Reginald turned around and gave some instructions, mainly emphasizing to the rest of the Stones and the employees the importance of the partnership with Bristow Group before finally leaving. They then went down to the building entrance. They lined up in two single file lines along either side of the entrance, with Reginald standing in the center, craning his neck in anticipation of Yankel's arrival. They waited for over ten minutes. Cheryl, who was wearing sky-high stilettos, felt her calves start to go numb, and as a result began to feel rather impatient at the wait. She glanced around her, and when she caught sight of Celena standing amongst the crowd, her expression changed to one of contempt. All of a sudden, a silver Bentley cruised toward them. Reginald was the first one to spot the car and immediately exclaimed, "Everyone, spruce up! Mr. Bristow is here."The Bentley came to a halt at the entrance, and the driver leaped out of his seat, circling to the back to open the ca
Everyone turned to stare at Yankel in anticipation, but the most excited of them all was Cheryl. Yankel was an attractive man who hailed from one of the most affluent families in the capital and was a thousand times better than any man she could find in Drunham City, Wasyl included. The thought of bagging such a man for herself made her straighten up in anticipation as she cast Yankel flirtatious looks. Yankel gazed around the room, taking in everyone's expressions. He was rather pleased with the reaction his statement had elicited from the Stones, but when his gaze landed on Celena, he paused. There was not a hint of enthusiasm or joy on Celena's face. In fact, she stood at the back of the room with her head lowered as though what they were discussing had nothing to do with her at all. Yankel gave her a once-over, his gaze moving across her voluptuous curves. A longing expression crossed his face, and he said, "Mr. Stone, let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Bristow Group has t
Reginald's tone was stone cold, and he did not even give Celena a chance to explain herself. "Let me tell you something, Celena, but you have no right to stick your nose into the way I run this company. Do you think this is just a game? This is a project worth at least fifteen million dollars, and as the deputy manager, you should at least do something for the company."Don't you understand just how priceless this opportunity is for our company? Do you have any idea just how many companies all over Drunham City would kill just to get a chance to partner with Bristow Group? Now that we finally have a chance to prove ourselves, why are you killing our only chance? Do you think we would turn down this opportunity just because you say you don't want to?"As the head of this company and the final decision-maker, I don't need to ask your permission. You will hereby represent Stone Group during this partnership, and your task is to do as Mr. Bristow pleases. You are not allowed to defy his
Cheryl was the only one silent. The thought of someone as charming and rich as Yankel having his eye on Celena, of all people, was enough to send her seething with rage and jealousy. Why had Yankel chosen Celena instead of her?As envious as she was, she was well aware that it would do good to let Yankel bed Celena. Once she had slept with Yankel, she would earn the reputation of being a floozy and became the laughingstock of the city. Everyone in Drumham City would look down on her for being so desperate as to sell her body for a business deal, not to mention the fact that she was already married…The thought of Celena falling victim to everyone's scorn made Cheryl grin in delight. She then approached Celena, her heels click-clacking against the linoleum, and gave her a once-over, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "My dearest Celena, how can you be so naive? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and yet you want to turn it down! Do you have any idea who Mr. Bristow is? He'
"Let me make this clear to you once and for all. If you don't agree to Mr. Bristow's terms, I will cast you, your husband and your daughter out of our family. I will personally make sure that no company in Drunham City will hire either of you, so unless you want to starve to death on the streets, you better do as he asks!"Reginald's attitude was clear. He stared at Celena coldly, without a single hint of emotion on his face. It was as though he was staring at a stranger instead of his granddaughter. The color drained from Celena's face. She stared, dumbfounded, at Reginald, unable to believe her ears. How could her grandfather be so cruel? She felt as though her heart had broken all over again, and she could not hold her tears back anymore.After a few moments of silence, she wiped the tears from her face and muttered, "Okay, I'll do everything he says, Grandpa, as long as…as long as you don't cast us out of the family. I promise…"Celena felt no emotion apart from despair and so
Celena slammed the lid back on the box and hurled it onto the ground, refusing to even give it another look out of shame.The box contained a set of black, lacy lingerie with a sexy cutout at the crotch area that would no doubt reveal every inch of the wearer's private areas. Celena was so outraged by this blatant disrespect that her entire body trembled. Was she expected to wear this to her 'business meeting' with Yankel that night?Celena could not even begin to imagine what would happen that night. Her knees gave out from beneath her, and she sank to the ground in a crumpled heap, staring up at the ceiling above her in despair. Who was going to help her? Who could she rely on to save her?Meanwhile, Liam was at home, still racking his brain for ideas of gifts he could buy for Celena to cheer her up. All of a sudden, he received a message from her, stating that she would not be coming home for dinner that night due to an important business meeting she had to conduct. Liam gr
