Shelby felt the heat from Harper's body and could not help but grip the floor with her toes. She whispered, trying to push him away, "Stop it... This is about Zara.""What's up with Ms. Lowry now?" Harper asked, sounding like he did not really care. He gently pushed her shirt collar aside and kissed her neck. "Didn't she head over to the Schmidts of Westwood? How could she cause any trouble?"Shelby's neck was sensitive, and she shivered when Harper's lips touched her skin. She pushed against his chest, trying to focus. "What do you know about the Nox family of Sylverton?""Yaxley's aunt and uncle?" he asked."Yes."Harper shrugged. "I think they have just one daughter. They got her late in life and spoiled her rotten. She's running some project for Yosef now, right?"Looking up, he started putting the pieces together. "Wait, is Ms. Lowry in trouble with the Nox family this time?"Shelby did not answer. She was finding it hard to talk.Harper gently pushed her back onto the bed
The secretary looked down and handed over a bag."Thanks for your hard work. I'll give you a raise next year," Harper said, accepting the bag and shutting the door.The living room was softly lit by a circle of lights. Harper spotted Shelby's bag tossed aside on the couch.She usually brought work home and kept her bag in the study, locked in the safe. Today, she was swept up in his embrace as soon as she walked in. Her clothes were shed along the way, and she had not managed to put her bag away.Harper glanced upstairs. Seeing no one, he opened Shelby's bag and found a box of pills.He pulled out the blister pack, noting that two rows were already gone.He was doing all the hard work, and here she was, taking birth control?He pulled out a strip of medicine from the bag he had just received and snapped off two rows. He checked to make sure they matched her medicine perfectly before slipping them into Shelby's box.Harper's lips curved into a smile after he made the swap. He cl
Zara did not want any trouble, so she quickly wrapped up the call. "Thanks for the heads-up, Mr. Lark. I've got it under control. It's late, so you should head home and get some rest."She hung up, but in a flash, Yosef yanked her out of the room and pinned her against the wall.Instinctively, Zara pushed against his chest. "Yosef!"With one hand on the wall and the other lifting her chin, Yosef's presence was intimidating. "Do you always talk about stuff like this? Have I never helped you? Didn't I help you out at the Hoster family's estate? What about the incident at Epitome Gastronomy? And your mom's artificial heart, didn't I help with that?"Zara turned away, breaking free from his grip. "Those were Mr. Lark's words. If you have a problem with that, you should take it up with Mr. Lark. What's it got to do with me?"Yosef did not respond to her comment but looked straight into her eyes. "Think back a little. When you were in trouble with debt collectors, wasn't I there to he
"I just woke up and saw that someone had sent these to me." Zara's voice was hoarse as she had just woken up. She was feeling a little scared.The photos on her screen would surely cause trouble. They looked like she had someone pick on Leah, and then, as if to prove it, someone had sent her those pictures.Her fingers shook as she held her phone.Even though she was scared, she was not freaking out. She checked the time on the message again. "It was sent at four in the morning. I tried to call the number, but the phone was turned off."Shelby got straight to the point. "So, it's not a fake internet number or a dead line? It's a real phone number?"Zara bit her lip. "Yes, it's a real number from Starville.""That's interesting," Shelby said, unscrewing her water bottle. "Send me the number. I'll have a friend look into it. I'm heading to the airport now. I'm catching the next flight to Westwood."She would have preferred taking the high-speed train to Westwood, but all the ticke
Zara found herself at the police station, but this time, she was not taken to an office. She was led to an interrogation room.Sitting across from two police officers, Zara felt the heavy weight of their stern gazes."I don't know those people at all," she said firmly, her lips tight. "I didn't tell them to do anything. They're either trying to pin something on me or they're outright lying."The male officer showed her the photo of the two men who had asked for directions. "They claim they were verifying Leah's appearance with you."Zara protested, saying, "That's ridiculous. They were just asking for directions."The officer went on, "We found 4,500 dollars in their bags, which they said you gave them. Your fingerprints were found on the bills too."Zara went silent, slumping back in her chair as the reality of the situation hit her.The officers looked at each other. Then, the female officer slid a thin paper across the table. "Ms. Lowry, we need to detain you for now. Please
