The last thing Madeline could ever have expected was Jackson running into her arms, calling her his mom. Jackson must have been feeling terrified and insecure. He buried his tiny physique deep into her arms. It was as if the only way to lessen his fear was to hold her tight with both his hands while his eyes remained shut. Madeline felt her heart clench at the signs of distress on his small cheeks. It had been a long while since she had felt such an intrusive stab of pain eating its way out of her chest. She lifted a hand to lightly pat the back of Jackson’s head, her voice soft. “It’s alright now, Jack. It’s alright.” With her comforting words, Madeline saw Jackson relax and calm from his previous upset state. “Is Jackie okay, Mommy?” Lily walked over and asked innocently. “He’ll be alright. Don’t worry.” Madeline smiled. “Mommy made you some snacks. How about you share some with him?” “Okay!” Lillian reached out a hand to Jackson. “Come on, Jackie, let’s go eat some
To have Jackson Whitman trust her so much despite his young age was something Madeline had never expected. “Can I call you Big Sis Vera from now on?” Jackson looked at Madeline expectantly. Madeline nodded and smiled, her mind wavering at the memory of Jackson calling her ‘Mom’ moments ago. “Of course.” Hearing her reply, a smile finally graced Jackson’s features. This was the first time Madeline had seen Jackson smile, be it three years ago or three years later today. Two dimples appeared by the corners of Jackson’s mouth as he smiled. He looked warm and adorable, just like Lillian. Madeline felt warmth flood into her chest at the child’s angelic smile. Not too long after, Jeremy arrived. He wanted to enter the house, but Madeline held him off outside. “Please do take better care of your son, Mr. Whitman. He is, after all, the precious child of you and your beloved.” There was more to Madeline’s words that met the eye. Turning around, she fired Jackson a gentle and
Jeremy felt a rush of unease wash over him when he recognized the sarcasm and disdain in Madeline’s eyes. Pursing his lips, his gaze drilled into Madeline’s eyes. “As such, it’d be great if you would stop looking for me, Mr. Whitman. I really don’t want to be treated as the dead again.” Madeline rejected him indifferently. “It won’t happen again.” Jeremy parted his lips to say after a moment of silence. With his gaze fixated on her, he bent his head to lean closer to her.“I promise you, it won’t happen again.” Madeline chuckled lightly. “Are you admitting to testing me the other day, Mr. Whitman?” Jeremy remained silent under her inquisitive tone. Perhaps so. While the entire world was privy to how shamelessly in love Madeline was with Jeremy, Jeremy was the only one who knew he loved her back. The truth was, Jeremy had lost his mind the other day. He was not testing her, no. He had fantasized that she was still alive… Yet, that was all it was. A fantasy. Now,
Staring at the snobbish shop assistants and the arrogant Meredith, Madeline casually pulled out a card and threw it at the face of the shop assistant who had threatened to call security. “Pick it up and take a look, then tell me whether I’m allowed such a dress or not.” Taken aback by Madeline’s temperament, the shop assistant quickly picked up the card. Reading the words atop, her expression immediately shifted into an embarrassed one. She flushed red as she bowed and apologized to Madeline. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you’re Miss Quinn! I’m sorry, really! Please forgive me!” Seeing their colleague’s reaction, the other salespeople came over to read the card Madeline had thrown down. Their expressions shifted immediately at a glance as they began apologizing to Madeline. Meredith was stunned to see the shop attendants suddenly apologize to Madeline, treating her with respect. “What are you doing? Why are you so polite to her?” Meredith rolled her eyes in disag
Meredith returned to the Montgomery household with a belly full of anger. Seeing her return, the housekeeper poured her a cup of tea and brought her a plate of snacks. “What’s wrong, Miss Meredith? Here, have some fruits to chase away the anger.” The housekeeper fawned over her smilingly. “Who are you to poke your nose into my business?” Meredith rolled her eyes, displeased. “Where’s my mother?” The sound of a car drifted in from the door after she asked, and the housekeeper shot a gaze toward the door. “I believe Madam is back.” With that, Meredith immediately stood. “Tell my mother I’m in my room when she asks.” Giving the order, she picked up her bag and rushed up the stairs. The housekeeper acknowledged and stared at Meredith’s retreating figure with hatred in her eyes. “You’re Brittany’s indirect killer, Meredith Crawford! Brit would still be living happily and easily as the oldest daughter had you not suddenly appeared and stole her spot!” Having said that, she se
The day of Whitman’s 50th anniversary arrived in the blink of an eye. Madeline lazily gave herself a spa treatment before finally plopping herself in front of the vanity to start doing her makeup. After that, she donned herself in the gown that Meredith could only wish to own, picked up her designer purse, and got into a car toward Glendale’s first-ever luxurious six-star hotel. Rows of street lamps glowed as the night began to darken. Staring at the reflection on the windows in the car, her red lips curled as she raised a hand to rearrange the baby hair around her forehead. The beauty of the small smile gracing Madeline’s lips was reflected in the rearview mirror, causing the driver to almost run a red light. It was the first time he had seen such a beautiful woman. At that moment, the main entrance of the six-star hotel was already packed with people. Reporters fought each other for first-hand material while various passersby also stopped to collect small gifts. Guest
