Eight years.This number meant a long torment to him.In contrast to the eight years, he did not know why this moment made him feel anguish.Carter’s calm face betrayed subtle changes. He picked up his phone to make a call…The wind and snow grew heavier, and the night gradually grew more obscure.Despite that, Shirley remained standing at the same spot, her eyes staring at the study, which remained unlit this entire time.Suddenly, she heard the creaking sounds of footsteps approaching her. It was the old butler. He held an umbrella as he stepped on the thin layer of accumulated snow to reach her side. Then, he held the umbrella over her head.“Miss Jenny, the snow is getting heavier. Why don’t you go back?” advised the old butler, his eyes filled with pity.Shirley shook her head, the snow on her hair drifted and fell away silently.“I’m fine. I just want to stay here for a while longer… Achoo!”Shirley could not help but sneeze mid-sentence as the cold pierced into her ski
“...” The bodyguard was momentarily speechless, but he also did not know where to place Shirley.The old butler immediately gestured. “Come with me, upstairs, to Miss Jenny’s room.”The bodyguard nodded, carrying Shirley upstairs as per the old butler’s orders.“Stop.” Carter stopped them in a cold voice. “Are you confused as to who is your master? If you are, you can leave immediately.”“...”“...”The bodyguard and the old butler were both taken aback.The bodyguard figured that he might lose his job if he did not put Shirley down right now, so he walked to the sofa, ready to toss Shirley onto the sofa.Just as he was about to, he saw Carter coming up to him.“Mr. Carter, I’ll put this woman down now,” explained the bodyguard. He was a big man, almost 1.9m tall, but he seemed to tremble with trepidation in front of Carter.Carter said nothing, only coldly looked askance at the bodyguard. Then, he spread his arms, taking Shirley from the bodyguard, and turned around, heading
Back then. It was back then again.Those two words struck a chord in Shirley.“Shirley, do you know how much I hate you now?” Carter practically spat his words out through gritted teeth, his grip tightening.Shirley winced in pain, her brows knitted tightly together. Coupled with the fever, the intense pain all over her body made her feel like she might explode.Even so, she did not feel that this pain was too bad. She had already suffered so much throughout these years.The most painful things to her were being abandoned by her parents and being hated by the man she loved.“Let me say this, Shirley. You should’ve just stayed away after leaving back then. Since you have the guts to come back, then you should be prepared to be tormented by me!”Carter’s face, which rarely showed any emotions, betrayed a furious expression.He tossed Shirley, who had no strength to resist, onto the bed. When Shirley was least expecting it, he leaned over her.Shirley was stunned. Despite her p
Over at the other end, Shirley, against the will of her weak body, slipped away from Carter’s tight embrace.The phone in her coat started vibrating as she got up.Sitting on the bed, she took a deep breath before picking up her coat.The phone was still vibrating. Seeing the remark on the screen made her frown.As she contemplated whether to answer Jeremy’s call, an icy palm suddenly grasped her wrist, followed by an extremely cold voice that ambushed her from behind.“You really did fall in love with Jeremy. You’d even want to answer his call at this time.”Carter’s chilly voice, suffused with dissatisfaction, pierced into Shirley’s ears.Before she had time to explain, Carter snatched her phone away and threw it forcefully at the corner of the wall.The phone immediately stopped vibrating; the screen shattered into pieces.In low spirits, Shirley stared at the shattered phone, sitting at the same spot in a daze. A sense of endless loneliness invaded every cell in her body,
Jeremy and Madeline shared a look before he got up and walked to the entrance.He cautiously peered into the peephole, but he did not see anyone standing there. Then, the doorbell started ringing again.Jeremy opened the door decisively, scaring the person outside, who was about to continue ringing the doorbell, into retracting their hand in fear.“You again.” When Jeremy saw the woman standing near the wall by the door, his eyes were filled with disdain. “It’s best if you stay away. My wife and I don’t want to see you.”Of course, Ada knew Jeremy hated her, but this time, she was ready to go all out.Camille already hated her anyway, so if she wanted to fight for the chance to get into the Gray family, she could only scheme her way through.Seeing that Jeremy was about to close the door, she quickly reached out her arm to stop him.Who knew Jeremy would be this callous? Without the slightest concern about her hand, he continued pushing the door close.Ada’s arm was crushed by
Ada kept Jeremy and Madeline on tenterhooks, the corner of her lips curled.“Before learning how I met Shirley, I think you should know something else first.”Jeremy’s eyes filled with disgust seeing Ada making a show out of this.“I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. Just tell us if you want to. If you waste any more time, you should just get out immediately.”“...”After suffering two consecutive defeats, Ada no longer dared to put on a mysterious act.However, she hesitated for a moment before speaking, as if considering something.“Carter gave Shirley her name.”‘Carter and Shirley knew each other?’The revelation about that relationship caught Madeline and Jeremy by surprise.Jeremy finally understood. The person who had been manipulating Shirley was Carter.“When Carter was ten years old, he brought Shirley back to the Gray Manor. Ever since then, they had been living together, spending time with each other, day and night. Although I could be considered as Car
Jeremy could not help but briefly froze. Then, he walked toward Madeline.“Linnie, why are you looking at me like that?” Her gaze seemed to be questioning him.Madeline, betraying no emotion, gave a measured look at Jeremy, and suddenly smiled. “I didn’t expect my husband to act this shamelessly.”Jeremy had thought that Madeline was questioning his earlier actions. Upon hearing this, he smiled in turn.“Trust is off the table when dealing with the likes of her, but the information she provided is indeed useful.”Madeline smiled and nodded in agreement, then quickly reverted to her serious look.“Shirley and Carter knew each other, and they have an intimate relationship. That means that Shirley was just following Carter’s orders when she acted against me. Shirley used this kind of thing to keep me in check, but at the end of the day, it was all to get at you, Jeremy. I really don’t understand what they’re up to.”Madeline’s troubled look calmed Jeremy down instead. “Maybe we’ll
Madeline looked back at Karen and expressed her gratitude. “I’m so grateful to you for all your help in caring for my mother all this while. I truly mean it.”Karen could fully sense Madeline's sincerity. She raised her hand and patted Madeline's shoulder lightly, her eyes filled with love and kindness that she never had before.“We’re family. You don’t need to thank me. I feel at ease now that you’re back safely. You and Jeremy ought to rest up in your room first. The other issues can be dealt with later. Plus, there’s no need to worry about your mother. I’ll take care of her myself.”Hearing Karen’s words, Madeline was quite moved.Sometimes, life was truly wonderful. At the very least, it never crossed her mind that, one day, her relationship with Karen would be like this.Madeline and Jeremy returned to their bedroom. Although they had not been back for a very long time, the room had been thoroughly cleaned, all traces of Naomi erased.After lying down on the familiar bed, Ma