...... "Adrienne is a good girl. If we don't help her, then should we just watch as you bully her?" Maxwell was by no means trying to bully Jefferson, but he was worried that this brat would bully and anger his granddaughter-in-law. If so, Jefferson would definitely grow old and die alone. "When did I bully her?" Staring at Adrienne's pleasantly smiling face, Jefferson felt like he was being treated unfairly. It was that little idiot who was getting on his nerves all these while. Adrienne pinched him covertly and thought, "Who is the one annoying the other, huh?" "Since we're on the topic, let's talk then." Maxwell looked at Jefferson and said, "Tell me how much you love Adrienne." Jefferson was taken aback by Maxwell's question. It was one thing for him to love Adrienne, but he couldn't be saying it out loud in front of everyone, could he? He had a reputation to keep up too, all right. "If you love someone, then you should tell them dire
...... Adrienne, who was observant, was the first to see Sierra approaching them. For the past couple days, Sierra seemed fine, and it was as if things had gone back to normal for her. However, Adrienne was still very concerned about her. She had never experienced getting hurt from romantic relationships, but she had gone through painful times due to what had happened in her family. She understood the pain of being abandoned and betrayed by someone and that was why she thought that Sierra might not be as calm as she appeared on the surface. "Sierra, I'm not really familiar with the city. If you don't mind, could you come shopping with me?" In fact, Adrienne wasn't someone who liked to trouble others, but she thought that she could at least use such an excuse to bring Sierra out to distract her. "Sure." Sierra agreed without hesitation. She turned to look at Jefferson and said, "But I don't know if this guy here is willing to hand you over to me thoug
...... Johan was dressed neatly in a bespoke suit, and trailing behind him was his assistant, Alexis. He strode forward with Alexis at his heels, muttering something. They were probably talking about work. Johan was involved in chain malls business, and Silas Group had many malls under them across the globe. Therefore, Johan would often visit malls, be it locally or overseas, to supervise its operation. However, this was the first time that Sierra had run into him by chance. In the past, she had often bumped into him while he was at work, but everyone around him knew that those weren't really coincidences in any sense of the word. Sierra would always obtain Johan's schedule from his assistant and create fake run- ins. Though it was a real encounter that time, Sierra was no longer willing to lower herself to love a man who didn't love her back. Sierra quickly averted her gaze from Johan. She took Adrienne by the hand and said, "Adrienne,
...... Her heart buoyant, Adrienne wore a smile on her face, the kind of smile which showed everyone the profound extent of her joy. However, always one to say what she did not mean, she blurted, "You promised that I could go shopping with Sierra today. Why did you follow me here? Can't you give me a whit of freedom?" "Adrienne, I swear I will hurl you off this building." Jefferson glared at Adrienne, begrudgingly. He really wanted to bestow her a good beating. Jefferson's heart had never left Adrienne the moment she left the house. He followed them around for a while but never showed himself, allowing them all the time in the world to shop to their heart's content. When Adrienne was footing the bill, Jefferson realized that all her money was with him. That was the only reason he showed up and paid for the bill. To his chagrin, she was annoyed by him. "It was you..." While Adrienne was speaking, she noticed that Jefferson's expression was off, and sh
...... Sierra and Johan went a long way back, but she had never seen him being this agitated. She had only ever seen Johan's cold and indifferent appearance, and he would never say more than necessary to her. At that moment, Johan was still the old him. Anger and hatred were clearly written in his eyes. It wasn't just despise that he was feeling for her but also pure hatred. His indifference in the past had broken Sierra's heart, but the look in his eyes right then terrified her. Sierra instinctively took two steps back. "Johan, you don't love me, and I wasn't supposed to love you back then. Yes, I asked you to marry me but I know that I'm wrong now, so let's stop the damage while we still can." "Stop the damage while we still can? Will all these end just because we get a divorce? I never thought that marriage would be such a trifling matter to you." Johan emphasized each word as he spoke. "Sierra, do you actually think that you can end things with j
...... "Sierra, when have you ever held back on me anyway?" Johan's hands had clenched into fists, and his eyes locked on her face. "I..." Sierra tripped over her words for a moment. It was true that she had never held back when it came to Johan. Johan's gaze was still the same, yet Sierra felt that something was different from before. She used to think that she understood him. However, the way he looked at her just then made her feel like she didn't know him at all. What on earth was he trying to say to her with that complicated look in his eyes? It was as if... Sierra was shocked by the intrusive thought that sprang up in her mind. How could she let her imagination run wild even at times like this? It wasn't like she hadn't put in any effort before, and it wasn't as though she hadn't experienced any hurt... However, just because she had run into him twice, her brain was starting to come up with such laughable ideas all over again.
