The day passed while Sherry buried herself in work. At dusk, Sherry walked out of the office and saw her white car parked beside the road. The window was wound down and Caprice popped her head out, calling her adorably, “Mommy…” The sweet expression felt warmer than the breeze. Sherry hastened her steps to the car. She got in, hugged the girl in her arms, and kissed her on the cheek. Caprice giggled as she kissed her mother back. They played around for a while before Sherry released the girl. She then switched her attention to the driver’s seat. “Why aren’t you driving?” John smiled and looked at her through the rear mirror. “I’m waiting for your order.” Sherry gulped. “Drive.” John started the car and drove, but not in the direction of her apartment. Sherry asked, “Where are you going?” He said, “Caprice wants to have something good to eat. I booked a restaurant. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Sherry frowned. “I’ve only booked a table. I didn’t pay for it y
Sherry was probably counting how much she had to spend for the meal. She noticed the man’s gaze and it irritated her. “What are you looking at?” John smiled. “Nothing. I just want to look at you.” Sherry choked. She wanted to argue, but Caprice reached out to her face with her tiny hands. The girl held her collar and said, “Mommy, don’t be angry at Daddy.” Sherry was forced to swallow her grievance. She said, “Mommy isn’t angry at Daddy. I’m just teasing him.” John was left speechless, and so was Caprice. Caprice added, “Mommy, don’t tease Daddy. Daddy is scared.” Sherry said with a smile, “He’s thick-faced. He won’t be scared so easily.” Caprice pouted in confusion. Being thick-faced and cowardly had nothing in relation. Before she could figure out the question, the waiter returned with the dishes. The dishes served were mostly vegetarian, but they were decorated meticulously. Caprice’s eyes widened in astonishment. Sherry put some broccoli on the girl’s plate. T
When they arrived at Sherry’s apartment, Caprice was already dead asleep. After Sherry got out of the car, she carried Caprice into her arms and threw a gaze at John. “You can go now.” John stood by the car and leaned against it lazily. The moonlight’s reflection shone from his glasses as he smiled bewitchingly. “Goodnight.” Sherry ignored him. She carried Caprice into the apartment without looking back. The night was quiet. After Sherry entered her apartment and turned on the living room lights, the man’s slender figure remained by the car with no intention of leaving. However, he pulled his attention away from the window and looked to his left. There was a garden on the left of the apartment, and there was a fake mountain decoration by the side. In the shadow cast by the fake mountain was a slender figure. Carl was aware that John noticed him, so he came out from the shadows. “Young Master Carl, what are you doing here?” John asked with a smile. Carl’s eyes flic
Ron was a sly man, and Anne had the support of Madam Sager and the other old folks at home. Lisa had done a lot to reach her current position while bringing Carl up. It had not been easy for her. It was not easy to kick Ron out of the company. Carl went silent for a moment and said, “I know, but he’s cunning and we don’t have anything on him.” John chuckled. “Then, let him give you something to hold against him.” Carl narrowed his eyes. John leaned against the car with his arms crossed. He continued, “Ron Wright has a property in the suburbs, where there are a woman and a pair of twins. The woman was his secretary from five years ago.” Carl was shocked. It took him several seconds to recover and say, “How do you know about this?” John curled his lips. “I have my ways.” Carl remained shocked. He knew Ron was a playboy as well. Anne had caught him a few times fooling around, and he had been obedient ever since. He never showed any flaws in the open as well. Who would ha
Lisa dragged Sherry into a rather inconspicuous sedan instead of the usual luxurious car she liked to be driven around in. They were quite some distance from the suburbs. Sherry reached for her phone and dialed Caprice’s number. She had given Caprice a smartwatch suitable for children several days ago so that she could directly contact Caprice, effectively bypassing John as the middleman. It only rang twice before Caprice picked up. She answered the phone cheerfully, "Hello". Sherry lit up the moment she heard Caprice’s voice. "Caprice, it's Mommy.” Caprice's voice raised several pitches the moment she recognized her mother’s voice. “Mommy! Are you coming back already?” "Mommy has something to do. I’m going out with Grandma Lisa and probably will be home later than usual. Make sure you eat dinner with Daddy, alright?” "Okay." Although Caprice was slightly saddened to hear this, she did not make a fuss about it. Sherry smooched into the phone receiver. As Capr
Shortly after, the car came to a stop a short distance from them. Ron stepped out of the car; he was by himself. He held an umbrella in hand and walked toward the villa. Upon reaching the front door, he looked around suspiciously before pushing the door open. Someone had been waiting inside for him the entire time. The moment he pushed the door open, a woman was revealed. She excitedly threw herself into Ron’s arms as soon as the door was opened. The two behaved like a pair of a couple that had been reunited after an indeterminable length of separation. It was as if they were mimicking the scenes commonly seen in romantic movies. It would have made for a wonderful scene if not for Ron’s bulging belly and unsightly appearance. Stalking from a short distance, Sherry and Lisa watched as Ron kissed the young woman in his arms, then went into the house with his arms wrapped around her. Sherry felt a wave of chill and goosebumps crawling on her skin. She turned to Lisa and
One of Anne’s bodyguards came charging in and promptly helped Anne up from the ground. Ron was going to continue charging Anne but wisely took a step back when he saw the bodyguard stepping up to defend her. Anne pressed a hand over her stomach and groaned in pain. Her voice was a hoarse rattle as she said, "Ron...you kicked me...you dare kick me for a woman like her..." Ron spoke with utter detest, “Don’t you dare insult her! She’s nothing like a foul woman like you! I would have dumped you a million years ago if not for your wealth and status!" Such a hateful declaration came as a shock to Anne. Ron would have given anything to punch her right in the face, but the rational part of his mind prevented him from acting on impulse. After all, she was the esteemed madam of the Sagers and held a majority of the shares of the corporation. He swallowed his rage and put on a benevolent act to save face. “Here’s what I propose: I will be willing to forgive you if you let go of
She picked herself off the ground and crawled over to Anne where she began to beg, “Mrs. Sager, it’s all my fault. Blame it all on me. I never should have fallen in love with Ron. I never should have been together with him in the first place. If you’re going to punish someone, let it be me, but please, please have mercy on my children and Ron!” Inside the car, Lisa scoffed with stark disdain, “She's fallen in love with Ron? As if anybody would believe that.” Sherry held her tongue. This ex-secretary of Ron was truly something. Her tearful outburst incited Ron further, so his hatred for Anne had grown to an unprecedented degree. If he could, he would have killed Anne with his bare hands right then and there. “Willow, get up!" He shouted as he approached the mistress hastily. The mistress was drenched in tears by this point. She collapsed weakly in his arms and whimpered, “Ron, I don't want to lose my children. I don't want anything to happen to you..." Ron embraced h
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