None of that mattered to Liam, though, not until he caught sight of Jovie's small frame. His face broke into a wide grin as he waved and called out, "Jovie, Daddy's here!"Jovie saw him too, the man with the beaming smile waving just for her. She clutched her backpack strap and, with a pout, made her way over to him.Liam could see she was not her usual cheery self, but nothing else seemed amiss. He figured she had not been bullied, maybe it was just the new-school jitters.He slipped her backpack off her shoulders and hoisted her onto the scooter, giving her nose a playful squeeze. "Time to head home, Jovie. Daddy's got you."Just as they were about to zip away, the window of a nearby Ferrari rolled down with a smooth whir.A little boy in a pint-sized suit pressed his face against the window, sticking his tongue out at Jovie. With a sneer, he jeered, "Hey, fibber, did your big ol' bear of a dad come to get you from school? Ha-ha-ha...""That's not true! I'm no fibber, and my da
Jovie kept her head down, pushing her food around the plate, tight-lipped as ever.Celena's own appetite vanished at the sight. She set her utensils aside and exchanged a look with Liam, who let out a resigned sigh. "I'm just as in the dark as you are. She's been like this since she got home."Celena's worry deepened, her brows knitting together. "What on earth happened? Do you think... maybe she got bullied by the other kids at school?"Celena's worry was not unfounded. Since she had decided Jovie would start school, she had been glued to any news about schools, especially the stories about bullying that seemed to pop up too often.Jovie was usually a bundle of energy, but today, after her first day at school, something was off. Celena's heart tightened with concern."Jovie, honey, did someone at school pick on you?? Or is there something else bothering you? Can you talk to Mommy about it?" Celena asked, her voice a mix of warmth and worry.Jovie's thoughts flashed to the taunts
Lara relayed to Liam everything Jovie had told her. As Liam listened, the pieces fell into place, and he grasped the full scope of the situation. On the other end of the line, Lara was met with silence. She mistook Liam's quiet for a sign of guilt. Before Liam could say a word in his defense, Lara pressed on, "Mr. Cole, as Jovie's teacher, I have to say, the way you're handling this isn't right. You can't just tell fibs around a child. She's young, and she believes what you say."I get it, you want to be her hero and make her proud. However, that doesn't mean you should mislead her. Honestly, this approach to parenting isn't working." Lara paused, taking a deep breath before she continued with heartfelt concern, "Mr. Cole, you really can't go on like this. You've got to set the right example. Teaching her to lie? That's going to hurt her, now and down the road." Liam cut in before she could say more, his voice calm and steady, "Ms. Lara, I appreciate your good intentions, but I as
Liam hung up and glanced at the untouched dinner on the table, letting out a weary sigh.He's the Commander-in-chief of Pendragon. Why should he have to play pretend?Recalling what a man said at the school gate when he picked up Jovie, Liam let out a disdainful laugh. If it was a show they wanted at that parent-teacher conference, he would give them one they would not forget.Celena had spent the previous evening comforting Jovie, and it had taken a while to lift her spirits.The following morning, after a family breakfast, Celena left early for the office. She mentioned the company was swamped lately, with several well-running projects abruptly halted by their partners for reasons unknown.So, for the past few days, Celena had been buried in work, heading to the office early and staying late into the night.After waving goodbye to Celena, Liam turned to see Jovie, her little backpack on, sitting quietly on the couch, her mood still downcast.With a smile, Liam said, "Come on,
Calum stepped out of the vehicle as Liam and Jovie appeared. He was decked out in his dark uniform, looking every bit the upright soldier."Sir!" he said with a salute.Knowing Liam had a parent-teacher conference at Jovie's school, Calum had donned his uniform for the occasion, though he had left off the epaulets to keep things low-key.Jovie beamed at the sight of Calum, waving enthusiastically. "Uncle Calum, good morning!"Calum's stern face melted into a warm smile at the sight of Jovie. "Good morning, Jovie!" he greeted her with the same affection.Liam cradled Jovie in his arms as he approached the car, turning to Calum with a question, "Is everything set?" Calum swung open the back door of the vehicle, answering, "All set. Five hundred of Drunham City's finest are ready and waiting. Kolten has been alerted too. He's dropped everything and can head to the school on a moment's notice." Liam gave a nod, settled Jovie into the car, and declared, "Alright, let's roll out."