...... Jefferson glared at Johan angrily. Adrienne looped her unyielding arms around his waist. Johan raised his hand and wiped the corners of his mouth. His lips were slightly curled up, with a touch of smile, as he looked at Jefferson. The atmosphere was evidently tense. The commotion did not only attract the attention of the passengers in the first-class cabin but also alerted the flight attendants. Two flight attendants rushed over in a hurry and advised, "Mr. Hefner, Mr. Silas, we are on a plane now. Can please take our time to calm ourselves down first?" "Calm down?" thought Adrienne. If Adrienne hadn't stopped him, Jefferson probably would have made Johan cripple then. How could he still calm down? Unexpectedly, Johan, who received the punch, said with utter composure, "We are old acquaintances. We were just joking around with each other. Don't worry about it." The stewardess clearly knew that things were not as what
...... "Why are you smiling there like a fool?" As soon as Jefferson got hold of his luggage, he looked back and saw Adrienne looking at him with a smile on her face. Her smile warmed the cockles of his heart, but his words were, as always, blunt. "I'm smiling because..." Adrienne deliberately dragged her sentence. Seeing that Jefferson's expression was about to turn sour again, she quickly added, "My Jeff has grown up and become such a sensible man. I don't need to worry about you anymore." "When have I ever made you worry about me though?" Jefferson said as he tapped on the tip of her nose. Adrienne took the opportunity to snuggle into his arms, saying, "Then that simply means you've grown even more considerate than before." "You finally know what to say to make me happy, huh?" His tone was still as overbearing as usual, but Adrienne could see right through to the gentleness in his eyes. He held the suitcase in one hand and Adrienne in the other. As they
...... Eight months later. Adrienne had given birth to a daughter, gathering the entire Yard family in Chatterton Town. Everyone was in high spirits but Jefferson had a sour expression on, as if that was the worst day of his life. Sierra found a moment and went over to Jefferson. "Hey, Jeff. Adrienne just gave birth but why do you have such a long face on? Did you want a son instead or something?" Jefferson responded rudely, "It doesn't matter to me whether it's a boy or a girl. That little girl is our daughter, and I'll love her no matter what." Sierra continued, "Why do you look so upset then?" "Must I have a reason for that?" Well, he was angry at himself. Adrienne had almost lost her life in the labor room earlier, but he hadn't been able to offer any help. Throughout Adrienne's pregnancy, Jefferson had done an enormous amount of research and found out that a C-section birth was relatively safer. Hence, he'd insisted that Adrienne und
...... Johan was still clamming up. Maxtor was so anxious that he couldn't stand still. "Johan, what happened between you and Sierra? Can't you at least explain the situation to me?" After a long silence, Johan looked up and out of the window. "There have been so many fights and misunderstandings between us in the past years and it seems that the past was a time that we can never go back to." Upon hearing this, Maxtor seemed to have put his finger on the crux of the problem. "Did Miranda make Sierra misunderstand you?" Maxtor said earnestly, "Johan, I've told you before that woman has a twisted psyche and you need to stay away from her. You pitied her for being an orphan, but look at what she has been up to." "It has nothing to do with Miranda. It's me. If I..." If he had explained everything to Sierra back then, she wouldn't have felt that insecure about their relationship. He knew everything, but he still got mad at her. Maxtor continued, "He
...... On the first day of school, Miranda was once again met with an unpredicted truth. She found out that Sierra was the top scorer in the entrance exam. She was the overachiever that every university was dying to recruit. Not only did Sierra come from a good family, but she was smart and beautiful to boot. Sierra possessed everything she could have in life. Miranda couldn't figure out why she had to take Johan away from her when she already had so much. What made Miranda even more disappointed was not her inferiority but Johan. On the first day of school, she was over the moon to see that Johan was at the gate to receive her. However, when Johan took her luggage from her and she was wallowing in her excitement to see him, He said to her, "Miranda, that is the girl I like, Sierra. She will be your sister-in-law in the future. You should get on well with her." She didn't want to be nice to her. Instead, she hated her. Mirand
...... Johan's words frightened Miranda so much that her face turned pale. "Johan, Mrs. Silas adopted me. I would have died a long time ago if it weren't for her. How could I have nothing to do with the Silas family?" Johan's face was somber, and his voice chilled Miranda to her bones. "You know that my mother was the one who took you in, but look at what you've been up to all these years?" "Johan, what-what did I do?" Miranda said, trembling with fear. Miranda was an expert at feigning a pitiful appearance and reaping sympathy from others. She even managed to tear up and gazed heart-wrenchingly at Johan at that very moment. However, Johan did not buy into her ploy at all. Not only did his eyes demonstrate her no pity, there was also a trace of disdain that Miranda had never seen before. He loathed her. Upon realizing that, Miranda's heart was broken. Johan had been her dream for those past years. She had worked so hard to do so many things in
