"Tommy got what he deserved. He won't have the chance to harass you anymore," Taylor said as he opened the gate to the villa for Angeline."Thank you," she replied. She knew that it was Sean's way of not involving her and warning Tommy.No wonder Ned had called her. He was probably trying to hold her accountable.…Outside the shabby area, a sleek, black sports car stood out.Ned sat in the car with furrowed brows as he realized Angeline had blocked his number when he heard the busy signal on his phone.Annoyed, he tossed the phone aside and lit a cigarette.On the passenger seat lay the scarf Angeline had left in the car the night before.Ned only found out the drugs Tommy had given him weren't actually truth serum after Tommy was brought to the private room by Sean's bodyguards.Tommy had lied to him out of fear that he might relent.Ned had forced Angeline to take those drugs and insisted she wait for Zachary to come and pick her up.Angeline swore that even if she were t
Angeline intentionally recorded the conversation. After controlling her emotions, she calmly spoke."You're truly shameless to say such things. My mom originally had a happy family, but you people abducted her to Emmerson Village. You didn't give her clothes, fed her only once a day, chained her up in the cellar, and beat and scolded her because you were afraid she would run away."You had even broken her leg. Do you take this as treating her well? She was brought to your house at the age of 16 and started having children after that. You people would abandon the baby if she gave birth to a girl."After taking a deep breath, Angeline continued, "She gave birth to eight children in 11 years and died alongside the ninth child on the operating table. Is this what you mean by treating her well? Would you say the same if you were treated this way?"Infuriated by her words, Juliet reflexively attempted to crush her with the most vulgar words possible."Y-You filthy slut! As a woman, you'
"Forget it. Let's not talk about that." Katie suddenly changed the subject. "Jodie, you and Benjamin are both your grandpa's grandkids. Since he paid for your education, shouldn't he help Benjamin out now that he's getting married?"Without waiting for Angeline to respond, she continued, "Jodie, can't you help persuade your grandpa? We're family, and we really don't want things to escalate to the point of tarnishing your grandpa's and your reputation on television."Isn't your grandpa a college professor? If this gets out, it'll ruin his reputation as an educator."Angeline's face darkened. "What do you want?""I heard that colleges provide a house for professors, right? Tell your grandpa to transfer the ownership of the house to Benjamin. If he doesn't have one, ask him to buy Benjamin a villa in Oceanford. Also, buy a car worth half a million for him." Katie started making requests."It's not that we want the car, but this is the bride's family's request. They also asked for wed
The Emmersons refused to give up and called again.Angeline decisively blocked their number. She began organizing the pieces of evidence she had left behind against the Emmersons.Meanwhile, the Emmersons were grumbling in the hotel and coming together to curse Angeline."That bitch is just like her useless mom! Shameless scum! All she wants is Benjamin's inheritance!" Juliet seethed with hatred."Benjamin, you must perform well tomorrow on the show. No matter what, you have to get in contact with your grandpa. Don't let that bitch get what's yours!""She's all grown up now. How dare she threaten me with imprisonment? I'm her biological father! I gave her her life! I can take it as I wish!" George's face darkened as he spoke harshly.Jay was how the Emmersons addressed Jessica, Angeline's birth mother.Women abducted to Emmerson Village were simply meant for childbearing, so no one cared what their names were.Upon learning that Angeline's birth mother's name started with the l
Many of them among the audience sympathized with this "virtuous" family, expressing their indignation.Ian turned to Benjamin and asked gently, "Your mom left when you were just five. Don't you hate her?""I don't because... my grandma and dad told me that she didn't marry my dad willingly. My dad borrowed 30 thousand dollars to buy my mom. Although my grandma and dad treated my mom well, she had no feelings for my dad and didn't want to stay in that poor place."I understand her actions. It's just that since childhood, everyone else had a mother except me. I really miss my mom, and I want to see her." Benjamin choked, "I want to ask her why she abandoned me."Sure enough, as Benjamin's voice fell, whispers erupted from the audience."What? She was bought?""Is it human trafficking or arranged marriage by the mother's family?""No way it's human trafficking. It should be an arranged marriage.""Even if it was an arranged marriage, the child is innocent."Anne, who had been wai
Leslie spoke slowly. Even now, she sounded like she was lamenting as she said, "The patient's father also went down on his knees and begged me, saying that if his daughter couldn't survive, he was afraid that his wife wouldn't either."He begged me to save their daughter at all costs. But the patient still couldn't make it after the surgery. Later, I heard that not long after the patient passed away, her mother also followed her to heaven. It's really pitiful."The recording of the conversation stopped here.Ian looked at Benjamin and said, "After our investigation, I'm sorry to tell you that your mom has indeed passed away, as her friend, Ms. York, said. Today, we've invited Benjamin's mother, Jay's friend, to come to the studio. Let's welcome Ms. York to tell us about Jay's story."The staff escorted the emotional Anne onto the stage. As she sat down, she recounted how she and Jessica had escaped from Emmerson Village with Angeline's help.She also described how Jessica had fall
Angeline walked out of Oceanford TV Station with Anne, who had tears streaming down her face. At the back of them were the Emmersons causing a scene and refusing to let the production team air the show."You must be in cahoots with that bitch, Jodie!"Juliet sat on the ground, pounding her thighs in protest. "If you dare to air this, I'll jump from this building! Even if I become a ghost, I won't let you bunch of dickheads off!"Hearing that, Anne wiped away her tears and quickly pushed Angeline. "Go now, Angie. As the Emmersons are making a scene, they won't pay attention to you. Hurry, don't let them catch you. Someone from the production team will take me back to the hotel later."Angeline gently squeezed Anne's rough hand. "I'm taking the train to Cloudsville tonight to see Professor Dickson. Once I'm settled in Cloudsville, I'll come home to count down the New Year with you and Henrietta."Anne nodded repeatedly, then pulled out a credit card from her pocket and handed it to
Angeline was stunned. Her eyes suddenly burned with tears.She didn't accept the friend request but only responded with, "No need. Please throw it away for me, thank you."After switching her phone screen off, she stared out the window with a hand on her cheek.Angeline's indifferent face and gauze-wrapped head were vaguely visible through the raindrops on the glass window.She'd thought she'd be able to pursue the love she'd had when she was younger after waking up, as well as find her happy ending. Perhaps someone like her was never destined for a happy ending.Angeline had grown tired after being the only one to keep that promise both she and Ned had made to one another.From now on, she was going to live only for herself.Angeline was grateful that she had survived that car accident. Life was short but vast at the same time. Besides Ned, she still had Anne and Henrietta, as well as her passions and studies.As the train picked up speed, Angeline was given a view of a rain-w
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