Just then, another hand reached out to pull her aside.“Harlow, today is Yelena’s birthday banquet. There’s no need to blow things out of proportion and make everyone upset, is there?” Leo stepped forward to intervene.All the relatives of the York family quietened down as they focused their attention on the commotion.Leo never openly opposed Harlow in front of others. To think he stepped forward to challenge Harlow for Melanie Jones! What an exciting turn of events this was!“I was just inviting her to an opening dance. How am I making everyone upset?” Harlow said as he straightened out his suit.“If Melanie is upset about it, others will naturally be upset. How about letting me dance the opening dance with her and you take a break, Harlow?” Leo said.Everyone was mumbling under their breaths. Melanie looked on with her brows furrowed.She thought Leo had come to save her from the situation. As it turned out, he was here to invite her to dance as well. That surprised her.Har
Jeffrey looked over lazily and saw Leo walking toward them and sitting down unceremoniously with a glass of wine in hand.“This is between the two of us. There’s no need for you to fret over it, Mr. York,” Jeffrey said coldly.“Melanie and I have known each other for a while. I admire her talent, appreciate her personality, and even see her as my sister. I do fret over some of her affairs,” Leo retorted.Melanie blinked in confusion. See her as a sister?Did Leo say that carelessly or deliberately?“In that case, Mr. York, how did you know that I don’t have all that prepared?” Jeffrey replied, unperturbed. “Melanie has been staying overseas recently. I’ll give her everything she wants the moment she returns home.”“I don’t really care about status,” Melanie said. “After all, I didn’t give him an official status, too.”Melanie and Jeffrey exchanged smiles.Leo pushed his glasses up his nose bridge to hide his awkwardness. He knew that there was no way to push his agenda with thi
Jeffrey reacted fast as he lunged over from opposite Melanie and handed her an orange.She developed a love for the smell of oranges when she previously suffered from severe morning sickness.As he had expected, the moment the refreshing citrusy smell of the orange hit Melanie’s nose, her nausea faded. She lifted her head and said with a wave of her hand, “I don’t like it.”Leo arched his brow as he put down the smoked fish, and surveyed her from head to toe. “You don’t look very good. Why are you retching? Are you ill?”Melanie held her breath as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and nodded as calmly as she could. “I’ve been suffering from gastroenteritis recently,” she said.“Why don’t you take a rest? I’ll find you later and continue with the proposal?” Leo said with feigned concern.“Sure. I’ll go and grab my medicine.”She stood up, and Jeffrey held her steady as she walked to the washroom.She knew that there were people keeping close attention to her along the way. S
“Silence her?”Linda sneered. “Harlow York, what else are you capable of aside from murdering women and children? Weren’t you trying to propose to her just a second ago? Don’t think you can do anything you please just because I’m not making a move on you now! I remember every single wrong and foolish thing you’ve done!” Linda then pointed at her heart before turning her head away in disgust and walking off.-Yelena’s birthday banquet ended in three hours after she claimed to be tired.Right now, Joseph hung to her every word.However, Melanie knew Yelena was in fact worried that she would be too tired, which made the banquet end early.She sat in Jeffrey's car, and left the York estate.In a secluded spot in the York estate, someone’s phone rang.“Melanie left. How did the testing go?” Nathan asked darkly through the phone.“I can almost confirm that she’s pregnant. Help me get rid of her as planned!”Nathan paused for a moment before saying, “As long as you agree to my
“I can’t bear to see her like a sitting duck, either.”Professor Turner smacked the couch, and stood up. “I’m talking about another research base of mine, which is even more hidden and secluded than this one. Do you understand now?”“Pardon me, I was too anxious.”Jeffrey’s knitted brows relaxed as he apologized to the professor.It was rare of Jeffrey to apologize to someone else. Melanie looked at him, amazed that the savior effect was strong enough for Jeffrey to behave like this.“Since things have come to this point, let’s not delay things any further and move out tomorrow morning!”Professor Turner turned around, and pressed a button. Very soon, his research assistant appeared. The professor relayed his instructions to prepare for the move overnight while keeping everything a secret.The next morning, before the sun was up, everyone in the research base started moving their things out. They split themselves up into three groups, and the first two groups of people had suc
“We have instructions to protect both her and the baby!” the chief yelled fiercely at the doctor.”“Her heart isn’t in a good condition. If we forcefully keep the baby, we might lose her instead…” the doctor said, clearly in a difficult spot.The masked man next to him started to panic, and asked anxiously, “Chief, what should we do?”“We’ve been told that the key is her heart. The priority is to protect the woman, then the baby!” the chief eventually said.The baby…Melanie’s heart pounded hard in her chest before she went out cold.-Jeffrey took a flight to attend an important finance meeting. After the meeting ended, he hopped on another flight back to Medonia almost immediately. He promised her that he would be back tonight.But when his plane landed, he received a call from a bodyguard from Morgan Group that the island where the research base was located caught fire. A group of armed men had abducted them all amidst the chaos.Jeffrey’s breath caught in his chest as the
When Melanie regained consciousness, her first instinct was to touch her belly. That was when she realized that both her arms were cuffed to the sides of the bed. She was unable to move.She tried hard to lift her head; she saw the bulge in her stomach, and subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief.She decided not to struggle so vehemently again; firstly for the safety of her baby, and secondly, her struggle seemed to be in vain anyway.She felt subtle tugs of pain in her stomach, and forced herself to calm down to think.Melanie could hear waves crashing against the boat from inside the room. Before she fainted, she heard the masked men talking about taking her into a boat. She must be in one right now.The masked men seized the professor, her mother, and Yelena and even claimed to want to kill them all except her. They even said that they received instructions to leave her and her baby alive.Who would care so much for her and her baby?It couldn’t possibly be the Yorks, nor cou
Jeffrey looked at the woman that was tied to the bed. Her limbs were thin, her face skeletal, her hair scattered, and even the sight of her being visibly pregnant even though she was lying there... All of this made his heart tremble uncontrollably.“You came as expected, Mr. Morgan,” the bald man spoke.“So this is how you’re taking good care of her?!” Jeffrey asked, his eyes showing his lust for blood.“Don’t be so angry, Mr. Morgan!”The bald man came closer and gave the people behind him a look. His lackey, who had his face covered, began to search Jeffrey’s body.“He’s clean, boss. Except for this.”The lackey extended his hand, showing a stick containing 12 pieces of bubble gum.The bald man frowned and took them all, before unwrapping one and started chewing it. “I didn’t expect that you would like this!” And then, he carefully put the remaining gum into his pocket.Jeffrey ignored him as he walked over to Melanie, moving the lackeys that wanted to stop him with his arm b
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.