It was after 8:00 p.m. that the train Lotus took arrived at the Hills country area. Lotus got off the train and ordered a taxi, which took her to the Landry family villa. The Landry family villa was a spacious and tranquil villa decorated in white. It had lush green, beautiful trees and plants surrounding it.Lotus didn’t know much about the history that revolves around the villa, but she knew that her grandfather betrothed the villa to her mom after her mom stubbornly left the Landry family and chose to marry her father. Lotus sighed. She couldn’t help wondering if her late mother regretted her actions on her deathbed. Had her mother chosen to hear out her grandfather and not chose to marry Mr. Meyer, maybe her mom’s life would have been spared. Lotus exhaled and snapped out of the thoughts. Since no one lives in the villa, the villa is dark and deserted.Lotus took a step forward, and certain memories began to invade her memories—sweet memories before her family fell apart and
Aubree bit her lower lip, her fingers scrolling through the anonymous post about Venus that filled the internet. Her brows knitted her in confusion. Aubree didn’t seem to understand, regardless of how she tried.When did Lotus that bitch meet with Zaire? Moreover, if Zaire really liked Lotus to avoid a rich heiress like Venus Wills, then why did Lotus and Zaire do nothing about the news that Aubree and Aster posted a few days ago?The more Aubree thought of this, the more curious and frustrated she was. She can’t say that Zaire loves Lotus too much, and she can’t say he didn’t either; after all, there’s evidence to back it up.Suddenly, an alarm notification came through on Aubree’s phone, and a glint suddenly flickered past her eyes. That’s right! The day after was Lotus’s mom's death anniversary! Suddenly, Aubree’s eyes shone with a cunning glint. She picked up her phone and dialed a number. In the past, Aubree tended to follow Lotus to the Landry family villa where Lotus's late m
‘A young boy in his tens gently walked through a lush green garden. Although the mansion was filled with joy and bubbles due to a birthday celebration party, the young boy found himself unable to enjoy it. Upon realizing that he was diving deep, he sighed and planned to return to the mansion, knowing it was a break of privacy walking on others' property, but before he could, a pitiful crying voice drifted into his ear.‘Mom. Mom. Mom. How could you have left? Mom, it’s so unfair. I missed you.’ The pitiful crying voice attracted the boy so much that he forfeited his original decision and found himself returning to tracking the voice.Immediately, the most beautiful fairy the boy had ever seen filled his vision. The fairy was curled up in a fetal position. She was in a black dress, and tears streamed past her eyes rapidly.Immediately, he recognized the fairy as the famous Lotus, whose mom had just died a few weeks ago.Even though Dylan was still a young boy in his ten, he found
The rays of the sun reflected past the curtain and landed on Lotus’s pale face.Lotus yawned languidly and sat up in the bed with red eyes, a dark circle under her eye, and a wide face, her lips unconsciously forming in a pout.Lotus’s head felt heavy as a lead, and her brain seemed to pound against her head, making it painful. Even her temperature seemed to be increasing.Lotus sniffed pitifully and trembled, a thick duvet wrapped around her thin body. Although the environment was dry and bright due to the sun, somehow Lotus felt so cold it was as if she had been thrown into an icicle.Despite the pain and weakness coursing through her system increasingly, Lotus slowly stood up from the bed and trudged to the bathtub. She prepared the bathtub with warm water before lowering herself into the bathtub; the impact caused her to flinch and grimace with pain, “Ahhhh!”Slowly, Lotus tried to take her bath quickly, finding staying in the water agonizing rather than healing. A few minutes
As soon as the door was pushed open, a young woman in her thirties raised her head from behind the flower she was arranging.Upon seeing Lotus, a sweet beam surfaced on the florist’s face, and she extended her hands to hug Lotus. "Lotus, it's been a while. It's your mom's death anniversary today, right?” She inquired knowingly and separated from Lotus.Lotus lowered her head and blinked her eyes rapidly to keep the tears that threatened to fall at bay before responding in a low and hoarse tone, “Hm.”The florist clapped her hands together and beamed, “I had the inkling you'll be coming soon, so I’ve already prepared the usual flower. I'm so considerate, right?” She giggled to herself and made her way toward a shelf. Immediately, she took out a bouquet with a mixture of white daisies, carnations, lilies, chrysanthemums, and roses.“Thank you.” Lotus appreciated in a low and hoarse voice while trying to feign a calm smile. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind, making her eyes light up.