...... Sierra wasn't able to refute because what Miranda said was the truth. It was indeed true that many could never compare with her background. However, although she was born privileged, that didn't spare her from putting in effort for her own future. Prestigious universities wanted her because she was the top scorer in the entrance exam but not because of her family background and connections. All of a sudden, Miranda smirked sinisterly. "I know you like Johan, and you want to be with him. Sierra, I like him too, and I want to be with him. You have everything so why do you still want to take my man away from me?" "Excuse me? Who took your man?" Displeased, Sierra said, "Miranda, you were the one who told me that you two were siblings, and that there was nothing going on between you guys. And mind you, you were also the one who encouraged me to go after him." Miranda shouted in a low voice, "Sierra, if I hadn't told you that, would you have remained fri
...... Averting her gaze, Sierra turned around with difficulty. However, just as she had taken a step forward, Miranda's voice sounded from behind. "Sierra, I didn't expect you to come to the airport to pick me up. Imagine my delight to be able to see you on the first day of my return." "You've misunderstood, Miss Attwood. I'm not here to pick you up." Sierra did not conceal her hatred for Miranda as she could not even be bothered to dole out the niceties at her. Miranda chuckled. "I haven't seen you for so many years, but you're still so adorable." It seemed that Miranda couldn't sense the despise Sierra had for her. She approached Sierra with a smile and wanted to give her a hug. Sierra stared at Miranda's outstretched arms and quickly dodged her. A single glance at Miranda and her eyes would be sullied. Sierra thought that she would even throw up should her body come into contact with Miranda's. Miranda was never good at reading between the
...... Stopping her car, Sierra quickly got off to check the situation. No sooner had her feet been on the ground that four men got off from the car in front of her and surrounded her. One of them pointed at her and barked, "Don't you f*cking know how to drive? If you don't, then don't drive. Say it, how much are you going to pay for the damage!" Sierra was driving in accordance to normalcy, but the other party had, so suddenly, cut into her lane without a signal. As hard as she had stepped on her brake, she still collided with the car. They were supposed to be the ones held accountable for the collision. However, they got out of the car and shouted at her, extorting compensation. Sierra suspected that these men had done so deliberately to scam her. She took out her mobile phone and was ready to call the police. However, before she could even unlock her phone, one of the men had already wrenched the phone away from her. "We have something important t
...... In the middle of cleaning the table, Rosie said, "He doesn't only come here to have meals, but he would also get one to go every time. No jalapenos on the one to go. He says that you can't take spices because your stomach doesn't handle it well." Sierra did have a stomach problem, but it wasn't till the point that she couldn't take spicy food at all. Moreover, Johan had never brought any tacos back for her. Sierra figured that he was probably getting it for someone else so she asked, "What did he say to you when he asked you to pack it?" Rosie smiled and said, "He said that he was going to bring it for his girlfriend. He's obviously talking about you, isn't he?" "Oh, his girlfriend." Smiling, Sierra did not put forth any more questions as she knew that Johan had never regarded her as his girlfriend. For him, she was nothing more like a leech that he couldn't shake off. Rosie looked at Sierra and said earnestly, "I know you two fought tod
...... "My ability to act coy?" Sierra said inwardly. She had no idea from where did his temper sneak in again. However, she knew that somehow everything she had done seemed to piss him off. If he didn't like her, then why did he come looking for her? Did he have nothing else better to do? She smiled and said, "Mr. Silas, since you don't like being around me, then let's not meet anymore in the future, nor have any meals together. I'm afraid your appetite will take a nosedive when you see me." "You shouldn't say that, Sierra." Rosie handed one of the plates to Sierra and said, "Every couple gets into fights, but you must know your boundaries. Some words are too hurtful, and you shouldn't just say everything that comes to your mind." Sierra didn't make a sound. She wasn't a fan of others poking their noses in her affairs. Besides, she was not close to Rosie either so she found her rather meddlesome. Rosie didn't seem to register in her mind that Sierra was d