Annabelle was focused, attentive, and observant, analyzing the expressions and gestures of others, calculating the cards. She could be described as extremely serious.Unfortunately, by the time Kendrick finished his phone call and came back, Annabelle had already lost all of his chips and her hair was a bit disheveled."Nothing left at all?" Kendrick raised an eyebrow.Annabelle looked up at him and sheepishly smiled, "I still owed 15 dollars."Kendrick rubbed her hair and said, "It's okay, I'll do it."Annabelle quietly exited the scene, sighing deeply as she watched Kendrick turn the tables on the small poker table. It made her realize that there is indeed a gap between people.Unfortunately, the money Kendrick won is still his own. The few rounds she just played can only be considered as finger exercises.Annabelle was feeling unhappy and decided to go pour herself a glass of water to calm down her disappointed mood.As Annabelle entered the hallway, a maid happened to come in and
Annabelle listened to Lisa's sorrowful tone, but she remained very cautious of her, so she had no intention of saying much to her and continued to walk back.Lisa's words, however, kept coming from behind, and in the quiet night, they were heard particularly clearly.During the days I was hospitalized, many people came to visit me. They all claimed to be my fans, but in reality, the men came to sleep with me, while the women came to enjoy the spectacle. Even the other patients and male doctors bullied me. Every day, I was in great pain and felt like I would rather be dead.She choked up and couldn't continue speaking. Annabelle stopped in her tracks and turned around to look. She saw two lines of tears on her thin face, looking very sad.Lisa was actually very beautiful. After she moved into the mental hospital, it was indeed possible for her to be bullied if she didn't have the care of her family.With this thought, Annabelle couldn't help but sigh.Lisa had a good hand originally, b
Annabelle was good at holding her breath in the water, and she immediately held her breath. Finally, when Lisa also became frozen, Annabelle had a chance to take a breath.She gasped heavily, pushed Lisa forcefully, and quickly distanced herself from the crazy woman.When I looked at the crazy woman again, I saw that she was also on the verge of collapse. After a few seconds, she finally showed her head, but quickly sank again.No matter how crazy Lisa was, she still had the instinct to survive. At this moment, she was struggling in the water and starting to call for help.Annabelle didn't care how Lisa was doing, she just desperately swam towards the shore.Because at that time, the two of them had already been a distance away from the shore.The icy lake water made Annabelle's limbs stiff, but she knew she absolutely couldn't stop swimming, or else she would really be dragged into the water by Lisa and become a water ghost.However, the lake water was too cold and her legs suddenly
Faced with Marvin's mockery and accusations, Kendrick's face darkened, but he did not retort.What happened to Annabelle was indeed his fault, as he didn't take enough precautions and failed to take care of her properly.Grandfather stomped his cane in anger and said, "Kendrick, take Annabelle back to the room and then call Wilson. If the situation is not good, go to the hospital immediately. Marvin, go take a hot shower quickly. Trey, bring people to capture Lisa."Grandfather spoke and no one said anything more. They all left separately.Kendrick entered the elevator, looking at the small woman huddled in his arms, her face pale. He felt even more guilty and heartbroken.However, how did Lisa suddenly run out? How did she manage to sneak into the community?The elevator arrived at the second floor, and Kendrick didn't think any further. The most important thing at the moment was Annabelle's physical condition.After returning to the room, Kendrick placed Annabelle in the oval bathtu
"What's wrong?" Kendrick bent down again, looking at the blushing woman's face."Um, why don't you wash now? We can, together..."With that, Annabelle lifted her eyes and quickly glanced at him, then hurriedly lowered her head again, feeling extremely frustrated.How did Kendrick manage to invite someone to take a bath together? She must have been scared silly by that crazy woman, or maybe her brain froze from the cold water.But it seemed like there was still hope for him to stay.At that moment, all she wanted was for Kendrick to be by her side.Kendrick's eyes deepened layer by layer, when did his proud and aloof little wife ever take the initiative like this?It seems like he was really scared, and it appears that he really started to rely on him?Kendrick's silence made Annabelle feel a little awkward, so she quickly retorted, "I was just kidding. If you don't want to, then forget it..."Kendrick chuckled and said, "What's the rush? You always make me take off my clothes."Annabe
"Don't... how strange..." Annabelle felt so embarrassed in the water.Kendrick gently brushed aside her damp long hair and kissed her fair and smooth back, trailing his kisses along her spine, gradually arousing her.Annabelle remembered the historical romance novel she had read, where the general had to leave on his wedding night and didn't even have time to unveil his bride's red veil. A year later, the bride braved the wind and snow to visit the military camp.On that snowy night, the general carried his young wife into the military tent and ordered someone to heat up water. He then placed the frozen young wife into a wooden tub to bathe and warm herself. Later on, the general also got into the bathtub, and as they continued washing... they proceeded with what was supposed to happen on their wedding night.When Annabelle watched that scene, she also wondered a little bit. How would the general and his wife in the barrel..."Don't want to give it a try?" Kendrick whispered.Annabell
