Leyla frantically grabbed the phone Emmett had tossed at her. "We’re not done yet! Why don’t you take a few more pictures? You’re so stingy!"But thinking of what Emmett had said, Leyla did feel sorry for Shannon, so she didn’t chase after him.She opened the photo album, only to find that Emmett had only taken two photos for her. The last one, the one where she was supposed to kiss Shannon, wasn’t even taken!She was furious!Emmett, that jerk!Leyla was really angry. Just then, she saw Melany and Nina.Melany had met Leyla a few times and was somewhat familiar with her. She also knew from Shannon that Leyla had been constantly sending her a ton of attention.When she saw Leyla now, Melany was a little slow to react. "Miss Wallace? What’s wrong? You look like you’re in a bad mood?""I’m so mad! I had Emmett help me take pictures with baby Shae, and that jerk only took two pictures! The one where I kissed Shae? He didn’t even take it! And then he lied and said he did!"Melany couldn’t
The fastest the hotel food could arrive was in half an hour. Just after Emmett placed the order, he received a call from Dax."I need to take this call."Shannon looked up at him and nodded. "Okay."Emmett glanced at her, then walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window to answer the call.Shannon put down the coconut and opened Twitter.It was the first time she had time to properly check Twitter after a whole day.To be honest, the day had been full of excitement on Twitter.Shannon’s name had been trending all day long.In the top ten of trending topics, three of them were related to her: #JJEmmettFirstLove#, #ShannonSubstitute#, and #JJShannon#.She had missed the morning’s trending, all of it from the screenshots Melany had sent her via WhatsApp.But now, Shannon clicked into Twitter and got to enjoy some "old gossip."The earliest trending topic was #JJEmmettFirstLove#, clearly bought by Claire.When Shannon clicked on it, the most liked comment read: "I’ve always said, there’s n
"Your wedding won't go smoothly! I'll let you know Marcus only loves me, and you're just a loser!"After Charlotte Bernard read this text, her face darkened.Today was her wedding with Marcus Gallagher; and the text was from Marcus' childhood sweetheart, Lydia Wagner.Charlotte took a deep breath before turning off her phone.For this wedding, the Bernard family and the Gallagher family invited every influential figure in Aelmere. While Charlotte told herself that Marcus wouldn't do anything stupid on such an occasion, she still felt a bit worried.Meantime, the host on the stage announced the entrance of the groom. "Next, please give your warmest welcome to our handsome groom, Mr. Marcus Gallagher!"As the host's voice trailed off, the banquet hall broke out into a round of thunderous applause.However, a few seconds had passed, and the groom, who should get on the stage, was still nowhere to be found.Whispers circulated among the crowd. The host smiled calmly to make light of the "
Charlotte was severely injured. She was sent to the hospital and underwent an emergency operation for eight hours.But even so, Charlotte was still not out of the woods yet. If she didn't wake up in the next 48 hours, she would never be able to in the future.When Greyson heard this, he almost fainted.Greyson's wife passed away a long time ago, so his baby girl, Charlotte, meant the whole world to him. It was supposed to be Charlotte's big day today, but Marcus ruined it by deserting Charlotte at the wedding.Looking at the Gallaghers, Greyson flew into a rage. "Get lost! All of you, get the hell out of here!"After Greyson drove away the Gallaghers, there was only Charlotte, and her best friend, Elizabeth Buck, in the ward.As Charlotte's bridesmaid, Elizabeth was on standby in the banquet hall the whole time. When Elizabeth realized something was wrong, Charlotte was already carried into an ambulance.Elizabeth couldn't understand how such a joyful wedding turned into an awful disa
When Melvin and Elizabeth reached Charlotte's ward, they happened to see Leandro walk out.Seeing that Leandro was leaving, Melvin immediately followed him.There were a lot of visitors in the hospital at this time, so the elevators were crammed with people.Melvin didn't get a chance to ask questions until he and Leandro got in the car. "Mr. Romero, did Ms. Bernard tell you what she wanted?"Hearing this question, Leandro opened his eyes, tapped the leather seat with his finger, and said, "She did.""Then what do you need me to get for you?" Melvin asked, feeling a bit glad that Charlotte was a straightforward woman.Then, he heard Leandro speaking in the back seat, "A wedding house."Melvin thought he heard it wrong, and he subconsciously turned his face around, staring at Leandro. "Mr. Romero, did you just say 'a wedding house'?"Meanwhile, Melvin thought, 'I'm not that old to lose my hearing, am I?'"Yes," Leandro confirmed it.Then he closed his eyes again and raised his left han
Charlotte hadn't seen Leandro since he came to discuss the compensation last time.As time passed by, Charlotte slowly realized that she really acted like a jerk the other day.So, when Charlotte saw Leandro again, she was embarrassed and guilt-ridden.On the other hand, Greyson wasn't surprised to see Leandro because Leandro was the culprit of the car accident.But Elizabeth didn't overthink it. She thought Leandro was a nice guy and shouldn't be fully responsible for the accident.After Greyson exchanged pleasantries with Leandro, he went to sign the hospital discharge papers, while Elizabeth took Charlotte's medical card to print the test results, leaving Leandro and Charlotte alone in the ward.As it still needed time for Charlotte's broken calf bone to heal, she was confined to a wheelchair now.Leandro was very tall, and Charlotte had to raise her head to meet his eyes. "Mr. Romero, about the compensation...""I've thought it through," Leandro interrupted her.He then suddenly c
