Taylor finally showed up at the door. Rose was thrilled beyond words to see her favorite idol. Taylor was surprised. She was not expecting to see a young girl. The VIP who spent 100 million dollars to meet Taylor turned out to be a much younger lady. Taylor was jealous. Still, she reflected none of her inner emotions on her face. Taylor nodded in reverence. “Hello, young lady. Thank you for supporting me. How should I address you?” “I’m Rose Oceanid, Taylor,” Rose said in a daze. Taylor was an idol, worshiped and screamed at by her fans. Now, she stood before Rose in deference. Rose could not get used to it. It put a damper on her excitement. Somehow, Taylor’s attitude made her sick. “Ah, Ms. Oceanid.” Unaware of Rose’s changed opinion, Taylor smiled ingratiatingly. “I believe you aren’t a local to the city. “As far as I know, the Oceanids aren’t one of the top three families in Lilyrose.”Rose was puzzled that Taylor would think she came from an elite family
Despite her displeasure, Taylor kept her feelings to herself. She could not afford to piss off Kaze, the type without qualms to throw money around. Besides, Kaze was not just wealthy. Alisa said that Kaze had to hold a higher position than the chief commander of Lilyrose Strategic Department to set foot into Emperor Hall. Kaze was the definition of power. Hence, Taylor stood there without a word. “I needed Rose to see you for who you are, Taylor, but I also need to find something out from you.” Amid the tension, Kaze spoke. Taylor’s breath hitched. “Ask away, Mr. Lee.” “Did my buddy, James White, really assault you?” Shocked, Taylor looked up at Kaze in disbelief. She did not expect Kaze to be a good friend to James. “Mr. Lee, I-I…” Fear stirred in Taylor’s eyes. Her knees went weak, and she fell into a kneeling position. Her tiny frame shuddered. “Stand up and talk,” Kaze said indifferently. Taylor shakily rose to her feet. Kaze then said, “I want the tru
Taylor knew right there and then. Kaze was not leaving her with any choice. After all, she had done a lot of harm. Kaze was a man of power. She could not refuse his requests. “Come on, Rose.” Not wanting to see the disgusting woman anymore, Kaze left Emperor Hall without looking back. Rose even glanced at Taylor in disdain on her way out. The earlier conversation introduced Rose to a whole new world. Rose thought that Taylor was no different than ordinary folks. She was probably a bit of a snob. It never occurred to Rose that Taylor had committed such an unforgivable thing. Once out of Dynasty Hotel, Kaze gave Snow a call. “Snow, get Shane to investigate the real reason behind James’ death. I believe he didn’t jump off the building.” The police wrote off James’ death as suicide because he was depressed from the car crash and career downfall. Everybody even called James a coward. Kaze knew something was fishy right from the start. James was expelled from s
The two women quickly met with Frank. Frank felt a tingle in his loin when he saw Taylor looking vulnerable in tears. “What’s wrong, Taylor?” Frank asked. Taylor recounted the story once more. Frank looked solemn. For the person to gain access to Emperor Hall, they must be untouchable even to the upper society. That included the Goldings. Frank said frustratedly, “I’m not aware of anyone important in Lilyrose. What does he look like? Let me see.” Alisa pulled out a thumb drive. She had all her bases covered. Prior to coming, Alisa requested a surveillance video of Emperor Hall from Dynasty Hotel to keep as evidence. “Hahaha!” Frank burst out laughing when Kaze appeared in the video. “Do you know him, Mr. Golding?” Taylor and Alisa looked at him, wondering why he was laughing. Frank enjoyed a good laugh before uttering, “Taylor, I’ve missed you. It’s been two years since we got it on. “I hold the key to your survival, but perhaps one more taste of that shar
Alisa dragged Taylor back to Dynasty Hotel. The fans who attended the meet-and-greet were still hanging around the venue. Noticing Taylor’s return, they were overjoyed. “Is that a new outfit, Taylor?” “She must have taken a shower. Her hair isn’t dry yet, and she’s already in a rush to see us. She’s too good to us fans.” Feeling moved, the fans kept screaming. To their surprise, Taylor went up on stage and solemnly announced that she would be having an immediate press conference which would be broadcast live. The local press from various agencies soon entered the scene. The press conference began. Without wasting a lot of time on words, an edited clip was projected on the screen. In the video, Taylor kneeled before a young man, explaining something in tears. Holy shit! Gasps filled the room. Taylor was a top-rated celebrity with a huge following. The Internet went wild in less than a minute. With Alicia pumping money into the publicity campaign, Taylor quick
Taylor’s words stirred an uproar. It went crazy online. The God of War was more popular than any A-list celebrity. Alisa did not have to throw money into publicity to make the issue a huge deal anymore. Taylor was trending on social media for crying to the God of War on her knees. Her name and other keywords were trending. The usual breakups, divorces, and scandals that the public loved to hate were no longer going viral. “The God of War’s buddy, James White, assaulted Taylor.”“The God of War’s face exposed.” All terms related to the incident occupied the top ten hashtags. All of Arcadia had their attention at the press conference. The server of all social media platforms went down. The network engineers were summoned late into the night to fix the servers urgently. The press put in the extra shift to publish articles about the press conference. They could expect huge traffic on their sites. “Taylor, are you going to apologize to Shangrila Group and pay your r
