"I'm booking you for the night. Name your price."This was Nightfall Lounge, and Rose Shaffer had been drugged.She felt her body heating up, so before she disgraced herself in public, she chose a man in front of her.Nightfall Lounge was a famous lounge in Aquastead that offered male escort services.The other men were doing their best to please the female patrons beside them, but this man sat alone in a booth in a corner.Wearing a black satin shirt, he looked handsome and distinguished. He carried himself in a way that stood in stark contrast to his surroundings.His gaze fell upon her. There was a displeased look in his eyes.Rose thought he was worried she could not pay him."Don't worry. I'm very rich." Rose tried to take out a card from her purse to prove she could afford it.But her legs suddenly gave way, and she fell onto the man.Jonathan Finch had a cold look in his eyes. He assumed she was just like the women who tried to offer themselves to him in the past.He
An hour later, Jonathan woke up.He looked under the covers. Other than his underwear, he was not wearing anything.Not only so, but that woman even stole his clothes!Jonathan's expression turned gloomy.As soon as Zac Gibson entered the room, he saw the sullen Jonathan lying on the messy bed. There was also a torn red dress on the floor. Zac immediately realized what was going on."You're … transitioning?"Everyone knew Jonathan never got involved with women. Still, countless women had tried to sleep with him.Jonathan was cold and heartless toward women. None of those women had ever succeeded before.But it seemed like it had been quite an intense night last night.Zac had been utterly drunk when he received Jonathan's call the night before.Once he sobered up this morning, he finally remembered Jonathan asking him for a doctor.A month ago, Jonathan had defeated the other members of the Finch family. Hence, he became the new person in charge of the Finches.Since then,
Those were photos from the bar last night.Rose wondered who had taken them.She felt like her head was buzzing."Dad, calm down. Don't let your anger affect your health. Rose probably wasn't thinking straight. "It's a good thing Nixon bought those photos. If not, when the photos get leaked to the public, it would affect the Celeste Jewels' share price."Kelly coaxed in a gentle tone, but she was gloating inside.Last night, she had asked Maya to take Rose to Nightfall Lounge. She also arranged a few strong men for Rose. She wanted to take photos of Rose making a fool out of herself in public.But by the time Maya went back, a man was already taking Rose away.Maya could only snap a few photos hastily.Still, those photos were enough for Nixon to call off his engagement to Rose.Kelly stared at Rose with the expression of an innocent child.She suddenly noticed the man's shirt Rose was wearing. "Rose, your shirt … looks so weird! Why does it look like a man's shirt?"Not o
"Alright. I'll meet Uncle Jonathan tomorrow. He's an elder, so I'll prepare a huge gift for him. Don't worry, I'll behave myself."…After Nixon left, Rose picked up the photos on the floor.She glanced at Maya coldly while saying, "These are pretty good shots. It's a pity that you didn't capture his face."The man last night had extremely good looks. He was as handsome as the hottest male celebrities.Maya felt a little guilty. She knew Rose would suspect her for what had happened last night.She was about to argue when Rose looked at Kelly instead.Kelly had an innocent look on her face. She looked gentle and harmless, but deep down inside, her heart was filled with hatred.She did not expect Nixon to proceed with the marriage—not after Rose had been caught making out with another man.Kelly refused to back down. She wanted to press on with this incident and fan the flames so that Jamie would drive Rose out of the house.Just then, Rose smiled. The next words that came out
Jonathan's sneer froze. He could not believe his ears.After what felt like an eternity, Jonathan finally spoke."What … did you just say? Say that again!"Blinking, Rose said earnestly, "Let's get married!"She could pay him for it.She had already thought things through. To avoid unnecessary trouble, the easiest way was to make it a trade.There would be no emotional strings attached. She would pay him to marry her, and he would take the money.Also, due to the special nature of his job, he was the perfect candidate!Jonathan thought about it for a moment. Then, a look of disdain and disgust appeared in his cold eyes.He could tell what she was trying to do now.Scoffing to himself, he assumed that despite not knowing who he was, she knew he was no ordinary man. Therefore, after heading home and thinking about it, she came back to him.Was she trying to marry a rich man, or was it the money she was after?Jonathan recalled the red stain on the sheets this morning. The gui
An hour later, Jonathan stood outside the county clerk's office. He stared darkly at the marriage license he was holding.Meanwhile, Rose excitedly planted a kiss on her copy of the marriage license. She was already looking forward to the Lanes' banquet tomorrow. That was when Nixon's plans would fall apart.Suddenly, she looked at her "star escort husband" who was beside her.He had such a wonderful figure and face that Nixon could not compare to him at all.If he appeared at the Lanes' birthday banquet tomorrow, Nixon would be disgraced!The more Rose thought about it, the more excited she became."Um … Do you have time tomorrow? Can you attend a banquet with me—"Jonathan was still coming to terms with the fact that he was married. Without even thinking about it, he declined. "I'm busy!"Rose fell silent. She felt a little disappointed.But she soon got over it.Nixon's uncle, Jonathan, would be attending the Lanes' birthday banquet tomorrow. It would probably be an extrav
