Angeline walked over and gently rubbed Yasmine's round head. Yasmine held Angeline's index finger and pointed at the peony on the table. She laughed and said, "Mommy, beautiful Mrs. Lawson would be so happy to see such pretty flowers."Angeline asked the elderly man with a light laugh, "Sir, is this flower for sale?"The elderly man glanced at Angeline and smiled warmly. He asked, "Do you recognize this flower, or are you buying it for your daughter to play with? This flower is not easy to care for."Angeline responded honestly, "I only know it's a peony. It's not for the child to play with. It's for a family member. The elders at home love flowers, so I'm picking one as a gift."The elderly man confirmed, "This is a peony called 'Silver Petals', the most beautiful in the country. It wasn't easy for me to raise it."Angeline inquired politely, "Could you consider parting with it?"Yasmine reassured the old man with her chest puffed out, "Mister, this flower must be your treas
Ingrid's panic was hidden behind her sunglasses, especially when she laid eyes on the child. Her grip tightened unconsciously, which hurt Sherryn so much that it brought her back to her senses.Although Angeline didn't expect to see them here, she did not avoid them. Regardless of the Fletcher family's reason for letting her stay with them in the past, they had taken her in nevertheless.Although Ned's parents were often away on business, they always included a gift for her when they returned for the holidays. Their estrangement later on was because of Ned. Angeline's last memory of meeting Ned's mother, Sherryn, was unpleasant. Sherryn had hysterically accused Angeline of holding on to Ned, who had lost his memory. She pleaded with Angeline to stop disrupting his life and felt that Ingrid's status was unworthy of her son. She commanded Angeline to find a way to separate Ingrid from Ned as a way to repay them for the many years of shelter they provided.At that time, Sherryn pro
The unease Ingrid felt grew more intense when she learned that Ned had regained some of his memories. "Angeline is already married, and the young girl might just be tall for her age." Ingrid tried to calm her rapid breathing and steady her emotions. She supported Sherryn on the other side. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Fletcher. We were too late to buy the Silver Petals you wanted. I'll keep looking for a florist willing to sell."Sherryn was not in the mood to talk about the flower now. Her mind was filled with Yasmine. Yasmine resembled Angeline so much when she was young. She wondered how, if the little girl was Ned's child, she could let her granddaughter wander outside.Angeline drove with Yasmine to the entrance of the old Lawson residence. She looked back at Yasmine, sitting obediently in the car seat. Yasmine immediately raised her hands above her head and made a heart shape at Angeline. "Mommy, love you!"Angeline was amused by Yasmine and gathered the courage to lightly step
Angeline was already happy when the doors opened. Robert pressed his lips together. He turned back and saw Jesicca moving forward, smiling.She lifted Yasmine from the electric car. Yasmine hugged Jessica's legs tightly. She looked up and pretended to be shy, rubbing her plump little face affectionately against Jessica as she expressed her longing.Yasmine pointed at the Silver Petals. She told Jessica she liked flowers and had picked them out with Angeline that morning. She expected Jessica to enjoy it at first sight. Yasmine looked proud and sought Jessica's praise.The housekeepers came out to greet them. The group was laughing together. "You're so considerate of Jessica. I'm relieved," said Robert gravely. "But this is not your fault. I lost my daughter first. I gave the villains an opportunity. Without you... Jessica could not have escaped. She might not even be here anymore."Robert was sincere in saying those words. He had never shared them with anyone. The residents o
Sherryn recalled that Angeline was a woman alone with her granddaughter. She was worried about the hardships her granddaughter might face. "I don't have Angeline's contact information," Ned said as he stood up and looked at Sherryn. "Mom, whether the child is adopted or biologically Angeline's, she is the last kin Angeline has in this world. I won't fight her for her daughter!""Is it because of Ingrid?"Sherryn grabbed Ned's arm. "Are you worried Ingrid won't accept the child? Ned... I never liked Ingrid. I only consented to your relationship because you insisted on being with her. If she can't accept the child...""It's not about Ingrid, Mom. Can you please not bring her into everything?" Ned was irritated by Sherryn's words. "Isn't Ingrid good enough for you?""Good for me? Then get married soon and provide me with a grandson! That would be spectacular!" Sherryn sat down huffily in her chair. "You said Ingrid was the one for you, so your father and I agreed. Well t
Ned was unsure of himself. He didn't know how he'd handle his relationship with Angeline if he learned that the girl was his daughter."Right, I'll visit you in Cloudsville tomorrow before heading back to Oceanford," Angeline said, laughing as she spoke on the phone with James. "I'll go straight to the lab, okay?""Great!" James responded cheerfully. "I won't tell them. You can give them a big surprise. Tomorrow is the alumni exchange meeting at Cloudsville College. Many scholars who graduated from Cloudsville College will be back. I'll introduce you. You might find their help useful later on!"Angeline smiled warmly at the thought of her seniors like Reese, Marion, and Alva."These years, it's because of your help and Professor Sharpe's that Vitality Biotech has reached its current state. James... Thank you." Angeline sincerely gave her thanks."What's with the formalities? We put in the effort, but you've rewarded us generously!" James laughed. "The anonymous donation
Angeline went straight into the lounge of room 8918 through a side door. She found only Sean in the lounge. Sean rested his head on the sofa with his eyes closed in fatigue. His glasses lay on the coffee table before him, alongside a cup of steaming tea.In the room separated from the lounge by a glass door, the company executives Angeline saw at the airport were still celebrating. She withdrew her gaze and walked over to Sean. Before she could speak, Sean opened his eyes."Why are you here?" Sean adjusted his position and massaged his temples before wearing his rimless glasses."Taylor had a family-related emergency and asked me to pick you up," Angeline said, bending down to offer Sean the tea. "Are you alright? Do you need me to get you some hangover medicine?""I'm not hungover. It's just a severe headache."Sean took the teacup."I'm sorry I couldn't return for dinner with all of you today.""That's alright. I left after dropping off Yasmine." Angeline sat on the so
Angeline's mind went blank for a moment. A familiar yet unfamiliar masculine scent enveloped her, tinged with a faint smell of alcohol. The kiss wasn't deep, but Angeline felt as though she was suffocating.As Angeline grew lost in thought, Sean released her lips and rested his forehead against hers. "Is that okay?" he asked. His rich, deep voice filled her ears, causing her to heat up."W-what?" Angeline spoke with a trembling voice.Sean lifted his hand to touch her delicate, fair cheek. He caressed her lips with his thumb and asked, "May I kiss you?" Without waiting for Angeline's response, he pressed his thin lips on hers again.His breath, mixed with alcohol, filled her lungs and clouded her mind. She felt her face burn up. She panicked, pushed him away, and turned her head. "You're drunk!" she exclaimed.Just as she pushed him away slightly, Sean grabbed both of her wrists from behind with one hand. He sealed her lips again, pressing her waist toward him with the a
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