As Carl approached, Violet could see her fear reflected in Carl's eyes.They were so close now, their lips on the verge of touching.Carl's warm breath fanned her lips. "Are you planning on leaving the door open all night?" he said eventually.As he spoke, his lips nudged against hers in the barest whisper of a touch. Even so, the tiny contact burned her.Violet bit her lip, if only to prevent herself from moaning.Hot … Everything was so hot …What was happening to her?Carl's eyes shone. He backed away from her and closed the door, the click of its hinges jolting her out of her dazed trance.She must have lost her mind!Why else would she have stood there like a mindless statue, frozen and completely under his mercy?She batted the unsightly thoughts from her mind. When Carl approached her again, she ducked immediately."What are you hiding from?" Carl asked, his voice slightly raised."Your dominance scares me," she replied vacantly. "I dare not get too close.""Have yo
Back at the villa, Violet's mood had improved drastically.She knocked on Carl's study door with a plateful of cakes she had bought from Artisan's Patisserie yesterday."Mr. Walker." Her smile was dazzling. "Are you hungry? I brought you some cakes."Carl did not bother to lift his head."It's really good!" she coaxed. "Whitney was foaming at the mouth when I snatched these from her. Besides, it's not easy to get them, you know. There's always an insanely long queue."To be fair, Whitney hadn't even batted her lashes when Violet took them all away. She had never intended on eating the cakes in the first place.As Carl continued to face her apathetically, Violet had no other choice but to cave in. "About this morning … I was at fault. I'm sorry."This got him to raise his head. "What are you apologizing for?""I shouldn't have taken your words at face value," she replied. Part of her still itched to irritate him on purpose despite everything.Sure enough, Carl's expression turn
Carl did not answer Violet's question immediately. Instead, he drew her attention to the folder on his desk. "Don't you want to see what's in there?"Violet approached him skeptically. As she perused its contents, she realized it was a DNA test."I collected the samples from you and Whitney," Carl informed her. His voice was frosty."Please! I can explain!" Violet cut in hurriedly. Now that Whitney was involved, she couldn't help the sharp fear rising within her. "I can assure you that it's not what you think."Carl sat down expectantly.Violet considered her options swiftly. If she admitted to Whitney being her daughter, she would expose Whitney's lie and, therefore, put her daughter directly in danger.After all, Whitney had told Carl that she was an orphan when she first approached him.Carl had always been merciless, especially when it came to those who dared deceive him.The thought of his ruthlessness was enough for Violet to shoulder the blame entirely in exchange for Wh
"Whitney!" Violet screamed. She immediately ran toward the house.A firefighter halted her advance. "Miss, this building has been temporarily sealed off. You can't go in there right now.""My house is on fire!" Violet stressed, her voice urgent. "My daughter is still inside!""We've already sent a team in. If you could just …" The firefighter had barely finished when Violet shoved him aside and rushed into the building.The firefighter attempted to catch up to her, but Violet was quicker than he anticipated."Whitney!" she yelled as she raced up the stairs. "Whitney, where are you?"Violet got to the eighth floor in no time. A few firefighters were in the process of extinguishing the fire, and there was no sign of Whitney in the bedroom."Where's my daughter?" The panic that surged within her was unprecedented. "Where is she?""We have checked the scene thoroughly, Miss. There are no casualties despite the damage to the property," one of the firefighters informed her.Violet l
Carl's roaming hands paused at Violet's waist. His grip tightened in a wordless warning.Violet understood him loud and clear.He was demanding her absolute cooperation or risk facing the consequences of her defiance."Carl …" Helen was dumbfounded.Carl was her childhood best friend. Yet, he had never even held her hand before, let alone kissed her.Helen might hold the title of Carl's fiancée, but that had never really amounted to anything beyond their parents' joint wishes.Now, Helen was forced to stand and watch as Carl kissed another woman in front of her. His enjoyment was evident in the way his eyes fluttered shut, as if there was no one he loved more deeply than Violet.Helen sniffed. She blinked before bursting into tears.Violet shook her head exasperatedly. If she cried as easily as Helen did, her tears could fill an entire ocean with all the bullying and exploitation Carl subjected her to daily."I am your fiancée!" Helen wailed. "Don't abandon me, Carl.""He
"How dare she!" Carl's mother, Elsa Hughes, roared. Her expression was icy. "What is it this time? The women around Carl are usually easy enough to get rid of.""Well, this Violet is different," Helen emphasized. "Did you know Carl actually smiled at her? He's never even smiled at me before."Elsa immediately reassured Helen. "Alright, alright. Calm down. When I'm done wrapping up my work here, I'll fly over and help you out over there.""Please hurry, Mrs. Walker!" Helen sobbed. "If you don't, I might be dead by the time you're here."It wasn't until Elsa promised to speed things up that Helen finally hung up.She then wiped away her tears. "Let's see how you can compete with me, Violet!" she snarled at her own reflection.On the other hand, Violet did not waste too much of her time worrying about Helen. Instead, she went down to the dungeons alone. Violet intended to search the area where she'd bumped into the traitor the other day. She had hoped that she might find some cl
Violet's lips curled upward.Helen ducked behind Elsa, avoiding the sharpness in Violet's gaze.With someone on her side, Helen continued her taunts. "I wouldn't be surprised if Whitney, too, turns out to be a fake. Why don't we get rid of her as well while we're at it?"Judging from the murderous glint in Helen's eyes, she would've sent someone to assassinate both Violet and Whitney even if she'd let them go.Elsa tossed the envelope at Violet.Violet opened it and examined the evidence briefly. The sequence of events was intricately linked. Whoever made this certainly made it look convincing enough.Violet couldn't help but imagine her impending fate. After all, with evidence as solid as this one, it was hard to find someone who wouldn't believe it."Mr. Walker performed a DNA test on Whitney before," Ms. Bentley couldn't help but chime in. "Whitney is his biological daughter."Violet couldn't understand why Ms. Bentley would lie so blatantly to Elsa. If her lie were to be ex
"Of course!" the old man promised. "We're going to perform at a psychiatric hospital today. From what I've seen of her, she's perfect for the role of a tree! Let me teach her the basics first."As he spoke, the man led his group of students over to Elsa. He then taught her how to sing and dance."You … What are you doing?" Elsa shouted.As she gradually returned to her senses, she turned to Violet. "Violet Cooper! How dare you lie to me? Do you have a death wish?"Violet was unfazed. "It's not like you're planning to let me walk away alive even if I hadn't lied to you.""Get away from me!" Elsa roared.Despite that, none of them seemed remotely bothered by the iciness on her face. Instead, they remained as enthusiastic as ever.As the group consisted of elderly people, Elsa could not bring herself to meet their advances with violence.She couldn't touch nor harm them. It would only tarnish the reputation of the Walker family.When Violet looked back again from a distance, she