"As the company's manager, Mr. Rosewell, you abused your power for personal gain and made unauthorized decisions to claim dozens of company-owned antiques for yourself. "This matter has already reached Eldmere City's police department, tarnishing our company's image. Therefore, you are fined 30 thousand dollars as a warning to others."The moment Angela finished speaking, everyone was in complete shock.A promotion followed by an immediate fine—what kind of logic was that? What was the reason behind it?Felix's expression turned sour. He wanted to deny it, but too many people had already witnessed what had happened. A few words wouldn't be enough to make this go away. 30 thousand dollars? This crazy woman had gone too far! Angela had actually dared to walk all over him!Fuming, Felix immediately reported the matter to Dexter. Half an hour later, Dexter replied, saying that all company matters were now under Angela's control and he wouldn't intervene. Seething, Felix called Fion
Angela's response was firm. She carried herself with an air of authority that sent chills down people's spines.Felix shot her a hateful glare before turning and walking away.When Angela reached home that evening, from a distance, she spotted Felix arguing with Fiona at the entrance. He was pulling at her arm, talking animatedly.Angela parked her car by the side of the road and walked over. She could faintly hear the conversation between the siblings."Fiona, how could you let that brat get in my way? You have no idea how unreasonable she is! I worked so hard to grow the company into what it is today. The moment she arrived, everything fell apart!" Felix complained vehemently.Fiona retorted, "Have some self-awareness. If it weren't for Dexter explicitly turning a blind eye and letting you off, I would have kicked you out a long time ago. That company belongs to Angela now."If you still want to stay there, you better keep your head down. If you keep causing trouble for her, I
Mia frowned and said, "But… But what if it wasn't them? Forget it. You're right—it has to be them."Angela let out a deep sigh. "Right now, I'm just worried that they might move Leo somewhere else without even telling Zayn. They might even act like nothing ever happened."Mia's legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed to the ground."Don't panic. I'll ask Dexter for help. We'll monitor all the train stations and airports in Eldmere. There's no way they'll get past us!" Angela said.Without wasting a second, she called Dexter.The moment he heard what had happened, he immediately mobilized his men to set up checkpoints at every critical location as Angela had suggested. He even personally went to the airport to oversee the situation.To their surprise, their plan proved effective in about an hour. They intercepted Leo and the men who had taken him at Eldmere Airport.Angela and Mia rushed over as fast as they could. When they arrived at the VIP lounge, they saw Leo along with two
Growing tense, Mia quickly nodded. She was just about to leave when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure from the corner of her eye.A sudden chill ran down her spine. It was Zayn!He wasn't alone. Florence was there, and surprisingly, so was Layla.At that moment, Angela also sensed something was wrong. Following Mia's gaze, she spotted Zayn sprinting toward them as if he were running a 50-meter race.Even from a distance, they could see how much force he was exerting to get to them, as if he were terrified that if he were even a second too late, Mia and Leo would vanish before his eyes.Damn it! How did they get here so fast?"Mia, don't you have something to say to me?" Zayn demanded, his voice low and laced with accusation, before he even came to a complete stop.It had only been a few days, yet he seemed to have lost so much weight that he was almost unrecognizable. His eyes were dull, and he looked lifeless.Just then, he spotted his son—the baby Mia had giv
Gritting her teeth, Mia spat, "Zayn, if you have even a shred of conscience left, let me leave and stay out of our lives!""It isn't like that. It's not…" Zayn was in visible agony as he was accused by the woman he loved.His face contorted in pain, but at this moment, there was nothing he could do except offer meaningless words in his defense."Ha!" Angela let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with mockery as she looked at this spineless excuse of a man. "Are you a child? Don't tell me you're still holding on to your mother's apron strings."You're just a mama's boy who only knows how to obey his mother. Mia must have committed some serious sins in her past life to be stuck with a pathetic excuse of a man like you in this one. I feel embarrassed on your behalf!"Zayn flinched as if Angela's words had physically hurt him. He abruptly stood up, his eyes filled with desperation. "Angela, please don't say that. You have to help me—I truly care for her. I'll take responsibility as a
"How can there be such a shameless family in this world? I'm so annoyed!" Gritting her teeth, Angela cursed indignantly.Dexter looked a little resigned. "Some of Zayn's actions may seem irrational, but given the circumstances, it makes sense. After all, he isn't that young anymore, and having a baby didn't come easy for him…""Mia went through so much pain to give birth to that baby." Angela shot him a glare."You know, if you ever have a baby, you'll probably be an extremely protective mother," Dexter remarked, feeling both exasperated and amused.As soon as he said that, both of them froze.Angela felt a strange tightness in her chest, and for the first time, she didn't retort.Right then, the sound of Leo crying came from the guest room. Angela rubbed her face, quickly composing herself before rushing toward the sound."What happened?" She stepped inside.Mia didn't look too good. "I just fed him."Angela took Leo in her arms, gently cradled him, and rocked him to soothe h
"Mrs. Jewell, what's the meaning of this?" Angela rolled down her car window, crossing her arms as she looked at the middle-aged woman who was adamantly trying to argue her way inside to see her grandson.Hearing Angela's voice, Florence turned around. The moment their eyes met, her face twisted with anger."Angela, tell this man to get out of my way! I want to see my grandson! Who does he think he is to stop me?"Her voice was so sharp and grating that it was irritating to hear.Frowning in distaste, Angela instinctively backed off. "Oh, so you're here to see your grandson? I almost thought you came here to start a fight."I mean, look at you—you stormed here empty-handed and with this aggressive attitude. Anyone would misunderstand. Next time, why don't you bring a little something as a gesture of goodwill?""This is my family's matter. It has nothing to do with you, you insolent woman! Mind your own business!" Florence was so furious she was practically smoking from the ears.
