Barry was infuriated. "How am I supposed to know Ned got into an accident?" "Just think about it yourself! Why would I call you if it isn't something urgent? Have I ever called you this urgently? I've called you hundreds of times like I'm crazy just to tell you our son is in trouble!"I contacted your assistant after failing to call you, but do you know what he said? You're on vacation with your mistress, on a honeymoon! Ned is in a life-or-death situation, yet you're enjoying your honeymoon? "Your stupid assistant even told me to stop harassing you since we've divorced! What is he trying to say? You'd better fire that useless assistant right now!" Sherryn yelled. "I'm the one who told him not to disturb me if anyone called! He's just following my orders. Why are you mad at him?" Barry raised his voice. "Ned was already hospitalized. What do you expect me to do? Get hospitalized in his place? "All you know is doing pointless things. Couldn't you have sent me a message if I did
Ned opened his eyes drowsily and saw Angeline standing at the bed's end. Tears rolled down Ned's face. He closed his eyes like he was dazed and cried while acting meekly to Angeline. "Angie… It hurts so much, Angie!"Sherryn felt a heartache looking at Ned. She looked at Angeline with pleading eyes. "Please, Angie. Could you comfort Ned a little?" Angeline sighed and looked at the delirious Ned. She placed her purse on the side table before walking toward Ned and patting Ned's forehead. But Ned quickly grabbed Angeline's hand. "Angie… I'm in pain," Ned mumbled. "I'm in so much pain! I'm a terrible person. I saw myself being all terrible to you. But I couldn't stop myself, Angie." Ned had dreamed of his past. He sobbed and sniffed while tears kept flowing out of his eyes, quickly drenching his pillow. "Angie is here now, isn't she? She won't blame you anymore!" Sherryn talked to herself before looking at Angeline expectantly. With a poker face, Angeline removed her hand fro
Angeline remained silent and looked at her watch. Barry and Sherryn sure were a married couple. Both of them were fond of guilt-tripping. Angeline recalled Danny once said, "No one could guilt trip me if I never felt guilt." "Ned had never, ever disliked you for having kids with another man," Sherryn said. "He's always loved and wanted to be with you, even willing to sacrifice his life to save your daughter and break his arm. Is that not enough to compensate for what he did in the past? "He lost his memories! What was wrong with falling in love with another person when he had amnesia? Is your heart made out of stone? Couldn't you be empathetic to him?" Sherryn tried to flaunt to Barry that Ned and Angeline had reconciled, and she would soon become the Lawson family's in-law. But now she was scolding Angeline hysterically without even thinking about embarrassing herself before Barry. Ned grimaced. His nose and neck were drenched in sweat. It wasn't Angeline's fault. Ned wo
"Where's Angie?" Sean asked. Lenny looked at Angeline in the ward and answered, "Ms. Angeline's friend got hospitalized. She's visiting them right now." "Which friend?" Sean asked. After a moment of silence, worrying that Sean might misunderstand, Lenny finally said, "It's Mr. Fletcher. He broke his arm from saving Yasmine, so Ms. Angeline transferred him to Vitality Biotech Group's hospital. "Mr. Fletcher's mom said he had a high fever this morning and kept calling for Ms. Angeline. So she asked Ms. Angeline to visit him." "What happened to Yasmine? When was it?" Sean sounded worried. "Yasmine got kidnapped. It happened when you were on a business trip," Lenny said. "Mr. Fletcher was the one who saw it and saved Yasmine. Although Yasmine only bruised her arm, Mr. Fletcher had an open fracture on his arm. "The doctor said the muscles weren't torn, luckily. Otherwise, Mr. Fletcher might need to be amputated. But regardless, his rehabilitation is going to take a long time."
Angeline sat beside Ned's bed. She seemed to be in a trance. But after a while, while looking at Ned, whose eyelids trembled slightly, she said, "If you don't even care about your own body, the doctors can never help you regardless of their skills. I came today because your mom told me to. Also, I don't want to tell Yasmine you died when she asked what happened to her lifesaver. "I don't want her to feel guilty for your death at such a young age. So, if you really have no will to live, consider doing it after you recover!" Angeline's words were harsh. She stood up and said, "I'm leaving." As Angeline left the ward, Lenny said, "Mr. Lawson called me after you've gone in the ward. He asked me where you were, and… I told him everything." "What did you tell him?" Angeline asked while walking toward the elevator. "I told him about Yasmine getting kidnapped, and Mr. Fletcher saved her," Lenny said in guilt. "I'm sorry, Ms. Angeline. I didn't keep my promise to you. But I—""It's
Before Sean could say anything, his phone rang again. Sean looked at the number and furrowed his brows. He answered the phone while walking toward the outdoor swimming pool. "What? Didn't I tell you not to call me for no reason?" Angeline glanced at Sean before washing her hands in the bathroom. Then, she poured herself a glass of water. She looked at Ned's text message after seeing Sean was still on his phone. They were all apology messages. To summarize, all the messages said were for Angeline not to worry, as Ned just wanted to atone for his sin and had no intention of reconciling with her. As Angeline heard Sean returning from the pool, she opened her email and simply checked it without looking at him. "We should talk, Angie," Sean said before walking toward the kitchen island and placing his phone on it. "Sure." Angeline locked her phone and looked at Sean with the glass in her hands. "Go on. I'm listening." "I'm Yasmine's father. You should call me instead of your e
Angeline recalled the stinging words Ned's parents had used earlier in the hospital when they fought and the accusation Barry had made toward Sherryn. "Oh, please, Sean." Angeline took a deep breath before continuing, "Do you know how panicked I was when Yasmine was gone? I'll be frank. I can't be as collected as you are in this situation, let alone text you to let you know! "Can't you tell how long it had been since I called you when you called me back? Yasmine was saved. What is the point of me telling you this? For some half-hearted comfort from you? I'm sorry, but I don't need those." Sean stared at Angeline with a stern expression as he breathed heavily."I wasn't going to say this, Sean." Angeline determinedly said, "But you were with your fianceé when my kids and I needed you the most. Since you enjoyed spending time with your fianceé so much that you couldn't answer anyone's phone call when you were with her, how about you return to the Kingston family right now?" Sean
"My phone was on mute, so I didn't know you called," Sean explained. He didn't even know when his phone was on silent mode. But he would always be at fault the more he defended himself, so he had to admit his mistake. "It's my fault, Angie.""Then, can you control your jealousy and accept me giving Ned 24 hours of attention starting today?" Angeline asked. "Angie!" Sean grabbed Angeline's face to look at her eyes. Angeline smiled at Sean. "To me, Ned is my family. We grew up together. He was the one who brought me out of Emmerson Village. "He's like an older brother to me." Sensing that Sean had tightened his grip, Angeline chuckled. "See, now you know how it feels. I can't accept you having a so-called 'younger sister' who is more important than my kids and me." "No one is more important than you and the kids, Angie. I didn't know my phone was on mute. I had to reschedule or replan everything because I delayed my return to the Kingston family. But you know it's to spend mor
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