Hearing Elio refer to him as "your husband" made Annabelle realize that maybe he no longer had any attachments to her.She looked at the document in her hand. "What is this?""He’ll know when he sees it," Elio said.Annabelle didn’t understand their business dealings, so she didn’t ask any more questions. She thought it was just a message for her to deliver and carefully stored the contract.The two of them walked around the garden. When they were about to leave, Elio handed her a small leather pouch, about the size of his palm.Inside were the keys and access card for the garden."I originally planned for this to be our new home, but since you’re already married, consider it a wedding gift for you."He had always harbored affection for Annabelle and was deeply grateful to her. So he wouldn’t force her but would only wish her happiness. If she ever needed anything, he would always stand by her.But the gift was too grand, too valuable, and Annabelle refused to accept it.Finally, Elio
"What?" Annabelle didn’t understand what he meant.Kendrick gazed at her for a moment, then glanced at the documents on the table and asked, "How did you get the contract?""...He just gave it to me!""He didn’t set any conditions for you?"Annabelle shook her head. There were no conditions, and he even gave her a mansion. However, she could tell Kendrick wasn’t in the best mood, so she decided not to mention the mansion, worried he might overthink things."Is this contract really that valuable?"Seeing she genuinely didn’t understand, Kendrick smiled. "It’s okay, it’s worth about a billion.""..." Annabelle was thinking about how many zeros followed that one.Her math wasn’t great, and she had just woken up, so her mind was a little foggy. Forget the billion for now; she asked Kendrick, "Isn’t this the deal you two had already agreed on? Does it have anything to do with me?"Kendrick, never one to hide the truth from her, answered straightforwardly. "He wants to use the billion-dolla
Some time later.Kendrick straightened up, and Annabelle let out a long breath. She slowly opened her eyes and realized that while he had loosened his tie, she had been stripped bare, like a slippery fish.She shot him a weak glare, and Kendrick chuckled. He even deliberately licked his lips, tying his tie back up before covering her with the blanket. He kissed her cheek and said, "If you're tired, take a nap. When you wake up, we’ll go home together."Annabelle buried half of her face in the blanket, watching him walk out of the room with that wicked smile.After a while, she could hear Kendrick talking with his subordinates outside.She could imagine him, as usual, looking calm and in control, just like how he’d so skillfully handled every little detail of her body earlier. A smile tugged at her lips, and she closed her eyes, feeling both exhausted and satisfied.---A week passed, and the day she had arranged to meet with Young Master arrived.Annabelle hesitated for a moment but d
Annabelle parked her car outside the amusement park and walked to the entrance, where she spotted Julissa enjoying an ice cream."Looks like you're in a bad mood? Be careful, or you'll get a stomach ache," Annabelle teased.Julissa waved her off with a smile. "Don't worry, I’ve been tough since childhood. My body can take it!" She handed Annabelle a cup of hot orange juice. "Here you go."Annabelle opened the cup, and the warm, sweet orange juice went down easily. Looking at Julissa's cheerful face, the tension she had felt earlier melted away.Since they still had some time before meeting Young Master, Annabelle wasn’t in a hurry and decided to take a leisurely stroll around the amusement park with Julissa."Did you manage to sneak out to meet the handsome Young Master without your husband finding out?" Julissa asked mischievously.Annabelle blushed slightly. "Almost got caught."She couldn’t resist teasing Julissa. "You’ve never even met Young Master. How do you know he’s a handsome
Julissa pressed her lips together and put the handkerchief back into her bag. “Forget it, he probably won’t care about the two handkerchiefs. After all, he’s so rich.”Annabelle narrowed her eyes. “Not necessarily. Being rich doesn’t mean you’re not sentimental. Maybe he’s had that handkerchief for years and really likes it.”Julissa frowned at Annabelle. “Is that for real?”“Who knows? But it’s not like you to be this conflicted.” Annabelle observed Julissa.Julissa didn’t respond, continuing to nibble on her ice cream cone.Was she really conflicted? Why did she feel so awkward every time she thought of Scott?The two walked around for a while, and Annabelle glanced at the time. There were still five minutes until eight o’clock.“I need to meet the young master. Will you be okay on your own for a bit?”Julissa held onto Annabelle, not letting go, and pleaded, “Can I come with you? I promise I won’t get too close—just want to see him from a distance.”She had come today purely out of
Annabelle looked up at the towering Ferris wheel behind her, surprised that Young Master wanted to take her up there. Maybe he thought the noise below was too much, and the Ferris wheel would be quieter?She didn’t think much of it and followed him into one of the cabins. As the Ferris wheel started, the cabin gently rose.Annabelle quickly realized that they were the only ones on the ride, which seemed to have been arranged by Young Master. He never liked being in crowded places.When the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, it stopped.Separated from the noise below, under the deep blue sky, it felt like there were only the two of them.It should have been a romantic moment, but the longer Annabelle sat with Young Master in the small, enclosed space, the more she felt a sense of pressure.She’d never felt this way before when she was with him.She had no interest in admiring the city lights. Her palms were even sweating.Seeing her nervousness, Young Master let out a bitter smile