Cheryl sneered and said, "How fortunate it is for Celena to have been chosen by Yankel! Truth be told, I had already noticed the way Yankel looked at Celena the night of the dinner at Misty Manor, and I knew he'd come for her eventually."All of a sudden, something occurred to her, and she swiveled her eyes around to glance at Yafe. "Dad, how do you think Liam will react once he finds out about Celena's 'meeting' with Yankel?"Yafe's entire face lit up with a sly grin. "This didn't even occur to me until you brought it up, but we can't tell Liam yet. We have to make sure he catches them in bed himself, and what do you think he'll do when he sees his own wife in bed, naked, with another man? Knowing his temper, he will certainly do something terrible to Yankel, but unfortunately, Yankel is not someone he can mess with. Oh, he's going down indeed!"Cheryl sneered, nodding in agreement. "I agree, Dad. Liam has always been hot-headed and would certainly act out and punish Yankel for thi
Sunniva, who was already annoyed at being forced to attend this dinner in the first place, seemed to have found the perfect excuse to bail. She returned to Liam's side and declared, "Very well then. I won't go anywhere my bodyguard isn't allowed to, so I won't enter, then. Please give Jack my regards."With that, she turned to leave, but the guards quickly stopped her. One of them whispered something into his earpiece, presumably reporting the situation to whoever was on the other end. All of a sudden, he nodded and turned to Sunniva. "Ms. Bristow, apologies for the confusion, but Mr. Norris has cleared both you and your bodyguard to enter. Please go in."Sunniva scoffed and sauntered into the restaurant without giving the guards so much as a second glance. Jack had already booked the entire second-floor restaurant for the occasion, so the waiters were already expecting their arrival. There was a young woman in an elegant dress seated in the middle of the restaurant, playing the
What would Liam do if he found out Prince Faber had captured his wife? Surely he would not hesitate to turn the entire city upside down to look for her?Prince Faber was more than familiar with Liam's fierce loyalty and could not help but begin to worry at the prospect of having to face his wrath. He stared at Keyon's leering face and asked with belated realization, "Mr. Yeager, you ordered me to capture all those people from the Drunham City Connoisseurs, but the truth is, your sole target has always been Liam's wife. Is that right?"Keyon nodded, smiling. "That's right. We could care less about those businessmen. All we wanted was to get our hands on Celena Stone!"I must admit I was very surprised when I found out that Celena Stone is the wife of the great King Pendragon. Not only that, but I made an even more shocking discovery—it turns out that Liam is none other than the lone survivor of the Cole family, the noble clan who were allegedly wiped out seven years ago!"The ment
After a few moments' hesitation, he finally decided to shoot his shot. "Mr. Yeager, there is something I don't understand. Why did the Yeagers order these businessmen's capture? I've looked into their backgrounds, and they are all honest businessmen who have not broken the law before. If the media catches wind of this, they will surely accuse me of abusing my power…"This was what Prince Faber had been worried about. He had already investigated the people whom the Yeagers ordered to be captured and did not understand why the Yeagers wanted them imprisoned. They were all civilians who had not committed any crime, and he dared not even imagine the consequences if the public found out he had ordered the incarceration of innocent citizens.Keyon understood immediately Prince Faber's concern. He smiled and replied in a reassuring tone, "Worry not, Prince Faber. We Yeagers have taken care of everything. We have made absolutely sure to cover up all your tracks, and no one will know you were
Meanwhile, Celena and the group were taken out of the hotel and shoved forcefully into a couple of jeeps waiting at the entrance. They were whisked away to a nearby military base. Before they could even get their bearings straight, they found themselves being tossed into holding cells. Celena, on the other hand, was taken separately to a small, dark room, illuminated only by the barest sliver of light that peeped in through a tiny window. The room was entirely empty, save for a metal bed frame. A sour stench hung in the air, and it was clear this room had been abandoned for a very long time. A soldier shoved Celena roughly into the room, and before she could realize what was happening, the soldier slammed the door shut.The soldier had pushed Celena so hard that she fell onto the ground, but upon seeing that her captor was about to leave, she leaped to her feet and sprinted over to the door. "Sir, can you tell me what I did wrong? Can you please have mercy on me? Can you at least
