The many suffocating scenes from last night rushed to Sylvia's head. Whether it was physically or mentally, she did not want to see him at this moment at all!She quickly said to the children, "Isabel and Liam, I suddenly have a stomachache and need to go to the toilet. You guys go down and eat first. There's no need to wait for me."Isabel replied, "Okay."However, Liam frowned. 'Why did Mommy suddenly get a stomach ache when Daddy came?'Before he could understand, Sylvia turned around and ran back to the room. The two little ones walked down the stairs together.In the living room, Odell had just sat down. When he saw them coming down, he glanced behind them and saw empty air.'Why didn't that woman come down?'At that moment, Isabel also walked up to him with her chubby face puffed out. She looked quite cute.He reached out and took her into his arms.The girl crossed her arms and looked at him, asking, "Baddie, where did you and Mommy go last night? Why are the mosquito b
The man's tall and straight figure walked in from the main gate on time.In the living room, Sylvia saw him at a glance and immediately said to Aunt Tonya and the children, "I suddenly remembered that I have something to do. You all eat first. Don't wait for me."Then, without waiting for them to react, she ran upstairs swiftly.Aunt Tonya was dumbfounded. The two little ones raised their heads in confusion as well.Just then, Odell walked in.Aunt Tonya was the first to react and smiled dryly. "Dinner is ready. Come and eat."Isabel hummed and walked over with Liam. Odell's face was expressionless as he sat at the table with them.Meanwhile, Sylvia had already returned to her room. She went to the window and painted something out of boredom while paying attention to the movement outside.Almost half an hour later, the sound of footsteps came from the door of the living room downstairs.She half-crouched down to peek outside.However, just before she could see the tall figure
Sylvia hurriedly asked, "Are you sick?"Thomas was silent for a few seconds before he replied, "Yeah, I caught a slight cold, but I already took some medicine."She felt that something was strange.'If he only caught a cold, why had he taken so long to reply?'She asked bluntly, "Have you eaten dinner?"He paused for another two seconds before saying, "Yeah.""What did you eat?""Steak and red wine.""Didn't you take medicine for your cold? How could you still drink red wine?"He was silent.Sylvia was exasperated. "Why aren't you saying anything?""I'm a bit sleepy, so I'll hang up now."Then, he ended the call.Sylvia clutched her phone.'He must have gone on a hunger strike.'After mulling it over in her mind for a while, she got up and walked outside.In the living room, Aunt Tonya was watching TV with Isabel. Liam sat next to them, reading a book.Seeing her hurry downstairs, Aunt Tonya asked, "What's wrong, Syl? Are you going out?""Yeah." Sylvia looked at the t
After waiting for a while and not hearing a response, she called out, "Thomas, it's me."In the next second, the sound of footsteps could be heard from inside.The door to the room was quickly pulled open from the inside.Sylvia looked up to see a handsome but very frail face.The shape of his body also seemed to be thinner than usual.She frowned.Thomas also furrowed his brows. "You shouldn't have come here. Go back."Sylvia knew he was worried that Odell might bully her again if he knew that she was here."Don't worry, I'm just here to see you. He won't do anything to me." After a pause, she added, "Besides, he doesn't know that I came over."The moment she spoke, she saw two figures flash past from her peripheral vision.She instantly looked over.In the blink of an eye, the two figures quickly dodged and hid in the next room.They looked like the two bodyguards that she had seen at the front door earlier.Unable to help it, her eyes turned cold. She reached out and gr
What did that mean?If she bought something for him, would the bodyguards that Odell had assigned here not let her back in again?"I'm fine. I'm not that hungry," Thomas said again, his gaze softly looking at her.Sylvia felt her heart ache from anger.‘Odell Carter was such an utter pr*ck!‘He was clearly trying to starve Thomas to death!'How could he do this to his brother?!'Just as she had become so angry that she wanted to beat Odell to death, the grip on her hand suddenly loosened.She froze and looked over.Seemingly having no more strength to hold her, Thomas placed his hand on his leg and said to her with a smile, "Sylvia, I'm really glad that you came to see me, but my brother's temper is volatile. I don't want you to be bullied by him because of me anymore. If you really want to help me, just sit down and chat with me for a while."Sylvia immediately felt guilty.Did he think it was because of him that she was not being bullied by Odell?It was clear that she wa
The light in the courtyard outside seemed unnecessary in this moonlight.Sylvia spread a layer of base color from top to bottom of the canvas, then added in the moon and stars.Her brush strokes were quick and decisive, and in no time, she quickly painted the scenery in the yard.There was a garden in the yard that was filled with a variety of flowers as well as dense trees.She looked over twice and drew the flowers and plants. Then, she looked over again, intending to remember the shape of the trees in the area.There were not many trees, but each one had a different shape and size. Their leaves were all lush and of varying shades.Sylvia narrowed her eyes and observed carefully.From top to bottom, she looked at each layer of the treetops until she saw the bottom layer.Then, she spotted a tall and dark shadow leaning against the trunk of the furthest tree.The shadow was tall and straight. The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.Sylvia was shocked, closed
Under the light, his handsome face was instantly covered with a layer of gloom."Don't you already know whether or not I'm a man from that night's experience?" Odell took one step forward to her and raised his hand as if to break her neck.Sylvia paled as she instinctively wanted to step back.He grabbed her by the collar, his gaze cold as he approached her. "Or do you want to experience it again?"Her legs went weak at once.At that moment, Thomas approached them. He stood weakly beside her as he said to Odell, "I'm the one who developed feelings for Sylvia, and I was the one who took the initiative to pursue her. Just come at me if you're unhappy, but please don't bully her again!"'What is he saying?'If I'm unhappy, of course I'll take it out on him. I'm not stupid!'Odell frowned and narrowed his cold eyes at Thomas. "You'd better get out of the way now, or I'll break your arm."Thomas stood unmoving. "I'll get out of the way if you want to, but let go of Sylvia first."
Odell frowned. “Who told you that?” Sylvia glared at him. “You don’t have to concern yourself with that. Tell me, was it you who did it?” Odell’s expression turned grim. Before he could utter his reply, Thomas’ feeble voice sounded from further away, “Sylvia, calm down. Maybe Odell doesn’t know about this, maybe it’s those people who set this up.” Odell was baffled. “Those men only listen to Odell. It would be impossible that they would have set this up themselves,” Sylvia argued. “Maybe there’s something going on that we don’t know yet. I don’t think Odell would do something like this,” said Thomas. Sylvia continued to glare at Odell. “Hmph. Then you have underestimated your brother. He’s capable of doing anything.” That night, he had ravaged her in all ways possible. Odell was silenced by her statement and her glare. His already grim expression worsened and he looked as if he could strangle Sylvia in the very next second.Thomas noticed the sour look on his broth
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