Sebastian darted a look at Aunt Tonya. “I…” Aunt Tonya supplied, “Sebastian, Sylvia is right. We need to head back first. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine.” Sebastian glanced in a particular direction upstairs before giving in. "Okay." Sylvia said goodbye to him and walked out with Liam in her arms. Aunt Tonya followed closely with Isabel in her arms. They crossed the yard and went past the gate in no time. Meanwhile, in a bedroom upstairs, a tall man was stalking them near the window. He had a deep and thoughtful look in his eyes as he stared at Sylvia in particular. The sun cast its gentle rays on her slender back, the warmth of the sun making her seem especially delicate. ... The academy would be having their winter break as well. This Thursday was going to be Sylvia’s last class for this semester. After getting up in the morning and having breakfast with the kids and Aunt Tonya, she hugged and kissed the two little guys in turn before informing them, “Lia
After they settled the bill, Sylvia grabbed her coat and walked outside. Thomas followed her. Suddenly, she felt the sensual touch of a finger gliding across her face. Sylvia was startled by this and cast a perplexed look at Thomas. Thomas touched her face again, and this time said in a monotonous voice, "Your face is so red. Did you catch a fever?" Sylvia stammered, "I-I'm fine. Maybe it’s because those dishes are too spicy.” Thomas looked at her warily. "Then, don't eat such spicy things next time.” "Okay." Sylvia looked ahead again. "Let's go back to the academy.” She sped up her pace and widened the gap between the two of them in the blink of an eye. While Thomas stayed where he was, his lips suddenly twitched as he looked at her fading figure. … Sylvia sat in her office for a long time before her face returned to a normal shade. She remembered that when she first married Odell, Thomas still had a thin buildup of baby fat on his face. Now, he was no
Ramona sighed exasperatedly and stared, “He says he’s got this business trip in half a month and won’t be able to make it.” Madam Springsteen frowned sternly. “Even if he’s busy, I’m sure he can make time.” "He’s very career-focused. I can’t persuade him.” “I suppose it’s normal for him to be busy since he has to oversee the operations of a corporation all by himself.” Madam Springsteen considered it for a while and noted, "How about I discuss with the old man and see if we can change the date of the party two days earlier?” Ramona sat up, then she asked with concern, "Will this disrupt your schedule?” Madam Springsteen smiled and said, "No, it’s just two days earlier anyway.” There were two reasons for their return this time. One was to develop their business in Westchester, and the other was to find a prospective partner for her darling granddaughter. Her granddaughter had minimal interest in anyone in Westchester apart from Odell himself. Although Odell was marr
Later that evening, the evening glow basked over the earth and its lands. A black car was coasting down the highway. Inside the car was nothing but unfiltered silence as the driver deftly steered the car. In the back was a man leaning straight against the seat while he held a sleeping Isabel in his arms. Liam was seated to his right. The boy was also asleep, leaning against his shoulder. After a while, the car stopped outside Sylvia's house. Odell gently woke Liam up and got out of the car, still carrying Isabel in his arms. Aunt Tonya got out of the car after them. She took the still sleeping Isabel from Odell and said with a polite smile, “Master Carter, I'll take the children inside and won’t be seeing you off, so goodbye.” With that, she turned around with Isabel in her arms. Liam rubbed his sleepy eyes and did not follow after her. Instead, he looked up at Odell. He stared mutely at Odell for a while before suddenly telling him, "If you want to see Mommy, just
Sylvia and Christopher arrived at the entrance. After showing their invitation card, the butler guided them inside. They followed the butler along the pathway and went into a castle-like house. Dinner was held in the main hall on the first floor. In the center of the ceiling of the spacious venue, there was a crystal chandelier that shed its glamorous light all across the hall. After bringing them into the hall, the butler wore an apologetic smile and said, “Please make yourself at home. Due to our master’s health, it might take him longer to come downstairs.” Christopher politely answered, “It’s totally fine. We understand.” The butler excused himself before he went to serve other guests. Sylvia, Christopher, and the others sat down on one of the couches. At the same time, there was a young woman in a sky blue dress and wearing beautiful makeup above the spiral stairs, watching them from afar. She was looking in Sylvia’s direction with a sense of prying. Moments later,
Odell was slightly disheartened. Master Springsteen and his family were just beside him, and they all sharply noticed the slight change of expression. Madam Springsteen asked, “Master Carter, is there anything that you are not happy with?” Odell conserved his emotions and said, “No, everything is great.” He picked up the glass for a sip of alcohol. Madam Springsteen shot a quick glance at Ramona who was sitting further away. Ramona smiled at her and signaled her not to be worried because it was just Odell’s usual demeanor. Therefore, Madam Springsteen sighed a breath of relief. Meanwhile, in the corridor that connected the hall and the bathroom, Sylvia came out after relieving herself and saw the crowd surrounding Odell like fans cheering on their idol. She stopped at once. She did not expect Odell to attend this event, but considering the relationship between the Carters and the Springsteens, it was not that surprising for him to come. She stood there and waited fo
However, Sylvia was a frequent listener of Thomas’s piano-playing, and he had also played this song for her before. Be it the playing or the tune, Thomas felt a lot more natural compared to Lily, so Sylvia lost interest after a while. She picked up her plate of snacks and continued munching. It was then that a tall figure appeared on her left. Startled, Sylvia looked up at the figure, and before she could show any proper reaction, the figure sat down beside her. The entire hall was dark, and the only spotlight was on Lily and her piano, so it took Sylvia quite a while to recognize the person beside her. “Thomas?” she asked in a small voice. “The one and only,” he said. Sylvia was baffled by his arrival. “What brings you here?” “Lily and I were classmates. She invited me here,” he said. Sylvia nodded in realization. There were no more questions from her, and Thomas also quietly enjoyed the recital. He did not speak a word after he explained his arrival. After Lily
Sylvia felt like cold water was just poured onto her. She pursed her lips and decided to abandon the question. The spotlight started moving. It spun randomly around the crowd for around ten seconds before Lily called for it to stop. The spotlight froze immediately, capturing everyone’s attention. When the crowd looked at where the spotlight shone on, a majority of them gasped in shock. Even Sylvia was surprised. The spotlight chose Odell. The man elegantly sat on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand. As though he did not expect the attention, his brows frowned, and he looked slightly annoyed. Voices then came from the quiet crowd. “It’s Master Carter?” “That’s right. Master Carter is perfect for Ms. Springsteen. It’s like they are made for each other.” “Be it his looks or his capabilities, he is probably the best one out of the bunch!” “But I heard Master Carter used to be married and even has children.” “So what? His status is more than fitting for Ms. Spri
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