Then, the boy who had knocked Jovie down and laughed at her yesterday stepped forward with a chilling smirk. "No need to keep calling, sir. Jovie's a big fat liar. She's probably too chicken to show up today."The moment the words were out, peals of laughter echoed through Jovie's classroom."Seriously, hahaha, the so-called King of Bragging must be too chicken to show his face at school now.""I can't even, they're still at it with their tall tales, claiming her dad's some kind of hero. More like a bumbling bear, if you ask me.""Spot on, Jovie's nothing but a fibber, and her dad's just a plain old bodyguard.""Hahahaha..."Before long, the whole room was buzzing with kids poking fun at Jovie, and their parents, catching wind of the gossip, started to see Jovie in a different light, chiming in with their own two cents."I got it straight from my son—the kid's dad is nothing more than a bodyguard, and he's been strutting around school, puffing his chest out.""Yeah, my kid told
Mr. Reynolds knew all too well that Jovie was just a kid from a run-of-the-mill family. It made no sense to him to ruffle the feathers of Drunham City's elite for her sake.He certainly was not about to cross the town's rich and powerful for an average Joe's kid!Lara, standing nearby, overheard Mr. Reynolds could not help but furrow her brow, whispering, "Mr. Reynolds, she's just started school. Isn't this kind of harsh?"Mr. Reynolds dabbed at the sweat on his brow, snorted with a sneer, and shot Lara a withering look. "Lara, are you challenging my authority? Remember, I'm the principal here. What's so bad about what we're doing, anyway? You think we should get on the bad side of all these VIPs over some nobody? You think we can handle that kind of heat?"Without giving Lara a chance to retort, he waved his hand dismissively and said, "Enough, I've made up my mind. Ms. Devens, get to the office and whip up an expulsion notice. Put it up on the bulletin board—better yet, slap it o
A bunch of parents were already hustling their kids toward the school's front gates, hoping to be the first to shake hands with the big shot as soon as they got out of the car.Mr. Reynolds and company had sprinted to the entrance early, standing off to the side with polite smiles plastered on their faces, eagerly awaiting the arrival.They had no clue which parent could possibly draw such a crowd of Drunham City's garrison soldiers for protection, but it was clear they were no ordinary people.As the sleek black sedan inched closer to the school, the crowd buzzed with guesses. Could it actually be Malcolm gracing the Guiding Star School with his presence?However, the folks gathered knew better, Malcolm's kid had been in high school for ages, and the Guiding Star School was an exclusive school for just the little ones, kindergarten through elementary.While Mr. Reynolds and the onlookers were busy guessing, the sedan had already glided to a halt right before their eyes.The few
The entire meeting room was in absolute chaos. The remaining three Elders were equally vexed, and they all scowled, cracking their knuckles in fury."These people are getting out of hand! How can they possibly frame Liam's poor wife for such an atrocious crime?""We must get to the bottom of this! We must find out who's behind this! He or she cannot go unpunished!"Timothy nodded in agreement and roared at his cowering assistant, "Go find out what truly happened! Find out which filthy scum ordered Celena's arrest and what could possibly delude them into thinking she is a spy against our country!"His assistant squeaked a reply, then sped out of the room as fast as his legs could take him. He did not stop until he reached the front door of the Grand Pendragon Department, where he stood, panting and trying to catch his breath. His expression was wild with fear. He had never seen the Four Elders so furious before. Clearly, whatever had happened to Celena was something very serious ind
Keyon could see right through Prince Faber's apprehension. He replied with a smile, "Prince Faber, why are you so scared of that Liam fellow? Have you somehow forgotten that you are the commander-in-chief now? You have hundreds of thousands of soldiers at your beck and call. Why does it matter what Liam thinks? He has been deposed and is no longer in power! Besides, you have the Yeager family backing you, and there is nothing he can do to harm you!"You don't have to worry about a thing; the Yeagers have this all taken care of. We are just doing this to lure Liam out of hiding. If he dares to touch so much as a hair on your head, he'll be falling right into your trap."Prince Faber furrowed his brows at this. He could not help but question the validity of Keyon's claims. Keyon, sensing this, added, "Prince Faber, you must remember that stripped of his powers, Liam Cole, is now nothing more than an ordinary civilian! If he dares to harm you, he will be sentenced to death for treason a
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