Claire didn’t believe what her mother had said. She had felt Charlie’s sincerity toward her, so how could he possibly cheat?Claire then turned to Elaine and said, “Mom, you’re overthinking it. Charlie couldn’t possibly cheat!”“What do you mean “couldn’t possibly cheat”?!” One of Elaine’s eyebrows arched upward, and she rebutted, “If that’s the case, tell me, why did Charlie buy three sets of skincare products, and yet, he only brought back two sets? Where is the last one? Where did it go?!”Claire replied, “Most probably he bought it for a friend of his? Maybe his friend asked him to buy it for them?”“Friend?!” Elaine responded with a face hardened from anger. “Only brainless people like you would believe that! It is obviously bought for a woman! You said he was an orphan and did not have a mother, he doesn’t even have relatives here! If so, who else would he buy the skincare products for?! Of course it’s for that vixen!”Claire looked a little uneasy. She knew that whatever her mot
She had never viewed this problem from this angle before, but due to her personality, she was afraid and embarrassed to initiate such motives.After listening to her mother, she felt the anxiousness build up within her.Elaine continued yapping on the side, “Sigh. I used to look down on Charlie thinking that he was nothing but filth and garbage, seemingly useless but after taking a good look, now he does seem very capable! Look at how he controlled all those bigshots! That is what I call talented! Plus, this million-dollar villa is indeed great! The air here is fresh, and it makes you feel energetic! Who knows, maybe in the near future, he might even be able to use his talent and get himself his very own island in the Maldives!”“This…” Claire spoke awkwardly, “Mom, stop daydreaming already.”Elaine replied solemnly, “We need dreams! Who knows, maybe that dream might suddenly come true!”As she was speaking, she suddenly lowered her voice. “You… Quickly go and do the deed with him alre
As Charlie was watching television, Claire suddenly came up to him.When she saw that he was watching television, Claire sat down next to him.After that, Claire hesitated for a moment. Then, she asked him in a low voice, “Charlie, I want to ask you something. You have to answer truthfully, and you shouldn’t lie to me.”Charlie nodded before he said, “Go ahead and ask away, dear.”Claire handed the shopping receipt in her hand to Charlie before she asked him, “Why are there three sets of skincare products written on this receipt? It’s not that I do not trust you. However, I hope that you can just explain the situation to me.”When Charlie saw the shopping receipt, he was stunned for a moment. He quickly realized that Isaac must have placed the shopping receipt directly into one of the gift boxes after purchasing the skincare products. Charlie looked around, and when he saw that Elaine was not there, he whispered, “I will be honest, dear. In truth, Dad is the one who asked for a
While Nanako was visiting her mentor, Kazuki, she heard the news that Victoria, the Australian athlete that Aurora had defeated in the match today, was also currently receiving treatment at the Silverwing Hospital.Hiroshi had specifically gone to inquire about the matter, and he came back with results that truly shocked Nanako.It turned out that both of Victoria’s arms had been broken by Aurora’s kick during the match. Now, she had already put on a plaster cast, and she had already officially announced her withdrawal from the match to determine third place in the competition for the day after tomorrow. Michelle, the opponent that Nanako defeated, had immediately obtained the title of third place in the competition due to Victoria’s forfeiture.Moreover, Victoria not only withdrew from this competition, but there was a high possibility that she would be retiring completely.This was because the arms were very important for a combat and fighting athlete. After getting her arms brok
Jacob did not eat dinner at home that night.According to him, he was having dinner with several leaders of the Calligraphy and Painting Association as well as a few core members of the Senior University.Jacob called Charlie a little after nine o’clock.When Jacob called, Charlie was watching television with his wife in the living room.His mother-in-law, Elaine, had put on a caviar anti-aging facial mask as she lay down on the two-seater sofa in a leisurely manner while she scrolled through her online short video platform. As she was scrolling on her cell phone, she muttered, “Oh! That Japanese girl who came to Aurous Hill to participate in the combat and fighting championship has a pretty good appearance!”Charlie knew that she was definitely talking about Nanako. At this time, he did not say anything, but his cell phone had already started vibrating.When Charlie saw that it was a phone call from Jacob, he hurriedly answered the phone and said, “Hello, Dad.”Jacob sounded a
She was very excited, and she said to Charlie, “My good son-in-law, why didn’t Mom find out that you were so good in the past?”Charlie laughed, but he did not say anything. If he had known that he would be able to deal with a shrewd woman like Elaine simply by spending fifty thousand dollars a month, he would have spent that money a long time ago to save himself from all that trouble.At this time, Elaine was simply thinking of flattering Charlie, and she deliberately said to Claire, “Oh, Claire! You are already getting older, and you have already been married to Charlie for almost four years now. I say, it is also about time for both of you to have children already. Our family of four is living in such a big villa, it is indeed a little lonely and cold here. Wouldn’t it be livelier if there was a child running around in the villa?”As soon as Charlie heard these words, he was indeed very surprised!This was perfect!His mother-in-law truly thought of nothing else other than her