When Rose returned to the villa in Scenic Gardens, she was refused entry."How dare she come back again? Chelsea, go and drive her away!"Jamie's angry shout could be heard through the door."Jamie, don't get angry because of her. You should take care of your health …""Dad, just let Rose in. She probably wasn't thinking straight when she betrayed Mr. Lane. The men at Nightfall Lounge are all … engaged in that sort of work."I'm sure Rose would've paid him so that he wouldn't tell anyone else about something like this …"Over in the living room, it seemed like Chelsea and Kelly were coming to Rose's defense. But in reality, they were adding fuel to the fire.In an instant, Jamie's tirade intensified."She's a wretched girl! I refuse to acknowledge a shameless woman like her as my daughter! From now on, she is not allowed to enter this house. I don't want her tainting this place."Kelly, you're kind and innocent. Don't be like her."Rose felt like her heart was breaking. She w
Rose was silently screaming for a refund, but her rage disappeared when she received the address her new husband sent to her.He had a conscience, after all!Rose rushed to the hotel at once. But once she arrived at the hotel, her smile stiffened.Her star escort husband was staying in the second-best five-star hotel. Even the cheapest room would cost thousands of dollars per night.He could not possibly afford to stay here for long with the 6600 dollars she gave him.Rose subconsciously clutched her heart. It hurt her to see her money getting spent like this.Heading up to the room number she had been given, she arrived at a luxury suite.Rose felt her heart aching even more. She was beginning to suspect that the money she gave him could not even pay for a night in a room like this.Taking a deep breath, Rose decided to have a proper talk with her "husband".The door to the suite was slightly ajar. Rose pushed open the door and went in.While she did not see anyone, she did
The plate of fried eggs in front of Rose looked… reasonably okay."Hurry, sit down." Clover was eager and couldn't wait to receive praise from Rose.He personally handed the fork to Rose and watched as she took a bite of the egg. "How is it? How is it?" he asked.He felt that he had already used up ten percent of the skills he learned.Who knew how many eggs he messed up during that hour in the kitchen? But this time, it was actually successful, and he could even earn Rose's praise… right?But as soon as Rose took a bite, she heard a crunching sound.The sound wasn't loud, but Clover was right next to Rose, so he heard it clearly.Even Elijah, who was nearby, vaguely heard it.The most unsettling thing that happened was when everything suddenly went quiet.Rose felt a rush of panic and instinctively stopped moving her mouth. She thought that she had bitten down on a small stone, but how could there be a stone?Rose thought about it—it had to be the eggshell.Eating eggshells
"In three days, I wish you success, and wish myself success as well!" Lizzie declared.Kelly was dumbfounded. She understood Lizzie wishing her success, but wishing herself success?Kelly didn't really understand, but she still nodded in agreement, saying, "Here's to our success."Lizzie must have felt that she had definitely and flawlessly succeeded.Lizzie understood that there were things Kelly didn't know, so she didn't offer any explanations and had no intention of helping Kelly understand. It was her own matter, her own plan, her own future!…That night, Jonathan didn't come back.Rose was originally waiting for Jonathan when she received a call from Clover. He informed her that Jonathan had something important come up and couldn't make it, so she shouldn't wait for him.Before hanging up, he said mysteriously, "Rose, tomorrow, Uncle Elijah and I will come to see you, and when we do, I have a surprise for you."Surprise? What surprise?Rose smiled, feeling a hint of an
Really? How could that possibly be true?Lizzie and Jonathan had a seemingly calm relationship on the surface, but underneath, there was a deep-seated conflict. One was a stepmother, and the other was the son left behind by the first wife.This time, Jonathan's disguise was solely to deceive Lizzie.Lizzie had repeatedly plotted against Rose, so how could she genuinely be concerned about Jonathan?Amidst Leonard's thoughts, there was a commotion coming from the direction of the operating room."Jonathan…" Eleanor called out. She quickly hurried over with the help of her walking cane.The others quickly followed and finally saw Jonathan being wheeled out from the operating room.He kept his eyes tightly shut, with the wounds from the car accident still visible on his face. His hands, feet, and chest were covered, but they could clearly see the lack of life on his face.After the car accident, there didn't seem to be any improvement at all."Jonathan, Jonathan, it's Grandma. You
