"You—" Zoey raised her hand in a rage. But before she could lay it on Adeline, a voice shouted from behind her, "Zoey, what are you doing?" Zoey turned to see Ronald. She immediately said wittingly, "Dad, I'm just messing around with Adeline." Adeline gave a smile to Ronald, and she responded with a similar answer, "That's right, Dad. We were playing around. But now I'm going back to my room to take a nap." "Adeline!" Ronald stopped Adeline and walked towards her, "Since you're visiting the Lockwood family tomorrow, you should go and buy some clothes for yourself. Just buy whatever you like and consider it your wedding gift." "There's no need for that, Dad. Aren't we financially struggling recently? I really don't need to buy anything." "The Lockwood family has given us a lot of gifts, which are rightfully yours. Plus—" Ronald trailed off. He had a lot to say, but he stopped himself and just looked at Adeline lovingly. Adeline nodded, and she s
"Sure. Whatever you said," Adeline glared at Evelyn in annoyance. But she wasn't really mad at Evelyn. "You've done enough shopping for today, but now my stomach is grumbling." Evelyn stuck out her tongue and said sheepishly, "Let's go and get some food then." At the Calories Restaurant... The two of them chatted while walking hand in hand into the restaurant. They found a table at a quiet corner. "Good day, miss. What would you like for today?" The waiter handed them the menu and asked politely. "What do you want to eat, Adele?" Evelyn pushed the menu to Adele's front. "Evelyn, you should order. I only want a medium steak," Adeline ordered and turned to look at the outside of the window. Evelyn took a deep look at Adeline, picked up the menu, and ordered two of their favorite dishes. "That'll be all!" Evelyn closed the menu and said to the waitress with a smile. "Adele..." Adeline turned around and looked at Evelyn. Wit
Two awful-looking men stood in front of Adeline in the alley. When they saw Adeline alone, a lewd smile broke on their faces. Adeline had never encountered a situation like this before. She started to tremble, and she subconsciously took a few steps back. One of the men called out, "Young lady, you must be lonely walking on your own. Why don't we accompany you?" They walked towards Adeline with blades in their hands. "Wh-what are you both trying to do?" As Adeline realized the men were coming nearer towards her, Adeline turned to flee. "Help!" "Help!" Before Adeline could run far, one of the men caught her and put his blade at Adeline's neck. "B*tch, don't try anything stupid. You should be thankful that we had our eyes on you. Be good and listen to us. That way, we won't hurt you." Adeline was mortified, and tears streamed down from her eyes. "Sir, please let me go! If money is what you want, I can give it to you. I'll give you a
At the VIP suite in one of Caulford City's premium hospitals. "No! Don't touch me!" Adeline frantically waved her hands around. Her face was etched with a frightened expression and covered in tears. "Mom, save me! Mom, don't go." Ronald was heartbroken to see his daughter in this state. Tears swirling in his eyes, he grabbed onto her frantically-moving hands and gently patted them. He choked, "It's all my fault, Adeline. I didn't take good care of you. You're suffering now because I didn't take care of you." Ronald had always felt that he owed Adeline a lot because all these years, he had been busy with his company and neglected her. Besides, Adeline had always been obedient and sensible, which was why Ronald had the impression that she was happy. Ronald's heart ached as he saw Adeline curled up on the hospital bed. The sight brought him immense pain, and he found it hard to breathe in it. He tucked his face into Adeline's hand and wept softly.
"There's no way in h*ll I'm taking care of that b*tch," Helen hung up the phone and sneered. "I didn't mean to pry, but as the lady of the house, why are you being so petty with the girl? Didn't you say that she will marry Christiano in a few days?" A lavishly dressed wealthy lady commented. The more Helen thought about it, the more annoyed she became. In the end, she waved her hand goodbye and said, "I'm leaving now. Let's meet again when we're free." Then, she picked up her handbag and turned to leave. Roland stood outside for a little while. After regaining his composure, he slowly walked back into the wardroom. Then, he saw Adeline was sitting at the corner of the bed, holding the quilt in her hand, and her expression blank. He immediately went forward to her. "What's wrong, Adeline? Why aren't you resting?" Noticing the exhaustion on Ronald, Adeline felt sorry for him and said, "Dad, I want to go home. I'm feeling fine now. Can we go home?"
A few days later. It was the wedding day for Christiano, the son of the Lockwood family, and Adeline, the daughter of the Simpson family. Early in the morning, there were already police directing traffic. Everybody knew that Adeline's marriage to Christiano was to bring him luck. Rose petals filled the air as they were scattered down from a helicopter. Balloons and bubbles floated along in the sky. With dulcet wedding music playing, a wedding without the groom was about to begin. Adeline sat still in the dressing room while the makeup artist spruced her up. Adeline's delicate facial features, peaches-and-cream complexion, soft luscious red lips that looked kissable, coupled with the pure handmade exquisite wedding dress, made her absolutely stunning as though she was an otherworldly fairy. As she studied herself in the mirror, Adeline felt bitter because this was a wedding she never wanted. "Adeline, today is the big day for you. I wish you and Christiano
"Adeline, call Madam Vallerie grandma," Ronald urged from the other side. "Grandma," Adeline shyly complied. "Oh, you're such a good girl! Come on, come over here to me." Vallerie seated Adeline down next to her, and she looked at Adeline lovingly. "Adeline, this is Christiano's good friend, Culver Lester. He just came back from overseas," Vallerie introduced while keeping Adeline close to her. Culver stood up gracefully. With a faint smile on his face, he stretched out his hands, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Simpson." "Hello, Mr. Lester. It's a pleasure to meet you too," Adeline politely put her hand into his to greet him. After the handshake, Culver nodded at Adeline, and turned around to speak to Madam Vallerie, "Madam Vallerie, I have other matters to attend to, I'll be leaving now." "Okay. Come visit us when you're free," Madam Vallerie said with a loving smile on her face. "Sure," Culver curtly answered. He nodded at Ro
Vallerie was elated as Adeline finally accepted the gift. She caressed Adeline's face fondly and said, "Good girl." Looking at how glad Vallerie was, Adeline didn't say anything else, for it would have sounded pretentious. "Thank you, Grandma." "Madam Vallerie, the wedding is starting soon. Maybe we should let Madam Adeline go back and rest," George reminded Vallerie. "Oh, look at me! We've forgotten the time. Adeline, go back to your room, have some rest, and fix your makeup. You're the bride, and you'll be the most beautiful person today." "Then I'll be heading back, Grandma," Adeline excused herself and turned to head towards the door. ...... Adeline had just returned to the dressing room when Nicholas and Martha came in with an attractive man. Adeline looked at them with confusion written all over her face. Nicholas then said earnestly, "Adeline, let me introduce you to Christiano's younger brother, Sandrino Lockwood." Sandrino walked