Joshua looked at Yoel with a questioning expression.Both Cynthia and Joshua looked at Yoel, unsure of what he was trying to do. "Ms. Yates, could you do me a favor and sign this for me?" Yoel did not fail to notice Joshua's cold glare, but he was not afraid to take risks for his idol. "I'm your fan," he added.Joshua growled softly, "Yoel!"If this had happened in the past, Yoel would have already retracted his hand and obediently stood by, waiting for Joshua's orders. However, he had to show his iron will before his beautiful and cool idol. "Is that okay?" Yoel asked Cynthia.Cynthia froze, not quite sure what was going on. She had encountered similar situations, but Jimmy and the others were usually just joking around. Hence, she was not sure if she should accept this seriously. Yoel took a small step forward, smiling as he extended his hands.Seeing Yoel's gaze, Cynthia did not think much and agreed, "Sure."She took his pen and notepad and signed her name quickly and n
Joshua's gaze fell on Yoel's babbling mouth, wanting to shut him up. How could Joshua know for sure that Cynthia did not do it?He only said those things to find out why Cynthia was hiding her hacking skills. As her confidante, he did not even know about this aspect of her life. When Joshua became visibly angry, Yoel joined in and asked, "Ms. Yates, why have you never told us that you're a hacker?"Cynthia replied, "Why should I?""Because it was really cool."Cynthia and Joshua were speechless. "Just kidding." Yoel also knew that his reply was absurd. Then, he adjusted his glass and added, "I just feel that it's a pity that no one knows about your amazing skills.""It's nothing pitiful." Cynthia did not mind that. As a child, Cynthia and Yoel had similar aspirations, thinking it was cool and impressive to be able to find information about anything just by using a computer. Hence, she wanted to become a skilled hacker when she grew up. However, her interest in hacking slo
Joshua grabbed Cynthia's chin. This time, Cynthia could not tolerate it anymore. She quickly grabbed his wrist and kicked him. Bang!Joshua was caught off guard and fell to the ground. He never thought Cynthia would hit him.Yoel got excited again. Cynthia was so cool!!!"If you lay a finger on me again, I won't mind breaking your arm," Cynthia warned Joshua coldly.Joshua gritted his teeth and said, "Try it and see.""I'll grant your wish." Cynthia was about to go over when Yoel suddenly stood between them and said to Cynthia, "Let's forget about it. Mr. Neal was just trying to provoke you. There is surveillance here. What if he turns around and accuses you of intentionally hurting him?"Joshua's temples throbbed. Yoel really deserved to be taught a lesson! "The surveillance can be tampered with," Cynthia replied angrily.Yoel froze. She had a point.After confirming that her idol was not in danger, he stepped aside and continued, "After you. If Mr. Neal is i
Cynthia, who was not added to the conversation, had no idea that she had become a topic of discussion between them. When she heard her phone ring, she glanced at it, and her eyes widened at Yoel's message. Joshua noticed her reaction and quickly grabbed her phone to see the message. However, his expression turned sour when he read it. He was infuriated by Yoel's behavior and vowed to withhold all of his bonuses for the year! "Are you done reading my messages?" Cynthia asked, aware that Joshua was looking at her phone.Joshua tightened his grip on the phone, intending to throw it at her. However, he accidentally touched the screen, which took him to the messaging interface. Then, he saw Shirley's name and the group chat named The Seven Dwarfs.Shirley's chat ended with an animated emoji, while The Seven Dwarfs' chat was constantly updating with new messages from Little Jerry. Then, Joshua saw Mitchell's name, whom Cynthia had chatted with only yesterday! The chat ended with ju
After that, Joshua did not speak to Cynthia again and left the villa. Joshua confined Cynthia in the villa and had all the chargers taken away from the villa, making it clear that Cynthia was not allowed to use her phone. Cynthia did not argue with him. Instead, she turned off her phone and went to sleep, planning to turn it back on and contact someone later. Nonetheless, she still informed Jimmy briefly that she had things to do and would not be using her phone for a few days before shutting it down.However, Cynthia did not expect this would cause Old Man Neal to panic. The day after Joshua left the villa, he had food delivered to Cynthia because he thought she might be hungry and alone. It was then that Yoel found out that Cynthia was being confined there by Joshua. Yoel said, "Even though Ms. Yates is your wife, it's illegal to confine her. Mr. Neal…""Whose personal assistant are you?" "Yours, of course."Then, Yoel tried to warn Joshua that he was breaking the law by
Cynthia was shocked when she heard Old Man Neal's voice. "Grandpa? What brings you here?" Cynthia asked, setting down her utensils and standing up."Is this all you're having for lunch?" Old Man Neal asked, his expression full of concern."I wasn't very hungry, so I prepared lunch with whatever's available here. Have you eaten? If not, I'll ask them to get something for you," Cynthia explained politely.Old Man Neal's gaze lingered on her for a moment, his expression complex. He asked, "Do they listen to you?"Cynthia pursed her lips, unsure how to answer. "Tell Grandpa, did Joshua confine you here and not allow you to go out?" Old Man Neal was angry at Joshua."Grandpa, please believe me. Joshua isn't keeping me here against my will," Cynthia lied, not wanting him to worry too much. Besides, if she really wanted to leave, these people would not be able to stop her.Cynthia was willing to stay here for the time being because she did not want to deal with the drama anymore or
Cynthia did not even bother to acknowledge him. She planned to eat the pasta but discovered that they had clumped together. After stirring them a couple of times, she decided not to eat them at all.Joshua could not stand being ignored, especially since they were the only two in the living room. "I'm talking to you," he said."I heard you," Cynthia replied flatly."You heard me, and you're not going to answer?""Just because a dog barks at me doesn't mean I have to bark back. If you want to talk, that's your business. I don't have to answer," Cynthia retorted playfully.Joshua ground his teeth in frustration. This woman had just called him a dog!"You can leave. If you pull any more stunts before we divorce, I won't be this forgiving," Joshua said, afraid that he would lose his temper if he kept her there any longer."Do you have a mistaken impression of yourself?" Cynthia felt the need to correct his self-righteousness. "I'm the one being framed, while you're the one causin
Cynthia asked, "Where did these come from?"She was not interested in Jayleen's affairs, but since Mitchell showed her this, it meant that he had more to discuss with her than just this."A partner gave them to me. They said someone sent them these and wanted them to make up a story based on the photos," Mitchell told her directly.Cynthia frowned.She had known Jayleen was a model, but she lacked the drive to succeed and only wanted to take shortcuts, which resulted in her remaining mediocre.However, being mediocre did not mean people would not pay attention to her if negative news about her surfaced. Even if you were an ordinary person, once you hit the trending topics for something bad, netizens could easily dig up all of your personal information, such as your address and so on.After giving Cynthia some time to think about it, Mitchell asked, "Do you want to go back to Nexuria? There's a flight available early in the morning."Cynthia was a bit confused. "Why should I go
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