Annabelle lowered her eyelids, withdrew her body, and distanced herself from him, like an insecure little creature, longing for warmth but fearing closeness.Kendrick didn't pressure her, he just waited quietly for her answer.What kind of care did she have for him, whether it was the kind of care for a friend or for a boyfriend?After a moment of silence, Annabelle took a deep breath and called out to him in a low voice, "Kendrick.""Um.""I have never been in love and I don't know how it feels for a man and a woman to be in love. All I know is that when I heard that you were seriously injured, I just wanted to rush to save you. Even if it meant jumping from the upstairs and breaking my legs, I still wanted to save you.""I was afraid that the enemy would come to harm you again, so I climbed over the balcony to come over and wanted to protect you, even though my legs were still weak...""Also, Jaime said that there was a possibility that you might never wake up again, and I was truly
"I... I didn't know..."Annabelle was nervous, after all, she had never experienced this before.Kendrick gently kissed and comforted her.Annabelle's head was completely messed up, her soul seemed to have grown wings and flew to the sky, dancing joyfully. Everywhere there were pink clouds, and all around was her unique aura.When she felt a chill on her body, she realized that her top had already been taken off by him, and his kisses were igniting her body.Annabelle became even more flustered.She also had many worries about the future.About him as a whole person, she still had a lot to learn.But how could she push him away? She felt her hands were weak and powerless, as if she couldn't help but want to walk into the abyss ahead, no matter how deep it was.Kendrick lifted Annabelle to higher clouds with his kiss. Annabelle held onto his shoulders and opened her foggy eyes."Kendrick.""Um.""You are not allowed to bully me in the future," she said, her voice trembling slightly, ev
I don't know how long it had been, but when Annabelle descended from the clouds, she had no strength left in her body.Then she discovered that Kendrick's wound had indeed started bleeding again.Annabelle was about to call the nurse when Kendrick held her shoulder and whispered, "It's okay, you don't have to go. Let me hold you a little longer."Now, he didn't want anyone to come and ruin his and Annabelle's little world.Annabelle couldn't argue with him, so she obediently let him hug her from behind, trying her best not to move, in order to avoid touching his injury.She opened her eyes wide and looked at the heavy snow falling outside the window. She silently sighed as she recalled everything that had happened that night.Speaking of which, she came over to the balcony to deliver it tonight.This incident will probably be mentioned by Kendrick later.However, fully accepting him doesn't seem like a scary thing either, the sky won't fall, the ground won't sink, and there is even a
How did Master know that she was in the hospital and how did he know which building she lived in? Annabelle didn't think much about it, anyway, if Master wanted to know her whereabouts, he always seemed to find a way.Annabelle felt anxious all the way until she went to bed in the evening.If it were in the past, knowing that Master was coming to see her, she would have been very excited. But this time, for some reason, she felt anxious and uncomfortable.However, Master only said he was waiting for her downstairs and didn't mention anything else, nor did he say he was going to take her away, so she didn't need to think too much about it.Of course, Kendrick must never find out.At least, he would definitely not let her go to see Master, or let her go alone, given his jealous nature.Annabelle also understood Master's temperament. He always preferred to be alone and didn't like to reveal his identity, otherwise he wouldn't have come to see her only at night every time.So for now, Ken
Ryan took out a porcelain small medicine bottle from his shirt pocket and handed it to Annabelle."When your eyes were injured, I examined them for you. It should be the result of a childhood illness that hasn't fully healed. So this time, I brought some medicine for you, one pill a day, for seven days without interruption. After finishing it, take a break, and I will bring you another course of medicine."Annabelle held a small bottle of medicine in her hand, feeling somewhat puzzled. Master had examined her over three months ago, so why was he only giving her the medicine now?And, time passed for over three months, is there no need to examine again?But she had always trusted Master, thinking that perhaps the medicine took a longer time to make, so Master only gave it to her now.With Master's medical skills, it was probably unnecessary to examine her again to determine if she had recovered.So Annabelle smiled brightly and nodded at Master, "Okay, Master. Anna remembers."Ryan rea
This light kiss brought Annabelle back to her senses, and she looked at the man in front of her with surprise.He smiled at her, lightly touched her cheek, and turned towards the direction of the hospital gate. Soon, he disappeared into the night.Annabelle silently watched his retreating figure, her heart in a state of turmoil.She was indeed close to Master, but that closeness was like that of a teacher and student, a brother and sister. However, the recent kiss and the way Master looked at her made Annabelle feel a bit bewildered.Why, in his eyes, did he see affection?"Guard your heart, wait for me to come back and pick you up, we will go home together," and with this sentence, Annabelle suddenly realized a question she had never thought of before.Did Master like her?If it were half a year ago, when she heard that her admired Master actually had feelings for her, she would have been thrilled and even astonished, and then she would have wholeheartedly waited for Master.But time
