“But I have a feeling that something’s missing.” “Sylvia, are you demanding too much of yourself?” “I don’t think so. I think the paintings are okay, but it’s just not there. Something’s missing.” A little pause later, Simon continued, “Maybe because you haven’t recovered the six years’ worth of memories?” Sylvia was stunned. She remembered she still had six years of blankness in her mind. …Sylvia called Odell after the chat with Simon. The call got through almost instantly. She said, “Odell, can you contact Skylar for me? I want to meet her.” The man paused for a moment. “Why do you want to meet her?” Sylvia frankly said, “I want to recover the remaining six years of memories, so I want to know if there’s any way to do it.” “I thought you heard it from Aunt Tonya. Why do you insist on recovering them?” Sylvia said, “I feel like something is missing from my paintings. Maybe it has something to do with the memories I missed.” He said in a small voice, “What i
Sylvia wanted to urge him to call Skylar but when he started drinking, she paused and swallowed her words back. Flint, the naughty boy, swung his hands around and knocked the glass in his father’s hand. Odell’s hand slipped and the glass of water spilled over his pants. The baby chuckled happily after creating a mess. Odell looked at the baby. He immediately lifted Flint to save him from the water. Sylvia immediately carried Flint away. Odell got up. “I’ll go clean up.” “Okay.” Sylvia felt it inappropriate to urge him to call Skylar now. She watched him go up the stairs and planned to talk to him after he cleaned himself up. However, the man took all the time he got and only came down in fresh new clothes after dinner was served. Madam Carter came out of her room. Sylvia did not want to talk about her memory loss in front of Madam Carter to avoid worrying her, so she was forced to put the topic aside again. After dinner, Isabel played with Flint in the living ro
His handsome face looked shocked under the light. He curled his lips into a charming smile. Sylvia continued to glare at him. Odell put the book down and walked to the window. He opened the window for her and hugged her into his arms. “Why are you here?” Sylvia glared at him coldly. “If I didn’t come over from the balcony, I wouldn't know that the important thing that you’re referring to is reading a book.” He smiled. “I’m waiting for Cliff’s reply, so I thought I could kill some time with the book.” The man continued to give excuses. “If you have the time to read, why can’t you contact Skylar for me?” Sylvia wanted to push him away but he hugged her tightly and kept her in his arms. Sylvia pounded his chest. “Let me go!” Odell continued to hug her. He looked at her gently and said, “It’s late. Skylar might be asleep. I’ll call her tomorrow.” If Odell really wanted to contact someone, he would never care about whether the person was asleep or not. Sylvia was fed u
He returned to the bed and pinched her cheek. “I’m done. It’s your turn.” Sylvia looked at him. “Call Skylar now, or give me her contact.” She sounded demanding. Odell held her chin and kissed her lips. “Go wash yourself up. We’ll call her when you’re done.” Sylvia’s eyes gleamed. “For real?” “For real.” Sylvia jumped out of bed and dashed into the shower. After a quick shower and drying her hair, she came out in her sleeping robes. “Odell, I’m done. Let’s call Skylar–” Before she could finish, she was stunned by the man sleeping on the bed. She had never been annoyed this much before. She clenched her fists and strode to the bed. She sat on his belly and started tickling him. “Odell, wake up! Stop pretending!” She tickled his neck and armpits for a few seconds before his long arms grabbed her hands. Sylvia lost her balance and fell backward. Next, she found herself underneath his broad chest. Odell stared at her blushing face deeply. He grinned. “You
His gaze shifted as he stroked her face. “Cliff will deliver a guarantee tomorrow morning. Sign it.” “What guarantee?” Sylvia was slightly confused. “I want you to guarantee and promise that you’ll never leave me.” “Since when did you tell Cliff to do that?” He pursed his lips. “When you’re showering.” The man was thinking about keeping her by his side while she showered? Everything that had happened was to lure her into his trap? Sylvia looked at him. Odell hugged her waist and whispered, “Good girl. It’s getting late. Sleep now.” Sylvia asked immediately, “What about Skylar? I’ll sign whatever guarantee you want, so when are you going to contact her?” “She'll be here when you sign the guarantee.” Sylvia bolted up and stared at him. “You contacted her already?” He smiled. “I did.” Sylvia was both amused and annoyed at the same time, and it rendered her speechless. She pouted, glanced at him, and turned her back on him. The lights were switched off right a
Odell’s towering figure leaned against the door outside the room. His brows were furrowed tightly as he waited. As he grew anxious, he took the guarantee letter from his pocket and stared at it blankly. Cliff said in a small voice, “Sir, don’t worry. Madam has signed it. She won’t leave you anymore.” Even though the content of the guarantee letter seemed a little outrageous, once Sylvia signed it, it would become a legal document with immediate effect. Odell rubbed the edge of the paper in silence. The guarantee was not just a method to scare her and deter her from leaving him, but it was also a consolation he provided for himself. Even if she remembered the horrible things he had done to her and wanted to leave him again, he would seek another way to keep her by his side, and not use this guarantee letter against her. Seconds turned into minutes. An hour went by, and the door finally opened. Skylar was drenched in sweat when she came out. “Master Carter, she’s asleep
