Even so, Sylvia's mood was still unsettled.'Why did he suddenly come back? He already released Aunt Tonya, so he should have intended to leave me alone. Why did he approach me again?'Just as she was feeling more and more uneasy, and her body went cold, a strong figure suddenly walked in through the doorway.Sylvia quickly looked up as her eyes brightened. "Odell?"Odell took a few big steps to her side and looked at her up and down. Then, he said to Isabel and Liam beside her, "Go back to your room."The little ones obediently got off the bed and followed Aunt Tonya out.Only Sylvia and Odell were left in the room along with Flint, who was sleeping soundly.Odell sat next to Sylvia and took her into his arms. One hand was wrapped around her, and one hand held her hands that were clasped together.It was only then that Sylvia noticed her hands were clasped together again. She quickly let go.Odell frowned and held one of her hands in his palm. Her body was still cold, and her
The spacious bedroom suddenly became hot.However, when the two were about to strip, a loud wail broke the tension.They immediately stopped moving.Not far away, Flint, who was still in swaddling clothes, was wailing.Odell frowned and looked at him with displeasure. "Shut up!"Flint continued to wail even louder than before.Odell reached toward him.Sylvia thought he was going to fling the baby and quickly held his hand. "Don't hurt him, Odell.""I'll give him to Aunt Tonya." His voice was still displeased.She instantly got out from underneath him and took the little one into her arms."He's hungry. He'll be fine after I feed him." Then, she lifted the top that he had unbuttoned.Thinking of something, she looked at him again and said with a simpering expression, "Can you turn around for a moment?"Odell frowned and instantly looked even more upset. However, he still turned around.Sylvia then started to feed Flint.The little one stopped crying the moment he got his
Seeing that Flint did not seem like he was about to cry, Sylvia tried to place him in Odell's arms.Unexpectedly, the little one lay obediently on Odell's chest as soon as he got into his arms, without crying or making a fuss.Sylvia laughed. "Odell, he's accepted you."Odell smiled and hummed.'Good, at least he knows that I'm his father.'He gently hugged Flint until the baby fell asleep on his chest."Flint?" Sylvia tried to call him.Flint still had his eyes closed, obviously asleep.Odell's expression changed, and he immediately carried the baby to the crib next to the bed. Then, he turned around and looked at Sylvia on the bed with a deep and wicked gaze.Sylvia blinked, and her cheeks reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye. The collar of her shirt was still loose, and her two fine, pale legs were casually folded to one side. She was like a quietly blooming flower, appearing soft and charming.His tall figure pressed toward her at once.Immediately, he pinned Syl
Thomas looked at her with eyes that were devoid of warmth. "I don't think you came to see me to say these useless words to me."Lily's expression changed. "I indeed have a lot of questions to ask you.""I don't know anything except for the six months she was in Galston."Her face turned cold, and she asked, "Why did you let her return to Mediana? Why did you let her keep Odell's child?"Thomas picked up his coffee and took a sip, not answering her. It was obvious he did not intend to answer those two questions.Lily did not pursue the topic and asked instead, "Can you tell me why you suddenly came back?""Because of her.""Sylvia?""Yes."Lily sneered. "She already gave birth to Odell's child and is living in the Carters' residence. Can you still snatch her back?"Thomas retorted, "Have you already given up on my big brother?"Her expression changed, and she said in a cold voice, "I will never lose to a woman who's inferior to me in every aspect."He pursed his lips. "Then,
Sylvia moaned.Odell plugged her mouth again, no longer giving her the chance to open her mouth to speak.Soon, their clothes fell to the floor, and their bodies writhed.The man, who had held back for a long time, finally got what he wanted.As for Sylvia, she was like a flower that was methodically disassembled, dismantled, and assembled, only to be dismantled all over again...Just like that, they repeatedly tossed and turned until late at night before the man let go of her and she fell asleep.The room was silent.Odell saw her fall asleep as soon as her eyes closed and could not help but pat her rosy face. "Sylvia?"She ignored him.He chuckled. 'She's really fallen asleep.'Then, he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom with an insatiable look. The warm water washed away his sweat.After washing, he returned to the bed in his pajamas and wrapped her back in his arms."Can you be gentler?" The woman's hoarse voice suddenly spoke up.He froze and looked at her.
Sylvia's heart thudded. The unhappy feeling of being tossed around all night until she developed a fever inexplicably disappeared.She pursed her lips and nursed Flint.Aunt Tonya stood next to her and could not help but smile secretly when she saw Sylvia's happy face.The trauma of those six months had finally passed. It would be best if Thomas never appeared again....The scene where Thomas appeared suddenly was like an illusion.For the next few days, Sylvia did hear any news from him, and she did not receive any messages from him on her phone either. He seemed to have disappeared from Westchester.Did he suddenly appear in front of the hospital that day just to see her and ask how she was doing?Sylvia warily cooped herself up at home for most of the month before she could no longer resist going out.Isabel and Liam started school long ago.That morning, Sylvia took Flint and sent them to preschool with Aunt Tonya, then went to the nearby shopping street for a stroll.I
The colors were either black or gray.Odell raised his brows. "That's it?""Yes. The clothes are made of quality materials, so they won't tear easily. They should last for a while." Furthermore, they were not expensive, so she would not feel bad even if he tore one every day.Odell curled his lips and asked, "Did you buy some for yourself too?""Yeah.""Show me."Sylvia frowned. "There's nothing to see. I didn't ask to see yours either."Odell narrowed his eyes. "I won't wear them, but I want to see."His wicked eyes seemed to see through her at a glance.Sylvia's face grew hot, and many scenes of her being bullied by him suddenly flashed in her mind. She was embarrassed for no reason and refused him directly, "I don't want to."Odell strode in front of her, pinned her to the wardrobe, and lifted her chin. His thin lips brushed against her own as he said in a husky and overbearing voice, "If you don't wear it tonight, then you don't get to wear it. Period."Sylvia could not
Since the day she went out for a stroll, Sylvia had been going out for a walk every now and then.Thomas might really not appear again. Almost three months had passed, but Sylvia did not see him, let alone receive any news about him.Her days were beautiful and peaceful.Flint was almost half a year old. His height had doubled, he was chubby and round, and cute as hell.The temperature also rose sharply, and it was soon the hot summer season.Isabel and Liam were on summer vacation again, but Odell did not keep them idle and arranged a summer tutor for them to continue their studies.Liam was fine since the syllabus and homework were not difficult for him, but Isabel never liked studying. She got sleepy in class and slacked off whenever she got the chance, using the excuse that she had to take care of her younger brother, Flint. In fact, she simply watched him play and showed off how good she was at playing games in front of him.The little girl was an expert at acting pampered.
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