That night, the Internet broke. Kaze became famous overnight.“He’s just a loser who takes his wife’s family name. How dare he impersonate the God of War! Who does he think he is?” “This is an insult to the God of War and all citizens.” “I don’t approve of you voicing your opinion for all of us, but I agree that the guy should be executed.” “Kaze doesn’t represent all men who take their wives’ names, but I agree that he should be executed.” Such comments went rampant online. Most of the public spent their night in a rage. They were filled with kindness and a sense of justice. The public could not stand to have the God of War, the national hero, insulted and discredited by a mere son-in-law of a somewhat wealthy family. A petition was set up that night itself. Millions of citizens signed the petition, calling for punishment for Kaze. Some had expressed that they had bought flight tickets to Lilyrose. They summoned the public to protest the city government today
Everybody glared at Kaze. The Quints found themselves blameless for once. Trouble came looking for them when they did nothing at all. For no reason, the public tore into them because of Kaze. “The idiot has ruined our family. He must separate from Darcy now.” “Darcy shouldn’t just divorce. She needs to throw the idiot out. It’s the only way to save our family.” The Quints clamored. They rushed over to force Kaze to cut ties with the Quints. “Don’t think you can talk your way out of it this time, Darcy. Either you divorce the fool, or I’ll have to disown you too,” Master Quint said ruthlessly. “Just do it, Darcy. Why are you still hesitating?” Agnes and Agatha urged. Only Sky and Rose did not want Darcy and Kaze to separate. Nevertheless, their opinions did not matter because they were not taken seriously being the youngest in the family. “Alright. I have made up my mind.” Darcy turned to Kaze with a heart-wrenching smile. “I’ve decided to leave the family wit
Katie proudly made the statement, convinced that she had done a lot for her daughter. It was only right for Leah to be grateful and understand her sacrifice. To Katie’s surprise, Leah chuckled. “What else have you done for me? You never showed me any attention. You don’t know what I like. You have no idea what I want.” Leah finally saw her mother as the person she was. This side of Katie was terrifying. “What more do you want? Am I not supposed to work? Should I be spending every waking minute of the day with you?” Katie understood Leah’s needs. However, there was no way she could make it happen. It was not easy for a woman to take hold in the Northborn Group, much less secure a high position there. Katie went through great pains to get where she was today. Alas, Leah could not understand where she was coming from. “I’m not asking you to be with me every day. I’ve tried my best to do everything you asked of me, but you can’t even be there for me during my birthdays.
“Everything I do, I do for you. Get this straight. The guy approached you because of what I could bring to the table.” Katie was pissed by her daughter’s defiance which was becoming worse with age. “I know the kind of person he is. Without Kaze’s help, I wouldn’t have escaped. Where were you then? You’re in no position to say that. “Even if there’s something he’s after, what would he want from me? I have nothing to offer.” Leah did not believe a word Katie said. Clearly, Katie was out to get Kaze. “He’s nothing but a poor kid. Why are you blowing this out of proportion? I’ve clearly stated what needed to be done. Why are you still being stubborn?”Katie believed she had not raised her daughter right. Leah turned out pretty naïve. “I told you. He has no ulterior motive. He doesn’t know who I am. He doesn’t have any other intentions. I approached him, not the other way around.” Leah kicked herself for pulling a reckless stunt. All she did was give Kaze more problems. Kat
Leah hated her mother being unreasonable. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I fed you, I gave you clothes, I put a roof over your head, I gave you life! The least you could do is to listen to me!” Katie did not expect her daughter to go so far as to defy her. Kaze remained silent, knowing that no matter what he said, it would be meaningless to someone unwilling to listen. “Kaze, I’m sorry. It was my fault that you are in this mess. I’m a jinx…” Leah blamed herself for getting Kaze in trouble with her mother. If not because of her, he would never encounter her mother. “Shut it! Why are you apologizing!? He approached you with purpose and you can’t even see that? He’s not worthy of your time!” Katie was livid. She felt her daughter was blinded by emotions, incapable of making the right decision. And to make matters worse, the girl even apologized to Kaze—what nonsense! A poor man without any background was no match for her daughter and her status. He approached the girl becaus