“You say, Zaire, have you heard from your beauty since that day? Has she called you? Or have you called her? I guess it’s a no. Sigh! You two are really stubborn!” Quist commented while shaking his legs. Quist's back leaned against the sofa, and his legs were placed on the table, one on top of the other. He kept picking up fruits among the neatly cut fruits that were placed in the bowl on the table in front of him with a fork.Zaire nonchalantly ignored Quist‘s chatting; instead, his gaze fell on the stacks of documents placed by his secretary. He picked it up and went through it before signing the document. Zaire had just picked up the second document when his gaze fell on a red envelope that was placed amidst the document.Zaire's brows arched slightly. Regardless, he picked up the envelope and opened it. Upon seeing the envelope picked up by Zaire, Quist’s brows furrowed, and he sat up curiously. He suddenly grinned mischievously and made his way toward Zaire curiously. “You thi
Zaire leaned against the wall, his dark eyes glaze and his expression blank, making one unable to decipher his thoughts.An expensive and top-quality cigarette was gently held in between his index and middle fingers, the cigarette spreading its unique scent and filling up the surroundings with its smoke. Despite the smoke giving Zaire's figure an ethereal, heart-racing, and illusionary image that's capable of making any gender’s heart race, somehow Zaire appeared lone and enigmatic the same. Upon seeing Zaire's indifferent expression, Quist's furrowed brows straightened, and his expression turned calm. Although Zaire appeared nonchalant as if he were fine, Quist knew Zaire was far from calm. He placed his hand on Zaire's shoulder and patted it twice to offer consolation. “She'll be fine.” He consoled Zaire's eyes flickered with an enigmatic glint, but it quickly disappeared, making one think it was just one illusion. Zaire raised the stick of cigarette toward his lips and sucked
Assistant Onyx had sent two documents about Lotus to Zaire. Upon reading the contents of the documents, Zaire’s face turned cold, and a fierce aura oozed from him. Immediately, Zaire threw his phone at Quist, who quickly went through the contents. Although Quist tried to conjure things, he still found the reality shocking.The fact everyone, including Lotus, believed that Lotus’s mom died due to cancer, but it turns out that the truth was stunning. A few years ago, Lotus and her mom, including their driver, were on a journey to the Landry villa when they met with an accident on a lonely road. Apparently, a trailer driven by a drunk driver suddenly slammed into their car, sending it into a violent roll before crashing it against a tree. Upon realizing what he had done, the drunk driver fled the scene without bothering to save the trio’s lives.By the time the trio was discovered, the driver had already lost his life, and the mother-and-daughter duo had already lost a lot of blood.
SIDE STORY 1: CHASING ZELDA “Ahhhhh!” Quist raised his neck and let out his outburst into the sky for the umpteenth time. After receiving two pieces of good news at the same time, how could he hold back from screaming? He certainly can’t. On the same day, Quist knew about Zelda's pregnancy, and on the same day, Zelda accepted his proposal. Quist felt that he could die tonight in bliss. Wait. No. No. He can't think so badly. If he dies tonight, then how can he end with his Zelda? No, he doesn't want to die! Immediately, Quist snapped out of his thoughts and hugged Zelda. “Wife…” Immediately, Zelda snorted, slapped Quist's hand, and glared at him. This silly playboy. She told him to chase after her properly; is this how to chase after a girl? “Mr. Quist, the proper way to chase after a girl is starting from introduction…” “Yes. Yes. Yes.” Quist nodded his head obediently and introduced, “I am Quist, Zelda's future husband. You are Zelda, Quist's beautiful wife.” The minute he comp
“Mom, I just called Dad, and an aunty with a sweet voice picked up the call.” The four-year-old Agassiz lowered the phone from his ear and blinked his black eyes innocently.As soon as he completed his words, he threw his phone onto the table and happily sauntered toward Arina, his younger twins. He cruelly tugged at Arina's hair twice and grinned wickedly.Arina pressed her lips together and glared at Agassiz before continuing to play games on her phone.Immediately after Lotus and Zaire’s wedding five years ago, the couple decided to settle down with the Landry family. Upon seeing the Landry family's top-notch medical skills and service, Zaire immediately switched to being a medical researcher with the intent of finding cures for rare diseases for non-profit use.Upon hearing Agassiz's words, Lotus carefully held her waist; her stomach bulged, revealing her six-month pregnancy. She stared at Agassiz gently and softly asked, “You called dad?”Agassiz paused in front of Lotus, blinke
“Your phone is ringing again. It’s your hubby Zaire.” Zelda enunciated and sighed for the umpteenth time while raising Lotus's phone in the air for Lotus to see her phone screen. Upon hearing Zelda’s words, Lotus’ eyes lit up, and she hurriedly separated from the hair and makeup staff who were currently applying makeup to her face while fixing her hair. “Bring it over. Bring it over.” Lotus waved her hand in the air and enthusiastically beckoned Zelda Upon hearing Lotus’ words, Zelda shook her head, snorted, and threw Lotus’ phone into the drawer. Lotus's expression changed immediately, and she glared at Zelda unhappily. Zelda folded her arms and began to chide Lotus. Zelda has always believed that Quist was the most clingy, but upon being in the couple’s vicinity, she realized that Lotus and Zaire were super clingy with each other. “Don’t even think about it.” The both of you just didn’t meet each other last night, but you still won’t let each other be. Just this morning you
