ZeldaWhen I stepped out of the elevator, I kept my head high and my back straight. My face had settled into calm, composed lines, but the ache in my heart throbbed with each step. I was grateful I hadn’t cried. Not in front of Hellen Ferguson. Not in front of him.The weight of everything—sleepless nights, endless work, and the quiet, constant pull of fatigue from carrying a life within me—pressed down on my shoulders. Four or five hours of rest was all I allowed myself these days. Still, despite the exhaustion, warmth flickered within me. A quiet pride.I was making progress. I would collect the thirty million, repay it to James Ferguson, and sever every last tie with the Ferguson family.Soon, I would be free. Free to just be me, without debt or obligation.I took a deep breath, the cool air calming my racing heart. I smiled to myself, ready to keep walking forward. But then I saw them.Susan Wenger and Mrs Wenger.They moved toward me with that same familiar air of self-importance
It was clearly a man whose face I had admired for years and whom I had resolved to drive out of my heart, but every time I saw him, my heartstrings were always tugged at.I attributed this throbbing to the sadness of being obsessed with looks.I was about to force myself to look away when I suddenly heard a splash into the water.My heart stopped. Madam Ferguson had been walking toward the pool just moments earlier.Could she have fallen in?I felt a jolt of panic as I moved to rush toward the water, but before I could take another step, Tian appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my arm."Madam, please be patient. The old lady won’t let you go out," she whispered urgently.I froze confusion and worry tangling inside me.Then I heard it—Grandma’s panicked cries coming from the far side of the pool."Hurry! Someone come! Help!"The words rang out like an alarm, sharp and urgent.James Ferguson, who had been walking nearby, clearly heard the commotion. His head snapped up, and before I cou
JamesThe moment I held her, everything in me tightened with a pain I couldn’t shake. The warmth of her tears seared my skin, burning hotter than fire, branding guilt deep into my soul.I had never known fear like I felt watching that video. My grandmother had sent it to me before I came here.The images played over in my mind, relentless, cruel.The chaos at the Wenger family's pool… I had carried Susan Wenger in my arms while she—the one person who mattered most—sank beneath the surface, quiet, unseen. The water had been still for far too long before Yuell finally dove in.The sight of her pale face as he dragged her to shore haunted me. I could almost feel her lifeless weight, her lips colourless, her chest unmoving until he forced breath back into her lungs.She could have died.And I didn’t even know.I gripped her tighter, pressing her trembling body into mine, wishing I could merge us together to shield her from the torment I had caused. Her tears soaked my chest, a flood of so
JamesAs she let go of the handle and pulled out her phone, I already knew what she was going to do. It didn’t take more than a swift reach for me to pluck the device from her fingers. She blinked up at me, startled, her brows furrowing."Is it so intolerable to stay with me?" I asked, my voice calm despite the heaviness in my chest.Her immediate, forced smile stung more than I wanted to admit."No."I knew a lie when I heard one. I felt it in the way she averted her eyes and in the forced curve of her lips. Her denial only deepened the ache sitting heavy in my throat, but I swallowed it down and kept my tone steady."Call her later," I said. "Even if you try now, Grandma won’t open the door."She hesitated before nodding.A silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. I stood there, still wrapped in a loose bathrobe, my hair damp, droplets trailing down my skin. Her gaze flicked away, as if even looking at
The sharp coolness of the wind against my skin jolted me back to my senses. My heart raced as I opened my eyes and pushed James Ferguson away with trembling hands. He felt my resistance and released me without hesitation, his weight lifting from me as he rolled over.Breathless, I sat up quickly, my chest rising and falling. My face burned as I turned my head away, the heat of embarrassment and something deeper spreading through me."I Don’t want..." The words slipped from my lips in a barely audible whisper.James froze, the tension in his frame visible as he clenched his jaw. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, and I could see him gather every ounce of control he possessed before he stood and walked to the window. He zipped his sweatshirt in silence, his back turned as he stared out into the night.I sat quietly, my fingers fumbling as I straightened my wrinkled clothes and smoothed my tousled hair. My hands shook slightly as I tri
When Grandma stopped me, I was about to rise, ready to leave after James Ferguson had gone. But she held me back with a calm voice.“Zelda, don’t worry, Grandma still has something to do.”I looked at Aunt Tian, who was standing next to her, and saw her nodding before leaving. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but before I could dwell on it, I noticed Tian Ma coming back with someone in tow.My heart skipped a beat when I saw Hilder Ferguson, looking furious and struggling to free herself from Tian Ma’s grip."Mother Tian, please let go of my hand. I can walk by myself!" Hilder snapped, but as soon as she saw me sitting next to Grandma, her face twisted into a scowl.She glared at me, full of disdain.I knew it was my fault—this was all because of me. Hilder had come to the old house that morning and made fun of me over the phone with her sisters. The worst part? Grandma had overheard everything. Grandma wa
