Angeline nodded and then spoke about her situation with Nathaniel."Nathaniel and I were only pretending to be engaged. We each had our own reasons. Hence, it doesn't matter if we never get married. Or… when he finds someone he wants to marry, we can find an appropriate way to announce the cancellation of our engagement."Just as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang.She glanced at Sean and said, "I'll get the door. You go hide in the bedroom."He didn't make things difficult at that moment. He stood just outside the dining room and watched as she checked the surveillance monitor and mouthed the question of who it was.She pointed downstairs and whispered, "It's Nathaniel."After he went into the bedroom, she opened the door. Nathaniel, like he was very familiar with the place, walked in and started changing his shoes.He asked, "What's going on? I heard you were sick and didn't go to work today?""I'm feeling a bit unwell," she answered, instinctively glancing toward the b
"Mr. Millstone's handling Lucy's salary. If he finds out that you're eating at my place and paying her, he'll report it to my grandfather, and I'll be the one getting scolded," said Angeline as she sat down at the dining table too."If you want to eat the dishes made by Lucy, I can ask her to cook for you downstairs.""Sure! Then you can join me for meals downstairs. It's more lively with two people anyway," said Nathaniel with a smile.Then, he added, "By the way, Kieron is likely to announce his engagement to Lara soon.""I've heard rumors about their engagement, but it's been delayed for so long. Why the sudden decision?" she asked, surprised."They both got drunk. When they woke up, they found themselves in bed together, unclothed. Neither of them could explain what happened. Someone saw them and reported it to their families. This incident was likely the reason the engagement was pushed forward," he said with a smile."Kieron was quite frustrated when he called me. He was st
"Alright then…" Nathaniel said and nodded. "I'll head to the office now. Can I come by for dinner later this evening?""I have things to do later. Send me your house password, and I'll have Lucy cook at your place. Do you have ingredients in the fridge?" Angeline asked."The fridge is restocked daily. I use the same service as you do, so just let Lucy know to come over," he replied.After sending the house password to her, he grabbed his suit jacket and said, "If you feel unwell, don't hesitate to call me. I'll take you to the hospital.""Okay!"As soon as the door closed behind Nathaniel, Sean came out of the bedroom."Canceling the engagement without affecting Hooper Group isn't difficult. Announce the cancellation while simultaneously revealing a new collaboration project with Lawson Global. The stock price will dip but will stabilize and rise again," he said with a frown."There's no rush. I was just giving Nathaniel a heads-up to prepare him," she replied, standing up to cl
Seeing Sean was about to speak, Angeline interrupted, "Before you confirm the truth, don't reveal our relationship to Melissa or your aunt. I don't mind, but I'm concerned about the children's safety."It had only been less than a year since Monica's accident. Lara, the eldest daughter of the Scotts, had also withdrawn from the succession battle because of that car crash. She had been having a difficult time since then, being suspected by her whole family.Regardless of the situation, Angeline believed that Melissa had a touch of madness. Since Sean was protecting her and she couldn't be touched, it was best not to let her know."Okay," Sean agreed. "I'll settle Melissa down and then make a trip to Keman. I'll be back soon.""Are you planning to shift the focus of Kingston Empire back to the country?" she asked."Yes," he replied with a smile. "You and the kids won't follow me abroad, so I have to find a way to return."Besides, Sean felt a sense of duty to Robert, who had rais
Lori even knew that Sean hadn't told her before everything ended about his wife back home or the fake marriage with Melissa because he feared it would affect the person he cherished in his homeland."She understands me very well. She knows that I see Melissa only as a sister and that I must take care of her."She shook her head and said, "Shane, you've always been smart, but you don't understand women enough. If your wife says she understands you, either she doesn't love you and doesn't care at all, or she's in the process of giving up on you."Sean pursed his lips, unable to deny the fact out loud.He raised his eyes gently and said, "She loves me, and I'm sure of it. Besides me, she won't be with anyone else. There's no other men around her too.""In one's life, there's more than just love. There are so many other things!" Lori said as she picked up her teacup from the corner of the table."Even if there's no other man around her, she still has work and family to take care of.
