Thud! He fell back onto the bed heavily.“Uncle Derrick!” Arianna exclaimed.Stephanie rushed forward, exclaiming frantically, “Derrick?! Derrick! Doctor! Call the doctor!”In a panic, she pressed the emergency buzzer by the bed, and soon, a doctor and a few nurses rushed in, kicking the rest out. Then they began with their emergency procedures.Stephanie stood outside the door and appeared to have aged rapidly. She looked lifeless while her tears fell like a broken pearl necklace.She was not in good health in the first place, and now she looked like she would collapse at any minute. Arianna did not leave and stood by her side, passing her a tissue. “Aunt Stephanie, don’t be too upset. I’m sure Uncle Derrick will be fine.”Stephanie refused to take the tissue from Arianna but suddenly raised her head, staring at the latter with resentment and anger. “Ari, why did you say something like that? Don’t you know that you can’t stir up your uncle’s emotions, especially right now?”“Au
Stephanie was furious and pointed toward the hospital ward. "Your uncle is still under emergency procedures, and we're unsure what will happen to him next, yet you're already rushing to seize control of the company? Ari, you’re not our daughter, but we've watched you grow up. Don’t you have the slightest bit of respect for your uncle? You can wait to do this later, can’t you?”“The company’s the one that can’t wait any longer, not me.” Sighing, Arianna put the papers back into the folder. “Aunt Stephanie, you don’t work for the company, so you might be unclear about the things going on there. Now that the company is in such a dire situation, I want to get through it as quickly as possible, but... I can’t make any decisions when I lack the authority to do so. I can wait, but I may not be the only one to disturb Uncle Derrick then. “Rather than having that happen, why don’t you let me handle this? You and Uncle Derrick watched me grow up, so how could I not look after you two? Don’t w
“How long do we need to put on this show?” Stephanie asked, unable to tolerate it anymore.She felt terrible about her promise to perform an act with Derrick. She was not a good liar in the first place, but she had to deal with those who came to visit Derrick with ulterior motives from time to time. She had to watch their fake concern and listen to all those exaggerated compliments when they were here.She had never gone through this, but while Derrick was "ill and in the hospital," she saw many things she had never seen before. Initially, they would test the waters with caution, which turned into indifference gradually. Now, even her own niece was coming to seize power.“Joseph came over yesterday, didn’t he?” Derrick asked lightly, looking out the window. At the time, he was sleeping, but he vaguely heard voices outside the door. Stephanie probably stopped them at his door.Stephanie nodded. “Yeah. I told him you’re resting after getting a shot, and you’d be asleep for a while, s
Her husband’s words opened the floodgate of her memories.When Benedict was young, he was smart and talented. A sensible boy, he was eager to learn and possessed unique ideas for doing business. Although his opinions might not always be correct, he had his way of thinking and understanding. At that time, the family led a peaceful life, and Derrick loved the child and had high hopes for him. Later, when Benedict was around thirteen or fourteen years old and had entered the rebellious phase, the Tanner Corporation expanded rapidly, and its operations got busy. With Derrick hardly at home and herself not in good health, Stephanie could not cope with the disciplining of their son. It was during that period that Eloise visited their house the most often. Eloise always told Stephanie to rest and offered to help her with everything at home, even small things concerning their relatives. Benedict became closer to Eloise than to Stephanie. It was around this period that Benedict was s
Deep down, Derrick blamed himself for being too busy at the time. A father should play an essential role in guiding his son, but Derrick had failed in his duty, and he knew he could not put the blame wholly on another person. Stephanie, on the other hand, felt chills down her spine. She had treated Eloise like her own sister, but Eloise had maliciously led her son astray!“Then we should…”“Wait. The drama is coming to an end soon.” Derrick sighed and said as he quietly looked out the window at the setting sun.…When Arianna got home, she was surprised to see her father sitting in the living room, which he rarely did. With a curious frown, she walked over. “Dad, why are you here?”“Where else should I be? Anyway, I’ve tried to call you. Where were you?” Joseph asked angrily, “Don’t you know that the reporters have been all over your brother? Shouldn’t you be thinking of a solution? Where the h*ll did you go?”“I went to look for a solution!” Arianna handed her jacket to a hous
At that moment, Eloise came out from the kitchen and said, “Stop talking shop and come have your dinner.”After a hectic day, Joseph was both tired and hungry. He got up and went to sit at the dining table. As his wife sat beside him, however, he somehow thought about what Elizabeth had said. Joseph started to eat quietly without saying anything. After a while, Arianna came over after washing her hand, and the family of three ate in silence. It had been a long time since they had such a peaceful moment together. Although Joseph did not say it out loud, Elizabeth’s words kept bugging him, and he could not stop but throw a few glances at Eloise. Eloise felt them. However, since her husband said nothing, she simply feigned ignorance. When the other two were halfway eating, Eloise, who always ate little, got ready to leave, and Joseph stopped her despite himself. “El.”“Yes?” Eloise gracefully took a last sip of the bisque and put down her spoon. “I’m full.”“Don’t go yet and stay
“It’s true you’ve never said it, but that’s what you’re thinking!” Eloise angrily smashed a plate. “No wonder you looked at me funny when you came back. You were struggling to decide whether to ask me, weren’t you? Oh, Joseph, is this how you see me after we’ve been married all these years?"I've devoted my life to the Tanner family, and I kept quiet when you started keeping a mistress and bringing her son to run the show. Yes, I did complain about it once or twice, but how could you suspect me?”She sobbed as she spoke and swept the dishes off the table onto the floor. “Why? Do you want me to go to jail on your precious son’s behalf? Sure, why not? I know that model, and I conspired with her to frame your son and bring destruction to you, the Tanner Corporation, and our whole family, okay?”Judging from what she said and her tone, Joseph knew she only said it out of spite. He quickly tried to coax her. “Okay, I shouldn’t have asked you, all right? Look at yourself. Ari is still h
Compared to the Tanners, Lily had things going easy for her. She had decided to take the job for the themed series. Firstly, it’s the first order of her studio. Second, she wanted to get more things done now that she knew she wasn't pregnant so she could focus on raising the child once she did become pregnant. Seeing her get busier every day, Alexander felt happy for her. “You aren’t worried about the Perfumers’ Society at all, huh?” Although nothing would happen to her with him around, she looked as if she had forgotten all about it. He wondered what Noah Richards would think if he knew she didn’t care about his threat. “Well, there’s nothing to worry about right from the start,” she said while crouching in the yard trimming the plants. Among the raw materials, two pieces of wood devoid of any leaves or flowers appeared dead. She paid extra attention to these two seemingly useless pieces of wood. Every two or three days, she would water and fertilize them as if she wer