It did not seem like Zach had cut ties with his family.Were they hanging out with him behind Tyler’s back since he was not around?I looked at Zach in surprise. But he just leaned over and studied my cards. “You have four aces. Were you saving them for a big win?”“Um.” I glanced at my cards. “I’m waiting for the right play.”“The right play? There are only four aces in the deck. Who are you trying to play against?” He chuckled.Zach took over for me, which I did not mind at all. After a while, I asked, “Why aren’t you drawing any more cards?”“You already have too many. Let’s play until you’re down to a normal hand.” A few rounds later, he suddenly said, “Royal flush.”He laid down the cards and took a new one.After a whole afternoon, I finally won a round—all thanks to Zach.Serena immediately praised him, “Zach, you’re amazing! You actually managed to win with Cassia’s extra cards! Look, you got a royal flush!”Mary watched us with a smile and told Zach, “Keep helping Ca
Tyler did not usually drink at home. But tonight, he had a few glasses and even toasted with me and Zach. Since I did not drink, I had some juice that Mrs. Yates made. It was both sweet and tart.“You two will be parents soon. That changes things,” Tyler said. “Zach, you know what you need to do now.”“I do.” Zach placed some meat on my plate. “Want some soup? The salmon chowder is great.”“Sure.” I took a bite of the meat. I still did not understand why Zach was on such good terms with his family.After dinner, Mrs. Yates brought us fruit to eat in the living room. Mary noticed that I was puzzled, and she gently patted my hand. “Some things will make sense later.”So, they were keeping something from me.Since it was not the right time, I did not question her. Tyler told Zach, “Come to the study for a bit.” Then, he turned to me. “Cassia, eat some fruit and watch TV. Zach will drive you home when he’s done.”“It’s okay. I’ll go back with Oliver.” “Oliver’s still a kid.” Tyl
“He can only meet his friends for a little while, then.”“At least, he gets to see them.” I sat next to Sophie and took the chocolate box from her. “If you keep eating like this, you won’t fit into a tight skirt after New Year’s.”“I’m not worried. I’m young, and my metabolism will keep me in shape.”“Did you stay home all day?”“No. I usually spend New Year’s with Bryce at Luna’s house. But today, I went to Luna’s place by myself.”I held Sophie’s hand. “Make sure you keep this tradition every year. Don’t forget it.”“I won’t forget it. At least, my parents still have me. Luna’s an only child.”Sophie was a loyal and caring person. We sat together on the couch and watched TV.“Anything interesting happened today?” she asked.I was not sure about telling her what had happened with Zach. Since Mary had not shared some things yet, I decided not to talk about it.“I had an egg with a double yolk today. Does that count as something interesting?”“Sure.“Cassia.”“Yeah?”“Lanc
“He won’t.” Lucy laughed. “Austin told me that I could stay here until he dies.”Sophie hung up right away, and I watched her closely. “Don’t let her get to you.”“You think I’m mad?” Sophie sneered. “Like I’d waste my time being mad at her?”“Well, you’re still annoyed whether it’s worth it or not.”“Ugh!” Sophie groaned and buried her face in the pillow.She was lying there with her head down and her hips up. She looked like an ostrich hiding.I patted her on the butt. “Hey, hiding your face won’t help! Isn’t your butt getting cold?”“We have heating,” she mumbled into the pillow. Her voice was muffled, so I could barely hear her.Honestly, Sophie probably needed a new relationship to forget Austin. We were alike that way. Once we were attached to someone, it was hard to let go.Sophie was already awake when I woke up the next morning. She was sitting at the vanity with a stressed look.“What’s up?” I asked.She said, “I’m meeting Lance later. Should I put on makeup to be
Sophie did not hug him back. She took the suitcase from his hand and walked past us with her head held high.“She’s shy,” I told Lance.“We’re not meeting for the first time. We go way back, so why is she shy?” “She thinks that you’re here to marry her.” “I’m going to kill you for that!” Sophie actually heard what I had said. She turned around and yelled at me. Her hearing was sharp. Lance lowered his voice as he said, “Is she desperate to get married?” “That’s usually the case with women who’ve been deeply hurt by men before. They’d want to get married without going through the trouble of dating.” Lance looked hesitant. “I don’t believe in marriage.” Well, that was awkward. I was just rambling to ease the awkwardness, but I made it worse. My mission was complete once we picked Lance up. So, I closed my eyes and rested in the passenger seat. It was very quiet in the car. We were taking an SUV, hence the backseats were in pairs. I stole a glance at the back through t
I got very uncomfortable when Lucy brought up that subject during New Year’s. I walked past her and opened the door to Austin’s room. His room was very tidy, but it looked unoccupied. The white silk bed sheet appeared too clean. I turned around and glanced at Lucy. “Where’s your room?”“This is my room.” I sneered and walked to the first room. I opened the door and saw the messy bed sheets. “You slept here last night, right?” I asked. “Yes. Austin slept here too.” “He wouldn’t sleep in another bedroom.”“How would you know that?” She rolled her eyes. “We grew up together. Are you saying that I don’t know him that well?”Her interest was suddenly piqued, and she immediately grabbed my arm. “Then, tell me. What does he like and dislike?” I looked at my arm in her hand, and she quickly let it go. “Why? Do you think you landed a good catch since he’s handsome and rich?” “Well, I didn’t go out and catch him. He’s the one who came to me.” Lucy slouched against the couch.
