Then, she turned to the old lady, shook her head, and spoke firmly: "You're mistaken. She has nothing to do with your Tremblay family. Please leave."The old lady sighed and left, saying: "I'll come back."In a split second before turning around to leave, it seemed like the old lady's figure had aged by decades.Flora pursed her lips, closed the door, and turned back to see her mother slumped in her chair with a pensive expression as if thinking about something.She didn't want to interrupt her mother's train of thought, but she couldn't help asking: "Mom, what she said... Is the man named Edsel Tremblay my father?""Flora..." Her mother took her hand and sat her down, gently stroking her soft hair, and sighed: "Do you blame me for all these years? Do you blame me for not giving you a complete family?"Flora pursed her lips and looked straight into her mother's eyes. In her mother's eyes were loneliness, regret, and heartache, all mixed."Mom, why did you say that?" Flora smiled at he
Matthew traversed the span of thousands of miles to reach Australia, all for the ownership of a flower garden. He was uncertain about the significance of this garden, only aware that it currently resided in another's hands, and that his foster father desired it. Flora strolled alongside him, her eyes darting about, enveloped by an air rich with the subtle aroma of flowers. "What are you daydreaming about? Watch your step…" Matthew’s voice barely finished echoing when the girl at his side stumbled over a rock. With a swift gesture, he reached out to steady her, sighing deeply: "I told you to be careful… Really… even the children aren't this clumsy." Flora’s heart pounded wildly, her face flushing a vibrant red. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on the sleeve of the man’s shirt. His masculine cologne melded with the surrounding floral fragrances, intoxicating the space around them. Within that mesmerizing aroma, it seemed she could detect a peculiar scent. Their intimate posture
Matthew seemed unconcerned about whether Lionel believed him or not, continuing to stare at the detonator in his hand: "If you want to confirm whether she's Edsel Tremblay's daughter or not, it's not difficult... kill her. If the Tremblay family doesn’t seek revenge, then you win your bet." Lionel's hand holding the gun trembled even more. He couldn't deny that his determination was wavering. If the girl had no connection to the Tremblay family, that would be alright. But what if she was really Edsel Tremblay's daughter? Just one wrong decision, and he could bury himself and everyone associated with him. Just as he was still indecisive, someone stealthily snuck up behind him, physically overpowering him and twisting his arms behind his back. He hastily pulled the trigger, but the gun was no longer pointed at Flora's temple. "You...you..." He grinded his teeth in anger, wishing he could tear Matthew apart. But at this point, Matthew's attention was elsewhere, focusing on the foolis
"Did you call a doctor yet?... Let me see..." Matthew, upon entering the room, saw his secretary lying on the bed, the blanket pulled up tightly around her. A fleeting thought brushed through his mind, as though he had witnessed a similar scene somewhere before. But the image passed too quickly for him to grasp. His concern for the woman lying on the bed had already consumed his attention, leaving no room for unrelated memories. His broad hand gently touched her forehead, the heat transferring to his palm. Matthew sighed: "It's too hot!" He tilted his head, pushing aside the unruly hair that veiled Flora's beautiful face, revealing a countenance flushed like a ripe tomato. Her eyebrows knitted tightly together, her breath coming in uneven gasps. Clearly, she was in discomfort. Even with her face burning so hot, she wouldn't let go of the blanket. Matthew pulled the thin blanket aside: "Don't cover yourself so tightly, you'll suffocate... Why are you dressed like this?" The thin
Leaving the hotel room, Matthew aimlessly drove around the city. He didn't want to go back to his mansion, nor did he want to talk to anyone, so he stopped in a deserted stretch of road and sat smoking in his car. The cigarette smoke filled the air, tickling his nostrils to the point of choking. Yet even this nicotine was insufficient to invigorate his nerves, to chase away all his worries. "I saw your car from afar, only to find out it's indeed you upon closer inspection. Why...are you smoking so much?" Selena knocked on the car window. As soon as the window was lowered, she crinkled her nose at the overpowering smell of tobacco. Matthew rarely smoked this much. "You can talk to me if you're troubled. After all, we're about to get married..." "Enough." Matthew frowned, lacking the patience for her prattle: "Get in the car if you want to, otherwise, find your way back yourself." Selena, of course, chose to get in the car. But as she reached for the door handle of the passenger se
"Who... who are you?" "You are Flora, aren't you? My apologies for summoning you in such a manner. I merely wanted to ascertain... are you the daughter of Edsel Tremblay?" This was the second time she had heard the name Edsel Tremblay spoken aloud by another. The first instance was when the old woman from the Tremblay family had sought her mother at their home. Judging from her mother's reaction, Flora surmised that this Edsel Tremblay was indeed her biological father. However, with the man in front of her intentions unknown, friend or foe, she dared not answer carelessly. After a moment of consideration, she shook her head: "I don't know. I don't know who Edsel Tremblay is, nor if he is my father." It wasn't precisely a lie; throughout her childhood and adulthood, no one had ever told her who her real father was. Not even her mother. "Answer me sincerely, otherwise... I can't guarantee what will happen to Oriana Smith." The man smirked, his dark eyes taking on an even more sinis
