"Tell me everything about Deric," Caraline said.Jeremy, Jonathan, and James were shocked when they heard Caraline's words. The three brothers turned to each other, silent for a while.Caraline rolled her eyes. "I didn't invite you to see your annoying behavior. If you want me to invest my money in your company, answer my questions honestly, and don't waste my time any longer.""We understand," said Jeremy, "Where do you want us to start?""Whatever," Caraline snapped, looking away. "You can say whatever you want as long as I need to hear it. I won't cut you off."Jeremy still wore a forced smile. He didn't understand Caraline's way of thinking. Why would she do this for Deric? Was Deric really that important to her?"I'll start with him and his mother coming to our family."Caraline changed her sitting position slightly. Her hand began to press the recording button on her phone. She didn't want to miss even the slightest bit of information."Our mother died when we were in elementary
Helen passed the time by reading some magazines in the waiting room. After a bit of boredom, she chose to relax a bit. It had been almost half an hour since Deric had been examined by Doctor Tommy, but there was no sign of him coming back.Helen decided to take a walk around the hospital grounds. She could move more freely as the VVIP room was deserted. The media would find it difficult to enter this area if they did not have an access card. Once she was satisfied with the surroundings, Helen returned to sit in the waiting room.Helen turned her head when her cell phone vibrated. She'd received a message from the team she'd been assigned to find information on a special assignment Caraline had given her. Her eyebrows immediately knitted together when she saw the title of the file her subordinate had sent."List of accident patients from six years ago in all hospitals in Springtown," Helen said. Helen didn't dare open the file. She had only been asked by Caraline to collect the inform
"He's my sister," Caraline said in a flat, but piercing tone.James stroked his hair a few times, looking down deeply, staring at his shoes. He didn't dare look back at his siblings, especially not at Caraline. Jeremy and Jonathan would certainly beat him up again. Unfortunately, he didn't know that Carla was Caraline's sister.Meanwhile, hearing James' words, Caraline could only squeeze the hem of her dress tightly. Her eyes were glaring with puddles of stifled tears. The air seemed so thin that she could hardly breathe. She dared not imagine what Carla's life was like at school.Caraline leaned her back against the back of the chair gently, then turned her head to the right side. Her grip on the dress was loosening, but her emotions were getting the better of her.'She's nothing more than a loser who doesn't have a single friend at school. It's as if she was born to be bullied.'Those words hit Caraline to the bottom of the abyss. As a big sister, she had been negligent and failed
Caraline returned to the room when she felt ready. After all, the woman could not afford to waste time and opportunity. Whatever the outcome of this conversation, she had to be ready to accept the consequences.Caraline tried to find the most comfortable sitting position. She adjusted her hair a few times to give the impression that she was fine. Even so, the atmosphere of this room cornered her again. She felt uncomfortable.Come on Caraline, she thought."Tell me about Deric's accident," Caraline said under one breath. Her fingers tugged rather hard on the bottom of her dress.Jeremy and Jonathan were instantly choked up. The two of them exchanged glances for a long time, silent to confirm the question that had just been asked. Especially, James, he could only stare at his two shocked brothers. He was about to take the cake when he pulled his hand back."Accident?" Jeremy asked for confirmation.Caraline took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Her gaze returned to the window. "Deric sa
Caraline let out a long breath as she walked out of the room. "Keep an eye on those three men while they are in my house.""Yes, Miss," replied the three men in black uniforms in unison.Caraline stepped into the room. When she entered the room, she found Grace and some maids organizing boxes. The room seemed to be full of Deric's stuffs. "Get out of this room right now.""Yes," the maids replied in unison.Caraline quickly locked the door, sitting down on the sofa that faced not far from the pile of Deric's stuffs. The woman let out a long breath, massaging her forehead slowly. Deric's three brothers did not necessarily answer her curiosity. There were still hidden secrets about Deric.Caraline got up from the sofa and started checking the boxes. If she counted correctly, there were five large and three medium-sized boxes. "These things must be as disgusting as their owner."Caraline grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer, squatted down next to the box, and began to open each one
Jeremy immediately walked towards the stairs with hurried steps. Seeing his brother who seemed to be chased by a creepy ghost, Jonathan immediately followed behind."What's wrong?" asked Jonathan as they walked parallel on the stairs, "is something bothering you?""Follow me and don't talk too much," Jeremy replied without turning around.Jonathan nodded briefly, turning to James who was looking at the house with a look of admiration. To be honest, he was still annoyed with his brother's behavior. James seemed indifferent to the trouble he had just caused."Thank you," Jeremy said as a maid handed him a glass of water.Jonathan immediately realized that he was already downstairs. He quickly grabbed a drink, following Jeremy who had already walked towards the exit.Meanwhile, James was still focused on observing his surroundings. His smile grew as an idea came to him. "If I throw a party in this house, girls will go crazy for me."James helped himself to a drink, looked at it until hal
Jeremy sat on a chair not far from where he stood. One hand massaged his forehead, while his gaze was fixed on the surface of the lake. He preferred to stay out of the way rather than be drawn into Jonathan and James' pointless chatter.Jeremy was lost in reverie. If the allegations about Caraline being the perpetrator of Deric's collision were true, then the puzzle that was occupying his mind would at least find some light. He and his brothers didn't care about Deric's accident so they didn't pay much attention to the hit-and-run perpetrator. No matter how Deric looked now, it wouldn't change their assessment of him.However, after Caraline asked about the accident, Jeremy became curious about the truth behind the tragedy.Was Caraline deliberately looking for Deric all this time to take responsibility for her mistakes? But why would she marry a disabled Deric if she wanted to pay for her mistakes? I think it's too much, especially since the media might reveal it to the public one da
"What on earth are you doing, James?" asked Jeremy when he saw his youngest brother join him on the front lawn."You're testing my patience today," chimed in Jonathan with an annoyed look, "are you finding it hard to leave this mansion?"James ignored his brothers' remarks. He chose to get into the vehicle first, then rested his back against the back of the seat. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, averting his eyes as Jeremy and Jonathan watched his actions with flat faces.The car began to pull away from the gate of the house. Caraline's residence slowly began to shrink. James looked at the side of the road, tapping a finger on the window. Jeremy observed James' behavior from the windshield, while Jonathan just shook his head slowly."Looks like that woman doesn't have a rare car made by Otopixel," James said with a limp face.Jeremy and Jonathan turned their heads. The car drove slower."You're still talking about that." Jonathan clucked, giving James an annoyed look.
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