When my phone buzzed in the middle of that tense meeting, I was still listening to the endless debate. The R&D team for the chip project had been working for more than two years with no profits to show for it.Directors were growing impatient. Tempers flared, voices rose—it was a familiar battlefield of frustration versus vision. I sat there, cold and composed, letting them vent.Then I saw the message."Let’s meet."For a moment, I didn’t move. My eyes stayed on the screen, my heartbeat shifting rhythm. Zelda.I read the words again as if to ensure they were real. A rare, uncontrollable smile pulled at my lips before I could stop it. The tension in my chest loosened. Suddenly, the arguments around me faded, as if I had stepped into a quieter world.Silence followed my unexpected reaction. I looked up to find all eyes on me—wide-eyed, confused. They had noticed the smile.I didn’t care.I typed
JamesThe moment her hand reached out with the bank card, my gaze locked on it, my chest tightening with a cold, suffocating weight. Ice—frozen fury—spread through me.This was it?I didn’t take it. I wouldn’t.Instead, my eyes rose slowly, my voice cutting like the edge of a blade, each word pressed down with a rage I could barely contain.“You came to me today just to give me this?”The anger in my chest churned. All the way here, I had let myself hope. I had imagined—more times than I cared to admit—that she’d finally woken up. That she wasn’t going to keep fighting me, that maybe, just maybe, she’d been through enough and wanted to come home.I’d thought she’d miss me.I had told Cheng to drive faster. Every second I waited had felt like torture. But now, standing here, she handed me thirty million like I was some banker collecting a loan. And worst of all, she didn’t come alone.She came with him.Zelda Liamson, you know exactly how to gut me.My hands trembled. I clenched my fis
ZeldaAs the door shut, James exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. His body was tense, his fists clenched at his sides.James stood motionless, staring at the door, his jaw clenched so tightly that I thought he might break.Mr Ferguson was the first to speak, his voice firm but not unkind.“James, I know you’re angry, but she’s still your mother.”James let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “Still my mother?” His voice wavered. “What kind of mother does this to her child? What kind of mother lets him suffer for years and then—then when the truth comes out, she refuses to even acknowledge it?”His father sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “She’s scared, James. Scared of losing everything she’s built, scared of what the truth means.”James turned on him, pained.“And what about me? Does she care how scared I was? How much I lost? How I spent years believing I was the mistake, that everything that went wrong was somehow my fault?”Helen’s voice trembled from the doorw
ZeldaI sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the divorce papers I had once been so ready to sign. My hands rest over my stomach, where our child—my child—grows.I told myself I wouldn't cry over James Ferguson again. But here I am, my heart still aching in ways I wish it wouldn't.He had always been my saviour. When I was just a scared thirteen-year-old girl, lost and alone, James had taken me in. I admired him, idolized him. But then admiration turned into something else. Love. The kind that consumed me, that I could never shake off, no matter how hard I tried.But James had never seen me that way.First, it was Susan Wenger... I watched as he gave everything to Susan, how he smiled at her the way I had always wished he would look at me. And when Susan was gone, I thought—maybe—just maybe, James would see me.But then came Luoxing.And that had been the final proof I needed to know the truth. I was never going to be James's first choice.That was why I decided to leave. I refused t
JamesThe Bai estate was as grand as ever, standing as a symbol of power, wealth, and the history that bound our families together.Or so I thought.I stepped inside without hesitation. No one stopped me. They never would. For years, I had been welcomed here like a son.I had thought I was.But tonight, the weight of betrayal clung to me like a second skin, suffocating, inescapable and true.As I entered the main hall, I found them all gathered—Mr. Bai, Mrs. Bai, and their daughter, Bai Luoxing.The moment they saw me, Luoxing was the first to react. She stood up, her eyes filled with something between relief and hesitation."James!"I lifted a hand to my head, stopping her in her tracks.She hesitated, then slowly sat back down, casting a quick glance toward her mother.Mrs Bai, ever composed, sat calmly at the head of the table, an air of relaxed control around her. She didn’t look surprised to see me.She probably didn’t know that I knew everything.Mr. Bai, on the other hand, was
