"There's something I need to ask you," Sean said. Brian peeked at the folder on Sean's hand before signaling Usman to leave. Usman left after nodding at Sean as a greeting. He thoughtfully closed the door for them. "Have a seat, Shane!" Brian pointed at the couch opposite Sean before sitting down himself. As both of them sat on the couch, Sean said, "Mr. Lane, I have something here that shows Melissa's heart belongs to that man's sister." Brian looked at Sean. He knew Sean was referring to Thomas, who had almost killed his dear daughter. Sean placed the document on the table and pushed it toward Brian. "Mr. Lane, let that man go, please! You killed his sister to take her heart for Melissa. Just let go of the brother of the heart's original owner!" If Sean came to Brian with the documents, this meant Sean had found out about it. The lingering uneasiness in Brian's heart faded, and a determined look filled his eyes. "No! I won't risk Melissa's future! This man wants to aven
"Then, can you just be with Melissa? After all, you and Melissa are childhood friends…"Brian still wanted to fight for his daughter, but Sean interrupted, "Please, Mr. Lane. Melissa is just a sister to me. I can't see her as my wife. I've already said this back when my parents were alive, and you adults used to joke about the two of us. Melissa will always be my sister, whom I cherish for my life! "Don't worry, Mr. Lane. Whatever happens, Melissa will always be my younger sister. As her brother, I'll always protect her." Brian's expression remained stern when he heard Sean's words. Instead, the corners of his eyes reddened. "But Shane, you know Melissa is deeply in love with you. She can't live without you after I pass away! "Be honest, Shane. Are you still thinking about your fianceé when you were Sean Lawson?" Sean recalled Monica's car accident. He knew what Brian could do for Melissa exactly. If Sean admitted it, no one knew what Brian might do to Monica. Brian and Meli
If Melissa could be with Sean and have each other to rely on in the future, Brian could rest in peace when he died. After Sean left, Usman came into the study room. Given Brayden had always listened to Sean's order, and now Sean had come personally to talk to Brian, Usman couldn't help but ask if they should proceed with the plan to kill Thomas. "So, are we still getting rid of the man who harmed Ms. Melissa?" Usman asked. Brian remained silent. He sighed after a long pause. "Forget it. As Shane said, if this guy really can't stand up anymore, spending the rest of his life bedridden will be no different from being disabled. It's pointless to kill a disabled and make Shane feel uncomfortable! Just…"Brian looked up at Usman as he spoke. "I understand, Mr. Lane!" Usman nodded. "I'll contact the doctor in charge of this man to ask about his condition. I'll ensure he's confined to the bed for the rest of his life!" As long as it didn't result in death, there were many ways to de
For three days, Asher came to Angeline's house every morning, ensuring Angeline worked from home. Even if there were any urgent matters in the office, he had Jamie or Taylor come over personally.Nathaniel, who lived below Angeline, came over daily to send his regards as told by his grandfather, Jeremy. After spending some time together and after Nathaniel and his cousin, Aurelia, helped her when Ned and Ingrid were on the trending list, Angeline and Nathaniel had become close friends like they had known each other for years. Nathaniel would even go straight to Angeline's house after work to eat for free. Asher saw this and quietly told Robert, but Robert felt sorry that Angeline and Nathaniel could never be together. At night, Nathaniel gifted Angeline a new phone that the Hooper Group had yet to launch while eating with her. "If you really like the food my housekeeper made, I don't mind letting you have her." Angeline looked at Nathaniel, who came to have meals for free again.
Angeline remained silent, and Nathaniel continued, "I don't know what Kieron is doing. He's indecisive and keeps going back and forth with his marriage. Do you know that these days when you aren't around, they say Kieron is marrying Lara? "But lo and behold, he's pursuing a new rising starlet. Every day, he visits her at the film sets or invests money in her, causing quite a stir! And then Grandpa is scolding me again…"Angeline could sense that Nathaniel was probing something from his words. She smiled and looked at him. "What you're trying to say is that you need my help to persuade Mr. Hooper Senior?" Nathaniel put on a wide grin. "If you can bring your kids to deal with Grandpa, I'm sure he'll be happier!" "Mr. Hooper Senior tried to matchmake us back then because Sean was still in Lawson Global. It would be a marriage alliance between Lawson Global and Hooper Group if we dated each other."But now that Sean is gone and I'm managing Lawson Global, why would Mr. Hooper Senio
Without waiting for Sean's answer, Angeline continued, "Aren't you worried something might happen if you just call me like this? Didn't you have Brayden give me another phone, telling me to contact you with this? "If you're just here to ask such a trivial thing like my injury, I don't think you should risk yourself to call me. After all, who knows if Dexter may know who you're calling?" If it had been like the past when they used to be at odds, Sean would think Angeline cared about him. But right now, something sounded off when Angeline said these. "Angie, isn't it enough that I called Mr. Lane right before you for an explanation? Melissa's child wasn't mine! As for your friend…" Sean pressed his lips before continuing, "Can we just let it pass, Angie? Melissa is no longer in danger now, and I heard your friend is returning to Lonla tomorrow." "Did the Keman police tell you about the evidence?" Angeline asked. "Or did you get your hands on that evidence? So, does that mean yo
Angeline's voice grew increasingly cold as she said, "I met Tom three months after giving birth to Xavier and Yasmine. It was around that time I promised to help him avenge his sister."I couldn't foresee the future and knew beforehand that you had a childhood sweetheart named Melissa. So, it's impossible that I'd get involved with Tom early on just to compete with your dear Melissa!"Sean, I had never stopped to argue with Ingrid even when she was standing before me, let alone someone like Melissa."Sean's heart was pained by her words as though he had been stabbed by a knife. When she heard the disconnected tone from the other end of the call, she placed her phone aside and opened her laptop. With her glasses on, she stared at the blinking cursor on the screen for a long time without making any progress.After that phone call, it seemed like the two had plunged into an icy cold lake.…The next day, Thomas was transferred back to the country and admitted to a hospital under V
At the moment, Sean couldn't just abandon Melissa, given that she was now frail after losing their child. It would be an easy choice for him if Angeline were to break up with him and get married to someone else now, especially when he was feeling guilty toward Melissa.Considering the doctor's report, Brayden figured Melissa would likely need to stay in the hospital for over a month. Besides, Angeline's wedding wouldn't be held in a rush since she was after all a Lawson and the vice president of Lawson Group.Hence, he said, "How about a month? Is that enough time?"In fact, she did have some potential marriage partners. Nathaniel was a very suitable candidate. Recently, his words had implied that they weren't getting any younger and that a marriage alliance for family interests would be ideal.However, she had her considerations. Rachel was a lunatic.Even though Rachel was currently in prison, she would be released soon. If she found out that Angeline and Nathaniel had married
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