"Charlotte!" Marcus's face darkened. "Why did you do that to Lydia? She's sick! That's not something she can control!"Lydia, teary-eyed, pulled Marcus's arm and mumbled, "Marcus, don't blame Lottie. I deserved it. Because of me, your wedding was canceled. It's all my fault!"Charlotte couldn't be bothered to watch Lydia act, so she hopped away.Elizabeth blew a raspberry at Lydia and Marcus and hissed sarcastically, "Yeah. It's not your fault. You never make any mistake! You're just feeling blue, and the whole world has to make way for you! We get it!"With that, Elizabeth directly turned around and followed Charlotte.Marcus wanted to catch up with them, but he controlled his urge after he saw Lydia's current state."Marcus, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know it's all my fault!"Hearing Lydia keep saying sorry, Marcus began to take umbrage against Charlotte. He said to Lydia, "No. It's not your fault! She's way over the line!"And he told himself in his heart, 'Lydia didn't want to be
Charlotte realized she had mistaken for the wrong person and whispered embarrassedly, "Mr. Romero?""I'm outside your villa, Ms. Bernard," Leandro said.Hearing this, Charlotte hurriedly pushed the wheelchair near the window and saw a Bentley downstairs."Mr. Romero, what brought you here?" she asked.Due to her leg problem, Charlotte could only ask over the phone instead of going downstairs.But as soon as she finished her words, she remembered what Leandro was here for.Leandro realized something too. He paused and said in a flirting tone, "Ms. Bernard, are you playing hard to get?"Charlotte immediately sat straight and hurriedly explained, "No, it's not like that! Mr. Romero, I can explain. It's..."Charlotte was suddenly short of words, thinking, 'Explain what? Am I supposed to tell him that I was just too angry and wanted to piss Marcus off at that time? No, I can't do that! Well. I don't know what Leandro is planning, but I can tell he really wants to compensate me. So, Charlot
The fastest the hotel food could arrive was in half an hour. Just after Emmett placed the order, he received a call from Dax."I need to take this call."Shannon looked up at him and nodded. "Okay."Emmett glanced at her, then walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window to answer the call.Shannon put down the coconut and opened Twitter.It was the first time she had time to properly check Twitter after a whole day.To be honest, the day had been full of excitement on Twitter.Shannon’s name had been trending all day long.In the top ten of trending topics, three of them were related to her: #JJEmmettFirstLove#, #ShannonSubstitute#, and #JJShannon#.She had missed the morning’s trending, all of it from the screenshots Melany had sent her via WhatsApp.But now, Shannon clicked into Twitter and got to enjoy some "old gossip."The earliest trending topic was #JJEmmettFirstLove#, clearly bought by Claire.When Shannon clicked on it, the most liked comment read: "I’ve always said, there’s n
Leyla frantically grabbed the phone Emmett had tossed at her. "We’re not done yet! Why don’t you take a few more pictures? You’re so stingy!"But thinking of what Emmett had said, Leyla did feel sorry for Shannon, so she didn’t chase after him.She opened the photo album, only to find that Emmett had only taken two photos for her. The last one, the one where she was supposed to kiss Shannon, wasn’t even taken!She was furious!Emmett, that jerk!Leyla was really angry. Just then, she saw Melany and Nina.Melany had met Leyla a few times and was somewhat familiar with her. She also knew from Shannon that Leyla had been constantly sending her a ton of attention.When she saw Leyla now, Melany was a little slow to react. "Miss Wallace? What’s wrong? You look like you’re in a bad mood?""I’m so mad! I had Emmett help me take pictures with baby Shae, and that jerk only took two pictures! The one where I kissed Shae? He didn’t even take it! And then he lied and said he did!"Melany couldn’t
Shannon overheard the excited chatter around her, and her ears turned as red as cooked shrimp.Embarrassed, she glanced at Emmett. “Shall we go back to the hotel?”Emmett looked at her for a moment. “Aren’t you going to watch the sunset?”Shannon scanned the surroundings. “Not anymore, I’m a bit hungry.”If they stayed here any longer to watch the sunset, it would just feel like everyone else was watching them instead.With that, she instinctively tugged at Emmett’s sleeve.It was a completely unconscious gesture, and Shannon didn’t even realize she was doing it.Emmett looked down at her hand holding his sleeve and felt as if his heart had been tugged as well.It was like there was a string tied to Mrs. Dunn’s hand. When she moved it even slightly, his heart followed her lead.“Alright, we’ll go back to the hotel.”If it wasn’t for the helmet she was holding, Shannon might have put it back on.On their way back, they attracted quite a bit of attention.Melany and Nina, standing in th