JamesA slow, numbing realization crept over me, drowning out everything else.The Bai family hadn’t just manipulated me.They had shaped my entire life."They couldn’t just bring Luoxing back," Dom continued, his voice low. "Not when the whole world was looking for her. Not when they hadn't gotten anything from their attempt. So they kept her hidden, cared for her, made sure no one found her."I barely heard him. My mind was already racing ahead, connecting pieces I had never thought to question before."But the Ferguson family—" My voice caught. "We never stopped searching for her.""And that’s exactly what they wanted."I snapped my gaze to him."Think about it, James." Dom leaned forward, the dim light casting sharp shadows on his face."Your parents. Your grandmother. You. You were all drowning in guilt, haunted by the loss of a little girl you thought you failed to protect. You clung to Madame Bai and saw her as a second mother because she was grieving too. She played her role p
JamesThe air in the car was filled with tension, Zelda's rigid posture and clenched phone screaming her silent fury at me. I deserved it—every bit of her anger, every cold shoulder. But damn if it didn't carve a hollow ache in my chest.Then my phone buzzed, slicing through the suffocating quiet.I answered, and within seconds, the tension in my shoulders eased."We found Dom."The words sent a rush of grim satisfaction through me. Finally. After all the hunting, all the dead ends—we had him.My grip tightened on the phone. "Alive?""Barely. He's talking."Good.I glanced at Zelda, still stubbornly turned away from me, her reflection faint in the window. This changed everything. With Dom's testimony, the Bai family's carefully constructed lies would crumble.But first—"Keep him secure. I'll be there soon."Hanging up, I studied Zelda's profile. She thought this was about the divorce. About me stalling.She had no idea the storm that was coming.And for once, I'd be the one to shield
JamesMadam Bai’s fingers combed through Bai Luoxing’s hair with practised tenderness, her voice saccharine."Don’t cry. Mom knows your heart is too soft—you would have stopped me if you knew."Then she lifted her chin, her blind eyes fixed in my direction with eerie precision."James, I only helped your wife leave because she wanted to. I didn’t want you two to become bitter enemies. You may not understand my intentions, but the truth is, this all started with her desire to run. Luoxing is innocent."Innocent.The word tasted like ash."So sending men to hunt her down—was that also a favour?" My voice was lethally quiet.Madam Bai’s wrinkled face twisted in feigned confusion."Hunt her? James, I only sent people to find her after she disappeared! For her safety! And my nephew—where is Dom? Did you see him?"Zelda stiffened beside me. I could almost hear the furious drum of her heartbeat.I stared at the woman who had once been like a second mother to me.Even now, faced with the trut
JamesMy lashes lowered, hiding the smug satisfaction in my gaze as I buried my face against her again. Good. She didn’t push me away this time.Then— Thump.Something struck the side of my face.I froze.Before I could process it, another hit—this time square on the bridge of my nose. Not painful, but sharp, like a tiny jolt of electricity.My head snapped up, eyes wide."Was that… Littleton?"Zelda’s lips curled, amusement flickering in her gaze before she pressed them flat again."Littleton’s here to teach you some manners," she said dryly.Of course, it was Littleton.Even in the womb, my kid couldn’t stand watching their shameless father grovelling like this and decided to intervene.A stunned laugh caught in my throat.I stared at the slight swell of her belly, then slowly raised my hand, pressing my fingers where I’d been kicked. The impact had been soft, muted by layers of flesh and fluid, but it sent a current straight through my chest.My heart hammered—not from fever, but s
JamesThe pain in my chest was sharp, unrelenting, as I watched her smile—so effortless, so free. As if I meant nothing.If it were up to me, I’d never let her go.Especially not now, with those men hovering around her like vultures, waiting for their chance. But I couldn’t do anything. Not anymore.I didn’t dare to force her, didn’t dare to manipulate things behind her back like I used to. One wrong move, and she’d slip even further from my grasp.And then there was Dom. Until he was dealt with, she wasn’t safe here."Don’t worry," I said, my voice steady despite the storm inside me. "I’ll fulfil your wish this time. Consider it… compensation for the wedding."That damned wedding. My fault. All of it.Maybe ending this marriage was the only way to truly start over. She looked at me then, her eyes searching mine, and for the first time, she saw it—my resolve. No tricks, no games. This was real.Her lashes fluttered, her grip on my collar loosening as she whispered,"So after we land…
ZeldaOf course I couldn't bear it.I never wanted to compete with Bai Luoxing for anything. She was the one who forced her way into my marriage. Even then, I retreated—step by step, until I'd put an ocean between us.Yet the Bai family still wouldn't let me go. They wanted me dead. How vicious could they be?But Leiy hadn't said much earlier. Even I was only guessing. Did James... already know it was them?My eyes widened in shock. "You knew? Bai Luoxing helped me leave the country, and the Bai family has been hunting me since I landed—"His face darkened at the mention of my escape. "How else do you think I found you?"I pressed my lips together, then let out a cold laugh."Well, color me surprised. I thought even if I accused the Bai family, you'd assume I was just smearing their name out of spite."The pain that flashed across his face was sharp enough to almost make me regret my words. Almost.His chest heaved, and before I could react, his hand shot out, gripping the back of my