"Moses mentioned that Cynthia is beautiful, but I thought he was joking.""Mr. Neal, are you really willing to divorce Mrs. Neal?" The group started bombarding Joshua with questions, taking the topic seriously.Joshua's eyes darkened, interpreting their curious glances as anticipation for his divorce so that they could have a chance with Cynthia. "Rather than being concerned about my personal life, you should focus on your projects. With how your performances have been, can you even brace the New Year without guilt?" Joshua retorted,All eyes landed on Moses, wondering what was going on. Why did Joshua seem angry? Moses chimed in, "Let's call it a day for today. We can discuss the details when Joshua and Cynthia are divorced. It doesn't seem appropriate to talk about it now.""Okay," they agreed, assuming that Moses was referring to their projects. Joshua's beautiful obsidian eyes suddenly turned cold, and he held his breath. The people around him shuddered. Moses not
Cynthia was speechless. She thought Moses's acting skills were on par with Shirley's. However, she wasted no more time with them and got into Moses' car.Joshua watched as the car drove away. His hand tightly gripped the car key till his knuckles turned white.Just when everyone thought Joshua would leave, his gaze shifted to them with intense pressure, making them feel suffocated."Mr. Neal, is there anything else I can help you with?" one of them asked nervously."Do you guys like Cynthia?" Joshua's cold voice suddenly asked.They looked confused, wondering where he was going with this.Before they could react, Joshua ruthlessly continued, "Well, you should give up. She only likes good-looking guys."Ignoring their reactions, Joshua warned them and then left. It was not until his taillights disappeared from their sight that they finally processed what had just happened."Did Mr. Neal just say we're not good-looking?""That's rude. Dozens of girls are interested in me, and I
"Do you still like Joshua?""No, I don't.""Well, that's good. Keep it that way. He's had it too easy his whole life and hardly ever faced any setbacks. This is the perfect opportunity for him to face obstacles, that is you," Moses's answer always surprised Cynthia. Cynthia did not reply and instead opened the car window to breathe in some fresh air.As they drove toward the neighborhood, Cynthia saw someone wearing a white sweater at a turn in the road about three kilometers away. Upon closer look, Cynthia realized it was Jayleen. However, she saw Jayleen charging toward the car at an insane speed before she could wonder why Jayleen was there! Screech! Moses quickly hit the brakes, his carefree demeanor disappearing in an instant.Despite hitting the brakes, the car collided with Jayleen as the distance was too close.Bang!A dull sound echoed as Jayleen's body fell to the ground.The car stopped immediately.Cynthia and Moses opened their doors simultaneously, and the
Cynthia was already fed up and did not want to explain another. She thought it must be Mercury retrograde this month. Otherwise, why was everything going wrong?Moses noticed something was off and asked, "What's going on?" "Just trust me," Cynthia replied briefly. Although Moses had his doubts, he did not ask further. Whatever the reason was, he would find out later.The surgery was over an hour later, and Jayleen was sent to a regular ward.The doctor explained the situation to Cynthia and Moses, "The patient lost the baby, and there are several abrasions on her body, but other than that, she's okay.""Baby?" Moses was surprised. Then, he turned to look at the composed Cynthia, and he felt a little nervous for the first time. Was it Joshua's baby? Cynthia ignored Moses, only thanking the doctor, "Thank you, doctor."After that, she went to Jayleen's ward. Moses followed her, and he could not help but ask, "Is it Joshua's?""I'm not sure," Cynthia replied truthfully.
