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
“We’ll go to sleep first,” said George. He turned and took out a blanket from the cabinet and laid it on the bed. The four children huddled together in Harold’s room and slowly fell asleep.The night sky outside the window slowly became brighter. Dawn emerged as the morning sun rose slowly up in the sky. A new day had come.Harold was the first to wake up. He jumped out of his bed. “Mommy must be back!”He opened the door and rushed out. Unfortunately, he only saw Colin downstairs. He was alone, cleaning the table.“Papa Brown, is Mommy awake?”Colin raised his head. “Mr. and Mdm. Winters have not come home since heading out last night.”Harold’s face turned pale. “Mommy isn’t home yet…”He turned around and rushed into the master bedroom. The blanket was neatly folded. There was no sign of people sleeping on that bed. This meant that his parents had not come home last night.“Calm down.” George said calmly, “I’ll call Daddy.”Duke’s phone vibrated. He was standing on
Her figure faded into the night as she slowly walked out of the range of surveillance cameras.As Duke tried to jump to the next camera, he heard his assistant say, “Mr. Winters, at the end of this road, is an abandoned unfinished building. The government has approved the blasting within one month. So, there are no cameras installed nearby…”Duke’s gaze darkened. “Are there any surveillance cameras at the end of the road?”“After the crude construction, you’ll reach a small fishing village. It was acquired by Gardner Corporation three years ago. The fishermen evacuated a month ago. So far, a demolition project is in the works, so no cameras there…”Jake’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat as Duke stared at him with his cold gaze. “But there are some fishing boats with cameras nearby. I’ll look into it.”Duke looked at the screen where Adina was at. He unconsciously lifted his hand and touched it gently. “Addy, don’t leave me… “The children are waiting for you to come home…”