Odell’s hands felt empty while he stared at her intently. “Sylvia? How much do you remember?” His voice sounded gruff. Sylvia looked at him coldly. “You imprisoned me and broke my leg because of Tara. I remember everything.” Disheartened, Odell looked down. He seemed to have sunk into his own swamp of remorse, draining him of his energy and motivation. It seemed like all she remembered were terrible memories. Thud! A punch suddenly landed on his broad chest. Stunned, Odell looked up at her. Sylvia said, “What’s with that reaction? Can’t I grumble a little?” The expression on his face changed. There was a hint of anticipation, but he was uncertain. “What do you mean?” “I mean it literally. Can’t you understand the human language?” Sylvia curled her lips into a smile. “I remember everything, Odell. Tara almost killed me, Thomas schemed and took me to Galston, I gave birth to Flint, and then fell into his trap again. I remember it all.” Her face looked rather pale unde
Sylvia went down to the living room with Odell. The meal was already prepared and the dishes were being served when they came down. Aunt Tonya came over and asked, “Syl, have you remembered everything?” Sylvia smiled at her. “Yeah, I remembered everything.” “Great! Thank goodness!” Aunt Tonya cried excitedly. “Come, come sit down. You guys haven’t eaten anything for a whole day. Odell hasn’t slept as well. Sit down and eat, and you guys can have a good rest.” Sylvia looked at the man beside her in surprise. He looked as frosty as usual, and when Sylvia looked at him, he gripped her hand tighter. “Let’s eat.” Sylvia finally realized his voice sounded rough. No wonder she had woken up to his bloodshot eyes. The man had stayed awake by her side for the entire night. Her gaze shifted as she hummed a reply and sat down. A lavish feast was spread out on the table. Sylvia filled her tummy quickly and then said, “I’m still feeling dizzy. Let’s go get some rest.” Odell smile
She was her usual self in every aspect. She put her heart into her job and never started trouble so long as nobody tried to start trouble with her. The crew cycled through their locations during their shoot. The constant travel made her skin break out slightly, but there were no other concerns otherwise. The shoot progressed very smoothly and within three months, they managed to wrap up everything at the mountainous region previously mentioned. It was nearly evening when they wrapped up the shoot. Holding a bouquet in hand, she took a group picture with the crew and celebrated with everyone. After that, she planned to hitch a ride with another crew member and leave for home. To their demise, some men in uniform who claimed to be the road maintenance technicians showed up to break the bad news to them. They mentioned that they had to repair some of the roads urgently and so the way home was temporarily obstructed. The director took his phone and called the city hotline fo
He remembered his first meeting with Isabel. She was sitting all by herself on the floor, in the middle of nowhere. Her vulnerable expression only made her more endearing. So, he managed to get her to go to his place and installed her in his home. He fell for her and paid careful attention to all her needs. It did not take long before Isabel caught feelings for him as well. The two of them got together in no time. Their days were plain and ordinary, but also very fulfilling, that was until he met Clarice. With the help of his father, his power struggle with Roland had reached a tipping point. It was at that opportune moment when Clarice’s father saw something in Roland and planned to wed his daughter Clarice to him to join up their families, which was a cause for alarm for Decker. He stressed over it for an entire night before approaching Clarice himself the very next day. Clarice quickly caught feelings for him as well. Furthermore, Roland had been foolish enough to reject
Decker was smiling quite earnestly at Isabel. Isabel threw a deeply suspicious look at him, then she glanced at the stack of documents laid out on top of the table in front of her. “Transferal of Shares.” She was dumbfounded. "I've gone through the contract, it’s safe to sign so go ahead.” Roland picked up a pen and handed it to her. "Roland, I..." "Sign it first, I’ll explain when we get home.” Isabel frowned and tried to protest. "I—" "Don't make me have to beg." Isabel did not know how to respond. Fine. She briefly scanned through the contract. The contract stated Decker’s agreement to transfer the remaining forty percent of his shares in Rockwell Corporation to her. Roland must have talked to the shareholders of Rockwell Corporation about this as well. They all regarded Isabel with polite smiles. Isabel had flipped through the final page of the document. She signed her name on one of the marked-out sections. She proceeded to sign all thr
