He lay beside Madam Carter with his butt sticking up, raising his head to look at Sylvia. His eyes were wide and shiny.Sylvia thought she heard wrong and asked softly, "Flint, did you just say something?"Flint went, "Mama..."His childish voice was crisp and sweet.At that moment, Sylvia felt like her entire body was filled with honey. It was such a sweet sound to hear!"Oh!" she exclaimed loudly.Flint opened his mouth and giggled.Sylvia also could not help but laugh. Then, she said to Madam Carter, "Grandma, did you hear that? Flint is learning how to speak."She pulled Flint into her arms and pointed to Madam Carter, saying, "Flint, that's your great-grandma. Why don't you try calling her?"Flint blinked, seemingly not knowing where to start.Sylvia taught him. "Great-grandma."Flint continued to blink."Great-grandma."After an unknown amount of time, just when Sylvia was about to wear out her lips, Flint finally said, "Nana..."Sylvia laughed. "Nana works too."I
Odell came in through the door just as Sylvia and Flint came into the living room. He stood there momentarily, tall and straight, as he stared at her and the baby with a deep and gentle gaze.Sylvia smiled. “You’re back.” Odell nodded and hummed in reply. He walked to her. Sylvia wanted to surprise him, so she said to Flint in her arms, “Flint, Daddy’s back.” She emphasized the word ‘Daddy’, to signal Flint to call his daddy. Flint looked at Odell and moved his tiny lips to utter, “Daddy…” Odell’s lips curved into a smile, his delight showing in his eyes. He reached out to take Flint into his arms. Feigning ignorance, he asked Sylvia, “Since when did he know how to say that?” Sylvia smiled at Odell’s delighted expression. “I took him to Grandmother’s room earlier and he suddenly called me Mommy.” Odell raised a brow. “He said ‘Mommy’ first?” Sylvia noticed the jealousy on his face. She could not help the feeling of pride even as she stammered, “Y-Yes.” Odell sq
Odell noticed the distracted look on Sylvia’s face and realized that she probably had not heard what he saidSebastian came in and said to them with a smile, “Sir, Madam, it’s almost time to pick Isabel and Liam up from school.” Sylvia looked at Odell. “Let’s go pick them up then.” Glancing at her, Odell hummed in reply and headed out with little Flint in his arms. Sylvia followed behind him. A while later, the couple arrived at the front of the school. The moment the bell rang, the kids ran out of the gate like a swarm of bees. Sylvia and Odell got out of the car and waited for the two of them in front of the gate. Isabel and Liam finally came out after all the other kids left. Liam’s hands were in his pocket as he walked while Isabel hopped along behind him like a cheerful bunny, even waving at the security guard as she left. “Good bye, Uncle Ted!” She was so adorable that even the security guard was charmed and he waved back at her with a warm smile. Delighted, Sy
The peaceful and happy days went by swiftly. Flint had started learning how to speak, so Sylvia started teaching him more and more words. Although the life they led was a little simple, it was not exactly boring. Odell came home from work on time almost every day. There were days when he had to work until late at night, but fortunately, it was not frequent. Isabel continued to sulk and was annoyed by Flint for the next few days. The sulking finally ended when Flint finally called her ‘Sister’ for the first time and put an end to the whole unpleasant episode. Two weeks went by in the blink of an eye. Because it was a Saturday, both Isabel and Liam did not have to attend school and Odell did not have to work on weekends. Isabel wanted to go to the amusement park, so Sylvia and Odell took them out for the entire day. Even when the sky had turned dark, the little girl refused to go home and wanted to go to a movie instead. Odell glanced at Flint who was sleeping soundly in
He frowned as though he had eaten something strange. He then chewed for a while before swallowing it. “You don’t like it?” Sylvia asked. “It’s a little spicy.” “Spicy? Really? I didn’t feel anything.” Sylvia took a big bite and swallowed it after a few good chews. She took one bite after another and in less than two minutes, she finished off half of the pizza. Odell patted her on the head. “Stop eating that already. Go buy something else to eat.” Sylvia shook her head as she continued eating. “No. Let me finish this first.” Odell patted her on the head again. “Take it slow. Don’t choke on your food.” “Mhmmm…” She slowed down but eventually finished the pizza. After the last bite, she beamed happily at him. “This was so good. I want more!” Her face was flushed like a happy little girl. Odell chuckled helplessly. He pulled out a piece of tissue paper from her bag and wiped her mouth for her. Sylvia lifted her head to allow him to do it. Their intimate interactio
The call got through after a few seconds. “When will you be back?” Odell asked. “Sir. I’m at a critical point in my studies. Please give me another week, tops. I’ll master it and come back.” Odell furrowed his brows and hummed in reply. …The weekend went by in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it was because Isabel and Liam had slept early, they woke up earlier than Sylvia on Monday morning. Odell went to work after breakfast. Sylvia then sent the kids to school and watched them go inside before she went home. Flint had started to become clingy. He threw himself into his mother’s arms as soon as she came home and clutched at her clothes as he called her multiple times. “Mommy. Mommy.” His adorable little voice melted Sylvia’s heart, so she held him as she continued to guide and teach him to call out other names.The little guy could only speak a few words for now, such as calling Aunt Tonya ‘Nana’ and Sebastian ‘Dada’. Both of them were delighted when Flint had called
Sylvia took Flint over from Liam and said, “Flint might have pooped. You guys go ahead and play, I have to change his diaper.” Together with Flint, Sylvia then made her escape from Isabel and Liam. Isabel pouted. “Bro, I have a feeling that Mommy is trying to avoid our question.” Liam crossed his arms. “Be confident and just remove the words ‘have a feeling’ from your sentence.” “Hmph! She must choose between you and me today!” Isabel moved her tiny legs and quickly chased after her mother. Liam frowned and followed his sister out. The man outside the door overheard the little situation and chuckled. This woman might have lost all her memories of her children, but she was happy whenever she was with them. She was not as distant with them as she was with him. She was happy now most of the time. Most of the memories in the past nine years that she had forgotten were terrible ones. If she remembered all of them, would she continue to be happy and carefree? Ring. His
Walking up to her, he stroked her head before taking Flint, who was reaching his arms out to him, into his arms and sitting down beside her. Flint tried to kiss him but Odell was a lot taller. Even though the little baby mustered up all his strength, his head could only touch Odell’s chin. The boy began to feel so anxious that he started to whimper. Sylvia could not help but say, “Flint is trying to kiss you. You should allow him to do so.” Odell gave her a deep stare. “I want to kiss you as well.” His face was serious although his charming voice sounded pleasant.Sylvia blushed and her heart began to pound. Shyly, she moved closer to him and granted his request. Odell grinned and kissed her softly on her lips. He then lifted Flint closer to his face and let the little guy kiss and slobber all over his face. After leaving traces of his saliva on Odell’s cheek, the little guy giggled happily. Sylvia pinched Flint’s cheek mischievously. Odell smiled to see both mothe
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