Claire never expected Charlie to use money to win her mother over.Even more unexpectedly, the effect of using money to win her mother over seemed to work very well indeed!Claire suddenly felt very embarrassed, and she truly felt like digging a hole and burying herself in it.At this time, when Elaine saw that Claire was not saying anything, she kept urging her from the side, “My good daughter, why don’t I bring you to see that old Oskian doctor tomorrow so that he can prescribe some medicine for you?”Claire felt completely helpless at this time, and she said embarrassedly, “Mom, stop talking nonsense!”Elaine replied solemnly, “How could you say that I am talking nonsense?! I also want to be able to carry my grandson as soon as possible!”Claire knew that if she did not leave now, her mother would definitely talk endlessly. Thus, she pushed Charlie hurriedly and said, “Let’s go and pick Dad up to bring him home now.”Charlie smiled as he nodded and said, “Then, we should go a
Charlie and Claire were still in the car, and they were still some distance away from the group of people. So, they could not hear exactly what they were talking about.However, by the looks of it, it was obvious that Matilda must have asked her son, Paul, to help her prepare a gift for Jacob in exchange.Claire felt even more depressed when she saw both of them exchanging gifts with one another. “Just look at Dad and Aunt Hall! Both of them are obviously acting more than just ordinary friends. They are more like a middle-aged and elderly couple in love!”Charlie nodded gently.He had already noticed a long time ago that both of them had a deep affection for each other. Matilda had even given Paul the middle name ‘Jamal’. This proved that she had never once forgotten about Jacob throughout all this time.As for Jacob, there was nothing else that needed to be said. After being oppressed by Elaine for so many years, he had already been missing and yearning for Matilda for a long tim
Jacob put a hand on his chest. "Don't worry—everything is going to be fine when my son-in-law takes the stage."As soon as he finished speaking, an unknown number called his phone.He answered, hearing a familiar voice he couldn't quite place, "Good afternoon. Am I speaking to Mr. Jacob Wilson?""Yes. May I ask who I am speaking to?""Albert Rhodes, owner of Heaven Springs at your service. Would you happen to remember me?"Hearing that, Jacob turned on the speaker excitedly as he continued, "Oh, yes, Don Albert! Of course I remember!"Mr. Bay's eyes lit up when he heard Albert announce himself, and he mouthed, "Is that really Don Albert?!"Jacob nodded repeatedly, his vanity burgeoning.Mr. Bay was naturally thrilled too, and he leaned closer to listen just as Albert spoke humbly, "If it's alright with you, Mr. Wilson, please don't address me as Don Albert. It's just a title some brats came up with—you are Master Wade's father-in-law, which means you have seniority over me. So,
Mr. Bay was overjoyed, seeing how quickly Jacob agreed to it. "Thanks, Jacob! I owe you!" He exclaimed, but soon added, "It's past four now, and that bunch like to fraternize in the room before they eat. Could you get the room soon? I think they'll be arriving soon."Then, he moved closer to add quietly, "If you can get a Diamond Room like before, I will bring you along. I'm not going to lie, these are officials with decision-making authority. Being friends with them might propel us to new heights!"Jacob already knew that Mr. Bay was sucking up to his friend, otherwise, he wouldn't be so concerned when the dinner was organized by said friend. Understanding that the friend must be important too, Jacob was at once buoyed.After all, he had presumed that becoming vice president was the most he could achieve.Now, if he could attend that dinner with Mr. Bay and establish a good relationship with those bigwigs, he would have his turn when Mr. Bay got promoted too.With that in min
Reservations in Heaven Springs had always been unpredictable, and most rooms weren't open to the general public—even if said rooms were vacant for the night.It was not as if Albert Rhodes didn't want to make money when he built Heaven Springs. He simply didn't do it solely for profit, but only mostly for social events and posturing.Back when he was a humbler member of society, he realized that many bigwigs and even his fellows cared for pride a lot. Be it food, liquor, or even simply everyday consumption, they always strove for the best and the most expensive.That was why polite society valued their privacy and established their respective social circles, which was why Heaven Springs ensured that everything was first-rate: atmosphere, service, food, and clientele.Just like how bigwigs wouldn't dine at the same table as their goons, said goons wouldn't eat at the fancy places those bigwigs frequented even if they had money, as it may appear as if they were overstepping.That wa
