Sophie quickly said, “Okay, Mom. Have a good rest tonight. I’ll call you in the morning!”“Okay.”After Sophie ended the call, Jaime said with some concern, “Sophie, Dad has always been a bit evasive about Aurous Hill. If he finds out that we’re going there with Mom, will he be mad?”Sophie snorted coldly, “Who cares? He has an illegitimate daughter, and he even dared to bring her home and put her under the eyes of our family. Why doesn’t he think that we will be mad too?!”After a pause, Sophie said angrily, “Seriously, I want to confront him about this! Us going to Aurous Hill is a sign for him to know that it’s all his fault!”Jaime said awkwardly, “Hey, we are his children. It isn’t nice for us to bring this up or even confront him about it…”With that, Jaime added, “Think about it, how many of those rich and famous guys in the world are completely loyal to their wives? I bet most of them have an affair or two outside. Dad was just confused at that time. He is still considere
That night, the entire Eastcliff was greatly shaken.After the big stir the Schulz family had caused in Japan and the family had then been targeted by the Japanese National Security Bureau, it had brought a huge blow to the reputation as well as the influence of the Schulz family.At the same time, other families in Eastcliff, led by the Wade family, were restless and ready for action.Now, the Schulz family had not only lost a large number of martial artists, but they had also offended their overseas plutocrats, causing them to shrink in power and be humble. Because of this, it was the best opportunity for other families to seize the Schulz family’s wealth and power.Jeremiah was particularly excited about this. He felt that this was God’s blessing for his family to rise again!Therefore, he gathered all his children except Carmen and immediately made a three-year plan.From now on, for the next three years, the Wade family would launch an all-out attack on the Schulz family, ju
Eastcliff, the Dunn family.Before Helen arrived home, her parents, as well as her siblings, knew about the scandal of the Schulz family and also Sheldon’s illegitimate daughter.Therefore, before she returned, Lord Dunn urged the other siblings to go home.Lord Dunn and Lady Dunn knew Helen’s temperament and character very well. They knew that as soon as Helen learned about this, she would definitely come home, so they didn’t call her, nor did they let others call her, and they gathered at home to wait for her return.When Helen’s car drove into the Dunn residence, her parents and siblings came out to welcome her.When Helen saw her whole family appearing in front of her, she was exceptionally moved.Unlike other families who were into business and industrialization, the elders of the Dunn family held important positions in politics and academics, hence, money was never an issue in the family.It was because they didn’t care about money that there was not much of a rivalry betw
When Jefferson let out a sigh, it made everyone somewhat grimace in regret.Lady Dunn hurriedly pinched him on the waist and chided in a low voice, “Shush! Stop rubbing it in! Hurry and get in to get ready for dinner!”Jefferson sighed and said, “Well, Helen is so big now. She is more open-minded than we are. I’m also just stating my opinion. You don’t have to be too discreet about it.”Helen nodded and said seriously, “That’s right, Mom. I’m not angry or sad at all. You don’t have to be so sensitive.”Lady Dunn was shocked. “Helen, you’re truly not angry at Sheldon for keeping this secret from you for so many years?”Helen said earnestly, “Nope, I’m not angry. Instead, I feel relieved.”Jefferson laughed. “Wonderful! I’m happy to know that you’ve moved on! Frankly speaking, I’ve always felt that you’ve been unhappy over the years. Now that you’ve moved on, I’m heartily happy for you.”Helen nodded with a smile. “Thanks, Father!”Jefferson laughed out loud and beckoned, “Let’s
After smoking the same cigarette for twenty years, the tobacco company had improved its factory’s production line, upgraded the formula, and replaced the cigarette paper and filter material.Everyone felt that the upgraded version was more exquisite and upscale than before, but Jefferson felt that the taste was not right and could not adapt to it. Later, he had even fallen sick because of this.When his subordinates had heard about his hospitalization, he had hurriedly gone to visit him. After learning that Jefferson’s illness had been caused by the difference in the taste of the cigarette he had smoked for twenty years, he immediately called and made the tobacco company restart the discontinued production line that had been dismantled and was ready for scrapping, and they produced the original version of the cigarettes for Jefferson alone. Miraculously, it had instantly cured his illness.However, Jefferson felt guilty for abusing his influence and power, so he specifically ask
While the entire Dunn family was indulged in the happy and harmonious ambiance, Sheldon had packed his luggage and was ready to depart for Australia.He was in a very passive position this time. His father had explicitly told him to lie low before the dust settled, so he could only do so upon his command.Before leaving, he called Jaime and said, “Jaime, come to my study with your sister.”Jaime hurriedly said, “Okay, Dad. We’ll come over right now.”After saying that, he ended the call and said, “Hey, Sophie, Dad wants to see us in his study.”Sophie huffed agitatedly, “You go by yourself. I don’t want to see him!”Sophie was still having a hard time accepting the fact that her father had cheated on her mother and had an illegitimate daughter who was only a year younger than her, so she was very reluctant to see Sheldon right now.Jaime persuaded in a helpless tone, “Sophie, as their children, we should not interfere with our parents’ business so much. Besides, are you really g
