Her husband was trying to get her out of the sticky situation and also give a satisfying explanation to John and Sherry, so that the two of them would forgive them. Sophia bent over and knelt before John and Sherry. She cried and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Stockton, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have bribed her, I shouldn’t have hurt your daughter. I was wrong.” John continued to pat Caprice’s head without saying a word. Sherry scoffed. She knew the Masons were putting up a show to ask for forgiveness. She asked, “Why did you bribe Beverly to hurt Caprice?” Sophie’s eyes flickered nervously. “I-I saw Ms. Stockton and Ms. Ross hit Heather, so I was thinking of taking revenge. That’s why I bribed Beverly.” “I’m the one who hit Heather, Caprice didn’t even touch her,” Isabel bellowed, “Mrs. Mason, if you want to take revenge, you should’ve gone after me but you went after Caprice instead. Why?” “Yeah! Why did she go after Ms. Stockton?” someone in the crowd asked. Sophia was silen
Both Heather and Sophia looked up in fear. Even Roman was taken aback by the suggestion. John then helped Caprice up and brought her out. Sherry walked with them. She was worried about Caprice’s back after the incident. “Caprice, how’s your back?” Caprice felt better now that she cleared her name. “I feel better now.” …Odell exchanged an eye with Sylvia before they brought Isabel away. Mr. and Mrs. Duwait went after them. There was no way the event could continue anymore after that happened but they had to somehow apologize or at least make amends. Mr. Duwait went to John and said, “Mr. Stockton, don’t worry about it. I’ll call the police right away. I’ll give you and Ms. Stockton a satisfying explanation.” Mrs. Duwait went over to Sylvia and Odell. “Mr. and Mrs. Carter, Ms. Ross, it’s our fault that you have to go through something like that at our estate. Please forgive our mistake.” They left the estate swiftly. The other guests no longer linger and started to
The car soon arrived at the entrance of the estate. The bodyguard in the passenger seat got out and opened the door for Liam. When Liam stepped out of the car, he saw a group of people exiting the estate. Mr. Duwait was in front of John and Sherry. He said with a flattering smile on his face, “Mr. Stockton, I’m really sorry about what happened today. I hope you’ll give me the chance to apologize to you, Mrs. Stockton, and Ms. Stockton personally another day.” John was still angry about what happened. He did not answer the man. Sherry said, “It’s not your fault, Mr. Duwait. As long as you can handle the situation properly, we won’t hold you responsible.” Mr. Duwait nodded repeatedly and gratefully. “Not a problem! Thank you very much! I have already contacted the police and I’ll update you about the follow-ups. Please don’t worry.” Mrs. Duwait was also apologizing to Odell and Sylvia. “Mr. and Mrs. Carter, I’m really sorry for what happened tonight. I’m sorry that Ms. Ross
Liam released Caprice and then looked at John and Sherry. “Uncle John, Aunt Sherry, sorry I’m late.” He should have been there with Caprice. John wore a stoic look and ignored Liam. He said to Caprice, “Caprice, come here.” Caprice hummed reluctantly. She remained in Liam’s arms and refused to return to her father. John’s expression turned grim. Sherry sighed and said, “Caprice, Uncle Odell and Aunt Sylvia are still here. Isabel is watching as well. Come back here.” Caprice then realized she was being watched. She took a step back and saw Odell smiling at her gently while both Sylvia and Isabel smirked. Embarrassed, Caprice immediately returned to her father and mother. John's grim expression finally relaxed a bit. Sherry then looked at Liam. “Liam, it’s not your fault. You don’t have to blame yourself.” Isabel then stepped up and said, “It’s my fault, Aunt Sherry. I asked Caprice to accompany me to the event.” Sherry smiled and said, “It’s not your fault either
The driver was taken aback. Liam instructed in a timely manner, “Uncle Ben, just follow the navigation system.” Uncle Ben was the driver that had worked for the Stocktons for several decades. Upon hearing Liam, he did not enact a response. Instead, he glanced at John through the rearview mirror. John seemed rather upset. "Where are you taking us?" Liam answered firmly, “To my place.” "What are we doing at your place?” “We’re going to get something to eat, then settle in for the night,” Liam said without changing his expression. John frowned disagreeably, "No—" “Ahem.” Sherry stepped in. Caprice jabbed at her father with her fingers as well and made a face at him. The message was clear: stop making things difficult for Liam, or else she was going to get angry! John took a deep breath and kept his complaints to himself. Liam turned to John and Sherry. "Uncle John, Aunt Sherry, just take a quick nap if you need to. It’s a smooth drive to my place from here
After exactly twenty minutes, the car swerved into the Carters’ Manor and stopped at one of the buildings. Caprice followed John and Sherry out of the car. After getting out of the car, she trotted over to Liam's side. Liam gave her a look. Soon, the trio of Sylvia, Odell, and Isabel showed up as well. They promptly stepped out of the car. Odell and Sylvia approached John and Sherry. "Dinner should be almost ready, so let's head in,” Odell informed John. John nodded with a grunt. Sylvia took Sherry’s hand and led them inside. Isabel crossed her arms across her chest and followed them into the house. Caprice took Liam's hand which was like a bear’s paw compared to hers. Liam held her hand which was tiny in contrast and walked into the house. After entering the living room, he let go of Caprice the moment he noticed John turning over to look at them. John darted a glance at them and held his silence. Meanwhile, the housemaids were setting the meal on t
John said with a glance at Caprice, “We’re not in a hurry. Why don’t you send Caprice to the bedroom first?” Sylvia smiled and obliged, “Sure.” She could tell that John’s true concern was that Liam would steal away Caprice when they were out of sight. Sherry smiled weakly, then she waved over at Caprice who was standing next to Liam. "Caprice, come with us.” Caprice cast a reluctant look at Liam before dragging her feet over to Sherry. Liam noticed where she was headed and followed after her. John cast a morose look at him. “Why are you following her?” "I'm walking her back to her room," Liam said without the most remote change of his expression. John took a breath and let it slide. As Caprice smiled and drew closer to Liam, Sylvia and Sherry shared a hearty chuckle at their interaction. … Caprice was going to stay over in the guest room on the second floor. The room was large, clean, and cozy, and it was adjacent to Liam’s bedroom. "Caprice, woul
She tucked her lips inward and suppressed the restless feeling boiling inside her. When she stared in front of her, she saw the shadow of Liam cast onto the quilt. After noticing that he was not moving at all, she asked nervously, “Liam, is everything okay?” Liam wore a tight grimace. While he was unzipping the dress for Caprice just now, he had to admit that he was feeling slightly bashful, but right now, the only emotion he felt was pure, unfiltered rage. There were several bruises and red, swollen spots scattered along Caprice’s smooth, delicate back. They were marks left behind by high heels, amongst many other things. What exactly happened to her at the dinner party?! "Liam?" Upon failing to draw a response from Liam, Caprice turned over to look at him. As soon as she turned around, the loose front of her dress slipped off her body. Liam grew wide-eyed with shock. Caprice noticed his expression and immediately looked down at her chest. She blushed instantly an
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