During the trial, Robert insisted he had been framed for something he didn't do and that the audio recording had been artificially created, so it was not valid evidence.He didn't put too much thought into things and had expected everything to run smoothly as the lawyer had promised. He was gullible to assume that as long as he did not plead guilty, he could escape legal sanctions under the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”. However, he didn’t know that the court considered recanting testimonies an aggravating circumstance. He did not cooperate and behaved haughtily, insisting he knew nothing and the incident had been nothing more than a regular traffic accident. Robert placed too much trust in his lawyer. He’d originally intended to make it out alive, but with his lawyer's persuasion, he was led to act greedily and refused to serve a single day of jail time. If anything, he was one to keep his word. He kept his lips sealed and did not mention Jasmine's name once throughou
Jared seemed willing to put effort into maintaining a relationship and enjoyed sharing his thoughts and emotions with his partner. He was always ready to express his feelings and enjoyed intimate interactions. As he never hid his emotions, Zoey did not have to figure out what he was thinking. His social circle was simple and clear of any messy affairs that Zoey had to deal with. She felt very relaxed around him. Besides, Jared never stood her up or made her wait for him unnecessarily.Zoey thought she had long forgotten about past incidents, but somehow, they still occupied her mind occasionally. Like how Laurence always failed to show up on their dates and only thought to inform her he wouldn’t be able to make it to the concert she had been anticipating for months just minutes before it started. She had waited for him idly in the foyer in the pouring rain that night, and always having to wait for someone wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Now that she thought about it, she should have made l
Zoey was relieved to hear the doctor’s words. Of course, she wanted her child to be healthy. She was always careful whenever she went for prenatal checkups and never dared let her guard down.When they left the consultation room, Jared was still in shock. All the weeks they had spent together and he had never noticed Zoey suffered from hearing difficulties. She seemed perfectly normal and wasn't any different from anyone else. He stuttered a bit before deciding to keep his mouth shut. He shouldn’t probe. That'd be rubbing salt in her wounds. But no matter how he thought about it, he could not come up with any other plausible external factors that could lead to loss of hearing apart from prolonged exposure to loud noises, forceful impacts, or explosions, and all three of them sounded unthinkable.Northwell wasn't a small town, so it had strict controls and regulations on loud noises. The smallest bit of noise resulted in neighbors reporting the disturbance to authorities. Besides, i
"Of course! Who wants to hear hurtful words?” Zoey exclaimed, watching Laurence’s taut expression. She scoffed, "You aren’t so deluded as to think that you have been speaking nicely in the past, are you?" She expected Laurence would refute her by telling her that the truth was always hurtful, but unexpectedly, he did not.A moment of silence later, he said lazily, "If you like sweet talk, I can do that too." Then as though having a change of mind, he continued, "But what use is there of sweet talk?" Indeed, what was the use of sweet-talking? Nothing but empty promises that would never come true.Laurence's condescending gaze fell on Jared again. He guessed Jared must have made Zoey many promises, one of which would be marriage. But was he sure he'd be able to marry her? Who could say for certain? The only reason Laurence had been able to put up with Jared hanging around Zoey recently was because he was sure there was no way they could end up together. Or, more specifically, he was
The two hadn’t met in a long time, and even without saying a word, they both put on intimidating airs. Shawn had exquisite facial features that gave him a sharp look, and Laurence had no intentions of reining in his domineering attitude. His calm façade could not hide his bone-piercing gaze.Initially, he had been able to joke about Zoey having her choice of men, but as time went on, the thought of Zoey's past with Shawn infuriated him so much that he lost sleep thinking about it at night. It was a thorn in his side that pained him each time he thought of it, and every time he did, his hatred for Shawn grew. It bothered him so much. How could it not? He had told Zoey it was all in the past, but what else could he do? He had to make the best out of the situation. He wasn’t left with much choice, was he?Shawn had caught a lasting cold that refused to go away and he coughed intermittently. Though his throat was sore, his voice still sounded fine. He demanded, "Why are you hounding he
"Even she thinks something happened between us. I didn't tell her the truth. I lied. She probably still thinks she'd betrayed you to this day." It got increasingly arduous for Shawn to speak. He struggled to catch his next breath, and his eyes were bloodshot. With a final burst of energy, he pushed Laurence off of him. He felt like his throat had been slit open. A metallic tang gushed up within him. "I thought you'd divorce her after that. But I waited so long, and you never did. The tolerance you have for her exceeded my expectations. I planned on never telling you this so it can bother you the rest of your life. But I thought about it, and there’s no need for it anymore." Shawn's throat itched and hurt. He coughed violently until he bent over, and even then, with his face unbelievably pale, he lifted his face to look Laurence in the eyes. "Laurence Scott, you do not deserve her love." He did not realize the bitterness in his voice or the iciness of his gaze. He was so envio
"I was just wondering why you were suddenly being so kind to me today. Is it so that I feel sorry for her?"Laurence's face turned pale. The reckless, frivolous days of his youth were long gone, and he now rarely resorted to violence to settle matters. He hardly let his fists do the talking, yet, he almost let that dormant side of his win. The irritability almost took over."That's not it."Shawn looked up at Laurence's face, which only screamed hostility. As their gazes collided, he couldn't help but notice the bloodshot veins in his eyes that were impossible to conceal. He was probably still in agony.Only love could cause such torment. Had he hurt someone he didn't love, it wouldn't have brought him pain nor evoked any guilt at all.As dusk crept nearer, the sky gradually deepened.Laurence didn't feel any pain from his wounds. Climbing into his car, he glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror, taking in the image of the utterly disheveled man. His eyes were so bloodsh
Probably in hopes of not making things difficult for Zoey, Jared agreed to the company's request.On weekdays, he would work in Northwell, and every Friday, he would fly back to Southgrove.At the very least, he was a young lad unafraid of the hustle and bustle of life.On the other hand, Zoey didn't feel any newfound relief. Perhaps she had never regarded him as a burden since the beginning.Down in the dumps, Jared packed his luggage reluctantly. Holding his full suitcase, he turned back to look at her. At some point, their collaboration, which initially revolved around money and obligation, had surpassed those boundaries and gradually became something real to him."Will you miss me?" asked Jared.Zoey pondered for a moment before speaking honestly, "I will."Afraid that he wouldn't believe her, she repeated her words. Despite the soft volume, they echoed in his ears. "Jared Peyton, I will miss you."In fact, Zoey was not hesitant when it came to expressing her love. She was