Xavier crossed his arms and thinned his lips. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. It’s been years, Damon. Why do I feel like you’ve never outgrown your emo, b*tchy phase, huh? Since when is it a problem when a dude visits his brother who’s about to be discharged? Besides, Jeanette’s just turned into the CEO of the Godfrey Group, man! Of course I’m gonna come congratulate y’all. It’s what gentlemen do. We’re not savages, are we?”Damon’s mien remained stubbornly stoic.“I’m good, your visit is unnecessary. And mis
As the brothers bickered, Jeanette watched helplessly, finding no space to squeeze any word edgewise. She felt like this was how the brothers had always been since she joined the family. She had never seen the two calling a truce, even for a day. Damon never liked his little brother, while Xavier never stopped provoking the former for his own amusement.What a weird pair of siblings.Damon had made his desire obvious, but his brother showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he moaned. “You can’t ev
Damon’s face was a terrifying sight as he stood behind her.Jeanette was staring blankly at Xavier as he walked out of the door. Then, she felt her face turn by force. Damon was holding her cheeks in his hands, forcing her to look at him.Only then did Jeanette see the ashen look on Damon’s face. He looked very angry.“What are you staring at? Stop staring!” His tone was extremely stern, while his voice was full of rage.Jeanette shrunk her neck. “Damon, he’s your brother. Can’t you just get along with him?”Damon’s hands remained on her cheeks. Her question infuriated him even more, causing him to pinch her cheeks, hard.“Ow! That hurt.” She pursed her lips and massaged her cheeks grievously.“It’s your fault for saying stupid things like that. From now on, you’re not allowed to mention Xavier in front of me anymore and stay away from him. You are to keep a one-kilometer radius of distance from wherever he is. Do you understand?” Damon ordered. Jeanette widened her eyes dazed
Warm sunlight poured in from the window. Its golden light looked especially bright but could not melt Jeanette’s nervousness away. The secretary walked in and placed her fresh cup of coffee on the table.“Miss Leighton, Mr. Godfrey ordered this. He knows your tastes. This coffee isn’t bitter, I’ve added sugar.” Damon had personally selected this secretary to assist Jeanette in her work. Anyone approved by Damon would certainly be top-notch.The secretary placed the coffee on the table, allowing its fragrant aroma to waft into the air, placating Jeanette’s nervousness.She calmed down and smiled, feeling a sweetness in her heart.Even though Damon could not really be there at the office to keep her company at work, he would always support her behind the scenes and be with her. Jeanette’s nervousness greatly diminished when she understood this. She felt as if her heart had been filled with strength.She took a deep breath and tried her best to steady her emotions, then lifted her
Jeanette awkwardly waved her hand to stop the conversation. “Okay, okay. I need to get ready. You should leave. You’re going to disturb me if you stay here.”Xavier crossed his arms, refusing to leave.“Why are you always asking me to leave? Am I some kind of dreadful monster? I’m not leaving, sis. I’m going to sit on your office couch, and I won’t disturb you.”Xavier sat on the couch and stared at her. Jeanette shrugged. He had actually stopped talking, and she couldn’t be bothered to be concerned with him. She lowered her head and focused on her documents.Unbeknownst to Jeanette, as Xavier sat on the couch, he took out his phone and secretly took a picture of her, diligently at work, and set it as his phone’s screensaver.…The first meeting went very well. When Jeanette walked out of the meeting room, she felt extremely tense.She had been too nervous as many people had been watching her in the meeting room. Her palms had been sweating throughout the meeting. She had been m