All eyes fell on Madeline from the moment she got off the car… Inside, Jeremy was frowning. A deep look flashed in his icy eyes as he found himself frustrated by Madeline not picking up his call. Suddenly, he felt a tug at his pant legs. Looking down, Jeremy was faced with Jackson’s indifferent expression. “Where’s Big Sis Vera? Is she not here yet?” Jackson was very much looking forward to Madeline’s arrival. Jeremy felt his heart grow distant as he stared at his son. The sight of Jackson would always remind him of how he had destroyed the ashes of his and Madeline’s daughter. His heart raced as frustration bubbled each time the memory of Madeline’s last words as she tugged on his collar replayed in his mind.“Jack,” Meredith’s voice sounded.The hand on Jeremy’s pants tightened as the light in his eyes vanished. He let go to flee, only to be caught by Meredith in the end. “Where are you going, Jack?” With a fake smile plastered on her face, Meredith gripped Jackson’
Madeline’s eyes turned into crescents at Jeremy’s shocked reaction. “What’s wrong, Jeremy? It’s me… Madeline.” “...” Madeline! The name pierced straight into Jeremy’s heart like a sharp knife, knocking the breath out of him. Madeline quirked the corners of her lips prettily at Jeremy’s stricken gaze. She leaned closer. “What’s wrong, Mr. Whitman? I thought you’re the one who told me to attend the anniversary celebration as your ex-wife?” Her soft voice engulfed Jeremy’s racing heartbeat like a closely woven net. Hearing her response, Jeremy felt his heart slowly calm down. ‘So that’s how it is, huh?’Staring at her pretty as a picture appearance, he felt his heart drown in loneliness. However, Jeremy made sure to keep that emotion to himself. Quickly but surely, he responded with a warm and seductive smirk. “You’re here.” Madeline smiled. “Yeah, I am.” Meredith was no longer having it. She was pissed at the little distance between Madeline and Jeremy as the two
Gina, who was standing at the door, saw this scene and was about to walk in when she was stopped by her husband.“Stop causing more trouble. Do you really want your son to be a bachelor for the rest of his life?”“Who said I'm going to make trouble? I’m going to tell them that I agree to this marriage now, okay?”Her husband was startled. “You’re agreeing to this?”Gina was about to answer when out of the corners of her eyes, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the lights in the room. It was followed by cheers and applause from inside.Ava pulled herself out of Daniel's embrace. She was surprised to find Madeline and Jeremy, her parents, and even Tom and Maisie slowly approaching them with smiles on their faces.Ava stared blankly at Madeline. Then, she finally understood that they had all worked together to arrange this.Only she and Daniel’s parents were kept in the dark.Daniel had never thought of leaving her at all. He just used a different approach to let her know that she w
Upon hearing this, Gina slowly stopped.She never thought that Ava still had some respect for her in her heart.This really surprised her.However, she soon heard Madeline stand up for Ava. “Ava, you respect them, but have they ever respected you? Respect should be mutual.”“But Danny will always be their son. If Dan and I insist on getting married, his parents won’t be happy about it for the rest of their lives,” Ava said with a helpless sigh. “I really don't want Dan to be caught in the middle of this matter.”“But Ava…”“Maddie, don't persuade me. You should know best that when you truly love someone, you don't have to stay with them. As long as they’re safe, healthy, and happy, that's enough, isn't it?”There was a smile of relief on Ava's face as if she had already made a final decision in her heart.Madeline wanted to persuade her a little more, but nothing seemed appropriate at this moment.“Ava, are you leaving, then? Are you going to stop looking for him now?”“I've
Daniel's parents, who were secretly observing Ava in the distance, gradually became more and more restless in the car.“Hmph, how dare she say that she has a deep relationship with Dan? It's been so long and she still doesn't know where Dan has gone,” Gina rolled her eyes and complained.Daniel's father glanced at Gina. “Stop being so mean. Right now, the most important thing is to find Dan. Ava isn’t a bad person. In the beginning, you disliked her because she didn’t have parents, money, and power. Now, her parents are alive and well, her mother is extremely rich, and her father is a specialist doctor and professor. What else are you dissatisfied with? Do you really want your son to stay single his entire life?”Gina was not happy when her husband was complaining about her. “Didn't you object at the beginning as well? I agreed with the relationship after that, but your father refused to agree to save his reputation. Why are you blaming me now?”“Stop talking.” Daniel's father in
