Arabella sat on the windowsill dispiritedly, her head leaning against the glass window. The sound of conversation could still be heard from the living room downstairs.She hugged her knees, feeling so lonely as if she had been abandoned by the whole world as she gazed outside the window with eyes filled with helplessness.After some time, the living room downstairs finally fell silent. Then, a while after that, Mrs. Walter came upstairs to call her for dinner. Arabella changed into a set of home clothes and went downstairs.At the dining table, Benjamin Rivera sat with a relatively ominous misty aura around him. “President Fulton said that he would bring you to meet his child in a few days. If that child doesn’t reject you, your marriage will be set.”Helena looked worried as she said, “Benjamin, that man is divorced. Even if Rivera Group needs funds, you can’t push the child into the fire pit.”However, Benjamin remained adamant. “Although President Fulton is a divorcee, he was not a
Sky curled his lips into a smile and turned a deaf ear to Daniel’s words. He simply turned around to look at Arabella before walking around her to observe her with interest.Arabella felt uncomfortable under his gaze, which felt like a poisonous snake’s tongue winding around her neck. Her hair was about to stand on end.Sky looked at her beautiful face, and his eyes changed slightly, gaining a more dangerous look. He could tell that she was afraid of him, but he was not angry at all. Instead, he felt unusually excited.She moved quickly to hide behind Daniel, her fingers curling tightly into his clothes.Daniel glanced at her from the corner of his eye before focusing his attention on Sky with his dark eyes. “I’ll take them with me. If you have time, go home. They’ve been talking about you.”After he had finished speaking, he strode out of the private room with Arabella and Sam in tow.Just when the group reached the door, Sky said, “I’ll return to New York tomorrow. Since we don’t wa
She turned to look at Sam who was still hugging the camera tightly in his arms. Almost immediately, Arabella had pretty much figured out what was going on.Sam had been meaning to reimburse his work expenses so she knew that he was not here to spend money.She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and turned around with him. Then, she hushedly asked, “How did you offend them?”Sam took out his camera and pointed at the man on the sofa. “Ms. Lewis asked me to investigate him… So I secretly followed him here and took a few photos, but they found out.”Arabella glared at him. “Why didn’t you call the police when something happened? Why did you ask me to be your meat cushion?”He scratched the back of his head. “I can tell that these people are not to be trifled with. And besides, the police nowadays are all people who fawn on the powerful. Aren’t you Miss Rivera? You must have a way to settle this matter.”After saying that, he smiled at her only to wince instantly since it had agitated
Calvin looked at her in shock, feeling as though this was their meeting. There was just something different about Arabella now – she was more patient and willing to endure hardships.He picked up his coffee and took a sip. “You’ve changed over the years.”A faint smile hung on Arabella’s face, making her small face appear even gentler and calmer. With a deeper meaning behind her words, Arabella said, “Everyone changes over the years, you and I included.”Calvin smiled, slightly surprised by her response. Then, he turned serious as he looked at her with amorous peach blossom eyes. “Ara, let’s get married.”His words made her hand stop stirring her coffee as she looked up at him in shock. She could tell he was not asking with his usual cheeky smile and nonchalant attitude. He meant his words.Making sure she did not hear wrongly, she asked, “What did you say?”Calvin could see the slight fright on her face. Resting his chin in one hand and tapping the table with his other, he calmly sai
She could still smell the shower gel from his body, mixed with his natural scent.She took two steps back to put some distance between them. But the masculine aura on his body was so strong that it reminded her of the time when they were in ‘that’ relationship.Daniel looked at her coldly and noticed her cheeks turning slightly red as her eyes darted around. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Are you fantasizing about me?”“Nonsense.” His playful words made Arabella’s face flush redder, and her ears were no exception.Daniel was even more convinced that he had guessed right, so, with a faint smile, he said, “There’s no need for that. You’re welcome to pounce on me anytime.”Arabella was speechless and ran into the kitchen in a panic.She stood in front of the sink and patted her burning cheeks, but she could not suppress the violent heartbeat in her chest.Daniel watched how silly she was acting, and his lips started to curve into a smile. The light in his black eyes indicated that
She was young to begin with but she was so thin that she looked like a skeleton. Her strict work clothes and old-fashioned hair did not suit her well. She looked more beautiful and delicate in casual clothes, like a scenery in spring.When Arabella drank the second mouthful of water, she felt warmth flowing down her lower abdomen. She counted the days in her heart and patted her head in frustration.Daniel looked at her actions and stared at her pale face with his deep eyes. “What’s wrong?”She twisted the bottle cap back onto her drink and placed her hand on the balcony. With an unnatural expression, she said, “I’m going to the supermarket.”Daniel grabbed her wrist and frowned slightly. “What happened?”Her fair little face had turned so red that it was about to drip blood. She stammered as she said, “I’m going to buy some daily necessities.”Daniel noticed that she was finding it difficult to speak up so, with his warm and calm deep voice, he said, “I’ll go with you. I want to buy
