Caraline made sure her plan went perfectly. She went back to enjoying the meal when Deric returned."How long are we going to be in this place?" Deric asked.Caraline rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, we'll be staying here overnight and returning in the early morning."Deric was silent for a moment. His hand that was just about to pick up the spoon and fork instantly stopped. "That's... a pretty good idea. I suddenly remembered the time when you picked me up in the early morning in your sleeping pajamas barefoot.""Stop it!" Caraline pounded on the table. She remembered everything clearly. "It was embarrassing and I don't want to remember it anymore!""You looked funny back then, but I didn't dare laugh because you must have struggled to get to this place. Honestly, I feel grateful."Caraline tucked her hair behind her ear, turning her head to the other side to hide her heated face. Deric made her fly to the high heavens. "I-I... I... don't want to hear that nonsense from you.""So whe
"Why did you bring me to that place?" asked Deric.The smile on Caraline's lips suddenly faded. The woman snapped in annoyance. Deric was the most insensitive man she had ever met. Compared to all the men who had tried to get close to her over the years, why was she infatuated with Deric?"You're good at ruining things," Caraline snapped."I'm just a little confused." Deric shrugged his shoulders."Shut up!" Caraline clucked, moving behind the wheelchair, and pushing Deric forward. Her current destination was her room. The woman had prepared everything she needed to carry out her mission.Caraline pressed the password. The door automaticcaly opened. The room, which had been dark, became light. It was spacious with a king-sized bed, a large TV, a sofa, a closet, and other amenities.Caraline placed Deric in the center of the room facing the sofa. The woman picked up the guitar and placed it on the man's lap, while she kept the bottle of water on the small table near the chair.Caraline
Caraline waited for Deric to continue. However, after several seconds of waiting, the man did not speak again. "Don't keep me waiting.""Actually... I get lost easily on the road, especially in my current condition." Deric chuckled. "I'll be a long time coming back to your house. Isn't that funny?""No!" Caraline chuckled. Deric was freaking her out. There wasn't a hint of funny in his words. "But, weren't you able to return to the Aberald family's hut after a year away?"Deric was suddenly silent. His fingers moved away from the guitar strings. "Return to the Aberald family after a year away? What do you mean?" Caraline reflexively straightened up. Her eyes rounded as her mouth half opened. She spoke without realizing it. "Forget about it!""Alright.""I need to go to the toilet." Caraline quickly got up, rushing to the restroom. She started walking back and forth while tapping her chin with her finger. "Gosh, what exactly did I just say? How could I have spoken without thinking fir
The music stopped as Deric's fingers began to move away from the guitar strings. However, the pounding in Caraline's heart grew louder. For a few moments, the room was held in silence."You have a great voice," Deric complimented, "thank you for singing with me and warming up the atmosphere tonight."Caraline rolled her eyes. "I don't want to hear compliments from a man like you. I don't want your ugly voice to keep hurting my eardrums. So, I thought it wouldn't hurt if I sang."Deric chuckled. "I think this room is a bit too hot. I'm getting sweaty from it."Caraline raised the corner of her lips. "Too bad, I don't feel the same way you do.""Can I step outside for a moment to wash my face and hair?" asked Deric."I'm... not a bad person. So, I'll give you two minutes." Caraline glanced at the clock on the phone, turning to Deric with the corners of her lips raised."Alright." Deric hurriedly left the room, entering his empty room, and washing his face and hair in the toilet.After D
"What exactly are those people doing?" asked Caraline with an exasperated look. She turned to Deric, then said, "Don't come out until I tell you to. Do you understand?""I don't mind," replied Deric.Caraline rushed out, slamming the door rather loudly, walking hurriedly toward the group of maids and guards in the courtyard. "What are you all doing right now? Didn't I ask you to stay away from the house?""Miss Caraline," the maids said with a relieved look. Their eyes compactly began to scrutinize Caraline's appearance from top to bottom. They stared at each other for some time when they saw that Caraline was only wearing thin sleeping pajamas topped with a long men's shirt."We were so worried about you," Grace said, "as soon as the earthquake hit, we rushed to your room. However, we didn't find you anywhere, including Mr. Deric's whereabouts.""I'm here," said Deric who appeared from the open windshield of the car.The maids were shocked to realize that Deric was in the same vehicl
The long night gave way to the cold morning air. Birds were seen flying around a house yard. Butterflies were seen circling the small flower garden in the yard.At the Aberald residence, Jeremy and Jonathan were having breakfast at the dining table."James, what are you doing?" Jeremy asked half yelling."Don't be lazy, or I'll drag you out of your ugly room!" snapped Jonathan, "come on out!""Wait a minute," James replied from inside the room. He was adjusting his tie in front of the mirror. His face was still covered in sleepiness. For the past few weeks, the man had been facing a boring office routine. He missed playing games on his phone and partying with girls."James!" shouted Jeremy."Yes, I'm coming." James hurriedly sprayed perfume, grabbed his briefcase, and rushed out of the room. "My two brothers have been annoying lately. I'm forced to work around the clock. Even on weekends, I have to deal with office workers. Damn it!"Jeremy shook his head when he saw James just coming
