The man's rear figure was tall and slender, and as the petite girl followed him obediently, one could see the stark contrast of a visually adorable height difference....Ivanka squatted on the ground and wept. It was such a shame that her ukulele was destroyed in such a manner.She thought that crying like this would get the pity of the handsome man who wiped her tears earlier, but no one came to her aid even after she had been crying for some time!As soon as she looked up, she saw only the Prince Charming's handsome back.'Argh! Why is that handsome guy leaving, too?! Doesn't he care that I'm in such a miserable state?' Ivanka hurriedly got up and chased after him. "Sir, please wait..."Zeke stopped, smiled, and glanced askance at her. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"Ivanka was blank and felt a little awkward. 'Am I seeing things? My Prince Charming is obviously smiling, but he seems so much more indifferent than before.'"Uh… Sir, I'm here to return your handkerchi
"You flatter me," Corinne responded absent-mindedly without raising her head.Jeremy rested his forehead on one hand and glanced at her from the side. "Have you learned it before?"His question was an inquisitive one because it defied common sense that Corinne could play the ukulele so well. Although he had chosen her to be his missus purely by chance, he had sent someone to investigate her background after that chance meeting.Although the Carews were regarded as a middle-class family, Corinne was an illegitimate daughter who did not receive much in the way of care. She was sent to the countryside to be raised by relatives since she was young, and the worrying environment of her upbringing meant she hardly had any means to learn any musical instruments. Yet, that piece she played at the gathering earlier was simply beyond the reach of anyone without a solid foundation of seven or eight years.She was so full of contradictions that he could not help but wonder if there was more to
"Why would you play the ukulele for them, then?"Corinne pursed her lips. "You think I wanted to play for them? Some of the girls accused me of having an affair with the dean, which caused a misunderstanding among the students. The culprits will only apologize if I play the ukulele, so I had to put on a good performance! I respect the dean very much, so it's important to me that his name isn't tarnished."After hearing that, Jeremy turned to gaze intently at her before leaning closer all of a sudden. "Why didn't you clarify to them about me?"Corinne was startled when his handsome face, which looked attractive from every angle, leaned over so suddenly. Her breathing stopped, and she wondered to herself, 'What is he doing?!'"Ahem! Clarify what, exactly?"Jeremy's charmingly enigmatic eyes seemed to drag people deep into the depths of an abyss. He lowered his body even more as he said, "Clarify that I'm not some sugar daddy but your husband instead."The word 'husband' made Corinn
Sherlyn's shocked tone prompted Marvin and Lilliana to look out of the car window together.Lilliana rolled her eyes and said, "Look, Marvin! That is Corinne! Is that man her partner? Corinne's a young woman, and it's already very late. Why is she wandering around outside with a man? That's not very good, is it?"Marvin frowned in displeasure, firstly because of how inappropriate it was for his daughter Corinne to be alone with a man at such a late hour, and secondly because he saw Corinne walking into the train station entrance with that man. From his angle, all they could see was the man's back profile and not his face. However, Marvin, Lilliana, and Sherlyn had only one word for that man—poor.Sherlyn sighed and pretended to be worried for them as she said, "Dad, why did Corinne get a boyfriend who goes around using the train? She's not showing any improvement over the men that Mom introduced to her before. Those men all have houses and cars!"Lilliana joined in with her daughte
Jeremy was not angry, though. He curled his lips into a slight smile and followed Corinne in. After a while, Tommy called back, "Sir, I've found it! You should buy a ticket to—""It's been settled," Jeremy replied, then hung up without waiting for Tommy to finish.Tommy was left in a daze on the other end of the line, and he did not know what to think after what happened....Corinne walked slowly as she led Jeremy to the waiting area, and she could not help but laugh when she saw him hang up on Tommy.When the man heard her giggles, he stared at her coldly and asked, "What are you laughing at?"Corinne smiled and said, "I was wondering if rich people like you will end up forgetting how to live if you go bankrupt."Jeremy frowned. "You enjoy making fun of me?"Corinne could not bother to show him any courtesy and nodded honestly. "Yeah! I just took a picture of you standing helplessly in front of the ticket vending machine. I'm going to show it to Grandma once we're home!"Blu
Corinne shut her eyes momentarily as though tired. The exhausted expression made her endearing face look stern.She said, "Mister, I hope we'll have more trust for each other. You don't have to be so guarded and fear I'd cheat on you. Please give me some space! I told you I'd never have an affair before the three months are over. Just trust me on that!"Jeremy looked at her unblinkingly. "You thought I was worried about you?"Corinne looked up, tilted her head, and looked at him with her widened eyes. "What else could it be? You wouldn't have gone to the party ground that's not even to your liking, and you wouldn't have come into the room to check on mine and embarrass my classmate if you weren't worried about me!"Jeremey said faintly, "Miss Carew, please remember about our partnership. Inevitably, I hold partial responsibility for your safety during these three months. I'm not suspecting you, but the things that have me worrying are those male classmates around you. Can't you tel