“I didn’t ask for this.” Arabella was confused.The waiter smiled as he explained that the guest in room 8866 ordered it for her.Arabella took the brown sugar water from the waiter and felt the strings in her heart strummed again, causing ripples to spread in her heart.Once she drank the brown sugar water, her stomach felt warm. She looked at the phone on the bedside table and hesitated for a while before giving Daniel a call. It had been a long time since someone had shown such concern for her.Daniel had just finished tying his tie when his phone rang beside him. Her name was displayed on the screen so he took the phone and put it to his ear. When he heard her words of thanks, he smiled. “There’s a welcome banquet tonight. 1 just don’t want to see you sick when I need you.”His calm explanation made Arabella’s surging emotions fall to the bottom of the lake.So that was the case.Arabella hung up in disappointment and laughed at herself. He only said that he had different feelings
Caleb never returned after leaving the private room – he waited in the hallway for the event to be over.Out of everyone who had been present that night, Arabella was the only one sober since she only drank milk.Although Daniel had quite a few sips of alcohol, he was not as drunk as the others. Other than his slightly flushed face, he was no different from an ordinary person.Since the event had ended, Caleb called a car for everyone while Serenity sent them off. Once the others had left, Caleb headed over to the parking lot to get a car for the trio.Arabella went back to the private room to escort Daniel out but was slightly stunned when she opened the door.Daniel had released the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his honey-colored chest. One of his arms was stretched out on the back of the chair beside him. The laziness of his posture made him look sexy and charming as the light softened his usually cold demeanor.Perhaps it was because he was drunk, but his deep eyes were
Arabella had been waiting in the parking lot of Zephyr Group since 4 p.m.Afraid that she would be seen by her colleagues, she chose to hide in an inconspicuous corner while keeping her eyes on Daniel’s car.One hour, two hours, three hours passed, but Daniel still did not appear.The sky gradually darkened and the lights in the parking lot were a little dim, making the place gloomy and cold.She wrapped her coat tightly around her body and crouched as if to curl herself into a ball. Since she stayed in that position for quite some time, her legs started to feel a little numb. She decided to stand and walk a few steps to return blood flow to her legs. After stretching for a while, she resumed her crouched position.With the night approaching, the cold in the dim parking lot grew heavier – Arabella started to shiver. She wanted to go home in a huff, but she was also unwilling to do so without having confronted Daniel.What right did he have to treat her like this?Even if he was angry,
When it was the day of the pregnancy checkup, Daniel had not returned from the business trip. She was already expecting to go to the hospital alone only to find someone else in the living room when she came downstairs.“Why are you here?” She looked at Francesca in surprise.“Young Madam, President Garcia asked me to accompany you to the hospital,” said Francesca gently.It seemed that he still remembered the date. Arabella nodded. “Let’s go.”Mrs. Winstead noticed how thin the clothes Arabella was wearing so the former handed the latter a red coat on the hanger at the entrance.How could Arabella refuse Mrs. Winstead’s kind intentions? The former took off her jacket and put on the coat. Then, Arabella grabbed her bag and left the living room with Francesca following behind her.Because Francesca had made an appointment in advance, they went straight to the hospital for the checkup. After a series of examinations, the doctor said, “The child is very healthy. It’s just that you must ha
The phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and saw that it was her calling. He threw the phone on the seat next to him. After a few seconds, the phone stopped ringing.He took out a cigarette and put it into his mouth. His phone rang again. He took a glimpse at it from the corner of his eye and saw that it was still from her.He let it ring and took out a lighter to light the cigarette. He rolled down the window and blew out smoke rings that were carried away by the night wind.When it rang for the third time, he pressed the reject button in frustration and turned off his phone. The night was quiet again.Arabella paced around the room in her pajamas, holding her phone in her hand. She had called Daniel many times, but his phone was eventually switched off.It was already two o’clock in the morning but she was also hesitant to call Caleb since it was too late in the night.She walked to the bed and sat waiting. Her phone was always in her hand, ready to pick up a call the moment it