Caraline repeatedly checked her appearance in the mirror. Her face looked bright and shiny. Her breathing was light as her chest and shoulders seemed to lose weight. She had never felt this happy before. However, every time she closed her eyes, flashes of last night's events instantly filled her mind."Oh my!" Caraline pounded on the dressing table. Not out of emotion, but out of an unstoppable feeling of happiness. Her face was red and hot at the same time.Caraline let out a long breath, glancing at the bed. She hurriedly covered her face as last night's struggle came back to her. She quickly moved towards the bed when she saw Deric's shirt still draped over the bed. "This is embarrassing!"Caraline picked up Deric's shirt, inhaling its scent. Her whole body suddenly shook violently. The vibrations instantly reminded her of the man's touch on her body. "Oh my! What the hell is going on?"Caraline hurriedly put Deric's shirt away in the drawer, moving closer to the vanity mirror. She
The rain poured down heavily shortly after the car carrying Caraline left the cemetery. Drops of water were trapped in the windows of the vehicle. Caraline took a deep breath, smiling as she looked at the photos of her family on her phone screen. Losing three precious people was never easy, and she knew how painful it was."I promise I'll keep moving forward no matter how hard it gets," Caraline said, "I have Deric to look after and be happy for."Caraline leaned back in the chair, looking out the window. Her finger wrote her name, followed by a heart underneath, then ending with Deric's name. The woman chuckled when she realized her actions were very childish. Her hand moved to erase the writing. However, she abandoned the idea and grabbed her phone to take a picture.Caraline looked at the capture. "This is a good picture."The car stopped at a red light. Caraline looked at the photo again. As she was about to turn off the phone, she accidentally swiped the screen. Various pictures
Jeremy, Jonathan, and James looked tense as they followed a bodyguard to the edge of the park. The crashing of the waves was a musical accompaniment to their racing hearts. The three men suddenly fell silent when they saw Deric with his back to them near the fence. Shortly afterward, the bodyguard chose to excuse himself. For a few seconds, there was only silence between the four men. Jeremy, Jonathan, and James exchanged glances with each other, confused as to what action they should take at this point. Should they say goodbye? Deric slowly turned around, smiling to greet his three half-brothers. He walked over, but Jeremy, Jonathan, and James did not move from their places or even turn their heads towards him. "I've been waiting for your arrival," Deric said. Jeremy, Jonathan, and James had not paid any attention to Deric's words. Their faces had not completely lifted either. "Didn't you miss me a lot, James?" asked Deric, "you even called me and sent me messages almost every da
Six months later The news of the Universe Corporation President's marriage sent the country into a frenzy. Many of the women who dreamed of becoming his wife suddenly felt heartbreak and deep sadness.Rumors circulated like mushrooms in the rainy season about who the lucky woman who would become Jacob Balderic's partner would be. Six months after the Universe Corporation President appeared in public and introduced himself, the man never appeared in front of the media again. However, the news about him continued to fill news lines and television shows.A week after the news of the wedding broke, the media managed to uncover the lucky woman, who was none other than Caraline. Many people agreed with this because they felt that the two were a good match. However, some sneered and bullied Caraline on social media. Even so, the wedding was held in a private location in the city of Summertown.The news of the wedding became the top and hottest topic ever, and even the news of Caraline and D
All eyes were on Deric who had just recognized himself as the presiden of the number one company in the country. The atmosphere of the event was instantly silent, as were the people watching the news on television channels and the internet. Shortly afterward, the adoring admiration was met with thunderous applause."Oh my," said Helen, "isn't that Mr. Deric? How could this be possible? He can walk on both feet and right now he's in front of us."Helen turned to Caraline who was looking down with a smile on her face. When she realized something, Helen quickly controlled herself. She knew the reason behind Caraline's change over the past two weeks."Miss Caraline," Helen called with a bright smile. Despite the crack in her heart, she was happy to see Caraline now.Caraline was silent and didn't dare to raise her head at the moment. The praise and admiration directed at Deric made her even more terrified of losing him.On the other side, Diego and Wilson were watching the show on the scr