The atmosphere at the dining table was extremely strange.Elijah and Clover, smiling warmly, served Rose some food. "Rose, have some of this. You love it..."The food was placed on the plate in front of Rose. Then, Jonathan promptly said, "Wifey, I made this."Jonathan looked at Rose, his face clearly saying, "Wifey, praise me.""Ugh! This tastes awful!"Clover clearly had a disdain for Jonathan, and it was written all over his face without any attempt to hide it. He picked at her food, took a bite, and felt like spitting it out. But he had come with the intention of having lunch with Rose and ended up going there without having eaten lunch.He didn't get to eat lunch, and his frustration left him feeling full.Although he was still a bit miffed, as soon as the food entered his mouth, he realized he was actually a little hungry.]He hadn't expected Jonathan's cooking skills to be, well… quite good?He had to "reluctantly" swallow it down when his original intention was to spit
Jonathan's voice clearly expressed dissatisfaction.Rose felt a bit uneasy. She focused on keeping her composure, appearing as though she hadn't heard anything.Nearby, Jonathan, sitting on the couch, furrowed his brows.Something felt off, very off.He had been watching Rose for a long time, and usually, she should have felt his gaze by now and looked back at him. Then there would be a moment of eye contact, which would set the stage for him to make his next move.But…Was she not aware of being watched?Jonathan tried winking and making himself noticeable, but she still didn't respond.Something felt off, really off!So, he had no choice but to try a different approach. "Wifey…."He called out to Rose, but she still didn't respond.Jonathan furrowed his brow even more. Was it because he wasn't loud enough?"Wifey…" he called out again.There was still no response. Was his charm not strong enough?"Wifey…" he called out again.Every time Rose heard him call out "wifey,"
The look in Miles' eyes was chilling.Miles always looked at her warmly, so how could this be any different?Before long, the coldness in his eyes vanished, and when she looked into them again, there was warmth once more.But just now… was it her imagination? No, it wasn't!The coldness she felt had sent a distinct shiver through her heart; it was no illusion.Kelly furrowed her brows. She was determined to figure it out.As she was trying to piece things together, she heard Miles slowly say, "I only have one sister left. What should I do?"His tone was filled with anguish.Kelly snapped back to reality, determined to be supportive at a time when Miles was in pain. She reassured him, saying, "Miles, I will be by your side for the rest of my life!"There was only one sister left… Of course, it was her!"Is ten percent of the shares enough?" Miles immediately asked.If calming Miles earlier was her task, then after hearing his question now, she became fully alert.It wasn't e
There was a long silence in the conference room.Miles had a somber expression, clearly showing a strong sense of displeasure.Anastasia sat in the furthest corner. Since Harriette's return, she was no longer the favored daughter of the family. It was as if she had become a completely different person.But no one paid attention to her. Today, she was just there to make up the numbers.Kelly frowned, but inside, she was overjoyed.Among everyone in the conference room, she was the most excited to see Chloe arrive. She had put in effort to ensure Chloe could make it today.She finally brought up the thing that mattered most to her through Chloe.However, she couldn't show her happiness outwardly.On the surface, she was filled with righteous indignation as she said, "Aunt Chloe, Rose hasn't been dead long, and you're already bringing this up? Isn't this behavior a bit too unseemly?"Rose inherited Young Group. Young Group belongs to Rose. How could you… How could you…" she accus
Rose often wore that necklace.Kelly had complimented the necklace, saying it looked beautiful and that she wanted to buy one as well. Rose told her that she had designed and made it herself, and there were only two in the whole world: one that she kept and the other that was given to a friend.She knew that the friend was Yvonne.She pretended to be jealous at that moment, but Rose didn't give in or make one for her too.Kelly recalled that Rose was also wearing it that day.All the information pointed to one conclusion—that body was undoubtedly Rose!"Miles, Rose… Poor Rose…" Kelly was crying so hard she nearly fainted.The level of sadness and grief she displayed was comparable to that of Miles.In her heart, she secretly felt glee at Miles' reaction.After he saw "Rose", it seemed as if the necklace confirmed her identity, and from that moment on, he seemed to have lost his soul.Even her "self-blame" act received little response from him, as if he was deeply immersed in
"Hehe! No need to thank me. Wasn't that what I was supposed to do?" Ezra remarked. He was feeling a bit shy because of Rose's gratitude.Rose could tell there was a plan to deal with Kelly.Rose didn't ask too many questions about the plan. They only asked her to stay here temporarily, and she figured out that she shouldn't make any public appearances for the time being.To ensure Kelly revealed her true intentions, she needed to be tricked into thinking she was truly in a dire situation.If it were just Harriette, she wouldn't be that angry, but since it was Kelly, that was a different story.She still hadn't confronted her about Oliver's death, so this time, she would settle the score altogether.Rose quietly awaited the day of the big reveal.On the night that the news of Rose's death spread, Jonathan rushed back to Regalia. It was said that Jonathan caused a major commotion at the police station, refusing to accept the explanation that she had been "blown to pieces with no r