Melanie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want now?”“Have you seen a photographer? A man with long, curly, hair, wearing a pair of glasses?” The reporter asked. “We’ve received news that he’s hiding in the prop room.”Melanie sighed. Looks like the reporters didn’t find anything.But she still put on a show and said, “Didn’t I already tell you just now? I was resting here and didn’t see anyone.”The reporters nodded in disappointment and wanted to leave, but an idea suddenly came to Melanie’s mind, and she quickly stopped them.“Wait! You’re saying a man with long, curly hair?” She asked as she pretended to think about it.“That’s right!”“Brown, curly hair,” another reporter added.Melanie still pretended to think and said, “Before I came into this room, I saw a man with curly hair walk past me...”“Where did you see him?”The reporters grew excited.“Over there!”Melanie walked over to the door and then pointed in a random direction. “I saw him turning into that corner!”“D
The elevator reached the first floor after coming from the fifty-seventh floor.Melanie had already told Annie about what happened in the prop room, to which Annie couldn’t help but get shocked. “You should have used that chance to threaten him. If he refused to do a photoshoot for you, you could’ve exposed his social phobia and the fact that he’s not the virtuous prodigy like others have described, but rather a drunkard that has a bad temper!”Melanie’s lips slightly twitched. “What’s the point of smearing the reputation of a prodigious photographer?”As soon as they reached the first floor, however, Melanie’s phone started to ring.She took out her phone and found that Rogan was the one calling her. Melanie was already able to guess why.“Ms. Melanie, I’m so sorry about that. But... Can you please come back? We’ll do the photoshoot today as planned...” Rogan explained from the other side of the line.Melanie smiled slightly. Looks like Mr. Smith really was a person ruled by his
“That’s right. The model on our cover will be Ms. Melanie. Mr. Smith personally handpicked her,” Rogan said firmly.Mr. Smith didn’t like reporters interviewing him. Before Rogan had been hired, Mr. Smith’s assistant had even emphasized this trait. He didn’t know where the reporters came from to block Mr. Smith while demanding an interview. It was so bad that Mr. Smith split up with his assistant, almost permanently severing ties with Waukeen’s Agora.If it weren’t because Mr. Smith suddenly decided to use Melanie, saying that she was the source of his inspiration and that he would only take her, Mr. Smith would have immediately left.That was why Rogan immediately unleashed his anger when he heard that Grace had arranged for the reporters to be there.“Ms. Melanie has always been the first choice for our model. Perhaps you heard the news wrongly. The person that was switched out is Grace. The magazine has decided to delay her interview indefinitely.”After that, Rogan gave the se
“Do you have photos of yourself in your daily life? If you don’t mind, could you show some of them to me?” Mr. Smith asked.Melanie showed him some of the photos without hesitation. “Feel free to look through them, but they’re all old photos. I’ve been quite busy lately, so I don’t normally have time to take any photos.”Mr. Smith enjoyed looking at Melanie’s past photos. The light in his eyes grew stronger as he looked through each one. He was sure of it now; the two women had intentionally gossiped about Melanie so that he would hear them.How could a woman with such a warm, bright smile be a woman with such a vile side?“Looks like you had a happy childhood,” Mr. Smith sighed as he put down her phone.Seeing that he was somehow touched, Melanie then asked, “What about you? Were you happy?”Mr. Smith shook his head. “I was forced to participate in all kinds of competitions. My parents were proud of that, and they forced me to accept interviews from reporters from all around the
“Who knows? He had such a bad temper.”Annie complained as she gave Melanie her phone. Melanie gave the number a look and instantly realized why Annie had complained the way she did. Not everyone could handle Cyrus’s temper.Melanie called him back after she got into Annie’s car. “What is it, master?”“I’m in Harbor City!” Cyrus then said, “Didn’t you say you used the Emerald Vine to create a base fragrance, which you then used to create a new kind of fragrance? Take me to see it!”“Alright, I’ll give you the address. I’ll go over now, too.”Melanie knew Cyrus was very impatient and would refuse to wait for even a second, so she immediately asked Annie to send her back to Jones Enterprise. Once there, she waited for him at the perfume department’s fragrance blending room.Cyrus came over in a rush just as she had thought. After he took a whiff of the perfume she’d blended, the wrinkles on his face grew deeper. “You made a man’s fragrance!”“I did.”Melanie nodded. “You’ll def
On the other side, White Group’s budget perfume project participated in another smaller investor’s roadshow, but White Group’s misfortune hadn’t ended yet; John had failed once again.While in the car, John listened to the information his assistant had gathered from Jones Enterprise. He was furious when he heard that Melanie had registered to participate in the International Fragrance Gathering!“What qualifications does she have to be able to participate in the International Fragrance Gathering? Can it be...that she’s Elder Gibson’s last disciple, just like the rumors say?”John’s eyes became vicious as he remembered how his subordinates had discovered that Melanie had personally blended quite a few fragrances ever since she joined Jones Enterprise’s perfume department, and almost all of those fragrances had become the top recommended ones in Jones Enterprise.Just like how Tyler was when he was at his peak. John felt that the only reason that the Jones could suppress White Grou
