The sounds of the couple’s intimacy outside were enough to make Annabelle feel so embarrassed she wished she could just disappear into thin air. What startled her even more were the words Cael had said.It turned out that he and Ariana weren’t really in a romantic relationship, and he had already been secretly involved with Charlotte earlier in the afternoon. Ariana knew about it as well. In other words, there was no need for her to warn Ariana after all.The conversation outside only grew more obscene, with Cael saying things that made Annabelle cover her ears in discomfort. "Why, God? Why must I be forced to witness two shocking incidents in a single day?"Should she go out and interrupt them now? Annabelle felt she would burst from the awkwardness. Should she just wait until they were done? That would surely drive her mad.She needed a way out. After a moment of thought, she took out her phone, cranked the volume up to maximum, and began playing a funny video.Sure enough, as soon
Inside Cael’s car.Ariana’s face was extremely sour."Cael, even if you want to flirt with women, can’t you tone it down a bit? At least don’t do it at the Gregory family’s place."Cael chuckled. "Isn’t it more exciting this way?""You’re really sick.""lol, don’t tell me you’ve never thought about anything dirty. We’re basically the same kind of people."Ariana ground her teeth in frustration and replied, "Don’t mix me with you. I’m just worried you’ll let your hormones get in the way and mess up our plan.""Don’t worry." Cael paused for a moment, then added, "And what do you mean by hormones? I’m just being direct about what I want."Ariana shot him a glare. "As long as you get the job done, you can do whatever you like.""Of course. At the engagement party, I’m the one getting humiliated and cuckolded. I’m risking my own reputation to help you; I’ll make sure it’s a success."Ariana was stirred by the thought of their plan and felt excitement bubbling inside her.She and Cael were
Kendrick led Annabelle to the glass greenhouse in the back garden. He knew Trey had been cultivating various roses, and since Annabelle loved flowers, he had been meaning to take her there for a while. Tonight was the perfect opportunity.They passed through the corridor in the back yard and arrived at a small garden. The garden was filled with various winter-blooming plants along the center and walls, creating a colorful and lively atmosphere.Annabelle admired the flowers along the way, complimenting the vibrant blooms and the care taken in maintaining them.Seeing her in a relatively good mood, Kendrick figured nothing too serious had happened tonight. Otherwise, Annabelle wouldn't have had the energy to enjoy the flowers. But he was still eager to know what she wanted to tell him.The two of them walked along the path and entered the glass greenhouse.Now that they were alone, Annabelle finally took the opportunity to gossip, telling Kendrick everything she had witnessed earlier d
Kendrick was taken aback at first, not understanding why she kissed him, but when he saw the playful glint in her eyes, he quickly figured out her thoughts. Smiling, he pinched her cheek."Anna, you’ve always cared about Ariana, haven’t you?""I don’t!" Annabelle turned her head proudly, pretending to admire the flowers.Kendrick chuckled and gently turned her back around. "Alright, whatever happens between her and Cael doesn’t concern us. We don’t need to worry about it."Kendrick understood that ever since their first meeting, when Annabelle suggested he let the grass pot Ariana gave him overgrow instead of regularly cleaning it, he had known that she was uneasy about his relationship with Ariana.Later, when they went golfing together and Ariana fainted in his arms, Annabelle had clearly been upset.Perhaps from that moment on, Annabelle had sensed something more from Ariana, a kind of hidden intention.But Kendrick hadn’t been perceptive enough to see Ariana’s affection for him, n
At that time, Kendrick must have been very angry and sad. His stepmother had been clearing out his mother’s belongings, not even sparing a few flower pots. She dared to do that, which must have been tacitly approved by Colten.Fortunately, Trey had been there for him, giving him comfort and encouragement. This was probably why Kendrick had always been so close to Trey.After a while, Kendrick smiled and gently rubbed the top of her head. “It’s alright. I’m fine.”Annabelle replied with a soft "Oh..." But she noticed his eyes were red, and she really wanted to comfort him by patting his head."Many people think the epiphyllum has bad connotations. When Lydia threw the epiphyllums away, she said that the flowers were unlucky. Even Father agreed. So why do you like them so much, Anna?"Annabelle pursed her lips and replied, "There’s no such thing as good or bad plants. What people call lucky or unlucky is just something they’ve attached to them. In fact, the phrase 'like an epiphyllum' h
Kendrick's voice had become somewhat sour, and Annabelle responded, "I don’t distrust you...""Then listen to me," he said softly, pulling her into his embrace from behind.Just moments ago, he had almost let slip the name of Ryan. He and Ryan had reached an agreement—temporarily keeping from Annabelle the fact that her Master was actually Ryan. Otherwise, Ryan might tell her about Emilia’s existence.Kendrick wasn’t ready to explain this to her yet. He was afraid she would overthink it, and he hadn’t fully handled the situation himself.Annabelle remained lost in thought, still looking troubled."What are you thinking about?" Kendrick asked."I was thinking about when I’ll get better," Annabelle sighed, feeling frustrated. Every time she thought about her weak body and the poison inside her, things she couldn’t do, it made her feel miserable.Kendrick smiled lightly. "Don’t worry. I was just about to tell you."He took out his phone, logged into the health check center, and showed he
Marvin was feeling irritated that night. Unable to sleep, he went to the garden for some fresh air, but unexpectedly ran into Kendrick and Annabelle.He couldn’t resist following them all the way into the depths of the garden, watching as they entered the flower room.Several times, he thought about interrupting their date, but he held himself back, refraining from making a sound.He even imagined it was him walking in the garden with Annabelle instead.The things Kendrick did for her, he could do too! Why couldn’t Annabelle accept him?Watching them embrace and kiss, Marvin felt an intense surge of jealousy. Just as he was about to lose control, he saw Kendrick remove Annabelle’s clothes…Through the fogged-up glass and with Kendrick blocking the view, Marvin couldn’t see Annabelle’s body, but he knew exactly what was happening inside.Jealousy and anger burned within him, making him unable to endure any longer. Clenching his fists, he turned and left the little garden.Marvin didn’t
She was a journalist.About a month ago, Annabelle had come to Marvin’s apartment to pick up a cat, and Marvin invited her to stay for dinner. Annabelle drank some strong liquor and ended up sleeping over. Marvin had planned to use the opportunity to create a scandal by inviting a reporter to photograph them, but things backfired when Kendrick intervened. Not only did Kendrick take Annabelle away, but he also placed a man in Marvin’s bed.The reporters managed to snap pictures of him and the male escort in bed together. However, almost all of them were threatened into deleting the photos, except for this particular young reporter who claimed she had already sent them out.After the "bean sprout" girl showed her friend the photo, she quickly put her phone away."So, what do you think? Not bad, right?"Her friend gave a thumbs-up. "Definitely developed! You really know how to work it. But how did you figure out it’s just the lower body developed and not the brain?"The girl laughed misc
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