As such, intent on keeping up his pretense, Jacob answered the phone, "Looking for me, Matilda?""Uh-huh," Matilda replied, and asked, "You didn't show up at Senior University, and your sub is saying you probably won't be coming for a while? Is that true?""Oh—right, that," Jacob quickly said. "Well, it's true—the gist of it is that the Association is getting busy with a project. As the vice president, I probably shouldn't be staying at Senior University all the time, right?""Heck, Mr. Bay called me last minute, telling me how busy we're going to be and that I was needed. That's why I had to go back, but I will head over to campus again when I have the time."Matilda knew right then that those were all excuses.However, she did not expose Jacob, instead asking, "Well, when are you free? So that I can send you my wedding invitation?""Oh, the invitation?" Jacob quickly chuckled. "You really didn't have to come to me—just pass it to Walker, my sub lecturer. He can pass it to me wh
The next afternoon, there was a sudden change of lecturers for the calligraphy class.Despite being the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, Jacob never showed up, instead getting a substitute instructor to replace him.Matilda had come with the invitation Yolden had written for Jacob, but seeing that Jacob wasn't at the lecture hall, she waited until the class was over to ask the sub, "Excuse me, can I ask why Mr. Wilson wasn't teaching this class?""He's busy at the association," the sub replied. "So, I'm taking over his class."Curious, Matilda pressed, "Then, would you happen to know when he will be coming?""Probably not for a while," the sub replied. "He delegated other classes to me as well, telling me that I could just stick to the PowerPoint slides."Then, he asked, "Do you have business with Mr. Wilson?"Matilda nodded. "Yes, but I can call him myself. Thank you."Leaving the lecture hall, Matilda called Jacob, who was goofing off in his office
On the other end, Matilda was left staring at Jacob's reply in confusion.She had presumed that Jacob would understand when she mentioned inviting his whole family that he should be coming up with an excuse to skip attending her wedding.That was the most ideal solution.As such, she was shocked that instead of playing along, Jacob's reply was short and blunt.[No problem. The four of us will be there!]Perplexed, Matilda was left wondering what Jacob meant. Was he really going to attend her wedding with Elaine?The thought left Matilda frowning as she absolutely didn't want to see Elaine—especially not at her own wedding.Yolden was writing an invitation when he saw the somber look on her face, and he couldn't help asking, "Is there a problem?""Jacob replied," Matilda admitted. "And he's saying that he will bring his whole family.""Really?" Yolden was confused too, as he was hardly as eccentric as Jacob. "But he's afraid of his wife and shouldn't be telling her at all…
Charlie was driving Jacob to Thompson First when the latter received the text from Matilda.Seeing that they were reaching the front gates, Jacob promptly snapped at Charlie, "Charlie, stop the car now!"Charlie did so and asked in curiosity, "What's wrong?""Matilda just texted me," Jacob replied, showing the chat log between him and Matilda.Charlie was just glancing at it nonchalantly when he saw that Matilda's contact name was 'AAA July Florist'."Wait, why is that Aunt Matilda's contact name?" He exclaimed in surprise."I changed it."Jacob explained gingerly while reading through the text Matilda sent. "Her profile picture is an iris, so I changed her contact name to a florist since I'm mostly worried Elaine would peek into my phone.""Anyway, she's asking if I'm attending her wedding with Yolden. They would send us an invitation if I accept, extended to our whole family… what do you think I should say?"Charlie asked in return. "You're planning to skip it, aren't you? T
Then, Matilda suggested, "How about this—I'll ask him before deciding." "I'll pass on inviting the rest of my former classmates too. They're too vain and love comparing, so I'd rather not have anything to do with that. Also, there are our Korean friends who have it together, and they were telling us to invite them if we were going to get married. We have to keep our promise, right?""Yeah—then, it's basically decided. Aside from Charlie, we shall invite our colleagues and Korean friends while we wait for an answer from Jacob."Yolden nodded and said, "Now, I'll talk about the honeymoon—cut me short if you have a different opinion."Matilda nodded, resting her chin on her hands and smiling. "Shoot. I'm all ears."Feeling a little embarrassed by Matilda's glowing stare, Yolden took a sip of his ice water before continuing, "My idea is to head to the States for our honeymoon after the wedding…"He trailed off, staring at Matilda and waiting for a response.However, she was merely
"Oh, Jacob…?"Matilda chuckled awkwardly. "Just today, he offered to buy me dinner, but I said I didn't have the time, and I also told him about our wedding… So, we should invite him since he's aware of it.""Jacob offered to buy you dinner?" Yolden exclaimed in surprise. "Did he say why?""Nope," Matilda shrugged, smiling. "Probably just dinner between old classmates."However, she was actually smart enough to guess Jacob's intention even though Jacob was inviting her somewhere near campus. That was why she had also mentioned she was marrying Yolden while turning down Jacob, all so that he would give up on her.After she had managed to get over their past fling completely, she didn't want to give Jacob false hopes before she walked down the aisle.In the same regard, she didn't want to worry Yolden, and therefore, had deliberately discouraged Jacob.Be that as it may, Yolden was smart too.He knew about Matilda and Jacob's past and that her son, Paul's full name was Paul Jam