Madeline drove away.Rooted in place, Jeremy waited until Madeline could no longer see him from her rear-view mirror before he let go of his facade. His slender fingers picked up the cigarettes on the ground.These were custom-made cigarettes, a replica of the ones Lana gave him. However, they were not from her. Someone had costumed these for him. They were made with ingredients that would balance the slow-acting poison inside his body. Although, he had to say that they were not very effective.He thought of Madeline’s words. “Not even in your death will I let my heart hurt for you again.” He leaned against his car lifelessly, his peach blossom eyes staring dimly at the ground. ‘That day might just come sooner than you think, Linnie… ‘But I sincerely hope that you would have completely given up on me by then so that at least you won’t be hurt by it.’Leaving April Hill, Madeline had no idea what mindset she was in as she drove away.Passing an intersection, Madeline had not
Eve’s heart lurched, but she made sure to keep her expression disdainful. “Why would I be afraid of her? She can fire me if she wants, but I can still ask her to pay me five times my salary as compensation!”She got up and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as well. “Not to mention that I’m our department’s representative with the press for every year’s annual charity gala. I’m in charge of an important segment. I’m also the only one who can do the segment. So no, I don’t think you-know-who would have the guts to fire me.”‘You-know-who’ obviously referred to Madeline.Eve’s expression turned arrogant at the mention of the annual charity gala. “Not even Mrs. Montgomery made me leave back then, so who is Eveline to do so? Does she really think that she’s the president just because she has taken over the company? You guys might not know this, but she used to be an inmate…”Eve lowered her tone slightly as the female colleagues in front of her widened their eyes. In the midst of liste
Not knowing who it was, Madeline turned on her phone’s flashlight and shone in the direction of the footsteps. “Who is it?”Madeline asked, only to have the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her explode. The glass shattered everywhere.She shouted reflexively and heard the sound of glass exploding again.“Watch out!” A man’s worried tone sounded by her ear.Madeline did not have the chance to take a look at the person when she found herself being pulled into a warm and strong embrace. The musky scent of ebony infiltrated her nostrils.While it was not a familiar scent, Madeline did not find the scent especially new.The sounds of explosion only stopped after a while.However, the building’s lights remained switched off.“Are you alright, Eveline?”Only then did Eveline realize it was Ryan.She shook her head and stared at the broken floor-to-ceiling windows. They were on the 28th floor, so to have the windows broken and the evening wind blowing violently inside, it was dangerou
“You don’t need to thank me. It’s a pleasure to be the person you want to rely on.”His gaze reminded her of the night, gentle and deep.“I want to be the first person you think of when you find yourself in danger and in need of help.”“...”Madeline had no idea how to reply, but the look in his eyes was sincere.It was evident that his feelings for her were no longer as simple as him ‘fancying’ her.Still, Madeline did not find Ryan suitable for herself. She had three kids, was married twice, and got divorced twice.As if sensing the awkwardness Madeline felt, Ryan smiled and changed the subject.“Let’s go eat dinner. I’ve booked a place.”Madeline nodded, internally thanking Ryan for realizing and changing the subject.On the other end, Lana threw her phone with the newly acquired picture at Naomi.A magnified image of Ryan holding a frightened Madeline just moments ago appeared before Naomi’s eyes.She remembered how much she wanted to kill this idiot when Jeremy had alm
Staring at Ryan’s outstretched hand, Madeline could not help but think of Jeremy.Just what did she need to do to completely cut this man out of her mind and life?Was she supposed to throw herself into a new feeling?“Life is hardly ever smooth-sailing, Eveline. Give yourself a chance to start over, and give the people who care about you a chance as well.”Ryan reached out to Madeline.However, before his hand could touch her, a mocking voice sounded in the air.“Tsk. There are so many guests waiting for you outside, Miss Montgomery, and you still have the time to waste it flirting with a man over here? I should’ve known that charity is always done for the sake of image.”Madeline and Ryan looked up to see Lana approaching them in a seductive evening gown.Standing beside her was Jeremy Whitman.Madeline had not seen the man again after she decisively broke it off with Jeremy by the seaside in April Hill.Yet here he was, attending the charity gala with Lana on his arm.Mad
Madeline remained cool. “Something must’ve happened in the middle. Don’t fret, I’ll go take a look.”Ryan followed after. “I’ll come with you, Eveline.”“Alright.” Madeline turned around.She had just taken a few steps when Eve from the jewelry department rushed over frantically with a shout. “Ms. Montgomery! Something bad has happened!”Madeline could guess that Eve was referring to the funds, but with Eve shouting, everyone in the banquet hall turned to look.“What happened?” someone asked curiously.Madeline was about to placate the guests when Eve frantically replied, “Someone stole from the charity funds, Ms. Montgomery. 30 million dollars have vanished into mid-air.”“What? Someone stole from the charity funds?”“How could such a thing happen?”“We have to find out who did it. How could someone be so heartless as to steal from funds raised for charity?”The guests were shocked and furious.Jeremy and Lana had just returned to the banquet hall when they watched the scen
Everyone in the banquet hall turned to look at Madeline.Suspicious and doubtful gazes roamed over her.“She was the one who stole the money?”“No wonder her worker came to stop her from calling the police. They were all in on it.”“I can’t say that I’m surprised, but I never expected this from Mr. Montgomery’s daughter, of all people. What a disgrace. How is he and Mrs. Montgomery supposed to rest in peace?” Hearing such disdainful comments, Madeline felt fury rise within her. Yet, she forced herself to keep her cool.However, she could no longer stand hearing people involve Sean and Eloise’s names.“30 million is nothing to me. Do tell why I would risk my reputation for such a small amount?” Madeline asked back, turning to that person in charge. “Nothing happened to my personal account, so there’s no way 30 million could’ve been transferred from the company’s account.”“Are you still going to deny it, Ms. Montgomery?” she sneered at Madeline, “It’s not my first time here. I
“You stole my fiancé, you wh*re!”Naomi slandered Madeline with horrid vulgarities. Her hatred for Madeline was evident from the look in her eyes.Ryan frowned and pulled Madeline behind him. “It’s no one else’s fault that we broke up, Naomi Lionel! You were the one who revealed how heinous a woman you were. I refuse to date a person like you, let alone get married to you.”Naomi continued to rage as her eyes fell on Madeline’s hand in Ryan’s and how he was defending her. “What’s wrong with a woman like me? How am I worse than this b*tch? She just got divorced and she’s already your girlfriend? That just means that you’ve been together before she got divorced!“Hmph! She acts like this dignified and kind lady when in truth, she’s the kind who’d even steal from charity funds! Eveline Montgomery, you’re nothing but a fake b*tch!”Ryan, who was rarely angered, was now enraged.However, Madeline held him back and replied calmly, “Ryan and I are an upright couple, Naomi. Don’t just