A week passed after Caraline met with Deric on the rooftop of the building. However, her happy smile never faded. Helen, Stevan, and the rest of the maids and guards couldn't understand her attitude. While Caraline had been saddened a few months ago, for the past week, she had been overwhelmed with happiness.Caraline visited an event organized by one of Universe Coporation's subsidiaries in a large park. Many famous officials and businessmen attended the event, including Henry Hulbert.Caraline couldn't sit still while watching Henry Hulbert perform on stage. Her eyes were often drawn to the surroundings. There was a good chance that Deric was also at this event, she thought.Caraline hadn't received any messages from Deric all week. She also deliberately did not contact him. If longing had been excruciating in the past, this longing had only intensified the love."Do you need something?" asked Helen, who was sitting next to Caraline's chair."Nothing." Caraline shook her head, turni
Caraline and Deric looked at each other for some time, lost in their feelings. The lights around the rooftop seemed to change color as time passed."I'm just afraid that you'll lose consciousness like last time," Deric said suddenly."What do you mean?" asked Caraline with flushed cheeks."You know, you suddenly passed out when we were about to do... 'it' in your room." Deric laughed, gently stroking Caraline's hair."Passed out?" Caraline raised one eyebrow. "Didn't we ever do that?""Not at all," Deric said, "you seemed to be so nervous that you passed out, especially since you didn't stop smiling during your sleep."Caraline suddenly turned her back on Deric, closing her eyes with a very red face. She was embarrassed when she heard that. So, all this time she had only dreamed about doing 'that' with Deric. "Don't talk to me anymore. I hate you.""I know if your heart says otherwise." Deric stood beside Caraline."No, I'm serious." Caraline turned her gaze to the other side. "You ar
Caraline's whole body shook even more when she saw Deric standing in front of her. She dropped her cell phone because she couldn't contain her shock. For a few moments, she could only hold her breath with an unblinking gaze.Caraline felt shocked on top of the shock. She had wanted Deric to walk again, but when she saw it firsthand, Caraline was left stunned and unable to do anything. Her lips half opened, but quickly closed again.Didn't Deric look perfect with his current appearance?Caraline pinched her left arm hard. She felt a great pain there. It signaled that she was in the real world. However, Caraline still felt lost in dreamland. Deric, who she thought was a man who had lost his dreams, was the mysterious figure that people wanted to know about. Deric was none other than the richest man in the country.Doesn't Deric look perfect in his current position?Caraline looked back as her feet hit the rooftop barrier. She was at the edge of the room and there was no turning back. Fo
"Deric."Caraline could only remain silent with wide-rounded eyes for some time. Her mouth was half open with a look of disbelief. All the images of her time with Deric instantly faded away, making her body almost collapse on the floor. Tears were rolling down her cheeks relentlessly.Caraline knew that she missed Deric more than anything. However, when he was in front of her right now, she could only stand still without being able to get closer or even hug him tightly.Time seemed to stop for Caraline. All the scenery around her suddenly turned black and white, except for Deric alone. At the same time, the world became eerily silent.Could this all be a delusion?Could it be that he was in a dream?Could it be that God had answered all her prayers and hopes?Caraline still couldn't quite believe what was happening. For months she had searched for Deric's whereabouts with everything she had, but nothing good had come of it. However, at this moment, Deric came to him alone on this roof
Two months laterA talent show organized by one of Universe Corporation's subsidiaries received an overwhelming response from the public. The show had the highest ratings for several weeks. It culminated in the finale that aired last night. The participants put on an incredible show of entertainment and performance. The show was even aired in several neighboring countries. The enthusiasm of the public and netizens for the program was so high that the organizers intended to re-organize a similar event with a fresh and new concept.As a token of appreciation for the achievement and success, a lavish banquet was held for all partners who joined the program. Several Universe Corporation officials were present, one of whom was Henry Hulbert.Caraline was still in the room, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She put on the earrings Deric had given her to complete her look tonight. The search for the man had been ongoing until now, but his whereabouts had yet to be discovered."Wherev
One month passed quickly. Caraline reorganized her life. Diego was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for the crimes he had committed. Although it wasn't worth it, it was enough to make her feel relieved. On the other hand, Wilson was also put behind bars. Although the Wattson family tried to get him released, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.Caraline's life gradually returned to the way it was before knowing Deric. She was busy with office work. However, her longing and love for him became even more unstoppable.Caraline has a new habit now. When she missed Deric the most, she would go to his former residence and spend the night there. Caraline would smile at the pictures on the wall and cry shortly after.The search for Deric, Lucy, and Thomas was still ongoing. However, there was no sign that they will be found. Caraline felt that this was her punishment for hurting and wasting Deric's presence all this time. This longing and regret tormented her.On the other hand, Cat