There was no way Nancy was going to accept Julian's offer Julian, especially when she was feeling helpless. Then again, her intuition told her that something bad had happened to Yaacob.Since she could not leave the country, she thought of Xander. In terms of romantic relationships, Xander was a douchebag. However, he treated his friends very well, especially those who were like his brothers.After listening to what Nancy had to say, he decided to fly to Europe. He was actually in the middle of something important and had nearly wrapped everything up. However, he knew he should not dally because Yaacob could be in danger."Are you going to borrow men from Randall, in case you get into trouble in Europe?" Nancy asked."Yes," Xander nodded. "That's Randall's place. It's going to be a lot easier if I have his men helping me."Nancy interlocked her fingers, feeling bad. "I was the one who did this to him!""That's right. You're certainly part of the reason why Yaacob and Randall had
To gather more evidence of Spencer's infidelity, Teresa hired people to stalk him. Finally, she learned his routine.After work, he would go on a date. The earliest he reached home was eleven at night. How clingy.Tonight, Teresa decided to follow Spencer, and she caught him red-handed.Spencer drove into a gated community to pick up the woman he was cheating with. Teresa could not follow him in. She waited for him to come out and saw the woman sitting beside him in the car. However, the window shielded the woman's face.Teresa continued to follow them until they reached a restaurant. Finally, when the woman exited the car, she could see the woman's face. Despite only seeing her from the side, Teresa was sure the woman was Nancy.They entered the restaurant and were seated at a table by the window.Teresa wound down her window and zoomed in on her camera to take a clear photo of both their faces."Let's see how you deny this, Nancy Lawson!"Teresa was frustrated and anxious. Sh
Yaacob did as he was told and switched on his camera to let her see where he was.Nancy could see Yaacob was back in his hotel room. She asked Yaacob to switch the camera to him so she could check if he was doing fine."Are you still worried? Do you want me to take my shirt off so you can check my body?" Yaacob asked.Nancy was not shy and answered immediately, "Yes!"He could be hiding injuries under his clothes. Nancy thought Yaacob looked slimmer and weaker."Don't be naughty. It's morning here, and Xander is with me," Yaacob said."Then— Can't you go to the washroom to take off your clothes?" Nancy requested."I'll show you tonight, all right?" Yaacob said helplessly.Luckily, Nancy did not insist on him doing it now."I know you're worried sick. I lost my phone, and I didn't have the time to call you and inform you of it. But it's all good now," Yaacob assured."Is that true? Then why didn't you go back to the hotel?" Nancy asked."I've been having back-to-back meetings
[Nancy, are you free to meet me for a talk?]When Nancy saw the text message, she had just woken up from her afternoon nap. She rubbed her eyes to confirm that Chandler had texted her.She had not contacted her adoptive parent ever since Andrew had passed away. Their relationship had soured long before Andrew's passing.A while back, she had gone to the Lawson Corporation to claim her shares. Chandler and Suzanne had looked at her with weird expressions on their faces and had not talked to her.Regardless of their bad relationship, Nancy thought she should meet him because he was her adoptive father. She agreed to meet them at a cafe.Since Yaacob's return, Nancy had been living the good life. She felt worn out from the pregnancy. It had been three days since she had left the house. She got up, changed her clothes, and put on light makeup.At the cafe, Chandler and Suzanne were waiting for her. Both of them exchanged looks with each other and felt a little awkward.Suzanne was t
"Nancy, are you feeling sorry for Spencer? Is that why you don't want me to go against him?" Yaacob asked."No! I— What makes you think that?" Nancy was shocked.Yaacob continued to look at Nancy for over a minute then said, "Good. Go back to the room and rest.""All right," Nancy replied. There were things she wanted to say, but Yaacob had gone back to work so she kept silent.When she returned to her room, she could not fall asleep. At eleven p.m., Yaacob finally went to bed. She scooted closer when she felt Yaacob lie down.As Yaacob put his arm around her waist gently, Nancy continued from where they had left off: "Yaacob, our baby said he has something to tell you.""What is it?" Yaacob asked."Daddy, don't burn bridges," Nancy said."Haha!" Yaacob chuckled. "Please tell him, 'You shouldn't show your back to your enemy or he will stab you.' Let's hope he understands that when he grows up.""Hey, don't teach my baby that!" Nancy complained. "Is Spencer really our enemy?"