Lotus held Zaire's hand and strolled her high school street, her eyes bright and a pleasant smile plastered on her face.Even though Lotus enjoyed visiting this place in the past, ever since she married Zaire, she was a bit worried about visiting this place. Lotus was afraid that Zaire might be unhappy with her visiting this place since she and Dylan were the ones who used to come here.But it turns out that her thoughts were really unnecessary because Zaire was the one who brought her here for a date.Lotus held Zaire's hand and eagerly strolled into her high school building. Currently, the school was on vacation, and it was during the weekend, which means no one was in the school's vicinity.Lotus held Zaire's hand and eagerly led him toward her classroom while pointing and explaining every part of the school.Lotus beamed and pointed at one of the front seats. “That's where I sit." Immediately she dragged Zaire toward the chair and table, and they sat down next to each other.Back
“Please come in, young master.” The instant Zaire arrived at the Landry mansion early the next morning, one of the Landry guards bowed to Zaire and said.Upon hearing the guard’s words, Zaire’s eyes flickered with amazement. He already expected the Landry family to scheme and prevent him from stepping into the mansion, but it turns out that they won’t resort so low...“Daddy, you’re here!” A loud scream resounded in the mansion and invaded Zaire’s ears. Instantly, two cute little legs bolted toward Zaire and jumped on Zaire.Zaire bent low and carried Maeva. Immediately, Zaire raised Maeva and twirled her around, causing her to giggle joyfully.It was only after a minute or two did Zaire hug her and pull her cheeks endearingly, a fatherly smile on his face. “Little princess.”“Good morning, dad. I missed you.” Maeva hooked her hands around Zaire’s neck and placed a loud kiss on his cheek. Zaire chuckled and rubbed her hair endearingly. “Dad missed little Princess Maeva a lot.” He exp
Upon seeing the fierce gazes that landed on them, Lotus’ face flushed red in embarrassment. She subtly pinched Zaire’s waist before inwardly chiding him for his actions. Zaire’s lips curved up, and he rubbed her endearingly.Lotus’ attention was grabbed by Reuben’s presence, and she lowered her head slightly to greet Reuben. “Reuben…”Reuben took a step forward, and his eyes brushed Zaire before flashing a provocative smirk at Zaire. So what if Zaire and Lotus are together? Reuben and Lotus came from the same world. Reuben smiled at Lotus gently, “I didn’t want to yet somehow I ended up here to sightsee, but it turns out..." He paused and took a glance at the place with eyes flickering with contempt. “Is this what you go through here…” unclean air, not so clean water...Understanding what Reuben implicitly meant, Lotus’s eyes flashed with disapproval. “I was born here all my life. What do you think?” Lotus retorted with a frown. No one chooses to be born in a certain place; how can
“Zaire?” Lotus’s eyes widened and her lips parted upon hearing Zaire’s words. She turned to Zaire in shock, not expecting him to sacrifice so much just for their family.Zaire had his family, friends, and life here, but he’s willing to sacrifice it just to make their family return to being together. Lotus’ heart melted, and she felt a surge of warmth invade her whole being. Zaire really loves her a lot.The Landry family's eyes flickered in amazement, but they disappeared in the next minute. The Ludovic family was calm as if they expected that result.Immediately, George snorted and rebutted harshly, his displeasure and loathing evident on his face and voice. “We have no space for strays,” he intoned.“Dad. Grandpa. Mom. Grandma.” Lotus’ expression changed, and she rebutted unhappily. How could they just come to a conclusion without even giving them the chance to prove themselves? Zaire is more than capable; how could her father call Zaire a stray?Zaire subtly held Lotus’s hand and
Lotus burrowed into Zaire’s embrace and puffed her cheeks in unhappiness. “I really itch to give that bitch a slap or flaunt to her at least.” Unfortunately, Lotus didn’t even cast a glance at Venus that bitch.Zaire poked her cheeks and chuckled in amusement. “She’s not worthy.” Lotus doesn’t need to dirty her hands because of a bitch like Venus. He consoled.Upon hearing Zaire’s words, Lotus nodded in agreement, her unhappiness dissipating without a trace. She hooked her arms around Zaire’s neck and rubbed her head in his neck coquettishly. “That’s right.” She acquiesced. Zaire gently placed a kiss on her fingers and played with her fingers. “Let’s go on a date.”Upon hearing Zaire’s words, a surge of happiness overwhelmed Lotus’s whole being, but in the next minute, she harrumphed, thrust out her chin, and puffed her cheeks cockily. “Why should I go on a date with you? You should coax me first.” She braggedZaire’s expression softened, and he poked her cheeks. His little and arrog
“Boss,” Wolf called and bowed respectfully the instant he picked up Zaire’s call. Zaire leaned back, his face blank and his eyes glazed. “Capture Venus; she’s making her escape out of the country,” Zaire ordered coldly, his head fixated on the keyboard screen. Upon hearing Zaire’s order, all trace of leisureness in Wolf disappeared, and his fist clenched. He hesitated, “Boss. Miss Venus has always…” Zaire’s brows arched, and his glazed eyes were replaced with extreme coldness. “Huh?” Even though Zaire and Wolf weren’t in the same place, it was as if the temperature had dropped, causing a trace of chills to run down Wolf’s spine. Although Zaire only let out a sound, it was enough for Wolf to know the implicit meaning behind Zaire’s words. He could only bite down his words and replied carefully, "Yes, boss.” As soon as Zaire cut off the call, Wolf lowered the phone from his ear. Wolf’s fist clenched, and his thoughts began to run chaotically, his emotions spiraling. He suddenly