'Forget it! Fine! I owe it to him!' Lisa thought to herself.***When Serenity and Jackson returned to the Valor Residence, Jackson asked, "Feeling disappointed today? We made a trip to San Marco and found nothing useful."Serenity shook her head. "I'm fine.""You're not disappointed?" Jackson seemed a little surprised."Because you're willing to help in my journey to prove my innocence," Serenity said, feeling grateful. "It doesn't matter if we find useful clues or not. I'm just happy with your help."She felt his trust in her, and the barriers between them seemed to be slowly fading. He gazed at her steadily. He understood her desire to clear her name, but... He could clear her name but not give her the truth—the truth she wanted to know."As long as you're happy." His lips curled into a smile. He changed the subject and asked, "You don't have to go to work for the next few days. What are your plans?""I thought about visiting Grandma in two days," Serenity mentioned. She h
"I wanted to know how bitter it is," Jackson explained, examining the taste of the bitter liquid medicine in his mouth. "It's so bitter."Serenity felt speechless. Who in the world would take the medicine itself to find out how bitter it was?! Not to mention, the medicine was meant for women's health.Such a small amount of residue would not cause a bad tummy, but... Jackson seemed a little too reckless."Why don't you have a candy too? It'll help with the bitterness," Serenity spoke with a piece of candy still in her mouth."Okay," Jackson hummed. Instead of taking the candy from the tray, he leaned toward her and put one hand against the back of her head, his handsome face close to hers."Jack..." As her lips parted, his kiss landed on her lips. Jackson captured her mouth in an intense kiss, stealing bittersweet tastes from her lips, leaving Serenity breathless. Serenity could barely tell what flavor remained in her mouth when the kiss ended, and she looked at him with flushed
After a moment of hesitation, Serenity nodded and agreed with Elliot's suggestion. She did not want to put him on the spot.Serenity then had the chauffeur drive her to a mall downtown.Serenity wanted to buy some clothes and food for her grandmother. The food section was on the first floor, so she headed there first.Serenity looked at the pastries and made her pick. Foods high in sugar or carbohydrates could cause spikes in Emily's blood sugar levels, so although the pastries suitable for the elderly and people with high blood sugar were a little more expensive, she bought them anyway. After paying the bill, she walked up the escalator with the box of pastries.Just as Serenity arrived at the second floor, a figure strode toward her. Someone slapped her hard on her face before she could even react.Serenity stumbled and almost fell to the ground, barely steadying herself. Unfortunately, the box of pastries in her hand fell to the ground."Hey, who is this? Aren't you the murd
"Seriously. Why are you doing this in public? How embarrassing!" Quinton scowled.Demetria was indignant. "I'm just mad at her. Did you hear what she just said? Isn't that inhumane?! She killed Mira, yet she's saying she didn't hurt anyone!"Quinton shot a sharp glare at Serenity. "You're out of prison now. Whether or not there's a wrongful conviction is a matter for the courts to decide. But when you talk about rights..."His eyes glowed with disdain. To him, Serenity was as weak as a worm he could trample on. "You don't have the right to talk about power in front of me," he said to her. Quinton then turned to the guards beside him and ordered, "Kick her out. Now. Also, share the photos of her with the other guards and mall management. She won't be allowed in this mall again."The security guards surrounded Serenity, one left and one right, and they forced her to get moving."M-my belongings are still on the floor." Serenity finally understood what was going on. Quinton spoke w
A dangerous gleam flashed in Quinton's eyes. "It's not hard to put someone like her back in prison. I'll just get someone to do it." Quinton spoke lightly, almost as if manipulating the fate of others was a very normal thing.Demetria's eyes lit up. She said through gritted teeth, "Let's get her a life sentence this time. I want her to stay in prison for the rest of her life!" It seemed to be the only way to ease her hatred."Well, let's do as you wish." Quinton soothed, "But don't hurt yourself thinking about Mira. Think about Jenny.""I know that very well. Jenny is our only daughter left now. Why wouldn't I think of her?" Demetria added, "It's a pity she's in love with a guy from the Shaw family. If she loved Jackson, we'd still be Jackson's parents-in-law!" Demetria said this with a shrug of resignation.Quinton reminded, "We can't have every nice thing in life. Well, Jenny... She's finally getting what she wants.""You'll have to let me have my way. I want to see Serenity go
Demetria was confused and finally noticed the grave look on Jenny's face. "Jenny? What nonsense are you talking about? Apologize? Are you telling me to apologize to Serenity? That's impossible! She's lucky I didn't smash her in the face! Why do you want me to apologize?!""You two must apologize now before it's too late!" Jenny took out her phone, but her mother took the phone away before she could ring her father."What the hell is going on? Let's get this straight." Demetria's eyes locked on Jenny.Jenny took a deep breath. "Mom, Serenity has Jackson's support. We can't afford to mess with the Valor family!"Demetria's expression changed from confusion to a look that was full of shock. "How can that be? Are you kidding me?!" "I wish I was kidding, but it's true!" Jenny rasped. "Remember Joy Shaw? Didn't you ask about her leg before? Why Joy hadn't healed for so long and how she got hurt?"Demetria's nerves tingled at the grave look on Jenny's face. She had a feeling that t
Jackson's brow furrowed as soon as he heard the news. He took the phone from Connor and played the video, his eyes cold.Jackson soon exuded an air of quiet fury. Connor knew that his boss' anger was not directed at him, but the fury in Jackson's eyes was so icy that he thought he might freeze to death.Mr. Valor's wrath could rock the whole of Solaria. Serenity was Mr. Valor's precious person, and he would never let anyone hurt Serenity. The Hall family had made their move on Ms. Lewis, humiliating her in public. Not only that but there was a video filmed and posted online."Remove this video from the internet! Don't let me see it online ever again!" Jackson ordered. "Also, find the person who took the video and get the original file deleted permanently." "Understood," Connor responded.Jackson threw the phone back at Connor. Then, he grabbed his jacket and headed out of his office.Connor did not have to ask. He knew Mr. Valor was on his way to see Ms. Lewis.Connor had been
No one answered him in the room.Jackson spun around and headed straight to his room instead. He then entered Serenity's room through the inner door that connected the two rooms.Serenity's room was dark, and the lights were off. Jackson glanced around in the semi-darkness, relying on the faint sunlight shining through the curtains. Although dim, it did not affect his vision.Jackson soon found Serenity in the corner of the room, sitting curled up. She had wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in it. She seemed like she was trying to curl into a ball.Jackson vaguely remembered seeing her hiding in a corner with a similar posture some time ago. At the thought of this, a sudden pain stabbed at him, just below his heart. The scenario from the video he had seen just moments before flashed across his mind.In the video, Serenity had gotten slapped in the face and then escorted out of the mall. The video had been recorded from a distance, too far away to hear the conver