Around 7:30 pm, the other students said they wanted to celebrate Angeline's arrival. So they brought her over to a restaurant opposite the university to have dinner."Professor said tonight's dinner to celebrate our new teammate is on him!" Reese declared, handing menus to everyone."Wow! How happy is the old man to have Angeline onboard? He's being so generous tonight!" Reese's girlfriend, Marion West, handed Angeline a menu. "Hurry up and take advantage of it, Angeline! The professor is usually really frugal!""Get some non-spicy meats as well. Angeline can't eat spicy food!" Alva told Marion, who was ordering.The barbecue restaurant was packed with noise and chatter. Smoke from sizzling meats filled the place as the waiters rushed back and forth between the tables. All of them greeted and thanked the customers as they entered and left the restaurant.Angeline's seniors kept telling her stories about James' adventures finding talented people to join their team. Laughter continu
Nonetheless, Angeline felt amused when she recalled how Ned had only posted those photos to make Ingrid stay."Bah, what a jackass!" Marion despised men like this."Honestly, a man like him is disgusting!""Women are always the victims in situations like this!" Angeline's seniors began insulting the 'guy' immediately, not asking who Jodie was whatsoever. Angeline looked up at the TV again.Juliet was using incredibly bad language in the program. Ian, the host, interrupted the old woman with a cough. "After our thorough investigation, our program has confirmed that Benjamin Emmerson's mother is deceased…"Juliet interrupted the host instantly. "Benjamin's grandfather is still alive!" Juliet yelled, clapping her hands together. "His grandfather only has one daughter which is Benjamin's mother. He has no other kin now that she's passed away! He will never seek out his granddaughter, that whore Jodie! "Benjamin is a boy! He should be in contact with his grandfather. It's that
Marion said angrily, "What kind of tricks do these shameless people have up their sleeves? They abducted the old man's daughter who ended up dying after that, and now they're trying to get his assets?"The TV program was coming to a close.Ian faced the camera and said patiently, "Besides contacting Benjamin's grandfather, we also contacted Benjamin's sister. She has provided us with an audio recording which will be played on our next episode."This was followed by a shot of Benjamin's face, which immediately became cautious. "What audio recording?"The camera then panned to George, who stood up angrily and yelled, "Jodie is a shameless whore who's slept with everyone in her college. How could you believe her words?"Ian remained unmoved. "That's all for this episode, folks. We'll meet again in the next one!""Hey, are they wrapping up this episode just like that? Why didn't they hint at what the audio recording would be about?" Marion asked frantically, extremely curious about t
Someone found Angelina's social media and began insulting her through direct messages, calling her a criminal and human trafficker's spawn.The Family Search did manage to hype up its latest episode's content just like Ian had said. Maybe Angeline would be the one put under the spotlight first.Angeline had guessed this would happen so she wasn't as anxious. In fact, she hoped the hype would increase. That way more people would anticipate the next episode and her plan would be more successful.After her shower, she set her phone down and prepared to sleep. Just then, her phone vibrated.When Angeline saw that it was Anne's number, she answered the call, "Anne…""It's me, Angie," Zachary's voice rang out. "Anne's been in an accident."Angeline's hair instantly stood on end. She got out of bed and began packing her luggage. Her voice still trembled uncontrollably when she asked, "W-What do you mean by that?""Anne got into a car accident. She's at my sister's hospital right now."
"Sir, I have news from Oceanford. Ms. Angeline's adoptive mother got into a car accident after seeking Mr. Fletcher out. She didn't survive," Taylor said over the phone call.Sean tensed immediately, his grip tightening around his phone. "Got it."After hanging up the phone, Sean grabbed his coat from the chair and put it on. "There's an urgent matter I need to deal with.""Spend more time with Ms. Monica." Robert sat back in his chair, leg crossed over the other. He took a book from the table to his side and continued, "You're bound to be the family patriarch. Having the Scott family's support will help secure your position."Robert's implied meaning was that he was immensely pleased with Monica Scott marrying into the family, so Sean had to feel the same way whether he liked it or not.Sean knew it would be a long way to go before Robert would accept Angeline.Being the only child in her family, Jessica had been doted on by her family since young. She had been tormented to hel
Angeline dialed Zachary's number as soon as she left the airplane. "How's Anne?"Zachary didn't dare tell Angeline the truth. "She… She's still undergoing surgery."After hanging up the phone, Angeline didn't bother queuing up to get a taxi. She barged into someone else's ride before anyone could stop her.The driver originally wanted to force Angeline to go back in line, but when she told him the hospital's address with reddened eyes, he immediately drove to the destination. He even consoled her, "Is your loved one at the hospital, kid? Don't panic! We should reach the hospital in a jiffy. There's not a lot of cars on the road right now.""Okay," Angeline mumbled, her fingers turning white because of how hard they gripped her phone.Zachary awaited Angeline's arrival outside the hospital entrance with an umbrella in hand. He paced back and forth as he waited, repeatedly rehearsing how to break the news of Anne's death to Angeline later.But death was death. No matter how Zachary
"Anne… Anne!" Angeline croaked out softly, throat clogged with pain.Tears finally flowed freely from her eyes. "Anne!"Angeline clutched onto Anne's arm, crying. "You promised you'd make me beef stew and meatballs!"She didn't want Ned anymore. She really didn't want him anymore. She only wanted Anne to come back to life.Zachary's eyes reddened as he stood outside the morgue listening to Angeline sob her heart out. He rarely ever saw her cry when they grew up together. Angeline didn't even cry when she woke up from her coma only to hear that her beloved Ned had amnesia and lost his past memories. Angeline had only wiped her tears away and said she would make Ned regain his memories.She had never had such a terrible breakdown.Zachary had thought Angeline was as cold and distant as others said and that she was able to calmly deal with whatever obstacles she faced.Zachary waited outside the morgue for nearly two hours until the sounds of crying ceased from within. Only then
Zachary and Ingrid turned around."Angie!""A-Angie!"Both cried out at the same time.Angeline was extremely pale under the dim hallway light. She was staring fixedly at Ned with bloodshot eyes."You pushed Anne?" Her voice was deathly cold and raspy."Angie, Ned didn't mean to! Anne kept pushing Ned, wanting him to look at some photos so Ned just pushed her a little. We were on the sidewalk. None of us expected a car to swerve toward her!" Ingrid hurriedly explained to Angeline.Ingrid carefully held the latter's arm. "Ned immediately reached out to grab Anne when the car drove onto the sidewalk, but he didn't manage to do so in time. He fractured his arm in the process too. He never expected…"Angeline wasn't listening to anything Ingrid was saying. The only thing echoing in her mind was Ingrid's words from earlier that the car wouldn't have struck Anne if Ned hadn't pushed her.Despair and fury consumed Angeline. Tears poured from her eyes as she flung Ingrid's hand away 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