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
Annie stared at Aaron quietly. "But you're not even willing to make a promise. So why should I believe you when you say you're serious about me now?"Aaron looked her straight in the eye. "This isn't the first day you meet me, so you should know that I'll say anything to a woman if it means it'll get them into bed with me. I can easily make vows like they're nothing, and because of this, I'm not willing to fool you with cheap promises now. So I'm going to use my actions to show that I am serious about you."Annie blinked blankly. She was almost convinced by him. "Are you…really going to marry me?""As long as you dare, of course I am willing. Do you dare?" Aaron asked with a smile.Annie secretly clenched her fists. "Of… Of course I dare!"Aaron got up from the armchair and moved to sit next to her. "Then when are we going to get married?"His sudden approach made Annie nervous, but she was unwilling to back down any longer. She frowned and said, "Tomorrow morning. You'll still h
Christine leaned into Corinne's arms, raised her face, and said irritatedly, "Mommy, we're eating out again today? Great-grandma is going to be sad!"Corinne understood what her daughter meant. Pamela would personally supervise the kitchen staff to prepare exquisite dinners for them every day. What she looked forward to most was for them to go back and have dinner together as a family.Corinne gently patted Christine's head and said, "It's okay. You can eat less, so that you'll still have room in the stomach to eat with Great-grandma.""But I heard Mommy ordering lots of my favorite dishes just now…" said Christine pitifully.Corinne did not know whether to laugh or cry when she heard that. "Oh, no. I guess you have to decide for yourself, then."Christine frowned as she struggled with her dilemma. 'I won't be able to eat with Great-grandma if I ate too much here… Not to mention, I'm trying to maintain my figure…'In the end, she decided she would only take one bite of each of th
'A certain loving young couple?' thought Corinne. She glanced at Xante and Sunny, and she saw Sunny holding Xante's hand in his hoodie's pocket as if it were the most natural thing in the world.Judging by the smile on his lips, it was obvious Sunny was happy to hear Jason call them a loving young couple. Xante, however, was not very happy, but she did not bother to explain anything.Corinne decided to ignore them. However, she could not help but think of Jeremy. He used to do the same thing to her in the past. He would not give up until her hand was locked in his. That was how overbearing he could be sometimes.At that moment, the waiter came over, served a few cold appetizers, and left them to their meal.On a whim, Corinne took a few photos of the dishes, then sent them through a special channel to Jeremy, asking him, [Do you want to eat?]After waiting for a long time and not getting a reply, Corinne's eyes darkened. However, she then told herself that it must be inconvenient
Both Xante and Corinne were speechless.After snapping out of his shock, Jason could not help but praise, "Sunny, you're so inspiring! You might act like a child sometimes, but you're actually quite the philosopher!""You're too kind, Jason. It's just that I don't like the kind of love that has too strong a desire to win. It's pointless for two people to compete between themselves. The time spent between competing could be used for better things. So what if you lose in love?"Corinne's eyes narrowed, and her expression darkened.She and Jeremy were the epitome of what Sunny described. Most of the time they spent together was spent fighting between themselves in a bid to establish dominance over the other, and this was their outcome.'That kid is right. I shouldn't worry so much about who wins or who loses in a relationship,' thought Corinne.Xante keenly sensed that Corinne's mood had changed. She frowned and stood up, dragging Sunny along with her. "Come to the restroom with me!
"Impossible!" said Christine firmly.Jason was about to say something, but Corinne interrupted him, "Okay, let's all stop talking and eat our food now!"Christine immediately did as her mother said. She glared at Jason defensively and nodded. "Yes, Mommy."Jason looked at Corinne with moony eyes, though she did not look back at him. She simply lowered her head to feed Christine.…At that moment, in the men's restroom, Xante dragged Sunny into a toilet cubicle and locked the door.Two men were peeing in the urinal when they came in, but they quickly pulled up their pants and escaped out of the restroom as though they had seen a ghost.Xante flung Sunny against the wall like a boss.To his credit, Sunny did not show any fear. Instead, he smiled. "Xante, you want me so much that you can't wait to do it?"Xante patted his cheek in disgust. "Is there anything you can think of apart from that?"Sunny raised his chin arrogantly. "Of course there is. I'm a sensible man, after all!"
"Hmph, don't call me that! I'm your boyfriend, so you should call me darling, or even babe!" ordered Sunny.Although Xante occasionally did like to flirt around, she could not bring herself to say something so corny.Sunny really was crazy in love. He hugged her and nuzzled her like a baby. "Please, Xante. Call me that just once."Xante frowned, unable to move since he was holding on to her so tightly. Finally, she yelled in disgust, "Let go, you silly puppy!"Sunny was stunned for a moment. He then straightened up and glared at her. "Why are you scolding me?"Xante glared at him with disgust. She then adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, which were about to fall off. "Don't you think you're acting like a silly dog begging for its master's attention right now?"Sunny was a little taken aback, but he then chuckled heartily. "Yes! Haha! So I'm going to call you 'master' from now on!"Xante thought he would get angry, but he actually accepted her insult happily. 'Ugh, there's no savin
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