Lisa chatted with Annabelle for a few moments and then casually found an excuse to leave.Soon, Annabelle felt a wave of dizziness hit her.This was strange. She didn't drink alcohol. Why did she feel like she was drunk?Could it be too stuffy here?At that moment, a waiter approached Annabelle and said, "Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Gregory is waiting for you in the garden. He wants you to go over now."Did Kendrick finish talking with his friends so quickly? Why did he want her to go to the garden?Annabelle was feeling extremely dizzy and wanted to get some fresh air in the garden, so she left the banquet hall and headed toward the hotel's rear garden.Annabelle walked along the path and arrived at a secluded spot, but she failed to see Kendrick.A stronger wave of dizziness came over Annabelle, causing her to stagger and fall.Just when Annabelle thought she was about to fall to the ground, a pair of men's arms caught her shoulders."Are you drunk?"Annabelle lifted her head at the sound of t
Kendrick put his big hand on her wrist and let her lean on him.Annabelle looked at Kendrick's face in a careful manner. Kendrick looked cold, and she had no idea what he was thinking.But Annabelle felt wronged. Honestly, wasn't it because Kendrick annoyed Lisa? Then Lisa became jealous of Annabelle. And then it happened."It's not what you think," Annabelle whispered.Annabelle was innocent. Even though she only had an agreed marriage with Kendrick, she had to explain it.Kendrick did not respond and directly carried her up.Then he said to Marvin, "Now, Annabelle is your sister-in-law. If you don't want outsiders to laugh at you again, don't do such a misleading thing."With that, Kendrick strode out of the banquet hall.Marvin hated it when he saw his beloved woman being picked up and taken away by another man.Besides, this man was his elder brother, whom he had hated and never surpassed since childhood."Ken!" Lisa called anxiously.Kendrick didn't stop.She shouted to Kendrick'
They finally got into the car.As soon as Annabelle sat in the passenger seat, she began to look for something to drink. Kendrick had already handed over a bottle of water and the lid of the bottle had been unscrewed.Annabelle said thanks and took over the water. She took two pills out of her bag and swallowed them with the water."What is that?" Kendrick asked doubtfully."What?" Annabelle stared at Kendrick, "Oh, well, the sobering antidote. It was prepared for you."Kendrick laughed, "Did you think I would get drunk?"In fact, Kendrick had been so obedient lately that he didn't drink at all, even at his grandfather's party just now.But Annabelle obviously didn't believe him."I don't know. You love to drink so much," Annabelle muttered, pulling her seat belt. "Who knows what you scoundrel will do to me when you're drunk?"As Annabelle said that, she inserted the seat belt into the slot. But somehow, her head was dizzy, and her hands were out of control. So she didn't make it.Ken
Kendrick was surprised by this answer. It turned out that the proud Annabelle was afraid of being left behind."Just this?""Hmm..." she murmured and then gradually closed her eyes.Kendrick looked at Annabelle beside him again. He shook his head and thought she fell asleep so quickly.Then, he turned down the air conditioner.On the third day after Ethan's birthday banquet.Kendrick held a morning meeting in the company. The marketing director was reporting on the project of a newly developed resort.The marketing director said that the feature of this resort was that they had special services for pets. The customers could bring their pets to have a vacation here.Thus, those people who had pets but felt it was inconvenient to bring pets out, would not worry about it.On the screen, it was a picture of a man playing with a white kitty.Kendrick was in a trance and suddenly thought of Annabelle.That day, he drove the drunk Annabelle home. She woke up as she got out of the car. She kn
In the evening.Kendrick drove to leave the company. When he stopped at a red light, he noticed a roasted chestnut store on the street.He recalled that last time in Springvale Temple, someone gave Annabelle a bag of roasted chestnuts. She seemed to like it very much.Then he remembered his employee saying that if you wanted to gain a cat's trust, you should feed her a meat pack.Maybe for Annabelle, roasted chestnuts were like the meat pack.Kendrick thought for a while. When he passed the crossroad, he parked the car alongside the street and was ready to buy the roasted chestnuts.He got out of his Pagani. His sports car and his long legs attracted people's attention.He had a good figure and wore tailored suits, just like a model.A woman screamed in her heart and secretly took a photo of him. She posted the photo on her Timeline and Twitter.If people like Kendrick appeared in front of a small roasted chestnut store, it was rare.Soon, Kendrick's photo became a trending topic on T
There were only four people in this group, Kendrick, Seamus Morse, Scott Nichols, who was the present of the Nichols Group, and Ariana Murphy. They knew each other from childhood.Kendrick parked the car in the garage and glanced at his phone.Seamus was surprised. "Did I see wrong? The busy Mr. Gregory was waiting in line to buy roasted chestnuts? @Kendrick"Kendrick replied, "Are you jealous?"Seamus was speechless and replied, "Please be nice to singles."Scott asked, "Ken, when will you hold a wedding? I've prepared a big gift for you."Kendrick replied, "No plan right now."Ariana replied, "Ken, when will you lead Annabelle to see us?"Actually, Kendrick wanted to bring Annabelle to see his friends. Last time, his grandfather's birthday banquet was a good occasion. However, Lisa suddenly appeared and then Annabelle got drunk. They had to leave early that day.And only their family members knew that they had registered. They didn't tell the public, and even his friends didn't know