Xavier put his cutlery down and sighed. “I know, sis. You hate me, just like my brother does. You don’t say it, but deep down, you don’t actually like me. Otherwise, why would you be so reluctant to have a simple meal with me?”“No, Xavier, I’ve never thought of it that way. I don’t…” Jeanette quickly said, guiltily, “I’m just in a rush to get back to the office…”Xavier waved his hand in grief. “You don’t have to comfort me, sis. I know I’ve never been likeable. My parents may act like they treasure me, but deep down, they like my older brother. I’m used to it.”Jeanette felt even more guilty. She suddenly felt as if she had hurt him.“Don’t be like this, Xavier. No one hates you. Oh, alright… I’ll stay here and eat with you until you’re done, okay?” Jeanette compromised, left with no choice.Xavier’s eyes lit up. “Really?”Jeanette nodded helplessly. “Yes, enjoy your meal.”“Oh, this is wonderful, sis. I knew it. You’re the nicest one to me, out of all the Godfreys.” Xavier se
“Cut!” Zeke cried out, holding his megaphone on set. “Next scene!”Mimi heaved a sigh of relief and accepted a glass of water from her assistant. She raised her head and gulped it all down.“You did so well, Mimi. See, Mr. Russo is such a strict director, yet he approved your performance in one take,” the assistant said with a smile.The assistant had been sweating for Mimi’s sake, thinking that Zeke would be hard on her because of what had happened. Surprisingly, Zeke had not used his position to stifle her, despite his anger.Mimi wiped her mouth. Her forehead was drenched in sweat. “You have no idea how nervous I was. Thank God we did it in one shot.”“Don’t worry, Mimi. You’ve always been a capable actress. So even a strict director like Mr. Russo would be happy with you,” the assistant said.Mimi wiped the sweat off her brow. “I can’t relax just yet. I have a few more scenes today.”The makeup artist had already rushed over to fix Mimi’s makeup and prepare her for the next
Xavier pouted and acted thoroughly aggrieved. “Are you angry, sis? I just wanted to get you to relax. I didn’t come here to annoy you. I was going to ask you to share the workload with me. I wanted to reduce your burden.”Xavier suddenly switched into a pitiful facade. Jeanette couldn’t bring herself to show her impatience at him. She sighed and replied exasperatedly. “Forget it. There’s no need. You’re not familiar with a lot of things in the company. I can deal with this myself.”“But, sis, this is your first day on the job too. Even if I’m not familiar, I’ll get familiar with it after a while, won’t I? What if Dad asks me what I’ve learned during my time here, and I can’t answer him? That would be embarrassing. What will I tell Dad then?” Xavier asked.Jeanette paused thoughtfully. “Alright. You can help me straighten out these documents.”She pointed at a stack of documents on her desk. “Review the contents in those documents, then give me a summary of the budget. Try to be qui
…In jail, Xavier stared at Jeanette’s face through a layer of glass. His expression was filled with hatred.Jeanette stared at him and took a deep breath. Then, she picked up the phone.“How’ve you been?”Xavier smirked. “Since my own brother has decided to send me to jail, why has he asked you to come all the way here? To insult me? You really are a match made in heaven.”Jeanette sighed. Actually, Xavier was a very smart man, on par with Damon. Besides, when she had first joined the Godf
In the car, Mimi turned to look at Zeke, who was next to her. For a moment there, she had no idea what to say to him.They had pretty much silently admitted to the media’s claims over their engagement. Over the past few days, Zeke had been making preparations for their engagement party. She had been the one to suggest getting married, but now she was beginning to feel cold feet. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to spend the rest of her life with Zeke.Zeke seemed to be in a good mood. He had
“Damon Godfrey! It was you, wasn’t it? How could you do this to me?” His expression was ruthless. His eyes were filled with a terrifying expression, unlike ever before. He looked like a wild animal that had been suppressing its urges for a very long time.Jeanette had never seen such a terrifying look on Xavier’s face before. She paused in fright as she stared at Xavier from afar.Damon seemed perfectly calm. “You brought this on yourself, Xavier. I know what you’ve done. It’s just that I neve
“You’re overthinking it!” Elias slapped her hand away.Vanessa laughed bitterly. “Oh, I wish I was, Elias. But the facts prove that you’re in love with Mimi Norton. You’re in love with your best friend’s fiancee!”“That has nothing to do with you!” Elias was like a cat who had his tail trampled on. He was tense. He had grown increasingly annoyed now that the heart of the matter had been prodded at.“Nothing to do with me? Elias, do you really think that I was only in love with your position?
