Wendy was not pleased after hearing Sierra's words. Did she need someone to take care of her during the later years of her life? In truth, she did not. Even if she lost the divorce case, the money she could get was substantial enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life. With that, could she not retire on her own terms?"Is it meaningful to talk about those distant things now? If you truly care and love me, you should help me with my current predicament," Wendy said, irritated.Sierra fell silent for a moment and then apologized. "Mom, I'm sorry."Holding the phone tightly, Wendy was furious. She knew Sierra did not want to help her."I know you'll have to rely on Paige and Chris in the future. Since you don't want to offend Paige and Chris for my sake, have you thought about whether Paige would even consider you her sister if she knew what you've done to her?" Wendy said coldly.Since Sierra was disregarding the mother-daughter relationship, Wendy decided not to hold
Chris remained silent. Paige had a point. No one is a saint; everyone harbors some dirty thoughts at some point in their lives. The difference lies in whether those thoughts manifest into actions. Some act on their dark impulses, while others let those thoughts remain just that–thoughts."While Sierra has done many wrong things to me, no matter what, I can't bring myself to hate her. You, growing up showered with love and expectations, might not understand someone like me. I never experienced the warmth of expectations and love at home. I was scolded and used as a punching bag regularly, especially by my mom. Whenever she argued with Dad or Grandpa, she believed it was because of me. Mom made it crystal clear many times that if it weren't for health issues preventing her from aborting me, she would've gotten rid of me long ago. She said other kids were angels sent to repay their parents, while I was a demon seeking revenge. All her misfortunes and disasters were my fault. I was yo
Paige nodded obediently.Chris turned to Ann. "What's up?"Ann glanced at Paige and hesitated before asking, "Do you know who's responsible for Paige feeling unwell and bleeding?"Chris and Paige exchanged glances. They were well aware.Chris nodded. "Yeah."Ann looked at Paige, who also nodded.Then, Ann said, "Shelly's mom reached out to me."More accurately, she begged Ann.Ann and Shelly's mom had been socialites since childhood, so they had always had a good relationship. Later, both families married and had children, giving birth to Shelly and Chris. Ann had practically watched Shelly grow up and observed how Shelly's parents raised her.That was why she thought highly of Shelly and believed that Shelly was worthy of her son. As Shelly and Chris got closer, their families' relationships deepened. Ann and Shelly's mom quickly became middle-aged best friends.Even after Shelly and Chris broke up, it did not affect the bond between the two middle-aged friends. However,
"If you could harm your grandson, why didn't you do the same to your daughter back then?" Shelly asked with frustration.Wendy remained silent.Could Paige and the baby inside her be considered the same?Paige was a living, breathing person, while the child in her womb was just an undeveloped embryo. In Wendy's eyes, an embryo did not equate to a life, so it was not against her conscience to plot against it."You're a useless woman," Shelly remarked. If Wendy had been a little more useful, Paige might not be alive and kicking right now.Infuriated, Wendy looked at Shelly and replied with contempt, "Useless? If I'm useless, what does that make you? You couldn't outshine Sierra back then, and now, Paige. You helplessly watched as Chris and Sierra got engaged and Paige married Chris. You even witnessed them in love, and now, you're witnessing Paige carrying Chris's child. If I'm useless, you're even more so. If you had any value, you could’ve done something yourself instead of forcin
Rory glared at her. "You may say that, but going to jail means your life is over. Do you know what going to jail represents? Your reputation, the Shepards's reputation, and all the effort we've put into you over the years would be in vain. In our circles, those with power and influence won't marry someone with a criminal record."Shelly bit her lip, staying silent. She knew her dad was right.Going to jail would indeed destroy a significant part of her life, but what choice did she have?"Do you think… if I beg Chris, he might let me off?" Shelly looked at her father. "If Chris had even a little sympathy for me or the Shepards, he wouldn’t have gone straight to the police."Rory fell silent.Indeed, what Chris did was too harsh.If Shelly made a mistake, they could negotiate, discuss compensation, and apologize. However, Chris went straight to the police.It meant Chris refused to show the Shepards any mercy.Rory looked at May.With red eyes, May said, "After I found out abou
Chris looked at Rory and shook his head lightly.Rory was shocked.If five million dollars was not enough, how much would it take to sway Chris? Chris said, "Even if you hand over the entire Shepard Group to me today, I won't withdraw the lawsuit. Shelly must go to jail."He stared at the Shepards, his eyes devoid of emotion. Rory was astonished at Chris’s devotion to Paige. He could not understand why Chris remained unmoved even in the face of such benefits. As a businessman, he prioritized profit the most. If he had to swap roles with Chris today, where his wife was harmed and the other party was willing to compensate with five million dollars or even more, he would definitely accept and forgive the other party.Although Paige was harmed, it was just a false alarm.Was a false alarm, in exchange for five million dollars, not worth it?Shelly glared at Chris with resentment. She knew she could not provoke him because provoking him would be highly unfavorable to her curre