Annabelle heard her name and walked out. She asked what it was.The errand boy handed the supplements to her and said, "Please sign for it.""I didn't buy this. Who sent it here?""Marvin Gregory."She wondered why Marvin suddenly sent this to her.Annabelle felt strange and glanced at Kendrick beside her.Kendrick didn't know what happened either."Please send it back. I'll pay for it."When the errand boy left, Marvin got a message. Then he called Annabelle."Anna, why do you send it back? These supplements are good for girls. It's good for your health...""I have everything I need. I don't want this. And don't send me these things later."After that, Annabelle hung up the phone.Marvin looked at his phone and was deep in thought.He wondered, "It's impossible that she has everything she needs.But it might be true that Annabelle doesn't need these. After all, she was so beautiful and her skin was delicate and fair. She doesn't need these supplements. I'm so silly. I should think ab
Annabelle's expression froze. She turned her head, stared at him, and wanted to break free from him.Kendrick whispered into her ear, "Don't move. Someone is watching us."Annabelle widened her beautiful eyes in anger, but she believed in him and stopped resisting. She then said to the person on the screen, "I have things to do. Gotta go."The video call finally ended.Kendrick glanced at the face of that person and found it familiar. However, Annabelle's phone screen had turned dark, so he didn't have the chance to take another look.The soft and smooth hair of the woman in his arms was stuck to his chest, making him feel somewhat restless."Is that guy still there?""He's gone." Kendrick let go of her."Where was he? Why couldn't I see him?" asked Annabelle."Over there." Kendrick pointed at the fence and began to make up a story. "It's a competitor of my company who lives in the same housing complex as us. If he learned that our relationship was fake and spread it, it would be a bi
Seraphina understood exactly what Dereon meant—he was suggesting she sleep with the Young Master.But would sleeping with him really make him love her more?Seraphina knew very well: the reason the Young Master still had some affection for her was precisely because she knew her place and respected boundaries.She didn’t want to do anything that might make him hate her.Looking out the cabin window, Seraphina said calmly, “If the Young Master wanted me, of course I’d be willing… but I’m not going to take the initiative to do something so unnecessary.”“How is it unnecessary?!”Dereon slapped his thigh in frustration. Blood was still trickling down his forehead, running past his brow and onto his nose, making him look a little frightening. But his expression was that of a sleazy pimp, and Seraphina found it laughable.“You don’t have to convince me,” she said. “I have my own thoughts on this.”“Seraphina, you don’t understand men,” Dereon lowered his voice. “If you can hold on to the Yo
Ryan said, “That wasn’t the best opportunity just now.”“Why not?”Ryan rubbed his temples in exhaustion. “Can you use your brain before asking questions?”Seraphina quickly jumped in, “Dereon, didn’t you see that Gauge was also there?”“So what if Gauge was there?” Dereon retorted. “That kid clearly can’t fight.”Seraphina patiently explained.First, the Young Master didn’t hide his movements on this trip to South City. Running into Kendrick here was purely by chance.They weren’t prepared. Acting rashly could have led to failure.Even if they succeeded, since their movements weren’t concealed, it would be easy for the Gregory family to trace the incident back to them. And that old man from the Gregory family is no pushover.Second, Gauge was present. He’s friends with both Kendrick and Annabelle. There’s no way he’d stand by and do nothing.If Gauge got dragged into the mess, the Young Master would be making an enemy out of the Murphy family for no reason.The the Whitney Group is j
A private jet bound for Elfhedge took off smoothly from the South City airport.Inside the cabin, Annabelle was lying in a luxurious bedroom.Ryan stepped out of the room and said to Seraphina, who was standing outside the door, “She was poisoned by a type of floral toxin. It causes hallucinations and unconsciousness. She's fine now. Go get a clean set of clothes for her. I’ll help her change.”“It’s already prepared,” Seraphina’s gaze flickered slightly. She tightened her grip on the clothes in her hand and lowered her head. “Young Master, let me do it. This dress is a bit tricky to put on…”Ryan glanced at the dress in her hands, then looked deeply into her eyes. After a moment, he let out a bitter laugh. “Alright… if Anna knew I changed her clothes, she’d probably hate me even more.”Seraphina said nothing. Once Ryan stepped aside, she walked in with her head lowered.She carefully helped Annabelle out of her soiled clothes and put on the dress she had brought with her for the trip