Melissa was curled up in the hanging chair on the balcony like a ball, looking wilted and drained, likely due to not eating since last night until now.The nanny specifically assigned to care for her squatted nearby, softly coaxing her to eat something. When Sean pushed open the door and entered, she quickly stood up."Mr. Kingston…"Upon hearing this, Melissa immediately turned her head toward the door. When she saw him, her large eyes filled with tears, and she choked up, "Shane!"Sean walked up to her, looked at the oatmeal brought by the nanny, and asked, "Why aren't you eating?""If you don't come, I won't eat! I'll starve myself!" she said, as willful as she was in her childhood. "You promised me that you'd always eat with me from now on, but you lied."If you go on a business trip, I'll go with you. If you don't take me, I'll starve!" Her voice carried a childish determination."Melissa," Sean sighed softly and watched tears roll down her cheeks. Eventually, he said, "L
"But I want my dad to be free!" Melissa shouted.She couldn't stop crying when she thought about her elderly father suffering in prison."Can't we spend money to get him out? No matter how much it costs!"Sean said softly, "Melissa, Mr. Lane wants to atone for what he's done. He told me this himself. He wants to make amends while he's alive so that he can face your mom and my dad in the afterlife with dignity."He must have told you that your mom was a very kind and righteous person. He loved your mom his entire life. Despite his mistakes, he wants to meet her guilt-free."You're his daughter. You should understand him."Hearing this, Melissa stared at him with red and vulnerable eyes, tears streaming down her face. In her heart, she understood her father but still felt deeply pained. She knew how much he loved her mother.The love he gave her was an extension of his love for her mother. Since her mother was no longer there, he projected his love onto her. She believed that he l
If Sean hadn't arrived in time, Kirby would have been dead already. Even now, his injuries hadn't fully healed. Although his right hand was saved, it couldn't perform delicate movements, and while he could walk normally, he couldn't move quickly. The trip to Menko nearly turned him into a half-cripple.However, as Brayden had said, he was a mad dog by Melissa's side because he was crazy and reckless enough. He would fulfill all her orders even if it meant his death.This time, she had ordered him not to make any mistakes. This would mean that he had to kill Monica, even at the cost of his own life.He was currently still in Krontos. After receiving the order, he put down his hamburger and immediately sprang into action. He left the restaurant, put on his hood, and walked through the rain, his eyes filled with murderous intent.He didn't understand why Monica was so lucky to have survived several assassination attempts. Melissa was furious. So, even if it cost him his life, he was
As soon as the words were out of Angeline's mouth, the sound of lounge slippers padding across the floor rang out. Yasmine ignored the shock on Ned's face and turned to reach for Sean. "Hold me, Daddy!"Sean smiled and lifted her into his arms. Then, he stood beside Angeline and looked at Ned imperiously. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Fletcher. I'm Shane Kingston. Thank you for pushing Angie away in the past—it led to my relationship with her."Ned knew precisely who "Shane" was. Just a few days ago, he'd seen the news about Melissa's press conference explaining her relationship with "Shane".His mind buzzed. He knew Sean and Shane looked similar enough for Dexter's men to have gotten the wrong person. However, he hadn't expected "Shane" to have anything to do with Angeline!"You… Are you the kids' father?" Ned's voice was incredibly shaky."Yes, and again, thank you for that!" Sean smiled. "We've never told anyone about this because I didn't want to endanger Angie and the kids.
Sean didn't give Angeline the chance to finish. "You were right to bring this up to me!"He wrapped his arms around her from behind and continued, "You and the kids will always be my main priority. I know I said I want Melissa to remain safe and happy under my watch, but my feelings for her are purely familial love."She's family to me, and I must care for her. But you and the kids mean more to me than anything else in the world, including her."His honesty made Angeline feel slightly more at ease. She said, "Those are your words, not mine…""I swear on my life that I mean every word." He pressed a kiss to her head. "Can I stay here tonight? I want to sleep with you and the kids. Also, I came from Brayden's place upstairs, so no one will know I'm here.""Granddad made it clear that if anyone finds out about this, he won't allow the kids to see you anymore.""Got it. Don't worry about a thing. Mr. Lawson Senior raised me, and I owe him for that. I won't put him in a tough
Angeline nodded without saying anything. Once Nathaniel was gone, she received a call from Sean."Now that everything has been taken care of, I want to give you a gift," he said, the smile in his tone evident. "Can you have the kids spend Friday night at Grand Court Residences? I want to show all three of you my gift on Saturday."He missed Yasmine and Xavier terribly. Before resolving the issue with Melissa, he hadn't dared to say he wanted to see them. Even if Angeline were okay with it, Robert probably would've objected to his wishes. Now that the dust had settled, he couldn't wait to see them."I don't call the shots regarding the kids now. I'll have to ask Granddad," Angeline said."I'll talk to him about it." Sean was worried Robert would take his anger out on her. "This all started because I insisted on being with you, so I'll handle it. I'll visit Mr. Lawson Senior later today."Angeline didn't know how Sean's conversation with Robert went, but Robert had Asher drop
