Half an hour later, Caraline was at her meeting place with Diego. She sat in a chair not far from the edge of the rooftop. The view of Heaventown this evening was soothing to the eyes, in contrast to her growing sense of dread."Sorry to keep you waiting," Diego said as he pulled up a chair, "how are you doing?"Caraline let out a long breath. "As you can see. I wouldn't be in front of you if I was still in the hospital.""I only see perfection." Diego laughed softly. "You know, I've missed your gruff voice these past few days."Caraline rolled her eyes. "You're still as annoying as ever.""I apologize for last night. If I hadn't asked you to leave, Helen and that guy named Stevan might still be by your side right now. I was also very sorry when I heard the news about Lucy. Every time I think of her, I'm haunted by guilt and fear, especially since they're the people closest to you."Caraline tucked her hair behind her ear, turning her gaze to the cityscape. In the distance, the lights
The uncomfortable feeling that had been gnawing at Caraline ever since finally boiled down to Diego's confession. The man had once again shown the seriousness of his love. However, Caraline still couldn't keep Deric out of her heart.Caraline took a deep breath, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her heart was completely overwhelmed with anxiety at the moment. Along the way to her residence, the woman simply leaned her face against the side of the window with her hands occasionally squeezing her dress.The car finally entered the residence. Caraline's jaw dropped when she saw the bodyguards and maids swarming outside the house. The woman hurriedly ran out of the vehicle."What happened?" asked Caraline as she approached."A few minutes ago, there was an explosion in this house," Anthony said."How could that happen?" investigated Caraline with a furious look."The explosion came from one of the cooking appliances in the kitchen. We've checked the entire house, and we didn't find anythin
"Are you serious, sir?" asked Thomas for the umpteenth time to Deric, "I don't recommend this at all. Your decision is extremely dangerous for your safety.""There's no harm if I try. After all, sooner or later this will happen. I did it with clear calculations," Deric replied with a calm expression."But, this is too dangerous for you." Thomas shook his head. "I can't let you be in danger.""I've already decided." Deric continued his wheelchair to the edge of the lake. The man turned around when Thomas was beside him."Please don't do this. It's for your safety," Thomas said, "we can do it another way."Deric took his cell phone from his pants pocket and handed it to Thomas. "You know how to contact me later. You just need to prepare everything according to my directions. I've sent you all the details of my plan.""Mr. Jacob," Thomas muttered."Alright, I'll wait for you here," Deric said.Thomas let out a long breath, walking towards Deric's residence to store the man's cell phone i
"Of course," Diego replied from the other end of the line, "what should I prepare to greet you?""You don't need to do anything," Caraline said coldly, "I'm on my way to your office right now.""Alright, I'll wait for you here."Caraline disconnected the call. Her cell phone moved away from her earlobe. "I'll make sure you rot in prison, Diego. You'll have to account for your actions there."Fifteen minutes later, Caraline was in Diego's office. She didn't care about the stares of the employees who looked at her in surprise. When she arrived upstairs, she was greeted by several guards and staff."Anthony, come with me into the room," Caraline said."Okay." Anthony nodded.Caraline entered the room as an employee opened the door for her. Diego stood looking out the window at the cityscape."What bring you to my place at this time, Caraline?" Diego asked as he approached. The man offered her a warm smile.Caraline sat on the sofa as Diego plopped down on the front seat. "I just wanted t
"Deric," Caraline said with a look of disbelief.Diego burst out laughing when he saw the shock on Caraline's face. "So the dog you keep mentioning is this deformed man?""What the fuck do you want?" snapped Caraline, "he's never done anything wrong to you! Let him go!""He took you away from me and he insulted my dignity because you chose him over me!" snarled Diego."You're a monster!" screamed Caraline with her hands clenched tightly. Her face was bright red with a hardened jaw. "You are a monster!"Anthony immediately contacted security at home, but all calls went unanswered."It's useless." Diego pressed the remote. In an instant, the feed changed to the scene at Caraline's residence where bodyguards and maids were lying on the ground and floor. Several plumes of smoke rose into the air."What on earth are you doing?" asked Caraline with her eyes fixed on the screen. She could see how all of her subordinates were unconscious, including Thomas who was asleep on the porch of Deric'
"What did you just say, damn it?" screamed Caraline with her hands already clenched into fists. "How could you do this to everyone who doesn't even have anything against you?"Diego laughed. "I don't care about other people. As long as I get what I want, that's enough for me. I could easily ruin someone's life or even kill them if I wanted to. You know, I even killed my father when I was a teenager. My asshole father always beat me up when I made the slightest mistake. I killed him by crashing the car I was driving with my father into a ravine. I survived and he burned to death in the car."Caraline closed her eyes for a moment, trying to suppress her anger. "The rumors that you were behind some of these crimes are true."Diego laughed. "Yes, I was behind all of them. But I got away with it because I could shut up witnesses and even police officers with my money. And I can do the same with this case if you refuse my offer.""You think I'm going to put up with this?""You've got to be
"Are you crazy?" screeched Caraline.Diego chuckled, pushing Caraline's body back to make it easier for him to sit on the couch. "Who do you think is crazier, me or you, Caraline? You married a fucking cripple and chose to ignore me instead.""You're the crazy one, damn man!" screamed Caraline, "You're the crazy one! You'd do anything dirty just so you could get what you want!"Diego laughed again. "You have yourself to blame, Caraline. If you had chosen me in the first place, this would never have happened to you. You would have gotten the sweetest treatment from me, and you would have been the luckiest woman to have conquered me.""You are a monster!" Caraline stomped on the floor.Diego got up from the couch, dialing someone. "Do it now.""What are you doing?" asked Caraline with piercing eyes."You're in for another surprise from me, you lowly woman." Diego walked to the window, and opened the glass, letting the breeze rush into the room. When he looked at the row of articles on h
On the way home, Caraline was mostly silent with her gaze fixed on the side of the road. Now and then she checked her cell phone, which was full of news about her relationship with Diego. Her hatred for the disgusting man grew even more when she saw Diego's sickening smile.Caraline quickly wiped away the tears, trying to keep her composure. She suddenly remembered Deric saying that he didn't like Diego. At first, Caraline thought it was just Deric's jealousy. However, in reality, it was a warning.Caraline closed her eyes, wiping the tears from her face. At the funeral, she cried her heart out without fear of anyone seeing. She didn't expect this to happen to her.Caraline put her cell phone in her bag. Her gaze fell on the bottle Deric had given her. She scrutinized it before finally gulping down the contents. The sweetness of the drink suddenly disappeared and was replaced with bitterness."Are you okay?" asked Anthony.Caraline nodded, putting the bottle back into the bag. The wom
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