After the outburst with the grand old master, Jay no longer found Tourmaline Estate worth staying at. He returned to Garden Of A Diary with his three children in tow. That night, he locked himself away drawing in the study. The next morning, Storm found him asleep in the wheelchair as he called the other to eat.The ground around Jay was covered with artworks, each a portrait of Angeline Severe. Storm picked them up and placed them gently on the study table. The children took breakfast to stare inquisitively at their daddy. They felt that their daddy had for some reason reverted to his icy indifference. “Where’s Miss care worker, Daddy?” Baby Robbie asked curiously. “She’s been fired. She won’t be coming back again,” Jay replied calmly. Jenson’s hands paused mid-cut, and the corners of his eyes reddened slightly. “Where is she, Daddy?” “I don’t know,” Jay replied. Jenson flung the knife and fork in his hands away. “I’m full.” Understanding that Jenson was throwin
Angeline suddenly huffed and stomped her way toward Jay. She placed a hand on the car window. At the click of the door, Jay’s expression shifted. The next moment, Angeline had removed the door of his car. Jay’s eyes widened. This girl! The wind blew into the car, and Jay felt his blood freeze with every gush of cold air. Stunned, he stared at Angeline. “What do you want?” he asked impatiently. Angeline’s gaze was filled with hostility. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?” “There’s not much for us to talk about.” His indifferent attitude had Angeline instantly wheezing for breath. Sucking in a cold harsh breath, Angeline’s bloodshot eyes stared intently at his as she interrogated, “Very well. All you have to do is answer three of my questions. If I’m satisfied with the answers, whatever between us ends here.” “Ask away!” Angeline asked, “You said you’d love me forever. Is the claim still valid?” Jay, “...” Angeline smiled wistfully. “You said that as husband and w
Jay took the elevator from the basement straight to the ninth floor. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, he stared at Grand Asia’s entrance below. The group of people was still there, which meant so was Angeline. Jay frowned. Their words were sharp and difficult to hear. He wished that Angeline would leave soon before her self-confidence got beaten up by their criticisms. Angeline stood at Grand Asia’s entrance like an abandoned doll. She stood blankly, soulless and calm. After a long while... The group of people finally scattered, and Angeline left Grand Asia while feeling disheartened. Tugging hard on the tie that closed on him like shackles, Jay felt himself finally able to breathe. He flipped open the document only to realize his mind was filled with Angeline’s begrudging expression. Unable to concentrate, he snapped the file close and leaned against the back of his wheelchair with a frustrated shout, “Grayson.”Grayson entered the room in agitation. “Is there an
Setting his eyes on the feminine aura that surrounded Grayson, Finn could not help but spit out the tea he had just sipped. “Since when did you prefer such a style, Mr. Gray?” Finn asked as goosebumps rose all over his body. “Am I pretty, Finn?” Grayson shot him a flirtatious look. Finn gulped and nodded. “Very pretty.” Grayson asked, “Do you like me this way?” Finn was about to shake his head but ended up nodding anyway as he did not want Grayson to feel disappointed. Grayson clapped his hands. “You like it a lot, don’t you? That’s great. You’re crossdressing to work from tomorrow onward.” Finn gaped.Grayson was lost in his world. “I can imagine you in feminine clothing–Soft, but with a subtle strength underneath. I suppose you would rival Angeline Severe. Not to mention the president had kissed you before when you were young, which means he wouldn’t find you repulsive. Plus, you would never swoon for the president. This is an exceptional idea.” Finn finally understo
It was as if Angeline had vanished off the earth for the next couple of days, not bothering Jay at all. Jay felt himself grow inexplicably frustrated. He could not help but think that his ruthlessness had completely hurt her heart and she had lost all hope in him. With his phone on the desk, he would check it from time to time. There had yet to be a text or call at all. “What are you doing, Angeline? Are you missing me like how I’m missing you now?” Jay sighed deeply and leaned his head back onto the wheelchair, his brows tightly furrowed. At the rented apartment. Angeline lay on the bed. She had neither eaten nor drunk anything for the past two days. Josie felt her heart clench in pain as she stared at Angeline who was on a hunger strike. “At least drink some water, Sis Angeline. It’s not like my brother would know that you’re torturing yourself.” Josephine sat at the edge of the bed, hugging both her legs to her chest and stuttering, “Why do we have to hurt ourselves
“Forget it.” Grayson froze as his gaze fell on the phone the president placed on the table. He could not help but chuckle at Angeline’s posed image. It was a well-known fact that the missus liked to play pranks, but it was still too cruel for her to threaten the president with a hunger strike and suicide. Despite knowing that Angeline was intentionally trying to provoke him, her sunken appearance in the picture was real. As was the fact that she was not living well. Truly worried about Angeline’s condition, Jay decided to dial for Zayne. “Go visit your sister, Zayne. She lives on the left edge of the riverbank.” Zayne refused. “Why don’t you go yourself?” He must have seen Josephine’s Moments too. Knowing that Josephine was living with Angeline, Zayne could not bring himself to visit his sister since he dared not see Josephine. “That’s your sister,” Jay refuted frustratedly. “That’s your wife,” Zayne retorted.Despite both of them worried about the girls, the two
Still, regardless of how much he yearned for Angeline, he had to hide it from Josephine or all the difficult facades he had to keep up would have been for naught. “I heard Jack threw you out of Tourmaline Estate. What do you have planned?” Jay asked. “I want to leave Imperial Capital.” Josie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “My parents don’t want me, and neither does Zayne. There’s nothing worth staying for in Imperial Capital.” “What about me?” Jay asked coldly. Josephine replied, “I know that you care greatly for me, Jay, but I can’t seem to convince myself that at all. We’re not related by blood, so you have no obligation to care about what happens to me at all. I hope you understand what I mean, and perhaps leave me with an ounce of dignity.”“So you’re going to sever our ties as siblings?” Jay was displeased. Josephine shook her head in a way that reminded him of a pellet drum. “You’ll always be my brother, Jay. It's just that now that I’ve grown up, I think I shou
Zayne grew embarrassed. “Umm, you already met Josephine, right? How is she?” Jay’s tone was indifferent with a hint of indignance. “How else can she feel? You dumped her.” Zayne choked and felt the tips of his ears burn in humiliation. A moment passed and Zayne fired back with no restraint, “What about you? You dumped my sister as well.” Jay’s lips parted. He wanted to say ‘That’s different’, but he swallowed the words down. “How’s the Severe’s eldest daughter?” he asked instead. Zayne replied in a huff, “Relax. She won’t kill herself because of you.” “Then what about the hunger strike and suicidal tendencies?” Jay asked. “Oh, that. Well, the hunger strike was real, but she’s not suicidal. She was gorging on food when I arrived. She’s binge eating if anything.” With that, Zayne fired back at Jay, “Are you disappointed that my sister isn’t trying to kill herself because of you?” Jay’s heart finally settled at the knowledge that Angeline was eating again. However, Zay