That night, Melissa called Sean. "Shane, let's publicly announce our divorce. We can tell everyone that we only got married on paper so the Lane family could offer you its protection."Tell them that Dexter repeatedly tried to harm you so he could take the Kingston family fortune, and tell them how he tried to snatch you from the Lane family so he could secretly deal with you."She paused, then continued, "Now that Dexter's in prison, we can get a divorce, and Lori can adopt me as her daughter. We'll become cousins, and we'll still be a family.""Melissa…"Sean was surprised. He didn't expect her to see the light in such a short time."Since you don't have any feelings for me and won't ever make me your wife, I'll settle to be Lori's daughter. That way, you'll always be my family!" Tears streamed down Melissa's face as she spoke. "I adore Lori and want to be her daughter.""Alright," Sean said."Can you head to Keman with me, then? We can visit Dad together before getting
Melissa stared at Lori, who chuckled gently. "It's alright. There's no need to rush into anything. Take your time to think about it. Get good rest for a few days, then go shopping with me. We can buy some clothes to keep up with the changing seasons."I heard from Brayden and Sean that you're the expert in fashion and dressing up. I've always wanted a daughter who could shop, exercise, travel, café hop, and go on spa days with me."She paused and continued, "I didn't get to do any of this with you because you weren't in the best state before this. Now, though, you're all better. You're back to normal, and you've regained your memories!""I'd love that!" Melissa said without hesitation. She'd only done these things with her mother and Emelia in her dreams, but that was all they were—dreams. She was delighted now that Lori was back and willing to make her dreams come true.Sean sat on the couch and sipped his coffee. He knew Lori was doing everything she could to make his life ea
Melissa nodded. Sean said, "I know you have no company management experience. Mr. Lane might have entrusted Trustworth Group to me, but it's still yours. Before you find someone to take over, my plan for the company is still to move its focus back to Lonla."The global situation isn't the best now, and Lonla is the safest place for expansion. That's why the company's focus has to return to Lonla—""You can hand the company over to Brayden," Melissa interrupted. "The only people in this world I trust are you, Dad, and Brayden. Now that Dad's in prison and you don't want me anymore, Brayden is all I have left.""I'm still your kin, Melissa. I won't kick you to the curb and leave you to die. Nevertheless, Trustworth Group is yours. You can have whoever you want to manage it. Brayden is capable of that." Sean looked at Brayden. "What do you think? Are you willing to take over Trustworth Group?""I'll do it as long as Melissa is okay with it!" Brayden nodded. He turned to look
"That's not it! I've always been willing to care for you, and I'm more than willing to care for you in the future! It's not something that I'm forced to do…" Brayden feared his words would inadvertently hurt Melissa, so he decided not to continue in that vein.He said, "C'mon, you should head downstairs to eat something. You've already slept the day away.""I don't want to eat!" Melissa lay down again and pulled the sheets around herself. She said dully, "I want to sleep for a bit longer. Shut the door on your way out."Seeing that she'd already shut her eyes and started weeping, Brayden said softly, "I'll have the kitchen keep the food warm for you. Remember to call me when you wake up, okay? I'll be right downstairs!""Okay." Brayden left the room after hearing Melissa's muffled reply. He shut the door behind him.Melissa remained upstairs. She didn't head downstairs, even when Sean returned. Sean had already spoken to Angeline on the phone and told her he wouldn't meet
Melissa slept in her room and only woke up at night. She removed her headphones and opened her red, swollen eyes. She stared dazedly at the night sky, only returning to her senses when her headphones fell out of her hands.Brayden, who'd been waiting outside this whole time, heard them fall to the floor and hurried into the room. He saw Melissa sitting cross-legged on the bed. She propped herself on one arm while leaning down to pick up the headphones.He hurried forward and picked them up for her, then remained on one knee by the bed. He looked up at her and said, "You slept for ages, Melissa. Do you want to have anything to eat? I got all your favorites, and there are different cuisines. I also got your favorite fruits and snacks!"He'd already had the maids throw out the food he'd bought at noon. Then, he'd had his subordinate buy a fresh batch.Melissa turned to look at him dazedly. She said hoarsely, "Brayden…""I'm here," he said. "C'mon, should we get something to eat
Melissa knew Sean well. So, it was impossible for her not to know if he was being serious. Sean was indeed threatening her, and he was using his life to do it. That way, she wouldn't dare to harm Angeline for fear of hurting him.She loved Sean so much that she could give up her life for him. She wondered why he was treating her that way. He knew she wouldn't allow even the slightest possibility of her threatening his safety.Just then, Sean received a call from Brayden. He said, "...Yeah, I've already picked Melissa up. We're heading to Southstream Manor now… Yeah, you can head over there. Buy some food on your way—Melissa probably hasn't eaten anything yet. She should be hungry."At his words, Melissa couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She covered her face and started sobbing. She'd spent her whole life dreaming of becoming Sean's wife, but he was now in love with someone else and no longer wanted her.Yet, she couldn't do anything about the situation, or she'd be hurting