Zoey lost the courage to lie to him, knowing that he was staring at her.His gaze was so intense, dark, and gloomy at the same time. Those beautiful eyes of his seemed to reflect a kind of obsessiveness he'd had since his youth. She'd never seen him look at her like this until now.It was almost as if he deemed her someone who was very important to him.She, on the other hand, was a total mess on the inside, as she still wasn’t sure whether she should admit it or continue to deny it.After a long pause, she took a deep breath and slowly lifted her face to meet his gaze. She fixed her clear gaze on him and said, "As long as you’re serious about this, then I will be too, Mr. Scott."Her answer made him unfurl his eyebrows and put down his guard. That unexplainable choking feeling in his chest also started to gradually dissipate."You know that I never joke about these kinds of things, Zoey," he replied as he looked her squarely in the eye.Her heart skipped a beat upon hearing tha
Zoey ignored Shawn's message. She thought that Shawn was the type to go crazy every once in a while. Whenever he got bored, he'd show up just to ruin her peaceful life.Zoey didn't want him to disrupt her mood or her life again.As Laurence came out of the kitchen, he noticed her sitting on the couch, spacing out at her phone with a dazed look on her face. In a way, she looked pretty stupid. He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What are you thinking about?"Zoey's posture was very stiff, so she straightened up. A moment later, she replied, "I'm thinking about my mom."Laurence hummed in response. "Isn't she getting treated at the hospital?""I want to bring her home so that I can take care of her." Zoey knew it was a bad idea, but she felt anxious thanks to Sarah and Shawn. "I can drive Mom to the hospital and pick her up when she's done with her treatment every day."It sounded like a troublesome plan, but Zoey didn't mind it.Laurence disagreed wit
Tristan's expression darkened immediately. Even the smile that curled on his lips was cold. All he'd done was probe lightly, yet he could already sense that Laurence's feelings for Zoey had truly changed.Laurence had never treated Zoey like an actual wife in the past. Everyone around him knew the cause of the marriage all too well.Tristan forcefully suppressed the hint of weirdness that was starting to bud in his heart. No matter what, Zoey was still Laurence's wife. Tristan knew that he shouldn't reveal any signs of wanting to pursue her for now."I thought you and Zoey were about to put an end to this relationship." For some reason, Tristan didn't want to change his usual way of referring to Zoey and stubbornly chose to call her by her name. To him, it was a beautiful name.After that, a nonchalant smile appeared on Tristan's face as he pretended to sound very casual. "It seems that you've fallen in love with each other for real."Laurence looked rather thoughtful. "I suppos
The dinner was organized at the Preston family’s house, which had a large courtyard, and there were bodyguards standing guard beyond the gates.Zoey followed Laurence past the bodyguards, who were checking guest invitations at the front entrance. None of the bodyguards bothered to ask him for his invitation, and he walked inside with big strides while holding her hand.Zoey tried to break free from him to find something to eat, but Laurence seemed determined to hold her hand for the rest of the night. Her anxiety rose as she looked around, noticing that she knew some of the guests. However, Laurence was unphased as he held her hand; it was like he didn’t care what people were saying about them.Zoey tried to break free from his grasp again, which prompted a quick glance from Laurence. “What are you doing?”She paused, feeling like she'd just been caught committing a crime after being unexpectedly questioned. “I wanted to get something to eat,” she answered after she came back to he
Zoey had no idea how Laurence came to that conclusion. She had never dated anyone in her life. So, she decided to continue playing dumb. “No. I really don’t know him, nor have I ever seen him before. Mr. Scott, there are a lot of average-looking people who look similar in this world, and I just have a very average-looking face,” she pressed solemnly.Laurence didn’t believe her but let her finish her nonsensical rambling. He narrowed his eyes at her, “You don’t have an average-looking face.”“Is that a compliment?”“Forget it. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won't force you to either,” Laurence paused for a second before continuing, “Just stay away from him. He’s very different compared to his simple-minded older brother.”Zoey wasn’t planning on ever seeing Rick again, so she nodded good-naturedly, “Okay.”She assumed Rick probably wouldn’t want the world to find out about his unsavory past. Rick was one of the few people who knew about her relationship with Sarah. Back t
It was a working day again after the short weekend break. Zoey’s days were peaceful. Whether in her daily life or her slightly busy job, there were no problems big enough to give her a headache. She also repeatedly received good news from the hospital. The doctor said her mother was recovering faster than expected, and she was responding well to the treatment.Zoey was very grateful. She had made plans to move into a larger, two-bedroom home after her mother was fully discharged. The future felt hopeful, and she finally had something to look forward to in life. Even Anne noticed that Zoey, typically calm and poised, was in a good mood. Zoey was smiling, relaxed, and looked like a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders. It even looked like she had been swept off her feet. Anne couldn’t help saying in envy, “Miss Jenner, you look like someone happily in love right now.” Zoey covered her face, smiling uncontrollably. “Really? Is it that obvious?”Anne had never seen Zoey lik
"You don't have to come if you don't want to. But you know me, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Don't blame me if things get bloody."As Zoey read the messages on the screen, she was so angry that she wanted to call the police. However, there wasn't much use in calling the police now, as Shawn hadn't committed any crimes yet.Shawn clearly wasn’t inviting her to be a guest. Without a doubt, he had no good intentions. Suppressing her disgust and temper, Zoey persisted and called him back.This time, he answered. Shawn's voice sounded relaxed, "What's the matter, Miss Jenner?"Zoey frowned. "Mr. Zuckman, what do you want from me?"Shawn walked to the window and looked at the night view of the high-rise building for a while before pausing. "I just wanted to invite you over for a drink."Zoey felt a headache coming on as she replied curtly, "Mr. Zuckman, please stop bothering me. I have nothing to do with you."However, Shawn was very interested in Zoey. He wouldn't let her go b
"What do you mean?""Nothing. I'm just curious.""Mr. Zuckman, could you please release my shoulder while you talk?""Miss Jenner, most of the time, the answer to your requests is no. And this time is no exception."Zoey took a few deep breaths, trying to hold back her anger. However, she couldn't resist and viciously stomped on his foot with her high heel. If an ordinary person had been stomped on with such force, they would have been writhing in pain. However, Shawn seemed to have lost all feeling. He showed no reaction at all. Unfazed, he teased, "Zoey, you were quite ruthless with that kick."Zoey pushed his arm away forcefully and cautiously took a few steps back. Shawn looked at her with a faint smile as if nothing had happened and she was a useless clown. His people were guarding the elevator entrance, and he had bodyguards waiting on every floor. From the moment Zoey stepped into the building, she was trapped.Zoey realized that the situation was not in her favor. Witho