“It’s exactly what it looks like.” “What does it look like? That she’s wearing so little as she paces around your house?” “Mrs. Carrott, can you get Lucy to put on more clothes?” Austin said again.“Alright,” Mrs. Carrott answered. She passed me a pair of slippers. “Ms. Freeman, let me pour you some tea.” My focus was not on how many pieces of clothing that Lucy was wearing. I went straight to my point. “Don’t you feel that you’ve been acting too cold toward Sophie recently?” “When was I ever passionate toward her?” “Lance is in West City now,” I said. “I know.”“Do you know he’s pursuing Sophie?” Austin was drinking tea. He looked up from his teacup, but he did not look at me. His reaction told me that he had no idea. “Do you know that Sophie has decided to date him?” He blew the tea leaves aside and drank the tea. Then, he put down the teacup and told Mrs. Carrott, “This tea doesn’t taste good. Please switch to a different one next time.”“Stop changing the sub
I was a little upset, so I asked, “Does that have anything to do with you?”I hated how emotionless Austin was. Were all men this cruel toward women whom they did not love?They were not considerate at all. I gave Sophie a call on the way home. “What are you doing?” “We’re having lunch. Do you want to join us?” “What do you plan on doing in the afternoon?”“I plan to take him for a walk around the park.”“You don’t have to do that. Just come back after you finish lunch.”“What’s wrong?” “You don’t have to date Lance. There are plenty of fishes in the sea.” Some “fishes” were not suitable for us. After I went home, I ate some chicken noodle soup that Mrs. Anderson had made. I ate two full bowls. Sophie came back just as I was about to finish. She sat down at the dining table. “Mrs. Anderson, can I have a bowl of chicken noodle soup too?”“Alright.”She took my fork and stole some of my food. “What did you mean by ‘there are plenty of fishes in the sea?’” “Didn’t
I switched seats in the hall three times, but Cecilia stuck to me like glue. I could not get rid of her.By the time Zach finished his interview and came over, she was still challenging me. “Cassia, it doesn’t matter how much you do for Zach. Even if you give him everything, including your heart, he’ll come back to me as soon as I smile at him,” she said.Just then, Zach appeared next to our table. Cecilia kept going, as she was completely caught up in her own delusions.I looked up at Zach and said with a smile, “When did you become a butcher who took hearts?”Since he showed up, I took the chance to escape. I stood up and said, “Well, Zach’s here. Cecilia, why don’t you charm him and give him that smile you were talking about?”Then, I quickly slipped away. All evening, she had been annoying me like a fly. It totally ruined my appetite.I found a quiet spot and placed my food on the table. As soon as I sat down, Zach came over and sat across from me. I looked behind him and
When Zach saw Wilson Corporation’s bid, he tossed it aside. This meant that it had been eliminated.Wilson Corporation did not have enough funding, so they would not make it to the next round. If they could not keep up in terms of cash flow, it would delay the whole project.However, it would not be fun to eliminate them in the first round.I picked up Wilson Corporation’s bid again. Austin looked at me and asked, “What are you doing?”“Just having some fun.”Wilson Corporation would not make it to the final round anyway. At least, they could enjoy making it to the next round.When the names of the qualified companies were announced, Cecilia’s expression was strange. She looked both nervous and confident at the same time. It was like she had a split personality.The moment Zach read Wilson Corporation’s name, Cecilia quickly stood up and turned to me.I saw pride, satisfaction, and joy in her gaze.She raised her chin as she walked up to receive the bid from Zach. She was acti
There was nonstop clicking from the cameras, and their flashes were so bright that they almost made my eyes water.Just then, Zach handed me a pair of glasses. I put it on, and another reporter asked, “There’s a rumor that Zach was recently fired from Gordon Corporation’s board? Is it true?”Tyler laughed. He looked at Zach and then at me before he said, “You just said that it was a rumor, right?”I scanned the crowd and quickly spotted Cecilia. Her face was pale, and it looked like she was about to cry.At this point, she should realize that Zach had not been fired. He was not the nobody she thought he was.He was still the same Zach. In fact, he was even better. While he was away from the spotlight, Zach set Yonder Trading up for the next five years. Even without Gordon Corporation, he could still succeed in the business world with Yonder Trading.Cecilia was dumbfounded, but it did not seem like she could cry. It was almost funny.Her attitude had been completely different
Cecilia walked toward me in her high heels. “Cassia, you’re acting like a saint again. When Zach’s career fell apart four years ago, you stayed with him for three years. Now, you’re getting back with him again? You love him that much, huh? I’m telling you that Zach is a lost cause. No matter what you do, he’s not going to make a comeback unless you hand over Freeman Corporation to him. Other people date for fun, but you? You’re ready to risk everything for him.”“Cecilia.” I looked her straight in the eye. “That’s enough. No matter what, Zach used to be completely devoted to you. Not only have you dumped him, but you’re trash-talking him behind his back.”“Behind his back? I’d say the same thing to his face.” Cecilia raised her chin. “Sure, Zach loved me, but I don’t want some lovesick fool. It doesn’t matter that he turned against the Gordon family for me. Did I ask him to? If his life is a mess now, it’s his own fault.”“His fault is falling in love with you.”Cecilia smiled smug
