Jeremy's expression remained impassive, but Corinne could tell he had no intention to let her go."You'd rather beg me than talk to me nicely?" asked Jeremy.Corinne frowned. "How am I not talking to you nicely? Plus, you were the one who asked me to beg you!"Jeremy chuckled coldly. "When did you become so obedient? Why didn't you listen to me when I asked you to stay at home?"Corinne was speechless. She did not know what he was trying to say, and apart from glaring at him, she did not know how else to express her anger. After all, it was not like she could break free and escape from him.The bitterness in Jeremy's eyes gradually disappeared when he saw her angry yet puffy face. He pinched her cheek playfully and said dotingly, "How can you still be so cute when you're so puffy?"Corinne was once again speechless. 'Why did his tone suddenly change?'"Ahem! Don't even think I'll forgive you just because you called me cute!"Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "Then how can I make you fo
Jeremy did not let Corinne go. Instead, he muttered, "I didn't mean to lie to you. I forgot I was legally married to Sophia. It wasn't until I thought of marrying you that I remembered it. I planned to tell you everything after I revoked my marriage license with Sophia because I assumed you'd get angry at me if I told you before then…and I didn't want you to get upset while you're pregnant. I know this is all my fault…"Corinne fell silent after that. After a long while, she finally said, "Mister Jeremy, I don't think you ever see me as someone who can understand you. Now, it doesn't matter whether there's anything going on between you and Sophia. All the trust has gone from our relationship."After that, she tried to free herself from Jeremy's grip so she could escape from the suffocating car.…Jason went back to where he left Corinne with a bottle of mineral water in his hand. When she was nowhere to be seen, he started to look around for her in panic. Instead of finding Corinne
"Okay, let's go now!"Sophia and Jason went to the security room and asked the security guard on duty to let them see the footage. Soon, they came to the part where they saw Jeremy carrying Corinne out of the hotel.Sophia subtly clenched her fists. "Oh my god. How could Jeremy lie to us? Doesn't he know how worried we are about Corinne?"She managed to maintain a smile on her face, but everyone there could tell how sad she was.Jason was no better than her. He did not wish for Corinne to have any contact with Jeremy as he wanted her for himself. Also, he was worried Jeremy would hurt her in a fit of anger."Happy birthday, Sophia. Forgive me, but I have to leave now," said Jason before he quickly walked out of the room.Sophia immediately chased after him. "Jason! You're going to look for Jeremy and Corinne, right? Wait for me. I want to go too!"Jason was a little taken aback. "But you should go back to your birthday party."Sophia smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's just a p
Sophia gazed admiringly at Jason before praising him, "I respect you, Jason. Not many men can be so forgiving about their partners' past."Jason simply smiled. Not wanting to talk about himself anymore, he asked her, "What about you?""What do you mean, what about me?""What kind of attitude are you bringing into your and Jeremy's relationship? I mean, you don't seem like you mind that he's having a baby with Corinne."Sophia did not mind telling him the truth since he was honest with her. "To be honest, I don't really mind. Worst comes to worst, I'll just raise the baby with Jeremy. Besides, I think I'm more compatible with Jeremy since our personalities complement each other's. We can just be ourselves when we're together. Jeremy might still have feelings for Corinne, but they're not compatible with each other. They're not going to be happy or last long together. That's why I think Jeremy will eventually choose her over me."Jason glanced sideways at her and sincerely smiled. "I
Jeremy did not look at Sophia. With the cigarette still between his fingers, he emotionlessly replied, "Sure. Get in."Sophia looked smug for a second before walking around to get in from the other side of the car. After she sat beside him, Jeremy puffed out another cloud of smoke before gesturing with his chin to the driver as a signal for him to drive off.The car started moving steadily. Sophia looked out the window for a while before turning back to look at Jeremy. She then blinked innocently and asked, "Jeremy, why the long face? Did you fight with Corinne?"Instead of answering her, Jeremy asked her coldly, "Where do you want to go? Back to your hotel, or the party?"Sophia pretended to give some thought to the question before answering, "I'd like to go back to my hotel. The party is about to end soon, so there's no point going back there. I'll call Zeke later to tell them I've gone back to the hotel and ask them to help me entertain the guests.""Okay," said Jeremy. He gave
Sunny frowned. "What do you mean? Did Corinne go missing?""It's still too early to tell. I'm going to look for her nearby. Call me if she's back."After that, Jason rushed out to the elevator again.Sunny watched as Jason left, feeling confused.Xante, who just finished showering and was dressed in a bathrobe, came out of her room. "Who was at the door?""It was Jason. He came to look for Corinne. He said Corinne left the birthday party early, and it sounds like she went missing."Xante frowned and went back to her room to call Corinne. In the end, she got the same response as Jason—her phone was switched off.'This can't be good!' Xante ran over to her closet to change into something more presentable."Xante, are you going out to look for Corinne too?" asked Sunny when he saw her panicking."Yeah. Can you go home first?" she asked while changing.Sunny frowned. "No, I want to go with you!"As much as she did not want to bring Sunny with her, Xante had no choice but to let
Sunny's curiosity was piqued, so he said, "I'm going up to take a look!"Felix stopped him. "Mister Sunny, I think you should go back to your room. That way, Mister Lucas might forget all about your transgression today."Sunny flung his hand away. "Don't worry. I'm just going to listen from outside the door to see if it's anyone I recognize. I'll make sure Lucas doesn't find out about it."Felix wanted to stop him again, but Sunny ran off before he could grab him.Meanwhile, in Lucas' room…Lucas was peeling a mandarin orange for Corinne. "Here, Corinne. Have some mandarin oranges," he said gently.Corinne waved her hand. "No, thanks. I'm not hungry."Lucas placed the mandarin orange back on the table with a resigned sigh before picking up a glass of milk again. "The milk isn't that hot now. Do you want to drink it?"Corinne took the glass of milk from his hand, but instead of drinking it, she placed it back on the coffee table. "Mister Lucas, you don't have to tiptoe around me
Corinne smiled in a way that seemed polite and a little contemptuous altogether. "Is that so?"Lucas nodded. "Yeah! What happened with our mother had nothing to do with you! Yes, they did for a brief moment suspect that you were a product of an affair because of the rumors going around, but after they calmed down, they realized how wrong they were."Corinne scoffed. "Oh, how nice of them to think that!"Lucas sighed helplessly when he saw how stubborn Corinne was. His gaze went down to her protruding belly, and the worries of her leaving gripped him again. After thinking it over, he said, "Fine. I won't talk about the past anymore. But you don't want to see Jeremy, right? Well, I can guarantee he won't bother you if you just stay here."Corinne was a little taken aback and, to be honest, very tempted by Lucas' suggestion. She only came back to the city because Jeremy found out her hiding place in the countryside and also because the baby was about to be due.Even though Jason said
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