Zoey was fairly content with her life the way it was currently. Truth be told, peace was all she longed for.The sight of Laurence no longer elicited a dreadful reaction from her. It could be that, as she read online, she was gradually becoming desensitized. The more they met, the easier it was for her to let go, little by little.What could he say to her? At worst, it would just be more threats.She was now unaffected by his threats.But reality didn't seem to point toward that.He held her wrist tightly. Each word he uttered seemed to be a struggle as he spoke slowly and deliberately at a snail's pace. Although his tone conveyed composure, his voice lacked any semblance of peace. "I want to say it."He released her wrist and slowly raised his hand to her face, gently resting it against her cheek. His fingertips were cool to the touch, and the freezing sensation sent a chill down her spine. His thumb lingered on her face for a good while.His eyes were fixated on her; the emo
When it came to certain things, time couldn't mend the scars even if the topic remained untouched.Zoey could perceive no significance in bringing this up now. It had been so long. What difference would it make to know the truth now?It wouldn't magically undo the past.Ironically, his words only served to refresh her memory of the incident, including his repeated attempts at humiliating her."I ..."Faced with her resistance, he felt his throat grow tickly. However, before he could speak, he got coldly interrupted."Stop saying such meaningless things." Zoey fought to keep her cool, her voice trembling. "I don't want to hear it."Back then, Laurence had refused to listen to her explanation.Now, she didn't want to hear his.It was no different.A gust of spring breeze blew past, and the weather changed in the blink of an eye.The sun quietly set, welcoming the gray sky and dense fog. It looked as though it would rain soon.Without warning, thunder rumbled ominously overhea
Laurence returned to the hotel to take a shower and change into clean clothes.It was already noon, but the rain didn't look like it would stop anytime soon.Although he had always been in good health, he felt dizziness strike him after the shower. Maybe it was the early symptoms of a cold, he thought, making him feel light-headed like this.A nap should be just what he needed right now. His eyes were terrifyingly bloodshot from staying up all night. Rubbing his temples, he forced himself to buck up.The messages he sent seemed to have vanished without a trace. None of them got him a response.He found himself clicking open their chat half a dozen times per minute. He didn't receive a single reply—not a single word, not even a random letter.Scrolling through the chatroom to see the conversation that had long ceased, Laurence could feel a sharp pain comparable with a severed artery. It was an intense, piercing pain.His pain perception was seemingly delayed. He wasn't dense when
Laurence's sudden interrogation caught Sarah off guard, leaving her at a loss for words.In all honesty, the fear of being exposed had long settled in when she learned that Shawn had managed to recall the past. She was afraid that he would reveal the truth to Laurence.Initially, it deeply troubled her, but the unease gradually subsided as time passed. In fact, she had nearly forgotten about it altogether. Given the tension between him and Laurence as arch-enemies, she thought he would never leak a word.For Laurence to suddenly bring this matter up now of all times, she knew the only reason was that Shawn had told him.By instinct, she tried to defend herself. However, looking up to meet the man's dark eyes seemed to lodge her entire argument in her throat like an extinguished flame.Right now, she could barely string together the words to explain herself.Time and time again, she had done too many wrongs and sought forgiveness through "it wasn't on purpose."She had lost cou
In recent days, Jasmine found herself deeply troubled by the company's operations. The impact of payment delays on several of their projects came as a terrible surprise. After all the trouble of using connections to secure a convenient deal with the resettlement housing program, the plans suddenly fell through for no apparent reason.Only with this project would the company have something to work on for the second half of the year.She was just feeling relieved that the funds could be turned around when she received a call nixing the agreement. Since they had yet to sign the contract, there was no legal issue with pulling out. Jasmine gripped her phone tightly. Presently, she dared not lose her temper and could only grovel softly, "Did something go wrong? Or could there be something about us you're dissatisfied with? How about this, Mrs. Sullivan, I'll treat you to a meal once I return to Northwell, and we can discuss it in person."Mrs. Sullivan had quite an influential figure
Laurence rarely lost control and unleashed his emotions like this.Mrs. Scott felt a deep sadness witnessing him in such a state, yet she understood that anything she said now would be futile.It was as they said—one could never attend to both ends. You couldn't have your cake and eat it too.In the past, he had gone to extremes. Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way.Perhaps it was due to his ailment that Laurence let slip this vulnerable side in front of his family. Very soon, he pulled himself back from the brink of losing control. He took a deep breath in an attempt to rearrange his emotions and said, "I'm going upstairs."He felt overcome with dizziness. He had definitely seen way better days.Back in his room, he took a shower and collapsed onto his bed after drying his hair with a towel. He shut his fatigued eyes when his phone on the bedside table rang, but he didn't bother looking at it, uninterested in who was calling.The next day, he woke up with a heav
Amanda thought Laurence would respond to her remarks as coldly as he had dismissed her in the past.To her surprise, that was not what happened.He knew that it would be pointless.Although she deliberately touched a nerve, Laurence didn't seem angered at all. He did not elicit a single display of the tantrum that Amanda had anticipated.She must admit that she really admired him for his composure at that moment.However, Zoey's new boyfriend and their child effortlessly stirred up a lingering discontent within him. Amanda held a certain level of fear for Laurence. If she were to enrage him for real, there was no knowing when he would be silently plotting his revenge. She decided to stop there and politely advised, "If you don't want to be an uncle, you can be the stepfather."Laurence tugged at the corners of his mouth and said, "Thank you so much."Amanda felt a chilling sensation down her spine as she met his cold gaze. She regretted speaking up.Engagement banquets were a
Laurence did not mind lending Jared a hand. It did not matter, even if Jared's parents had accepted the fact. Laurence would make Jared give up on his own. Reality was no utopia, and danger lurked everywhere in society, eroding all unrealistic fantasies. …Southgrove received two short rainstorms.The end of the torrential rainy season welcomed spring. Zoey moved her plants from the living room to the yard for a bask of sunshine. She had nothing much to do lately, and there was no emergency to sort out at work either. Beautiful weather always lifted spirits. On the spur of the moment, Zoey went upstairs to sort the room out. She had not been inside her previous bedroom, and dust had gathered on the desk. Her boxes of stuff were still underneath the bed where she had left them. The boxes contained diaries, used books, and test papers from her high school. Zoey was not in the position to bend over, especially with her growing belly. She was going to get someone to hel