Jerome retorted, "Cut the crap and get home. Mom is waiting for you."After hanging up the phone, Sophia took a photo of the jewelry set and sent it to her mother. Although Jerome was the one who paid for it, she came all the way to get the jewelry. Therefore, this was technically her gift as well.In Zenville, Jerome and Sophia's mother, Myra Michaels, held her birthday party and invited all the prominent figures in the city. Even her friends, some wealthy ladies from out of town, were attending this party.Myra's refined outfit and the jewelry that Sophia had traveled so far to get became the topic of discussion among the wealthy ladies.…Meanwhile, Sasha wouldn't miss Myra's birthday party for anything. She had her hair done in advance and got the most beautiful dress from Noah's store. When she returned home, she even pestered Heather to sift through all their jewelry at home. However, she wasn't happy with any of them.Finally, she found a necklace in Heather's jewelry box
A hint of panic appeared on Heather’s expression. "Ted has always been single. Do any of you know a young woman who'd be perfect for him? If you do, you never have to worry about not getting our jewelry."The group of ladies started discussing which single heiress would be perfect for Thaddeus. Then, they asked, "Mrs. Holt, what's Mr. Thaddeus' type? We do know some women, but in terms of looks, they're not as great as his previous wife."Everyone sighed. "There's no way I can get any jewelry. No one I know is as good-looking as Thaddeus' wife. This is simply a difficult task. Even if we introduce someone, I'm afraid Mr. Thaddeus wouldn't like her!" one of them exclaimed.The others nodded. "That's right! Mrs. Holt, just grease the wheels and ask Mr. Thaddeus to let us have some of his products."Just then, Myra walked out with Sophia, gaining the attention of every wealthy lady present. She was relatively young in appearance among this group of wealthy spouses. With her supple a
Thaddeus felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the desginer'sname. However, when he didn't hear the name he wanted to hear, a trace of loneliness appeared in his gaze. "Put down the gifts. We're going home."He wasn't fond of events like these now. Since Jessamine died in that car accident, many celebrities have tried to cozy up to him. Heather also tried many ways to get him a partner. He found it extremely annoying.…In Hajera, Jessamine treated her assistants to a meal after making a fortune from their first order. This deal had given her a lot of confidence. In this industry, one could make a year's worth of money in just half a year. The profits were huge. But soon, she remembered that Xander was the one who had recommended her to the customer. And so, when she went home in the evening, she sat next to Xander and thanked him. "Xander, I completed my first order. Thank you for recommending me to the customer."Xander replied with confusion, "I didn't do anything.""It wa
The visitor asked, "Did you get the flowers I sent?"Jessamine was stunned. She asked, "What flowers?"Jerome smiled. "It looks like you didn't read the card. That's fine. I'm here to give my congratulations in person."Jessamine tried to remain composed. "You're too kind, sir. We're not familiar with each other, so there's no reason for me to take your gift. How much did you spend on it? I'll have my assistant transfer the money to you."Jerome had expected her to give such a response. He remained silent for a moment before saying, "Ms. Patton, I'd like to talk to you about a business deal. Do you mind sparing me some of your time?"As soon as he asked his question, the quick-witted Carly and Judith quickly hid somewhere, leaving only him and Jessamine in the hall.Jessamine still had a sullen expression on her face. She didn't want to have connections with anyone from Zenville. Moreover, Jerome was Thaddeus' classmate.As an adult woman, she knew Jerome's intentions toward her
Jessamine continued, "Also, please keep our meeting a secret. If you don't, it'll cause me tons of trouble. I hope you understand."Jerome saw the hints of hurt in her expression. That scumbag Thaddeus had really hurt her a lot. He wanted to tell her there were still good men and that not everyone was like Thaddeus.He held his hand to his chest and swore, "I won't tell anyone. Please give me a chance to have a meal together with you. You're Jacinda, and I'm Jerome. This is our second meeting, and we just became friends. So, can we have a meal together, my new friend?"After Jerome finished talking, he added, "Your brother will be there, too. I've already booked a table at the hotel. It's not just the two of us."He quickly brought up Xander, fearing that Jessamine would decline. Since he had said that, Jessamine thought it would be too cruel for her to refuse.She nodded and said, "Sure. We need to leave now. We might be stuck in the traffic if we don't."Just a nod from her was