Zara could not help but chuckle at the thought and turned to Shelby. "The punishment for hiring men to sexually assault someone, even if the attempt failed in the end, should be pretty severe, right?""If the proof is solid, it's between three to ten years," Shelby replied.Zara's face lost even more color. No wonder Leah had insisted she would end up behind bars.The wind last night had been pretty chilly, sending temperatures tumbling down. Even in the visitation room that was without a single window, Zara could feel the cold creeping into her bones.Shelby usually liked to keep things clear and to the point, but seeing Zara looking so down, she lowered her voice. "It's only if the proof is rock-solid, okay?"Your fingerprints might be on the money, but the law puts more weight on hard evidence than just someone's word. And one piece of evidence alone won't cut it. The court will consider their charges, but if they don't have any more evidence, their case won't hold up. Try not
As those jumbled thoughts swirled in her head, the door to the detention room suddenly swung open. The guard barked, "Everybody up!" Everyone dropped their plates and stood at attention. Zara knew the drill and tried to stand, but the sharp pain in her stomach made her double over. It nearly brought her to her knees. Then, out of nowhere, an arm reached out and steadied her. She fell against someone's chest. A familiar, crisp scent enveloped her. A wave of unspeakable sadness filled Zara's eyes.Zara felt a deep sense of injustice. She was framed, missed two meals, and her stomach ached terribly. She almost blurted out the words, "Why did it take you so long to come?" However, she bit her lip and held back the words.Yosef's voice floated down to her. "Can't you walk?""My stomach... It hurts," Zara replied faintly."You had it coming. Why didn't you ask Shelby to look for me?" he said.Zara weakly pushed against his chest, but Yosef just lifted her up in his arms.Suddenly,
Zara's throat felt dry as she asked, "You won't take advantage of me, will you?"Yosef gave her a look that could mean anything. They were on their way to the 12th floor, and the elevator glided up until the doors opened with a soft ding. Carrying her out, he finally answered."You're not exactly smelling like roses right now."She had only been wrapped in that musty blanket for a short time...Yosef reached her door and unlocked it using a key card he had somehow gotten.Zara did not even bother to ask how he did it.She knew by then that he could do pretty much anything.He nudged the door shut with his foot.Just like that, he was in her room.Yosef gently set Zara on the couch. She managed to pour herself a glass of warm water and had drunk most of it when the doorbell rang. Yosef went to answer it.He came back holding a food container.It must have been ready and waiting to be delivered at the right moment.He popped open the container to reveal a steaming bowl of chi
Harper's kisses were always teasing, intentionally awakening her senses.Their tongues tangled, taking her breath away. When she felt like she could not breathe and instinctively grabbed at his shirt, Harper let go and kissed his way down to her chin, neck, and chest.She could not resist him.Shelby was torn. She did not have to hold back her body's needs and reactions, especially since they could not end their marriage just yet. He was her husband, after all, so why should she deny herself? She decided to make the most of it.Men could easily separate love from physical desire, and women could too. Shelby did not think that accepting Harper's touches meant she liked him. It was just about meeting a need.She would just get that over with.Shelby's fingers gripped the sheets tightly as Harper kissed her growing belly. She was six months along, and her belly was a little bigger. The thought of their child made his heart melt, and he kissed her several more times before suddenly s
Shelby made a sound of agreement, her back sore from sitting too long. She leaned back against Harper without much thought. She was busy with her work and not in the mood for conversation.Harper quickly got the gist of the case file. In short, it was a classic example of someone facing the consequences of their own actions.In the western part of Starville, there was a middle school and a vocational school. The two schools were just a street apart. Not all, but at least 80% of the vocational school students were troublemakers.One of those students, Yered, often rounded up his gang to shake down the middle school kids for their money.Since last year, the bullies had been targeting Steven Scott, a middle schooler. They would often demand money from him. Steven was shy and scared, so he never stood up to them and just handed over the cash.However, this time, as he was walking with a girl from his class, the bullies blocked their path again. They started to pick on the girl becaus
Samantha was really happy. She lifted her finger elegantly and said softly, "One step at a time. First, we'll make sure the child is gone. Then, we'll push them to divorce, and in the end, when she's weak from losing the baby, we'll take care of her." If Shelby died as Harper's wife, then Harper would get everything, and that would be bad. The two women agreed. While reclining on their bamboo chairs, they started dreaming about their perfect future—one with the Young family and the other with all the money. Since the foot masseuse could not hear or speak, they talked freely, not worried about anyone overhearing them. After the massage, they even went to eat together. The masseuse quietly cleaned up and tidied the room. Then, she headed straight for the lookout point. The resort was in the mountains, with lots of trees and streams. The lookout was up high, with a great view of all the little mountains. It was a beautiful spot that every guest at the hotel made sure to visit.
