After the call with Trey was disconnected, Kendrick tugged at his tie.He knew what Trey implied.But how should he do that? Force her to have sex with him?Annabelle grew up at Springvale Temple alone in her childhood, so she must have been bullied a lot. It would be inhumane of him if he bullied her with the excuse of their marriage.At least at this moment, Kendrick couldn't accept Trey's advice.After Annabelle returned to the bedroom, she texted Fabian.After all, their communication was interrupted by Kendrick."I was caught up in something just now and didn't finish what I wanted to say. You should take the medicine I prescribed you according to the instructions. Tell me when you finish it. I'll give you another treatment plan.""OK. I'll be waiting."Annabelle smiled when she looked at Fabian's reply."Sleep early then. I'm going to sleep as well. Good night."Annabelle had few friends over the years, and Fabian was one of her best friends.They knew each other because of Fabi
Raphael already began to sob, "They will chop my hands off if I can't repay the debt. Please come here..."What followed was a burst of noise, and the call was disconnected.Annabelle was irritated.She used to have a good impression of Raphael and after this call was finished, she already saw him as a playboy.The point was that Raphael didn't know if she had that much money before asking. Did he think she had become his cash cow after she was married into the Gregory family?The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Annabelle just put away the phone and decided not to care.However, she couldn't calm down. She couldn't stop worrying.Raphael didn't seem to be lying.If she ignored him, would his limbs be chopped off?Annabelle wasn't that determined after thinking like this.Finally, she sighed. She would help him, and she would tell him that it would be both her first time and last time helping him out.She could afford 80 thousand dollars.She had treated quite a few
Raphael widened his eyes. "Damn you. This is my older sister."After saying this, he continued escorting Annabelle and turned his head to laugh into her ear. "Annabelle, you're so attractive that they can't stop looking at you."Raphael was proud when he said this.But at that moment, Annabelle had a pale face and couldn't feel happy at all.She hated being stared at like this and even felt a bit horrified.She was more upset when she heard Raphael's joke and glared at him.Raphael didn't notice it at all and still excitedly led the way.Annabelle was confused. Raphael didn't look like he had lost 80 thousand dollars, or, was the money so little to him that he didn't even care?But that made sense. The Sanchez family was rich after all, and even Briley's handbag would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.It was because they squandered the money instead of managing it, the family that was once one of the Four Great Families in Elfhedge had fallen.Now, the family's business had b
As soon as the woman spoke, she immediately attracted many onlookers. Everyone stretched their necks and looked over as if watching a show.Recently, Annabelle has been the hottest topic in the celebrity circle.The men and women present were all from the so-called upper class society. They had long heard about the mysterious heiress of the Sanchez family, who was jilted by the second son of the Gregory family at the engagement banquet. It was quite embarrassing, but she turned around and got engaged to Kendrick, the most esteemed man in Elfhedge.She didn't have many opportunities to appear in public, so various rumors started to spread online. Some said she was extremely ugly, while others claimed she was as beautiful as a goddess.As soon as they heard, everyone started discussing that the woman in front of them was Annabelle."That's Annabelle, so beautiful. She's definitely not an ugly girl.""Gemma Pratt is also impressive. She truly lives up to her reputation as a supermodel. H
Annabelle looked up in panic and was about to say thank you when she saw that it was Kendrick who was holding her.The girl next to me had already exclaimed and screamed.Characters like Kendrick are not something they can easily come across. At this moment, their eyes were sparkling, infatuated, saying, "It's really Kendrick! He's even more handsome than in the photos.""Wow, he's so cool! I wish it was me that he was hugging..."Those girls were excitedly talking and crazily taking photos.Annabelle couldn't help shaking her head when she saw this, thinking to herself, "You guys are still too naive. You don't know how cunning this person is. He may look handsome, but he has a wicked heart.""Where did it hurt?" Kendrick frowned and asked.Annabelle shook her head, while also showing a hint of slight dissatisfaction towards him.The black sports car parked outside, it really belonged to Kendrick.He did come to this colorful place for socializing, and the old fox indeed was not a goo
Kendrick listened and, appreciatively, curled his lips, feeling even more that she and he were compatible in personality.The Gregory family, although not lacking money, but his wife was just publicly harassed, he must stand up for her."Indeed fair," Kendrick looked at Gemma, "So, Ms. Pratt, please make sure to bring the receipt to the office tomorrow, and my assistant will handle the compensation matters with you."Gemma's smile froze after listening, and she felt a bit unsteady on her feet. Fortunately, her little sister beside her promptly supported her."Mr. Gregory, it was really necessary..."Gemma hadn't finished speaking when Annabelle gently grabbed Kendrick's shirt and said, "Honey, I have a slight headache and I want to go home."The little wild cat in his arms suddenly turned into a small white rabbit and unexpectedly jumped at him, Kendrick instantly melted.Although he knew she was just acting, the word "husband" still brought him immense joy."Okay, wait a moment more.
Annabelle nodded lightly, indicating that she didn't mind.She never intended to integrate into Kendrick's circle of friends, after all, they were bound to go their separate ways sooner or later. Therefore, she was very relaxed and had no psychological burden, treating it as just going through the motions.Kendrick pushed open the door and led Annabelle into the dimly lit private room.When the two entered, Ariana was the first to see Annabelle.She was standing on the small stage in front, singing. She happened to be singing a high note, which was her specialty. However, her voice suddenly stopped and the accompaniment awkwardly continued when she saw Annabelle and Kendrick holding hands.The crowd was initially stunned, but then they were also captivated by Annabelle and Kendrick.Excited cheers and screams immediately followed.The first one to come over and say hello was Seamus, the youngest of the Morse family."No wonder Kendrick kept hiding her from us. With such a beautiful wi
The young master of the Shi family, who was sitting alone in the corner, couldn't help but squint his deep eyes. He exchanged a glance with Seamus, who was Kendrick's best brother. Obviously, they had never seen such a scene before.In this way, the looks towards Annabelle gained an extra layer of amusement.How amazing this girl must have been, making Kendrick disregard the opinions of others. First, he directly married her at his brother's engagement banquet, and now he showers her with such affection.And those women who had coveted Kendrick were instantly struck, suddenly losing all their enthusiasm.Ariana had long since stepped down from the small stage and couldn't help but tease Kendrick, saying, "Ken, I told you not to drink too much, why didn't you listen?"Annabelle glanced at the sweet and well-behaved little girl with a lovely appearance and a melodious voice.Judging by their age, the two of them are probably only a couple of years apart.From her tone of voice and the w
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