"I… What do you want me to do? You're my husband. We live together, we eat together, and we sleep together. Can't you tell I'm not the woman in these photos?" Nancy asked in return."I asked you a question. Why did you pass the ball back to me?" Yaacob said angrily."Fine! If you want me to prove it, I'll look for Spencer now and ask him who the woman he is cheating with is! Why does she look identical to me, and why is she doing this to tarnish my reputation?" Nancy replied furiously.Then she headed for the door, but Yaacob stopped her."No! You can't go see him!""Then how do you want me to prove that I'm not the woman in these photos? You refuse to believe me, so I will confront Spencer. But you won't let me do that either. So what do you want from me?"Nancy was angry. She pulled her hand back, but she did not leave. Instead, she went back to their room. Yaacob was left alone in the study.As soon as Nancy left, he suddenly felt lost. He strode to his table and pulled out a
On the weekend, Nancy finally retrieved the thing the Lawsons had promised her. It was an emerald necklace. She was shocked. "Is this really from my birth parent?""Yes. When Grandpa brought you home, you had this necklace on. He was afraid the nanny would steal it if you wore it so he put it away. I didn't even remember it until I saw it while I was clearing Grandpa's old items," Chandler said.The emerald on the necklace looked very familiar. She thought of the emerald necklace Benjamin had given her. When she was back in her room, she quickly took it out to compare them. Both emeralds looked the same.What had Benjamin told her when he had given her the necklace? He thought the necklace would look good on her so he was giving it to her. He had given it to her after they had only met a few times.Was he in the habit of giving away luxurious presents to strangers? Yes, he was loaded, but it still did not make any sense.Looking at the necklaces, Nancy had a strong feeling there w
After being cooped up at home for half a month, Nancy finally agreed to do some window shopping with Anna.Anna was already six months pregnant, so her baby bump was very obvious. Nancy could tell Anna had gained some weight, but she was still not fat. In fact, her chubby face just made her all the cuter!"Nancy, why don't you like coming out anymore? I wanted to ask you out for the longest time, but Yaacob said you need to rest more because of how sickly you are.""Yeah. The doctor said there's a risk that I might lose the baby.""Nonsense, you look healthy. Though your face is kinda pale, that doesn't mean you should stay cooped up at home the whole day. The baby needs fresh air too. Look at me, I walk at least two hours every day, and I look healthier than you."Anna had been sharing pregnancy tips with Nancy as if she was well experienced, which she was, given how much healthier she looked than Nancy.However, the reason Nancy had not been feeling that well was because Yaacob
Yaacob stayed in Nancy and Celica's house in Rhea City for a month without leaving.After sending Celica to kindergarten, Yaacob sent Nancy to the company.Nancy always asked him to stop the car two streets away from the company, but that day, Yaacob went a bit further, and she started to get anxious. "Stop the car, quick. Stop going forward. It's the peak hour right now. I can't let anyone see me."Yaacob stopped the car, but he did not unlock the door.He lowered the top of the convertible and asked her, "Is being with me that embarrassing to you?""I'm not with you. This is just a transaction!" Nancy insisted.She could not open the door and noticed that Yaacob had locked it. When she went to unlock it, her hand was pushed down by the man."Don't I make you happy? Is Celica unhappy? Don't you enjoy every night that we're together? You clearly have me in your heart, but why do you keep denying it? Nancy, what happened to your boldness and carefree spirit? Who do you want to im
Nancy had just stopped at Athenapolis to pick up some things she had left with Benson's friends when they had stayed there.She had also wanted to congratulate Rowena and Randall on their marriage and to apologize for not being able to attend their wedding.However, the next day, she could not get up at all.Fearing another intense night like the one before, she decided to book a flight to Rhea City that afternoon.The moment she sat on the plane, Nancy almost collapsed in her seat. Her lower back was aching.When she shut her eyes, her head was inexplicably flooded with certain images.It was like she was under a spell!"Ms., the flight is about to take off. Please switch off your phones," the flight attendant told Nancy.Nancy remembered that she had already turned off her phone.However, she turned around to see Celica looking at her phone unhappily."Sorry."Nancy switched off Celica's phone, but she did not seem happy about it. "Mommy… will Uncle Yaacob call me?""Even
After half a year, Nancy finally returned from America with Celica.Celica held Nancy's hand in one hand and a cat plushie that was almost half her size in another.As soon as they walked out of the VIP channel, Celica's sharp eyes immediately spotted the man who had come to pick them up. She abandoned her plushie as she rushed to him, hands outstretched and waiting to be carried."Uncle Yaacob! Uncle Yaacob!""Celica, don't run so fast!"Nancy could not stop her and could only follow behind, picking up the plushie along with some candy that had dropped from her pocket as she ran.Yaacob hurried forward and immediately scooped Celica up. He smelled the sweet scent of candy."Uncle Yaacob…"Celica hugged Yaacob, nuzzling her head against his. The fine and soft hair that was unique to a child warmed Yaacob's heart.It had been two years, but she had not forgotten him!It seemed like her memory was better than expected. She had probably gotten it from him.Of course, it was als