Despite having lost a section of her memory, Corinne did not bother too much about it. It only bothered her that she still had not changed out of her clothes after having been outside, and she had not even showered. The feeling discomforted her.Thus, she groggily got up from the bed and took out a set of clean clothes from the wardrobe. She pushed open the bathroom door and entered—There was steam in the bathroom, and the water was running. The bathroom was warm too.'Did I turn on the water for the bathtub when I came back and forgot to turn it off?' she thought.She curiously entered to check the bathtub when all of a sudden, the visual of a naked man with broad shoulders, a slim waist, and a muscular frame greeted her eyes.The bathing man turned to look back when he heard shuffling behind him. At that moment, they made eye contact.One's eyes were vicious and sharp, and the other's were surprised and ashamed.With the sight snapping her entirely out of her drowsiness, she
The maid stopped and answered, "Madam Pamela is leaving, ma'am."'Grandma is leaving?' thought Corinne.She began fearing for the worst, worried that what Francine did yesterday had scarred Pamela. Just then, she heard her calling her name softly."Corinne."She looked up and saw Pamela walking over slowly to her."Grandma, I heard that you're leaving," Corinne said.Pamela smiled kindly and sighed helplessly. "That's right. I need to go back to your grandfather. That stubborn old man refused to listen, even after he had just had his operation. He doesn't follow the doctor's orders when I'm not around, so I need to go back and keep an eye on him.""I see." Once Corinne knew that was the reason why Pamela had to go back, she knew better than to ask her to stay longer. "Grandma, you have to look after yourself too. Have a safe journey home."Pamela nodded and held Corinne's hand softly. "Corinne, I know you've been through a lot after you married Jeremy. Francine had gone too far
Sherman could not help but feel fearful when he recalled the incident.Rita gently smoothed his furrowed brow. "I knew you'd come to rescue me, just like all the times you did. I love you, Sherman."Previously, Rita confessed her love to him when she was groggy. At this moment, however, she was clearly awake, even sporting a faint smile on her face as she confessed.Sherman immediately blushed. "I love you, too."Rita did not stay long in the hospital; she quickly returned to the Parr family's mansion. Just as Sherman's grandparents had said, Rita did not have any major injuries, so there was no need for her to stay in the hospital that long. In fact, she might even recover faster emotionally under the care at home.Not once did Sherman bring up Rita's job, but she surprisingly resigned from New Capital Times on her own accord. It would be difficult for her to investigate cases with her current condition; not to mention Sherman had handed over the evidence to the police. The polic
"Sherman, I like you. I love you," Rita finally confessed.Sherman, deeply pained, pulled Rita into his arms. "This is all my fault. I should've looked for you quicker. I've never blamed you. All I want is to see you smile. It's enough for me as long as you're willing to let me stay by your side."You don't have to confess to me. I know it's hard for you to do that because of your family. I've seen the way they've treated you, and…"The bodyguards who had barged in with Sherman felt a bit awkward to see their company president in tears. However, the priority was to get Rita to the hospital for a check-up. Being tied up for hours could cause circulation issues, and it could be dangerous if her limbs did not regain feelings soon.In the end, they got the bravest among them to convince Sherman to let them take Rita to the hospital. Instead of letting them do it, Sherman wiped away his tears and, with ease, lifted Rita as if she was as light as a feather.Fortunately, after the hospit
With that, Karen left without looking back. She was carrying Vince's baby in her womb, so how could she pin all her hopes on Sadie? Since Sadie was obviously unruly, she would have to rely on her son.'Sadie can spend the rest of her life with Esmond since she likes him so much. God knows it had been exhausting enough to raise her. Plus, it's only fair for Esmond to take care of her since I've done my part taking care of her until now,' thought Karen.Meanwhile, the only consolation for Sherman was that Esmond did not try to put up a fight. It seemed that he still cared about his daughter Sadie.Sherman led his men to a dilapidated house. Esmond had been cautious enough to choose a rundown house situated at the end of a village.When Sherman barged in, he found Rita lying on the floor while Esmond's men ignored her. Esmond's men had followed his orders, and since he did not instruct them to do anything to Rita, they left her well alone.Before the men could react, they were surrou
