This was especially so when his daughter was still pregnant at the moment.When Keith saw that Merlin was crying, he hurriedly said, “Merlin, there will be great blessings after a catastrophe. You should be happy, so why are you crying?!”Having said that, he quickly turned to Kathleen and said with great appreciation, “Miss Fox, I have to say that your solution just now is really perfect. Still, even though you have to write this cheque, the money still has to come from the Acker family. You have already helped us so much, so we cannot let you spend any more money.”Kathleen smiled slightly and said, “Okay, Lord Acker. I’ll do as you say.”Keith then said to Merlin, “Merlin, when the time comes, let Christian arrange for your wife and daughter to come here directly. It just so happens that Miss Fox is staying for lunch. Your family should be arriving after lunch, so your family of three can be reunited after the meal!”Merlin wiped away his tears and nodded heavily. Keith said
After lunch, Merlin’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law finally landed at New York JFK Airport while the Ito family and Yashita were still flying over the ocean.The Acker family’s helicopter had been waiting at the airport for a long time. Under the Acker family’s coordination, the plane that was supposed to be parked on the corridor bridge was temporarily changed to a remote location. As soon as the three people got off the plane, they were taken away directly to the helicopter that was not far away by the Acker family’s staff who were waiting below.Merlin was so nervous in Ark Building that he kept pacing and rubbing his hands together.He had been repeatedly practicing the solution that Kathleen had given him out of fear that he would say the wrong thing when he met his family later.When Kathleen saw his nervousness, she said, “Chief Lammy, don’t worry too much. If you’re too nervous to express yourself well later, I can explain things to your wife for you then.”Christian also
An angel investor meant merely investing while disregarding the operation.These people could do whatever they wanted as long as the money was in place. They had a lot of things going on at their end, so you could just inform them if you didn’t have enough money as long as you did not bother them.This was what Josie really could not accept and felt most desperate about.However, when she heard from Christian that Merlin’s disappearance for so many days was due to some unexpected events, she burst into tears immediately and could not help but say to Christian, “Christian, to tell you some heartfelt words, if I didn’t still have some feelings for that b*stard, Merlin, I would have already filed for a divorce to the court on the grounds of de facto separation! After all, it’s easy to get divorced in the United States. We’ve been separated for years, so it’d be easy for us to get divorced in any state!”Having said that, she took out her handkerchief, blew her nose, and said in despai
Merlin did not expect that his wife, who had always been gentle, would react so fiercely. In the past, his wife would also have conflicts with him, but that was basically whining, sulking, and just a few days of cold war, at most.This was the first time she was yelling and scolding him so intensely. However, Merlin also knew that the reason why his wife had lost her composure was because she had been too worried about him during this period of time, so he naturally did not feel angry at all.Therefore, he could not wait to use Kathleen’s idea to explain himself. After making up his mind, he quickly explained, “Josie, I... I have a reason for that...”“Why? What’s the reason?” Josie asked angrily, “Don’t you think I understand you well enough yet, Merlin? Everything else is more important to you compared to me and your daughter! Your mind will be occupied whenever someone dies in New York, but when are you ever concerned about us?”Merlin was a little speechless.He was alre
Kathleen said indifferently, “Ten million US dollars may indeed be a lot to you, but to me, ten million US dollars is less than one percent of the compensation that I paid to those victims on behalf of the Fox family. This matter is very dangerous, and the slightest mistake could cost a person’s life.”Immediately afterward, she looked at Josie as well as Joy, who was behind Josie, and said seriously, “Actually, what I want to say is that you shouldn’t be complaining about how Chief Lammy didn’t inform you about this matter in advance. After all, the matter that I entrusted him to do was not only very complicated, but it was also very dangerous and he might have even lost his life if he was not careful.”“What’s more, Chief Lammy has already retired and intended to go back to take care of his own life, and there was no need for him to take this risk at all. However, he became very excited because of the ten million US dollars commission, and he didn’t accept the task because he wante