"I didn’t mean it like that, I was just asking..." Annabelle’s voice became barely audible by the end.Young Master paused for a moment before sighing deeply."I wasn’t planning on telling you this. But since you asked, I’ll tell you the truth. The anesthesia needle that you took for him, it likely had poison in it. The toxins are still in your body, and physical intimacy will speed up your blood flow, allowing the poison to spread more quickly through your organs."He hadn’t intended to tell her about the poison, afraid it would lead her to suspect something about him. But to prevent her from having any further physical contact with Kendrick, he told her the lie that intimacy would worsen her condition.Now that he had reclaimed the Whitney family’s business, his position was still unstable. With internal and external threats looming, he couldn’t take Annabelle away immediately.He couldn’t afford to be open about their relationship either, as he feared the enemy might use her to for
In the VIP ballroom of the Imperial Hotel in Elfhedge, a grand engagement party was underway."Let's welcome the groom-to-be and the bride-to-be to have their opening dance!"The groom-to-be, Marvin Gregory, burst into laughter after hearing what the emcee said."Opening dance? You might have thought too highly of that ugly creature!"Upon hearing that, everyone turned to Annabelle Sanchez, the bride-to-be, who had just become a laughingstock.Wearing a veil, she stood quietly on the stage.People started to gossip. Some said that Annabelle, the third girl of the Sanchez family, was disfigured by a fire when she was a child, and she had been living in Springvale Temple in the mountains ever since. She never even went to college.Marvin, on the other hand, was the second eldest son of the Gregory family, handsome and influential. It was reasonable for him to disdain her.That being said, Annabelle was from a prestigious family. Everyone assumed that she was probably on the verge of she
"I didn’t mean it like that, I was just asking..." Annabelle’s voice became barely audible by the end.Young Master paused for a moment before sighing deeply."I wasn’t planning on telling you this. But since you asked, I’ll tell you the truth. The anesthesia needle that you took for him, it likely had poison in it. The toxins are still in your body, and physical intimacy will speed up your blood flow, allowing the poison to spread more quickly through your organs."He hadn’t intended to tell her about the poison, afraid it would lead her to suspect something about him. But to prevent her from having any further physical contact with Kendrick, he told her the lie that intimacy would worsen her condition.Now that he had reclaimed the Whitney family’s business, his position was still unstable. With internal and external threats looming, he couldn’t take Annabelle away immediately.He couldn’t afford to be open about their relationship either, as he feared the enemy might use her to for
Annabelle looked up at the towering Ferris wheel behind her, surprised that Young Master wanted to take her up there. Maybe he thought the noise below was too much, and the Ferris wheel would be quieter?She didn’t think much of it and followed him into one of the cabins. As the Ferris wheel started, the cabin gently rose.Annabelle quickly realized that they were the only ones on the ride, which seemed to have been arranged by Young Master. He never liked being in crowded places.When the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, it stopped.Separated from the noise below, under the deep blue sky, it felt like there were only the two of them.It should have been a romantic moment, but the longer Annabelle sat with Young Master in the small, enclosed space, the more she felt a sense of pressure.She’d never felt this way before when she was with him.She had no interest in admiring the city lights. Her palms were even sweating.Seeing her nervousness, Young Master let out a bitter smile
Julissa pressed her lips together and put the handkerchief back into her bag. “Forget it, he probably won’t care about the two handkerchiefs. After all, he’s so rich.”Annabelle narrowed her eyes. “Not necessarily. Being rich doesn’t mean you’re not sentimental. Maybe he’s had that handkerchief for years and really likes it.”Julissa frowned at Annabelle. “Is that for real?”“Who knows? But it’s not like you to be this conflicted.” Annabelle observed Julissa.Julissa didn’t respond, continuing to nibble on her ice cream cone.Was she really conflicted? Why did she feel so awkward every time she thought of Scott?The two walked around for a while, and Annabelle glanced at the time. There were still five minutes until eight o’clock.“I need to meet the young master. Will you be okay on your own for a bit?”Julissa held onto Annabelle, not letting go, and pleaded, “Can I come with you? I promise I won’t get too close—just want to see him from a distance.”She had come today purely out of