No matter what she did or how she had changed, she was still her mother’s daughter and her mother would continue to dote on her as always.Shelly forced a smile and said, "Mom, I'm fine..."May sighed. "Don't mind your dad. He cares a lot about you, but he's just upset right now."Shelly nodded. "Yeah, I know.""Let's go..." May said. After that, the two of them left.… With the Shepards gone, Chris and Ann were left in the living room.Ann felt uneasy, unsure if Chris had taken Shelly's instigations seriously. She did once consider various ways to harm Paige because she did not like Paige and wanted to turn Chris against Paige.However, Chris was ready to head back upstairs without saying anything.Seeing that, Ann quickly stopped him. "Chris!"Chris stopped and turned around to look at Ann.Ann hesitated before asking, "Don't you... have anything to ask me?"Chris asked, "About what?""About what Shelly said… About me plotting against Paige.""Did you do it?""Wha
"Once Shelly and Wendy's cases are settled, make a public statement to severe ties with Wendy," Chris suggested to Paige."Can I?" Paige asked hesitantly.Chris nodded. "Yeah, you can."Concerned, Paige asked, "Won't it have a negative impact on you and the company?"Chris reassured her, "Nope.""Oh.”Chris observed Paige’s expression and raised an eyebrow. "What's up? You don’t want to?"Paige shook her head. "No... It's just..."After all, Wendy was her biological mother, and now that she was about to cut ties with her, she felt conflicted.Chris remained silent. He understood that, despite Wendy's mistreatment, she could not easily sever the ties with her own mother. After all, a natural bond existed between one and one’s mother.Although Paige disliked Wendy, especially after Wendy plotted against her own child, the thought of cutting ties with Wendy and becoming complete strangers weighed heavily on her emotions.Her feelings were complex.There was a bit of joy, hap
The receptionist did not reply. Gloria: [You're in trouble. I can't save you now.]The receptionist: [No, I haven't eaten it yet.]Gloria: [Good thing you haven't. I'm coming down.]As soon as the receptionist received Gloria's message, Gloria stepped out of the elevator.Upon reaching the front desk and noticing the bag of strawberry laces opened on the desk, Gloria glared at the receptionist. "You said you hadn't eaten it!"The receptionist looked a little guilty. "I just opened it and haven't had a chance to take one yet."Gloria sneered. "Haven't had a chance? You sound like you regret it."“I don't.""You can't afford this cup of bubble tea. If you did take one, watch out… You might lose your job."The receptionist paused in surprise. "Is it expensive?"Gloria nodded. "It is."“Good thing I didn't take one," the receptionist mumbled. Gloria rolled her eyes. If they were not on the same team, she would not even bother saving her."Why is this bag of strawberry laces
Chris chuckled. "Really?"Paige's face turned slightly red. She felt embarrassed saying that, and it felt like Chris did not believe her. However, she bit the bullet and nodded. "Yeah, really."Chris smiled and said, "Well then, when you miss me next time, don't just think about it because thinking won't do you any good. When you miss me or care about me, just send me a message or call to check in. After all, I can’t read minds. Also, if you want to hug me, just hug me. Don't hold Hunter in your arms and say you want to hug me. That's just hypocritical."Paige faltered. Hug him when she wanted to hug him? Thanks, but she did not want to hug him. She could easily pick up Hunter, but could she lift Chris so easily? She was not that strong, to begin with."Remember. From now on, when you think of me, send me a message. Ask me if I've eaten, what I've eaten, if I'm tired from work, what I'm doing, or tell me what you're thinking about. Don't keep it all to yourself," Chris said wit
What did he take her for?Besides, what could a woman do with photos? She was not one of those perverted men who did some creepy stuff with women’s photos."Nothing worth admiring?" Chris raised an eyebrow.Paige nodded. "Yeah, they’re nothing worth admiring."Indeed, there was nothing worth admiring about the photos."Ha!” Chris snickered.Paige remained silent and thought, ‘Here comes the snickering again.’"You don’t mean what you say," Chris remarked.Paige frowned. "What did I say that implies otherwise? You're a strange one. You're right here in front of me. Why would I need to admire the photos?"Chris grinned. "So you don't want to admire the photos, but you want to admire me, a living person."Paige blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed. She did not mean that, but what she just said seemed to imply exactly that."How would you want to admire me?" Chris teased.Admire was such an intriguing word.Paige blushed harder. "How else can I admire you? Just by looking,
