Odell held Flint in one hand and a briefcase in the other. He had been very busy recently, and she only saw him once every four to five days.The last time she saw him was four days ago. These days, Sylvia was also busy with work matters and accompanying Madam Carter, so she did not have much contact with him.She grinned at him. "Odell, did Flint cause you any trouble?"Odell curled his lips and was just about to say something when Flint piped up, "Mommy, I was a good boy."Then, he buried his face into the crook of his father's neck in guilt.Odell carried him into the elevator.Sylvia glanced at the little guy and asked Odell, "Where are you taking him?"Odell handed her the briefcase which she took."Nowhere. We're going home," he replied while pressing the button for the first floor with his free hand.The elevator descended.Sylvia asked curiously, "Aren't you busy?""Well, I'm almost done for today.""Oh." She did not ask any more questions or say anything else.Ode
Sylvia stopped asking more questions.The car also became quiet.A good while passed, and there was only the sound of Flint fussing about.Odell watched her focus on teasing Flint, and his brows subconsciously knitted. His expression also turned cold. He simply pursed his lips and remained silent.Sylvia only noticed his expression when the car drove to the door of the house. She looked at his cold and sullen face and asked curiously, "What's wrong?""Nothing." After saying that, he pushed open the door, got out of the car, and walked forward without looking back.Sylvia was stunned.In her arms, Flint wrinkled his little brows and said, "I think Daddy is angry."She was not blind; she could see it too.However, neither Flint nor she provoked him on the way back. Why would he get angry?Sylvia got out of the car with Flint in her arms.Only Aunt Tonya and Sebastian were in the living room. Liam and Isabel were both in their room.Where could Odell have gone?Sylvia carried
"So, you don't miss me at all, do you?""I... How can you say that I don't miss you?" They were already husband and wife. Were they supposed to stick to each other all day? Besides, he was the one who was always busy with work.Sylvia frowned as she looked at him, confused and speechless.Odell looked at her coldly. "Today, Flint went all the way to the office to find me because he missed me. Why didn't you come to me even once?"She was dumbfounded."This afternoon, you only went to the company to find Flint. On the way back, you only focused on playing with him and didn't ask about me at all. Do you even care about me?"She either painted or spent time with Madam Carter and the children all day. He went out to work every day, but she never went to the office once to see him!The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He pinched her face again and said coldly, "Sylvia, am I just a husband on paper to you?"Sylvia was speechless. Her eyes were wide open, and her expre
Sylvia choked up, and she could not help but punch him.Odell let out a low grunt, then hugged her tighter.Unfortunately, she could not push him away and could only press against his chest. The pile of displeasure in her heart gradually disappeared as she listened to his strong heartbeat.She raised her head to look at him.He had his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. His handsome face was very gentle, and his expression was much better than before when he had been angry at her.He was busy these days, but so was she.She was now giving classes to students at the Art Academy. Although there were not many classes each week, there were always miscellaneous tasks to complete. Furthermore, she was concerned about Grandma and the three children, so she would go home to spend time with them whenever she could.It may be true that she neglected him a little, but he was a man in his thirties. How could he bicker with her about something like this?Sylvia held back her anger and stopp
Dinner went on quietly for a while until the phone in his pocket rang and broke the silence. When he picked up the call, his expression and tone turned serious. “What is it?” It was Cliff who had called. “Sir, Secretary Ackerman can’t make it tomorrow. His wife is seriously ill, and he has to be by her side.” “Let him stay with his family.” “But it might take him months to return based on his wife’s condition, and there must be someone there to assist you.” “Tell administration to find someone to take his place.” A second of hesitation later, Cliff said, “Sir, I have someone that I would like to recommend. I wonder if she will be suitable.” “Who is it?” “Shermaine Cole. She’s proactive, motivated, diligent, and professional about her work. And I believe she has a good personality. She’s been with us for two years now and has always been at the front desk, doing all kinds of chores without any complaints. She never told anyone that she helped Madam Carter before and didn
After dinner with Odell, Sylvia took a ride back home. Everyone at home had eaten. When she walked into the living room, Liam was reading a book to Flint while Isabel, Aunt Tonya, and Madam Carter were watching the latest drama series on television. Everything felt harmonious and peaceful. Her entrance caught everyone’s attention.“Mommy!” Flint abandoned his brother and wobbled his way to his mother. Sylvia smiled and carried the boy into her arms before she walked over to Madam Carter. Isabel tapped on the empty seat beside her and said, “Mommy, have a seat. This new drama series is awesome! We are at the climax now!” Sylvia turned to the television. The male and female protagonists were having an argument in the rain, and it seemed to be a fierce debate because even Madam Carter and Aunt Tonya were deeply fascinated by the storyline. Sylvia smiled and chose to sit down beside Liam. The little guy had a white shirt coupled with denim overalls which complimented h
Sylvia did not know what to do with the little guy. Just when she was about to leave Flint to his little quirks, Liam with the book turned around and sized Flint up from top to bottom. Flint was being adorable when his brother stared at him. He quickly retracted his hands from his mother’s neck and sat obediently like a doll. “Sit next to me,” Liam instructed. Flint used his most adorable gaze at Sylvia, asking for help. However, Sylvia averted his gaze and feigned ignorance. Flint then crawled out from Sylvia’s arms to Liam's side and sat upright like a little soldier. Liam stared at him coldly. “Bring the book over.” Flint pouted. He reluctantly picked up the book and started reading it from the first page. Meanwhile, Liam finally retracted his cold gaze and continued reading his book. Sylvia, who watched the little scene from start to end, was left speechless. She was almost certain that Flint had pinched Liam’s cheek on purpose earlier. He must have lived under his
Sylvia only opened her eyes when Odell came out from the bathroom, clean and freshly dressed. He left the room before she could say goodbye. She picked up her phone and found out that it was already 10 o’clock in the morning. It was no wonder Odell left in such a hurry. She wondered when the busy days would come to an end because it had been a while since they had woken up together. Recently, even seeing each other started to become a luxury that they could not afford. ‘Sigh. I still have to go to the academy later…’ Sylvia sighed and got out of bed. …When Odell came down to the living room, only Aunt Tonya and Madam Carter were around to take care of Flint. Isabel and Liam had gone to school. Flint got up and ran over as soon as he saw his father come down, so Odell carried him up for a while and then put him in Aunt Tonya’s care. He then said to Madam Carter, “Grandmother, I have to go to work now.” Madam Carter nodded. “Be safe.” Aunt Tonya reminded him, “Odell,
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