Noelle was taken aback. "This is way too expensive, Lorraine! There is no way I'm getting this!" She tried to take the necklace Lorraine had placed around her neck off.However, Janet interjected, "We're definitely getting this! Ms. Summer has excellent taste. This jewelry set suits you perfectly!"Janet didn't have a daughter of her own, and Noelle was her one and only daughter-in-law, so she was more than happy to spend on her. Lorraine felt both envious and sad.And just like that, Janet spent almost 200 million dollars in a single morning. As it was already noon, Janet turned to Lorraine and asked, "Why don't you join us for lunch, Ms. Summer?"Lorraine readily agreed. "Sure!" So, the three of them headed to a nearby restaurant. Noelle accompanied Janet to the restroom, leaving Lorraine alone outside the private dining room. As fate would have it, she ran into Mark, who was there to meet a client. Mark frowned, but he couldn't help but stop in his tracks and ask, "You're
Mark walked over and calmly took a seat beside Janet. "What a coincidence!"Under the table, Janet took his hand, and he gently held hers. "I went to pick out some jewelry for Elle this morning and ran into Ms. Summer. So, we decided to grab lunch together. Do you remember Ms. Summer, Mark?" Janet asked."Of course, I remember. You're making it sound as if I'm too old to remember anything," he chuckled."It's good to see you, Mr. Lowe." Suppressing the unease in her heart, Lorraine beamed.Mark met her gaze with a warm smile. "Yes, it's good to see you too, Ms. Summer."Janet suddenly recalled something amusing and said, "Guess what? I noticed that Ms. Summer has the same wallpaper on her phone as Mr. Walsh! Women all over the world are into roses, it seems."Mark's palms were starting to get a little sweaty. Suppressing his murderous intent, he told Janet, "If you like roses as well, I'll send you one every day."He paused before continuing, "I have a client to attend to, so I'
Quentin had no choice but to let go of Noelle. "Then, let me at least touch you."Noelle blushed and slapped him. "You perv!"The sound of a sharp slap pierced through the air. Both Quentin and Noelle froze for a moment. He seized her hand, which had just slapped him, and demanded. "Caress my face, got it? If you don't, you'll see what happens!"Noelle had no choice but to caress his face. "Happy now, big guy?"Quentin grinned before pretending to be annoyed and spitting out, "Fine, you can go."Noelle headed off to study. Just then, his phone rang. It was sitting on the bedside table, and he immediately noticed the familiar name. "Xyla."His forehead creased. At some point, he had developed an inexplicable aversion to her name, though he couldn't quite recall when it had first begun. He didn't want to hear this name, and he didn't want to answer her call either. But his sense of responsibility compelled him to answer his phone. Xyla sounded calm as she said, "I've decided no
"Elle, please don't press any further. I'm doing this for your own good! Now, take your things and go!" Lorraine walked over to the bed and lay down.Noelle couldn't leave her in such a state. She followed her and insisted, "No way! You're coming with me to the hospital!"Noelle had known Lorraine for three years, and she had never seen her this battered and bruised. What's more, there were probably more injuries that she couldn't see. She helped Lorraine up. "Come on, we're going!"Lorraine was also at her limit. It was evident that those men had done serious damage to her body; she was in immense pain, and she was bleeding nonstop. So, she nodded. And so, Noelle took Lorraine to Dragfort Hospital. Lorraine was struggling to walk; she looked like she was about to pass out after taking a couple of steps. Noelle had a tough time helping her into the examination room.It was at that precise moment that she spotted Quentin's tall, slender figure standing outside the emergency room i
Lorraine smiled wryly. "This is my comeuppance, Elle."Lorraine needed to be hospitalized, so Noelle took care of the admission procedures and stayed at the hospital to look after her. Xyla's ward was next door. Quentin had been in there all day. The two of them hadn't seen each other since their meeting at noon. He sent her a message to let her know that Xyla was out of danger and that he would stay a little longer before returning home. He also told her not to worry.Noelle read the message and didn't know how to feel, so she didn't respond. An hour later, she went to get some water and ran into Quentin. Perhaps because he had donated blood to Xyla, his complexion was pallid."Elle…" As soon as he noticed her, he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Let's not have children in the future, Elle. Let's be DINKs for life."Xyla's condition had genuinely shaken him up. Even though she was having an abortion, he was still afraid—afraid that something would go wrong when No
Xyla was gasping for breath. "Let go… You old hag…"Ava rushed over and pried Amy's hands off Xyla. "Let her go, you crazy wench!"Amy, being older, was no match for Ava, who managed to pry her hands off and push her out of the hospital room. "Sooner or later, you'll get what's coming to you!" she yelled as she stumbled and fell. When Noelle returned with Lorraine's lunch and noticed Amy sitting on the floor, she went over to help the elderly woman up. "Are you okay, ma'am?"Amy looked at Noelle and sobbed, "How could a woman be so cruel as to harm their own child?"Noelle helped Amy to a chair around the corner of the corridor and asked, "Could you tell me what happened?"Realizing that someone was willing to listen to her, Amy wept, "It's that woman, Xyla Cadwell! She was pregnant with my son Eugene's child, but she chose to have an abortion!"Amy's heart ached when she thought about that. Eugene was her only child, and he was so poor that he couldn't get a wife. When he fina
Amy spotted Quentin and recognized him; he was the wealthy man who had brought her to meet Xyla the other day. She frowned and asked, "Is that young lady your wife or your younger sister?"Quentin responded, "Of course, she's my wife!"Amy shook her head in exasperation. "How could you be so blind as to favor a woman who would kill her own child over your beautiful and kind wife, young man? Xyla was the one who kept climbing into Eugene's bed every night; she enjoyed every minute of it, yet she had the gall to claim she was forced to be with Eugene? Bullshit! Even animals have more shame than she does!"Amy was really worked up when she mentioned Xyla. It was clear that she wasn't putting on an act. A sense of dread began to creep into Quentin's heart. He had a sinking feeling that he'd been deceived by Xyla once again. Dennis, who was standing behind him, burst out laughing. "Would you look at that? Now you know Xyla for who she truly is! And to think you even donated 28 ounces
Like grains of sand slipping through his fingers, Quentin watched as Noelle's tall figure descended the stairs. He felt a vast emptiness engulf his heart at that moment.Noelle didn't let Amy stay at Windsor Villa. She dropped her off at a hotel, paid for a month's lodging and meals, and then headed to the hospital.…Lorraine was drifting in and out of consciousness when she noticed someone standing next to her bed. The man appeared as gentlemanly and refined as ever as he said, "If only you had known then what you know now, Lorraine Summer!"Her voice cracked as she called out, "Mark Lowe!""Lorraine?" Noelle pushed the door open and walked in. As soon as she spotted Lorraine sitting on the bed, her face streaked with tears, she asked with concern, "What's wrong?"It might have been her imagination, but Noelle thought she heard Lorraine calling out for Mark. It didn't make sense to her, though. After all, Mark and Lorraine had no association with each other. "Did you have a n