefully scrutinize the girl. Leah wore a pale yellow strapless dress, looking stunning with her fair skin. Only a few could carry such a dress and looked amazing. Leah might be quiet but she was beautiful, especially with her neck exposed. “Thank you. It’s just that my daughter really likes to stay at home and doesn’t go out a lot. If you can bring her out, I would be so happy.” Katie was even fonder of Jet, as his sharp perception exceeded her expectations. “Not a problem, but I’m quite busy lately. When I settle my work, I can bring her to meet my friends,” Jet said. He even took the initiative to offer to take the girl out. Katie saw no problem with that. As expected, Jet was smart and perceptive. “Don’t worry about your projects. I’ll do whatever I can to help.” Katie saw it as a trade and a
“I am just telling the truth. Thank you for your enlightenment, Madam Loren,” Jet said humbly. “It’s getting late. We should be going. My daughter easily gets tired at night. She’s like a little rabbit at home. “If you have any other gathering in the future, remember to bring her alone and let her make some friends.” Katie once again pushed her daughter to the forefront, hoping to matchmake the two of them. “Let’s keep in touch, Leah. If you want to have some fun, just call me. I’ll arrange everything,” Jet said. “Thank you. As for your problem, don’t worry about it. I’ll go ask around,” Katie added. Jet had already achieved his objective, so he stood up and sent them out. After the mother and daughter went into the car and drove off, the humble smile on his face disappeared. Aloysius then came from the side. “Have you prepared the present?” Jet rubbed his stiff cheeks and then lit up a cigarette. “Yes, sir. It’s a set of jewelry.” Aloysius had prepared a presen
Katie, taking off in the car, was not in the best mood. The smile on her face quickly vanished as soon as the car was out of sight. “What’s wrong with you today?” Katie questioned. “What do you mean?” Leah talked smack. “I’m sure you know full well why I took you with me.” Katie had conceded, but Leah just would not take her win and leave it at it. The nerve of her to defy. “I did. You’re trying to sell me, aren’t you?” Holding a grudge on the earlier slap, Leah was pretty rude to her mother. “Since you can’t accept the big man from the Viper’s Den, I set you up with a young, handsome man. There’s no pleasing you.“Jet is the whole package. He has the looks and wealth. Is he not good enough for you?” Katie felt put in the spot. Leah was getting more unruly by the day. “I want to live life on my own terms.” Leah voiced her thoughts. She was nobody’s puppet. “Oh, you want to dictate your life. As you can see, everything you have comes from me. You’ll lose eve
“If you won’t listen to reason, I’ll have to send you abroad and leave you to fend for yourself.” Katie would have no choice but to ditch Leah if she became too hard to manage. Leah never thought that her mother would say such a thing. While Katie was a callous mother to her, it never crossed Leah’s mind that Katie would send her away. Leah did not want to leave Arcadia. It would cut her off from the person she wanted to meet. Though it was uncertain whether she could see Kaze again, the odds would be in her favor if she stayed. Leah was defenseless against Katie’s coercion. With Leah falling silent, Katie knew that she was moving in the right direction. “Be a good girl, and I’ll make it worth your while. You’re my daughter. Of course, I love you and want what’s best for you.” Katie backed up a little to ease the tension. “You don’t have to do anything. Just stay with me. There’s still room for discussion if marriage isn’t for you right now.” Katie knew her daught
“I understand.” Aloysius stayed after receiving his order. “What else?” Aloysius’ presence suggested that there was something important to discuss, but judging by his hesitant expression, it was nothing but trouble. “We lost a few more projects again. These projects are supposed to be backups for us to make a comeback later but they were acquired by someone else.” Aloysius stepped back after giving his report, lowered his head, and waited for Jet’s wrath to befall him. “Hmmm. It’s not your fault.” Jet initially wanted to lash out at Aloysius but after a quick thought, he quietly put down his glass. He knew it was not Aloysius' fault. It was his problem to have unknowingly offended someone powerful, thus resulting in all the malice against him. “I told you to make an appointment with Master Cold. Did you get it?” Jet wanted to meet Master Cold during the birthday party but it did not happen. His father was old friends with Master Cold and they had been business par
Leah would never let her mother know about her suspicion of Kaze’s identity. The thoughts gave her a headache. She took a deep breath and submerged herself in the bathtub. While holding her breath underwater, she lay flat and relaxed in silence, enjoying her alone time. Just as she was about to lose her breath, she rose from the water and gasped violently, washing away the cloudy thoughts in her mind. After Leah’s party was ruined, she was grounded by her mother. Katie was a woman of her word. Since the birthday party was over, Leah was not needed for any other social events. Katie became the laughingstock because of what happened and she still felt embarrassed about it. However, due to her status, no matter what people thought of her, no one dared to make it verbal or mention it in front of her. The birthday party might be ruined but it did not cause too much trouble. Katie managed to shut down a certain news channel from spreading the incident, preventing it from
Leah was still too naive. She knew her mother but not thoroughly enough. Katie regretted not helping her daughter but it was already in the past and her self-blaming for not being a good mother would not help her future. Therefore, she habitually shifted the blame onto someone else. Perry was the one who caused it and it was all because her daughter did not handle her relationship properly. “Perry is hospitalized now. Let’s just put an end to this. We shouldn’t go to them; that’s just asking for more trouble. We’ll wait and see how the Duncan family reacts.” Katie knew she had the power to do certain things but once she did, it would affect her status. She really wanted to do her daughter justice but as the CEO of Northborn Group, there was too much at stake and she could not be driven by emotions. “I never expected you to avenge me,” Leah said coldly. She already expected her mother not to do anything, but when she heard it from her mother’s mouth, disappointment consume
