"I can't, so you can't either." Liesel was still pregnant with Jacob's child, and Elijah hadn't recovered from his injuries yet. How could they continue?The desire in Elijah's eyes began to fade away. Although he seemed to have calmed down, his tone was slightly teasing."I was too impulsive. Don't mind me." He was clearly the one bleeding, yet he had apologized.Liesel looked down. A faint warmth began growing in her chest, making her feel rather uncomfortable. "Sit down. I'll go and get the first-aid kit."Elijah obediently sat on the couch. He seemed to know that any word from him would irritate Liesel. However, he gazed at the bleeding wound on his chest, feeling somewhat irritated. If it weren't for the wound, tonight…That wasn't true. He might even be the one to stop before they could even go all the way. He clicked his tongue."How did you escape from Cloudspire? Didn't I already arrange with Dr. Johansen to have someone watch over you? How could he let you escape?"E
The room was completely silent. There was no other sound aside from Elijah and Liesel's gentle breathing.Elijah gently carried Liesel to bed before covering her with a thin blanket. He then wrapped an ice bag in gauze before placing it on her reddened eyes. He sat by her bedside for ten minutes. His gaze stayed fixed on her pale face. Liesel appeared to be sleeping restlessly. She hugged a large pillow tightly, proving that she felt insecure.Elijah leaned forward before pushing the hair covering Liesel's forehead to the back of her ears. He kissed her gently on the forehead. "Good night. Sweet dreams." After that, he left the room.Xavier's room was on the second floor, at the corner of the stairs. He had chosen the room on his own. When Elijah knocked on the door, Xavier hadn't gone to bed yet. In fact, it was more like he wasn't even sleepy. His gaze was icy when he opened the door to see Elijah."How can I help you?"Elijah had a faint smile. "You're 15, and that means
"Do you think Jeffrey's really a kind-hearted man? Did you think he would agree to raise you out of the kindness of his heart?"Did you think that young Liesel would keep you at the Sharp residence? You might become a thorn in Jeffrey's side and be slowly tortured to death. She was just looking for a better way out for you. "She didn't want something to happen to you at the Sharp residence, so she kicked you out without hesitation. That way, you can live a normal life. Everything she did was for you. Do you think she was wrong?"Was Liesel wrong? A ten-year-old girl like her had been living in a precarious situation as well, but she was desperate to find a way for Xavier to live a stable life. How did she convince Jeffrey to let Xavier off? How did she beg him?How could a ten-year-old Liesel consider everything so well? How did she trick the hypocritical and vile Jeffrey? How did she know that he would want to ruin Xavier completely?Xavier's eyes glazed over, and his eyebrows
The sun was already up by the time Liesel woke up the next day. She couldn't exactly remember what had happened last night. She was confused. She only calmed down after taking a shower. Whatever that happened last night seemed to replay in her mind like a movie. Heather's dress that had been auctioned off, Xavier being forced to take exams for other students, as well as him being locked up at the villa basement by Zack and Scott. Liesel gently pinched her temples. At that moment, she received a phone call from Jordan."Lili, I've already swapped out Ms. Mallone's dress. The authentic piece is with us at Bromwich, while the one Natalie won at the auction was a fake."That was good news. "When did you guys swap it?" Liesel felt a headache approaching. "Bromwich is our business. Secretly swapping auctioned items goes against the rules of our industry.""Lili, you need to learn how to adapt. I only mentioned that we swapped it, but I didn't say that we did it at Bromwich."Sinc
Liesel stood at the doorway, knocking on the slightly open door."Liesel, you've arrived." Natalie stood up before continuing regretfully, "I intentionally brought the dress Ms. Mallone had designed so I could return it to you. "I have no idea why her dress appeared at Bromwich's auction either. Luckily, Mr. Ford bought the dress and gave it to me. "I can return the item to its rightful owner as well. Now, you don't have to worry about some scoundrel snatching away Ms. Mallone's dress."Natalie had changed the subject while beaming at Liesel. There was no sign of her instigating anything earlier. She handed the dress in a bag to Liesel."Were you worried or just enjoying my misfortune?" Liesel asked straightforwardly while setting the chicken soup on the bedside table. "What do you think?" Natalie smiled tolerantly. Despite her gentle smile, it was clearly laced with hostility.Natalie planned to achieve many things by dropping by today. She wanted Xavier to be the reason Eli
How did all of this happen? Didn't Natalie drop by Cloudspire to mock Liesel? How did Natalie end up being made fun of?Natalie was unable to think straight and didn't even know how to start retaliating. Her mind was in a mess. She even began blaming herself for not thinking ahead before approaching Liesel. Natalie believed that she must have been mad. Seeing how annoyed Natalie was made Elijah chuckle in delight. "Ms. Natalie, you are right. Life is indeed unpredictable. But were you aware that the news of Dash's fraudulent contract will be released today, Ms. Natalie? I'm not certain if your father made any investment. If your father did sign Dash's contract…"Elijah did not continue. He let out a chuckle that was clearly filled with mockery. At that moment, Natalie didn't know how to react. Disappointed, embarrassed, angry, reluctant…Natalie would always be bothered by these emotions whenever she saw Liesel. Natalie tried to smile, but she found it impossible to do so. H
