Selena almost jumped out of her skin. She whipped around and slapped the perpetrator so hard that he retreated a few steps.Upon seeing that it was Uriah, Selena looked around before grabbing his collar. Her gaze was fierce as she spat, "How dare you play these dirty tricks? Do you have a death wish?"Uriah's face was flushed red as his chest heaved. His gaze toward Selena was filled with nothing but primordial lust.Disgusted, Selena kicked his leg in high heels. Uriah grunted in pain as he collapsed."Who do you think you are to mess with me like this? You didn't even exist here when I was a rookie in this field!" She stepped on his chest, eyes blazing with fury.Uriah breathed heavily. The pain from his leg gave him temporary clarity. He said weakly, "There was … something wrong with the water I drank today … leave me be …"Selena's angry expression dissipated."Ms. Linton … Check on Ms. Linton …" Uriah continued.…Upon realizing that something felt off, Joey returned to h
Zachary tossed the phone aside. Sensing that Joey was awake, he turned his head to look at her. Joey tried to pretend that she was still asleep, but under Zachary's scrutinizing gaze, she couldn't continue. She opened her eyes and acted as if things were normal between them. "I'm going to call Selena. I'm worried about her."Zachary turned over and reached out to take her phone from the nightstand. Joey stared at his back. Although they had done many things a married couple should do, this was the first time it was like this.When Zachary handed her the phone, she blushed slightly. Joey took the phone and upon checking her call history, she realized that she called Zachary instead of Selena. No wonder he had slept in her room.On the surface, Zachary seemed normal. But if Joey paid more attention, she would have noticed something was different about him. With a thoughtful gaze, Zachary looked at Joey. There was a trace of affection on his face.Joey called Selena, her eye
Watching Joey hide, Zachary continued, "Even in the program, we are still husband and wife."Joey pursed her lips and refused to reply. No one else knew that they were married. When Julia insulted her, Zachary didn't stand up for her. Neither had he said they were married. He would only admit that fact after he took advantage of her in bed.Zachary looked at her. "Are you not going to say anything?"Joey shut her eyes and replied quietly, "It's still early. If you leave now, it won't be a big deal if people see you.""What's the rush in chasing me out?" He glanced at her with his cold eyes. Joey wrestled free of his embrace. She grabbed the blanket and sat up, her gaze demure. "I don't want to bring trouble to Ms. Sanders or make others doubt the Program Department."He snorted without a word. Joey was so desperate to win Selena's favor that she became incredibly considerate toward her.Zachary pulled the blankets over him and decided to ignore Joey. Seeing that he had no i
Uriah slumped on the sofa and said in a wronged tone, "I asked the staff in the Program Department already. They didn't have the medicine I wanted to give her. I used it for my leg injury before, and it worked well. That's why I asked someone to help me buy it."Selena took the ointment and researched it on her phone. Sold in the city's largest pharmacy, it was expensive."Come, let me apply it on you." Selena put away her phone.Joey glanced at Uriah before sitting down. "You have to be honest to stay in this department. Otherwise, you will definitely get kicked out."Selena knelt by Joey and placed Joey's leg on her thigh. She squeezed out the ointment and slowly massaged Joey's ankle.Uriah sulked as his eyes reddened. "Even if I got high and lost my mind, I would never take advantage of you."Joey pursed her lips as she looked at him. She suddenly realized that Zachary was a good judge of character. Uriah was intelligent. He probably realized that her relationship with Zach
Selena nodded. "Yeah, you really should keep him. Anyway, he's better than Zachary. "Aside from sleeping with you, that man is useless for everything else."Upon hearing that, Joey blushed again. "Stop talking about it. I'm not tired, so I'll work on the clothes first."Selena answered, "Sure, up to you."Kent didn't return. Instead, he went to Zachary's room. Zachary sat at the desk and asked coldly, "You couldn't deal with it, could you?"Kent walked toward him and placed both palms on the table. His usual playful demeanor vanished as he became uncharacteristically serious. " I talked with Joey earlier. She thinks that Uriah means no harm."Zachary's hand stilled from flipping through documents. "What is it? Spit it out."Kent stammered, "Then—then I'll say it …""Cut the crap and spill it!" Zachary was impatient.Kent said quickly, "Joey thinks that if Uriah wasn't at fault, then she wants to let it go."Zachary stayed silent.Judging by his response, he planned to g
Kent was about to say something when Joey spoke first. "From the moment you asked him to help you until you gave me the medicine, did you ever leave your phone unattended?"Uriah stayed silent for a while, thinking hard. After some time, he suddenly said, "When Jerome took my measurements, he gave me a glass of water. "After I finished drinking, he made me stay back and chat with him. Later, I fell asleep for a few minutes."Kent licked his lips and said lowly, "Who would know what the two of you did in the room? He can't possibly admit that after you drank the water, he sent this message from your phone to frame you."He paused and asked with a smile, "How would Jerome benefit from framing you?"Selena lifted her hand and asked, "Why wouldn't he? Ruining my assistant's reputation would affect mine as well. "To be clear, he's not targeting Uriah, who was caught in the crossfire. Jerome was targeting me and my assistant.""You don't have any evidence. How can we rely on your
