Zoey got pulled into Laurence’s embrace, her chin resting against his shoulder. She was lost as she asked with a whisper, “Would it have been better if we met earlier?”Clearly, things had turned out this way because they had met too early. Now, their relationship was a mess.Laurence wordlessly wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. Rarely was he so unsure about anything. After some thought, he answered, “Probably.”Zoey’s heart was numb. After a long while, she said, “We met early enough.”Laurence closed his eyes and didn’t speak. She had a point—they used to go to the same school but never exchanged a word.Zoey struggled. Laurence’s grip was strong, his arms like a vice as they held her in place. She had no idea where a sudden surge of resentment came from as she bit his shoulder. However, Laurence didn’t seem to mind as he wordlessly weathered through the bite.Zoey’s cheeks hurt from biting him. When she finally tasted blood, she withdrew. Still, she was forced to lean
Zoey assumed this was another prank Shawn had thought up because he was bored. It was laughable hearing those three words from him. Frankly, Zoey felt that Shawn was unable to love anyone. Even the way he went about it with Sarah was wrong. In high school, he would use extreme methods to get rid of anything and anyone who displeased Sarah. To that end, he didn’t hesitate to hurt others.Zoey once again cut the call and decided not to pick up any calls from strangers anymore.Laurence didn’t ask her about her two prematurely ended calls. He didn’t like how she was distracted around him. Wordlessly, he took her hand as though doing so would control her. Shawn was oddly calm even as he listened to the beeping tone as the call ended. Just as he expected, he wouldn’t find any answers this way. Perhaps Zoey found it laughable to hear him say that he loved her.Before he passed out from blood loss, all he could see in Zoey’s beautiful eyes was hatred—pure, unclouded hatred. Now that he h
Marilyn didn’t dare believe her ears, but as she regarded his composed expression, he seemed to mean every word. Her voice shook with fury. “I… I did everything for your own good!”Shawn was unmoved by her answer. “Madam Zuckman, I was begging on my knees.”Marilyn swallowed. She hadn’t thought he would remember everything so clearly. He had been stubborn and proud, yet he had kneeled for that useless girl in front of her.“So? Everything you have is because I presented it to you on a platter after removing all obstructions.”“That’s why I’ll return everything the same way.”Shawn knew what his mother valued most—money, status, and power. To her, her son and husband were not at all important. Even when he nearly died, she hadn’t even shed a tear.Shawn was tired of his mother. He didn’t want to bother arguing with her anymore. There was no point. He stood up and announced, “I’ll be giving back the family reins the same way you delivered it into my hands.”Shawn hadn’t been twidd
It had been ages since Zoey had been to Southgrove, and she wasn’t used to the weather; it was always rainy in the summer, and the air was humid.Laurence had booked a taxi before their arrival. Zoey didn’t bother chewing him out because she knew she couldn’t win against him. She regarded Henry and said kindly, “Let’s send you to your friend’s place. The queue will probably be long if you book a taxi now.”Henry glanced at Laurence. “Is that okay?”Zoey also turned back to look at Laurence. “Is it not?”Laurence wasn’t someone to penny-pinch over a taxi fare, but he certainly didn’t feel great when he saw Zoey being so considerate toward Henry. Although he felt displeased, he still couldn’t show it. He raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”The MPV stopped outside the arrival hall building, and the three of them got in. Laurence mindlessly tapped his thigh a few times, a small smile on his lips as he politely asked, “Give the driver your address so he can drop you off first.”
”We’re here,” Laurence suddenly announced while Zoey stared at her phone. She quietly switched it off and shoved all thoughts of Shawn away. Let him do whatever he wanted with the Jenners; she didn’t care.Zoey got out of the car. The walls around the prison were so high that she couldn’t see the top. This building had held her uncle for so many years, caging him away from the sun and freedom while the true perpetrator continued to live the high life.Zoey craned her neck and quietly looked ahead at the walls. Time seemed to stretch on as she waited. After an unknown length of time, the steel gate finally opened. A tall but skinny man slowly walked out from the building, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and pants. His clothes were clean. Jason squinted as the sunlight assaulted him. Zoey remained rooted to the spot when suddenly, she lunged at the man and jumped into his arms. Tears streamed down her face as she buried herself in his chest. “Uncle,” she sobbed.Jason’s heart so
Robert did not expect his words to agitate the man in front of him further.Jasmine had moved downstairs under the invitation of the hired help. She had been worrying about many things lately, so she looked less put together than usual.She saw Shawn in the living room. It was hard not to notice the dagger on the table. She had a bad feeling about this. Sarah had asked her advice on what to do if Shawn recalled the past before.All of this felt like the calm before the storm.Jasmine tried her best to act calm.Shawn sneered at her coldly before greeting her.Jasmine glanced at the bodyguards stationed nearby and curled her hands into a fist. Her nails poked into her palms painfully. She felt calmer. “It’s okay even if he remembers everything. We didn’t say anything back then. He was the one who misunderstood things,” she thought.“What’s going on, Mr. Zuckman?”Shawn stared at her. She seemed calm and composed even though she was in such a situation.Jasmine was not afraid. Even if Sh
Jason did not like Laurence, but was able to guess that he was in a relationship with Zoey.She was a shy and timid person. She wouldn’t ask just anyone to come with her to ferry her uncle from prison. But he wasn’t going to expose her lie. He was going to wait for her to tell him the truth.Zoey was cooking in the kitchen. She glanced at the living room and saw Laurence. “Where’s my uncle? Is he still upstairs?” she asked him. Zoey felt as if she was dreaming. Everything felt surreal.Laurence entered the kitchen and closed the door. “Yeah, he’s still upstairs.”Zoey glanced at the clock and mumbled, “Why is he taking so long to shower?”Laurence helped her with her cooking. His tall stature cast a shadow over her. He raised an eyebrow and replied, “Don’t worry. He’s not going to run away.”Worry still plagued her until she saw Jason come downstairs. She bumped her elbow against Laurence and said, “I can manage by myself. You can go to the living room.”A fragrant aroma wafted from th
Zoey felt less worried after seeing that Jason wasn’t dispirited in the slightest. As long as one was alive, one still had hope.She said goodnight to him before retiring to her room. Jason stared at her quietly. He did not ask the question on his mind and wished her sweet dreams instead.After taking a bath, Zoey checked her phone. She had several unread messages.Laurence seemed to be free, just as he had told her earlier. Instead of sleeping, he chose to disturb her.“Are you asleep yet?”“The hotel bed isn’t comfortable.”“What are you doing?”“Why are you ignoring me?”Zoey was annoyed and didn’t want to reply, but she was afraid that would lead him to message her even more.She typed, “I’m going to bed.”His reply came quickly.“I don’t want to stay in the hotel tomorrow night.”“Then you can spend the night on the side of the road,” she replied, suddenly feeling relaxed after a long while.Laurence wasn’t angry when he read her reply. Instead, he laughed and his lousy mood clear