Before Hunter was born, Chris was the absolute darling of the family. His grandfather favored him, and his parents loved him dearly.However, Hunter's arrival had changed everything. The elders in the family revolved around Hunter all day long. Zander’s first question upon waking up each morning was about Hunter, followed by Ann cuddling Hunter, calling him her darling, and so on.It seemed like everyone had forgotten about Chris.How could Chris, who had always been so cherished, accept that?Chris's expression stiffened as if his thoughts had been unexpectedly revealed, his eyes flickering momentarily.Paige chuckled and said, "Are you seriously competing with a child for attention? Besides, you've been pampered by the family for so many years. Hunter has only been pampered for a few days."Chris retorted coldly, "I'm not competing with him."Paige did not buy it for a second. She smiled and said, "Sure, you're not competing with him. You're just afraid we'll spoil Hunter."A
Before, Paige could not understand people showing off their babies and wondered why they would go crazy posting their kids on social media. Now, she got it. She found her kid to be the cutest in the world and could not help but snap his photos and post them on her social media platforms to share him with others, hoping for compliments and praise for her little one.However, she also understood that posting too much could annoy people. Hence, she restrained herself to only posting once a day and made sure to fit in a couple of photos!That was her absolute limit!She felt uneasy if she did not post her baby for a day. Then, when she saw her friends' comments praising her little one, she felt happy and proud, like they were getting closer as friends.Indeed, becoming a mom had changed her mindset.Chris, who was watching Paige show off their baby on social media, was even more dissatisfied! They had been married for a long time and had a child together, yet his appearances o
After what felt like ages, Ava lay on the hotel's large bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as the sound of rushing water filled her ears. Niel was in the shower. After releasing his pent-up emotions, he headed straight for the shower. Meanwhile, she lay there, her body aching. She did not want to move a muscle because every movement brought pain.Niel was thrilled with the new experience, but Ava was suffering. She was starting to regret getting involved with Niel. He was going overboard with satisfying his physical needs, and she feared that if things continued like that, Niel might end up causing her harm or maybe even unintentionally ending her life. She had heard of such things happening before, so now, she was caught between a rock and a hard place.On one hand, she did not want to let go of Niel and give up on all the sacrifices and efforts she had put in when she was on the brink of marrying into a wealthy family and becoming a billionaire's wife. On the other han
Pierre fell silent, pondering Shelly's words carefully. Upon reflection, he found Shelly's proposal to be pretty reasonable and entirely feasible. If he were to wait until Shelly entered prison to serve her sentence, he could break up with her afterward. Once his relationship with Shelly ended, his parents would not be as angry. Even if there were some constraints preventing them from openly helping him, they could still assist him discreetly. After all, he was their son, who shared the same blood with them. His parents could not possibly abandon him entirely and let him fend for himself. By lowering himself in front of his parents, he believed they would not neglect him. By then, acquiring the five million dollars would not be too difficult.Shelly watched Pierre, not pressing him to respond. She believed Pierre knew what choice to make. Five million might seem like an astronomical figure, but for the second son of the Alfonsos, it was not much.After much deliberation
She looked at the evil smile on Chris' face, and it all came back to her.Did Chris Intentionally take Hunter to the guest room to hand him over to the nanny so that it would make it easier for him to do what he wanted? What a scumbag! However, since it was something she had personally agreed to, she would not back out.Paige did not resist Chris, and a long time later, she collapsed on the bed. She felt like she should have taken care of Hunter and not fallen for Chris' tricks.Taking care of a child was not as exhausting!She was too tired to even move her fingers.The next day, Paige slept until late morning and then got up to go down for breakfast.When Ann saw Paige, she asked with concern, "Paige, didn't you sleep well last night?"Paige looked really worn out."Didn't Hunter sleep with the nanny last night?" Ann asked curiously.Paige blushed with embarrassment and said, "Last night… I wasn't used to sleeping without Hunter, so I didn't get a good sleep."Ann smile
Even if she offered her sincerity, Chris would not appreciate it, so what else could she offer? "Is money the only thing you have? Do you have nothing else besides money?" Chris said.He thought she was truly clueless. Even after being married for so long and having a child together, did she not know what he wanted?However, Paige was indeed puzzled. Besides money, what else did she have? What else could she have?Chris looked her up and down, speechless. Paige might not have understood what he meant before, but she did now. He meant that although she did not have money, she still had a young body.It seemed all Chris lusted was her body."I’m still recovering," Paige said with a slight blush on her face. She knew Chris had been patient for a long time. They barely had any intimacy during the last trimester of her pregnancy, but there was nothing she could do. She did not want to refuse him, but her body would not allow it.Chris glanced at Paige and said, "We can try other