Adalee was doubtful. "Is it really that serious? Our husband doesn't like that dowdy wife or the eldest son. Even if he's started to favor Harper more because of his marriage to the Lambert family, that still won't affect our children.""Our husband used to leave the company matters to our sons, but now he's handing them over to Harper. Who knows what the future holds?" Samantha said with a hint of malice. "We can't take that risk. We can't let Harper get too much leverage. We can't let him and his child have too great a chance to win."Adalee could see Samantha was desperate and asked anxiously, "What are you thinking of doing? She's a lawyer. She knows the law, and she's the sole heir to the Lambert family."Samantha's eyes suddenly became slits. "That's right, she's the only one who will inherit the Lambert family's fortune. With that kind of money, there are loads of people who want to trick her or get their hands on it. "She's a lawyer, not a superhero. Just wait. I'll make
It was Shelby's first visit to the Youngs' place, and by chance, she walked in on his father's so-called second and third wives being snide to Harper. His dad had not lifted a finger to help. It seemed like this was not a one-off occurrence.Was that the way they always treated him?Harper, taken aback by her blunt question, nearly slammed on the brakes. What?"Me, being pushed around in the family? That's just because I can't be bothered..." Who would waste their time arguing with a bunch of women or stoop so low as to fight with their dad's other women? That would be so embarrassing, right?However, he stopped himself mid-sentence.Because he suddenly realized that by saying that, he was making it sound like he felt bad for being 'picked on' at home.Harper slowed the car down and glanced at Shelby. Her eyebrows were knitted together, and she looked really serious. She was definitely not happy.He almost smiled, but he pushed it back down. He swallowed hard and changed his voi
She faced Samantha, not bothering to argue about inheritance rights. "You still haven't answered my earlier question. What does 'stepmother' mean?"Caught off guard by the sudden shift back to the topic, Samantha was momentarily speechless.Shelby did not wait for her to catch up. She pulled out her phone and quickly tapped the screen."Ah, I see," Shelby remarked, glancing at her phone. "According to this, 'stepmother' used to refer to a concubine in ancient times. That's similar to a servant, isn't it? So, in modern terms, it's like a maid. "Got it now. Would you mind getting me some salad? Thanks."The nerve of her, treating Samantha like a common maid! She had never been so insulted. "You!"Shelby set her phone down and met her gaze. "Since you're so curious, I'll fill you in. In the Lambert family, my word is law. If you're ever curious about me again, just ask me directly. No need to rely on rumors."Samantha bit her lip and looked to Gilbert for support, but he just sat
It was Shelby.Pregnant and in flats, she stood firm with not a hint of weakness about her.Her steady gaze fell on the two women who fancied themselves important, leaving them at a loss for words.Harper paused for just a moment, then quickly got to his feet and hurried over. "Dear!"The Young family's house was bright and airy. Harper's eyes sparkled with the unexpected joy of seeing Shelby, who had said she would not come. His face lit up with a smile.Shelby watched him, amused. She thought he was like their excited Shiba Inu, dashing over at the sight of its owner.Harper reached her side, calling out again, "Dear."Shelby gave a small nod. "Yeah."The guests at the dining table snapped out of their surprise, and Wrenley beamed. "Shelby, you're here."Shelby greeted her parents-in-law, "Mom, Dad."Wrenley hurried over to help her, her actions showing just how much she cherished her daughter-in-law.That was Shelby's first visit to the Young family since her wedding. She
Harper waited until Wrenley had said enough, andthen he spoke up."I just don't get you. Your family's loaded, my grandparents are laidback, and Dad doesn't even like you. Why stick to him? Just divorce him, take half his stuff, go home, and hang out with some young models. "That'd be way better than sticking to a lost cause. You've got no ambition."If it were Shelby, she would have left by then if he had not trapped her by getting her pregnant and holding something over her head. Why couldn't his mom be more like his wife?"In your dreams!"Wrenley, with tears in her eyes, scoffed. "The Young family wasn't always so fancy. I married him, and he promised me the moon. 'A good wife helps me reach my dreams, and I'll pay her back in gold.' And then what? "Once the Young family made it big, he just kept bringing in more women and their kids. How can I accept that? I'll fight him to the end, even if it kills me!"Harper sighed. "You want to fight him, I don't. Shelby and her baby
"An old friend?" Zara questioned. "If an old friend wanted to see me, they should be visiting the cemetery, not here."Only a very few people knew she was still alive.Shawn asked, "Is it a man or a woman?""A young man. He also said something else...""What did he say?"The butler hesitated, then relayed, "He said... The miss tricked him, and now she owes him for it."Zara was speechless.The garden fell silent for a moment, with only the whisper of the summer wind rustling through the flowers.Seconds later, Shawn set aside his tablet and smiled slightly. "Really? That sounds fun. Get him to come in. I'd like to meet him too."Zara had thought it was just a joke, but when the butler led the visitor in, she stood up in astonishment.It was him!...In Parnova, the sun shone brightly.However, in Starville, the weather was turning.The sky had been clear when Harper left home in the morning. However, when he reached the Youngs' place at noon, he saw the sun hidden behind