For the first time, Joey rushed into Zachary's room without even asking. She stood by the door with tears in her eyes.Zachary was already unhappy because of the Uriah issue. Without waiting for her to say anything, he said sarcastically, "Are you going to cry in front of me because you're so scared he'll get fired?""Grandma had a fall. I want to take leave to check on her." Joey didn't want to argue with him. She was only worried about her grandmother.Zachary's sarcastic expression fell as he stood up. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you." Joey thought he would reject her request by using work as an excuse. To her surprise, he agreed immediately.Nighttime fell as Joey hurried out of the Majestic Hotel. She paced anxiously in front of the lobby. Very soon, Zachary's car drove out slowly from the hotel parking lot. Joey's frantically thumping heart calmed down slightly upon seeing his car stop in front of her.She had just entered the passenger seat when Zachary asked, "Did yo
"Answer it for me." his voice was muffled as he spoke. He then drew a deep breath, breathing heavily. His annoyance at the phone call was evident.Upon seeing it was from Julia, Joey fell silent for a moment. "... It's Julia calling."Zachary immediately opened his eyes and reached out to grab the phone. He answered, asking, "What's wrong?""It's raining, Zac. I'm scared ..." Julia sounded as if she was crying. Her voice sounded pitiful.Joey glanced at Zachary."I'm not at the hotel," Zachary answered in a deep voice. The previous annoyance in his voice was now gone.Joey thought that if Zachary were at the hotel, he would surely go and accompany her.She grew slightly infuriated and deliberately kicked Zachary on his shin.Zachary winced in pain and looked at Joey with resentment.Joey blinked her eyes innocently."You have left the hotel?" Julia sounded surprised.Julia knew Joey had taken leave to visit her grandmother, but she wasn't sure when Joey would return.How could it be s
Joey shot him a cold glance. "You and he are both the same, so neither of you should be laughing at the other."Zachary nodded. "You're right, but I've turned over a new leaf now.""Let's go. Enough about him," Joey said. She was annoyed whenever Henry was brought up.He had a great girl willing to be with him, yet he was still unhappy. Any other man would have been grinning from ear to ear.They arrived at the restaurant, and while Joey ordered the food, Zachary sent a message to Henry."You should think about this. Joey and Grandma just want you to have someone by your side in the future, which is why they're saying these things."Don't give up on her just because of what her parents said. Having someone who genuinely likes you is rare."From Zachary's perspective, Henry had a pretty good start. Tessa didn't mind his circumstances, so what was he dissatisfied with?Henry quickly replied, "I know. I'll think about it carefully."In truth, Henry found it all a bit troublesome.
Henry was immediately startled and started stammering, "O-Okay."As soon as Joey hung up the phone, she turned to see Tessa, who was crying pitifully, and handed her a tissue.Tessa took the tissue and sobbed without saying a word.Monica had prepared some desserts for her and looked at her with compassion. "Henry has never been in love before. Plus, he's straightforward and doesn't know how to talk properly. There's no need to cry."Joey thought that Henry just didn't love Tessa enough. Otherwise, how could he say such things?Tessa's eyes were swollen and red. Her tears continuously streamed down. "I know he doesn't like me. Maybe he just agreed to the relationship because I pursued him."Joey patted her shoulder. "In love, if one person is too proactive, the other will seem passive. The fact that you dared to love already makes you braver than many.""What's the point? He doesn't care about me at all." Tessa sniffled."Here, eat something," Monica said. "Feelings like love d
No one tried to persuade Henry further, but Zachary continued to say to him, "Come with me to choose a location for the security company. It's worth doing."Henry was a bit speechless. "I'm not even pursuing the relationship anymore. Why should I still think about the security company?"Zachary responded, "Do you plan to cling to Joey's coattails your whole life? Once the business is set up, you can have apprentices teach others, and you can become a hands-off boss in a year or two."With that, Zachary headed out.After they left, Monica sighed in disappointment. "And I here I thought Henry had found someone good for him.""I think it's quite normal. Finding a good woman isn't easy," Joey said.Henry was indeed a good person, but with one eye missing and his job as a bodyguard, it was inevitable that Tessa's parents would worry."How disappointing," Monica murmured repeatedly.Joey didn't know what else to say and could only comfort her. "There's still a chance. What if Tessa d
