”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
Zoey was stunned but quickly collected herself and acted naturally as she returned the bottle. “It’s vitamin C.”Laurence removed his tie before grabbing the bottle from the table and studying its label. Then, he put it back down. Zoey was relieved.Laurence was expressionless and distant as usual. He glanced at her briefly before suddenly approaching her. She could smell a sweet scent on him. It wasn’t his usual scent, but a citrusy, floral scent. A woman’s perfume.Zoey didn’t like it but didn’t ask him about it. If she did, he would surely embarrass her.Laurence took off his shirt and asked casually, “Are you free tonight?”Zoey was, but she didn’t want to tell him that.After a while, Laurence told her, “I have to attend a banquet tonight. I need to bring a partner.”Zoey pursed her lips and kept quiet. In the past, he never brought her to functions like these. He never introduced her as his wife to anyone. He had never cared about bringing a partner. Zoey knew that he didn’t need
Zoey only discovered that the event was a charity banquet when she entered the banquet hall. It was decorated like an art museum, and the chandelier was dazzling.Laurence held Zoey by the waist as they entered the hall. Zoey was not used to him doing public displays of affection like this.The charity banquent was organized by Jessica Myers, so there were many people from the entertainment industry present. The Myers were an influential family, and Jessica was a prominent figure in the industry. Hence, there was press coverage of the event as well.Zoey was not used to the attention. They had entered through the VIP lane so they weren’t bothered by the press then, but when they entered the hall, all eyes were on them. Laurence acted like the scandal had not happened. Zoey found that she was slowly getting used to getting stared at. Although the stares were malicious, it was just as Laurence had said—no one dared to say anything to their faces.Adrian was there too. When he greeted Zoe
Shawn wouldn’t harm Jasmine so deeply for no reason. Zoey looked at him, and his eyes were red and unreadable.His expression turned ugly at what she had said. After a long while, he choked, “I know.”He knew it had been one-sided all along. Shawn did not want to apologize to Zoey. It wouldn’t help anything. He had hurt her severely in the past, and that was the truth. He wanted to tell her how much he regretted it and how he hadn’t meant to hurt her like that. It was just because he had forgotten everything.However, he couldn’t bring himself to say any of it to her. It felt fake and pretentious. She would find it laughable for sure.Shawn’s eyes teared up, but he held them back as he looked at Zoey. He remembered her shedding tears and trembling in fear, how she gritted her teeth and said that she would hate him for the rest of her life. He felt an unbearable ache in his heart.“Were you waiting for me here?” Zoey asked, calmer than she was before.Shawn nodded, his face pale. Zoey n
The sound of gossip died down.Laurence’s expression did not change. He said casually, “There’s some cake there. It looks good.”Zoey had a sweet tooth. She liked desserts and sweet, creamy cakes. She nodded, “Oh, okay.”After setting a slice of cake onto a plate, she sat down on the nearest chair and dug in. Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulders. Laurence had put his jacket over her shoulders as a gust of wind blew by. The night air was chilly as it would soon be autumn. Under the moonlight, Zoey’s skin looked like porcelain. Her long hair draped over her shoulders elegantly.She sat beside him and said softly, “It’s okay. I’m not cold.”Laurence froze for a moment before replying stiffly, “Just wear it. Even if you’re not cold.”“Perhaps he’s being possessive again,” Zoey thought. However, he had picked the dress she was wearing himself. It wasn’t that revealing. She gave in and wore the jacket anyway. Going against him would only make things difficult for her.Zoey felt drows