Her lips, which were ruthlessly ravaged by Sean last night, stung.Just as she opened her eyes, she was lifted and placed on the kitchen counter. Before he could kiss her again, Angeline quickly turned her head and leaned back with one hand supporting her body.She questioned, "Why do you have so much energy? Aren't you tired? My lips hurt."Sean wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, gently kissing her lips and replying, "Last night, we didn't finish our conversation. You said... you love me."Angeline's ears turned red as she stared directly into his narrow eyes without his glasses.The glasses were like a facade for him. With them on, he was the refined and indifferent Sean, but once he took them off, his eyes revealed a crazy greed for her, stimulating her heart to beat wildly when their eyes met."Yes, I love you, so I won't stop you from doing what you want," Angeline admitted frankly, finally bringing the conversation to the topic they both didn't want to
Sean's breathing was heavy, too. He buried his head in Angeline's neck, unable to control his desire for her. He shut his eyes and held her tightly as if he could cause their bodies to merge. His embrace was so tight that it made her feel like she had a cobra wrapped around her."Sean…" she said. His embrace was starting to hurt.Sean didn't think it was enough. He felt it was far from satisfying his needs.The veins in Sean's hands protruded as he held Angeline tightly. He wanted her so badly. He felt like he could call her his only when he was buried in her. It seemed his possessiveness over her had grown again.Angeline wrapped her arms around his neck and said softly, "It hurts…"Sean immediately loosened his hold on her. He kept his eyes shut as he tried to suppress his almost twisted emotions."Do you find it hard to have faith in me because of my past relationship with Ned? Does it make you feel insecure?" she asked.At Angeline's words, Sean pursed his lips and tighten
Securing Angeline's position at Lawson Global would put both Sean and Robert at ease."Where will you return to after we're done here?" Sean asked."Grand Court Residences. It's closer to Lawson Global, so I won't have to worry about traffic." Angeline's heart started racing even before she finished her sentence. She tightened her hold around his neck. "Do you… wanna come over?"Her heart raced even more once the words were out of her mouth. It was practically an invitation.The hungry look in Sean's eyes made her breathing hitch. She looked down to avoid his gaze. "Pretend I didn't say that if you have other plans."Just then, Sean's and Angeline's phones started ringing. Despite that, he held her close and kissed her again, sucking on her tongue until she was at risk of suffocating.She was dazed when he released her. Then, he rubbed her burning ears and said, "Answer the phone."Angeline watched as Sean picked his phone up from the dining table and headed to the windo
"Oh, I'm not afraid of him," Angeline said with a smile. Despite Brayden's lackadaisical attitude, Sean evidently trusted him. She wouldn't think of anyone Sean trusted as her enemy, even if they didn't appear to be good. She didn't need to fear Brayden.Lara arrived at Glitz Cafe a few minutes earlier than Angeline did. When she saw Angeline, she pushed the proposal toward her and gestured for her to have a look.When Angeline saw that Lawson Global would only receive 20%, she didn't bother looking at the rest of the document. She laughed and said, "I wanted 50%, but you're only giving me 20%. This isn't how haggling is done, Ms. Lara. I don't think there's any need for us to waste our time anymore."She got up without even bothering to drink her coffee."I can only give you 25% at most. That's the most I can offer!" Lara's smile faded. After all, land No. 3 was in a very important location. "I can provide you with some extra benefits in private. It'll be off the record!"
"Well, it wasn't exactly easy. Ms. Lawson has already met with Ms. Lara of Scott Incorporated, the person in charge of the project, several times. They only came to an agreement over coffee earlier." Jamie smiled. As he hurried away, he said to the colleague from the legal department, "Remember to send the contract to me once you're done reviewing it. We have to send it to Scott Incorporated.""Don't worry. We won't delay Ms. Lawson's work!"…Gary was surprised when he heard the news. He and Yvonne were headed into the elevator to the basement parking lot. When he saw they were alone there, he said in a low voice, "It looks like Ms. Lawson's better at this than she seems!"Yvonne rummaged through her bag for her keys. She laughed and said, "But you still think Mr. Lawson's better, don't you?""Of course! Think about how long Mr. Lawson's been around here." Gary chuckled. "He's also the one who led Lawson Global through challenge after challenge—he even overcame Marvonia
"Yes, ma'am!" Jamie said. He sighed in relief as he watched Angeline leave. Then, he contacted Joe.As Angeline left Lawson Global's parking lot, Lenny glanced at her through the rearview mirror. He could tell she was trying to stay calm. He said, "Do you want something sweet to eat, Ms. Angeline? My girlfriend says eating something sweet will improve your bad mood.""You can tell I'm in a bad mood?" Angeline didn't look up from her phone."Your tone's the same as always, but… it's my first time seeing you look like this." Lenny smiled. "I've always felt you and Mr. Lawson are quite similar—you can put up a calm façade no matter what, and it feels like you're always in control. You can even smile when facing Mr. Green."Angeline looked up. Lenny's words made her realize that she and Sean were indeed becoming increasingly similar to one another. She smiled and said, "I think that's an exaggeration."She locked her phone and turned to look out the window with a small smi
Ingrid had called Angeline's number but found she'd been blocked. She couldn't think of any other way to reach Angeline other than staking out Lawson Global.Lenny passed Ingrid's message to Angeline. She glanced at Ingrid's car through the rearview mirror, then checked the time. She nodded. "Let's head to the cafe over there."Ingrid and Angeline sat in a quiet corner of the cafe. Ingrid took the seat opposite Angeline's and looked at her with red eyes. She said, "I've lost. In fact, I never won at all. I didn't want to admit it, but Ned only fell for me because I was imitating you."Tears rolled down her face as she spoke. Angeline said calmly, "If this is all you came to say, you really didn't need to do it at the expense of my car."She put down her coffee cup and picked up her phone to check the time. She was evidently starting to lose her patience.Ingrid wiped her tears and exhaled loudly. She was still choked up as she said, "May I ask you to visit Ned, Angie? Mr.
Angeline picked up her coffee and looked at the drafts on the table. She smiled slightly. When word would get out about her instruction to have Lawson Global call off all projects with Ingrid, she'd probably soon get a call from Simon.Most people in Krontos knew about Ned and Angeline's past. Now that Angeline, the vice president of Lawson Global, had personally given the order to stop all collaborations with Ingrid, the general public would think she was getting revenge and trying to boycott Ingrid.The rumors spread quickly. When Ingrid's agency received the news, all the paparazzi could smell a bloodbath coming. Soon, someone dropped the bomb about Ned and Angeline's past. Ingrid's agency and studio did their best to keep things from going viral.Angeline had just stepped out of the conference room. She hadn't even gotten the chance to speak to Sean when Simon called her. She glanced at Sean and waved her phone. "I need to answer this. Let's have lunch together. I've already i
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