By the time Nancy cleared the table after breakfast, Celica was gone.At first, Nancy thought she might have gone to play in the garden, but she could not find her. Then, she realized Kandy had forgotten to lock the door when she left to go grocery shopping this morning.Nancy felt that she needed to consider letting go of the housekeeper for being careless all the time.Moreover, she discovered Yaacob's car was no longer parked outside her mansion.He must have gone to the airport. Could it be that he took Celica with him?Nancy was about to remind herself to stop suspecting Yaacob. After all, he did put in a lot of effort to help rescue Celica yesterday.However, she received a text message from Yaacob shortly after. He told Nancy that he had brought Celica to visit Athenapolis.Nancy quickly called him, but his phone was off. He must be on the plane by now."That bastard!" Nancy cussed.At that moment, Nancy was panicking again because Celica was taken away from her again.
Nancy finally landed. As soon as she walked out of the airport, a black sedan pulled up in front of her.The chauffeur got out and said, "Ms. Lawson, Mr. Getson had arranged for us to pick you up."Nancy was careful and played it safe, so she asked, "Why didn't he come in person?""Mr. Getson is busy… babysitting."Nancy was speechless.Although Celica was usually well-behaved and cooperative, a child at her age could be a handful. That was especially true at night. If Nancy was not around, getting her to settle down would be a challenge.After Nancy got in the car, she noticed that they were not heading toward the Getson Estate but were making their way to Amethyst Coast.Many years ago, Yaacob and Nancy had a house in the neighborhood when they first got married. Yaacob had lived here by himself ever since the divorce.Nancy did not know the intensity and brutality that took place during the presidential election. She had no idea of the cascading effect on the internal strugg
"Breaking off the engagement?"The news surprised Lynn and President Keating early in the morning."What…what happened?" President Keating was confused. He looked at Yaacob and asked, "Why would you decide not to marry Lynn out of the blue?""Mr. President, I am sure we are both well aware. The reason why we made Lynn and my relationship public in the first place was to divert her attention and suppress any scandalous press. However, three years had passed and everyone would have forgotten about what happened back then. Lynn has been recovering very well psychologically too. Besides, I had no feelings for her all these years, so it is only natural that we part ways," Yaacob explained."But you declared that you will marry Lynn to so many people. Yet, you change your mind now. Isn't that deception? What would people think of her now?" President Keating asked.He was very worried that it would be very hard for Lynn to marry a good man after what had happened to her in the past. Maki
Lynn was here to catch them in the act.However, she started to run away after having recognized Nancy.Perhaps it was because Nancy would remind her of the horrific nightmares from three years ago.As Lynn was running away frantically, Celica was puzzled and asked, "Mommy, what is she doing?""I don't know," replied Nancy.Nancy patted the leaves from Celica's body, picked up her ball, and brought her back inside.She felt she had to let Yaacob know Lynn was here and had seen her.Yaacob was busy making pudding in the kitchen because Celica said she wanted some. He did not bother to go to the office today and had been cooking up a storm since morning.However, when he heard that Nancy had run into Lynn, he dropped everything and chased after her.He left in such a hurry that Nancy and Celica could feel a gush of wind sweeping their hair as he walked past them.She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at Nancy, asking, "What's wrong with Uncle Yaacob?""Who knows?" N
" Mr. Getson, come in, please. Dinner is ready."As Lola led Yaacob into the house, she was not surprised to see Nancy carrying Celica following behind him.When Yaacob made it known to the reporters at the airport that Celica was his daughter a few days ago, the news spread like wildfire across the nation.Randall had not revealed anything to Lola, but it was not difficult to guess that Celica was Nancy and Yaacob's daughter when she saw the news.Lola was smart enough not to pry because she knew that would upset Randall.Nancy sat Celica down at the dining table, and she noticed that all the dishes were takeout. The name of the restaurant was clearly shown on the dishware.Nancy recalled that when Rowena was still around, Randall would tend to his vegetable garden and make an effort to cook frequently. He was a rather good cook.The residence somehow felt more desolate than before despite the new mistress in charge and the new member of the family.Lola did not like to cook b
Randall knew Rowena was working at this hospital.However, it was the nearest hospital, which meant Randall had not gone there on purpose.Lola was feeling uncomfortable with the arrangement and asked, "Can we ask for someone else?""Sorry, I'm the only doctor on duty tonight," replied Rowena indifferently and leaned forward to check Ethan's wound.Ethan was unwilling to let the nurse check on him just now. However, he stopped struggling now that Rowena was tending to him.As she cleaned the cut, dressed, and bandaged him up, Ethan did not make the slightest move or sound.Even though his hands trembled, he bit his lower lip and tried to act tough.The nurse had seen a lot of little boys acting up the same way. She smiled and said, "We are lucky to have a pretty lady such as Dr. Peck working here. All the kids who came to this hospital tend to be well-behaved with her around.""Why do you keep calling her a pretty lady?" Lola suddenly cut off the nurse.It seemed like certain
Lola finally relented and agreed to help her after Lynn persisted."Tell me what your thoughts on Mr. Getson are. Are you willing to let go, or…""I'd never let him go!" Lynn cut Lola off before she finished her question."Yaacob is my fiance; why should I let him go? We were supposed to get married, if not for Nancy! If that bitch did not show up, we wouldn't end up like this!" moaned Lynn bitterly."But Nancy has a daughter, and Mr. Getson made it known that is his daughter too! I think he never truly forgot about Nancy. You don't stand a chance against Nancy," Lola said objectively.Lynn refused to accept that and said, "They've separated for so many years. If he could never let go of her, why did they divorce in the first place? We've been together for the past three years. Besides, my father and Yaacob have each other's back in their career and business. He's been good to me. I'm certain we are the best suited for each other!"By the way, Lola, I dug up some dirt on Nancy. F
"Kandy, tell me clearly. Wasn't Benson just fine? Why did he suddenly spit out blood?""That…"Kandy was stumbling on her words, and Nancy said firmly, "What exactly happened?""This is what happened. A guest came yesterday afternoon. She said she was a friend of yours from Athenapolis, so Sir and I welcomed her warmly. Yet, she just started to curse and shout, and she said a lot of… nasty things about you.""What did she say?""She said that you were cheating on him… She said that your relationship with Mr. Getson is still unclear. That's the gist of it. It made Sir very angry."Kanday paused for a moment and said somewhat suspiciously, "Madam, I saw that Mr. Getson said on TV that Celica is his daughter. What's going on? Why didn't you come back after so many days after going to get Celica?"Nancy could not say that Celica and she had been trapped in the Getson household and unable to return home.She had been telling Benson the past few days that she was fine so he would not
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