Sylvia thought she might have seen a ghost in broad daylight. Master Carter had always been lukewarm to her. How could he have treated her so gently?Was it because he had sex with her last night?However, according to Sylvia’s understanding, he should have been angry. She could not figure it out. Not only could she not understand Odell, but she was also confused by Emmanuel, Dona, and Sonia. Sylvia just wanted to return to her room and calm down. However, when she ran to the attic, she realized the inside was filled with junk and miscellaneous stuff. Nothing she owned was in there. The attic was filled with dust and cobwebs too. It looked like no one had lived there for a long time. She did not return for only a night…Why did things become like that?What on Earth happened?Just as she could not understand anything, a towering figure appeared behind her. Sylvia was startled. She turned around quickly and stepped back. Odell did not move. He frowned as he gazed
“Did I even give birth to your children?” Sylvia turned her head and asked Odell out of surprise. “Mm.” Odell raised his hand to comb through her messy hair. He said softly, “Three children. The youngest one hasn’t been weaned.”Sylvia was stunned. Her face strangely felt hot. She had no memories of having children at all. Nine years had passed after she woke up, and she even had three kids with Odell?It was too illusional. Sylvia suspected that she did not lose her memories. Instead, she had most probably transmigrated from nine years ago to the present. Suddenly, his warm, big hands held one of her hands. Sylvia wanted to withdraw her hand immediately, but Odell held it tighter. He smiled and said to her, “Come on. Let’s go home.”Sylvia was led out with her hand in his. Emmanuel, Dona, and Sonia stood together in the living area. When they saw Sylvia and Odell walking down, they smiled warily. Odell glanced at them. He stopped and looked toward Sylvia. He asked
It was too magical. It was so magical that she was unable to accept it. Therefore, she slowly withdrew her hand from his palm. After that, she moved to the side toward the door and focused her gaze on the scenery outside the window. The road outside did not seem to exist “yesterday”.It must have been built within nine years. She kept eyeing the passing scenery outside with curiosity as if she came from outer space. The man sat in the same spot. His hand was still in the same position, resting by his side. Odell saw her figure avoiding him from his peripheral vision. He pressed his thin lips together and kept quiet throughout the journey. The car stopped outside the Carter residence shortly. Sylvia’s expression lit up. “Isn’t this the place where Grandma lives?”Odell pressed his lips. “Mm.”Sylvia turned to look at him. She asked, “Why did you bring me to Grandma’s place? Are we visiting her?”After a moment of silence, Odell replied, “This is our home now.”Syl
Liam pressed his lips together. His clear eyes glinted with tears in an instant. Isabel said, “Boo hoo… I’d rather you not console us.”She cried even harder. “...”Sylvia looked toward Odell helplessly. He frowned and said in a deep voice, “Liam, take your sister inside.”Liam pursed his lips gloomily. He took Isabel’s hand and walked toward the house while she was still crying with her face up. Odell held Sylvia’s hand tightly. He headed inside the house with one hand holding Sylvia’s and the other carrying Flint, who was staring at Sylvia. Just as they entered the door, Sebastian, Aunt Tonya, and Aunt Wanda walked over hurriedly. They probably heard Isabel crying, so they looked toward Sylvia nervously. “Aunt Tonya!” Sylvia’s eyes lit up. She withdrew her hand from Odell’s right away and ran to Aunt Tonya. Aunt Tonya stared at her. “Syl, do you still remember me?’“Of course, I do.” Sylvia even wanted to ask where Aunt Tonya had gone while she was on the road.
Madam Carter’s bedroom was located on the first floor, facing the sun. Upon opening the door, Sylvia immediately spotted Madam Carter who was sleeping soundly in bed. A maid who seemed to have been entrusted with taking care of the madam was seated right next to the bed. Upon noticing Sylvia, the maid stood up and greeted her politely, "Madam." Sylvia stared at the old lady on the bed. Madam Carter looked completely different from the kindly old lady who used to take her by her hand and address her affectionately as her darling granddaughter. Madam Carter’s hair was noticeably whiter now and she looked much older. Why was she sleeping in the middle of the day? Why did she need a maid to attend to her? "Aunt Tonya, what's wrong with Grandma?" Sylvia asked Aunt Tonya who was standing by the doorway. Aunt Tonya regretfully informed her, “She suffered significant damage to her head and entered a vegetative state." Sylvia frowned, "How did that happen?” Aunt Tony
”Oh.” She was fine with them not being here because she knew that the children would cry again if they saw her, especially the cute little chubby girl. The sheer thought of it upset her. She picked up the spoon and began eating. She went straight for her favorite dishes. She eyed a plate of fish that was just slightly too far away from her. However, she estimated the distance and guessed that she would have to stretch her arms almost across the table just to reach it, so she decided against it. She lowered her head and went back to eating what was already on her plate. That was when a piece of the fish that she had been eyeing was placed on her plate. It was none other than Odell who had given it to her. He put one piece on her plate, then another, and yet another before stopping. Sylvia was very astonished by this as if she had witnessed some sort of miracle. She thanked him kindly, “Master Carter, don't worry about me, please just enjoy your meal.” Odell
A smile instantly appeared on Isabel’s face. Liam seemed delighted to hear this as well. Noticing that the two of them were feeling better, Sylvia smiled and asked, "By the way, what's your name?" Isabel’s smile was instantly wiped away and her eyes began to well up again. Liam instantly became stoic as well and his mouth pursed up in unhappiness. Sylvia patted Isabel’s head, afraid of saying the wrong thing, "Uh..." "Hmph, stinky Mommy, you don't even know my name anymore!” Isabel turned and ran away. "My name is Liam Carter, and my sister's name is Isabel Ross.” Liam informed coolly before turning around and chasing after Isabel. Sylvia froze again. Liam Carter, Isabel Ross. How was it that both siblings had different surnames? She let these questions sit inside her head and searched around until she found Aunt Tonya in the largest bedroom. Aunt Tonya was taking care of Flint alongside two matron nurses. Flint was sleeping soundly on the bed.
Odell grimaced in silence. After a while, Skylar continued, "Since there are no signs of any physical damage, then the source of it all must be mental. I doubt that the second master kidnapping her for a day would have resulted in her losing memory of everything over the last nine years. I believe that her amnesia should be closely related to the trauma from her half-year stay in Galston that resulted in her depression.” With all that information provided, she asked, “She refuses to tell me about those six months in Galston. Do you by any chance know what she experienced during that time?” Odell answered, his voice was hollow, "She was imprisoned by Thomas in those six months and was frequently threatened, and even terrorized by him.” “Was that all he did?” Odell frowned and added, "She was locked up in a dark room, all by herself, for more than three months.” Skylar pressed further, "What did he do to her during those three months?” "I have no idea." All of wha
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