Karen cried and silently knelt by Sadie's side without trying to defend herself. Sadie, on the other hand, feebly tried to explain herself. Alas. Vince refused to listen.There had been many occasions before when he had chosen to believe Karen and Sadie, but at this moment, he realized he had been terribly wrong to do that.Rita used to be so kind, understanding, and well-behaved. However, ever since Karen and Sadie moved in, Vince felt like his daughter had become manipulative, always trying to compete for attention, and stirring up jealousy in front of him.Unfortunately, it took Rita's disappearance to make Vince realize that Rita was not trying to compete for attention. All Rita wanted from him was to treat her the same as Sadie.Vince used to think that Rita should give in to Sadie more since Sadie was younger, too."Why don't you go live with your biological father since you prefer him so much? I never want to see you show your face around here anymore! As for your mother, s
Sadie was so anxious that she wanted to jump out. "Mom, don't tell me you fell for it! Why did you call Esmond? Now they all know where Rita is. You've ruined everything, again! What were you thinking?"Karen could not care less. She cried and slapped Sadie. "You nearly scared me to death! What would I do if something happened to you? I didn't raise you just to watch you die. I told you not to meet up with Esmond, so why did you secretly meet up with him? How can you ask him to get rid of Rita?"Are you out of your mind? All I want is for us to live out the rest of our lives peacefully, so why didn't you listen to me?!"Sadie was furious. Karen had stopped trying to get rid of Rita ever since she got pregnant, so how could Sadie not be angry? Rita was like a thorn in her side, and Sadie would never be happy unless Rita was dead."Don't you know I like Sherman? How could you ask me to do nothing when Rita has stolen him from me?! I was the one who liked him first. It's either Rita g
Karen wanted so badly to slap Esmond through the phone.'What good are his pompous words now? We wouldn't be in this mess now if he hadn't hit me back then! What's more, he's saying he's doing this for Sadie. But has he ever thought of what would happen to me and Sadie if he got rid of Rita? Rita's the heiress of the Russell family. Not to mention, she's married to Sherman, so that makes her owner of Parr Group too! What makes Esmond think he can get rid of Rita so easily?'Karen's breath was ragged as she said, "If you don't believe me, just listen to your daughter's screams. I can't save her now; you will literally decide her fate! Plus, I'm pregnant with Vince's baby, so even if I lose Sadie, I still have a kid—which is more than what I can say about you!"Sherman could not help but be impressed by Karen a little. Even in this dire situation, she did not forget to express her heartfelt feelings to Vince, letting him know that she was always on his side. It was certainly not an ea
"Sherman raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a minor injury, maybe just a finger. There shouldn't be any major issues. A sprained joint takes only a hundred days to heal, and it might take her even less time to heal if you take very good care of her while she's recuperating."Karen's heart ached upon hearing that. She lunged toward Sherman, wanting to hit him, but the bodyguards stopped her before she could get close.Vince, still worried, held Karen tightly beside him. "Calm down. I'm sure Sadie will come out unharmed if Rita's kidnapping has nothing to do with her. But if it does, then you should know very well that…"Vince's voice dropped an octave. He could not believe his daughter's disappearance had anything to do with his stepdaughter. However, he was not utterly naive.He continued, "How could a girl like her take Rita away? Even the car window was smashed. Others must've been involved. Does her biological father have anything to do with it?"Sherman nodded
"Yes, it's true I met up with my biological father, but it was just a one-time thing. I don't want to go back to him at all! Otherwise, I would've done it ages ago. Dad, I'm really grateful to you for taking me in and looking after me all these years. That's why I feel like you're my real father, even more real than those who share the same blood."How could you unjustly accuse me and Mom like that? Sherman is the one spouting nonsense here. He's trying to push all the blame onto us. Dad, you have to wake up and see the truth!"Karen nodded along, but her heart was racing. 'When did Sadie meet Esmond? How did Sherman know when I don't even know? Seems like Sadie does have something to do with Rita's kidnapping. I have to settle things and get Sherman out of here.'Karen never had the thought of rekindling her relationship with Esmond. The only thing she wanted then was to peacefully give birth to her son. Everything in the Russell family would eventually go to her son, and she would
Sherman detested people pointing their fingers at him when they spoke. He stood up slowly, towering over Vince instantly."You claim to be Rita's father, yet if I were you, I'd choose to shut up and stand aside. I can't believe you're scolding me for threatening Sadie when she's not even your real daughter!"Look at her guilty expression; it's clear she's involved. If you don't believe me, use your brain a little. No wonder Russell Group is declining under your leadership. It's only a matter of time before the company goes completely bankrupt!"Sherman showed no mercy, causing Vince to retreat with every word. Vince clutched his chest, struggling for breath.Karen, despite her weakness, stepped forward to support him. "How could you speak to your father-in-law like this? What has Sadie done to offend you? She has nothing but admiration for you. Plus, she's just a child. How could you treat her like this?"She went on and on, but Sherman stood his ground. Meanwhile, the burly bodyg