Zoey's face fell as he brought up the story of their brief fling.She couldn't remember much from that night; the memories were blurry.She didn't understand why Shawn acted like their relationship was fine without any resentment. She still remembered the cold look he'd given her when he'd threatened to have people gang-rape her."Shawn, there's no need to dwell on that one night. My memory of it is hazy, and I assume yours is too," Zoey said. She didn't mean to hurt his ego. She was just being truthful.Even though Shawn looked like a mess, everyone had their own secrets. It wasn't surprising that he was unpredictable, cruel, and twisted.Shawn didn't expect her to misunderstand him. He knew she didn't have any vivid memories of that night; otherwise, she'd know that he hadn't touched her at all."It's fine. Maybe there'll be a next time," he said lazily.Zoey knew he would never say anything nice. She never wanted to have another encounter with him in this lifetime. She would
Ever since she'd been a kid, Sarah had been very observant, so she'd quickly learned to study the behavior of others from her mother.When Zoey had been rescued, seemingly on the brink of death, Robert hadn't even taken her to the hospital. He hadn't wanted anyone to find out that Zoey was his daughter, or everyone would find out about the incident in Southgrove. So Zoey had recovered from her injuries at the Jenner Residence.Sarah had witnessed the wounds on Zoey’s body firsthand, but she hadn't felt an ounce of sympathy. Instead, she'd just been glad that Zoey had gotten hurt and not her.Sarah had also guessed the details of the matter after studying Zoey’s wounds and hearing Zoey’s unconscious rambling while she was asleep. Yet she'd deliberately acted as a mere observer—until Laurence came knocking on the Jenner Residences door.Sarah had taken one look at the eldest son of the Scott family, who'd been kidnapped alongside Zoey, and taken on Zoey’s identity without a second
Laurence thought he was already going easy on Zoey. He wasn't doing anything wrong by not agreeing to a divorce since the contract hadn't expired yet. He even felt that he was already being very forgiving by not making a fuss about the hotel incident. He silently scrolled through their chat history while suppressing the displeasure in his heart. She still hadn't replied to him. He knew he couldn't keep staring at his phone, waiting for a reply. He'd already been more patient than usual that day. After a pause, he texted her. "I'll pick you up tomorrow." He felt worried, but she wouldn't know what he was worried about.Zoey pretended as if she hadn't seen Laurence's text inquiring when she would return. She went downstairs to make a bowl of instant oats, and just as she was about to boil the water, her phone buzzed again. She switched it on and saw another text from him. She already expected him to say something like that, but she really didn't have the mood to deal with him, even
Laurence closed his eyes to calm himself down for a moment before immediately opening them again. After he calmed down, he surprisingly couldn't find anything else to say for a while.What should he say? That wouldn't slap her anymore? He was probably an utterly evil man in her eyes at that moment. Should he apologize and tell her he regretted slapping her out of impulse that day?The more he said he was sorry, the more those words would lose their value.Laurence's lips were tightly pursed. He took a deep breath and felt like his chest was throbbing in pain. It was a kind of faintly discernible, sharp pain that was the most torturous.His face was pale as he circled back to the original topic. "When are you coming back?"Of course, Laurence knew her mother was still in the sanatorium, so it was impossible for her to go to a faraway place and not return to Northwell. However, just a few short days were hard for him to bear. He had to know her itinerary well to feel at ease.Zoe
His words amused Zoey. He spoke with such justification as if she had done something that wronged him.Her wrist was in pain because of his grip. He pinned her arms tightly against the wall behind her; as if he wanted to bore them into the wall. Her tone was harsh as she challenged, "Do you have a say in who I date?"Shawn regained his senses when he heard her voice. Yes, he indeed had no say in it.Zoey kicked him, then broke her wrist free when he was distracted. "Even if someone should check up on me, you're not the one to do it, Shawn."He was neither her husband nor her friend. He was nothing to her. At that moment, she wanted to avoid him like the plague.Shawn clenched his jaw tight. His fury burned inside him. He could tell that she hated him more than she could endure. If he did not actively seek her attention, she would not want to see or talk to him at all.Shawn did not answer her directly. With a stiff expression, he smirked and asked, "Is that lawyer a good person?
Shawn kneeled on the floor. He gripped the edge of the bed so hard that his fingers felt like they were about to snap.The severe pain in his chest happened too suddenly. At first, it was only a dense and mild prickling. However, the pain suddenly became severe. He sat hunched on the floor as he couldn’t get up.It felt like his organs were spasming.He should let go. He should stop staring at the photo. However, he was reluctant to look away. He couldn’t control his gaze. His brain couldn’t control his eyes.Even when the pain was almost unbearable, he still wanted to stare at the girl with a bright smile in the photo. He stared at that face stubbornly and tried his best to recall something.His mind was completely blank.When he tried to think deeper, the pain became so severe. He felt he could die any second. Shawn groaned in pain, and his vision blacked out. He had an extremely high tolerance for pain, but he could not stand the searing pain. He leaned against the bed, cove
“Spare me, Mom, please!” Shawn’s voice was weak. It was as if he had used the last of his energy. Shawn stopped in his path and held himself up with his arm on the wall. Letting out an agonized look, his brain hurt immensely each time he tried to recall something. His assistant saw him stop and asked, “Sir, are you okay?” Shawn rubbed his brow. “I’m fine.” He was certain that he had never called his mother “Mom”. He would never use such an affectionate term and had always referred to her as “Mother”. “What could have driven me to kneel before her and beg her to spare me? She must have done something to me,” he thought. Shawn’s expression turned cold. He stiffened his impassive face and ordered the bodyguards standing behind him, “Bring over more men tomorrow.” “Yes, sir.” Shawn sat in the hospital corridor for a long while. Hanging his head, he looked inscrutable. It was already 2 am, but he wasn’t sleepy and wasn’t planning on returning home to sleep.“I sho
Shawn squatted on the steps as cigarette smoke curled around him, shrouding his profile. He looked desolate. Zoey had never seen him look so fragile. Without approaching him, she stood beneath the lights.Shawn heard her footsteps and he slowly lifted his head to stare deep into her eyes. She couldn’t read his expression.He extinguished his cigarette, getting up slowly. "Do you know that I'm sick?" His question came out of nowhere, and Zoey was baffled. She thought his affectionate tone wasn't appropriate, considering their relationship. Could he have finally remembered the flaws of his character? Zoey thought he was acting weirdly."I know." Zoey stood a distance from him. "Did you just remember?" Shawn's lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't tell her he only remembered chaotic fragments, which were worse than dreams. At least dreams were clear and cohesive, like a story. The disjointed snippets were making him dizzy."Yeah.""That's good," Zoey said casually. She added