Thaddeus narrowed his eyes, remaining silent. He was heading to the best hotel in Hajera, after all. It made sense for a pretentious heir like Jerome to be there as well.The car soon arrived at Lakeshore Hotel, a five-star hotel chain owned by Benji's family. Thaddeus was an exclusive VIP with a room and parking space designated just for him.Jordan drove to the hotel. But before he turned the corner, he glanced at the Mercedes Benz parked in front of the restaurant of the hotel. Since Thaddeus told him not to interact with Jerome, he stopped paying attention to him and parked the car.…Meanwhile, Jerome parked his car before opening the door for Jessamine. The two of them had just made some small talk when Xander's car arrived.Xander looked between Jessamine and Jerome, seemingly understanding something. Langston Media had never worked with the Pattons before. He previously wondered why Jerome refused to stay put in Zenville and came all the way to Hajera to beg him to work
Jessamine lowered her head. She felt a pang in her chest when Xander mentioned Thaddeus. The cousins simply conversed with each other, completely ignoring Jerome, who was slumped on the table.Just now, Jerome noticed something was off with Xander, so he pretended to be drunk. Even so, he was actually a little tipsy. If he drank any more, Xander might even betray him while he was unconscious. As a businessman, he had to be cautious when he was away from home.As he lay on the table motionless, he felt sad. After hearing Jessamine's words, she didn't intend to start a new relationship and was adamant about not having any contact with anyone from Zenville.Jessamine's evasive behavior clearly showed how hurt she was. She couldn't recover from that trauma so soon.Jerome's breath hitched. He felt as if his chances of getting with Jessamine were slim. Besides, she had a difficult cousin to win over. Jerome couldn't marry her even if he wanted to. But he soon motivated himself once mo
As expected of an heir to a media company, Jerome was a skilled actor. He immediately leaned on Xander with his weight.If Xander wasn't afraid of this brat leaning onto Jessamine instead, he would've shoved him into the dumpster.Because of Jerome's accursed stunt, Xander and Jessamine took almost 20 minutes to drag him over to Lakeshore Hotel, which was only a few hundred yards away. Xander had never served anyone like this. He only managed to hold in his temper until he brought Jerome to the front desk.Everyone in this city knew Xander. When the worker saw a big shot like him holding a drunkard with a sullen look on his face, he quickly hurried over to greet him. "Mr. Patton, how can I help you?""Bring this gentleman back to Room 9201. Thank you," Xander said. Then, he basically shoved Jerome into the worker's arms. As soon as the worker rounded the corner and disappeared from Xander and Jessamine's sight, Jerome immediately stood up, feeling sober and steady. Not needing th
Thaddeus was dumbfounded. Why hadn't he considered using blood types to eliminate the possibility first?"My dad has type O blood."Jessamine's stroked his Adam's apple softly and deliberately. "My mom has type B blood, and I have type AB blood. Do you think it's possible that we could be long-lost siblings?"Thaddeus thought for some time and couldn't help but burst out in hearty laughter. It was impossible for someone with type B blood and someone with type O blood to have a child with AB type blood. What was he worrying about?At that moment, he couldn't believe how foolish he'd been. Biology was his best subject in school, yet he didn't think about this until Jessamine reminded him. His biology teacher would be furious if they knew."Why didn't you say so earlier, Jessie?" He regretted not talking to her about it sooner and ended up suffering in prolonged silence by himself.After Jessamine got bored touching his Adam's apple, she started playing with his rough chin. "I just
Jessamine lay still for a long time, aware that Thaddeus was also awake, battling insomnia just like her.This visit to Zenville to solve one mystery ended up bringing her an even bigger one.The gathering took place years ago in the restaurant owned by Benji's family. She had even asked Benji about it. The surveillance footage from over 20 years ago wouldn't be around now, and even the staff had changed several times. The restaurant's manager from back then had left the job many years ago.It wasn't easy to uncover the truth from back then unless they found the people who were directly involved. The closer they got to the truth, the more pressure she felt.By investigating this matter now, she was essentially peeling back the layers that had been hiding a much deeper issue. As she confronted the dark side of human nature, the ultimate victim ended up being her beloved mother.If Jessamine didn't look into this matter, she felt like she would be letting Elizabeth down. She wanted
Thaddeus frowned immensely at his request. "Don't be ridiculous!""I'm serious. You could help me rent one too. You know, the kind that charges by the day. I'll fool my dad first. We'll deal with everything else once he gets better," Benji said.Thaddeus cursed inwardly, "Dude, don't drag me into this, especially with my wife watching. It sounds like you're implying I have ways to get or rent women."Thaddeus glanced back at Jessamine and said, "I don't know about this. You should ask someone else. If you're at your wits end, go ask one of the assistants in your company to help you out."Benji seemed to come to a realization. He said, "It's getting late. You all should go back and rest. There are doctors here. I'll stay and keep watch."Jessamine asked, "Can you handle this on your own, Mr. Moore?""Sure, thank you… all of you," Benji replied.After saying a few more words of comfort, Jessamine and Thaddeus went downstairs to the car. Thaddeus' phone started ringing again."Mr.