"Mia, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I made you suffer. I deserve to die—I really do!" At least Zayn was admitting fault properly, like a spineless fool with no fight left.Angela watched the scene unfold from the third-floor balcony, feeling a bit melancholic.Love and marriage were indeed two very different things. Back then, the love between the two had been so strong that it could make anyone envious. Yet, it was nothing but a complete mess now.Maybe it was true that marriage was love's final resting place."What's on your mind?" Dexter suddenly appeared and walked over, stopping right behind her.He was holding two glasses of red wine. It was as if he knew she was in a bad mood and had come to help her relax."Don't you think it'd be great if people could just date without ever getting married?" Angela blurted out without a second thought.Dexter was momentarily stunned. "Sure, I'm fine with that. Whatever you want."Angela almost choked on her wine. After a long pause,
How horrifying!"Sorry, please wait a moment." Angela forced herself to stay calm, got up, and walked out of the conference hall.Clara followed her out, concern written all over her face. "Ms. Graham, are you feeling unwell? Do you need to see a doctor?"Angela avoided looking at Clara's face as she whispered angrily, "That's enough, Dexter!" Clara looked surprised, confused even. "What's wrong, Ms. Graham?"This meeting couldn't go on, and work was unbearable. It was unacceptable.Angela took a deep breath, returned to the conference hall, and stuck to her prepared proposal to finish hosting the meeting. Then, she rushed back to her office.However, the moment she opened the door, Dexter turned around from where he'd been sitting at her desk. With a warm smile, he said, "You're finally done. Time for lunch."Angela suddenly felt like she was living in some surreal fantasy world. Hadn't she just left Clara behind? How was she suddenly…No, wait. This was the real Dexter with
Mia, who was next to Angela, replied, "You've got it all wrong. All of this was made by Mr. Bamford. Try some. It's really good."Dexter flashed Mia a friendly smile. She found it so odd that she froze for a moment.After all, she'd always thought that this cold-faced CEO didn't even have a "friendly smile" in his facial expression system.Mia keenly sensed that something was up between Angela and Dexter, both of whom seemed awkward."Really?" Angela was slightly taken aback. She glanced at Dexter, who was sitting at the dining table, waiting for them to dig in."Try some. I learned how to make these from Darlene," he said casually. "It was a piece of cake."Outside the kitchen, the plump and kind-hearted maid, Darlene Hines, wiped away a tear of exhaustion.She'd been woken up by Dexter before four or five in the morning, forced to give him an emergency cooking lesson while yawning the whole time.For several hours, she couldn't rest at all. She was so tired she almost passed
Dexter was so excited he couldn't sleep all night. He finally gave up trying and decided to wake Fiona up just so he could share his earth-shattering news.Fiona had barely slept for an hour after burning the midnight oil for work.When the knock on her door jolted her awake, her first instinct was to hurl a pillow at the culprit, but then she thought that maybe Angela needed help with something.She quickly got up and opened the door, only to find Dexter standing there with an oddly excited expression as if he wanted to say something but was holding back."What?" Fiona's voice came out hoarse. She'd pushed her voice too hard after days of lectures. Angela had even given her some medicine for it, but she hadn't gotten around to taking it.Dexter walked in without hesitation and announced, "I have a girlfriend now."Clearing his throat, he put on a composed front, concealing his excitement behind an air of nonchalance. He barely pulled it off.Fiona frowned in surprise. Girlfrien
Zayn chuckled. "You might as well try. Desperate times call for desperate measures. No matter how formidable Angela is, she's still a woman. Wasn't she once head over heels for you? It's just that afterward…"…That night, the grand villa was eerily quiet.Dexter paced back and forth outside Angela's room for a long time. He wanted to knock, or maybe just push the door open and go in, but he hesitated every time.With a crack, the door suddenly swung open from the inside.Angela, drowsy with sleep, covered her mouth as she yawned, holding an empty glass in her other hand. She looked like she was heading out to get some water.Their eyes met, and she jolted in surprise. The glass slipped from her hand, about to hit theground, when Dexter swiftly reached out and caught it smoothly."What the heck are you doing here?" In a flash, Angela was wide awake, her expression a blend of wariness and bewilderment.Dexter instinctively avoided her gaze. Without another word, he turned and wa