“I told you before but you didn’t take me seriously.” Leah was exhausted by her mother’s negligence. No matter how much she tried to explain, her mother refused to listen to her. To her mother, she was nothing but an ignorant little girl. She did not see the need to explain herself anymore. “How dare you talk back? Was I wrong about what I said? Had you talked to him properly, how could the breakup be so bad? “Besides, it was Perry who made a mistake first. You can use it as a reason to break up with him. You failed to do it and it resulted in this mess. Now the entire Butterworth is laughing at us! I’m embarrassed in front of everyone!” She could not tolerate the embarrassment and the failure, thus her uncontrolled anger. If Leah was not her daughter, she would have kicked the girl out. Leah was deeply aggrieved but no longer wanted to speak. She stood quietly and listened to her mother’s scolding. Her dress already made her uncomfortable physically and after a ful
The other girls were displeased but since the news was useful to them, they held back their tongue. “Pay more attention to the latest news. If you pick a man with a huge debt, you are basically marrying a poor man.” “Yeah. Molly is right.” “You guys are just gossiping. I think Leah’s incident is quite interesting. Someone must be helping her in the shadows.” “Just you guys wait. There’s more to come.” Molly chuckled mysteriously as she picked up her cup of coffee for a sip. The so-called gathering was a meeting for the young ladies to exchange information. Since the mansion's residential area was vast, even after being dropped off at the entrance, Leah still had to walk for an hour to reach her house. Kaze thought it was a few minutes’ walk but it turned out much longer than expected. Leah was not that stupid to walk home in heels. She sat down beside the security check and waited for her driver to pick her up. When the car arrived, she got in without saying anythin
People who knew about the incident took it as a show, wondering what would happen to Perry. Later, they found out that Perry was admitted to the hospital the same day. One of his arms was broken. Most of the families in Butterworth had highly sophisticated intelligence networks, keeping them up to date on the latest happenings in the city. A few socialites—young ladies who had attended the party and witnessed everything firsthand—gathered for tea and discussed it. “Perry was destroyed by Katie Loren!” “I didn’t know what happened but when I left, Perry was like an asshole, shouting and being arrogant. He and his men thrashed the place. We got so afraid that we quickly ran.” Yelena was one of the girls who had attended the party. Her tone clearly carried a hint of gloating over what had happened. Leah had been the center of attention lately because of her birthday party. Almost every family in Butterworth was invited because Katie wanted to elevate her daughter's status,
Leah was grateful for Kaze bringing her to the restaurant to have a simple birthday celebration. It was something she had never experienced before. She liked the serenity and tranquility of such life. Yet no matter how much she enjoyed it, everything would come to an end. When she finished her meal, she would have to go back. She knew her mother would question her about what happened today once she reached home. “Let me send you back.” Kaze picked up his jacket as he offered to send Leah back. Leah nodded and followed him out. When they came out from the alley which was the entrance to the restaurant, they saw the black Maybach at the side of the road. Peter came down immediately and opened the door. Leah reluctantly went over, seemingly unwilling to go in. “What’s wrong? Is there something else?” Kaze asked warmly, wondering what happened to the girl. “Will I get punished and scolded if I go back just like this?” The girl was scared to go back due to the impuls
“Silly girl, there’s no need for teary eyes. It’s just a cake. If you like it, I can bake for you and have them delivered to you every day,” Kaze said. He found it amusing that the girl was moved. “You don’t know, but it’s okay. Thank you.” Leah happily took the cake. Kaze put a candle on it and lit it. “Make a wish, Princess,” Kaze teased as he spoke, but he truly wanted the girl to be happy. “Thank you. I never thought I would spend my birthday here. There are no fancy stages and everything, but I like it.” Leah always preferred a simple and quiet birthday. Having dinner with her family and blowing out candles on a birthday cake were a luxury to her before this. To be honest, she did not want to spend too much time thinking about her birthday but what happened caught her off guard. “Make a wish,” Kaze added softly. Leah put her hands together, made a wish and blew the candle. She did not know if her wish would come true, so she did not want to say it out loud. “
“It’s okay. I have time.” Leah did not want to go back and knew what her mother would say to her, so she wanted to stay out for as long as possible. “Alright. Then I’ll get on with it.” Master Fuller then started to prepare the ingredients. His hands were moving non-stop. Kaze enjoyed his beer and appetizer quietly. The entire room was quiet except for the cooking noises. Leah watched Master Fuller cook. She enjoyed it as if she was watching a show with a charming performer. Master Fuller was just cooking but the girl was deeply captivated. When the dish was prepared and placed in front of her, she anticipated the taste even more, wondering if it was better than she had expected. “This looks great. I had never seen a dish being prepared in such a complicated way.” Leah watched from cleaning the ingredients to cutting it, blanching it, and then frying it. The process was so complicated that she could barely keep up. Due to that, she believed the dish would match he