Katie suddenly chuckled. “What’s the matter? You are after my daughter and you tried to give me advice? What are you trying to do?” She looked down on a man with no future. She stubbornly believed he approached her daughter because of her. If he said as such, he must have known something else. It was no secret that Katie was preparing the birthday banquet for Leah and one could easily find out about it with a little research. Katie took his words not as a suggestion but as a challenge to her power. “Whatever. You stubbornly believe that anyone who approaches you or your daughter is after your power, does that mean there’s no emotions or love throughout your life?” Kaze suddenly looked at Katie with a pitiful gaze. She had been consumed by the thirst for power and it wiped her humanity. Katie would eventually be a sacrifice of someone else before she knew it. “Don’t look at me with those eyes. Who do you think you are? I see through you right away! I’ve seen a lot of
Frustrated, Leah tried to shake her mother’s hand off, but Katie tightened the grip and did not let it happen. The more the girl resisted, the more Katie felt challenged. She felt that her authority was being shaken by her daughter’s defiance. “Stop it! I told you before that if you don’t listen to me, I will make you regret it! And, don’t let me catch you with this bastard anymore, or he won’t have a future here in Butterworth!” Katie shouted at the girl to silence her. Leah could resist her mother and defy her, but not at the expense of her friend’s well-being. She knew her mother always meant what she said, and once those words were spoken, she would certainly take action against Kaze. Therefore, she quickly fell silent and let her mother take control of the situation. Katie glared at Kaze resentfully. “Stay away from my daughter or I will make you pay!” she bellowed. She then dragged Leah to her car and told the girl to get in. Right after she closed the door, s
Without further ado, Katie stormed out of the car and dashed over to them. “Leah!” she shouted, startling her daughter. When Leah saw her mother, she knew doomsday was upon her. She was frightened and stunned on the spot. Kaze was surprised by the coincidence as well. He was not afraid of the woman but she was charging at them like a ferocious monster. “I told you not to be with this guy! Why didn’t you listen to me?!” Katie could not tolerate her daughter’s defiance. She saw it as a direct challenge to her authority and bottom line. She stepped up and dragged her daughter away. “I told you not to see this poor bastard. Why didn’t you listen to me?” She was consumed by rage and paid no attention to her choice of words. All she cared about was the fear that her daughter had nearly fallen into a stranger’s hands. Leah disliked her mother being unreasonable. She had no idea what changed her mother into an unreasonable wretched hag. “Mom, what are you talking about?” “W
“Katie’s daughter dined at my restaurant and she met the man Katie intended to match her with, yet Katie knew nothing and even threw a tantrum at the door. Why do you think that happened?” Master Fuller shook his head helplessly and poured himself a glass of beer. The last guest of the day had left and he could enjoy his rest peacefully. However, the last guest of the day was a rather interesting pair. “Isn’t it a little contradicting? She’s trying to get Mr. Lee to marry her daughter but she’s asking for trouble at the same time.” The woman was surprised but also found it interesting. “Do I have to deliver the meals to Mr. Lee?” “Let my disciple do it. Don’t you get involved in this, it’s better to stay away from trouble.” Master Fuller wanted to get back at Katie, yet he did not need to do anything because the woman was actively bringing trouble upon herself. The woman did not say anything and simply gazed into the distance. The wooden door at the entrance was ope
“It’s getting late. Let’s get you back.” Kaze knew that Leah had snuck out of the hotel, so it would not be good to let her stay out too late. Katie was a tough mother to deal with. If she found out her daughter snuck out without her permission and spent dinner with him, she would lose her mind. Kaze was not afraid but Leah would have to suffer her mother’s wrath. “It’s getting late. We have to go back.” Leah liked the cozy atmosphere of the restaurant. She felt free of restraints while on the premises, but time flew by quickly, leaving her with little time to savor the experience. She wished she could enjoy more moments of peace and quiet while indulging in good food. “Do visit if you have time. We usually open at night only,” Master Fuller said when he noticed the heavy look on the girl’s face. “Great. I’m definitely coming again!” Leah then got up and headed out. Kaze then pulled his wallet out and wanted to pay for the meal. “Mr. Lee, what are you doing here?
Passersby would spare an extra glance at the expensive car but dared not pause to inspect further. The woman in the car looked anxious as she relentlessly tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Katie was still waiting, hoping to find out who Master Fuller’s guests were. Her patience was thinning by the second. Since she picked up her daughter, everything had gradually slipped out of her control, and she hated the feeling. Back at the restaurant, Master Fuller and his guests were still chatting over delicious dessert. Kaze had a bite and was amazed by the taste. As expected of a national-level chef, his culinary skills could turn the simplest ingredients into the most amazing delicacy. “I thought this was just a normal sweet potato but there’s something else added inside.” After an enjoyable dinner, Leah finally had the chance to taste the final dish—the dessert, which appeared to be an ordinary sweet potato. When she peeled the skin and took a bite, she realized