"If I die, I'll live on in Joshua's heart forever. If I'm crippled, Joshua will cherish me even more. Either one is worth it," Jayleen said.Her life was already in such a state that if she did not grab onto Joshua tightly, her days would only become more hellish. That person would not let her go and tormented her day and night, making her wish for death.Joshua was her lifeline, and she had to hold onto him no matter the cost! "Well, you better hold onto him tightly. Don't let someone else steal him away from you," Cynthia said coldly."You can't steal him from me!" Jayleen blurted out.Cynthia looked at her with a pitiful expression. It was really sad to see someone living their life this way. Nonetheless, she told Jayleen about a new discovery, but her tone was still as flat as before, just with a bit of emotion at the end. "Who said I'm the one trying to steal him from you?""What do you mean?" Jayleen narrowed her eyes."Your car accident and the incident at the hotel. I
"You'll be held legally responsible if I die," Jayleen said, her original intention being for Cynthia to hit her. However, she realized that Cynthia had not driven since moving out.Moses looked at her with skepticism, wondering how Joshua could have been interested in someone this stupid. He had only heard from Joshua that he was in a relationship, but he had never formally introduced Jayleen to his family. Hence, Moses was always curious about the kind of person who had managed to win Joshua over. Now he knew.Thank goodness he did not bother to find out earlier. Her intelligence was really lacking, and he found it quite distasteful."It was you who caused the accident. As long as I didn't violate traffic rules, even if I hit you and you died, it would be entirely your fault. Even if there were legal consequences, I would only be responsible for less than 10% of the blame. I can definitely take care of that responsibility myself if you insist," Moses replied casually, making his
It was almost eleven o'clock when Joshua arrived. He was still wearing the same outfit as before, and his heavy breathing indicated that he had rushed to get there. His obsidian eyes were filled with worry.When he saw Cynthia, he subtly frowned but walked over to Jayleen."Jayleen," Joshua said."Joshua," Jayleen replied, tears streaming down her face.Cynthia was impressed by Jayleen's ability to cry on command. After all, it was a skill not everyone possessed.Joshua tried to comfort Jayleen, and his words and demeanor were much more patient than when he had spoken to Cynthia.Moses coughed lightly. "Ahem."Was Joshua really so insensitive that he would show affection to his mistress in front of his wife? What a scumbag."What happened?" Joshua asked, still standing and looking at Cynthia and Jayleen. He seemed displeased. "Why is Jayleen in the hospital?"Cynthia did not say anything, and Moses remained silent too. When he called Joshua earlier, he only said that Jayle
"What do you mean by that?" Joshua's voice was hoarser than usual, and his obsidian eyes were filled with raging emotions.Jayleen was half-leaning on the hospital bed. She had removed her IV drip and clenched her hand tightly. "Moses put his hand in Cynthia's clothes.""Wow!" Moses blurted out.Cynthia looked at him. Despite her anger, her mood lightened up, even finding it slightly amusing because of his remark."Why don't you just say that Cynthia and I were having sex in the car? You have a talent for lying with your eyes open! I've never met someone like you before," Moses retorted."Moses!" Joshua shouted.Moses grinned. When he recalled Cynthia's response, he replied, "What's the matter? Do you believe me?"Joshua did not say anything. Watching Moses defend Cynthia made Joshua feel inexplicably frustrated."Joshua, they might just be temporarily infatuated. Cynthia might be upset about something between us. That's why she did something like this." Jayleen tugged on Jos
Isabella glared at Nick. He actually betrayed her! Caught off guard by Luther's honesty, Nick quickly explained, "Don't look at me like that. Luther forced me to do it. If I didn't agree to his request, he would've spilled my past to my current girlfriend.""Current girlfriend?" Isabella looked puzzled.Nick confessed honestly, "My new girlfriend."Isabella was at a loss for words. Nick was very handsome. His looks could rival top celebrities. Naturally, with his face and charisma, he had no shortage of admirers. That led to a habit of frequently changing girlfriends."I made my rules clear to her. No shady behavior allowed," Nick added quickly, sensing what Isabella was thinking.Hearing this, Isabella did not say much.A moment later, Luther, seeing that their conversation had wrapped up, took Isabella's hand and left. On the way back, he deliberately brought up the topic of proposals."What kind of proposal do you like?" Luther asked."Anything works," Isabella replied
There was a time when Isabella considered letting Luther propose to her. However, he had not shown any signs that he would or asked for her ring size. There was no need to overthink it; that fool probably had not even thought about it. Nonetheless, Isabella did not blame Luther. After all, she was well aware that everyone expressed love differently. Yet, that was also precisely why she wanted to propose to him, to make him understand just how much she cared."What's wrong?" Annie asked, concerned."I'm just worried," Isabella replied. The ring sizes had been a constant worry for her."Because of what you just mentioned?"Isabella nodded. "Yeah.""Why do you want to propose to him?" Annie looked toward a dark corner. "In most relationships, the boyfriend proposes to the girlfriend, right?""I want him to feel loved," Isabella answered simply.Luther was different from most people; he always suppressed his negative emotions and limited his freedom. He no longer wanted to restr
"No," Luther declined; he still wanted to be the one proposing to her."Okay," Joshua agreed readily.Luther nodded, letting his mind wander. In the following days, Isabella kept checking on the progress, each time being informed that there was no opportunity to measure Luther's finger.In the blink of an eye, three days passed.Cynthia and Matthew had a conversation with Isaiah.Due to prior preparation, Isaiah handled Cynthia and Matthew's questions smoothly. Although they knew Isaiah had not been entirely truthful, based on his attitude toward Sandra, they agreed to the marriage without excessive probing into his relationship with her.As for Isabella, she waited for a few days but had not received any news. Frustrated, she decided to go to Jiverton herself to find Luther.When Joshua heard about her plan, he asked her to give him a bit more time. He assured her he would have the sizes by next Friday at the latest."Really?" Isabella was worried about running out of time.
