Sylvia blinked sheepishly. "Sorry, Odell. I accidentally hit you."Odell's lips pulled down coldly. Then, he walked toward her with large strides.Isabel suddenly screamed, "Mommy, run away!"Sylvia was stunned for a moment and quickly ran to the side.Both Isabel and Liam also ran up to her, moving to protect her.However, Odell took off the heads of the two little snowmen in each hand, stunning Isabel and Liam.Odell's eyes were fixed on Sylvia, and he did not even notice their changing expressions. He took large strides forward, his gaze appearing gloomy and terrifying.Sylvia was afraid that he would blow her head off and turned around to run.He immediately accelerated his pace and threw a large snowball at her, striking Sylvia's leg. As a result, she almost fell, but she continued to stumble forward.Isabel and Liam also snapped back to their senses. Liam was so angry that his little brows were scrunched up. Isabel puffed up her face and yelled, "You baddie! I'm going to
She had to go inside quickly and dry off. Otherwise, she would freeze.Sebastian nodded and went over with a guard to carry Isabel and Liam into the house.Soon, Sylvia and Odell were the only ones left in the yard.As Sylvia stood up and patted the snow on her behind, Odell gave her a side glance.Sylvia giggled. "Aren't you going in?"He looked at her coldly and asked, "Why did you come after eight tonight?"She was stunned. She was a little late because she had grilled steak with Edmund, but…"Wasn't it you who said that I could only come after 8 p.m.?"Odell's expression instantly turned cold.Sylvia quickly amended her words with a smile, "I went to the Art Association event this afternoon. The event ended late, so I came over a little late."Odell's expression eased slightly. Then, he turned around and went into the living room.Sylvia followed him in, going straight to the two little ones' room.After the two kids were carried in by force, Isabel scratched the door a
Odell's expression darkened as soon as Tara spoke."Edmund is also here?" he asked in a cold voice.Tara's eyes flickered, but she pretended to be ignorant and said, "Edmund? Is that the man we saw last time at the Elysian House?Odell pursed his lips coldly.Tara looked at his face and continued to play dumb, saying, "He also came yesterday afternoon and laughed and chatted with Sylvia. It seems they went out for dinner together after the event as well."Odell's hand clenched at his sides. 'No wonder she came to see the children when it was past 8 p.m. It's because she went out for dinner with Edmund!'"Sylvia has been single for many years, so I think Edmund and her are for real this time. It's really possible that they're together," Tara spoke absentmindedly and then looked at his horribly stony face.She reached for his arm and asked softly, "What's wrong, Odell? You don't look too good."Odell pursed his lips and restrained the coldness in his eyes. He replied, "I'm fine."
"He won't hurt me."'He will just probably prohibit me from seeing the children again.'Sylvia was agitated and immediately lost the mood to explain the paintings to Edmund. She said, "You look around by yourself. I'll go back first."Edmund quickly followed her and asked, "What's wrong, Lil Syl?""I'm fine. I just want some time alone."Edmund was silent. "Okay."He then stopped following her, and Sylvia quickly walked out of the venue.Odell and Tara were probably still on the other side of the field since Sylvia went straight to the parking lot without seeing them.She got into her car and stayed there for a while. When she calmed down, she took out her phone and sent a message to Odell."Edmund and I are just friends. He's a nice guy. He didn't mean to provoke you earlier. If you're unhappy, I'll apologize to you."A long time passed, but the screen remained blank. She did not know if he read the message or not. Either way, he did not reply to her.Eventually, Sylvia put
Tara looked at him expectantly.It was like a knife was stabbing into his conscience. This weak woman had lit up his dark youth and accompanied him through his most difficult days.He wanted to go after Sylvia and teach her a lesson. However, he quickly suppressed the impulse.He promised that he would never make Tara sad again. He also said that he would stay with her all his life. He reached out to wipe her tears and asked, "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll accompany you."Tara's eyes instantly lit up. She hugged him and said, "I'm fine with anything. I'll eat whatever you want to.""Okay."Tara's eyes flickered, and she bowed her head and said, "Odell, although I'm afraid that Sylvia will come between us again, I really want her to find a suitable partner for her to spend the rest of her life with.""Yeah, I know." Tara had always been kind and considerate.Tara immediately raised her head with a smile and asked, "You should also want Sylvia to find her significant othe
Sylvia noticed Sherry's gaze and asked curiously, "What's wrong?""N-Nothing." Sherry snapped back to her senses and looked at the menu.Not long after, Lloyd asked in a low voice, "Mr. Price, shall we order some beer?"Edmund shot him a look.Harry slapped the back of Lloyd's head. "Did you forget what Mr. Price said before?"Lloyd held his head and pouted reluctantly.Sylvia said to Edmund, "It's really fine. You guys can order some beer if you want to drink."Sherry was here anyway, so Sylvia was not worried that they would go wild after drinking.However, Edmund said, "They're not drinking. Just ignore them."Harry grinned while Lloyd put on a bitter smile.Sherry touched her chin while her eyes flickered back and forth between Edmund and Sylvia.The hot grilled meat was soon served on the table.Sylvia had had dinner with them several times already and felt familiar with them, so she picked up her cutlery and started eating.Edmund also picked up his cutlery and ate p
It was already past 8 p.m. when Sylvia drove back to her place.She had already played with the two little ones all morning, so she dismissed the idea of going to the old Carter mansion.Moreover, Odell did not reply to her message either, so she probably would not be able to enter even if she went.The car stopped outside the gate. She got out of the car and walked in.At this moment, on the second floor of a large terrace in the old Carters' residence, Odell was draped in a coat, and his tall figure sat on a leather sofa. He held a pair of binoculars in his hand.Through the binoculars, deep eyes looked at her figure walking into the house. His face also became colder and darker with the shadows of the night.The Art Association event had clearly ended long ago, but she only came back just now. It was obvious that she went out to have dinner with Edmund again.Furthermore, she did not come to see the children. Was she really planning to get together with Edmund?Odell's hand
The heavy feeling that Sylvia experienced for the entire day was finally relieved. She played with the children until 9 p.m. and did not leave until they fell asleep.Odell's car also stopped at the gate at that time.She saw him when she walked out of the gate. She immediately smiled and greeted him, "Good evening, Odell."Odell gave her a cold look, walked past her, and went inside. He clearly did not want to talk to her.Sylvia did not care either because she did not really want to greet him anyway.The next two days passed similarly.That afternoon, Sylvia was painting in the studio when she received a message from Edmund."Lil Syl, let's go out for dinner tonight."Sylvia replied, "I can't go out at night. I'm going to see the children."Edmund asked, "Didn't you go last night?"He had asked her out for dinner last night too, but she had refused because she wanted to see the children.Sylvia responded, "I have to go there every night."Odell did not let the children co
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