"Ah!" Annabelle exclaimed; her entire body already being lifted out of the bathtub by him.He wiped the water stains off her body with a towel while kissing her lips, but because both of them were a little excited, the wiping was extremely perfunctory. Soon, Kendrick carried Annabelle to the bed.Kendrick, who had regained the initiative and control, almost swallowed her whole...Until the sound of knocking on the door came.Annabelle looked as if she finally saw the shore, opening her misty eyes, hoping Kendrick would stop. However, he seemed to not have heard the knocking sound.Annabelle just clenched her lips tightly, preventing herself from making any ambiguous sounds.Seeing her being so patient, Kendrick developed a mischievous interest, which almost made Annabelle unable to hold back.The sound of knocking on the door came again, persistently and tenaciously."Mr. Gregory, I am Wilson White. May I inquire about the current condition of Mrs. Gregory?"Outside the door, Wilson k
Wilson thought for a moment and said, "The young master is strong and healthy, so he doesn’t really need any supplements. But since he works so hard, taking some extra nourishment could help. This recipe is mainly to strengthen his body, boost his immunity, and keep both him and the young lady in good health—it won't harm their bodies."Trey took the prescription and promised to deliver it.After Annabelle fell asleep, Kendrick quietly left the suite. He went to his grandfather’s room.Staying up on New Year's Eve was a tradition for his grandfather, and with everything that had happened tonight, he certainly wouldn’t be going to sleep.When his grandfather saw Kendrick enter, he was holding a small set of polished rosewood prayer beads. He came into the living room of the suite.“How is Annabelle?”“She’s asleep. She’ll be fine.”“That’s good. Lisa is in the basement nanny’s room; her condition is stable for now.”After a pause, his grandfather looked at Kendrick and said, "What are y
Annabelle felt ticklish and giggled, swatting his hand lightly. “Lie still for a while, or I won’t keep you company.”Only then did Mr. Gregory purse his lips and obediently stop moving.If Anna hadn’t just recovered from a serious illness, and if he himself weren’t still weak right now, otherwise…Sigh! Kendrick let out a gloomy sigh, burying his face in the crook of her neck.After a moment, he asked, “By the way, did your young master say what exactly caused your fainting and shock?”Annabelle glanced at him with amusement. Every time he said your young master, she could smell the thick scent of jealousy wafting off him—but it was kind of cute, his little petty streak.So she repeated everything Ryan had told her, word for word.Kendrick listened carefully and didn’t comment much afterward. He only said, “Looks like you just had bad luck and ran into a poisonous flower.”Annabelle then brought up the scene at the little beach cabin, saying she was curious about what kind of woman h
In Annabelle’s eyes, Kendrick had made the best possible decision at the time—he had put her safety above all else and didn’t let pride get in the way by refusing the young master’s help.It was this kind of maturity and rationality that had always drawn her to Kendrick, giving her a deep sense of grounded security by his side.Looking at the petite woman in front of him, Kendrick suddenly didn’t know what to say.The guilt that had been gnawing at him for the past two days… was completely dissolved by a few simple, gentle words from his little bunny.Especially the phrase “You’re my husband.” That alone was more healing than ten IV drips.Without warning, he rolled over and pinned Anna onto the bed, kissing her more assertively, expressing his feelings in a far more direct way.Annabelle started pounding on his chest with little muffled sounds of protest.This man was crazy! If he kept moving like this, the IV line would come loose!But even sick, Kendrick was much stronger than she
Annabelle looked like she'd been caught red-handed, flustered and wide-eyed, staring at Kendrick at such a close distance.He, too, had his eyes slightly open, emotions deep and complex pooling within them.The anxiety and torment he’d endured these past two days—it all seemed to be captured in that one gaze.Kendrick moved the hand that had been resting on her back up to cradle the back of her head, and kissed her even deeper.Annabelle slowly closed her eyes, not daring to move, afraid of tugging at his IV line and causing the needle to slip out.Of course, she didn’t want to pull away either…So, what started as Kendrick kissing her forcefully ended up with her being more proactive and passionate instead.Coco, lazily glancing at the two people locked in an intense kiss, yawned, jumped off the bed, and followed the scent of its cat food to go find Uncle Trey.The little white cat trotted to the door, jumped up at the handle, hooked its front paws around it just right, then used its