Jaime said furiously, “Dad! Grandpa is too much! He was the one who sold Rosalie out! Frankly speaking, he is a sly fox who betrayed his own granddaughter! Not only did he not think about how to solve the immediate crisis, but he even pushed you out as a target! He is really too much!”Sheldon waved his hand and said seriously, “You can talk about it here, but don’t you say anything when you get out of this room, do you hear me? This is how your grandfather is like, anyway…”“In his eyes, personal interests are the most important element, and everything is sacrificable for the sake of personal interests.”“He can hand Rosalie over to the Japanese Self-Defense Force today; who knows if he will hand any of us over to some other group tomorrow? So, when you’re around him, remember this: he who rules the family is like a tiger!”Jaime nodded solemnly.Sheldon added, “After I leave, accompany your mother more, apologize to her on my behalf, and throw in some good words for me, will you
As Jaime and Sheldon were talking, Sheldon’s phone suddenly rang.He glanced at the screen, and the caller ID indicated that it was his brother, Steven.Thinking of his sinister act of adding insult to injury at the most critical moment, Sheldon’s face twisted into a disdainful grimace, and he became extremely upset.He clicked on the loudspeaker and asked coldly, “What?”Steven chuckled and said, “Hey, Sheldon, the car as well as the plane are ready. It’s time to send you to the airport.”Grinding his teeth in dismay, Sheldon replied in a cold voice, “Okay. I’ll have a few more words with Jaime and come down soon.”Steven quickly said, “Sheldon, you’d better not delay this any longer. Father is waiting for my update. He wants you to leave as soon as possible.”Sheldon held back his anger and said, “Okay, I’ll be there in five minutes!”“Alright!” Steven laughed. “I’ll be waiting for you at the door, and I’ll personally send you to the airport later!”Sheldon ended the call wi
However, to Jacob's shock, Elaine wasn't misled at all as she growled icily, "Why would I ask anyone else?! If there's someone I must question, it's Matilda! She's getting married, isn't she? Good! I will be there and ask her why she hooked up with my husband!"Jacob turned pale right then.Matilda's son and even some of their old classmates would be attending her wedding.If Elaine went, he would be exposed, and he wouldn't be able to stay in Aurous Hill out of shame!His nerves gnawing at him, Jacob could only plead, "Please, just trust me this once! Anything else aside, she's getting married, anyway—there's no way that I'd have anything to do with her! That alone should prove my innocence!"Elaine snorted. "If Matilda returned when I was arrested, it means she has been back for a while! And you're saying nothing happened since? Hell, even if she's married, it doesn't prove that she wasn't up to some hanky-panky with you! Maybe while I was arrested and refused a divorce when you
The driver was left dumbstruck—this wasn't how it was supposed to go.Still, he blurted, "C-Crashing into a Cullinan? I might end up dead instead…""Fine! Then let's change cars, and you crash into ours—how about that?!" Elaine promptly retorted before continuing, "Or we could just stand right in front of your car while you run into us! I just happen to have a death wish, but if you don't kill me now, I'll kill you! Don't think about getting away either—I know your car plate! I'll sell this car and use the money to put a bounty on your head! I don't care what happens to me now! I'll claw my nails into the devil's face even if he shows up!"The driver was actually quite experienced, but even he had yet to meet someone as ridiculous as Elaine.Barely able to keep his hands steady, he threw them up as he apologized, "I'm so sorry, ma'am—I just lost my cool. I'm merely a humble driver of a Honda Civic while you own a Rolls. Hell, I spent fifty bucks buying that red emblem from Amazon,
Elaine may have led a life as if she was above the rules, but beneath that tough exterior lay crippling insecurities and a horrific inferiority complex.She was always afraid of being belittled—but more than that, of being ostracized and betrayed.Over the years, the greatest source of her complexes could all be traced back to Matilda.After all, Matilda had been a star back in their school days. Because Elaine was a close friend of hers, many boys would get chummy with Elaine, but only because they were interested in Matilda.Being from a poor farmer's family, Elaine had been scorned plenty and therefore felt exceedingly inferior around Matilda.It was from that sense of inferiority that Elaine had inadvertently developed a one-sided rivalry against Matilda, and she believed her greatest triumph over Matilda in this life was the moment she had stolen Jacob from her.However, while Elaine presumed that she could hold that victory over Matilda's head, Lady Wilson had soured that v