Shannon jogged over to Emmett and stopped in front of him. "Why did you come over here?"There were a lot of people around, and Emmett didn't particularly like crowded places.He raised his hand and gently tucked her windblown hair behind her ear. "Because Mrs. Dunn is here."From the crowd, someone murmured, "Ugh, I was just passing by, but why does it feel like I'm being force-fed dog food?"Shannon’s face turned red. She wasn’t intentionally showing off her affection, but when she saw Emmett, she couldn’t help but walk over to him.The sun at around six o'clock was warm and gentle. Not only was the temperature mild, but the light was soft too. The warm orange sunset bathed both of them, as if it had carved out a space just for them. Their good looks made them seem like they existed in a different dimension from the people around them.Originally, people had come over to get autographs and photos with the athletes, but upon seeing Emmett and Shannon, many subconsciously turned their
“Is this the champion from the women’s group?”Everyone saw her for the first time and mistook her for Becky.Shannon, feeling a little shy, smiled. “I’m JJ.”As soon as her soft voice fell, someone couldn’t help but mutter, “Damn…”“JJ, you’re not only great at your skills but you’re also stunning. Do you mind adding me as a friend?”“JJ, let’s exchange WhatsApp! Now that your mask is off, we won’t need to keep our distance anymore, right?”“Yeah, yeah! JJ, you probably haven’t joined our group yet! We have a group with most of the people who ride jet skis across the country. We often arrange to go out to sea together. Add me on WhatsApp, and I’ll pull you in!”Shannon was about to refuse when A suddenly said in a sarcastic tone, “You all should stop. This year’s champion is Jiaqi. Some people are just so scared of losing their fame after losing the championship that they take off their masks. Tsk, you’ve been low-key for so many years, why suddenly stop this year?”In the past, Shan
Emmett looked at her, smiling without answering.Shannon blinked, and for some reason, she suddenly remembered Claire’s words.“By the way, Miss Heath, your first love is completely different from Benjamin’s.”“Miss Heath is gentle and sweet, while Benjamin’s first love is a very cool girl. Oh, she’s really good at jet skiing.”“This JJ is Benjamin’s first love, I thought you’d be curious to come and take a look.”...Was Claire talking nonsense?She and Emmett really didn’t know each other!How could she be Emmett’s first love?“By the way, Emmett, do you have a first love?”She actually wanted to ask him if she was his first love.But that question felt so self-centered that Shannon couldn’t bring herself to ask it.The words swirled around in her mouth, and in the end, she could only ask this one.“What do you think?”He threw the question back at her.Shannon was a bit flustered. Just as she was about to say something, her phone rang from inside her bag.She glanced at Emmett. “It
Shannon felt herself being pulled into a strong embrace, surrounded by the overwhelming scent of male hormones.The usual fresh cedarwood fragrance seemed to become an intoxicating scent at that moment, wrapping around her, leaving her lightheaded.Emmett’s kiss felt like an intricate web, trapping her with no way to escape.In the background, she could hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, along with Emmett’s slightly labored breathing.Shannon felt her heart racing like never before, and the air in her chest seemed to be stolen away little by little.She felt like a stranded fish, drying out and growing restless under the scorching sun.Her mind and clarity were at odds with each other, making her acutely aware of how his lips left hers, finally moving to her ear. With a burning breath, Emmett took her earlobe into his mouth.Shannon trembled, her face turning bright red as the sound of water leaving her ear filled the air.Emmett looked down at her. "A thank you gift,
The person behind her hadn’t made a sound for a while. Shannon began to worry that she might have gone overboard. She quickly slowed down the jet ski.At this point, they were nearly a hundred meters from the shore. The vast ocean stretched before them, with the noise and excitement a kilometer away, while their area was calm and quiet.Shannon stopped the jet ski and turned to look at Emmett. "Emmett, was I going too fast?"Through the helmet, she couldn’t see his expression clearly.A deep male voice sounded near her ear, "Doesn’t Mrs. Dunn like it fast?"Shannon blushed. "If you think it's too fast, you could have told me.""It’s fine. I like whatever Mrs. Dunn likes.""Really?""When have I ever lied to you?"It seemed true.Shannon smiled and said, "Emmett, let me give you a small gift.""Mm?"She glanced at the drone above them, tracking them for safety. Not explaining, she simply said, "Hold on tight."The next moment, the jet ski shot forward at high speed, sending splashes of
Shannon was lost in thought until Emmett took the umbrella from her hand, bringing her back to reality.Realizing she had spaced out, Shannon tried to salvage the situation. "The suit doesn’t seem to fit very well."Emmett lowered his head and smiled slightly. "The pants are a bit short."She had only said it casually, but hearing his response made her instinctively glance down at his legs.At the end of his long legs, his ankles were exposed. Indeed, it wasn’t a perfect fit.Shannon froze. "It’s a bit short... should we change it?""Forget it, if we change it, the top will probably be too big.""True," she muttered, "You do have long legs."Shannon pursed her lips. "Shall we go now?""Let’s go."The jet ski she had rented was already parked by the beach. A staff member was standing by, waiting.The staff member asked, "Do you both know how to ride?"Before Shannon could speak, Emmett answered first, "My wife is a contestant today."The staff member’s expression immediately changed. "