"I'm heading over now."Just as Annabelle was about to hang up the phone, she heard Uncle Trey call out again, “Young Madam, wait a moment!”She brought the phone back to her ear. “What is it?”“When you come from home, could you bring Coco’s food and litter box? Young Master brought the cat over the night before last, but he didn’t bring any of its stuff. I’ve been too busy to go pick them up myself. It’s not starving or anything, but the poor thing has nowhere to go to the bathroom. It’s been squatting in the big flower pot every day…”Annabelle: “…”A vivid image popped into her mind—Coco tucked awkwardly under Kendrick’s arm, eyes wide with panic, meowing nonstop in complaint the entire way.She could just imagine it—one big, one small, both of them looking lost and homeless, wandering around like pitiful strays.But no matter how disoriented they were, how could they forget the cat food and litter?!Annabelle quickly gathered Coco’s things and drove to the old Gu estate.Just as
Ryan gave a small nod, unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt, and lay down on the bed, quickly falling asleep.Only after hearing his steady breathing did Seraphina return to his side. She carefully removed his outer shirt, then used a warm towel to wipe his face, and then his chest—where the alcohol had spilled. Sleeping like that would definitely be uncomfortable.Finally, she pulled the blanket over him.Seraphina stared at the man in bed for a long time. Then, for the first time, gathering all her courage, she leaned down and placed a light kiss on the lips of the man she loved.He didn’t love her. In his eyes, she probably lacked even a trace of a woman’s charm—perhaps she couldn’t even stir up a shred of desire.But he had given her the utmost respect. Could that be considered a form of caring?Seraphina gently touched his lips with her fingers, her heart full of bitterness, but in the end, she smiled softly.Maybe… that’s enough.…Annabelle had already arrived at the the Grego
The Young Master was drinking?Seraphina quickly set the breakfast tray on the foyer cabinet and rushed inside. Not seeing him in the outer living room, she headed toward the inner rooms.She paused as she passed through the dining area.The vase had been knocked over, shattered glass scattered all across the floor, and the flowers lay strewn in disarray.Seraphina’s heart pounded. She carefully stepped over the broken shards and headed toward the bedroom.The curtains were drawn tight, casting the room into darkness. The Young Master was sitting on the carpet at the foot of the bed, his head leaned back against the mattress, seemingly asleep.The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, a large alcohol stain spread across the front, and beside him sat an almost-empty bottle of strong liquor.Looking at him like this, Seraphina felt her heart shatter.The Young Master had endured so many blows in his life, but he had never fallen into despair like this. He had always gritted his teet
The taxi pulled away from the hotel entrance. Annabelle rolled the window up and gave the driver the address of the the Gregory Group headquarters.She turned back to look at Seraphina, who was still standing there at the entrance, gazing in her direction.When Seraphina had said, “Actually, I should be the one thanking you,” her expression had looked sorrowful—with a touch of self-mockery. That made Annabelle even more certain of one thing:Seraphina must have feelings for the Young Master.So she had thanked her… because Annabelle was leaving him.Annabelle suddenly wanted the driver to turn around. She wanted to personally tell Seraphina that she would never fight her for the Young Master. If possible, she’d even be willing to help them get together.But she couldn’t interfere in the Young Master’s love life anymore.That would only be rubbing salt into his wounds.Not willing to be with someone, yet still trying to introduce them to someone else?That wasn’t right. And Annabelle k
Annabelle’s pale face finally flushed with a hint of red. She covered her stomach in embarrassment and smiled.“I won’t eat—Kendrick must be really worried about me. I want to go back as soon as possible.”With that, she headed back to the bedroom, grabbed her own clean clothes from the bench at the end of the bed, and went into the walk-in closet.It was the summer outfit she had worn back in the small fishing village. Elfhedge’s weather was still far too cold for dresses, but she didn’t want to wait for the Young Master to find her something warmer.All she knew was—Kendrick must be worried sick.And knowing that she was here, with the Young Master… he was surely feeling awful.She had to get back—immediately.Annabelle changed into her clothes and stepped out of the closet. The light summer dress and linen sandals made her look fresh and airy as she walked up to the Young Master.“Young Master, I’m leaving now.”Ryan looked her up and down but didn’t say anything more. He simply re
The Young Master said it as if he were joking, but Annabelle couldn’t help taking it seriously.He had once given her the courage and will to live. He had spent years meticulously nursing her back to health, restoring her appearance. Even after they reunited, he had saved her life several times.The grace and kindness he had shown her weren’t things that could be repaid with just a few words.So before she met Kendrick, before she accepted his love, Annabelle had always thought—One day, she must repay the Young Master.How?Anything she had, anything he wanted.But now that she was with Kendrick, she could no longer say something like that so casually.She couldn’t betray her commitment to Kendrick just to repay the Young Master,Nor could she forget the Young Master’s kindness just because she had Kendrick now.Her only hope was that the Young Master would ask for something she could give—As long as it wasn’t something like, “Stay with me.”Caught in this internal struggle, Annabel