"Kendall, wake up! Get my breakfast and clothes ready!" Derrick hurriedly grabbed a towel, heading for the bathroom."Why so early? It's only five o'clock!" Kendall grumbled, still lounging on their thin mattress."What's with you? I have to take Gillian to school. She starts at six-thirty. Come on, make me some coffee!"Seeing his wife finally get up, Derrick quickly headed toward the bathroom, the only one in their rented house. Lorraine's three kids would be up soon to get ready for school too."Hey, it's rare to see you up this early! Don't take too long; my kids need to use the bathroom too!" Lorraine snapped as she cooked breakfast in the cramped kitchen."Lorraine, what are you cooking? Can you make some for Derrick too?" Kendall asked as she approached Lorraine, glancing around at the already cluttered kitchen."Where's Derrick off so early?" Lorraine asked, curious, as Derrick hadn't had the chance to answer earlier. She had just finished making pancakes."Today's Derri
"Don't forget, tonight we have a meeting with our potential investor. I've already made a reservation at an upscale restaurant," Diego informed Troy over the phone."Got it. You and Carrie need to be there before the scheduled time," Troy emphasized before ending the call."Sarah, we have dinner with a potential investor tonight. If you want to come, we can leave early so you can rest beforehand.""Come on, Troy. You don't need to fuss over me! I'm fine. Carrie and I are swamped with work today, but I'll definitely be there tonight.""No way! The baby you're carrying is mine, so you need to listen to me!" Troy pulled Sarah close, turning her around so they were face to face."I'm the mother. I'm the one who's pregnant. I know that both of us are strong." Sarah's beautiful face drew closer to Troy's.Troy's focus shattered as his eyes landed on her enticing nude-colored lips, moving enticingly close to his face. His gaze softened, making Sarah blink rapidly, caught off guard."Tr
"Carrie... wait!" Diego quickened his steps to catch up with Carrie.They were just ten steps away from the table where Troy and Sarah were sitting. Carrie breathed a sigh of relief because their guest had not yet arrived.Carrie turned as Diego's firm fingers clasped her right hand."Don't protest. You don't want us to argue in front of them, do you?" Diego whispered, leaning his face closer to Carrie's ear.Carrie didn't respond but secretly tried to pull her hand away from the man beside her. However, it was futile; Troy and Sarah had already turned toward them."Well, that's better! Every once in a while, you two can get along outside of work, right?" Sarah smiled with a teasing glance at the couple who had just arrived."Get along? What do you mean?" Carrie grumbled as she moved closer to Sarah."Sit here!" Diego pulled out a chair and asked Carrie to sit down. Carrie reluctantly obeyed to avoid a confrontation in front of Troy. Even though Troy was her best friend's husban
"Jealous of Derrick?" Troy laughed while shaking his head."If it's not jealousy, then what is it?" Sarah grew more irritated."I don't know. I just don't want you and Gillian getting close to Derrick again.""Troy, I can't possibly get close to Derrick. I know my boundaries as your wife. But Gillian is his biological daughter. It's selfish to keep them apart. Remember, when Gillian gets married someday, her biological father has the right to give her away."Hearing Sarah's words, Troy's face suddenly turned somber."Yeah. That's something I've never thought about until now." Troy's voice grew softer as he sat down on the bed."Daddy ... Mommy ... I'm off to school!" Gillian called out, and Troy quickly got up and left the room to greet her. Sarah followed suit."Come on, let me walk you to the porch!" Troy held Gillian's hand and led her to the porch, with Sarah following behind.Derrick was already standing by the car, ready to open the door for Gillian. He nodded politely at
"Derrick is starting to act up. Should I just fire him?" Troy muttered as he hung up the phone."Why are you so angry? What's going on with him? Is Gillian okay?" Sarah, who had just entered the room, immediately panicked when she saw her husband's face red with anger."Lily just contacted me. According to the info from Gillian's school group, school was dismissed at eleven today. Gillian should have been home by now. Lily tried to contact Derrick, but he didn't pick up.""Oh my gosh! So where's Gillian now?" Sarah grew even more panicked, feeling short of breath."Apparently, Derrick took Gillian to his house. I managed to speak with Gillian.""Ah, thank goodness! Well, just let it be, Troy. Maybe Gillian misses Chloe, Kendall's daughter."Troy became even more furious seeing Sarah calm down. His wife even started focusing on her laptop again."Derrick should have asked our permission before taking Gillian anywhere. I won't tolerate him crossing boundaries."Sarah turned to hi
Sarah knocked on the door. Just after a single knock, the door opened immediately."Hello...""Hello...""Please come in, Sarah. Troy!" Derrick opened the door wide."Mommy... Daddy!" Gillian, who had been drawing with Chloe, quickly stood up and ran to Troy."Sweetheart, let's go home now. Mommy hasn't eaten yet." Troy gently stroked Gillian's head."Sit down first, Sarah! How about I cook something for you?" Lorraine offered.Sarah was stunned to hear Lorraine's offer. Her former sister-in-law never used to cook."Don't worry! My sister here can cook now. We learned to cook while we were in prison."Sarah smiled. "But you're not using poison this time, right?" she teased.Lorraine stammered, embarrassed by Sarah's jab. She remembered how she had tried twice to poison Sarah's food and drink. But luck always seemed to be on Sarah's side."No, Lorraine, we'll eat at home. Sofia is there. We'll take our leave now! Come on, Gillian!"Sarah politely declined.Meanwhile, Troy r
"Michael Lewis's daughter is beautiful." Sarah's gaze remained fixed on the beautiful woman with shoulder-length hair standing on the stage."Please, Ms. Erica Lewis, receive the symbol that marks the transfer of the company." The emcee's voice echoed again."Troy, her name is Erica." Sarah continued speaking without turning to look at Troy beside her."Dear guests, at this moment, Callista Crop is collaborating with Peterson Group. Therefore, we would like to invite a representative from Peterson Group to come up to the stage!""Huh? What?" Troy stammered, hearing his company's name mentioned by the emcee.Sarah was puzzled. Her usually confident husband appeared pale tonight when asked to go on stage."Troy, they're calling you.""You go up, Sarah!"Sarah was even more perplexed by Troy's refusal. Curiosity got the better of her, and she kept urging Troy to go up. Especially since the emcee kept calling his name, and almost all the guests were now looking at them."Uh, alrig
"Sarah, what are you doing here?"Sarah almost jumped when she heard the familiar voice behind her. She quickly turned around."Troy, where have you been? I've been looking for you. I thought you were here." Sarah's eyes continued to scan the area. She saw that Troy had come alone, but her instincts told her something was off."Oh, I wanted to take you for a morning walk, but you seemed tired, so I didn't want to wake you. I decided to go by myself.""By yourself?" Sarah asked, her voice filled with doubt."Well, yeah. I ran into Erica on the way, so we walked together. But not far, just around here." Troy pointed to the path along the villas."With Erica?" Sarah's throat tightened at the mention of the woman who had kept her restless since last night.Troy nodded briefly."Oh, I see. Alright. Do you want to go back to the bungalow now? Gillian has been looking for you." Sarah tried to suppress the tightness in her chest. Just hearing Erica's name made her heart burn, especiall