Anna shook her head and smiled. “Nothing really. Let me do the cleaning—you’re definitely not as meticulous as I am. You go wait outside.”“No need…”“Go on, I’ll take care of it.”Annabelle was firm and took the duster from Gauge’s hand.But Gauge didn’t leave. How could he let a girl do the work while he waited outside enjoying the breeze?So the two of them cleaned together.While cleaning the room, Annabelle felt oddly emotional. Her mind was flooded with thoughts.Who was the woman who had once lived here? What kind of story did she have? What kind of mood had she been in when she left the village to live in solitude by the sea?As she wiped the mirror on the vanity, she could almost picture a woman sitting there, grooming herself in days long past.She must have been someone melancholic, yet strong-willed.A sudden wave of sadness welled up from deep within Annabelle’s heart.She couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Am I too empathetic? Why else would she feel so much for a compl
“Let’s go,” Gauge called out to her.Annabelle snapped out of her thoughts and walked toward the small wooden cabin.Gauge pointed to a patch of land behind the cabin and said that it used to be a small garden. There had once been a large tree with a wide canopy, and his father had installed a swing on one of its sturdy horizontal branches.Back then, his father often sat alone inside the cabin, sipping a couple of drinks.Meanwhile, Gauge would sit outside on the swing, watching the sea and listening to music.Looking at the now overgrown garden, Gauge showed a hint of melancholy.“Unfortunately, the big tree was cut down later, and since no one took care of the garden, it fell into disrepair. When my dad came here last year, he said he regretted not being able to maintain it.”Annabelle listened quietly. It seemed Murphy's father had deeply cared about whoever used to live here.Gauge had said before that he wasn’t sure if the person was a man or a woman—he just guessed it was a wom
Annabelle transformed visibly from a sweet little bunny into a puffed-up pufferfish, cheeks bulging with frustration.She got up to leave, but Kendrick pulled her back into his arms. He poked her puffed cheeks and chuckled,"You're really that scared someone’s going to steal me away?""If you could be stolen that easily, then you’re not worth liking."Annabelle wasn’t insecure to the point where a single text message from Kendrick would make her suspicious.But it was late, and the sudden calls and texts clearly meant something was going on.Still… she had to admit, she was just a tiny bit jealous."You jealous of Jaime too? I was on the phone with him," Kendrick laughed as he handed over his phone so she could see the call log.Annabelle glanced at it—sure enough, the call happened while she was playing the guitar. The corners of her lips twitched upward, but she still insisted stubbornly,"I said I was just casually asking."Kendrick then pulled up their group chat—the one with Jaim
Kendrick’s kiss was too passionate—so passionate it was suffocating, instantly awakening every cell in Annabelle’s body.His kiss was also too forceful—so forceful that Annabelle forgot to resist, and didn't want to resist.Because when Kendrick desired her so intensely, she too was equally, fiercely craving him.It suddenly dawned on her—she truly, deeply liked this man above her. She liked his scent, liked his voice, even liked the beads of sweat trickling down his spine.When did she fall this hard?Maybe it started back when they were ambushed and narrowly escaped death… when they lived in the hospital together… when she risked falling just to climb over the balcony and see him.When she brought herself to his bed, faced her feelings for the first time, and accepted him both emotionally and physically—she had already fallen.As for her heart… it had been open to him long before that.Maybe it started with his first kiss. From that moment, her heart had already begun to waver—she j
After his cold shower, Kendrick returned to the room and climbed into bed, but he still felt a bit restless.He gazed at the little woman for a while. She looked exhausted.Not wanting to wake her, he gently pulled her nightdress down and tucked the blanket securely around her.Then he turned around, facing away from her, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.But in the twenty-something-degree room, Annabelle, now wrapped like a little cocoon, soon got uncomfortable and kicked the blanket off again.Not only that—she rolled over and draped her arm around Kendrick’s waist, hugging him from behind.Maybe because Kendrick’s body was still slightly cool from the cold shower, Annabelle loved the chilly "big body pillow" and even pressed her warm little face against his back.While tightly hugging her “old fox,” she continued her dream, still playing chess with the god of dreams.Kendrick let out a long sigh and gently held the hand around his waist, playfully tickling her palm.She didn’t w
Kendrick chuckled helplessly. “She really doesn’t use her phone much, so there’s no need to worry about her finding out on her own.”He’d seen Anna’s phone interface before—it was mostly filled with practical apps like dictionaries and period trackers. The usual social media apps? She had tucked them all away in a folder labeled "Rarely Used."Thinking of his quirky little wife, Kendrick’s mood lightened significantly.Of course, he knew that in this internet era, Anna might eventually come across the gossip herself. That’s why he hoped, by the time she did, he would have already taken care of everything.Then, when she found out, she’d know exactly where the "arrow" came from—and see clearly what became of the person who fired it.That way, she wouldn’t feel too anxious or wronged. At most, she’d just complain about how shameless the rumor-spreader was.It was the best way Kendrick could think of to minimize the harm.“Alright. I promise,” Gauge said solemnly.“Then that’s all,” Kend