Ned clenched his fists. His expression was dark and indiscernible. "Could you share how Gregory learned about my pregnancy?" Angeline asked. "I checked his phone. Your labmates were talking about taking care of you or something along those lines in the chat group."From that, Angeline was sure Alva saw the pregnancy test strips in the bin. "Thanks," she replied, wrapping her jacket tightly around her as she left. Ned was surprisingly composed when she left, possibly because he felt guilt over her pregnancy. He stood still as he watched her go.Angeline ran into Alva when she entered the dormitory building. She had two servings of supper with her as she looked at Angeline with concern."Angie, um… Gregory's cousin, and you…" Alva muttered hesitantly. Alva noticed the light was still on in Angeline's room, so she headed downstairs to get some supper, worried that Angeline might be hungry. She was appalled to see Gregory's cousin dragging Angeline into a corner. Although Al
Angeline instantly locked her phone screen. Her heart was pounding heavily. She recalled the bruises she saw on Henrietta's wrists when she fell asleep on the dining table. However, she found no other wounds on Henrietta when she checked. So, Angeline assumed that the bruises on her wrists were by accident.Moreover, Henrietta had returned home early with her shoes wet the other day.Yesterday afternoon, Henrietta's eyes gleamed with hope and joy when Angeline had picked her up for lunch. She was overjoyed to be transferred to a new school and was confident that life would improve for them. Angeline finally realized Henrietta wasn't happy because she transferred to Cloudsville High School. Instead, she was simply relieved she could finally attend a new school. Roaring waves of fury washed through Angeline. Her heart ached, but she couldn't stop it. She should've been more attentive and learned that Henrietta had been bullied in River Town High School. "I'm fine," Angeline m
"Alright, got it!" Marion replied, setting down the data in her hands. She went up to the translucent glass and tapped on it. Angeline accurately dripped the reagent and called Gregory over to monitor it. Marion grabbed her by the arm once she exited the lab."Angie, a video was circulated at Cloudsville High School. Henrietta might not be able to handle it, so she disappeared. But apparently, she's not out of the school yet—Angie!"Before Marion could finish, Angeline immediately dashed out. She didn't even bother to remove her lab coat. "Alva! Go check on her!" Marion yelled at Alva, who had just entered, as she took off her coat hastily. Angeline's mind went blank. Did the video reach Cloudsville High School? Were Henrietta's classmates picking on her right now?She called Henrietta as she rushed over to Cloudsville High School. However, it went straight to voicemail. As she ran at full speed, the wind rushed past her, and her racing heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears.
Soon, the principal and other teachers gathered around. Alva stood beside Angeline, unsure of how to comfort her. Marion squeezed through the crowd, covering her mouth in shock when she saw the sight before her. The ambulance and police arrived quickly. It wasn't until Henrietta was taken to the emergency room that Angeline finally collapsed on the hospital bench. Her hands were covered in Henrietta's blood. "Angie… your phone."Alva handed Angeline's phone back and sat beside her, consoling her. "Don't worry, we still have hope. It's only the ninth floor, after all. There was news about a kid being fine after falling from the 28th floor!"Angeline saw an unread message from Henrietta. She tapped on it with her bloodied hands. Henrietta: "Angeline, I really can't take it anymore. I feel like I can never escape from this hell in my entire life. I'm sorry, Angeline. I want to be with Mom now."I'm behind the academic building, and there's no one here, so I won't hurt any
Gregory and Ned sat beside each other in the hospital ward. In a hushed tone, Gregory asked, "Ned, is Angie's baby… your love child?""Love child?" Ned retorted.His brows drew together as he snapped, "She was already pregnant before we were divorced!""Divorced?" Gregory exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. "Wait… Angie's been pregnant for two months, which means you got her pregnant before you divorced. But… you just proposed to your fiancée! Ned, you're a scumbag!"Staring at Angeline, who was still unconscious in bed, Ned glared at Gregory. "You're insufferable!"Ned's phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it, frowning at Angeline. He got up and went outside to answer the call. He reluctantly greeted, "Uncle Sean…""Don't you realize that you're already divorced from Angie?"Sean's deep voice was laced with his dominance, causing Ned to glance around at his surroundings instinctively. "I've already taken down the photos of you carrying Angi
Taylor was puzzled. "But we've been doing this for almost two months now. The people back home are counting on this collaboration. Besides, who knows what Mr. Manent might have to say after today's meeting."Sean pressed the down button on the elevator, his stern features reflected in the mirrored walls."Instead of begging to survive, it's better to take a bold stance and fight for it! Maybe then we won't be at the mercy of others in the future."The elevator let out a soft ding as it arrived. Sean was the first to step in.Although Taylor didn't fully understand Sean's words, he knew his decision was final.He had been at Sean's side for many years and had never seen him make a wrong move.Taylor broke into a cold sweat at the thought of Lawson Global returning empty-handed.Besides, the chairman was using the cancellation of Sean's engagement as leverage to get him to resolve the chip problem in Marvonia.…Back on Lawson Global's private jet, a group of executives gather
Sean brought a glass of water over to the couch and sat down. "The safety of our staff is vital, and you can never be too careful. Yes, this trip may delay us by two months and cost us some money, but the value of each scientist far exceeds the cost and time invested."After a sip of water, Sean continued, "Since we can't partner with foreign companies to develop the chips, it's time for us to make a last stand and focus on domestic research and development."He lowered his glass and leaned forward to address the Lawson Global executives."Gentlemen, this time, against all odds, we will forge ahead and pursue development independently. Under optimistic projections, the next three to five years will be critical for our company. But if we persevere, we'll surely break the monopoly in the chip industry."The executives relaxed when the meeting ended. They drifted off to sleep.Sean rubbed his temples wearily, his eyes red and exhausted as he looked out the plane window.Knowing An
On the internet, a massive online campaign called "Protect Her" quietly unfolded without any organized effort.Even many celebrities joined in, calling to uphold the innocence of the victim and prevent the spread of videos that could further harm her.More and more people voiced their demands online, calling for severe punishment for the perpetrators and those who distributed the videos. They pled for the protection of the victims and their families.Angeline was initially horrified at the thought of Henrietta's videos being circulated online. After all, it was those videos that drove Henrietta to the point of taking her own life.She didn't want her sister to be subjected to further humiliation and torment after her death by having those videos spread across the internet.But to her surprise, countless women on the internet were also protecting her.Angeline bit her lip as tears streamed down her face.Alva sat on the bed next to her. She looked at Angeline with tear-filled eye
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