No one could tell if Christopher was still angry or sad about the matter. He turned around and quietly leaned on his crutches as he returned to his room.Lady Wilson was furious. However, she had no choice but to accept the fact that Hannah was back.After all, she had to rely on Wendy to support her living. It wouldn’t be wise to offend Wendy at such a time.Wendy was glad to see that the matter was resolved satisfactorily. She breathed a sigh of relief and helped her mother up. She urged, “Mom, get up. Let’s go home.”Hannah nodded, still crying. She looked like she had finally earned a new lease on life.She was left with no way out. If she could, she would’ve never come back to see Lady Wilson’s face.Her biggest wish was to have shelter and not worry about her three meals a day. For the time being, going back to the Thompson First villa in Aurous Hill was the best choice for her.She was fortunate to meet her daughter again. Wendy was never a motivated person, and had no wo
He was now wiser, and so stopped provoking Elaine to prevent any trouble.Wendy came forward and said to Elaine with great respect, “Elaine… I was very immature before and made many mistakes as well. Please don’t be angry with my past mistakes. If you don’t mind, our families can continue to stay in contact.”Elaine didn’t expect Wendy’s change of attitude. Seeing how respectful Wendy was put her in a good mood.She nodded and agreed, “Let’s forget about the past. In the future, I’ll come over to meet your mom. Us sisters-in-law will stay in the same boat and anger the old witch!”As Elaine said that, she changed to a mysterious look and whispered to Hannah, “Hannah, you can’t always be resigned to this old witch! You were too obedient and tolerant to her before. We had nothing to say whenever she treated us arrogantly. After all, she was the head of the family. Does she still think that she’s still as powerful as before? Those days are long gone!”“She can’t have anything she wan
Jacob drove away in his new Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and the two villas finally regained their peace.Charlie and Claire had been on A05 villa’s second-floor balcony. Both had witnessed the entire thing, and were now watching Jacob’s Rolls-Royce gradually disappear from their sight.Claire rubbed her temple and muttered weakly, “Oh, no. Now that my aunt’s back, things will become chaotic again…”Charlie smiled, amused. “It’ll be fine. Hannah seems quietly friendly to Mom. She was flattering her, wasn’t she?”“Yeah…” Claire pursed her lips, bitter. She added anxiously, “I’m really worried if they will meet again. If they join forces and fight with my grandma, we won’t be able to live in peace…”Charlie gave her a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to worry about all that. Your mom’s right. Lady Wilson has no wealth or power now. She can’t beat Hannah at all. I’m afraid her life will only get worse in the future.”Claire sighed, feeling complicated. “When will my uncle’s family and my
Originally, Jameson wanted to try his luck at The Apothecary Pharmaceutical again tonight. He wanted to show Liam his sincerity.Unexpectedly, he was forced to change his plans. Kathleen Fox’s assistant suddenly contacted him and told him that Kathleen wanted to discuss something with him in person.Jameson dared not to offend Kathleen. Once he hung up the call, he hurriedly made his way to the appointment.He soon arrived in front of Kathleen’s presidential suite. Kathleen’s bodyguard, Julian, stood outside the door, as still as a statue.Jameson stepped forward and stated his purpose of visit. “Hello, I came to meet Ms. Fox.”Julian observed him with a curt glance before nodding at him. “She’s waiting for you inside. You may go in.”Julian turned around and opened the door for Jameson. Jameson asked in surprise, “Don’t you want to do a body search or a security check?”“No need,” Julian said indifferently. “I know you don’t have any weapons on you.”Jameson shrugged. “Okay,
Jameson instantly recognized Charlie just with one glance.He raised his pitch and exclaimed enthusiastically, “That’s him! He… He’s the Director Wade of the pharma dept!”Unable to stop himself, he asked, “Ms. Fox, why do you have a photo of him? Do you know him? If you do, can you connect me to him? Please, I beg you!”Jameson felt like he was clutching at his last straw just moments before drowning in complete despair.He was at the end of his wits and on the verge of collapse. He couldn’t meet Liam, thus, he was unable to get his hands on the Apothecary Restoration Pill. He had tried all sorts of ways to search for Director Wade. Based on what he had seen, Director Wade seemed to be an important person. Besides, Director Wade was the one who gave the first batch of Apothecary Restoration Pill to him at the beginning.However, Director Wade did not leave any information about his identity during their meeting. Jameson knew nothing about Charlie apart from Charlie’s title. He
Kathleen replied indifferently, “You’re welcome, Mr. Smith. One more thing. Once you leave this room, you have to deny knowing me, especially if anyone in Aurous Hill asks you about me. Do you understand?”Jameson didn’t understand Kathleen’s purpose, but agreed anyway. “Don’t worry, Ms. Fox. From now on, I don’t know you.”Kathleen nodded.Not many knew her real identity, and this fact was even more prevalent in Aurous Hill. Apart from her entourage, Jameson Smith was the only one who knew her real identity.She hoped Jameson could keep it a secret and not be the reason that would uncover her identity.Unbeknownst to Kathleen, Charlie had already begun an investigation into her identity.…The next morning arrived. Stephen sent Charlie all the information about Kylie, or Kathleen, and her party when they entered the country.There was a record of Kathleen’s entry to the country as Kylie Jane. Charlie also identified the six-star martial artist who came with her. His identity i
Charlie ordered Porter to obtain the information regarding Kylie’s real identity in their intelligence network. After that, he gave Kylie a call.Kathleen had been waiting for Charlie to contact her. She wanted to please him, so she sent Jacob a brand new Rolls-Royce Cullinan and even gave Claire a huge project worth tens of millions.She expected Charlie to at least call as a courteous gesture.She answered the call at once. “Mr. Wade, why are you calling me so early in the morning?”Charlie told his reasons. “Ms. Jane. As I’ve said yesterday, you didn’t have to pay for my Feng Shui readings. Why did you give my father-in-law a Cullinan? You’re too generous to me. It made me embarrassed.”Charlie only said that as a polite exchange. In truth, he wasn’t embarrassed at all.Kathleen answered, “Mr. Wade, please don’t fret. You’re a great Feng Shui master. How can I not pay for your services? If I set a precedent, it may affect your further business. I’ll feel bad about that.”Kath
Claire asked in surprise, “Dad, why are you dressed so formally today?”Jacob carefully adjusted his tie and grinned. “I’m someone who drives a Rolls-Royce Cullinan now, so I have to pay attention to what I wear. Otherwise, others may think of me as just the driver.”Claire was speechless. She said helplessly, “Dad, did you forget? Your Rolls-Royce is supposed to be a gift for Charlie! Why didn’t you ask Charlie if he needed the car?”Jacob rubbed his nose awkwardly and hurriedly asked Charlie, “Charlie, you… Do you need the car? If you need it, I’ll leave the car with you…”He then added quickly, “Well, if you aren’t using the car anytime soon, I’ll drive the car for the time being. Let me know in advance when you need the car. I’ll leave the car for you and not be a hindrance!”Charlie smiled and said calmly, “Dad, don’t worry about it. I don’t plan to drive that car. If you don’t mind, you can bring your BMW 530 home for me to use occasionally.”Jacob was overjoyed to hear tha
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