Caprice eyed him darkly without a word. She pressed both her palms against Liam and shoved him away with all her strength. Then, she began stomping away with her cheeks puffed up. She had barely taken a step when she felt a large hand seizing her from behind. Within a second, she was pulled back into Liam’s arms. His long, slender arms bound themselves around her body like a chain, so there was no way she could wring herself free. With that, he lowered himself and planted a kiss on her lips. Caprice opened her eyes after the kiss, there was a restlessness rising inside her. Just like that, her grumpiness had left her completely, It took a while before Liam willingly let go of her, but his face, handsome as always, was still mere inches from hers. He locked his dark eyes on her, eyes as sharp as that of a hawk’s. He said firmly, “Next Saturday is the day you will finally become my fiancée.” Caprice felt her face slowly grow hot. She buried her face to hide her em
Freya seemed like she was going to object when Piper stepped in. “Freya, let Caprice show us around if she wants. This place is huge, and there have to be a lot of interesting spots that only she knows about. It’s been a long time since I last came here, and I want to check the place out.” Freya smiled and obliged, "Okay." Lana cautiously took out her phone and asked, “Can I take pictures?” Caprice smiled. “If you’d like.” … After a short drive, they arrived at the house at last. Caprice led them into her courtyard. Madam Stockton must have heard them arriving as she had one of the housemaids walk her outside to greet them. "Caprice!" the old lady cried out shrilly. "Grandma!" Caprice chirped after her, then she ran up to her to give her a big hug. Piper, Freya, and Lana approached and greeted Madam Stockton politely. Madam Stockton was a wonderful host, and she quickly invited them inside. With that, everyone stepped into the living room. Madam S
He had barely finished his sentence when Flint swiftly drew away his hands from Caprice’s shoulder. He held his hands inches away from his face to admire them while expressing sourly, “What do you mean stinky hands? These hands are beautiful.” Liam ignored him. Flint held his hands in front of Caprice. “Take a look, Caprice. Do these hands look beautiful to you or what?” Smack! Liam smacked his hand away without mercy. Flint groaned from the pain. Caprice broke out into a chuckle, amused by the shrill cry of Flint. Isabel showed up as well and joked. “Flint, you better watch out. Caprice is going to be our sister-in-law soon enough. If you step on her toes, I don’t think I can save you from Liam breaking your legs.” Flint scoffed. "I have long legs, he won’t get me.” Upon saying that, he playfully grabbed Liam's shoulder before scuttling away toward Sylvia and Odell to seek their protection. Liam looked on silently. He wore a look of disdain as if th
It was a day with dark clouds overcast in the sky above. An engagement ceremony was happening on this fateful day. By the time Isabel had rushed over after receiving news of the engagement, the main characters of the night were in the middle of exchanging their engagement rings, witnessed by their relatives and friends. Even from a distance, she could recognize the young man in a dazzling white suit. "Decker!” She let out a tremendous shout with everything she had in her. She ran onto the red carpet and tried to stop the man on stage from putting on the ring. A thick silence fell over the scene. Everyone turned to look at the brazen woman who had intruded on the ceremony. Decker, who was facing his fiancée with the brightest smile ever seen, turned around and regarded Isabel with a look of shock. His expression was then quickly masked over with stark indifference. As if Isabel was a stranger to him. The way he looked at Isabel made her heart throb, but more so t
Smack! Without warning, he delivered a slap across Isabel’s face. If not for his other hand holding her chin firmly, she would have easily been swung off balance. Her head which was already fuzzy to begin with had grown dizzier. She looked at Decker with stark surprise and met his ominously black eyes. There was not a trace of warmth underneath them. They looked like mere organs with a purpose. He said sharply, “Have I been too lax with you?” He continued, “I’ll forgive you this time but if you ever do this again, I’ll chase you back where you came from!” He rudely flung her away before marching back to his car. The engines roared as he drove off. Leaving behind Isabel and the biting cold, cruel gusts of wind beat against her soaked body. The only part of her body that produced any heat was her pulsing cheeks. The sharp pain made her tremble all over. Her chest tightened, and she wrapped her arms protectively around herself. At the same time, a ball of
Isabel wrote a reply with the hand that was not aching, “Yeah, I’m home.” Flint asked, “I saw Roland helping you into the car, was he the one who sent you home?” Isabel replied, “Yeah, I asked him to drive me home.” Flint lectured her. “Sis, I know that you’re the one who hired him. But don’t forget that he’s still the vice president of Carter Corporation at the end of the day. He’s already busy enough with work, now you’re troubling him with having to send you home.” Isabel grimaced. “It’s along the way anyway.” It was true, Roland lived in the high-end residential area next to hers. They first met on a fateful night a year ago. That night, she had just finished shooting a scene and was about to head home for a good night’s rest when she nearly ran over Roland in the middle of the road. It was in a remote part of the town that rarely saw any traffic. He had been waiting for his rental car for ages to no avail and ended up resorting to stopping the first car that h
Isabel put away her phone and went into the bathroom. She cupped a handful of cold water and splashed it on her face. Five years, it had been five whole years. It was better to forget about the past. … It was already midnight by the time she finished washing up and was ready to settle in for the night. She fell asleep swiftly and was woken up by the alarm clock. She had always taken her work very seriously. She did not need her assistant to wake her or help her prepare for the day. She was out of the door in no time. Her assistant and driver showed up to pick her up. After getting in the car, she was driven to their filming location for the day. Ding! Her phone suddenly rang. It was a text from Roland. “Miss Carter, I emailed last week’s report to you.” Isabel frowned when she read the message. At this hour? Considering how he got home so late last night, he could not have stayed up all night working, or could he? She replied perfunctorily a
Isabel’s itinerary for the day was filled out. After shooting a scene before noon, she rushed to the studio for an appearance on a variety show. It was midnight by the time she got home. Her stomach was growling. Just as the car was about to pull into her apartment complex, she called after the driver, “Stop.” The driver stopped the car. Carla stifled a yawn and asked, “Isabel, what's wrong?" "I'm going to get something to eat, do you want anything?” Isabel asked. Carla suddenly appeared conflicted for a moment, she stammered after a brief silence, "Okay, I’ll go with you.” Carla had been working for Isabel for several years now. Isabel was very perceptive of even her mildest gestures. Sensing that Carla was exhausted, she dismissed her for the day. “You know what, you better get some rest, I’ll go myself.” Carla grew concerned. "I should go with you, it’s so late already.” "There are police patrols in the area, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” With that,
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