After a two-second pause Joshua added, "Nicole is not very bright, she must have completely inherited her intelligence from you! Luckily, I managed to inherit a tiny bit of Shawn's genes."Nicole was randomly insulted.Gale was speechless.No matter how old men were, they would be so good at provoking women. Shawn wanted to laugh a bit, but he tried hard to hold back, so his lips twitched.Joshua realized the room was silent and sensed something was off."Um, I'll go back to my room now. Goodnight Shawn! Mommy! Sister!" Joshua dashed toward the door.The culprit fled. Gale and Nicole looked at each other."Joshua deserves a beating. Mommy, why don't you spank him?" Nicole said."Should I go drag him back and give him a spanking? Can I get to him in time?" They heard a slam almost immediately. He had closed his room door and even deliberately locked it.Gale looked at her very seriously. "Nicole, see that? That's a man for you. Arrogant, conceited, and always talented at ange
His body stiffened. Shawn sighed slowly. She still had not come out of it, even though on the surface, that night's incident had long passed, and no one would bring it up again. It was still deeply etched in her heart. "How much longer?" Shawn asked, "Galey, it's not that I want to have sex. It's just that I want you to completely let go of your demons and accept me again.""I'm sorry, it was clearly my fault. I have been punishing you for my mistake."Gale's body trembled lightly, unable to face him. She knew it was not good to be like this, but she could not control it. Shawn tightened his arms around her. "Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong."He kissed her forehead, helped her put on her nightgown, and did not make any further moves.It was silent. Gale never turned around, always facing away from Shawn. They looked like they enjoyed a harmonious and peaceful day, but in reality, it was a day filled with much hidden turmoil, when would it end? Shawn was so good, so good, y
"Gale, you don't have to feel inferior. You don't need to think you've let Mr. Wood down, or sink into self-loathing. Your situation and mine aren't the same. I've already pulled myself together and thrown myself into work. You shouldn't get caught up in that nightmare from that night."Honestly, you shouldn't because you didn't experience that nightmare!"Gale almost forgot to blink, just staring at Ivy like that, Gale saw her reflection in Ivy's clear gaze."Ivy, you..." Gale felt a bit lost. "Why are you so sure? Do you know something? Do you have any leads?""Not at the moment, but I just know."A tinge of disappointment flickered in Gale's eyes. Ivy was trying to comfort her, was she not? Without evidence, how could she believe her?"Gale!" Ivy could tell what Gale was thinking. "Don't you believe me?""I..." Gale wanted to believe, but she could not convince herself."Gale, I can vouch for it with my career, my future, even my life." Ivy looked straight into her eyes. "No
"I'm going to a meeting and was just passing by, thought I'd grab a coffee and go. My car's parked on the roadside. Lights are still on." Aurum broke the silence.He gestured casually and then smiled, heading to the counter to place his order. Ivy watched Aurum's figure. He was imposing and gentlemanly, that was the impression Aurum gives to others, but deep down, he was so vile and dark.Gale glanced out the window. She saw his car by the roadside. She did not want to see Aurum because she could not face it; as soon as she saw him, she would involuntarily think of that night. Everyone could pretend like nothing had happened, but the fact remained undeniable."Gale, remember my words, I have a secret that's hard to tell," Ivy's hand landed on the back of her hand, gripping it tightly. "I can't say more, but you'll know in the future."Gale looked at her quietly. What secret did Ivy know, that she could confidently assure her that nothing happened between her and Aurum? Why could no
Ivy did not refuse, and from her expression and behavior, she seemed to enjoy and be quite satisfied with Aurum's care for her. Aurum was indeed trying to flirt with her. He wanted to lure her with love. He even wanted to completely control her, make her obediently listen to him, love him deeply, and be willing to sacrifice herself for her love.After all, Aurum seemed to be a quality man, any woman who looked at him would want to have him. Ivy had once been attracted to him too. Now thinking about it, she felt that she was truly naive and innocent. A man who could harm the woman he loved should be kept as far away as possible.She played along. If Aurum was playing, she would play too. She was keen to see if he's a better actor or if she, a professionally trained actress, can outperform him. He could act affectionately, then in response, she would play the role of a devoted woman.Watching the car drive away, Gale still had not snapped out of her daze. She could not understand it.
"Am I not allowed to come?" Gale smiled, looking at the scattered documents on the floor. "What's with the temper again? Being angry all the time ages you easily, and it's bad for your health."She squatted down, picking up the files one by one.Shawn could not bear to see her doing this; he quickly stepped forward, snatched the files from her hand, and casually placed them on the desk."Why did you come to my office?" Shawn was somewhat surprised, "Miss me?""Yes, I miss you. I think of you all the time, like a day without seeing you is like three autumns apart."Shawn reached out and pulled her into his arms, smelling her scent, his mood slowly calming down."Even if I know you're lying to me, deliberately saying things to make me happy, I'm still genuinely happy. If you miss me, come see me more often," Shawn said."To see you throwing a tantrum?" Shawn furrowed his brow. "That's because they didn't handle things properly."Gale raised her hand and smoothed out the wrinkle
The way he sat her on his lap made her feel like a child. His chest pressed against her back, his hands moving deftly. Soon, a frame appeared on the computer screen."Galey, this is the surveillance footage from outside the hotel. I've been trying to repair the damaged cameras these past few days and managed to retrieve a few unclear images," Shawn said."There's one that got a shot of Paul and Ivy's figures, but the most crucial thing is the time." Shawn moved the mouse to the upper right corner. "Look, the current time is eleven o'clock and eight minutes in the evening."Gale listened intently. "Even though the surveillance didn't get me, Aurum and I should have been around the hotel at the same time, right?""Exactly. Regardless of whether you and he arrived first or later, the time difference wouldn't exceed ten minutes," Shawn replied.Then, Shawn opened another picture. "This one was sent by my men. They entered the hotel to search for people at eleven twenty. That's only tw
Perhaps nothing really happened between her and Aurum. Logically, there was no time for anything to happen.If Shawn's bodyguard had arrived just a bit later, then it would have truly happened, with no chance of redemption.Now, all signs were pointing to her innocence.However, Shawn had seen with his own eyes that nishe, her and Aurum lying on the bed, embracing each other, barely clothed."Anger, but more than that, heartache and self-blame. Blaming myself for not protecting you that you were manipulated," Shawn replied."If only I hadn't woken up... I could pretend not to know anything. But if I hadn't woken up, Aurum would have died.""Let's not mention that night anymore, it's in the past. Galey, you just need to know, you are truly blameless," Shawn said.After he finished speaking, the office fell into silence. Only their breathing could be heard. For a long, long time, Gale softly uttered one word, "Okay." Shawn felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders! He finally