Damon reached out and held her wrist. “You don’t believe me? Then come with me.”Jeanette smacked his hand away, looking very stern. “What are you planning? I’m not leaving with you.”Felix suddenly emerged from his room, holding a teddy bear, just as the pair were in the midst of conflict. He widened his large, limpid eyes and looked at Damon at the doorway. His expression filled with immense joy.“Daddy!” The little boy smiled and happily rushed to wrap his arms around Damon’s waist. “Daddy, are you here to take Mommy and me home?”Damon smiled and gazed at his clever son, a god-send, and spoke in a gentle voice. “Of course. Would you like to come home with Daddy?”“Yes!” The little boy’s voice was clear. Then, he carefully turned to Jeanette. “Mommy…”Jeanette frowned. Her heart was a mess. Felix missed his home. He was such a small child and had been forced to endure the conflict between her and Damon. He must have suffered. However, she couldn’t go home with Damon like this.
Jeanette was standing in the kitchen, staring dazedly at the pot of burnt potatoes, looking exasperated.‘I’m such an idiot! I’ve actually managed to burn potatoes… by boiling them. This is completely unheard of! It’s all my fault for being so careless. I left the potatoes to boil and ran off to do something else. I was so busy that I completely forgot about them, until two minutes ago, when I smelled the burnt potatoes. Then I remembered that mine and Felix’s dinner was in that pot. All of the water had actually evaporated!’Jeanette felt a massive headache as she stared at the blackened potatoes stuck to the pot. This was the only food they had at home. Now that the potatoes were ruined, she had no other choice except to take Felix out for food.She scratched her head in exasperation. Felix appeared from behind her, hugging the teddy bear she had just bought for him, and walked into the kitchen. He lifted his chubby, naively little face and stared pitifully up at Jeanette.“Mommy
In a restaurant, the surrounding atmosphere was illuminated by a gentle, dim light, which made it all feel warm and comfortable. Mimi stared at Zeke, who was seated in front of her. She looked hesitant and nervous. She released two soft coughs, unable to say the words she wanted to say.‘Get engaged…’These words felt very distant to her. She did believe that Zeke was the kind of man she could spend the rest of her life with, but to prepare herself for marriage with him in such a short period… She couldn’t bring herself to accept it. After all, she and Zeke had only been dating for a very short time. Unfortunately, Vanessa’s threat had rendered it impossible for her to avoid the subject. Upon careful consideration, it made sense. Since she was going to be with Zeke, why would the time of marriage make any difference?Perhaps it was time for her to truly accept this relationship and start a new life.She took a deep breath and looked at Zeke, who sat in front of her, then swallowe
“Father, even if he is my brother, he should be responsible for his crimes. We live in a civilized society. Besides, he’s worked with an outsider in a plot against our company. You know this. The company wouldn’t have been reduced to this mess if it weren’t for him. Father, your constant shelter and indulgence has caused him to make so many mistakes! If you continue spoiling Xavier, he’ll resort to something even more terrifying in the future,” Damon said with a frown.Christophe smirked in his rage. “Damon, has your search for power driven you mad? How could you be so cruel to your own brother? It’s not like you’re unaware of why I’ve been so indulgent toward him. Xavier has never been of sound mind from a young age. Are you worried that I’d leave the Godfrey Group to him? That he would take everything that belongs to you?”Damon was taken aback. He chuckled bitterly and exasperatedly. “Father, do you really think that that’s what I think? Would you really be bold enough to leave th
The car drove along the road. The driver, a woman, dressed in black wearing a baseball cap, slowly spoke. “What did you say to her?”Vanessa pursed her lips, looking particularly relaxed. “I told her to get engaged with Zeke within a week.”The sound of the car coming to a screeching halt filled the air. The car stopped in the middle of the road, just like that, forcing a row of cars behind them to stop as well. The driver widened her eyes. Her expression was full of rage. “I thought we agreed to expose her affair with Elias? It was a great opportunity for us to ruin her, and you just gave it up?”Vanessa shrugged, looking unperturbed. “Why would I want to ruin her?”“I thought you hated her? Don’t tell me you’re going soft!”The woman frowned. Her expression was filled with anger as if she resented her for not doing any better.She had been planning for so long, coming up with all sorts of schemes to find someone who hated Mimi just as much as she did. However, who would have th