After Old Master Graham read Daniel's message, he was so angry that his eyes were wide open.‘He just got out of the hospital and he ran away for a woman?‘He even said that if he can't marry that woman, he won't get married in the future?’Old Master Graham would never allow such a thing to happen.However, when he thought about it, he still felt a little nervous.If Daniel really did not get married because of this, would this not be the end of the Graham family?‘I can’t let this happen.’After Ava ran out, she went to find Daniel in all the places she could think of. However, after spending the entire morning, she still could not find Daniel.She tried to call Daniel, and although the call was connected, it was always unanswered.As time passed, Ava felt very tired. She sat down on the chair by the roadside and watched the street where people came and went. Then, a deep sense of loss welled up from the bottom of her heart.‘Dan, have you decided to just give up?‘Are we
“I'll be right back!”Gina hurriedly ran back. Suddenly, she turned back and stopped Ava, who was about to follow her.“Don’t follow me! You’re not welcomed at our house.”Despite Gina's warning, Ava could not stop herself from looking for Daniel.She did not know what was going on. How could Daniel suddenly be discharged by himself? He had obviously been in a coma on the hospital bed. He did not wake up this whole time.On the way there, Ava called Daniel, but Daniel did not answer.Ava did not know if Daniel had his phone with him, but in short, she could not get into contact with him.She wanted so badly to stand in front of Daniel right now, but there was traffic on the way.When Ava followed Gina into the door of Graham Manor, she heard Gina's sharp voice. “What? Dan’s gone? Where did he go? D-Didn't he just wake up? What the hell is going on?”“Look at this and you'll know what's going on." Daniel's father sounded like he was reproaching someone, then he seemed to hand s
Ava stared at the empty ward for a while. Then, she returned to her senses and immediately went to look for Daniel.However, after looking around for a while, Ava could not find Daniel, which made her feel a little nervous.At this time, Gina also came in.She saw that the ward was empty, and Daniel, who was supposed to be lying on the hospital bed, had disappeared.“What’s going on? Where’s Dan? Did the doctor take Dan away?” Gina looked at Ava and asked with an unfriendly expression on her face.Ava was used to Gina's attitude, so she did not bother to argue with Gina. Instead, she replied, “I want to know as well.”“How could you not know? You came before me.”“Dan wasn't in the ward when I came,” Ava said and turned around. “I'll go to the nurse's station and ask.”“Wait.”Gina grabbed Ava, her face was dark.“Ava, let me tell you this. Dan has suffered a lot and gotten a lot of injuries because of you. Because of you, both Naya and her mother have been sent to prison. It
Since Julie was about to think that way, it showed that she was a reasonable person.“Lily.” Julie walked up to Lillian and squatted down, giving her a friendly blessing. “Lily, I really like you. I hope you can be happy every day, and I hope you’ll be able to speak soon.”Lillian was a sensible child. She raised a sweet smile and nodded vigorously, indicating that she acknowledged Julie's blessing.Julie stood up and faced Fabian. Right now, there was a little more admiration in her eyes and a little less of her unwilling persistence before.If one liked someone, one did not necessarily have to stubbornly fight for it.Julie did not say anything and just smiled at Fabian.Fabian did not say anything more either. He bent over and picked Lillian up in his arms. Before turning around, he gave Julie a friendly smile.“Miss Charles, you can still come to me if you need help in the future. After all, I still owe you a favor.”Julie smiled and shook her head. “You stopped owing me an
“I did,” Fabian admitted frankly.Julie thought she would feel embarrassed because of this, but she did not know why she still felt very relaxed. Even so, she still felt a little embarrassed.In order to not make Julie feel embarrassed, Fabian smiled and said, “I wanted to help you get out of that situation, Miss Charles, but I didn't want to cross the line. I also didn’t expect someone to have taken a video and put it on the internet. Lily and I have caused you much trouble. I'm really sorry about that.”Fabian paused as he spoke, then, he glanced at Lillian softly.“But Miss Charles, rest assured, there’ll be no such trouble in the future.”Julie was stunned for a moment when she heard the words, and she inexplicably felt a strong sense of loss coming up from the bottom of her heart.She looked at Fabian suspiciously, and sure enough, the words she heard next made her feel remorseful.“Miss Charles, I’ve found a more suitable school for Lily, and it’s closer to where I work so
The scene of Mr. Martinez causing a ruckus and Fabian coming to the rescue with Lillian at the end was all recorded and posted on the internet.This person was still a little conscientious and had censored Lillian's appearance, but Fabian's figure and face were clearly visible in the video.Patty recognized the person in the video as Fabian at a glance.After seeing the comments below, Patty was even more anxious.“Julie, how could you fall in love with a single father?”Julie frowned. “Yes, I won't deny it. I do have a crush on Mr. Johnson.”“What?”“Tsk tsk… Julie, do you really like this single father?” The look in Mrs. Gill's eyes was very subtle. “Someone dug up all his information, and it turns out that this man is Yorick's younger brother. Back then, Yorick stirred up all kinds of troubles and did whatever he wanted in F Country. His sister, Lana, was also notorious in our circle.”“What? He's Yorick and Lana's younger brother?” Patty was even more nervous, for fear that