“Sean enjoys drinking. Every time he drinks, he tends to act violently. He has beaten me up many times in the Gardner family’s mansion. Each time he beats me up, others in the Gardner family just coldly watch. Aside from my son, nobody protects me, but last night… Addy shielded me.” Sophia chuckled in resignation. “I’m actually not on good terms with Addy, but when I was abused, she was the first to stand up for me.“Besides slapping other women and me, Sean tried to slap Addy too. Addy was forced to hit Sean to protect herself and me.“Sean’s an adult male. When a weak woman like Addy kicked him, he flew to the road. I have reason to suspect that he faked it. He probably wanted to take advantage of the Winters family.”When Adina woke up, she saw Sophia’s live stream interview.She was really surprised about Sophia showing up to clarify things on her behalf.After all, ever since her return from abroad, Sophia had mocked her every time she visited the Xavier family. She even thou
“I love Mommy the most. I’m not scared of you at all,” George said lovingly. “Mommy, with all the stress from work, you must be very tired. Yesterday, I did some research on various resorts for your honeymoon. Fogline Islands sounds good. Do you want to go there for a vacation with Daddy?”Adina paused. She nodded and said, “Sure! Do you mind arranging our itinerary for us, then?”“No problem!” George said happily. “Usually, a honeymoon lasts for a month. Other than the Fogline Islands, there are other fun places you can go, too. I’ll go check them out!”He excitedly took out his laptop. He checked the places that they could travel to and typed them down to make a complete honeymoon plan.Adina sighed as she looked out the window and watched her two carefree children build snowmen outside. ‘Wouldn’t it be great if there’s no problem with my body? The six of us could be together happily forever…’“Madam, breakfast is ready.”Colin served breakfast. Duke cooked the bolognese sp
Adina went back to her bedroom. She took her laptop and sat on the balcony. She did not deliberately search for the news, but it kept popping out on her screen. [The former chairman of Jones Corporation, Zhenny Jones, refuses to be interviewed by the reporters. However, according to the corporation’s employees, after the board meeting yesterday morning, the reporters can confirm that Ms. Zhenny Jones and Ms. Adina Daugherty had been on bad terms. Many witnesses are attesting that Ms. Daugherty caused the injury on Ms. Jones’ head.][Many reporters have surrounded LaStar Technology Corporation. The company’s internal employees have refused to be interviewed. However, according to the employees of several neighboring companies, Adina Daugherty has rarely shown up in her company for the past few days. The last time they saw her, she lost her temper at a meeting.][A netizen broke the news, saying that Adina Daugherty has been seeing a well-known psychiatrist in Sea City. The diagnos
The second day of New Year was celebrated with a variety of scrumptious food.By right, after lunch, they would pay a visit to the Xavier family.However, the Winters family’s mansion was on the cusp of the storm. Many reporters were guarding the winding mountain road. They were waiting for Adina to go out and rush towards her.Mdm. Annabelle Xavier personally called the Winters family to postpone the visit to the next few days. Thus, another dull afternoon for the children.“Hal, you’ll go to the company to handle business affairs in a few days.” Al asked calmly, “Are you confident about it?”Harold diffidently rubbed his nose. “Kind of…”“Just say yes or no. What do you mean by “kind of”?” George said, “I‘ll simulate some emergencies later this afternoon. Handle it.”“Well…” Harold said unwillingly. “It’s New Year. Aren’t we supposed to have fun?”“Hal, you can play alone. I’m going to practice my piano.” Melody blinked and said, “Daddy said he’ll arrange a concert for me a
Adina laid her head on the pillow as her black, silky hair spread on the pillow, revealing her full face. She looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes.Duke knew she had not slept well for the past few days. She had been tossing and turning until three or four in the morning before she could finally fall asleep. “Yes. As I said, I’ll just accompany you while you nap.”His voice was very gentle, like the sound of the strings of a cello being gently plucked, and like the rustling sound of the spring breeze blowing through the treetops.She felt as if the spring breeze blew past her, transforming her into a whole different person. She looked up and raised her eyebrow. She hooked her arms around Duke’s neck. She kissed his chin with her crimson, soft lips. She then moved upwards and kissed his lips.He instantly changed from being submissive to being dominant, as he kissed her back passionately. He kissed her lips and moved all the way down to her collarbone. Adina’s
Adina heard Duke’s gentle voice. She squinted and opened her eyes. She said blearily, “Duke, I’m hungry.”Duke chuckled, “Go back and sleep for a little while more. I’ll cook for you. It’ll take around thirty minutes.”She closed her eyes and nodded. ‘Thirty minutes is more than enough for me.’She had a light sleep. Her frontal cortex was active, and she started to dream. She was walking in a blurry valley. There were mountains and trees everywhere, and she did not know where to go. She would stumble at every step she took because her legs felt so weak. She knew that she was dreaming, and was desperately trying to get out of there. She finally got up and walked across the swamp. Finally, the path became smoother. She tried to open her eyes again but failed.Suddenly, something flew past her.It was bats. She picked up something and swung it in the air aimlessly. The bats kept flying toward her, and she kept dodging them. A door suddenly emerged in front of her. She
“Addy, it’s just a dream. It’s just a dream, it’s alright…”Duke hugged her tightly and patted her back. His voice was hoarse yet gentle.Adina hugged him back tightly as she slowly sagged to the ground.‘After I slapped Zhenny, Duke said that I’m okay, and everything is fine. He said that everything will be resolved.‘After I kicked Sean, he told me that it was fine, too. He told me I did the right thing… ‘But honestly, are things really okay?‘Will they truly be okay forever?‘Will one or two flukes make me feel that my mental state is still normal?‘I almost killed my own son…’‘How can this happen?‘How did things get to this point?’“Addy, you’re just too stressed. That’s why you dreamed that dream.” Duke rested his chin on her shoulder. “In a few days, we’ll go out for a trip, a honeymoon. You can let your hair down. You’ll definitely feel better once you have a change of environment.”Adina snuggled in his arms with a lingering feeling of bitterness.‘If I can rais
Sure enough, it was because Adina had not eaten anything for the whole day. She stood up weakly. “I must’ve gotten it last night. I’ll feel sick whenever I eat anything…”Duke carried her to the couch in the living room. “Sit here. I’ll cook you some oatmeal.”“It’s alright. I don’t have an appetite.” Adina smiled. “Duke, go accompany Hal. I want to be alone.”“I’ll accompany you. I will neither say anything nor bother you. Don’t chase me away.”Duke sat in front of her. There was a hint of pain in his gaze.‘Whenever I’m in pain, he’s in pain too.‘I owe him so much…’She lowered her gaze. “Duke, I’m going out for a walk. I don’t want to stay here.”“I’ll go with you.”He stood up. He put on his coat, then helped Adina put on her down jacket. “Let’s go.” “Duke, I want to go out alone. Please…” She bit her lower lip. “I want to be alone. I want to be by myself…”“You can walk in front, and I’ll trail behind you, then. I won’t make a sound.” He said softly. That aloof an