By the empty riverbank stood Ryan in a black suit, quiet as he stared at the body of water before him. The man exuded an aura of elegance.Madeline had Jeremy wait in the car as she approached Ryan from behind with the cake in hand.“I’m here, Rye. How’s your leg doing?”Ryan slowly turned around.The setting sun shone behind the man. There was a cold and dangerous look between his defined brows that Madeline had never seen before. Still, he gave her a warm smile.“Happy birthday.” Madeline handed the cake over. “I couldn’t think of what expensive gift you would need from me, so I made you a cake instead.”“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it later.” Ryan took the cake and stared at it. “Could you open it and light a candle for me? I’d like to make a wish.”“Of course.” Madeline opened the box and pulled out a slender candle, poking it into the cake.She had not brought anything to light the candle, but Ryan pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit it himself.The glow of the setting
Madeline began to struggle when she was forcibly pulled into Ryan’s arms. Seeing him lean down to kiss her, she quickly tilted her head to evade it.“What are you doing, Ryan?! Let go of me!”Madeline struggled harder against his hold only to have Ryan suddenly reach out and grab the back of Madeline’s head, forcing her to look at him.His eyes were cold, a radical contrast to the gentle one he displayed before.“Ryan?” Madeline found herself no longer familiar with the man in front of her.Ryan merely smiled. “Do you know, Eveline? You’re the best birthday present I could ever have.”“...”Madeline heard the deeper meaning behind those words, and a sharp glint flared in her eyes. There was no way she would let him do as he wished.She was just about to fight back with every ounce of strength within her when a familiar palm grabbed onto her shoulder tightly, pulling her out from Ryan’s hold. Just as she was pulled into Jeremy’s arms, Madeline caught sight of the man’s icy fea
“He’s going back on his word, isn’t he, Linnie?”Madeline nodded but did not reply. In her mind echoed the words Ryan told Jeremy, “Not to mention that Eveline and I have already copulated as well.”Her head throbbed, and she suddenly opened the door to walk over to the trash can by the road where she threw the cake away.She turned around only to find Jeremy already standing in front of her.The man did not say anything. Instead, he placed a hand on the back of Madeline’s hand to pull her into his arms. He tightly hugged her.“No matter what he says, it won’t change what I feel for you.” He comforted her, understanding what Madeline was worried about. “Let me deal with it, okay? I’ll make him sign the papers.”Madeline immediately looked up, her eyes filled with worry. “Don’t go overboard, Jeremy. I don’t want anything to happen to you anymore.”Jeremy could understand why Madeline was worried. “I want to be with you for a very long time, silly. I won’t go overboard again, I pr
‘Daddy’.The word swayed in Jeremy’s tear-clouded vision, reflecting in his dark eyes and shooting right through his heart.Lillian was giving him a genuine smile as she stared at him, her arms raised high up in the air.She was waiting, waiting for Jeremy to accept the picture she had drawn. She was waiting for Jeremy to see the word ‘Daddy’ that she had written herself.On the paper, there were the figures of all five of them that made up her family.The only daughter of the family was holding a distinguished man’s hand, looking at him as she called him ‘Daddy’.She finally called him her dad.She finally understood that he was her biological father.She could not speak, yet the drawing was a clear testament to her desire to call him her father.Jeremy’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he harshly forced down the desire to cry.Under Lillian’s expectant gaze, Jeremy turned and left. His escape wiped off the smile on Lillian’s little face as despair began to replace the hope in her
Her words had stunned Jeremy. Madeline merely smiled and handed the drawing to him.“I know that you have your own reason for doing that. I also know that you’ve been waiting to hear her say out that word for a very long time…”Jeremy felt his hold over his emotions slip as he watched Madeline pass him the drawing with the word ‘Daddy’ on it.He did not say anything, merely reaching out to take the drawing that Lillian had drawn with her heart.“I’ll go check on Pudding. You take as much time as you need.” Madeline then turned around.He was now alone in the empty courtyard.Jeremy stared at the drawing under the moonlight and traced every figure with his slender finger before it finally fell on the little girl who was calling out for her dad.The night breeze blew at him with the fresh scent of flowers.Even so, Jeremy could not help but smell something bitter instead.Before him was a colorful and warm drawing, yet it seemed to be gray in his eyes.“I’m sorry, Lillian.”Th
The breaking news online?Madeline had just woken up and her mind was muddled.“You and Jeremy are trending, Maddie.” Ava’s tone was heavy and it told Madeline that they were not trending for a good reason.Tapping into Twitter, Madeline’s eyes fell onto her and Jeremy’s name topping the search bar.Furthermore, Ryan’s name was there as well.Paparazzi had apparently caught onto last night’s incident by the river, and with a few dramatic touches, the story had begun to spread on the internet.Madeline scrolled through the images online with flames beginning to flare in her eyes.The scene of Ryan hugging her and forcing a kiss on her had been turned into a scene of Ryan and her in a passionate bout of lip-locking.Jeremy, who had appeared to protect her, was turned into the homewrecker with the intention to break the sweet couple apart.Her struggles and attempts to push Ryan away were not photographed at all.It was evident that the media had done so to make their story tren
“How do you plan to deal with it?” she asked.“I promised I wouldn’t go overboard, right? Just wait for me at home, okay? It’ll be alright.”The man gently caressed the back of her head before turning to walk out the door coolly.“Jeremy,” Madeline called out after him.The man turned around and gave an assuring smile in response to the worry in her eyes. “Don’t worry, just wait for me at home.”Madeline nodded. After watching him drive away, she headed to the lab. On the way to Whitman Corporation, Jeremy made two phone calls, the second one to Ryan.He answered the phone calmly within the first few rings. “How do you still have the time to call me now? You must’ve seen the things online, haven’t you? What are you going to do about it?”Jeremy replied nonchalantly, “Is this you admitting to being the person behind all of this, then?”Ryan did not reply and only chuckled subtly. “There has always been two things that hinder men ever since the beginning of time, Jeremy Whitma
Jeremy was shocked as well to see Madeline appear in front of him. “Why are you here, Linnie?”Madeline walked up to Jeremy and smiled. “You said it yourself, didn’t you? That I’m your wife. Then as husband and wife, by your side is where I should’ve stood in the first place.”She took his hand and averted her sharp gaze to the male reporter as she spoke clearly, “Listen properly. My husband’s name is Jeremy Whitman, not Ryan Jones!”“...” Faced with Madeline’s aura, the man was lost for words.It took a few seconds before he finally reacted and mocked. “You’re still Mr. Jones’ legal wife, Eveline Montgomery, yet here you are standing by Jeremy Whitman’s side and calling him your husband. What do you take Mr. Jones for?”The man’s gaze was filled with disdain, and his tone was mocking.“You’re still the lady of one of Glendale’s richest families. Do you not feel shameful for cheating and saying these things? Or do you think this is something to be proud of?”It was evident that