“What do you mean?”Melanie could feel something was wrong with the atmosphere, so she looked at Jeffrey and asked, “Are you trying to ask if I changed after the surgery?”Before she could finish, Jeffrey suddenly took a step forward, bringing him so close that he almost touched her body, staring at her with blazing eyes.Melanie tensed as she stared back at him, wondering why this man had suddenly gotten crazy again.“What are you doing?”Jeffrey didn’t respond and simply pinned her down. “Have you ever felt like you’ve seen me before when you see me?” His voice was low and somehow had a strange sense of temptation.“Huh?”Melanie hadn’t even been able to react to what he meant, but the man’s lips were already on hers, starting to invade her mouth.“Mm... Hey!”Melanie was stunned for a second before immediately pushing him away with her elbow.If she was still suspecting that he was being playful at the beginning, now she was sure he wasn’t. She couldn’t help but feel like
“Say it.”Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed.“Three months ago, someone was quietly buying Jones Enterprise’s shares at a high price. Many minor shareholders have sold their shares to this institution,” William reported.“What institution?”“We’re still investigating,” William carefully replied. “While it looks like a normal company on paper, it was set up only a short time ago. I think there’s something wrong here.”“Carry out a full investigation,” Jeffrey decisively ordered. “Compile all the evidence you can find.”“Understood. Don’t worry, boss!” William agreed without hesitation.Jeffrey didn’t show up again for the rest of that night. Melanie thought that her unresponsiveness might have hurt that boss’s pride, so he wouldn’t come here anymore after being driven away in anger. Good. That would give her some peace.She then called her company’s assistant to say that she couldn’t attend tomorrow’s meeting, then used the chance to rest well for the night.When she opened her eyes the
Pleasantly surprised, Melanie turned around to see the man she had been looking for. She never stopped saying his name in her head. He stood right behind her.At that moment, she stopped thinking completely.Without even hesitating, she ran toward him and dove into his arms."Ughh."Jeffrey groaned in pain. He did not dare to press against her stomach. Instead, he arched his back to hold her."Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how I…" She cried so much that she could not speak."Alright, alright. Good girl. Don't cry. I've come back."Jeffrey kept rubbing the back of her head. "Eagle was too neurotic. I've nearly gone mad from dealing with him. I finally got him to regain some of his sanity today… That's how I had the chance to find you…""How did you know where to find me?" Melanie asked."Today is the day of Nathan's trial. I know you'd definitely be in the courtroom," Jeffrey said confidently.Melanie finally calmed down a little. After letting go of him,
"We're not together…"Kenneth's facial expression changed as soon as he saw Melanie.Melanie noticed there was a hint of guilt in his eyes. This was an unsettling feeling for her. "Then where is he? What happened to you guys?"Noticing that she was shaking, Annie and Carson, who had accompanied her to court, rushed forward to assist her."Eagle had a prior arrangement with Nathan. Once Nathan and Leo's plan at the York family's residence was thwarted, Nathan would press a button. Eagle would then receive a code to detonate a bomb. He'd blow us all up," Kenneth explained."Jeffrey was the one who noticed Eagle wasn't in the right state of mind. That's why he informed me to leave with Mr. Oliver. He… Stayed behind to persuade Eagle…" He added."What happened then?" Melanie's voice was shaking."All I knew after that was that the hotel blew up. I waited for him to contact me but he never did. Mr. Oliver and I have been on the run from Nathan's shadowy pursuits. I only managed to sn
Three days later, the trial was officially in session.Leo's attorney was practically defenseless because the York family's allegations of him poisoning Joseph had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Leo was directly sentenced to life in prison.Nathan's attorney, on the other hand, was clever. They tried everything they could to deflect Nathan's allegations.After the presiding judge evaluated the case, he looked up. "Does the plaintiff have any more evidence that the defendant, Nathan, intentionally killed someone?"Hank sat silently at the plaintiff's table.They could only provide evidence of the time when Nathan had tried to murder Hank. However, they had no evidence of Nathan being involved in the explosion on the island this time.Hank looked at Melanie in the audience. She was also frowningThe presiding judge's implication was well understood. Without more evidence, Nathan would not receive a life sentence…"The plaintiff simply does not have sufficient evidence to