As the music ended, Flora stepped back, creating distance between herself and the loathsome man. Her face a mask of frosty indifference, she spat out two words: "Boring." With that, she turned on her heel and strode away. Behind her, a dark voice echoed: "Flora, if you dare to cheat on me... be prepared to face the consequences." Matthew was never a man of virtue, he wouldn't accept sitting idly by while being cuckolded. Fate is a curious thing. Sometimes one strives to distance oneself from another, but fate stubbornly pushes them back together. Flora left the grand ballroom filled with harmonious music and laughter of strangers, heading straight for the flower garden at the back. The forced smiles on those people's faces made her nauseous. "Release me first! If someone sees us now..." A familiar voice echoed in a teasing manner. Selena? Flora squinted from behind the bushes where she hid, looking at the standing Selena. She was not alone. Alongside her was a tall man. He had
"What brings you to me so early?" Flora yawned, looking at the man sitting cross-armed on the back seat of the car. He turned to her, squinting at her. "We're registering our marriage. The lawyer is waiting... You two, get off and let my sister-in-law come up here." The latter part was directed towards his two underlings sitting in the front seats. At their boss' command, the two men exited the car. One of them was a youth Flora had encountered a few times before, rubbing his hands together and laughing nervously. "Sister-in-law, don't make it difficult for us. Get in the car, otherwise our boss will be angry." If the boss was angry, the sister-in-law might not suffer, but the young man would surely not have an easy time. Of course, Flora wouldn't comply with their demands so easily. She glanced nervously around, hoping to find someone who could help. But the two men didn't have the patience to wait and attempted to grab her. "Let go of me!" Flora shouted: "What you're doing is
“The pearls on the dress are so beautiful!” Matthew brimmed with delight, his smile twinkling as he turned to the person beside him: "The pearls are locally harvested by the islanders, they're all natural... As for this wedding dress, it's a heartfelt gift from them to us." Despite being not the creation of skilled artisans or renowned designers, the dress bore the love and blessings of the island's inhabitants. He believed that once Flora donned this gown, she would be the happiest bride on their big day. Standing aside, Grace rolled her eyes: "I never imagined you could be this sentimental, big brother!" Turning to Flora, she teased: "Sister-in-law, remember to keep him on a tight leash, don't let his sentimentalism make others feel queasy." Grace had long forgotten her once earnest desire to marry Matthew. Now, she genuinely wished him and Flora a life of shared happiness. Matthew chuckled: "My dear sister, no need to feel jealous of your sister-in-law. Perhaps you should seiz
Matthew, spotting his son, asked: "Don't you want to bid Anna farewell? You two had such fun together, I bet you can't bear to see her go, right?" To his surprise, Charlie shook his head: "No, Dad, I don't want to say goodbye to that liar." The boy lowered his head, his voice steady: "She said she would stay here with Paul and me, but then she just left without a word. She really is a liar!" The boy slowly walked back to his room. Flora watched her son's retreating figure, unable to hold back a sigh: "He must be really upset." "We can't do anything about it. She's their child after all, we can't force her to stay. I know you worry about our son being upset, but don't worry, our boy is strong." And, if the children truly cherish this hard-earned relationship, they can always reconnect when they grow up. "You don't seem worried about him at all." "What else can we do? If it were Paul or our boy staying at someone else's home, I'd certainly rush to bring them back too, I wouldn'
Flora waited until they were away from their daughter's room to give Matthew a playful tug on the ear: "What's this about the wedding? You told me it was in two weeks, how did it suddenly become three days?” It was now that she finally began to question him. Earlier, when Matthew didn't see her react, he thought he had managed to escape unscathed. Little did he expect that she had noted down his wrongdoings, only to bring it up when they were away from their daughter's room. "I was wrong! I was wrong! Oh, my dear wife, please forgive me!" He cried out: "But it's really for you!" "What? How is it for me?" Flora's voice was filled with shock. Why would he move the wedding closer because of her, without her even knowing anything? Matthew rubbed his ear that was still tingling, explaining: "When I was massaging you, you said that two weeks was too long, that you wanted to get married sooner. I thought that since we were almost prepared anyway, it wouldn’t matter if we did it a bit so
Flora, with drowsy eyes, suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, I spoke with Grace yesterday, and she told me a lot about you. She said most of the houses on the island were built with your money, even the public facilities. I wasn't aware of this before. Seems like I've landed an immensely rich husband, a man of vast wealth?" The cost of construction, let alone the transportation of materials from the mainland, was astronomical. "I knew S.E.I Corporation was huge, but I had no idea you'd also invested in this..." "That's not true." Matthew chuckled: "S.E.I's profit is indeed enormous, but the money used for the island's development didn't come from the corporation. It's a personal endeavor of mine, not part of the corporation's philanthropy." So, the funds for this island's construction, are they Matthew's private money? Such a thought might not be entirely appropriate, yet upon hearing his words, Flora immediately wondered, could he have used money earned from the underworld to
Once they had settled in, they brought up serious matters. "I heard from him that there is a spy in the organization, but we don't know who." Flora had only heard about this from Matthew. The person opposite her nodded: "I asked our brother about it last time, but he didn't say anything. His demeanor seemed... rather upset." He sighed after speaking, then quickly changed his tone: "But don't worry sister-in-law, once your and brother's happy event is over, we'll investigate the organization. Sooner or later, that spy will expose himself." This matter nagged at Flora's heart. She couldn't understand how Selena had the capacity to manipulate Matthew's subordinates. According to Matthew, she was merely a pawn in Daniel's game. Who was Selena leveraging? Or rather... who was secretly assisting her against Matthew? "Ah... It hurts so much!" A sudden scream from outside in the flower garden startled Flora. She hastily ran out to see Matthew's two brothers, whom she knew, fighting.
