Brayden couldn't believe Kirby had gone after Monica, who was surrounded by bodyguards, despite his condition. He hadn't cared about the consequences at all.After some thought, he decided to inform Sean about this. The latter's expression became extremely ugly when he heard that Kirby had gotten caught after trying to assassinate Monica, and he pursed his lips tightly.Prior to this, Angeline had warned him many times of the possibility that Monica's numerous accidents had to do with Melissa. He'd looked into the matter and had indeed found them to be linked to Kirby.He'd asked Kirby about it, but all the latter had said was that he'd grown up with Melissa and owed his life to Melissa and Brian. He would do anything to make Melissa happy.Kirby had also told Sean that he knew how deeply Melissa loved Sean and that his guess was that Sean's heart was with Monica, his ex-fiancée. Wanting to make Melissa happy and reduce her worries, he'd orchestrated the accidents… but failed to ge
The Scott family was determined to get to the bottom of this matter, especially Lara, whom the rest of the Scotts had wrongly accused this whole time. She kept a close watch on the investigation and swore to prove her innocence.…One day, Angeline asked Monica out for lunch at noon and brought up the attempted murder.Monica said, "My dad's going through a list of enemies we might have made. He's already started looking at names from my great-grandfather's generation. None of them are from Keman!"And why would I have anything to do with Kirby, an orphan with whom I've never met? I'm guessing he was hired by someone, or…""Or?" Angeline smiled, knowing Monica wasn't done."Or… well, I don't know. Our whole family's been racking our brains, but none of us can think of any old grudges against Trustworth Group." Monica frowned. "We don't have many overlapping businesses. In fact, their target market is Marvonian and Yuropian companies while our focus is in Lonla."I really c
"It'd be good if you could settle down with this guy and announce it as soon as possible. Otherwise, countless people will be eyeing you," Angeline said with a smile. "Just yesterday, my grandfather was talking about how sentimental you were."He was worried that you were still hung up on Sean because you haven't gotten together with anyone since his death. He even had Mr. Millstone keep an eye out for eligible bachelors so he could introduce them to you."Monica laughed. "Mr. Lawson Senior has genuinely handed the reins to you, huh? I can't believe he's even in the mood to play matchmaker for me."Angeline chuckled. "Granddad trusts me a lot. He's long since handed me the reins."Monica would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous of Angeline. Although the latter and Robert weren't related by blood, Robert trusted her."You're lucky, but it's also because you're capable of handling the responsibilities passed to you. The fact that you've established Vitality Biotech alread
Sean had to admit that he genuinely doubted that Melissa had lost her memories.Lori hadn't paid much attention to Melissa. The latter wasn't really willing to interact with her. The person who spent the most time by Melissa's side was the carer Sean had gotten for her."You don't need to worry about her," Lori said amicably. "I think she's been quite obedient since you told her off the last time. She's also the same princess she's always been. She knows exactly how to tell the maids to care for her so she's more comfortable."Although Lori was joking, her words made Sean frown. He said, "Got it."The Scott family had kept Monica's attempted assassination under wraps, and nothing had been leaked to the media. Melissa probably still had no idea that Kirby had been arrested.The only news about the Scott family that the media had reported on was that Monica, the shoo-in as Scott Incorporated's future leader, was already dating someone whom her family had approved of.Lori asked
Melissa was evidently taken aback. After a moment, she said, "No, I had no idea.""I actually thought Kirby sneaked over here because he was afraid we would stop him from following you when we just wanted him to focus on his recovery in Keman," Sean said casually, as though he were talking about something trivial.He continued, "He's not fully recovered, so remember to let me know if he contacts you now that he's in Lonla. I have to arrange for him to get proper bed rest, or he might really lose his limbs."Sean deliberately made the situation sound grave to gauge Melissa's reaction. Sure enough, she subconsciously balled her hand, which rested on the couch's armrest, into a fist. She wasn't even in the mood to have the peeled grapes a maid placed before her.Melissa knew the special team of bodyguards Brian had assigned to Kirby to protect her had died in Menko, after which Kirby had been resting and recuperating. Kirby was still hospitalized when Brian was arrested, so there ha
Kirby hadn't left himself any room for escape after this assassination attempt. That was why he'd turned his phone off and hidden it somewhere. He didn't have anything on him to prove his identity. But he hadn't expected Lonla authorities to find out who he was so quickly.Still unable to reach Kirby, Melissa frowned and looked through the news. Perhaps it was because she constantly checked for news on Monica, but she soon saw a photo of Monica leaving a restaurant hand-in-hand with a man.She was dressed comfortably in flats and sunglasses. She held a coffee in one hand, and her other hand was locked with the man's. He was tall, and he held Monica's bag in his other hand. He'd turned to face her as he said something to her, and they were laughing.Melissa was taken aback. The man holding Monica's hand was handsome but evidently wasn't Sean. She was stunned. She wondered if the man rumored to be Monica's boyfriend wasn't Sean.She continued reading the article. Someone in the comme
Sean merely looked at Melissa with pursed lips. He didn't say anything."Why are you looking at me like that, Shane? Can't you save Kirby?" Melissa's tears rolled down her face.Sean said slowly, "I've asked Brayden to keep an eye on things. I need to head to Krontos to deal with something, so I'll see what the situation is like. I can't promise that I can get Kirby out, though. It isn't our turf, after all."Melissa nodded. "Thanks, Shane."He stood up, his eyes still on her. Ultimately, he said patiently, "Be good and remember to take all your meals. Don't throw any tantrums!""Okay." She nodded again.It was only after Sean was gone that she relaxed. She knew he suspected her. Still, there wasn't anything she needed to worry about on Kirby's side. He wouldn't rat on her, no matter how badly he was tortured.At most, he would say the same thing as before—that he'd gone after Monica because he was worried for Melissa when he saw how Sean still refused to accept Melissa.
Sean held Angeline's hand. "I'll deal with this. I'll get you a glass of water.""I want to take a shower first…" Angeline massaged her temples. "Today's liquor seemed particularly strong, and I was in the wind earlier. My head's aching.""Take a bath, then. I'll draw you one," he said softly."Okay." She nodded. "Thanks."Sean drew Angeline a bath in the master bedroom's bathroom. When he came out and saw her leaning against the couch, looking tired while resting her eyes, he went to the kitchen to get her some water with honey.Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw the call was from an unknown number. Still, she answered it. "Hello?"The person on the other end of the line didn't seem to expect her to answer. He sounded choked up as he said, "Angie…"Angeline opened her eyes with a frown. It was Ned. She'd previously set her phone to reject all calls from unknown numbers but later changed it because Kirby was arrested. She'd forgotten to change it b
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