“She saved me.”These words sounded light as a feather.Zoey pretended that nothing was out of the norm. “So that’s how it is.”Laurence lit a cigarette, but the moment the flame lit up, he snuffed it in the ashtray after slight deliberation. He asked, “Is it strange?”Zoey still had to act normal in front of him. She could imagine how stiff her expression was. Her eyes stung and reddened. “It’s a little unexpected.”Laurence turned around and looked at her fixedly.Her face was drained of color, and her body was all tensed up. She looked like a frightened bird and wasn’t in a good state.He slowly elaborated, “I was kidnapped when I was small. Actually, no, not that small. It happened when I was a teenager.”Laurence could talk about the past without any sign of discomfort. “I was held captive for quite long, about half a month. I thought I’d die at that person's hands several times, but I was fortunate. I managed to survive no matter how I was beaten.”Thinking back to those days, La
Laurence stood still and looked at her. After a moment, he said, “Sorry, there really is an emergency.”“How sorry can you be? So be it,” thought Zoey.She had broken out in a cold sweat due to the pain. She took a few deep breaths. Showing her weak side to him once was already her limit. She endured the pain and said hoarsely, “Okay, you go on ahead.”Laurence put on his tie, took his suit jacket, and left without turning back. Downstairs, the driver and bodyguards were already waiting. Laurence casually threw the car keys to the driver, his expression cold and serious. “Drive me to the mansion on South Street.”“Yes, sir.”Laurence seemed to remember something suddenly and called the butler. “Miss Jenner isn’t feeling well. Look after her and check on her.”The butler immediately perked up. “Yes, sir.”Laurence hung up the phone and left his household affairs behind him. Zoey was an adult and should know to call a doctor if she was feeling discomfort.He thought of what Sarah had sai
Sarah spread her knees apart and sat on Laurence’s lap. She looked at him with reddened eyes and used her tears to show that she was sorry every time they quarreled. “Laurence, I was wrong.”Sarah shed more and more tears, and her face was soon completely damp. “Don’t do this to me.”She cried and choked as she spoke, her voice and speech slurred. It could be very distressing indeed.Laurence was silent for a moment. He frowned lightly and pinched her chin. He looked serious in the dim light as he slowly wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief. “Forget it.”He told himself there was no need to chastise her.Sarah’s eyes were still red. He glanced at the mobile phone next to the sofa. The call had already been hung up.Pretending not to notice anything, Sarah continued, “I didn’t go abroad to leave you behind.”Laurence interrupted her, “I know. You were sick.”Sarah was stunned as she thought he didn’t know about this. She choked back sobs, lowered her face, and looked aggrie
Getting a divorce now or two years later didn’t make much of a difference for Zoey. She was okay with it either way. Besides finding another way to sustain her mother’s high medical expenses in the hospital, nothing else would change much.Zoey thought about it seriously and told Laurence truthfully, “If you need to, I’m willing to cooperate.”She could unconditionally terminate the contract earlier as long as he paid her the corresponding liquidated damages in accordance with the contract.After she’d said that, she noticed Laurence’s expression darken. He became reserved and gloomy. He was unpredictable, but Zoey had always been unable to gauge his temper. She contemplated it, polished her words a little, and mentioned tactfully, “Well, if it is terminated early, I should get compensation, right?”She asked the question carefully, afraid that Laurence might change his mind if he got upset. She could now understand why Laurence preferred to trade money and goods. It was straightforwar
Laurence wasn’t pleased after hearing that. He shouldn’t have said so much; it made him seem more concerned than he was.He was quiet for a few seconds before his expression changed to a fleeting cold smile. “I hope that you’ll be able to follow through with your plans when the time comes.”Laurence had known many women who were terrible at discerning others’ characters. He had a scatterbrained female cousin who fell in love with a man with a poorer financial background than her. When she finally had him, she provided for all his financial needs. Her actions were that of a lovesick person. And yet, in the end, the man never saw her as a romantic partner; once he’d garnered a fortune and could stand on his own two feet, he’d discarded her without a second thought.Laurence’s cousin had sobbed when she begged through gritted teeth for Laurence to teach the man a lesson that he would never forget. Laurence was annoyed by her weeping, so he simply agreed to her request. Before he could
The nurse was startled by Zoey’s tone. Zoey had always been soft-spoken and civil. She had never raised her voice at the nurse before.“Ms. Teller brought flowers with her, so she didn’t seem like someone with bad intentions. She said that she was an old friend of your mother’s, so I let her in,” the nurse said shakily.Zoey felt a bit light-headed from anger. An icy expression hung on her face, a rare look for her. “Please tell her to leave the next time she comes.”The nurse let out a breath of relief. “Alright.”Zoey’s anger still hadn’t dissipated after she ended the call. She forced herself to calm down and mull over Jasmine’s motives for today's visit. Jasmine wouldn’t visit her mother for no reason—she wasn’t one to do anything just for the sake of it. She was clearly more intelligent than the average person, considering how she’d waited for so many years. Jasmine had played a pivotal role behind the scenes regarding Robert’s smooth and easy acquisition of the Fulton family’
The young woman was pleased with the progress and looked forward to seeing the final product. “Alright then.” She’d heard that Zoey was tight on money, so out of the goodness of her heart, she referred a potential client to Zoey. “Miss Jenner, my uncle recently bought a house for his girlfriend, but it hasn’t been remodeled yet. He’s probably looking for someone to help with the remodeling. I’ll point him your way in a few days.”Zoey definitely wouldn’t give up the chance to make money, but it didn’t hurt to be more careful after the example that was James. “How old is your uncle? And what would you say his personality is like…”The young woman laughed. “He’s quite young, not much older than you, actually. He’s a nice person too. He’s a man of his word. He’s very good-looking but not much of a chatty person, so he’s on the distant side. To be honest, I don’t know if that lady is actually his girlfriend—he seems to be into her, but that woman has been trying to get back with her
Zoey was prone to feeling cold, so she pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders before looking for a deserted corner. She then asked for a warm water from one of the waiters.Sarah had a rather wide network; the venue was filled with many notable people tonight. Zoey spotted plenty of well-known people in Northwell.In truth, Zoey had initially studied jewelry design. During the summer break in her freshman year in university, her lecturer signed her up for a major competition.Sarah and Zoey were in the same year, and they were also in the same faculty. However, they had different lecturers.Newbies were able to make their debut during the annual competition. Her tutor sent her the collections of designs that had won first place right before Zoey handed in her own work. The designs that her tutor sent were completely identical to the work that Zoey planned to send in.Zoey’s heart had stopped at the sight.The tutor kept singing his praises over Sarah’s winning design. Zoey c