Tristan seemed just as baffled as they were. He returned their puzzled gazes with an equally perplexed one of his own. "I… I have no idea…"The general glanced sharply in their direction, then gestured to his soldiers and declared sternly, "Take them away!"His soldiers obliged and stepped forward to restrain the members of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, who all shrieked in alarm, "Why are you taking us away?""General, what did we do wrong? We didn't do anything illegal, so why are you arresting us?""Mr. Xander, save us! They've got this all wrong!""What's going on here? Why are they arresting only us?"Celena's entire body was shaking like a leaf. She eyed the soldiers around her and asked, stammering, "General, what did we do wrong? Why are we being captured? Where are you taking us?"Tristan, stricken with panic, shoved a soldier aside and shouted at the general, "General, I'm the president of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, and I want to know why we're being taken away. Wh
Celena was utterly terrified by the sudden turn of events. She stared pale-faced at the soldiers around her, not daring to move even a muscle. What was going on?All of a sudden, a man in a uniform stepped into the room. The badge on his shoulder indicated to everyone that he was a general. The heavy thumping of his boots echoed through the silent room with every step he took. All eyes were on him as he stepped onto the stage.He carried himself with great authority, and clearly, this man was not one to be messed with. He scanned the room as if searching for someone. Finally, he announced in a deep, resounding voice, "Do not fear, ladies and gentlemen. We are here on a routine check after receiving a tip-off regarding your conference. We will release you all once we have carried out our investigation, and the process will be quicker and smoother if you all cooperate. "Now, I would kindly request you get your documentation ready so that my men may confirm your identity."Everyone
Derek nodded earnestly and replied, "Of course it's true. My sources have never failed me. I wouldn't have trusted you with this information if I didn't think you'd be interested."Celena stared at him for a moment, then turned to glance in the direction of the people he had pointed. She could not help but be tempted by the offer. She considered this for a few moments, then accepted his offer. "Alright then, Mr. Duncan. I'll go with you. Thank you for inviting me."The smile on Derek's face widened. He could hardly believe his luck—Celena had agreed to go with him! Taking that first step was always the hardest, but he had done it!Unbeknownst to Celena, Derek already knew her long before their first meeting at the conference. Her name was known far and wide in Drunham City, not least because of her beauty, but because of her—in the eyes of the public—tragic marriage. Celena had earned herself a reputation as one of the most beautiful women Drunham City had ever seen, and although
The attention they received, however, was large due to Celena and her young, handsome companion, who was a man named Derek Duncan. Their attractive looks, both individually and combined, were easily the topic of discussion that night. Everyone who laid eyes on them admired both their good looks and brains, for certainly only the cream of the crop were allowed to attend this prestigious event. What made this feat even more impressive was the fact that they were both so young!Aside from her beauty, Celena's name was already known far and wide in the business world, not just because of her strong leadership but due to her association with Liam and her company's connections with many international corporations. She had started her business from scratch, but within a few short months, she had single handedly built it up to become one of the top ten grossing companies in Drunham City.There were hundreds of people gathered there tonight, and their seats had been allocated according to t
The moment Clifford left, Kastor turned to Liam with a wide grin, all hint of his hostility now gone. "Mr. Cole, thank God I arrived just in time."He raised his brows as he said this, and Liam took this to mean he was trying to claim credit. Truth be told, he would have been able to handle things on his own even without Kastor's help, but he decided this was a detail Kastor did not need to know. Instead, he returned Kastor's smile graciously. Kastor, like a child, burst into laughter at this. No further words were exchanged, but they understood the message nonetheless.Jeffrey also grinned. "Kastor, what brings you here all of a sudden?"Kastor replied, "Ah, you might not know this, Mr. Stein, but I actually own this very restaurant that you're sitting in right now. One of my employees called me for help, citing that a brawl was about to break out, so I rushed over immediately. I had no idea it would turn out to be you and Mr. Cole!""Ah, what a pleasant surprise, then!" Jeffrey
Clifford scowled upon hearing this. He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he stared at Kastor through narrowed eyes.Kastor did not seem at all intimidated by this. Instead, he brushed past him and approached Liam, smiling. "Mr. Cole, I apologize for the delay. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news, but I was late anyway. I'm so sorry for the wait."Liam's expression eased up slightly. He tugged the corners of his mouth into a strained smile but did not reply. Clifford's expression turned even more sour when he sensed Kastor's tone. He asked sharply, "What is the meaning of this, Kastor? Are you intent on making me your enemy?"Clifford's reputation was known far and wide, and many feared him, but Kastor was not one of them. He shot Clifford a look of utmost disdain and replied, smirking, "Yes, Clifford, that's exactly what I'm going to do. So what if we will be enemies from now on? What are you going to do about it?"He was confident that Clifford would not dare to retaliate