Cyn?Joshua was triggered by that word. Was their relationship already at a point where they could address each other like that?"Yoel." Joshua's patience had run out. Yoel did not dare to drag things out any longer. He knew Cynthia's skills and personality, so he tugged Moe along. "Let them handle their own affairs. We should leave.""You should ask your boss to leave. It's inappropriate for him to harass his ex-wife like this," Moe spoke directly.Yoel stayed silent.Joshua was furious. Ex-husband, ex-wife. Those were the words he least wanted to hear. He glanced at Moe but ultimately pulled Cynthia toward his car, not intending to say anything more."Mr. Neal, let go of Cyn." Moe stepped in and blocked his way, his expression cold.Joshua did not release her.Cynthia twisted her hand and used her agility to break free from his grip. If it were not for the inappropriate setting with people coming and going, she would have wanted to punch him. The emptiness in his hand
After starting the car, Joshua was infuriated to see Cynthia open the rear door and sit in the back seat, assuming her usual bossy demeanor. "Come sit in the front," he exclaimed in frustration. He could not help but notice Cynthia's ability to provoke him every time and make him boil with anger. "Whenever I was with Momo, I always sat in the back. If you don't like it, I can call him back," Cynthia replied calmly as ever. Her words had a tight grip on Joshua. He wanted to call Yoel back, but the thought of him being with Moe at the moment made him hold back.Amidst the whirlwind of emotions, Joshua drove the car away. Cynthia sat in the back seat and received a message from Moe asking about her situation. She replied reassuringly, telling him not to worry too much. Cynthia could not let Moe attract too much attention. Otherwise, it would easily lead back to her if Joshua were to investigate Arch International Group. Without a doubt, if he found out, he would surely say, "I
Yes, that was Joshua's initial thought. He believed that as long as he did not let go, Cynthia could not claim it was over. However, thinking about it and saying it out loud were two different matters, and he would not say it directly. Joshua knew that if he answered that way, it would only anger Cynthia. "No," he replied."If that's the case, don't disturb me anymore." Cynthia still hoped for a peaceful conversation. She did not want to confront Joshua head-on. In many matters, she leaned toward rational decisions. Yet, if she did not talk to Joshua properly, he would likely act according to his own mindset, and conflicts would be inevitable."Why don't you want to reconcile with me? If it's because of Jayleen, I apologize." Joshua looked at her, his aura aggressive. Cynthia remained silent for a moment and then looked at him. "Because we are not the same kind of people."The circles she had grown up in were built on mutual trust. Whether it was her, Mitchell, Jimmy, or the
Moses thought if Joshua had followed his plan step by step without adding his own drama, he might have left a good impression on Cynthia by now. Tsk. How foolish.Old Man Neal listened, confused. "What do you mean by persisting?""He's pressuring Cynthia to reconcile with him, and now he has locked her in his house. If he continues like this, Cynthia will eventually have a falling out with him," Moses replied, mentioning the consequences.Old Man Neal frowned. A falling out? No way! "Grandpa, do you want Cynthia to come back?" Moses quickly changed the topic.Old Man Neal gave him a look, making his thoughts evident. Of course, he wanted it! He thought about it every day."If you want her back, let's throw some obstacles in Joshua's path so that he doesn't have time to disturb Cynthia," Moses suggested, playing with his phone as ideas formed in his mind.Old Man Neal readily agreed.He wanted Cynthia to return, but more importantly, he wanted her to be happy.With Old
"First, let's see who can find the mastermind behind those previous incidents. Second, outperform me in marksmanship." Cynthia listed the tasks one by one. Joshua found these two tasks easy. "And what about the third?""I haven't thought of it yet. Once you've completed these two tasks, I'll let you know. But let me make it clear, as long as you haven't won all of them, even if you lose, don't come to disturb me for the rest of your life.""Alright."Cynthia breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she would have some peace and quiet for a while. She glanced at her wristwatch and saw that it was already past ten o'clock. Then, she spoke slowly, "Can you open the door now and let me go back?""Stay here tonight. We'll compare the second task early tomorrow morning," Joshua said, confident in his marksmanship. Then, he turned around and grabbed a bag. "It's clothes for changing."Cynthia contemplated rejecting his offer, but after a moment's thought, she could not be bothered to argue
"As long as you kill Joshua, I won't hold you accountable for what you failed to do before." The man touched Jayleen's face, his lips curling into a smile, his voice soft and slow as he added, "And I'll grant you wealth, prosperity, and everything you desire."Jayleen clenched her hands tightly at her sides, wanting the man dead! The intense pain from earlier still lingered on her body. It was the result of the torture inflicted by this man after she failed to complete her mission and sought protection for her family. Several times during that period, she had contemplated ending her own life, but she was indignant.Why should this man be allowed to live?The man admired the madness and hatred in her eyes, his smile growing even more audacious. "You want me dead?"Jayleen's pupils trembled, and an uncontrollable chill and fear coursed through her body."That's something you can never achieve," the man said, his large palm resting on her cold, drenched face. It felt warm, bu
The next morning in Nexuria, Cynthia woke up early. She had washed and dried the clothes she had changed out of yesterday. Then, she got dressed and waited for Joshua in the living room. Half an hour later, they finished breakfast and set off together.They were heading to a real gun shooting club in Nexuria, where they needed to obtain the appropriate introduction letter and become members. Joshua had already taken care of these preparations, and by the time they arrived at the shooting club, an hour had passed.Joshua was familiar with the club's manager, who greeted him with a smile, saying, "Long time no see, Joshua.""It has indeed been a while," Joshua replied as they chatted.The manager's gaze fell on Cynthia. Joshua's eyes darkened slightly. "This is…"Cynthia interrupted and introduced herself, "Nice to meet you. I'm Cynthia Yates, a friend of Joshua's."Her intuition told her that if she did not interrupt him, Joshua would definitely say something she did not wan
Cynthia was familiar with almost all types of guns, and as she looked at the gun in her hand, that familiar feeling returned. In the end, she simply said, "No, thank you," coldly and distantly. Seeing her cold rejection, Michael did not bother her further.Aside from the two professionals standing by their side, Michael also watched closely, curious to see this cold and distant girl's expression after she lost."Five bullets will determine the winner. Let's see who can hit more bullseyes," Cynthia said, looking at Joshua."Okay," Joshua replied.He held the gun with a standard grip and aimed at the bullseye fifty meters away.Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!Five consecutive shots.Joshua hit the bullseye with all five bullets.Fifty points!The club members and Michael were not surprised by this outcome as they had seen it before. Nonetheless, they still went through the teaching process just to reinforce and follow the rules to prevent any mishaps.Joshua handed the gun to t
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