“Of course! Of course we are going to continue!” Isabel grunted. She then turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, you have to win this round so that you can beat him up!” Sylvia nodded. “Okay!” She took a deep breath, her hands on the controller. This time around, she had to stay ahead and make sure Odell did not overtake her. However, the moment the countdown timer came to zero, the black car sprinted off like the wind. It even overtook Isabel and Liam’s cars and scampered into first place, leaving them all far behind.Isabel pouted and Liam frowned. Sylvia had ended up in last place again. The two little rascals simply caressed her nose as ‘punishment’ again. Isabel then turned to Odell and said, “Baddie, don’t you kiss my mommy again!” Odell hummed in reply. He clutched Sylvia’s face and landed a soft kiss on her lips again. Sylvia was silenced and so was Liam. Isabel bolted up in anger. She screamed at Odell, “You big meanie! It’s on! It’s on now!” She then tu
The two little ones did not react either.The dinner went by in a very lively manner.After eating, Madam Carter dragged Aunt Tonya away to chat.Sylvia got up, intending on accompanying the children back to their room, but Odell grabbed her hand.She tried to pull it back, but he held onto her so tightly that she could not break free.She could not help but frown at him.Odell smiled at her, his deep eyes burning with some heat as he looked at her. "We've already played with them for a long time. It's time for them to rest."Sylvia subconsciously avoided his gaze and said, "I'll give them a bath.""The nanny will take care of them."She knew that Isabel and Liam had a nanny to look after them.At Odell's words, the nanny in charge of taking care of the children walked up and said to Sylvia with a smile, "Madam, you and Master Carter can go and rest. I'll bathe the children."Then, she took Isabel and Liam's little hands and said to them gently, "Come on, I'll give you two a
The man came out in his bathrobe.Sylvia was sitting on the bed with her back facing the bathroom.When she heard his footsteps, she turned back to look at him.His figure was tall under the light, and beads of water dripped down from the wet strands of his hair, landing on his exquisite collarbones before flowing down to his abs.Whether it was his cold face or his tall body, he was the definition of perfection.Sylvia suddenly gulped.When Odell saw her, he instantly stopped and frowned.Then, he looked at her with a gloomy gaze."What's wrong with your face?"Sylvia snapped back to her senses and played dumb. "What? What's wrong with my face?"Odell narrowed his eyes and said in disgust, "It's red and ugly."Except for her eyebrows which were thick and bushy, the rest of her face was completely red. Her cheeks, especially, looked like ripe tomatoes, and her lips looked like sausages. It was simply unbearable to look at."Huh? Really? Maybe it's an allergic reaction. I'll
Sylvia pursed her lips in fear.Then, Odell said to Isabel and Liam, "Go back to your room."His voice was cold and stern.Isabel and Liam shrunk back in fear.However, Isabel shouted indignantly, "We came here to look for Mommy, not you. If you're not happy, then you go out instead."Her voice was firm.Odell frowned coldly.Sylvia had a bad feeling and quickly shielded the little ones. She frowned at him and said, "Odell, if you're not happy, I'll take them back to their rooms to sleep. But, you can’t lose your temper at them."He probably did not know how scary he was whenever he lost his temper. Sylvia was really afraid that Isabel and Liam would be frightened by him.Odell pursed his lips and swallowed his anger.At that moment, Isabel and Liam poked their heads out from behind Sylvia. They each held onto each one of her arms as they looked at him warily.He glanced at Isabel.Isabel’s little face puffed up. "Hmph."Then, he turned to look at Liam.Liam tilted his he
Liam pointed to a red scarf in front of Isabel and him.At that moment, Odell was lying on the other side of the red scarf. He would fall off the bed if he so much as turned around.Odell frowned and pursed his lips coldly without a sound.If they were not his children, he would have kicked them out already.These two little rascals needed to be taught a lesson!Isabel and Liam were staring at him like two little judges.Odell pursed his lips in silence. His expression was gloomy, but he could not do anything about them.Sylvia could not hold back her laughter.Odell instantly looked at her.The little ones also turned around to pounce on her."Mommy, you're awake." Isabel fell into her arms.Liam politely asked, "Mommy, did we wake you up?"Sylvia smiled and kissed their little cheeks. "You didn't wake me up."Isabel and Liam also kissed her.The mother and her children were being very mushy.Odell cleared his throat. "Ahem!"Only then did they stop.Isabel looked at
Just as Odell's large hand moved to Sylvia's collar, Isabel's shout rang out again outside the door. "Baddie, you're not allowed to molest my mommy!"At the same time, the butler's embarrassed voice said, "Young Miss, your brother and you will be late for school. Please hurry up and have your breakfast."Isabel shouted, "I want to have breakfast with Mommy!"Liam was also outside the door and echoed, "We'll eat breakfast when Mommy comes out."Inside the room, Odell closed his eyes and forcibly held back his anger.He had instantly lost the mood to continue. Shooting Sylvia a glance, he straightened up and strode out of the room.Soon, Sylvia heard Isabel shouting at the 'baddie' again.Liam and her had obviously been carried away by Odell.For a moment, Sylvia did not know whether to be happy or exasperated.She got out of bed, quickly washed up, and went downstairs.In the living room, Isabel and Liam were sitting across Odell.Isabel's face was puffed up, while Liam's exp
The Carter residence had three floors.There was a sunroom with a very good view on the third floor. Sylvia's studio was moved there.It was clear that the place was specially made for her.All the painting tools she brought with her were neatly arranged.Sylvia stayed there for the entire day.She did not go downstairs until the two little ones came back from school in the evening.Madam Carter and Aunt Tonya had gone out for a trip in the morning and would not be back for about a month.The old butler and two maids accompanied them.There were not many people left at home, but it became very lively as soon as the little ones came back.Isabel, especially, chattered about the interesting things that happened in preschool that day, while Liam occasionally put in his own two cents. Sylvia simply smiled and listened to them.Odell came in just when they were chatting happily.He was still wearing the same clothes he left in the morning. His coat was draped over his hand, and h
Odell frowned.Then, he strode to the bed.Liam immediately backed away.Isabel also clutched the quilt."Name a condition." Odell crossed his arms and looked at them seriously. "As long as you go back to your room and sleep, I'll agree to anything."Liam answered calmly and firmly, "We won't agree no matter the condition."Isabel echoed, "Uh-huh. We won't be separated from our mommy."Odell was silent for a moment and said, "You're already four years old. It's not suitable for you to continue sleeping with your mom."Liam said, "You're already thirty. If you can sleep with Mom, so can we.""That's right!" Isabel immediately popped her head up from under the quilt and shouted at him, "You're already thirty, but you still want to sleep with Mommy. Shame on you!"Odell was speechless.He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to throw them out.At that moment, Sylvia came out after taking a shower."Mommy!" Isabel called out to her anxiously, "The baddie wants to separate us
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