Carson sighed. It was time to explain everything to Hank…Although Carson had spent a lot of time in Hank's hospital as Professor Marshall, and he would also tend to their men's wounds, as well as discuss a variety of topics with Hank, they had never acknowledged their relationship…Besides, Carson knew Hank hated him.Hank hated him for being heartless to his grandmother back then. That was why Hank changed his last name to Castillo instead of Yule…"Let's take Melanie back to rest. I'll explain the rest to you myself," Carson said. Hank had already figured out half of it."Grandpa, I'm not going back. I'll wait for the news here," Melanie said firmly.There was no sign of Jeffrey's corpse yet. She would wait until the rescue team confirmed that they could not find any corpse.She wanted a clear answer."Okay. I'll get the trailer ready for you. You can lie down inside. You can't afford to hurt your body anymore than you already have. I checked your pulse earlier. It's not loo
Buzz!Melanie's vision turned black. She began falling backward."Melanie! Melanie!"Carson propped her up and called the doctor over.However, Melanie opened her eyes after a few seconds and tried to stand up. "I'm fine… Grandpa, take me there… I want to go to the scene of the explosion…""You're in no state…""I'm fine. I can hold up," Melanie promised."If you don't let me go and see it with my own eyes, I'll be even more paranoid," she added.Carson knew his granddaughter too well. He sighed and frowned before requesting for a ride. He met up with Hank. The two of them accompanied Melanie to look for Jeffrey.Jeffrey, Kenneth, Mr. Oliver, and Eagle waited at the drop-off point near the York family's residence. Nathan had instructed them to not do anything rash.Mr. Oliver and Eagle were still useful to Nathan.Once Nathan acquired Joseph's signature, he would meet up with them.However, the small hotel they were waiting at was already in ruins. There was smoke everywher
'Chief… Frankie?'Leo turned around in surprise. Nathan did the same. They saw Chief Frankie and several Interpol agents walking out from behind a screen in Joseph's room.Melanie was a part of that group!"Aren't you… dead?" Leo pointed at Melanie in shock."Thanks to you, I'll live a long life." Melanie sneered.Chief Frankie waved his hand. The police behind him charged forward to put handcuffs on Leo and Nathan. Leo narrowed his eyes and quickly pressed a button on the remote in his hand."We'll all die together!" He shouted.However, no matter how hard he pressed, nothing happened in the room."What's going on here… Eagle?" Leo's voice was trembling.His hands were cuffed, and the remote control was confiscated by the police."Leo, you are suspected of poisoning Master York and attempting to murder Melanie and others on the island. We are arresting you for premeditated murder!" Chief Frankie uttered calmly."No… No…" Leo struggled but to no avail. He had no idea what wa
At the same time, Melanie and Carson were on a plane with Professor Turner. They soon arrived at Medonia.Carson contacted Hank ahead of time and asked him to pick them up with his men.After the exhausting journey, Melanie's face was pale. She seemed to be in very poor condition. "I've already contacted the maternity hospital for you. You can go there and wait for your delivery. Leave the rest to me.""No…"Melanie shook her head. "I have to go back."Jeffrey was still in Nathan's hands. She would not be able to wait peacefully if she went to the hospital.Carson knew his granddaughter well enough. "Let her go. Professor Turner and I will be with here. We'll be ready for anything."Carson was still disguised as Maximilian. Hank did not know he was Carson. Hank nodded in agreement.“Mr. Castillo, there's something I need to trouble you with.” Melanie said."I heard from Professor Marshall that you're on good terms with the chief of Medonia's Interpol. Can I trouble him to be a
"Wait a minute! Isn't Jefford actually Jeffrey?" Leo asked while running after Nathan.Nathan ignored him and continued to walk forward.Leo did not give up and followed Nathan closely. "Who exactly is Jeffrey to you?""Are you being unreasonable right now? Why are you still so unsure at this point?" Nathan glanced at Leo contemptuously."I'm dealing with serious business. Don't get in my way with your petty romantic affairs!"After saying that, he glared at Leo and exited the cabin.Leo felt chills in his heart, but he could not make Nathan stay…-Jeffrey was tied up on the deck all this time. His body was freezing, and his lips were turning purple from the cold."Hey, President Morgan, fancy seeing you like this!" Nathan laughed grimly when he saw the miserable state Jeffrey was in."Thanks to you, I've been more miserable than this on many occasions. This is nothing." Jeffrey made it sound like a walk in the park."Hehe." Nathan sneered."I know. You've had strong willp
Lynette seemed stunned. She could not help but stand up with the help of the railing on the speedboat. Her eyes turned red as looked at the island burning in the distance. There was a look of disbelief on her face…If they had not evacuated five minutes ago…By now…She would not have even been able to breathe and think…The explosion sent shockwaves across the ocean's surface. The ride became even more bumpy. With sea water splashing against them, they had all become wet."Are you alright?" Carson protected Melanie. He was worried she would not be able to take it.Her stomach did feel awful, but she braced herself and tried not to tense up. Her emotions would affect her baby.When Lynette heard the voices behind her, she turned around to look at Melanie. Her gaze had become much softer than before. "You're not going to give birth on the boat, are you? I'm a woman, but I don't know how to be a midwife!""I won't give birth now. There are still things left to do," Melanie said.