"I was just a little tired."Annabelle didn't feel like doing that thing now, she was thinking about what Master said.In terms of emotions, she was not the only one for Kendrick.So, Kendrick was doing this with her while still having another woman in his mind?"Tired?" Kendrick's hand brushed her cheek. "When you ran downstairs just now, Anna didn't seem tired at all."Annabelle sighed in her heart, he was jealous, but she also felt uncomfortable in her heart!Although Kendrick didn't seem like a man who would cheat, Master wouldn't lie to her, and Fabian had also tried to warn her that Kendrick wasn't who she thought he was.Annabelle took the initiative to avert her gaze and gently pushed his shoulder, saying, "Go back and lie down. I don't want to see your wound burst open again."Kendrick squinted his eyes and carefully looked at the face of the woman beneath him. She had a hint of resentment, as if she was feeling a little wronged.What did Ryan say to her?"Are you really just
Kendrick chuckled inwardly; Ryan was just talking nonsense."What kind of body conditioning.""Three months ago, Masterexamine discovered that I was not feeling well and prescribed medication for me."Kendrick squinted his eyes. When the little woman answered him, with that stubborn expression, if he couldn't understand that she was sulking, it would have been pointless to sleep on the same bed with her for so many days.He pondered for a moment and said, "Then let's eat well."Annabelle raised an eyebrow and looked at him, feeling puzzled.I thought this jealous guy would definitely come and take away her medicine, not allowing her to eat what Master gave her.She had already figured out how to confront him.Kendrick suddenly said this, making Annabelle feel a little bit self-important.She sealed the cap of the small medicine bottle and said, "That's natural, Master wouldn't harm me."Kendrick did not respond, thinking to himself, "He won't harm you," as he fired a shot directly at
What Gauge wanted to discuss with Kendrick was a strategic collaboration between their two companies.Since stepping into the family business, Gauge had discovered a series of issues.Although Lin Jewelry appeared to be thriving, its narrow focus on a single line of business had left it vulnerable to serious challenges.Therefore, Gauge was planning to expand the jewelry and watch business within the next five years into leather goods, fashion products, and the perfume industry.He also proposed merging the group's original real estate construction division with a subsidiary of Gregory's Group. Murphy's Group would retain only a small share—essentially, a disguised sale to Gregory's.But the reason they couldn’t call it a sale outright was because Murphy's Group had started out in the construction industry. Gauge’s father, Simon, still held an emotional attachment to that legacy and couldn’t let go entirely.After the merger of the construction branches, Gauge hoped to acquire Gregory
At first, Annabelle didn’t understand what he was up to. It wasn’t until they were back inside the house that she realized—Kendrick thought she looked a little too sexy wearing his oversized T-shirt, especially since it made it seem like she wasn’t wearing anything on the bottom. It sparked a lot of imaginative thoughts.Annabelle was both amused and exasperated. She lifted the hem of the T-shirt to show him: “I am wearing shorts! They’re just... a little short. But still totally decent!”But Mr. Gregory was persistent. In the end, Annabelle gave in and changed into her own clothes.Once they were both dressed, they returned to the courtyard.Annabelle noticed Gauge hadn’t touched the watermelon and asked why—after all, it was set aside just for him.Gauge pulled a ten-hole blues harmonica from his pocket and said, “If I eat now, I won’t be able to play.”She knew harmonica players had to keep their mouth clean before playing.Then, Gauge handed her his guitar. “Since we’re just hang
While Kendrick was cutting the watermelon, Annabelle couldn’t take her eyes off him.How strange—why did everything this man did seem so charming to her? Even slicing a watermelon looked handsome.It was as if her brain had automatically applied a beauty filter to him.Annabelle placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. But the more she tried, the faster it beat. The sweet words he had just whispered, every little expression and gesture of his, were now playing back in her mind like a movie…Kendrick held out the watermelon to her with a grin. “Little fangirl, stop staring. This handsome guy is your husband—100% confirmed.”Annabelle glared at him with a flushed face. “Narcissist!”Then she lowered her head, scooping out a bite of watermelon, determined to focus on eating.Just as she was about to take a bite, she noticed Kendrick had sat down.The other half of the watermelon was still sitting on the small stone platform by the well.“Aren’t you going to eat?”“Y