Annabelle parked her car outside the amusement park and walked to the entrance, where she spotted Julissa enjoying an ice cream."Looks like you're in a bad mood? Be careful, or you'll get a stomach ache," Annabelle teased.Julissa waved her off with a smile. "Don't worry, I’ve been tough since childhood. My body can take it!" She handed Annabelle a cup of hot orange juice. "Here you go."Annabelle opened the cup, and the warm, sweet orange juice went down easily. Looking at Julissa's cheerful face, the tension she had felt earlier melted away.Since they still had some time before meeting Young Master, Annabelle wasn’t in a hurry and decided to take a leisurely stroll around the amusement park with Julissa."Did you manage to sneak out to meet the handsome Young Master without your husband finding out?" Julissa asked mischievously.Annabelle blushed slightly. "Almost got caught."She couldn’t resist teasing Julissa. "You’ve never even met Young Master. How do you know he’s a handsome
Some time later.Kendrick straightened up, and Annabelle let out a long breath. She slowly opened her eyes and realized that while he had loosened his tie, she had been stripped bare, like a slippery fish.She shot him a weak glare, and Kendrick chuckled. He even deliberately licked his lips, tying his tie back up before covering her with the blanket. He kissed her cheek and said, "If you're tired, take a nap. When you wake up, we’ll go home together."Annabelle buried half of her face in the blanket, watching him walk out of the room with that wicked smile.After a while, she could hear Kendrick talking with his subordinates outside.She could imagine him, as usual, looking calm and in control, just like how he’d so skillfully handled every little detail of her body earlier. A smile tugged at her lips, and she closed her eyes, feeling both exhausted and satisfied.---A week passed, and the day she had arranged to meet with Young Master arrived.Annabelle hesitated for a moment but d
"What?" Annabelle didn’t understand what he meant.Kendrick gazed at her for a moment, then glanced at the documents on the table and asked, "How did you get the contract?""...He just gave it to me!""He didn’t set any conditions for you?"Annabelle shook her head. There were no conditions, and he even gave her a mansion. However, she could tell Kendrick wasn’t in the best mood, so she decided not to mention the mansion, worried he might overthink things."Is this contract really that valuable?"Seeing she genuinely didn’t understand, Kendrick smiled. "It’s okay, it’s worth about a billion.""..." Annabelle was thinking about how many zeros followed that one.Her math wasn’t great, and she had just woken up, so her mind was a little foggy. Forget the billion for now; she asked Kendrick, "Isn’t this the deal you two had already agreed on? Does it have anything to do with me?"Kendrick, never one to hide the truth from her, answered straightforwardly. "He wants to use the billion-dolla
Hearing Elio refer to him as "your husband" made Annabelle realize that maybe he no longer had any attachments to her.She looked at the document in her hand. "What is this?""He’ll know when he sees it," Elio said.Annabelle didn’t understand their business dealings, so she didn’t ask any more questions. She thought it was just a message for her to deliver and carefully stored the contract.The two of them walked around the garden. When they were about to leave, Elio handed her a small leather pouch, about the size of his palm.Inside were the keys and access card for the garden."I originally planned for this to be our new home, but since you’re already married, consider it a wedding gift for you."He had always harbored affection for Annabelle and was deeply grateful to her. So he wouldn’t force her but would only wish her happiness. If she ever needed anything, he would always stand by her.But the gift was too grand, too valuable, and Annabelle refused to accept it.Finally, Elio
Rewind to when Annabelle was 14 years old. Elio, then just 20, appeared to her as nothing more than a frail little beggar.The beggar’s injuries had healed, and he was set to leave Springvale Temple the next day. On the night before his departure, he asked Annabelle to draw something on the scar on his chest.While she was drawing, the beggar asked, "If I become successful in the future and can grant you one wish, what would you want?"It was summer at the time, and the house often leaked when it rained. There were also bugs everywhere. Annabelle replied, “I just want a clean and comfortable house.”The beggar smiled and said, "If I were to give you a house, what kind would you want?"Annabelle thought it was just the fantasy of two poor people imagining a better future, saying things that were unrealistic. Since it was a fantasy, she didn’t give it much thought and dreamed, "I’d want a house where I can open the window and see mountains in the distance and water close by, with a litt
Looking at the man beside her, Kendrick met her gaze. He had a slight smile, but his eyes were filled with warning.Annabelle couldn’t understand. Was there something wrong with wishing Elio success in his confession? Or was it because she had taken his pulse that Kendrick was feeling jealous?Sighing inwardly, Annabelle felt helpless living with the "lemon king" himself.After a while, Annabelle unbuckled her seatbelt and went to the restroom. This gave Elio the chance to speak with Kendrick."About the project I mentioned earlier, Mr. Gregory, have you given it any thought?""I’m not interested," Kendrick replied coldly.Elio raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But it’s a ten-billion-dollar project. It’s just the solution you need right now."Kendrick gave a faint smile, then coldly added, "I’m a businessman, and I like making money, but not by selling my woman."Elio had proposed using a ten-billion-dollar Shadelake real estate project in exchange for Annabelle’s freedom. If Kendrick and Annab