"Zachary, I'm back!" Sophia shouted as soon as she walked in through the door.Both Jeremy and Bryan were watching the television in the living room. No one looked over at Sophia when they heard her coming back."Okay," said Jeremy lightly.Sophia was used to his indifference. She walked to the sofa with the groceries she bought from the supermarket."Zachary, look! I passed by the supermarket on my way back and bought a lot of fresh ingredients. I'm going to make you some beef stew I just learned today!" said Sophia while shaking the plastic bag in her hand.Jeremy raised his eyes and looked at her passively. "You've been busy all day, so you don't have to cook today."Sophia shook her head and insisted, "I'm not tired! Zachary, I found that I actually like cooking. I get a sense of achievement every time I see you and Benjamin eating the food I cooked."Jeremy said nothing. He was not going to offer up any more opinions if she insisted on cooking. He would just let her do it.
Bryan frowned. "Because I don't think you're my Mommy!"Sophia was stunned by this remark before panic overtook her. "You… You're talking nonsense again! If I'm not your Mommy, then who is? At the very least, you didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere!"Bryan glared at her and said unhappily, "What proof do you have that you're my mommy? I don't look anything like you at all!"Sophia instinctively glanced at Jeremy to see his reaction before saying hurriedly, "Who said that kids will look like their mother? Many kids don't look like their mommy when they were little, but then they became more and more alike as they grew up!"Bryan put his hands on his hips. "Anyway, I just don't believe you're my Mommy! And if you're so sure about it, why don't we take a maternity test to see if we're related by blood?!""Why you!"'Is this d*mn kid trying to create an opportunity to go back to Corinne? He probably has enough fun here already, and that's why he wants to go back. Oh, he can just dr
As reluctant as Bryan was, he did not dare to defy Jeremy. Thus, he unwillingly apologized to Sophia. "I'm sorry…"Sophia was so happy for Jeremy taking her side that she decided to let Bryan's attitude slide. She started to pretend to be a good person again."It's okay, Benjamin. I'm not really angry with you. But make sure you don't speak like that to me again, you hear?"The only reason Bryan apologized to her was because Jeremy forced him to. He did not sincerely mean it, so he turned his face away from Sophia.Jeremy looked at Bryan with darkened eyes. "You're right. He is getting ruder. He really needs to be disciplined.""Forget it. I think Benjamin knows he was wrong. Don't be too harsh on him, Zachary," said Sophia, feigning kindness."It's exactly because I was too lenient on him that he became so disrespectful! You should carry on what you were going to do, and I'll give him an earful."Sophia nodded and secretly smiled. "Okay, I'll leave you to lecture him while I go
Corinne saw a crowd had gathered at the sidewalk. Through the gaps between the people, she saw Sunny wrestling with another man on the ground. Xante—who was pinching the bridge of her nose—stood aside.Corinne immediately hit the brakes. 'What's going on?'Jason's eyes lit up with excitement as he followed Corinne out of the car.Corinne pushed through the crowd. She looked at Sunny, who was on top of a man and was punching him, with a frown. "Stop right now," she ordered.As soon as she spoke, every pair of eyes turned to look at her.Sunny stopped punching the man instantly. He then looked up at her sheepishly. "Corinne?"Xante was also stunned. She walked over to Corinne and asked her with concern, "Boss, what are you doing here?"She glanced at Jason—who stood beside Corinne—and nodded slightly at him."I was passing by. What's going on? Just what the heck got into Sunny this time?" asked Corinne.Xante adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses. "The other man tried to hit on me. H
Corinne was actually quite annoyed when she saw that Jason had not left yet."Mister Jason, why are you still here? I thought you'd leave already."Jason smiled. "Chasing me away again? Didn't we agree to have dinner together?" He looked at the time on his phone and added, "It's five o'clock. Just in time for dinner if we go to the restaurant now."Corinne's lips twitched. 'When did I agree to go to dinner with him?'Sunny was tired from beating the pervert, so he wanted to join in the fun. "Jason, are you going to dinner with Corinne? Why don't we go together? Xante and I were planning to have dinner together, too."Xante, who stood beside Corinne, said nothing.Jason smiled and said, "Sure. The more the merrier. What do you think, Corinne?""You guys go ahead. I have to pick up the kids from kindergarten, so I won't be joining," said Corinne impassively."How about we go with you to the kindergarten to pick up the kids, and then we can all go to dinner together?" asked Jason
"We're on our way to pick up the kids now, so we'll probably reach the restaurant in about half an hour," answered Xante."Okay. Send me the restaurant's location, and I'll come find you guys later if I have time," said Aaron.Xante could not take his pretense, so she simply hung up the phone."So what did he say?" asked Corinne when she saw Xante hanging up out of the corner of her eyes.Xante chuckled. "He said he's having dinner with his in-laws at his girlfriend's house."Corinne frowned. "What is he trying to pull this time?"Xante shook her head. "I have no idea. He asked me to send him the restaurant's location and said he'll go if he can. Boss, which restaurant should we go to later?"Corinne did not have a clue either. "We'll decide later and send him the location after that.""Okay."…Meanwhile, at the Levines' residence.Aaron put away his phone and turned to help Jenny, Annie's mother, with the vegetables. "Miss Jenny, please let me help you.""No, it's okay, A
Jenny frowned. "Annie, we might not know Aaron very well, but isn't he your boyfriend?"Annie rolled her eyes. She was so angry that she could have passed out there and then. "When did I say he's my boyfriend? Can you two please stop jumping to conclusions like that?"Upon hearing this, Edward put down the kitchen knife he was holding. "Annie, are you saying Aaron isn't your boyfriend? Then why does he always help our family with business?"Stunned, Annie did not know how to answer her father. "He..."'So he really did help out with the family's business…?' she thought.Last time Aaron kept nagging her to invite him home. She tried to get rid of him but could not, so she finally brought him home.Aaron was the type of guy who could make friends wherever he went. As soon as he arrived at Annie's house, he immediately got her parents to open up to him. He also took the opportunity to chat about business matters.At the same time, he made sure to pay attention to Annie, doing littl
Annie sat on the sofa sullenly and glared at Aaron. "Mister Aaron, what are you doing? Do you have any idea just how much trouble you've just caused me?"Aaron smiled and said, "I'm causing you trouble?"Annie nodded resolutely. "Yes! How am I supposed to explain this to my parents?!"Aaron pursed his lips and said, "It's simple. Just don't explain anything."Annie crossed her arms and said angrily, "How can I not explain? Now both of them think you're my boyfriend. One day, they'll find out you're not actually my boyfriend, and I'll never hear the end of it from them!""Then why don't you just accept me as your real boyfriend? That way, there will be no need to explain anything."Annie was stunned for a moment, but she turned away from him. "I've told you a thousand times to please stop making these jokes! I can't afford to play emotional games such as this, especially when my parents are involved! Go play with someone else, Mister Aaron."Aaron picked up the cup of coffee from
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