"Ned, wait!" said Ingrid. Ned comforted Ingrid, "Don't get me wrong, Ingie. I'm just worried that Angie is addicted to gambling like Tommy." "No, Ned. Tommy frequents this casino," Ingrid explained. "Do you think… she wants to get revenge on me for taking you away, so she—" "No! She's not that kind of person!" Ned interrupted. Words got stuck in Ingrid's mouth as she snapped her mouth shut. She slowly let go of her hands from Ned and asked, "Ned, do you regret that you chose me instead of Angie?" "Baby, please. I don't mean that!" Ned couldn't put it into words for Ingrid. "Even as a friend, I don't want Angeline to get addicted to gambling just like Tommy did." "You can just get Zach to talk to Angie, can't you?" Ingrid asked. Seeing Ned remain silent, Ingrid gave in and said, "Alright. If you must go, then let me go with you." Ned opened the car door and said, "Hop in." Ingrid quickly opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. En route to Angeline's house,
"I didn't mean that, Ned," Ingrid explained in panic. "I-I didn't know it was this serious for you too!" "Just don't interfere and ask anything about this! If Fletcher Corporation can make it through safely, I won't pursue any further with Yates Group," Ned said. "But, if we can't make it through and fail to deliver our promise to VItality Biotech Group, I won't let any of the Yates go away with this." Ned was about to start the car when his phone rang suddenly. "Hello?" Ned picked up the phone. It was unclear what the other person said, but Ned's expression immediately turned scrunched up. "Don't worry. Let me tell them. I'll handle it." Ned hung up his phone, then quickly called his assistant, "Darren, contact the Yates family. Let them know they must let Eastern Pharmaceutical in by the afternoon. "Tell them it is my order. Otherwise, we will pursue them for breaching the contract." Ingrid was worried listening to the conversation. She saw Ned hang up the phone and ask
"Are you okay, Ned? What did Carmen say?" Ingrid carefully asked. "Baby…" Ned composed himself, trying not to vent on Ingrid. "How about you leave Oceanford and stay with the film crew for a few days?" "But Uncle Henry is still in a coma at the hospital. I spent my childhood at Uncle Henry's house. I can't ignore the Yates family!" Ingrid said with teary eyes. "I'll try to raise money as much as I can. But I'm worried that I might slow down Fletcher Corporation's progress. Even if the Yates get another loan from the bank, they won't get the money quickly!"Ned, how about you lend some of Fletcher Corporation's fund to the Yates? Once we've weathered the storm, I promise I'll pay you back!" Angeline had received the news of Ned in a fix for Yates not cooperating with him. Angeline showed no reaction and continued packing her luggage when she knew Carmen firmly denied Eastern Pharmaceutical from getting involved in the project. "Eastern Pharmaceutical had always been intereste
Angeline replied to Billy's message, "You all may follow Lily's instruction and take good care of Tommy. I hope Tommy can return with satisfaction." Just then, the doorbell rang as Angeline sent the message. She put down her phone and got to the door. Sean was waiting at the door with Xavier, who stood silent with a pouty face and arms crossed before a suitcase way taller than him. Patting Xavier's head, Sean said, "Xavier missed you, and I'm free for a few days. So here we are!" Angeline knelt to carry Xavier and reached for the suitcase. "It's okay. I got this," said Sean. Angeline moved aside to let Sean in. Without noticing Xavier's weeping red eyes, Angeline asked Sean, "Is everything in Lawson Global settled?" "Don't worry. Everything is under control!" said Sean. "I haven't taken any day off for years. I've told Taylor to contact you if there's any emergency when I'm away." Sean took off his coat and checked the fridge. "I'll take Xavier to the supermarket to buy
"Hey, Yasmine!" Xavier heard Robert's voice coming from Yasmine's side. Robert wore casual wear and got close to Yasmine. She quickly hung up the video call, worrying that Robert might get angry seeing Xavier with their mother and father. After putting Xavier to bed, Angeline received a notification on WhatsApp. She looked at Xavier to confirm he had fallen asleep, then muted her phone and looked at the message. It was from Billy. The message contained a video and a voice message from him. "Hey, Ms. Emmerson. Tommy is truly a spineless coward. In less than half a day, he had surrendered and said he's willing to be a dog if we spare him." Angeline didn't watch the video and replied, "Just do exactly as Lily ordered, Billy." After sending the message to Billy, Angeline sent another message to Lily. "Lily, try to take it easy on Tommy and don't kill him. A scumbag like Tommy deserves to be disparaged by the public. "After he has received enough mental torture, then we'll f
"I don't care! Tommy became like this because of Ned!" Carmen said. "If Tommy learned from his mistakes, he wouldn't have made such a mess this time! It's all because Ned pampered him too much in the past! "Now that Tommy had made a huge mistake, but Ned isn't going to help us this time? How could he do this?"Carmen's irrational comments dumbfounded Ingrid. "What are you talking about, Aunt Carmen? All these times that Ned helped Tommy were because of my sake! How could you shift the blame to him because he's not helping Tommy this time?" Seeing Ingrid this angry, Carmen quickly grabbed Ingrid's hand and said, "Please, Ingrid. Try talking to Ned again. Didn't you see that your uncle is still unconscious? If he wakes up and finds out that not only is Yates Group not involved with the collaboration with Vitality Biotech Group, but Eastern Pharmaceutical has taken over our factory and bought our machines, he'll be so mad that he passes out again!" "Stop it, Aunt Carmen! Just let E
"Aunt Carmen!" Ingrid was on the verge of tears. "Please, Ingrid. Call Ned again. I don't care if you beg him or cry to him. As long as you get Ned to inject funds into us!" Carmen begged as she grabbed Ingrid's hand. Ingrid pushed Carmen's hand away and said, "I'm sorry, Aunt Carmen. I'm not going to beg Ned again. If you think Ned is trying to scare you, so be it! Keep denying Eastern Pharmaceutical from entering the factory! "I'll pay all of Uncle Henry's medical expenses. You're on your own for the rest of it. I've done all I can for the Yates family." Ingrid turned around and left. "Ingie! Wait, Ingie!" Carmen called for Ingrid, but that didn't stop her. "That ingrate!" While Carmen still denied Eastern Pharmaceutical from entering Yates Group's factory, Ned had already given up on them. Ned wasn't the kind of person who would use a petty trick like intimidation. Ned had given Yates Group to make it up. If they didn't appreciate it, he still had other choices than
"Did Mr. Lawson Senior ask you to help Lawson Global?" Xavier asked as he knew his mother always listened to Robert. "Mom, didn't you like working in the lab? Are you going to give up working in the lab?" Angeline touched Xavier's cheek. "Don't worry. I can handle both at the same time." Just then, the doorbell rang. Angeline heard the doorbell and thought it was Sean. She opened the door with Xavier in her hands. It was Ned who stood outside the door. He saw Angeline carrying a pajama-clad Xavier and stared at him without moving or saying a single word. "What do you want?" Angeline asked. Ned came back to his senses. "I heard you were at the—" Ned stopped before saying casino because he shouldn't mention it in the presence of Xavier. Ned bit his lips before continuing, "Can we talk alone? I don't want to talk about it before the kid." Angeline put Xavier down and said, "I've turned off the heat for the milk. Go wait for me on the couch." Xavier sized Ned up condescen
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