Marcus chuckled a little bit over the phone.However, the meaning of it was unclear. Josiah could not figure out why he did that, so he braced himself by asking, “Mr. Z… Why did she come to me? For work?”Marcus paused. Upon recalling Cordelia had been researching Josiah the entire night, the uneasiness he felt came rushing back.“Because you’re good-looking!” He hung up the phone after saying that angrily.Josiah spent the entire day in fear.In the end, he decided to wait. He would wait to see what Cordelia would do next and would play it by ear then.…Later on, Cordelia waited at the Splendor Dynasty’s entrance on her own. The building, as magnificent as a castle, was lit bright tonight. It was extraordinarily lively. There were luxury cars parked everywhere on the property. Some people landed their private helicopters on the helipad behind the hotel.Those who were invited were of high status.Cordelia’s plain outfit did not fit in the event at all.She tried her best
“D-Did you make a mistake?”After a moment of silence, Yelena yelled with her shrill voice, “How is it possible that you’re looking for her!?”“May I know if you’re Ms. Cordelia Jenner?” The man had a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold. “If you’re not, please step back!”“You—”“This is the Splendor Dynasty. The Hamertons are hosting the dinner,” the man said flatly. “It’s my job to decide who to welcome and who not to welcome. I don’t need you to tell me how to do my job!”Yelena’s face paled from the rage. The corner of her lips twitched, and she could not squeeze a word.Joanne and William looked at each other, troubled. They thought what was happening was odd.It was Cordelia! How would a disgraced illegitimate daughter deserve to be in such an event!?“Ms. Jenner.” The man walked to Cordelia and nodded respectfully. “Please come with me.”Cordelia’s heart was pounding. As if she was struck by lightning, her chaotic mind was now empty.“Sir, d-did you make a mistak
Marcus was stunned too.Was his rage that obvious? Why was he jealous of Josiah for nothing? The latter had been following him since they were young.After coughing softly, Marcus picked up the mug and took a sip of water. He stayed silent.A pair of tiny, soft hands tucked at him.Subsequently, the subtle scent of her body flirted with his nose.“Hubby.” Cordelia’s voice was as soft as cotton candy. She showed a pleasing smile. “I’ll stop if you don’t like me talking about work.”Marcus instinctively smirked. He felt better now.“It’s not that I dislike listening to you talk about your work.” He turned his face to look at her and spoke slowly. “It’s just that you’ve been talking about Mr. Bayer the entire night. Can you talk about someone else?”Cordelia widened her eyes. “Who do you want me to talk about?”“Like…” He paused. “Wasn’t that ball organized by the Hamertons? Then I’m sure you heard about Mr. Z, right?”She thought about it, and a light shake of the head followed
At the top floor of Regalia Hotel…Marcus leaned back against the spacious recliner. The weather was not good today. The fog was thick above the sea far away, seeing no end like the knot in his heart.“Are you not interested in Mr. Z Hamerton?“You’d shoot up to high society if he took a liking to you!”…Marcus tightened his hold on the wine glass, his joints becoming white from the exertion.He had just wanted to joke with her but did not expect such a huge reaction from her. Not only had she not allowed him in the bedroom these days, but she was also icy to him. She prepared the meals and cleaned the house as usual but kept a cold and polite distance from him.The atmosphere nearly suffocated Marcus, who was always calm and collected, making him close to losing his mind. If he could go back in time, he would have choked himself without a filter dead!A helicopter slowly landed on the helipad not far away. The wind stirred from the rotating propellers messed up Marcus’ hair a
Cordelia froze. Once she heard Jesse’s voice now, everything in her automatically shifted to fight mode. She looked at him in alert.Jesse could not help chuckling when he came close and saw her like this. He turned to Annie. “You can go back. Cordelia stays.”Annie could only leave first, but she kept turning back to check on Cordelia, worried. Everyone knew about Jesse’s ulterior thoughts regarding Cordelia. Was he up to something by retaining her alone?Annie stopped when she got to the company exit.Before she and Cordelia went on the business trip together previously, the company regulation stated that each employee had to leave an emergency contact with both the company and their partner. She remembered that Cordelia had saved her husband, Marcus, as the contact.Annie searched for Marcus’ number from her phone contacts and sent him a text after a moment of hesitation.…Jesse smirked at Cordelia in the office.“What a capable junior I have.” He looked her up and down. “T
“Don’t you think Josiah Bayer’s acting strange?”“What’s so strange?” Jesse was indifferent. “All men are the same when they see a beautiful woman.”“That’s true… But he doesn’t look like he’s met a pretty girl. More like he’s seen the ghost of his ancestor!”Jesse nearly laughed out loud. He covered his mouth and scanned his surroundings before lowering his voice to tell Michael, “Mr. Johnson, I’ve already made the arrangement. The room’s at…”Cordelia’s heart came up to her throat. She quietly went closer and listened in attention.That hotel was some distance away from here and was located in the suburbs, barely having anyone when night fell.She clenched her fists and felt anger raging in her chest.Jesse’s smirk was evil. “That’s a deserted place. Even if Cordelia screams herself hoarse, it’s useless! Mr. Bayer will sign anything when he’s had enough fun!”“Oh yeah, Mr. Johnson, I installed a camera in the room. If Josiah Bayer dares to back out of it, we’ll publicize the
“Ms. Jenner, calm down.” Josiah kept his distance from her. “I’m sending you home.”Cordelia looked outside. This was not the way home!Actually, Josiah knew all about Michael and Jesse’s conspiracy. The car had just left the hotel. He had to put up an act instead of sending Cordelia home directly. That was why they took a longer way.In spite of it, Cordelia did not know that! She became more alert and quivered a little. She had already unhooked her bag strap and gripped it tight in her hand.What she was currently thinking were scenes of women's self-defense. She calmed down and thought carefully. There were three people, including the driver, in this narrow space. Other than her, the other two were strong men. She could not fight them directly.It was a coincidence that she sat right behind the driver… She pursed her lips, and her big eyes kept up with what Josiah would do closely.…Marcus turned his phone as he stepped out of the club.Robert spoke in a low voice next to h
Cordelia peeled her heavy eyelids open. She felt like her bones were dismantled and reassembled. The pain was unbearable.She was greeted with white walls and the smell of antiseptic while being bandaged in gauze from head to toe. What was even more exaggerated was that her leg was hung high.She was stunned when a large hand held hers, and the warmth of it seeped into her heart.Cordelia turned to meet the man’s deep eyes.He looked at her quietly with complex emotions running through them. Worry, frustration, concern, affection… and self-blame. He forced a smile and stroked her hair softly, speaking hoarsely. “You’re finally awake.”Cordelia jostled, her head buzzing. Other than pain, she could not feel anything.“What happened to me?”“You don’t remember?” Marcus held her hand in his and rubbed it gently.Cordelia’s lips were dry, and her throat was so parched—it felt like it was on fire. Her streams of consciousness slowly poured in, and she remembered everything that had h