Moreover, given Elaine's ridiculous temper, Jacob knew she would definitely go overboard and destroy him.He wouldn't even have a place to live at that point, and it would really be game over if she held a grudge and stormed the Calligraphy and Painting Association!Under such circumstances, he couldn't ask for a divorce—hell, he might even refuse a divorce if Elaine asked for one!However, that was when Elaine laughed coldly. "Oh, my… You're really not going to divorce me?""Come on—how long were we married?" Jacob quickly reasoned. "Getting divorced at our age? People would laugh at us."Elaine scoffed. "Now I'm curious… Matilda's quite old too, and she's a divorcee marrying again. Won't people laugh at her?""Technically, she's a widow—"Jacob blurted out, but soon turned pale, tensing up again not a second after he had just calmed down, asking gingerly, "W-Why would you suddenly mention her?'Elaine stopped pretending right then and snapped, "It's actually impressive that y
Horrified, Jacob promptly grasped the steering wheel and brought the Cullinan back under control while not hesitating to snap, "Are you crazy?! We're on the highway—that could have killed the both of us!"However, Elaine ignored him and seized the moment to open the armrest box, pulling out the large white envelope.As she opened it, she muttered, "So, it really was a wedding invitation… You really are a terrible friend, Jacob Wilson, hiding a wedding invitation like this! What's the point? Just look at that nervous face of yours—would I suspect you of having an affair with the bride-to-be?"She flipped open the card and was experienced enough to check the names first while disregarding the usual preamble. She wouldn't care about the venue or the time either, focusing solely on the professor who had somehow made Jacob very nervous.That was how Elaine found the names in less than a second: Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall.Matilda?!The name could well be knives stabbing Elaine in th
Jacob's brain blanked out, leaving only a dull hum as soon as Walker mentioned 'Professor Hall'.Already feeling nervous in the first place, he quickly said, "Okay, okay—I got it. Anyway, I'm hanging up if there's nothing else!"With that, he promptly pressed the button to hang up.Nonetheless, Elaine was soon asking in curiosity, "Who's Professor Hall?"If Jacob had any semblance of composure, he would have said 'a colleague at Senior University' as if it was perfectly natural, and the matter would have been forgotten.But the reality was that he didn't—in fact, he was the champion when it came to dropping the ball as a casual question from Elaine left him sweating all over his brow.Even as he slid nervous glances at her face, he stammered uncontrollably, "N-Nobody…"Elaine promptly noticed his strange reaction and frowned. "I'm talking about Professor Hall. What do you mean, nobody? Who are they? And what's this about an invitation? Inviting you for what?"Seeing that he was
Jacob had really had too much to drink and couldn't remember the later parts of what had happened last night—even how he had gotten home was a blur.Naturally, he also forgot that Walker had brought Matilda's wedding invitation, and therefore didn't hesitate to answer the in-car answer button.Over the phone, Walker was positively fawning as he asked, "Mr. Wilson? It's Walker. Why didn't you come in today? Had too much to drink last night?""Uh-huh," Jacob grunted, lethargic. "I did—my head still hurts now… Anyway, what's up? Trouble at the association?""No, of course not," Walker quickly said. "I was just worried you're still hungover, so I called to ask. If you need a driver or anything, you just need to ask!"Then, before Jacob could answer, he continued, "By the way, my wife is somewhat knowledgable in Oskian medicine, and she has recipes for brews that cure hangovers and nourish the liver. I'm sure you'll need the latter since you're always drinking at social events, so I as
Fortunately, Elaine and Jacob's bickering never escalated.Even though Elaine was winning, Jacob found it tolerable.After Jacob finished his lunch and cleaned up, he never looked up as he said, "Charlie sent a text, saying Claire's flight would touch down earlier at three. We will leave at two."Elaine grumbled. "Why leave so early? She's coming back from abroad, and there'd be checkpoints she has to clear—she'd be lucky if she could leave by half past three. I'm sleeping a few winks now, and we'll leave at half past two."As she left the dining room, she didn't even look back as she said, "Clean up for me too."Jacob had a million complaints but said nothing as he kept his head down, throwing Elaine's lunchbox in the trash can as well.With Elaine gone, he sat on the couch as her hangover slowly cleared while his mood soured with the lack of alcohol.In the end, the pleasure of being fawned over at the Diamond Room was but temporary—the pain of his beloved leaving with someone
Vera kept her plan to investigate the identity of the abbess deep in her mind and told Charlie nothing.Instead, she smiled as she said, "It seems that it's both yours and Ms. Ito's good fortune that she has attained enlightenment. You've never had anyone who could attain enlightenment and master Reiki at the same time, so Ms. Ito will definitely be a great help to you in the future."Charlie chuckled and said calmly, "I'm not hoping for her to help. I'm simply happy for her with her enlightenment and excited to have another comrade in my solo ventures into the dark forests."Vera nodded in understanding, and she murmured emotionally, "I've lived for so long, and it's only when I opened my heart to you that I felt that sensation you described."There was a flicker of wistfulness in her eyes.She really did not expect to attain enlightenment before meeting Charlie.Years ago, she thought that she would eventually avenge her father.Now, she no longer hoped to murder Fleur Griffi