Sylvia went up to him and asked, “Not sleeping?” “I can’t sleep.” His gravelly voice had a hint of grievance. “It’s getting late. You still have to go to work tomorrow. Hurry up and go to bed.” Odell ignored her. Since he gave her the silent treatment and showed no signs of moving, Sylvia wanted to head back. She came all the way out here just to call him back to sleep but since he refused to go back, she could not do anything either. However, before she could walk inside, he stopped her. “Hold on.” “What?” Sylvia turned around to the man. Odell’s brows were furrowed. He was rather unhappy with her reaction. “Can’t you just say it to me?” “Huh?” “Say you want me to go back and rest. Is that too much for you?” Sylvia did not know how to answer his question, so she chose silence. Odell glared at her. Sylvia was afraid that the man might go out of control again, so she complied and said, “It’s getting late, you better have some rest.” The frosty look on the m
Sylvia wore a skeptical look at her and asked, “Tara? Is there anything?” Tara did not bother to conceal her frosty gaze. “Can’t I come here? Do you think Odell doesn’t care about me anymore after our breakup? Hmph. He just transferred two million into my account.” Sylvia’s look turned frosty. However, since Odell mentioned that he could not simply leave Tara alone, giving her money to cover her living expenses was a normal thing to do. She did not want to listen to Tara’s nonsense, so she said, “If you have anything you want to say, just spill it; if not, please get away from me.” “Hmph. I underestimated you. Not only did you bewitch Odell, but you even extended your spells to Edmund. Ever since you remarried Odell, Edmund has been drinking at the club almost every night.” Sylvia frowned. “What did you say?” “Don’t tell me you don’t know Edmund likes you,” Tara said with a scoff, “And you say I’m the acting b*tch? I can say the same to you as well.” Sylvia wore a frosty
Sylvia stared at the number on her screen blankly. A lot had happened after they remarried and she felt that he cared about her. A tiny ember seemed to have gotten into her heart and melted away the layer of frost she used to seal her feelings away. She even started to recall the sixty slaps she received back then but now, it did not hurt as much as before. Since he was serious about the marriage this time and they already remarried, she ought to do her best to live with him under one roof. Then, Sylvia said, “Odell, I want to go to Lush Heaven to have a look at Edmund.” The steadily cruising sports car screeched and wobbled for a fraction of a second. Odell thought he heard wrongly, so he asked with furrowed brows, “What did you say?” Sylvia explained, “Odell, don’t take this the wrong way. I’m just trying to talk some sense into him. I heard he’s been drinking like crazy in Lush Heaven and I don’t want to see him waste his life like this because of me.” The car scre
Sylvia went inside after that. The room was dimly lit, and the stench of alcohol in the air stung the nostrils. Right after Sylvia came in, she saw Edmund dozing off on the couch. He wore a floral shirt that was unbuttoned down to his chest, revealing his broad muscles. The stubble around his chin was apparent while even his messy hair was longer. He looked severely disheartened. Sylvia frowned and called out to him. “Edmund.” Edmund’s eyeballs shifted before he opened his eyes. “Syl?” He bolted up and looked at her in awe. Sylvia’s brows remained furrowed. “I heard Sherry said you’ve been drinking here. What happened?” Edmund put the bottle of whiskey that he had been holding on onto the table. He hurriedly tidied his clothes and hair before he smiled at her. “I’m fine. I’m just bored, so I came to have some fun.” “Is it because of me?” Sylvia asked. Edmund’s face fell, his lips tightening. “Edmund, I’ve remarried Odell. It’s not worth it anymore. Don’t do this bec
Harry and Lloyd almost burst into tears when they saw their boss come out of the room. They stared at Edmund with teary eyes. “Master Price, you’re finally out!” Edmund gave each of them a kick on the bum. “Shut up! Stop acting like pussies!” The two of them did not only stay after the kick, but they even hugged Edmund excitedly. Although Edmund had disgust all over his face, he did not try to push Harry and Lloyd away. He then said to Sherry, “Ms. Fowler, thank you for calling Syl over. You can go back to work now. I’ll pay you double for the whiskey I've drank in the past two days.” “Of course.” Sherry did not even try to be courteous. She wore a sweet smile and then returned to work. Edmund then pulled the clingy Harry and Lloyd off his waist. Intrigued, Harry asked, “Master Price, what did Sylvia say to you?” He clearly remembered that Sylvia had only gone in for a few minutes. Lloyd also narrowed his eyes. He protruded his lips and wore a perverted look as he sai
“What did you say to Edmund?” “I told him to get himself together.” “That’s it?” Odell narrowed his sharp eyes. A quick thought later, Sylvia continued, “I even told him that I’m having a great life now and that he should live a happy life as well. That’s it.” “Come over here.” “What for?” His frosty eyes remained narrow. Sylvia held her reluctance back and moved closer to him. Odell put his hand behind her neck and kissed her. He even nipped her on the lips before releasing her. “This is your punishment for being late for 36 seconds.” Sylvia was speechless but did not talk back. The man also looked a lot more satisfied after he had his kiss. After that, he pushed her back onto the passenger seat and drove away from the parking lot. Sylvia did not even want to argue with him. On the way home, Sherry texted and told her that shortly after she left, Edmund had gone out with Harry and Lloyd and seemed to be in a good mood. Sylvia heaved a breath of relief after
Sometime later, the door finally opened. Sylvia came out and chatted with Sherry and the two men before she went off. Then, Edmund came out. He looked a little disheveled but vibrant. Sylvia must have talked some sense into him. After that, his men chatted with him. One of the men asked him, “Master Price, what did Sylvia say to you?” Edmund did not answer. The other one then asked, “Master Price, did Sylvia kiss you?” The video then ended abruptly. Odell did not hear Edmund’s answer. Tara also carefully looked at Odell’s reaction after playing the video and spotted nothing but frostiness and a wry expression. He was upset, and it must be because of Sylvia. “Odell, look, I’m not lying. Sylvia really went looking for Edmund. If there’s nothing between them, why would she have gone into his VIP room?” Tara noticed the cold reaction on his face and continued, “This video is a trimmed version of the original. My friend sent it to me. She said Sylvia went in for almost
Odell was still deeply irritated. It was not just because of Tara’s little fiasco but also because of what he had seen in the video. After Sylvia left the room, Edmund emerged reenergized. Even his men were shocked by how fast he recovered and asked if it was a kiss from Sylvia that brought him back to life. However, the video ended abruptly, and he could not determine if that part was maliciously edited or not. Recalling Sylvia’s frank and honest reaction after she returned to the car last night, she did not show any sense of guilt at all, so she must have never kissed Edmund. Odell was just wondering if Edmund had forced himself on her. The thought put a scowl on his face. Moments later, he summoned Cliff. “Send some men to keep an eye on Edmund. Inform me if he does anything out of the blue, especially when it’s related to Sylvia.” Cliff was taken aback. He curiously asked, “Sir, what did Ms. Avery say to you just now?” Odell shot a fierce glare at him. “Just do your
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