Jessica didn't like it when she was asked to take care of someone else, but since Laurence had asked her this favor, she would definitely help. Fortunately, Zoey wasn't rowdy when she was drunk and sat there quietly like an obedient child waiting for her parents to come and pick her up from kindergarten. As Jessica hung up, Zoey was still touching her face, mumbling about how warm it felt. Jessica pulled her hands away and sat down beside her, saying slowly, "It won't feel hot in a while." Zoey nodded. Clearly drunk, she said senselessly, "I want to go home." She didn't like social events, and had already exchanged contacts with many people and drank a lot that night. Her mind felt fuzzy, and she just wanted to go home and sleep."Laurence is coming to pick you up," Jessica reassured her. Zoey nodded, then paused before asking abruptly, "Who's Laurence?" Jessica thought Zoey looked much cuter than her usual quiet and polite self. Just as she was about to say something, Zoey
Laurence thought Zoey hadn't heard him because she hadn't answered him for a long time. He had always been a very pragmatic person, so since she had put it that way, it meant that she wanted something in return. He asked her again and waited patiently for an answer. His question seemed to have sobered Zoey up completely. He was dealing with it very practically and this would settle things up clearly between them. The old Zoey would have wanted his love, but she no longer thought about meaningless things like that. She said very softly, "I want freedom."Zoey closed her eyes slowly, her face pale. She was very thin, and her waistline was very slim. Laurence felt as if she would slip from his hands anytime as he was holding her. A few moments later, she said softly in a negotiating tone, "How about you return my freedom?" Laurence couldn't have guessed that she would ask for this and subconsciously held her even more tightly. "Except that," he retorted. Zoey thought for a long tim
Every time Zoey felt like the world was grinding her down, Laurence would infuriate her to the point of tears. In an instant, tears welled in her eyes. This instinct wasn’t something that she could control through sheer willpower. Hurt, pain, and grief pulled mercilessly at her with taut strings. All Zoey could do was try to stop her tears from falling. She looked up, attempting to will those humiliating tears back. She felt like her teeth were about to be worn down from how tight she clenched them. But at last, the tears streamed down her face like lines of pearls. Soon, her face was completely damp.“Well then, looks like I don’t have to keep playing nice with you,” she said. Her balled fists couldn’t stop trembling involuntarily. When Laurence said those things to her, her head spun like she had just suffered a heavy blow. She continued, “If you won’t let me have my freedom, then you should give me money. Lots of it.”Zoey hadn’t spent his money, not because she had moral princi
Even after so many years, nothing had changed. Laurence still shone the brightest in the crowd, while Zoey was nobody. It was like they were on opposite sides of the world, never to step foot in the other’s territory.Zoey returned to her senses and greeted him politely, “You’re back.”Laurence’s gaze swept over her thin frame. He had an easygoing look on his face as he greeted her casually, “Yes. Are you heading out?”Zoey clutched her laptop tighter. Laurence wordlessly took a few steps forward, approaching her. Although he seemed relaxed, she still felt slightly suffocated. She held her breath, bracing herself before she softly said, “Yeah, I’m going over to Jim’s studio to hand him some details.”Laurence hummed noncommittally, seeming uninterested in discussing the topic further. Zoey wore a fitted pair of jeans that accentuated her long legs and a simple white t-shirt that passed her hips. The outfit made her look somewhat like a university student, fresh out of high school—y
Amanda was taken aback by Laurence’s reply for a few seconds. As quick-witted as she usually was, she was at a loss for words. She had no idea how to counter him. After careful thought, she realized there was no way to win against him. Amanda felt sorry for Zoey, but Sarah was more important to Laurence.Laurence averted his gaze before continuing bluntly, “When did you become so kind?”Amanda was surprisingly honest as she put on an innocent expression and answered, “I may be a spoiled rich girl, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It’s not like you don’t know how much I hate Sarah. Besides that idiot from the Cole family, does Sarah even have any friends?” Amanda rushed to add a well-known fact, “Didn’t all these women only befriend Sarah because they wanted you? She was a spoiled brat back then and still is one now.”Amanda felt foolish for saying all that to warn Laurence about how Sarah was the one behind the recent online rumors. Did Laurence really have no idea? Certainly
The call ended quickly. Zoey continued to stay at the cafe, which had yet to close for the night. The neon lights and street lights outside the window made the shadows on the ground stretch impossibly long. She was in no rush to return home, and she didn’t want to run into Laurence and his friends. She wasn’t close to Tristan, and Amanda was a stranger that she had only exchanged words with a few times.There was a mall nearby with a cinema on the sixth floor. Zoey went there and bought a ticket. Two hours at the cinema would kill a good amount of time. At this hour, most of the cinema-goers were young couples. Zoey was the only one alone. She chose to sit in a more private seat. When the movie started, she realized the main actress was a celebrity she liked, so she watched the entire film. Even with her fangirl glasses on, she had to admit that the movie was crap. She was exasperated—it seemed like every movie she had watched recently was bad.When the overhead lights came on, Zoey
Zoey truly believed that she wasn’t as happy as usual. It wasn’t a big deal, and the bad days would eventually pass. The cold breeze kept her mind alert. Through the door, she could see that the lights in the living room were still on. The security guards were respectful as they let her in.Zoey’s feet hurt after being in heels the whole day. Before entering the house, she politely asked, “Are the guests still in?”“They left half an hour earlier.”“I see.”Zoey pushed open the door and plucked her high heels off her feet, exchanging them for a pair of comfortable house slippers. The lights were on, but no one was in the living room. Laurence was most likely in bed already.Zoey bent down to rub her sore heels. After the pain had abated a little, she slowly went to the kitchen to get a glass of ice water. Grumbling about how it wasn’t cold enough, she dumped more ice cubes into her glass. After drinking it, she went upstairs. Light shone from under the door of the master bedroom
Meanwhile, Laurence was distracted at work as he listened to his employee’s report. He spun the pen between his fingers a few times before he pressed the tip to the paper and signed it. The employee from finance didn’t realize that Laurence hadn’t been listening until he had finished talking. They eyed each other, unsure how to continue.A few moments later, the employer gathered the courage to speak. “Mr. Scott, an auditing firm has been hired to re-audit the finances again. Mr. Langley still won’t admit that he was the one who hired that man as the head of finance. He claims that he has nothing to do with it.”Laurence was quiet for a moment before he gave a hum of affirmation. He said, “If the auditing firm finds anything wrong, report it to the police.”The employee wasn’t surprised. Laurence may seem even-tempered, but he was heavy-handed when doling out punishment. He usually didn’t show any mercy.The head of finance was James' nephew. Typically, anyone else would have spare