Sherry’s car was parked in the open parking lot outside the building. When she arrived at the parking lot but before she could reach her car, she heard several women squealing excitedly. “My gosh! He’s so handsome! He looks much better in person!” “He’s so charming. No wonder he’s the richest man in Glenchester.” “I’m so jealous of Ms. Fowler.” Sherry was speechless when she heard the gossip. The women were employees of the company. They were fangirling over a man with a bouquet of roses by Sherry’s car—John. The white shirt and slim-fit pants set off his slender physique. His golden-framed glasses hung over his tall nose, complementing his charming and enchanting eyes. He must have stood there for some time now. When Sherry spotted him, he spotted her too, and he smiled at her. The evening breeze fluttered his front hair, further revealing his handsome face. The smile on his face could steal hearts from any woman. The infatuated women squealed even louder. Sherry
Sherry tried to help him up, but he lost all his strength to the stab. His weight and physique overpowered her, dragging her down to the ground despite mustering all her strength to hold him up. The stench of blood entered her nose. She tapped on his shoulder to nudge him, but as soon as she lifted her hand, her palm was blood-stained. His back was drenched in his own blood. Her hand shook. Sherry looked at John. His face was bleached white and his half-closed eyes were glued to her. Sherry’s lips trembled out of fear. “John? John?! JOHN!? Hang in there!” She pulled her phone out to call the ambulance. Ada, who was kicked to the ground by Carl, was apprehended by the security guards. Carl swiftly made a call and ran over to Sherry. He looked at Sherry and her blood-stained hand. “Sis, don’t worry, I’ve called an ambulance. Help is arriving.” Sherry then looked at John. “Did you hear that? Help is coming! Hold on! Hang in there!” John’s lips moved, seemingly spelling t
In the corridor outside the emergency room, Sherry squatted down with her blood-stained hands over her head. It had been two hours, yet the door remained closed and the sign remained lit. Sherry saw several medical staff running in and out of the emergency room, but there were no signs of the surgery being over. She had been squatting down for so long that she could not feel her legs anymore. Her body felt cold and stiff. For some reason, her mind kept replaying some old memories while she waited for the surgery to be over. When they were together ten years ago, he had been the Stocktons’ eldest son, a handsome young man with a bright future. He was the ideal husband of many socialites and young ladies in Glenchester, but he had fallen for her out of all the other women. At the start of their relationship, her then-fiance, Mason, was taken away by Shannon, hence she cut all ties with her family, the Fowlers. She relied on her own hands to make a living. He knew she was a wo
John had to stay for another day for observation purposes. If he could make it through, he could be discharged. Sherry stayed by his side for the entire night. Lisa and Carl stayed back to accompany Sherry, but she told them to go back to take a rest. They refused though. It was until Lisa received a call about an urgent matter back at the Sagers’ house, only then she left while Carl stayed back. It was a quiet night in the corridor outside the ICU. Carl stood beside Sherry and looked at her silently. A while after Lisa left, Sherry looked at him. She said in a disheartened voice, “I’m fine. You should go back and take a rest.” Carl’s eyes flickered. “I’m responsible for what happened to Master Stockton as well. I failed to contain Ada, that was how she was able to hurt him. I should be the one who stays.” His words made sense, which silenced Sherry. Carl continued, “Sis, why don’t you go back and take a rest?” “I’m not tired.” Caprice was already sleeping and was
“Huh?” Sherry thought she heard John replying. She wanted to pull her hands back to wipe her tears but one of her hands was caught. She wiped her tears with one hand swiftly and then saw John looking at her gently. He looked weak and pale, but he was awake! Sherry’s eyes gleamed as she was surprised. As though he was afraid that she would not keep the promise, he held her hand tightly. He smiled and said, “I heard what you said just now. I know you will keep your promise, am I right?” Sherry’s eyes flickered several times. Seeing his eyes open and him talking to her made Sherry no longer feel less pain. “I said it because I wanted you to wake up,” she said. John’s expression changed. His brows furrowed and he looked like he was in pain. He lost his grip over her hand. Surprised, Sherry immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Is your chest hurting?” “My heart…It hurts…” he said feebly before his eyes closed once more. Sherry got anxious. Was it because of what she sa
Carl came back with breakfast and was standing outside the glass window. He looked disheartened when he saw the scene inside the ICU. He put the breakfast on the bench that Sherry sat on earlier and left quietly. …Sherry stayed by John’s side for a while before her stomach started to growl. John released her hand and told her to get something to eat. Sherry walked out of the ICU. The corridor was quiet. Sherry took off her visiting gown when she came out. She went on her phone to order some food, but then she noticed the breakfast on the bench. Surprised, she looked at Jason who was on guard further away. “Jason, who bought this?” “Young Master Carl.” “Where is he?” “He left.” Sherry was silent for a moment. She then asked, “Have you eaten?” “I have, Madam.” The nurse in charge of checking up on John just wanted to ask her colleague to bring her breakfast and Sherry was aware of it. She gave the nurse the extra breakfast meal and took the other one herself.
"Daddy, what happened to you?” Caprice asked frightfully while slowly tearing up. It hurt Sherry to see her like this. John raised his hand and gently stroked Caprice’s head, "Daddy will be fine." Caprice whimpered, "Daddy, your voice is hoarse." “It’s what happens when you get sick. Daddy will be fine after a few days of rest.” “Are you sure?” “Yes.” Caprice pursed her lips and tried to crawl onto the bed. She had trouble climbing up due to her height. All she could manage was to awkwardly prop one of her feet onto the bed, but she did not have the strength to pull her weight onto the bed. She groaned and tried to muster her strength to fling herself onto the bed. Sherry chuckled and stepped forward to help her onto the bed. After Caprice managed to get onto the bed, she crawled over to John and hugged him tightly. She began to blow large puffs of air on his face. She must have learned this from one of those cartoons she liked to watch. “If I keep doin
Sherry gave her word. “Alright, Mommy promises to never say something like that ever again.” Caprice smiled and seemed content at last. Sherry kissed her on the cheek. Caprice returned the same favor, and they made up. Sherry smiled and carried her onto the bed. John was looking at Sherry with a smile forming in the corner of his eyes. He seemed to find the situation of a mother getting lectured by her daughter very humorous. Sherry shot a look at him. He traced a smile and told her tenderly, "I'll keep Caprice company for a bit. Why don’t you get some rest?” There was a large recliner next to the couch with blankets and pillows laid on top of it. It was ideal for her to catch up on some rest. Sherry was certainly getting tired. She doubted she needed to worry about Caprice since she was with her father. She nodded and went to the reclining chair without protest. She swiftly took off her coat and shoes, then she reclined into the chair and threw the blanke
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