They ended the call shortly after that. Isabel glanced at Martha and was hesitating if she should break the news right away. Martha seemed to have sensed her staring and suddenly turned to her with a flash of concern. "Isabel, what's wrong?" Isabel took a deep breath and broke the news. "Auntie, Master Rockwell just passed away." Martha's eyes widened. After a lengthy silence that lasted more than ten seconds, she started to break out in tears. She covered her face with her hands and expressed amid bouts of tears mixed with laughter, “Wonderful! About time! I hope he enjoys life in the underworld. God knows that someone like him will never deserve a spot in heaven!” Isabel did not know whether she should celebrate with Martha or console her. Soon, Martha began to collect herself. She briefly wiped away her tears and joyfully took Isabel's hand. "Isabel, let’s go shopping! I’m in such a good mood today, I’m going to go on a shopping spree!” "Okay. But Roland w
Isabel held onto Roland's hand firmly during the entire drive home after leaving the hospital. It was because Roland’s hands were cold and rigid. Isabel sat with him and tirelessly rubbed his hand to keep them warm. After one hand was warm, she would shift her attention to the other. By the time she managed to warm the other hand, the original hand would turn cold again. She decided it was easier to take both of his hands and caress them with the warmth of her palms. Roland looked at her with a gentle glow deep within his eyes. “Thank you, Isabel,” he said softly. Thank you for loving him, and for sticking by his side all this time despite circumstances. Isabel smiled. “I’m just warming your hands, it's no big deal. Still, you’re welcome." Roland smiled faintly and left it at that. Soon, his hands began to warm up off of the heat of Isabel’s palms. When Isabel felt that his hands were no longer freezing, she prepared to pull her hand away. That was when
Decker looked nothing like his usual self. The pompous, arrogant man who held himself far above others and who expected everyone around him to kiss up to him because he was superior to them all. It was as if he had been plunged not only to Earth but a pile of swamp. He had completely lost his usual grace. Isabel said crossly, "Decker, have you gone mental? Is everything going on too much for you?” “Yeah, could you help me?” he said with a coy smile, “Just one hug should be enough to take care of it all.” Isabel rolled her eyes. Without warning, he suddenly braced himself and lunged right at Isabel, stepping past Brandon who was caught off guard by this sudden attack. Isabel barely had time to react. Just when it seemed like his hand was about to graze Isabel, a long pair of arms seized Isabel from behind and jerked her backward. It was swiftly followed by a long, muscular leg shooting outward right next to Isabel. Thump! Decker was kicked to the ground.
"How did you and Roland meet?" Decker suddenly asked. Isabel turned away, fully intent on ignoring him. "Did you meet each other at Carter Corporation? Or did you meet him outside of work and gradually fell in love with him, then you decided to set him up with a position at Carter Corporation?” What did he mean by that? Was he insinuating that Roland was relying on her to snake his way into Carter Corporation? She threw a sideways, belittling look at him. "Do you think Roland is anything like you? He wouldn’t latch on another woman to further his goals.” Decker was not upset by this as he continued with a smug smile. "Oh? Then how did he get into Carter Corporation?" “He proved his worth.” Isabel realized that she had been roped in by Decker again. Nevertheless, she continued, “He passed the interviews himself. I was one of the interviewers and initially planned to dismiss him, but he managed to leave a very good impression on my father and the rest was history.” "
"I never meant to kill him! Roland, you have to believe me. Why would I still try to deceive you when I’m in this state?” “In that case, you can go ahead and explain things to him in the afterlife.” Master Rockwell was taken aback by this, his demeanor tightened. "You...you..." Roland looked at him calmly. "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. It was Grandma and my parents who raised me. They instilled morals and virtue into me and made sure I’d grow into a decent man.” Master Rockwell was briefly relieved to hear this, but before he could rid himself of his trepidation, Roland continued in a dark voice, "But I won’t forget about you and Decker bribing all those media outlets to defame Isabel. I know you manipulated the stock prices to try to kick me out of the corporation. I’ll make sure to settle our score through the legal system.” If convicted guilty, they would have to rot in prison. “Roland… listen to me, Roland. Decker is your uncle. If you want revenge, you can come
Master Rockwell must have heard their shifting movements and opened his eyes. When he recognized the faces of Roland and Isabel, there was a brief glow in his murky eyes. He motioned to the nurse to have her help him sit up from the bed. After he managed to position himself seated up against the head of the bed, he asked the nurse to leave. Then he cast a loving, tender smile on Roland and Isabel. “Roland, Isabel, please have a seat.” Roland said disinterestedly, "We have things to get to, just hurry up and tell us what you have to say." Isabel stayed silent. A look flashed in Master Rockwell's eyes. Then, he turned to Isabel and expressed regretfully, "Isabel, I’m a foolish old man, it was me who told Decker to leak pictures of you two. He had no choice because I forced him to do so. If you have to blame someone, blame me!” Isabel frowned. She was somewhat impressed by how smoothly the old man switched his mask from one to another. From a forlorn and sad state t