“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
Marcus played with Cordelia’s long hair with a smile, seeing that she was a little down.“What’s the matter?”Cordelia sighed and chortled wryly.“I don’t have any good idea to seek revenge from them for now,” she said softly. “I don’t want word about this matter to get out since it’s not exactly glorious. People like them get to live their lives like nothing happened after what they did, but I can’t do anything to them.“I can only pretend nothing ever happened and endure it for now until the day I’m powerful enough to fight them and settle the score with them!”Marcus chuckled lightly as he looked at her.Cordelia was not a soft pushover. This woman was tough, clear with what she loved and hated, resilient, and patient. She would avenge if there was a grudge, and she was able to stay calm and help herself in a crisis. She even had the determination and courage to risk it all.She was like a female version of him.The corners of Marcus’ lips curled up high. The more he thought
Cordelia’s injury required rest, so Marcus took her back home to care for.In the beginning, Cordelia was worried. Marcus did not know how to do house chores, and even cooking was a problem. Now that she was injured, the house would definitely be a mess.Despite that, her eyes sparkled the moment Marcus carried her into the house.Their home was clean and tidy. Everything was put in place, not looking any different than before she got hurt.“Not bad, huh?” Marcus chuckled deeply.His gaze at her was like a little boy who was waiting for the teacher to praise him.Cordelia grinned. She had always thought that her husband was unpredictable, but all she saw was him browsing finance news in various foreign languages usually. She did not expect him to be able to handle housework as well!A while later, Marcus served two dishes.Cordelia tasted them and found that they were decent, just a little too much salt. However, she was already pleasantly surprised with how they turned out.“
Cordelia was delirious. She did not know how to answer him and could only respond shyly following what he said.She gently closed her eyes, listening to the light shower of rain pitter-pattering on the window and feeling the man’s passionate kisses… She slowly opened up her heart.…Marcus eventually woke up at the crack of dawn.Back when he was at the Hamertons’, he would sometimes wake up at 4:00 a.m. to work. He would always wake up early, a habit unchanged all these years.In spite of it, because of Cordelia last night, he was filled with the impulse to sleep in for the first time.Marcus turned to look at her silently. The girl was sound asleep and looked endearing. He could not help kissing her lips, but the sweetness of it stirred his urge again. He tried to hold himself back as he thought about last night’s frenzy. She must be exhausted.Marcus got up and caught a glimpse of his phone screen lighting up. He put on a T-shirt and got out of bed to go to the balcony quietl
After some rest, Cordelia’s leg finally healed. She could not wait for the check-up at the hospital and went off to work.Annie was delightfully surprised when she saw her. “You’re finally back! I haven’t been in the mood to work without you sitting next to me recently!”Cordelia smiled. “You’re getting sweeter with words!”“Sigh, I feel guilty! If I had insisted on going to the dinner with you, you wouldn’t have been tricked by that scum…”Alarmed, Cordelia quickly pulled Annie to an emptier corridor.“Does… everyone know about this already?”Annie looked around before telling her softly, “No. The people in the office don’t know why you suddenly took sick days. The director said that you accidentally injured your leg. Everyone wanted to visit you in the hospital together, but he stopped them.”Cordelia nodded in silence.The director was not bad, but he knew too well about self-preservation. He glossed over many things and would hardly stand up for anything.“So even if there
Carter was soaked in sweat, looking frantic with red-rimmed eyes. He failed to hold back his tears when he saw Cordelia come for him and went up to grab her.“Cordelia, something happened at home!”“What’s wrong?”“Your sister…” He panted. “Yelena took a lot of people home saying that she wants to chase us out!”Cordelia felt her ears buzz, and her mind went blank.“She came with a lot of workers saying she wants to take back the house to renovate it for her own use! Sis, didn’t your father give the house to our mom? What right does she have to take it back!?”Cordelia’s heart thrashed. She panicked for a moment, not understanding why Yelena would do that.“Let’s go back and have a look first!” She consoled Carter, “We’ve been living there for so many years. She can’t just take it back like that. There could be some misunderstanding!”“What misunderstanding could there be? Yelena must be up to no good!” Carter fumed. “She took so many people to our place today and chased me out