Randall and Rowena went to the same motel they had the last time.The boss remembered them as the ones who had broken his window, but he did not give them a hard time, warmly welcoming them instead.After all, the money that Randall had given him for it had been enough to replace the windows of the whole building. This time, Randall flexed his financial might again. He pulled out a wad of cash from his wallet and put it on the counter. "Boss, we want an entire floor.""Sir, do you want one room or two?""The whole floor!"Hearing what Randall said, Rowena looked at him in amazement. "Why so many rooms?""Have you forgotten how bad the soundproofing is here?" Randall replied.Rowena was speechless.The hotel owner was a veteran of this. He immediately put the money into the counter drawer and said, "Okay, I'll give you a key to a room on the third floor. I'll go knock on every door to clear the floor out right now. I assure you that you'll have an enjoyable night!"Rowena fel
"How absurd!"Randall's words were not meant to demean her. He just felt that it was too dangerous for the child to be there.Rowena, however, felt like she was being blamed for no reason."Why are you in a restaurant with this girl in the middle of the night?" Rowena asked Randall.Randall did not answer. He walked forward to help secure Dorothy before he took the dangerous weapon off her hands."Rowena, you should bring Sandy back for now."Rowena did not move."It's too dangerous for the both of you to be here. Listen to me!" Randall told her.Rowena did not respond. Instead, it was Dorothy who spoke: "Mr. Smith, why do you think she can just come and go as she pleases? I already told my subordinates that not even a fly is allowed out."Even though Rowena had been captured, she knew that they would not be able to walk free if anything happened to her so the man would not touch her so easily."Mrs. Browning, you just wanted to talk with me."Dorothy really liked talking to
Dorothy and Randall found themselves in a standoff. Suddenly, a hushed report from her subordinate reached Dorothy's ears. "Someone's outside, claiming to have information on Mr. Randall.""Who? Could it be that Yaacob has returned earlier than expected?" Dorothy, determined to prevail over Randall that night, insisted, "Don't let him in; I can't believe he would just barge in!""It's not Mr. Randall. It's a woman, accompanied by a child." The subordinate hesitated before providing more details.Rowena, who had given birth just four months ago, had swiftly regained her pre-pregnancy figure. She wore a navy blue striped shirt knotted at the waist, paired with snug jeans, showing no signs of her previous pregnancy. From behind, she looked slender and youthful, resembling a young girl. Yet, in front, she cradled a baby.The infant, only three or four months old, sported a hat with a few wisps of hair peeking out and a pacifier. The child's intelligent eyes darted around, exploring the
Four months later, the impending presidential election heightened the tension in Athenapolis. Harrison, eyeing reelection, aspired to forge an alliance with the Browning family and assimilate the Getson Group.Simultaneously, at this critical juncture, Yaacob had already partnered with Tom. He opted to collaborate with Yaacob after his unsuccessful bid to become part of the Browning family. Both were cunning strategists with centuries of experience, making their alliance arguably the most formidable.Tom, with backing from overseas financial giants, had a complex and mysterious identity. However, his requirements from Yaacob were surprisingly straightforward. He sought to use Yaacob to advance his political standing.On the flip side, Yaacob needed Tom's support to solidify his position within the Getson family, ensuring it remained stable. The previous presidential transition in Athenapolis had resulted in bloodshed and political turmoil, claiming Xander's life.This time, Randall
Lola pondered her predicament, finding her situation undesirable. She was infertile and struggling to establish stability despite numerous relationships. Her benefactor stood idly by as the original wife attacked her, too hesitant to intervene. After that day, Athenapolis no longer offered a solid ground for Lola.Dorothy sternly cautioned Lola, vowing to teach her a lesson whenever they crossed paths. Leaving Mr. Randall did not lead to greener pastures for Lola. She remained destitute. Rowena, the source of her misfortune, was to blame.Life with Randall had been tolerable. He never mistreated her, though love was absent. However, everything changed when Rowena reappeared. Witnessing Rowena's pregnancy with Randall intensified Lola's resentment, fueling an intense hatred. She harbored a fervent wish for Rowena and the unborn child to die!Lola understood that only Rowena's demise could rekindle hope for her. Unfortunately, Lola was uncertain about the vast power imbalance be
Having finally brought Rowena home, Randall became an aspiring intern dad. Opting against hiring a nanny, he naturally assumed the responsibility of caring for his pregnant wife.He would juggle the demands of running the company and handling household matters. Randall appeared fatigued, yet those with keen observation could discern a tired but content expression on his face. Lately, a newfound joy, previously unseen, frequently illuminated his features—the anticipation of becoming a father.During a visit to the hospital, a woman seated beside Rowena observed her pregnant belly and initiated a conversation, "Your belly is quite prominent. When are you due?""In about a month," Rowena replied."That's wonderful! Congratulations! I saw you during one of my check-ups. Is the man accompanying you each time your husband?" Others looked on with envy, expressing, "My husband isn't as involved. No matter how many times I ask, he never joins me for the appointment."Rowena remained silent