Almost all the students in the audience let out exclamations and looked at Lily with adoring eyes.Lily saw their looks and continued to sit demurely, but the smile at the corner of her mouth subconsciously deepened.She was very satisfied with her painting. It was no exaggeration to say that it was the most satisfactory one she had painted in so many years.At that thought, she looked toward Master Springsteen.Master Springsteen caught her gaze and smiled at her.Lily's eyes lit up. The corners of her mouth immediately curled up, and she looked even more confident.Then, she looked at the man sitting on Master Springsteen's right.He was sitting upright with his little son in his arms, and his eyes were looking to the right of the stage. He was obviously looking at Sylvia. Even though Lily had been staring at him for a while, he did not have any intention of looking at her, let alone her work which was being displayed on the big screen.Her face instantly went cold, and she w
Below the stage, Odell held Flint and fixed his eyes on Sylvia.Beside him, Isabel stared at Sylvia, who was still painting, with a straight face. She could not help but mutter worriedly, "Is Mommy having some sort of difficulty?"Liam looked at Sylvia and replied, "No, I believe in her."His childish voice was extraordinarily firm.Isabel's eyes flickered, and she immediately changed her tone. "I believe in Mommy too."The corners of Odell's mouth curled up silently as he continued to look at Sylvia paint seriously.At that moment, Christopher walked up behind Sylvia.However, for some reason, he was stunned the moment he saw her painting.His whole person froze completely as if he had gotten a huge shock.Seeing his reaction, the people who did not think highly of Sylvia and were waiting for her to make a joke of herself laughed one after another.If Christopher acted like that, how good could her painting be?Many of those who were worried that Sylvia would be able to dra
Three minutes later, the camera moved again.In that instant, the whole room became quiet, and everyone stared at the big screen.Haytham and the others smirked.They had been waiting for this moment for hours.What kind of garbage would she present again?Just as they were grinning from ear to ear, the camera stopped.A complete watercolor painting was enlarged on the big screen.The watercolor painting was bright and rich. As soon as the camera panned to it, it was as if a light was shining out of the canvas, making the entire venue light up.Then, the venue became silent.Everyone's eyes were wide open.The smiles on Haytham and the others' faces also seemed to have frozen, leaving only wide-eyed silence.In the first row, Master Springsteen took one look and instantly stood up, forgetting to get his crutches.Mr. Carmine, who was sitting on his left, was also dumbfounded. His mind went blank, and he followed Master Springsteen and stood up in a panic.Then, the student
Sylvia smiled at him.Master Springsteen's reaction also brought the other confused people back to their senses.Christopher and Simon applauded in unison. The two old artists also smiled and clapped their hands.In the audience, a group of students participating in the competition froze for a moment, then followed suit and clapped.The applause rang loudly and did not stop for a long time.Sylvia looked at the first-row seats in the middle.Isabel and Liam both stood up, and Odell's usually cold face was warm and smiling.Isabel stepped on the chair and held up her little fist, yelling, "Mommy is the best! Mommy is my god!"Sylvia was speechless. She beamed at them and looked at Odell.His tall figure stood straight as he held Flint steadily in one hand. When he saw her look over, he immediately took one of Flint's small hands and waved it toward her.At the same time, the corners of his thin lips rose slightly in a gentle and charming smile.Sylvia curled her lips up back
Christopher smiled and looked at Sylvia, Simon, Lily, and the two old artists. "Judges, please return to the judges' table for a while."Sylvia smiled at him and then turned to look at Lily, who was still standing frozen in front of her painting.She politely called out, "Ms. Springsteen, it's time for us to return to the judges' table."Lily instantly withdrew her eyes from the painting. Her expression was very unpleasant, cold, and dark.Sylvia clearly did not say anything much, but she seemed to have angered Lily greatly.Not only did Lily not maintain her usual elegance and politeness, but she also did not even glance at Sylvia as she turned around and quickly stormed off the stage, seemingly heading in the direction of the washroom.Sylvia pursed her lips and walked off the stage with Simon and the two other judges.The five seats at the judges' table were right next to the stage.However, Sylvia did not want to go there yet. She wanted to see Odell and her three little da
Whether it was because Sylvia did not kiss and hug Flint, but the baby appeared annoyed and puffed up his face.Sylvia laughed and quickly carried him in her arms.The little guy immediately nuzzled his face into her neck and started to act petulantly.Amused, Sylvia kissed him.At that moment, Master Springsteen suddenly walked over with his crutches. He smiled and looked at them. "Am I disturbing you guys?"Sylvia smiled back at him. "No. Is there anything we can help you with?""I have a presumptuous request."The big screen above the stage was still showing Sylvia's painting.On the stage, the crowd gathered in front of her work was also obviously the largest. The people in front of the other four judges' paintings combined could not hold a candle to those in front of Sylvia's painting.Master Springsteen looked at the painting on the big screen and asked Sylvia, "Can you sell me this painting? You can name any price you want."He had a feeling that this painting would be
"What?"He pinched her face. "I'll give you my entire fortune, and you'll give me this painting."Sylvia rolled her eyes at him. "Even without this painting, your entire fortune is mine anyway."After all, they were husband and wife.Odell laughed. "Then, what should I use to buy this painting for you?"Seeing that he was still unwilling to drop the subject, Sylvia said, "Yourself."He was stunned for a moment, and then he grinned. "Sure."Sylvia glared at him while blushing and placed Flint into his arms. "I have to go back to the judges' table to discuss the competition with them. You take the children and return to your seats. We can leave together when the opening ceremony is over."After saying that, she rubbed Isabel and Liam's little heads. "We'll go eat delicious food together when this is over. You two go sit with Daddy first and wait for me for a little while."Isabel and Liam both answered obediently and followed Odell back to their seats.Sylvia also went to the j
Sylvia immediately walked off the stage and went directly to Odell and the three little ones."Let's go." She took Isabel and Liam's hands and looked at Odell with a smile.Odell picked Flint up and smiled back at her. "Mm."They then walked out of the venue.However, after taking a few steps, several contestants caught up with them and blocked Sylvia's path. They were all students who had questioned Christopher about Sylvia's qualification to be a judge.However, they obviously did not display the same indignation they had back then. Their eyes flickered and their expressions were guilty and embarrassed.Sylvia looked at them suspiciously. "Do you need something?"One of the students lowered his head and said, "We're sorry, Ms. Ross. We shouldn't have doubted you just because of someone else's words. We shouldn't have called your painting garbage and threatened the president to remove your position as a judge."Sylvia's gaze softened. "It's fine. The ink painting I did before
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