"Okay." Isaiah already had a plan in mind.After discussing the matter, the two did not say much more. In the following two days, Cynthia and Matthew stayed home while Isabella prepared the details and processes for the proposal.However, after going through the general plan, Isabella suddenly realized a problem. She did not know Luther's ring size. How could she prepare a ring for the proposal without knowing the size?Realizing this issue, she immediately thought of flying to Jiverton to find out but hesitated due to Luther's caution. If she returned so soon after just coming back, he would surely be suspicious. After much contemplation, she came up with a solution—Joshua.When Isabella called, Joshua happened to be having a meal with Luther."I'm not busy, what's up?""I need your help with something," Isabella said, trusting Joshua's abilities, "but Luther can't know about it."Joshua instinctively glanced at Luther.Luther was confused. He glanced at Joshua's phone and
"Quit the act," Matthew said to Isabella, "It's too bad."Isabella stayed quiet. Matthew bluntly stated, "Isaiah currently oversees the company, and the annual revenue has been consistently increasing under his management. He even took a few subsidiaries public.""And?" Isabella inquired."He has a talent for this," Matthew hinted, leaving Isabella puzzled as she struggled to keep up with Matthew's pace."He's barely in his twenties, so there's no rush to get married," Matthew explained. He saw through everything, understanding Isaiah well, adding, "If there were truly such a concern, he could easily establish a company under Sandra's name in the next few years, operate it until it goes public."With Isaiah's abilities and connections, starting a company and taking it public would be a simple task. After the IPO and proper management, Sandra's value would naturally rise. This would effortlessly 'shut their mouths'. Isabella wanted to say something, realizing her dad's words
"That depends on the secret he's keeping," Matthew responded immediately, taking the opportunity to tease Isaiah, "If it's something against our moral values, it'd be hard not to form an opinion, even if we try not to.""He's not that kind of person," Isabella defended Isaiah.Matthew did not respond but just sat there. Their father-son dynamic involved banter and teasing, but when it came down to it, they genuinely cared about each other."He's just worried that you might object to Sandra's background," Isabella continued to spin her tale convincingly.Cynthia and Matthew were confused, both staring at Isabella.Isabella felt a bit uneasy. Something seemed off with her parents' expressions. "What's wrong?""Are you sure Isaiah is worried about this?" Cynthia asked.Why was their beloved daughter so bad at lying? Not catching on, Isabella nodded, "Absolutely.""Setting aside the fact that we've always taught you not to treat people differently based on their family background
"Ah, I see." Isabella breathed a sigh of relief and purposely asked, "Is it possible that Isaiah got to know Sandra through Uncle Yves and Uncle Sean?""It's unlikely," Cynthia denied. Even though they had not arranged any blind dates or rushed Isaiah into marriage, given his personality, he would not seek an introduction from anyone."Whenever you have time, ask Isaiah to bring his girlfriend home," Cynthia said, truly wishing for her children to find happiness. Isabella agreed, "Sure.""Isabella," Cynthia suddenly spoke up.Putting away her plan book, Isabella responded, "Hmm?""Do you think I look stern?" Cynthia sounded gentler than usual, lacking the usual nonchalance.Having been accustomed to being herself, Cynthia found it a bit awkward to take on the role of an elder suddenly. If she left a bad impression on Sandra during their first meeting, it could easily jeopardize Isaiah's relationship."Not at all," Isabella spoke sincerely, looking at Cynthia affectionately. "Y
Isaiah had seen through their plans. He knew that his parents' friends enjoyed watching him banter with Matthew. Every time something was like this, they would eagerly make things difficult for him.Early the next morning, Mitchell and the others began implementing the plan. Initially, Matthew did not suspect anything and thought they genuinely had urgent matters to attend to and brought Cynthia back home first.Considering Luther's upcoming proposal, they decided not to travel the world but instead explored nearby cities. After Mitchell and the others called Matthew aside, Isabella approached Cynthia. Cynthia was surprised to learn about Isabella and Isaiah's plan."Aren't you afraid of getting in trouble?" Cynthia asked."Not at all," Isabella responded very directly, her mind focused on planning her and Luther's engagement. "Isaiah said he can handle this matter, so let's discuss the proposal first. I've thought about several options, but none seem good enough.""Okay," Cynth
Isaiah was surprised."Take her to shoot wedding photos first," Isabella suggested seriously. After giving it some thought, Isaiah said, "I'll ask her during dinner.""Why bother asking?" Isabella thought Isaiah's emotional intelligence was lacking, and Sandra's expectations were too low. "Just pick a few reputable studios and let her choose one she likes."During their conversation, Isabella noticed that Sandra was slightly anticipating a wedding, although she had refused for some unknown reason. If she was not truly opposed to weddings, there should not be an issue with pre-wedding photos."If you give it directly to her, she'll probably say she doesn't need it," Isabella coined. She could see through people and was quite clever.Isaiah clearly did not consider this possibility."Take a look at these studios. My friends suggested them," Isabella had already made the selections and recommended them to him. "Weren't you against my decision before?" Isaiah, not understanding h