Mia was right. What was Angela afraid of?She'd already won against Dexter once. In this relationship, the tides had long since turned in her favor. If she wanted, she could cut ties with him at any moment. If anyone should be worried, it was Dexter."Is that so?" she asked.Mia sighed helplessly. "It depends. Do you want a loyal partner who will stay by your side forever, give you his whole heart, and even lay down his life for you? Or do you prefer fleeting romances from the dazzling world outside?"Angela quickly waved her hands, looking a little embarrassed. "Stop it. Don't talk nonsense. I may let my eyes wander, but I'll never cross the line."…Meanwhile, Dexter and Zayn were also trying to find comfort in each other's company.Dexter had grabbed two bottles of beer on his way down. At the moment, they were in Zayn's car, clinking bottles from time to time.Slumped like a wilted flower, Zayn had been grumbling nonstop about his miserable life ever since Dexter had gotten
Dexter hastily grabbed Angela's wrist. The once arrogant, self-important man who'd never cared for anyone his entire life was now showing rare humility. "Alright, alright. You're the boss, okay?"At the moment, he was a man with a touch of arrogance, a hint of resignation, and an awkward charm.Angela's heartbeat showed no signs of slowing down, and a hint of joy crept out from the bottom of her heart.Damn it. Had she really fallen for him?"Just get lost for now!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze, feeling instantly awkward.She had meant to tell him to step aside.Dexter looked stunned, a hint of hurt crossing his gaze. He had no choice but to step back resignedly, but his gaze never left her as he watched every flicker of emotion in her expression.Angela instinctively turned away, avoiding his piercing stare. Her mind was a mess—she felt trapped in a giant net and felt at a loss.Just then, she caught sight of Mia heading back in without that scumbag Zayn with
Had Angela fallen for Dexter once again? Was she still as powerless against him as before?No, this couldn't happen.Angela took a deep breath. "Dexter, I have more important things to do, and I love myself the most."She would always love herself, her freedom, and everything she truly wanted to love."I don't want to go back to who I used to be, and I won't give up anything for you. I admit that my heart is wavering because of you, but I—""Then that's more than enough!" Dexter only heard what he wanted to hear, quickly pulling her closer into his embrace. "As long as you have feelings for me, that's all that matters. This is great!"His voice was deep and filled with exhilaration. It was as though he'd conquered the entire world.He was holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe. It rendered her unable to say a single word."Angela, don't be a coward. What's the harm in giving me a chance?" Suddenly letting her go, Dexter stared straight into her eyes while forcing
"Mia, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I made you suffer. I deserve to die—I really do!" At least Zayn was admitting fault properly, like a spineless fool with no fight left.Angela watched the scene unfold from the third-floor balcony, feeling a bit melancholic.Love and marriage were indeed two very different things. Back then, the love between the two had been so strong that it could make anyone envious. Yet, it was nothing but a complete mess now.Maybe it was true that marriage was love's final resting place."What's on your mind?" Dexter suddenly appeared and walked over, stopping right behind her.He was holding two glasses of red wine. It was as if he knew she was in a bad mood and had come to help her relax."Don't you think it'd be great if people could just date without ever getting married?" Angela blurted out without a second thought.Dexter was momentarily stunned. "Sure, I'm fine with that. Whatever you want."Angela almost choked on her wine. After a long pause,
"Mrs. Jewell, what's the meaning of this?" Angela rolled down her car window, crossing her arms as she looked at the middle-aged woman who was adamantly trying to argue her way inside to see her grandson.Hearing Angela's voice, Florence turned around. The moment their eyes met, her face twisted with anger."Angela, tell this man to get out of my way! I want to see my grandson! Who does he think he is to stop me?"Her voice was so sharp and grating that it was irritating to hear.Frowning in distaste, Angela instinctively backed off. "Oh, so you're here to see your grandson? I almost thought you came here to start a fight."I mean, look at you—you stormed here empty-handed and with this aggressive attitude. Anyone would misunderstand. Next time, why don't you bring a little something as a gesture of goodwill?""This is my family's matter. It has nothing to do with you, you insolent woman! Mind your own business!" Florence was so furious she was practically smoking from the ears.