Maya also knelt by the bed and started crying."Dad, don't speak for now. Please be okay."Benji zoned out. Seeing Carmen and Maya crying, his mind was in a mess. He realized that he couldn't continue to live aimlessly—his family needed him now."A girlfriend, a girlfriend..." he mumbled, not even sure of what he was saying.The doctor hurried to the room upon hearing the call, checked on Jonathan again, and then sent the family away."The patient needs rest and should avoid additional emotional stress. You all can wait outside for now. There's no need for everyone to be here, one would be enough. The room can be stuffy if there's too many people here, too."They then left the room. Benji was holding the X-ray images of Jonathan's brain, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He felt completely lost.Shane quietly slipped away from the crowd after watching from afar. He went to an empty hallway and called his father. "Dad, are you free to analyze some X-ray images? It's for a fri
Benji had always lived a smooth and pleasant life. It hit him hard after hearing what the doctor said, leaving him in a state of shock and bewilderment."Mom, hasn't Dad always been in good health? How did he suddenly..."Carmen's eyes were red and swollen from crying."He mentioned feeling dizzy a few times recently and said he'd go for a check-up but actually never did. Plus, he's been swamped with work lately and hasn't got any time. Today, he suddenly fainted at the office. His assistant called an ambulance right away and brought him to the hospital. By the time I got the call, he was already being examined inside."Benji's face turned pale. With Jonathan down, the burden of supporting his family fell on him. He had been free from responsibility for the past 20 years, and now, suddenly having to shoulder this heavy load, he felt completely lost.His father had been asking him to get familiar with the company's operations a long time ago. However, he was too lazy to bother abou
Benji never had any grand ambitions. From the day he was born, people always told him that he didn't need to worry about anything since most problems in this world could be solved with money, and his family had plenty of it. He just wanted to drift through life."I don't need to surpass him. As long as I can cover my daily expenses and not have to ask him for money, that's enough," Benji replied.As they were talking, Shane had prepared a table full of dishes. He set out four sets of plates and cutleries before calling everyone over to eat. "It's time to eat."The four of them hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they had to have a drink.Jessamine looked at the beautifully prepared dishes on the table and couldn't help but offer a compliment. "Shane, your cooking skills have gotten so good."Shane opened a bottle of red wine and poured some for everyone. "What can I do? There's a glutton at home."Benji was not happy with Shane's comment. What did he mean by saying there wa
"It's great that you came by today, Jessie. I'll pay you back the money. Friends who are willing to lend money these days are rare, so I want to thank you again," Benji said.He hadn't repaid the money he borrowed last time yet. Coincidentally, he received some money today, so he decided to settle the debt in person. With that, he picked up his phone to make the transfer.Jessamine's phone chimed, indicating that a payment had been received. The amount was a bit more than what she had lent out."Mr. Moore, I'm not here to ask you to settle your debt. You can keep it for now. I won't need the money for the time being," Jessamine said."If one borrows and returns promptly, borrowing again won't be difficult. You're much easier to talk to than Thaddeus. Despite knowing him for so many years, borrowing money from him is such a hassle. You saw it last time yourself. That scoundrel's attitude was terrible!" Benji complained.At this point in the conversation, Thaddeus happened to arrive
Thaddeus tightened his grip on Jessamine's slender waist. "What am I going to do with you, Jessie?"He thought to himself that if things really were just that coincidental, he would rather play the fool and pretend to know nothing at all. He just couldn't leave her.Jessamine asked softly, "How about you ask your dad?"Thaddeus paused for a moment and took out his phone to call Corey. He couldn't calm his mind at all.After a few seconds of hearing the dial tone, the call was answered."Dad," Thaddeus said.On the other end of the phone, Corey was about to go to sleep. He had been adjusting his routine lately, aiming to go to bed early and wake up early."What’s up?" Corey asked."Do you remember the gathering over 20 years ago with Mr. Hardy, Jacob Langston, Leon Lincoln, Paxton Loomis, and a few others?"After that, Thaddeus added, "That night, a beautiful woman came over. She drank some alcohol and was drugged."There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the ph
On the other side, Jessamine and Thaddeus got into the car.Jessamine and Beatrice were quite familiar with each other. However, it was Jessamine's first time meeting Sabastian. Surprisingly, she had a pretty good impression of him."Do the Hardy and Holt families have business dealings with each other?"Thaddeus drove as he answered her question, "We don't have much interaction. We would occasionally invest in small projects and conduct some charity work in Zenville together."Mr. Hardy is an upright and trustworthy person. He has a good relationship with Grandpa. Hayden would often come to my house with him when I was young."Jessamine paused for a moment and asked, "Does he have a wife?""Hayden's mother passed away from an amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth. Since then, Mr. Hardy has remained single and never remarried."Jessamine was deeply moved. In this era, who would remain loyal for a lifetime to their deceased wives? Most men like Sabastian, who had both power a