Duke turned over, got out of bed, and went downstairs to pour Adina a cup of warm water. He took two pills and handed them to her. He watched and made sure she swallowed them before embracing her and resuming their sleep.In the latter half of the night, Adina lay awake restlessly, and it was almost dawn before she finally drifted off to sleep.When she woke up, it was bright outside, and sunlight was streaming in from the window. The room was quiet.She went to brush her teeth and wash up, casually tied her hair, then went downstairs.The children’s laughter could be heard coming from the dining room, and Duke was seated at the table peeling eggs for Melody.Such a heartwarming and unusual scene made Adina’s heart warm a little.When she was about to say something, both of her cheeks started to itch again, especially on the right side of her face. It felt like countless little ants crawling across her face, but it was not painful, just agonizingly itchy.She turned around and w
The family of six joyfully finished their breakfast.Mabel descended the stairs while looking pale.“Grandma, good morning.”“Good morning, Grandma.”The children greeted Mabel one after another.Mabel walked to the dining table and sat down. Mr. Brown immediately served the breakfast that had already been prepared long ago.Adina put down her chopsticks and stood up. As she was about to go to the living room, Mabel called after her.“Duke, Addy, I have something to tell you both.”Adina halted her steps and said lightly, “What is it?”“I booked my ticket to Australia this afternoon.” Mabel said with a hoarse voice, “I will stay and live in Australia from now on. You guys can visit Australia and spend a few days there if you have the time.”Adina remained silent and pursed her lips.Their current relationship was not suitable for them to live together. It would be awkward for each other.As a child, Duke could not request Mabel to move out. The fact that Mabel could take th
How did her life come to such a point, where she was uncertain whether one son was alive or dead, and the remaining son hated her…?Between choking sobs, she said, “Let Catherine go then... What she did to you before was because Earl compelled her to do it. She’s innocent.”“Mrs. Winters, you should take care of yourself first,” Adina said coolly, “You will have your freedom once Earl faces justice.”Mabel hung her head, and her eyes were red-rimmed.The four children were at a loss. They understood the problem, but this was not something they could stick their noses into.At that moment, Mr. Brown came in with a report. “Sir, your assistant has arrived.”Duke narrowed his eyes.He had investigated Winters Corporation. His previous assistant was Jake Wilson, but when Earl took his place, the CEO’s assistant was switched out with a hooligan named Arden Wyatt.His return to Sea City was not publicized, yet Arden managed to find him the day after he returned home.It was very lik
Adina and the four children were in the living room playing with jigsaw puzzles on the carpet.The TV was playing a random news channel, and she suddenly heard a familiar name. She raised her head to watch the TV screen.“The war of successors to Jones Group has kicked off. As a large family with a long history, the battle for succession in each generation is ferocious. There is only one male successor in the Jones family for this generation. It was thought that Daniel Jones would be the guaranteed successor, but he has unexpectedly dropped out of the race.”Adina frowned.She still remembered the project with Elitos. Jasmine had planned it to defraud her so that she could garner more profit, thus increasing her advantage over those vying for the company’s succession.Daniel and Jasmine were the only members of the younger generation in the Jones family.But Jasmine carried a different surname, so she had to work even harder to gain the family’s recognition.Yet Daniel had pulle
‘Addy? Can’t believe I’d run into her here.’Dillon suddenly hit the brakes and stopped his car right in front of Adina’s vehicle.He pushed open the car door to get out, then he walked toward the driver’s seat where Adina was and lightly tapped on her door.Adina lowered the car window and coolly said, “Mr. Jones, is something wrong?”“Addy, where have you been these past three weeks, I’ve been trying to find you…” Dillon’s speech was somewhat incoherent. “What happened to your face? Did you get injured? Is it serious?”His concern went beyond words, which made it hard for Adina to keep a stoic facade. She softened her tone as she said, “I went on a trip overseas and only got back yesterday. Is there a reason why you were looking for me, Mr. Jones?”“No, it’s nothing…” Dillon sighed in relief. “I was just a little worried for you. It’s good that you’re okay…”When he finished speaking, he was not sure what to say next, yet he was reluctant to leave, so he just stood like an idi
After Adina had taken the children to their preschool to resume their classes, she drove the car straight to the Xavier family.Although the news about her being missing for more than twenty days had been kept well-hidden by the Winters family, the Xavier family should have already found out what they needed to know.She drove the car into the Xavier family’s mansion. As soon as she got out of her car, Mdm. Xavier’s personal maids came over and said in a low voice, “Miss Adina, it has been so long. Mdm. Xavier worries about you every day. Her eyes are swollen from crying, and she has no appetite. She has lost a lot of weight...”Adina nodded to show that she understood and guided her children inside.Mdm. Xavier had arched her head back and was sunbathing on a deck chair on the balcony.“Great Grandma, I’ve missed you!”Harold rushed over in large strides. He hugged Mdm. Xavier’s neck and started acting cute.“Great Grandma, I love you the most!” Melody said softly as she leaned
After she announced her severance, she never cared about the Daugherty family again.Moreover, she was never a Daugherty, to begin with.“Dew was mistreated in prison…” Mdm. Xavier sighed and said, “Half a month ago, news got out that she was pregnant. She had just gotten pregnant, but those people beat her up until she miscarried. Dew’s health is ruined, and her mind is not quite right. The rumor is that she has gone mad and was admitted into a mental asylum.”Adina pursed her lips. She had mixed feelings about this.During their younger days, she saw Dew as her own sister. However, on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony at 18 years old, a crack formed in their sisterhood.That night, when Adina gave birth to her children, the crack became a full-blown rupture.She resented Dew for four years. Once, she had been so depressed that she was willing to run Dew over with a car.However, when George and Harold reunited with her, all the past resentment and hatred dissipated.They
After she returned to the Winters family’s mansion, Adina told Duke about the Jones family issue.The man hugged her by the shoulder and softly spoke into her ear, “Whoever’s daughter you are, you will always be my wife. This will never change.”What he meant was that he did not care who her father was. Whichever family she came from, even if she had no family to speak of, he would always love her.Adina leaned into his strong chest. “Dillon invited me to have lunch with him at the Jones family’s mansion. I’ll go, and while I’m there, I want to find out what happened between Dillon and my mother...”“I’ll go with you.” Duke hugged her tight.“There’s no need. I’ll just bring the children with me.” Adina cupped his face. “Earl may have lost his freedom, but he had plenty of confidants who have all taken root in Sea City. You’ll have to deal with these people, so make sure that you don’t show that you care about me.”If those lackeys found out that someone else had taken Earl’s pla