The family problems that Merlin had been worried about were finally successfully resolved with Kathleen’s help. Merlin’s sense of ‘family responsibility’ and ‘dedication’ not only made his wife and daughter forget about his disappearance during this period of time, but it also changed their image of him being an incompetent man, in their opinion.It could be said that Merlin’s image was suddenly pushed to an unprecedented height to his wife and daughter. Merlin’s wife and daughter gathered around him, and their eyes were flushed red from crying. Merlin was excited but also ashamed, and at the same time, he looked at Kathleen with slight gratitude that could not be concealed.Lord Acker admired Kathleen even more, and he took advantage of other people’s attention on Merlin’s family and called Christian and Kaeden aside as he whispered, “Miss Fox will be able to achieve great things in the future. The Acker family must strengthen our collaboration with her and build bridges with he
Charlie came to the top floor to greet her. He soon saw the helicopter door open followed by Nanako coming down from the helicopter dressed in a kimono, and he could not help but feel slightly taken aback.Although Nanako was indeed very beautiful in a kimono and had a very unique and gentle Japanese temperament, Charlie still could not figure out why Nanako would dress like this to come here. When Nanako saw Charlie, whom she had been longing for, in front of her, she was overjoyed and had a bright smile on her face as she said to Charlie, “Charlie-kun, I haven’t seen you in a long time!”Charlie smiled slightly, nodded, and said, “It has been a while indeed. Why are you dressed so grandly?”At this time, the Ito family’s butler and Nanako’s aunt also got off the helicopter and helped Yahiko, who was wearing his prostheses, out of the helicopter. Charlie looked even more surprised when he saw all these people dressed formally. Nanako stuck out her tongue and said playfully, “
When Isaac heard Charlie’s instructions, he immediately said, “Okay, Young Master. I’ll go and make the arrangements now.”After saying that, he quickly turned around and left.Yahiko felt a little embarrassed and said, “Mr. Wade, you don’t have to do that. It’s not necessary to celebrate my birthday. You can just give your orders directly if you have anything you need.”Nanako, who was aside, also could not guess Charlie’s real purpose in asking them to come to New York, so she also said very sincerely, “Charlie-kun, you don’t need to be so polite with us if you need the Ito family to do something for you! The Ito family will definitely go all out no matter what your request is!”Charlie said with a smile, “If you really want me to say it, there is, in fact, something that I need the Ito family to do for me.”Having said that, Charlie paused slightly and said again, “I recently got my hands on a pill that is somewhat helpful to the disabled. That is why I want to ask Mr. Ito and
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
Before Charlie had arrived, Jacob was still furious that Matilda would soon marry Yolden.After Charlie came, however, he was instead worried that Matilda would send him a wedding invitation.Meanwhile, Matilda and Yolden were discussing their list of guests.They had different social circles, but most of their friends were Stateside, and they only had some distant relatives in this country.Still, they had colleagues in Aurous Hill. Matilda had classmates too, but she was out of touch with them aside from Jacob, whom she often met.Still, as they discussed who should be invited, Matilda first suggested, "Let's go through everyone. First, our Stateside friends… I don't think we should tell them at all since it's a long journey, and inviting them would seem tactless. What do you think?"Yolden nodded, smiling, "I was just thinking the same thing. We're close with our Stateside friends and always keep in touch, but inviting them to our wedding might be a stretch. We'd just hit a wa
With that being said, once Matilda was thrown in the mix, Elaine would suddenly become an African honey badger, with every bit of black air force energy that was implied.As such, if Jacob had managed to be brave and take that one step back then, Charlie would have tried to help, stopping Elaine from harassing Jacob or Matilda.However, the reality was that Jacob had to bungle the chance when Matilda offered it to him.That was why the best option was for Jacob to understand that he couldn't get together with Matilda now so that he would feel much better.And since he had always been a coward, Charlie's slight intimidation cleared his head considerably.He then sighed, "Well, that's just life—you don't always get what you want, and you should never try to claim what you couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to choose Matilda over thirty years ago, so not being together now only makes sense.""Now, I can only pray that Elaine never finds out… or at least that things don't get out of h