Grace asked anxiously: "Sister-in-law, still no word from my brother?" Flora shook her head in despair. The rescue team had commenced operations, initiating a wide-scale search at sea. There were no updates so far, and Flora was forced to believe that no news sometimes can be good news. "Is there no way to contact him?" Grace furrowed her brows: "Isn't he a tech whiz? Isn't there another way..." Grace's words caused a light to shine in Flora's eyes: "Yes! There is a way!" After a few long dial tones, the call connected successfully and a lazy voice dripped with familiar sarcasm: "Ah, beautiful lady, you finally called me. Didn't you know how much I've missed you..." "Hubert, cut the crap." Flora interrupted Hubert's grandiloquent remarks: "I need you to locate Matthew, can you do that?" "I can track him down, yes..." On the other end, keyboard clattering sounded: "But for what purpose? Are you trying to catch him cheating?" Hubert clicked his tongue, completely exaggerating.
After waiting about five minutes, the door opened and Grace walked straight in. "Matthew, you wanted to see me?" "Did your sister-in-law tell you to talk to me?" Grace's words took Matthew aback, not because he didn't expect her to know the ins and outs of the matter, but because she referred to Flora as her sister-in-law. It suddenly occurred to him, could the girl he saw as a sister have figured things out on her own? He let out a sigh and said softly: "She's quite worried about you." "In the past, we used to head to the beach at this time, swimming and discussing everything under the sun. In the blink of an eye, several years have passed, and you have brought your wife and children here, even proposed on this island..." Grace looked up at the sky: "I used to think that I would marry you someday, become your wife. Only now do I realize it was all a fantasy of mine. You have already found your happiness, and perhaps I will too, with someone truly suitable." Matthew had been
After dinner, Matthew took the children stargazing. Flora, feeling upset, decided to sit back and rest in a corner. A man in his early forties, presumably the owner of the house, seized the opportunity when Matthew was not around to bring a plate of fruits over, setting it on the table: “Try some island specialties. These are all fruits you can't find on the mainland.” Seeing her pick up a piece of fruit, he continued: “Grace was a bit impolite today, please don't take it to heart. We've spoiled her too much.” “She… seems to have a liking for my husband.” The affection in her eyes when she looked at Matthew and the hostility when she looked at Flora were easily discernible, even to a blind person. The man nodded, recounting: “The girl's a good swimmer. A few years ago, she saved two men out at sea. One of them was Matthew. He stayed here for nearly a year, learning to swim with her. During that time, he became quite close with everyone on the island. The girl… has wanted to
His cold eyes bore into Winky, he barked: "You want to die after your lady, then die! There's no one stopping you anymore! Go ahead and die! If you don't want to die, then get out of my sight!" "No... I didn't intend to..." Winky clutched his head, his voice trembling: "I had no idea she would just stand there and not evade..." His move wasn't swift, Mimi could've easily dodged if she had been alert.. The medical team arrived swiftly, and Mimi was immediately taken into surgery. Her wound was deep. Not only did Mimi not evade Winky's blade, but she also leaned forward, allowing the blade to pierce deeper into her chest. "Fortunately, the wound isn't in a critical location. Her life isn't in danger, don't worry." Andrey remarked, although he suspected Winky had intentionally missed vital organs. Otherwise, a renowned assassin like him surely would've known where to strike to take a life. The surgery lasted nearly two hours. Flora sat outside the operation room until the doctors c