Annabelle smiled softly, her eyes twinkling with a mix of amusement and affection. "Why do you always have to compare everything?" she asked, her voice gentle and teasing."I just want to know," he replied, his voice low and earnest. He reached out and tucked a strand of Anna's hair behind her ear, his touch light but intimate. "What it feels like for you to be with me."Annabelle fell into deep thought, her gaze drifting away as she considered his question. The room was quiet, filled only with the soft sounds of their breathing and the occasional rustle of the sheets beneath them. After a while, she still hadn't answered. Kendrick sighed, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Is it really that hard to answer?""Hmm... it’s hard to describe," Annabelle murmured thoughtfully, her fingers playing with the edge of the blanket. "Before, when I was with you, just seeing you would throw my heart into chaos. My pulse would race, and I could hardly catch my breath. But now…” She trailed off, h
Annabelle hadn’t slept so soundly in a long time.When she lazily opened her eyes and looked out the window, she realized it was already dark.Ever since arriving at her grandma’s house and staying in this quiet little fishing village—far away from her usual life—it felt like she had escaped to another world. Her entire being relaxed, with nothing left to worry about.Kendrick didn’t have to stress over the corporation anymore either.Their biggest daily dilemma had become: what should we eat for the next meal?If only life could always be this carefree...Annabelle slowly sat up. After sleeping for so long, her whole body felt soft and mushy. She got out of bed and wandered into the courtyard, where she saw Kendrick sitting at the small table, smoking.When he heard her, he turned around.“Awake?”Kendrick stubbed out his cigarette and patted his thigh.Annabelle walked over without hesitation or shyness and naturally sat on his lap, arms around his neck, resting softly against his s
Kendrick’s face darkened. “It’s better to date someone older. Look at Mr. Murphy—he’s too young, can’t even cook. How’s he supposed to take care of a girlfriend?”Annabelle raised her eyebrows and gave the sly old fox a glance. Flicking the water off her hands, she smiled and said, “But younger guys are energetic—and no generation gap!”Kendrick let out a sharp “hmph.” “You think there’s a generation gap between us?”“I didn’t say us,” Annabelle teased, eyes twinkling. “Why are you jumping to conclusions? Having a midlife crisis already, Uncle?”The little bunny was obviously up to no good with that mischievous grin.Kendrick glanced at the loquat tree in the courtyard, then squinted at the sunlight filtering through its leaves, trying hard to stay calm.After all, he was turning 31 after the New Year. Couldn’t let a little girl get under his skin, right?But midlife crisis? Really?He was in his prime. A young man!So this young Mr. Gregory looked into the reflection on the glass. He
So Annabelle thought to herself—was Mr. Gregory being a little too proactive?Kendrick asked lightly, “So, do you want to go swimming with him alone?”He deliberately emphasized the word “alone,” as if suggesting she had ulterior motives. Annabelle could only respond, “...I never said that!”“Then that’s that,” Kendrick said calmly, taking her hand and leading her into the house.After a short rest, the three of them began preparing lunch.Gauge was every bit the privileged young master—clearly someone who’d never cooked at home before. He practically didn’t know how to do anything.He was too rough when washing vegetables, to the point of mangling the leaves.Then they had him try chopping vegetables—but the young master, with his obsessive need for precision, insisted on cutting everything perfectly uniform, each slice as neat as the next. At the rate he was going, they’d probably be eating tomorrow’s lunch.Kendrick and Annabelle didn’t even bother expecting him to cook anything. T
Afterward, the three of them returned to Grandma’s house first.Gauge waited in the courtyard while Annabelle and Kendrick brought the things they bought at the market into the house. After grabbing the ingredients they needed for lunch, the three of them headed to Gauge’s place together.When they arrived in front of the white guesthouse, Kendrick couldn’t help but chuckle.That morning, he and Anna had passed by this very spot. He had been wondering at the time—the place had a fresh, elegant architectural style. But there was no signboard, so maybe it wasn’t a guesthouse after all. If it was just a private residence, then it probably belonged to someone with means.Sure enough, his guess wasn’t far off. What he didn’t expect was that this would turn out to be Gauge’s home.After stepping through the front gate, Annabelle couldn’t help but marvel.To build such a charming little courtyard on this sloped hill must’ve taken a lot of thought and care.“Come in, rest a bit. Have some wat
As Kendrick was lost in thought, Annabelle called out to him, “Let me help you carry a couple of those.”Just moments ago, Kendrick had taken all the shopping bags from her hands—he was carrying everything by himself now.Seeing his forehead glistening with sweat, Annabelle, who now had empty hands, felt both guilty and worried.Kendrick looked back at her, smiled, and said, “I could carry you on my back too, no problem.”“Stop messing around, give me two bags.”Seeing how serious she looked, eyebrows furrowed and all, he finally gave in and handed her two of the lightest ones.But as soon as she took them, Gauge casually took them from her without saying a word.Annabelle: “…”She felt like she’d just become the middleman in a hand-off.Kendrick glanced at Gauge. “Thanks, Mr. Murphy.”His tone and look were both laced with provocation.Even Annabelle thought he was kinda asking for a punch right then.Gauge snorted coldly, “Don’t thank me. It’s not like I’m helping you.”“Tsk, brat…”