Joey snorted. "You looked down on me and thought I had no opinions back then."Zachary pulled her into his arms. "Joey, do you like the person you are now or the person you were before?""What about you?" Joey asked him."I liked you from the beginning. Do you think I would have pursued you for so long if I didn't? I never thought you were serious about the divorce. At first, I was angry, but now I just think I was too slow to react."Joey was genuinely angry back then, but he had thought she was playing hard to get.The two of them sat close and watched the movie together.Selena hadn't returned yet, so Joey guessed that she wouldn't be coming back."Selena probably won't return. Hanson is cunning by taking her away with just a movie," Joey said.Zachary turned off the projector and was still savoring the moment as Joey left his arms."They're in love. Otherwise, Selena wouldn't go with him so easily," Zachary remarked.Selena must really like Hanson. Otherwise, she wouldn't
Zachary squeezed her hand tightly. "You're just like an exquisite and beautiful flower."Joey couldn't help but laugh. She pulled her hand back with a little force. "Even though we just had a heartfelt conversation, I haven't thought about being your girlfriend.""I get it. You're Chloe, and countless people are lining up to pursue you," Zachary said in a voice tinged with jealousy.If she wasn't so focused on her work, she probably would have found a new boyfriend by now. For example, Kenneth was an excellent person. If Joey had accepted him back then, Zachary thought he wouldn't stand a chance now.When they got back to Emmen, Joey freshened up and got back to work.Zachary couldn't help but say, "Can't you take a break?""I've gotten used to this over the past year. When I can't sleep at night, I'll work. I find it hard to relax now," Joey said while reading a document intently.Without her dedication and hard work, Emmen wouldn't have grown so quickly.Zachary beckoned her
Zachary felt a heavy weight on his chest as he looked at Joey.She continued, "Even if I accept you again, and we try to rebuild a family, I know things can never go back to the way they were. I gave you my best years, and I don't feel like I owe you anything."During those three years, you ignored my true feelings and neglected me. Do you think it's possible to go back to the past now?"Zachary said, "I'm truly sorry.""I want to fully accept you, but I can't. You all think that the many hurts inflicted on me are something I can just get over, let go of, and move forward from. But I can't."I realize now that people are complicated and hold grudges. I constantly revisit every wrong done to me. If I didn't care, it would mean I don't care about any of you at all."Joey rarely opened up to Zachary like this, but she felt it necessary to make this clear.Zachary watched her silently and felt as though it was his first time knowing what she actually thought."It's like how I don't
Selena readily agreed, "Alright. It's not fair for you to handle everything alone."Her relationship with Hanson was intense and passionate at the beginning, but now that the initial fire had burned out, Selena felt less attached to Hanson. But after dinner, she was still dragged by Hanson to watch a new movie.Joey was exhausted from work and didn't want to move, so she sat at the dining table with Zachary to enjoy the peace."Shall we head back soon?" Zachary asked after a long while.Joey hummed, exhausted. "Let's sit a bit longer.""If you don't want to walk, I can carry you," Zachary said with a smile.Joey snorted. "Do you want Grandma to scold me? Have you even recovered?""Probably not. These wounds don't heal so easily," Zachary admitted honestly. He wanted to please Joey but had forgotten that his health was no longer as robust as before."Let's sit for another half an hour," Joey said as she leaned back in her chair and replied to messages on her phone."You're work
Selena felt that what Joey said made sense and immediately nodded in agreement. "Then I won't consider marriage."Zachary glanced at them and thought that Selena was a bad influence on Joey. Even if they were married, couldn't they still have fun? What was the difference?Around noon, Hanson and Tessa arrived at Emmen together.As soon as Tessa saw Henry, she ran to him and grabbed his arm. "I got out of class early to see you. You're not mad, are you?"Henry was taken aback, but seeing Tessa clinging to him so sweetly filled his heart with joy."Not at all. Why didn't you tell me? I could have picked you up," Henry said.Tessa held his hand. "Why do you have to pick me up? I know where you work, so I can come to find you."Henry nodded dumbly."Tessa, have you eaten?" Monica stepped forward with a gentle smile."No, but my parents want to invite him to dinner tonight. I've already arranged it with them," Tessa said with a smile.Joey thought this wasn't just a regular dinner
Henry had a smile on his face, looking quite pleased with himself. "Of course, she fell in love with me at first sight."Selena laughed. "Impressive! But your cosplay style probably appeals to most young girls, right?"Henry may have only one eye, but he was still very handsome. He was like a cosplayer you'd see on the street.He simply smiled and picked up his phone to check in with Tessa.After chatting, Henry grinned like a fool. "She asked me out to lunch. She said she doesn't have classes this afternoon and wants to take me to her place."Joey felt a bit envious. "You're incredibly lucky. You need to cherish this."Henry nodded as Monica looked at Henry with a smile."What is your girlfriend studying in grad school?" Selena asked curiously."Something related to Eldelish language studies I think," Henry replied, unsure.Joey nodded. "That sounds good."After finishing his meal, Henry sat nearby, playing on his phone.Selena couldn't help but tell Joey, "Is he just going