“I don't have the time.” Hannah gripped the phone with both hands and felt her heart trembling.Since Ralph wanted to meet, she would oblige since she had not seen him for days. Hannah dreamed of their happy moments together every night. Ralph’s sweet words, warm kisses, and everything in between made Hannah smile sweetly while dreaming but left with bitterness when she awoke.However, she felt he had an ulterior motive and laced his words with lies. It was likely his sweet words were for Heather. Still, Hannah was willing to deceive herself and convince herself that Ralph loved her.Hannah had been her sister’s shadow for more than twenty years. She was never Heather.However, Ralph would call her Annie and even romantically propose to her publicly. He even promised her a lifetime of happiness. Hannah greedily wanted more on that day as she looked forward to having her own life. She hoped she could get married and have children like an average person one day, but Heather had ruine
Ralph saw a car coming toward him while he pondered. It was the car his mother was riding in. He quickly hurried forward and opened the door when the car stopped. "Mom, you're back."Margaret looked at him. "Don’t tell me you stood here and waited for me to come back?""What are you saying? I was about to go out and coincidentally saw you coming home." He chuckled. It was true that he stayed home to guard against Margaret these days, but he could not say so as Margaret would see it as house arrest."What a coincidence." Margaret nodded and bent down to get out of the car.Ralph hurriedly reached out to help her and asked, "Mom, where have you been?"“I went for a walk. Why? Do I still need to report my whereabouts to you?” Margaret glanced sideways at him."No, of course not. I was just asking. You should tell me if you want to go out. I'll go with you." He smiled cheekily. He felt he was right about his weird feeling. His mother's words were ambiguous, but she was not like this
Ralph was late due to the delay in talking with Margaret. When he arrived at Riggs Group and called Hannah’s office upstairs, Chloe told him Heather had left long ago. He could not help feeling annoyed.He thought Heather was lying to him again and searched the parking lot for a long time but did not see Rigg’s family’s car. He anxiously waited downstairs until dark, but he did not see Heather even when all the employees had left.‘What a capricious woman.’ Ralph felt resentful.Hannah was not feeling any better on her end. She wanted to wait for him but did not see him even after buying time at the office. Ralph did not give her any phone calls; she dared not take the initiative to call him and could only wait.She waited but only received Heather’s call urging her to return. She could not bide time any longer and could only go home. Along the way, she looked out of the window firmly. Even so, she did not see his figure, and her eyes were full of disappointment.Hannah keenly sen
Heather knew Hannah was not wrong in her response. Whenever she encountered a similar situation, she always responded in the same manner. Hannah sometimes did not know the inside story, so she could only respond with vague words to prevent others from noticing anything was wrong.Hannah either agreed or disagreed, and she let Heather decide for herself. However, the matter this time involved Ralph. Heather was afraid Hannah had selfish intentions and still loved him, which was why her reaction was bigger than usual."I see. Ralph didn't say anything else, did he?" Heather leaned back on the sofa and relaxed slightly. Her actions meant she had calmed down and was not as angry as before.Hannah shook her head slowly but seemed to recall something. "Oh right, he said there’s a family meeting at the Russell family estate this Saturday and wants you to go to it. Ralph said he wants you to witness how he becomes the head of the Russell family.""Him?! Is he still dreaming?" Heather laugh
It didn’t take long before Saturday arrived. Ralph got up early that morning. He put on his crisply pressed suit, meticulously combed his hair, took a long look in the mirror, and sprayed cologne all over his body. This would be the most critical turning point of his life, and he would usher in a new life from that day onward.The elders in the family would not arrive so early. The person he was most worried about was his mother. Margaret agreed to his plan, but he could not be relieved until everything was over.He went to the kitchen to get her breakfast and personally delivered it. He knocked on the door of his mother’s room."What is it?" Margaret’s voice sounded from behind the door. It looked like she had woken up."Mom, it's me. I brought you breakfast," Ralph eagerly said.Margaret replied, "Leave it downstairs; I'll eat it later.""It's too much of a hassle for you to go down. I’m already here. Can you please open the door?" He paused for a moment and added, after noti
"That’s right. I'm his grandmother..." Her hand that was combing her hair stopped. Margaret was deep in thought, and her eyes looked distant. "I'm his grandmother...""Mom, don't overthink! Look, I’m your son and his uncle, but he never showed me mercy!" Ralph noticed something was wrong and tried to persuade her, "Mom, we’re not forcing him to die. We just want him to hand over control of the Russell family. Didn’t you always want me to take over the family and the company? We’re just setting things right and getting everything back on track.”"Setting things right." Margaret emphasized these three words and nodded, “Yes, setting things right."Ralph felt that she had made up her mind and breathed a sigh of relief. He pushed the breakfast toward her, saying, "Mom, you should eat something. There’s no need to rush, as it's still early. You can eat slowly.""Okay." She picked up the spoon and noticed he was still sitting there. Margaret asked, "Is there anything else?""Mom, have y
Celine never woke up early, so she was grumpy when she opened the door. Her hair was in a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot. She angrily glared at Ralph, "What do you want?!""My dear sister, I brought you breakfast!" He said with a smile and presented the breakfast he had brought from downstairs."Oh, the sun must’ve risen from the west today." Celine glanced at the breakfast before covering her mouth as she yawned. After that, she turned around to brush her teeth and took a shower.Ralph heard the sound of water from the bathroom and did not follow her—instead, he sat in her room. He boringly flipped through the books on the table and mockingly laughed when he noticed that most of the books Celine had were novels.His elder sister was already an adult, but she still read these books. In a way, this was beneficial to him as Celine could not compete with him. Having an ally was much better than having an enemy, after all.Celine soon came out after freshening up. She lay on the so
"What did Mom say?" Celine sipped the soy milk and continued asking."What else would she say? You should know that mom has loved me more than Alex since I was a child. I'm her biological son! She would surely side with me." Ralph was confident about this.Margaret’s doting made him feel that the Russell family belonged to him. Even if he did not inherit all of it, he should inherit its majority. Still, he never expected his father to give the family business to Alexander.Meanwhile, Ralph only received a small amount of equity. Ralph never received much of the family’s other businesses, real estate, and stores. These were only the tip of the iceberg compared to the Russell family’s vast wealth. He felt resentful at the thought of his father.Celine finished her soy milk, wiped the corner of her mouth, and put down the cup before she calmly replied to him, "I see. Thank you for breakfast.""So, we agree on this, Celine? You must help me when the time comes. Don’t forget that we’re