Master Samson took a single look at her before turning the other way, turning a deaf ear to her words.The pale yellow liquid in the medicine bag flowed down the white tube drop by drop into his bloodstream through the needle on the back of his hand.Arabella didn’t care about Master Samson’s attitude as she silently retreated to the side and stood there. Helena Turner patted her hand lightly, indicating to the former not to take it to heart.The attending doctor listened to Master Samson’s heartbeat with a stethoscope and wrote down a string of numbers in a folder. Then, Benjamin Rivera followed him out of the ward.Master Samson looked at Serenity who was sitting by the bed and holding his hand. “For the sake of your future with Eva, you should remarry John.”The old man had been trying to get Serenity and John back together after returning from Oakland, but his granddaughter had been avoiding him. Because of this, Master Samson had gotten so angry that he was hospitalized.“We won’
While Arabella was stunned for a moment, John took the tissue from her and carefully wiped the water off her sleeves. Then, he pulled out a small part of her inner sleeve over the sleeves of her windbreaker a little so that the wet parts would not stick to her skin.“Are you feeling better?” His clear voice was low and gentle.She pulled her hand back, still feeling the warmth of his fingertips on the skin of her wrist. “Much better.” After a pause, she said, “Thank you, President Grant.”The immediate distance she put between them simply from her words felt as if she had just stabbed John. He pursed his pale lips and difficultly said, “Arabella, we shouldn’t be like this.”“From the moment you decided to marry my Sis, we were already destined to end up like this.” She was unfazed.John held her shoulders and seriously said, “But you know-”“That won’t change the truth!” She interrupted him, though rather calmly which scared John a little.He could see the prideful stubbornness in her
She took a sip from the glass of water. Since they were already married, there would always be a chance for her to meet the aunt in the future.Still, since she was angry at him for acting on his own and Daniel was not someone who would admit his mistake or apologize first, the couple did not speak to each other for the rest of the day – they simply minded their own business and nonchalantly ignored each other.Daniel rested at home for a week before going back to work. Once he did, only Arabella and Mrs. Winstead were left at home.XXXOne day after lunch, Arabella drove to the cafe at which she had agreed to meet Sam.It had been a week since they last met and Sam seemed to have become a lot more dispirited. But when he saw her, his usual cheeky smile returned. “A rich lady is indeed different. I would never dare dream of driving a car like this in my entire life.”Indeed, Arabella was driving a luxury car worth millions. He hadn’t even saved enough money to wed a wife yet. Such was
Julia Silver Garcia looked around the room at the others present before her eyes finally landed on her son in bed. “Such a big thing happened and yet you did not think to tell me and your father?”“Even if I didn’t call you, someone would have informed you.” The corners of Daniel’s lips curled into a mocking smile.Julia didn’t care about his tone. “I heard about what happened this time. You were too impulsive. No matter what, you shouldn’t have risked your own life-”“If you’re here to teach me a lesson, you might as well not come,” said Daniel, interrupting her in a tone devoid of respect.Julia’s expression changed slightly. There were outsiders present, yet he didn’t seem to care.Arabella decided to step in as she said, “Mom, don’t misunderstand. I’m very happy that you came to see him. You know his temper very well. It’s just that he can be a bit cold sometimes.”Unfortunately, Julia didn’t ease up. Mrs. Winstead had called the main residence to inform the Master and Madam of th
A Blatant InvitationHis deep yet bright eyes watched Arabella quietly, reflecting her silhouette. He had spoken with such seriousness that her eyes started to heat up and she had to do her best to suppress the layers of mist forming.Arabella gently held his right hand, her slender fingertips hooked the bandage wrapped around it, and her eyes turned sour.If he had not found her in time, she would probably have lost her life.Daniel used his left hand to caress her pale face. “You must be hungry. Mrs. Winstead sent over black chicken soup this morning. I’ll go get it for you.”He pushed the wheelchair to the table, opened the thermos flask, and poured some chicken soup into a bowl. He held the bowl with his bandaged left hand and pushed the wheelchair back to the bed with his other hand.” It’s still hot.”Arabella received the bowl of soup and took a few sips but did not touch a single piece of chicken.Daniel knew she must not have much of an appetite yet, so he did not force her. I
The Child Is Very HealthyHowever, he now knew that John and Serenity had put on a wedding ring for a fake marriage, so Daniel knew Arabella was referring to them, the young master and young madam of the Rivera family.He untied the wish on the branch, came down from the bamboo ladder, and put it into his suit pocket.The little monk complained, saying, “Why did you take down her wish? It won’t come true like this.”“I will be the one to fulfill all her wishes.” Daniel left this sentence with the monk and entered the temple. He took off his raincoat and threw it to Caleb, who had been following behind him.Caleb and Xeno were stunned by the appearance of the man before them. He was drenched, his black hair was messy, and his trousers below his knees had been soaked in mud and water. His walk was not as strong as usual and the movement of his legs was a little stiff.When they arrived at the guest room, Daniel was already sitting by Arabella’s bedside, his large palm placed on her abdo