"My father's an idiot as well. He's always imagining that the pie would fall out of the sky. He trusted whatever Natalie said, so he mortgaged all of our houses! Now, we can't get the money back! Natalie, how will you reimburse us?""My god. How could anyone actually trust Natalie? She's not the same secretary who used to handle contracts worth tens of billions for Mr. Ford! Natalie used to study art. What would someone with an art background know about finance?"Exactly. What would someone with art skills know about finance?Natalie was attacked all over the internet. Many small businesses were scammed by Dash, totaling up to almost a billion dollars. All this had already been announced on the legal affairs channel.Natalie wanted to push the blame on Liesel, who already announced earlier that the contract this time was a trap. Only those blinded by the promise of large returns in the future ended up in big trouble. The victims needed someone to vent their frustration on. Since
Jeffrey pressed his hand against his chest repeatedly as he felt like he was going to faint.Earlier, he had sent Liesel a sum of money to prevent her from causing trouble. The Sharp family's cash flow was already tight. All they really had was the real estate and properties Heather had brought with her when she married Jeffrey.In the years since, Sharp Group had been struggling under his management. Sometimes, he had to sell assets just to keep the company afloat.The real estate he had was scarce, to begin with. And now, in hopes of making a big profit, he had sold off two properties at a low price, hoping this investment would take him to the next level. He was even daydreaming about making billions.But just after transferring the money and soon after signing the contract, he found out it was all a scam.Jeffrey's silence sent a loud buzz through Natalie's mind.His silence was the answer. He had really sent the money!"Are you out of your mind? You made that investment in
Edward narrowed his eyes, sensing that something wasn't right.What could make Denzel so cautious?"Will you tell me when we get home?" Edward patted Ophelia's head. The latter leaned into his touch guiltily.Denzel massaged his forehead.Whatever. The sooner they went away, the better. He didn't want to watch them be all lovey-dovey in front of him.After they left, the janitor sanitized the office. Denzel had no more work for the night except for the discussion that he had with Jacob tonight.Just as he thought about Jacob, he called."What does your text mean? What do you mean, 'Sorry for my beloved'?"Denzel was quiet for a moment. "Have you not seen the trends on Twitter in the past two days?"Jacob was even more puzzled after he checked. Besides the news about Ophelia getting bullied by Yvonne, there was nothing else. Wasn't he already handling this matter? Or could there be something else that he didn't know about?"Are you not aware that Edward and Ophelia were trendi
Meanwhile, in the long term, Dash would be a concern. Dash had a lot of nasty tricks up his sleeve. While he might not dare to piss Liesel off now, he most likely wouldn't let Ford Corporation off the hook.Of course, Edward knew all of this.It was because he knew this that he spent such a long time abroad, hiding from Ophelia. Still, he hadn't been able to control his feelings for her. He couldn't bring himself to let go of her.He didn't have any greater aspirations in this lifetime. He only wished that he could help Ophelia reach the stars. Then, he'd stay by her side and protect her. Anything else was outside his consideration."I know the consequences." Edward gazed down at Ophelia with a gentle smile."If Ophelia didn't like me or have feelings for me, I would be willing to just stay by her side and never cross that line. However, I'm fortunate that the person I love also loves me back. "Thus, no matter what the future brings, I can handle it."I think about how brightly
Denzel sent Jacob a text that said, "Sorry about your beloved."Jacob, who was already headed to the hospital to have a discussion with Denzel, was taken aback when he read the message.What did that mean?Before Denzel could explain, the door opened. Inside, Edward was hugging Ophelia.Denzel had a strange look in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back. However, Edward didn't overthink it. He merely thanked Denzel and prepared to leave the hospital with Ophelia.Upon hearing that, Denzel's smile froze. "You're welcome."For some reason, it sounded like he was seething. It even sounded a little like "fuck off".Nevertheless, Edward didn't think too much of it. However, he overheard Denzel instructing the janitor to sanitize the entire office, especially the bed and the couch.Edward was speechless. So that was why Denzel had been so hostile earlier.Despite his typically calm and refined demeanor, Edward was furious and embarrassed. "I didn't
