‘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
Madeline watched Jeremy pick up a call, and it was followed by the sound of phone notifications going off all around them.Madeline’s phone also received a push notification.Jeremy’s voice sounded unrushed as he spoke, “The latest trending story is out. If you’re not completely blind, then read it.”He glared sharply at the reporter on the ground.“Read it, then get up and apologize to my wife.”Wife.He so boldly referred to Madeline as his wife in front of everyone.Everyone there clicked into the trending story to read the newest push notification.It was an official statement from the international criminal investigation organization, IBCI.With a few curt sentences, the statement clarified that both Ryan and Jeremy were members of the IBCI. It also stressed that Ryan had merely gotten married to Madeline because it was part of his mission from his superior.Ryan was merely carrying out his mission. He was not Madeline’s husband, and the relationship between them was no
Madeline had changed her mind at the last minute and did not go to the lab, so the chemist typed the results into a comprehensible report instead and sent it over to her in the form of an email.Yet with Jeremy by her side, she did not dare open it in front of him.If he did not want her to know that he had not fully recovered, then she would not cut through his facade.“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at home, Linnie? Why did you follow me out?” Jeremy’s curious and soft tone drifted over. Madeline kept her phone and looked up to meet the man’s heartbreaking gaze. “Didn’t we agree to face everything together in the future? I won’t let you stand in the spotlight by yourself for everyone to scrutinize.”Jeremy gave an understanding smile and caressed the top of Madeline’s head. “Linnie.”“Did you have the IBCI send out the official statement?” It was Madeline’s turn to ask questions. Jeremy nodded. “I told you I’d deal with this. I won’t let anyone slander you.”At that momen
She made an excuse to go to the toilet when in truth, she was hiding in a secluded corner where she tapped open the email. The first half of the report was filled with numbers that Madeline did not understand, so she scrolled all the way down where the chemist’s conclusion was. It said that the person the blood sample belonged to had been infected with several unknown diseases. It was an accumulation of these diseases that resulted in a change of hair color, the color of their irises, and the sound of their voice. Hemodialysis showed that the patient was not in any life-threatening danger. However, there was always the possibility of the disease mutating which would result in the patient’s life being slowly consumed to the point where they would die from a lack of treatment. Madeline’s temples began to throb as she read. ‘So you haven’t fully recovered, after all, Jeremy.’Her heart was aching, and she forced her tears back. Thinking about the poison in Jeremy’s body and