The past few days had been particularly hectic. The signing of the Cameron Hill project was around the corner, and we were going to open for tender on the signing day. Once the project began, we would subcontract to many construction companies. We had a few construction companies under Freeman Corporation. However, it was going to be hard for us to tackle such a big project on our own. Hence, we needed to look for subcontractors. Doing both the signing and the tendering on the same day was a first in the industry. Actually, I did not want to rush things like that, but Austin wanted to be quick. He was afraid that his body would give up on him. Meanwhile, I was afraid that I would accidentally tell Sophie the truth one day. Sophie could not make it to the signing. She could not walk well, and she was basically resting. We had released the news about the tender a few days ago, and I had received tenders from many companies. Wilson Corporation was one of them. I glanced at the
While I was staring at Lucy’s photo, my father called me. He and my mother had been away for a really long trip. They left when it was winter, and it was already spring, but they were still not back. My father said, “The proposal that you sent me regarding Cameron Hill is very detailed. I think it’s a good project. You can sign on my behalf.” “Dad, are you guys not coming back yet?”“You’re good at your job. I feel at ease when you’re in charge.” “Dad, don’t forget that my baby’s due in two months.” “Well, aren’t there two months left, then?” I was speechless. My father was trying to make use of me until the day I gave birth. He seemed to be in a good mood. Yesterday, my mother called and told me that Aunt Lauren and her husband were feeling much better than before. It was especially so after they learned that Sophie had gotten into a relationship. Before I ended the call, my father gave me some encouraging words, “Oscar called me yesterday and praised you for being a
Rachel really liked the pastries that Kingston had bought. “I’ve never had such good food before,” she said.She was always surprised by our food, as she grew up overseas with a different type of cuisine. Zach had promised to finish building the castle with Rachel, so I sent her to Yonder Trading in the morning. I held her hand as we walked into his office. He had just finished laying the game mat on the floor. Rachel ran over to him happily. “Zach!” Zach immediately carried her and lifted her over his head. Rachel giggled. She was usually quite lonely, so she loved to spend time with us adults. After I dropped her off, Zach passed me a folder. “It’s about Lucy.” He was extremely quick in his investigation. I took the folder and only found a few pages inside.Lucy was not originally from West City. Instead, she came from East City. It turned out that she had taken her mother’s last name.Her mother was a lounge singer, and there were a few old photos of her in the
“Hush.” I held my finger up to my lips. “Stop being so noisy. He’s still sleeping.”“Cassia, can you add more people to your list of blacklisted guests? Austin, that dog—” “Shut up,” I chastised her before she could finish her sentence. However, Austin had already woken up and sat up from the sofa bed. He patted his numb arm as he said to Sophie, “At first, Lucy was sleeping here too, but your snores got too loud, so she went to the other room. I’m still here because I fell asleep. I wasn’t interested in staying up to listen to your snoring.” Sophie threw a throw pillow at him. She used too much force, so Austin toppled over after being hit. She laughed. “Austin, you’re such a loser. Are you made out of glass? Why are you falling over after such a light throw?” Austin slowly walked out of the room, and Sophie scowled as he left. Then, she lay down again. I picked up the throw pillow and tossed it back to her. “Can you be gentler next time?”“Why?”“I know you’re athletic
Rachel had already fallen asleep. So, I went downstairs for a glass of lemon water. Kingston happened to walk out of Sophie’s room too. He carefully shut the door, and I asked, “Is Sophie asleep?”“Yes.” Kingston laughed and said, “I was telling her a bedtime story, and she dozed off.”He had such patience to even tell Sophie a bedtime story. I could see how much he liked her. If Austin were not in the picture, I would be very happy to see their relationship progress. However, I was the one who had introduced Kingston to Sophie. Whenever I thought about Austin, I felt bad. “Have a safe drive home.”“Don’t worry. It’s just a short drive.” He kindly helped me down the stairs. “Oh, Sophie wants some pastries for breakfast tomorrow. What would you like to eat? I could buy some for you.” “She’s asking you to buy her breakfast? Don’t waste your energy. I can get the driver to buy it or just order delivery. You don’t have to trouble yourself.”“It’s no trouble at all. Sophie did