Edward had the foresight to turn Ophelia's face toward him so that Denzel's smile was no longer directed at her.Denzel was speechless.All of Denzel's elderly patients wanted to make him their son-in-law, while the young women would secretly fall for his good looks and dream of marrying him. And that wasn't all. There had even been young men who had been so charmed by his smile that they kept asking if he was also into guys.Therefore, Edward didn't want his future fiance to even look at Denzel for a second too long. In his eyes, Denzel was a seductive devil, which was why he had the nickname "Denzel Medusa".Thus, Edward said shamelessly, "If you're done with the wound dressing, then you may leave. I want to discuss some things with Ophelia and also get some rest."Denzel wished he could cut ties with Edward and have the hospital blacklist him.He massaged the spot between his eyebrows. "This is my office."Without any hesitation, Edward asked, "Aren't you single?"In this
"It's my fault. I'll definitely pay attention next time." Edward felt very guilty and sorry."So you want me to get hurt again?" Ophelia tugged on the silver chain around Edward's neck. Her eyes twinkled.She had bought this necklace for him when she was younger. She remembered that it had come with an oval locket, inside which she had inserted a photo of her getting hugged by him on her own accord.She couldn't really remember what the photo looked like anymore, but she had a rough idea. She had picked the photo that she thought she looked the best in.At the time, she had still been really young, but she had been inspired by a television show. She thought that by giving a family member or a lover a gift, they would always think of her whenever they looked at it.Kids were always naive like that. She thought that since he would think of her when he saw her gift anyway, she might as well put a picture of herself inside.Thus, the young Ophelia had picked out a silver necklace and
As if she could sense something, Ophelia looked up. Her indifferent gaze suddenly lit up, and her eyes curved as she smiled.Edward's throat tightened. At this moment, he didn't know whether to feel frustration or heartache.He had been a little late, and Ophelia had ended up getting bullied by a crazy old woman.Edward walked to her side and squeezed her hand gently. Ophelia had no intention of wasting her breath on Veronica. She was waiting for Edward to come and handle her.She pointed at Veronica and said straightforwardly, "She's bullying me."Without a second thought, she continued, "She accused me of bullying her daughter, Yvonne, which is why she came to stir up trouble."Edward frowned. The Ford family didn't have much of a partnership with the Zima family, and Edward had spent a few years studying abroad. The older generation never got to see him much, so Veronica naturally didn't recognize Edward as Matthew's adopted son.Thus, she just assumed that he was another For
"I'm not interested in getting revenge on a celebrity I used to be a fan of. If your daughter received any retribution, it's only because even God couldn't let it continue."If you have so much free time, it would benefit you more to come to church with me instead."Ophelia was about to walk off when Veronica leaped forward. She held onto Ophelia's leg again and refused to allow her to leave. "No, you can't walk away! Yvonne said that she doesn't have a future in the industry anymore after making you angry."You have to forgive her! Aren't you a fan? You can't just stop supporting her. You have to keep liking her. As the daughter of the Ford family, you can give her more opportunities, and she will definitely be able to rise again!" Veronica roared maniacally.Ophelia let out an exasperated chuckle. All of a sudden, she felt like the entire Zima family was full of lunatics.Unable to hold back anymore, she said angrily, "Yvonne has committed a crime. Do you think I'm moronic enoug
Understanding dawned on Ophelia's face. She seemed to have guessed the reason Veronica was here.She found the latter extremely ridiculous and disgusting."Yvonne Zima must be your daughter." Ophelia directly dropped Yvonne's full name. As soon as she uttered that, some of the spectator's expressions changed. Their eyes appeared disdainful and contemptuous as they regarded Veronica."What's the matter? What's the deal with Yvonne?" someone asked hurriedly when he noticed the shift in the others' expressions.A female student with glasses named Monica Stein was carrying a backpack with a Giselle keychain. Clearly, she was a hardcore fan of Giselle.Giselle was one of the women whom Yvonne had schemed against at the training camp. By chance, she was also this student's favorite celebrity.Monica immediately said, "What do you mean, what's the deal with Yvonne? If you don't know this story, then listen up."Yvonne is a manipulative bitch! During the filming of the variety show, it
"Shut up!" Ophelia yelled in a rage.She immediately asked the food truck owner to give her another cup of coffee before pouring it all over Veronica's calf. She was paying her back an eye for an eye.Agonized, Veronica swayed on her feet. Then, she collapsed onto the ground while gnashing her teeth in pain.Ophelia had been raised by none other than the demon himself, Edward. Since she was little, he would always stand in front of her to protect her. Ophelia knew better than anyone how he liked to deal with matters.After Edward left, she had picked up a few things from him. Naturally, she would never let herself get bullied by others."Give me a serving of fries, a taco, some churros, and a hotdog." Ophelia pointed at the menu items on the food truck and rattled on about her order to the owner, who was gaping at her.Ignoring the probing gazes of the people around her, she minded her own business and brought some fries to her mouth. Only then did she feel herself come back to l