"Mr. Scott, the chauffeur's downstairs," Chris said carefully to steer them back on topic. In the last two years, he realized that Mr. Scott's temper had improved for the better. He no longer noticed trivial things and would let things slide. Still, nobody was dumb enough to do anything that might piss him off. He would have refused to attend the date tonight, but that lady from the Cullen family had called incessantly, begging Chris to tell Mr. Scott to go to dinner with her. Otherwise, her parents would not stop urging her to marry and might even marry her off to a random hedonistic playboy. All she asked was for Laurence to put up an act with her to fool her parents. Besides, she promised she would not talk about him behind her back after this. Chris could not stand her calls. She cried and wept all the time on the phone, which was the opposite of the calm and composed image she usually portrayed. Apparently, all the young ladies from affluent families were merely putting on an
Diana had always been dumb. At times, she acted really stupid. She asked, “Are you saying Zoey might not have died?”Diana was fine with Zoey being alive. Maybe this way, Laurence would forgive her for bullying Zoey in the past. She didn’t think it was outlandish to believe she was alive. She asked softly, “Didn’t the police fail to find her body?”A chill went up Eliza’s spine. A person dying and coming back to life was a scary thought. She said, “Laurence just helped me out. I shouldn’t be talking about him behind his back.”But Diana was not one to keep her mouth shut. At the mention of Zoey, she thought of Sarah. She was silent for a while before asking, “Have you seen Sarah these past two years?”“No. Hasn’t she also disappeared?”Zoey’s incident hadn’t happened too long ago. All the scandals about Sarah were scary to think about. Even the news that she had been stealing someone else’s designs was nothing compared to the other things she had done in the past. Her internationa
Zoey looked down silently for a moment. She finally said, “You don’t have to tell me about him, Uncle.”She didn’t care. Neither did she have the energy to. She hadn’t had a very pleasant five years.Thank goodness for the plants on the cliff that had cushioned her fall. She was still badly hurt and sent into a coma. She hadn’t been completely unharmed.When Zoey woke up, she was already in Novarvia. She was in an unfamiliar castle. When she opened her eyes, she was unable to speak much. She couldn’t move her body. She did not stay awake for long each day, either. She was dizzy every day. It was like a nightmare. She spent many days unconscious. After a few months, her head gradually cleared. She could sit up with someone’s help. She nearly lost her ability to talk because she hadn’t talked in a long time.As Zoey thought about those difficult months, her body began to ache. She couldn’t just stop herself from feeling that intense pain.She had no idea how Shawn had found her and
Zoey froze. She touched her mask instinctively. Thank goodness it still concealed most of her face. Her seat was two rows behind Laurence’s, so he wouldn’t notice her. Zoey did not wish to meet him again. Even now, she would avoid him if she could.The sponsors were basically royalty, and they were treated as such. The staff members of the organizing committee ushered them to the front rows. They acted humbly and carefully. They had not expected someone as busy as Laurence would attend their event. They couldn’t figure out why Mr. Scott would suddenly start funding their competition. Because of his funding, their events in the past two years were orderly and effective. They improved every year. The competition was expanding. Every year, they could select a few extraordinary new talents.“Please sit, Mr. Scott.”He was expressionless and dressed in a dark suit. He sat, and the atmosphere around him seemed to freeze a little. It was chilly and ominous. The people around him were ner
The employee who had walked out with Laurence was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t even noticed her. On top of that, she had a mask on. Who could’ve seen who she was? There were many guests at the event, and people came to and fro. He couldn’t possibly know every single one of them.“Probably one of the guests who left early.”“One of the guests?”Laurence looked out the entrance. His gaze was deep and unfathomable. For just a split second, it felt like she’d come back. He’d seen too many people who looked like her over the past few years. He was disappointed every time. Once, he saw a photograph online of a woman’s side profile that looked exactly like hers, and he boarded a plane that night to find her. She was not one of the passengers. His hopes were always dashed. It was like a long, dark tunnel through which he could not see the light. He was like a zombie walking on its thorny path as his feet bled on the tracks.He could not find her. Everyone said she was dead. Even her f
Zoey thought Laurence’s hatred was senseless and illogical. He had not suffered any losses. Who was he to deny her the right to a peaceful death? Zoey took a deep breath and stopped thinking about it. If she wasn’t careful, she would be consumed by her hatred.She left the hotel’s banquet hall and went to the hospital. Teddy sat alone on the bench in the pediatric ward. His face was cold and aloof. Aunt Linda was not there. She had left him alone. It was fortunate that the country was safe. There were surveillance cameras everywhere, so crime rates were low. Zoey went to her son and touched his head. Then, she tousled his hair. He didn’t like when people did this to him, but he stayed quiet because she was his mother. He spread his arms and indicated that he wanted her to hug him. A smart child was still just a child. He needed his mother’s love. He was clingy because he wanted to experience his mother’s love for him.Zoey held him up and placed a hand on his forehead. It didn’t
Teddy needed to keep the secret and protect his mother. He felt awkward, and his face turned red as he tried to find the words to comfort her. Finally, he said, "Don't be sad, Mom. I will always love you." His sweet voice melted Zoey's heart.Zoey smiled. "Sure, I'll keep that in mind and hold you to that." Although he was small, it was endearing how he put on a straight face like an adult. The boy nodded and held out his hand. "Pinky promise, Mom. I won't lie to you." Zoey curled her little finger around his. "Alright." The boy snuggled against Zoey's shoulder. He felt sleepy but forced himself to stay awake. His eyes looked around, hoping they wouldn’t run into the man from the restaurant again. He knew the man was his biological father. When Teddy was younger, he didn’t understand why he didn't have a father, but he stopped asking. Teddy feared that his mother would meet the man from the restaurant again. What if she stopped loving him? Teddy looked up at Zoey with puppy do
Eliza felt the man next to her suddenly stiffen and stare blankly at the woman standing nearby. She followed his gaze and looked at a woman standing across from them. She was beautiful, with fair skin and long, flowing hair. Her eyes were huge against her small, delicate face. Her gaze was wise beyond her years. Eliza searched her memory to find out why the woman looked familiar. The woman looked like Laurence's ex-wife and looked exactly like the person in the photograph. Could two people look the same? It was amazing. Eliza was impressed by Laurence's restraint. She would have run to the lookalike and embraced her if she had been in his shoes.Zoey did not shy away. She knew there was no point in hiding, as they had already run into each other once. She had not done anything wrong, so she had no fear of facing him. However, the encounter caught her off guard, and she had not prepared herself mentally. Zoey quickly looked away, grabbed her purse, and walked out of the store. He w