"You need to entertain our guests, Juan! I can handle the bridesmaids just fine, so don't worry too much about it!" Annie pushed Juan out of the dressing room in a coquettish manner.She then turned and beamed at Corinne, who had changed into her bridesmaid dress. "You're so pretty, Aunt Corinne! Now I get why my uncle decided not to be celibate anymore and get married!"Corinne's lips twitched as she smiled dryly. "I'm your bridesmaid today, so don't call me Aunt Corinne. Just 'Corinne' will do."Annie nodded. "Alright then, Corinne! How did you and my uncle get to know each other?"'How did I get to know your uncle, you ask? I have five words for you: I wish it never happened!'Corinne's brow furrowed a little. "We can talk about that another time. It's your big day today! We should be talking about how you and your soon-to-be husband met!"Annie was more than happy to talk about her love story with Juan. Women usually filtered out all the bad stuff about their boyfriends, so a
"Sl*t!" Zoey cursed angrily with an envious look on her face.Corinne was not prepared to argue with Zoey at someone else's wedding, so she turned and went to the bathroom. By the time she came out, she inadvertently saw a man and a woman chatting at the end of the corridor. Before long, they both sneaked into the storage room together.If her eyes did not deceive her, then the man was none other than Annie's groom, Juan. On the other hand, the woman was Zoey, who was wearing a bridesmaid dress the same color as her own.What could a groom possibly be doing with a bridesmaid on a wedding day?-Inside the storage room."You're heartless, Juan! How could you get married behind my back!""Why are you here, Zoey?""I'm one of the bridesmaids! I didn't think the groom would be you! No wonder you haven't been answering my calls recently!""Zoey, I've got thirty thousand inside this card. Let's just treat it as a fee for our breakup! Once you're done with your bridesmaid duties, mak
Juan's face turned pale as he glared at Zoey, who was sitting among the four bridesmaids.'It must've been that b*tch!' he thought inwardly.The happy smile on Annie's face froze as she stared at Juan in astonishment and disbelief. "What is your relationship with that woman? And what did the two of you do in the storage room?"Juan held Annie's shoulders tenderly. "Listen to me, Annie. It's not what you think! That girl in the video claimed to have been unwell and wanted me to help her rest in the storage room. I didn't think she'd take her clothes off and try to seduce me as soon as we got in!"I was shocked by what happened, so I immediately broke free and ran off. I swear I didn't do anything that could break your heart!"Annie was not about to simply believe Juan's side of the story. She pushed him away and walked toward the four bridesmaids on the stage, hissing, "Which one of you is the woman in the video? Show yourself!"Zoey stretched her hand out from behind and gave the
Zoey wanted to get revenge on Juan for only giving her 30,000 dollars to break up with him. If she could get back at Corinne for causing her to lose her job, then it would kill two birds with one stone. Corinne's name would be so tarnished that she would never land herself a decent man.However, she did not expect that it would backfire after the silent video turned out to be audible!At that moment, Juan tugged at Annie, panicking. "Listen to me, Annie. I swear I don't know her that well...""Keep your hands off me! How could you still make excuses at this time? I never thought you were that sort of person!" Annie pushed him away in disgust, turned around, and grabbed the ends of her wedding dress as she ran out of the hall without turning back.Juan shot Zoey a vicious look for ruining his wedding and hurried off to chase after Annie.All the guests were already starting to criticize Zoey, and she fled the stage in shame.She had seduced the man at a wedding that she was suppos
"Just how shameless can you be?!" Annie raised her hand to slap him, but Juan was sharp enough to detect the incoming hand and stopped her.Juan smiled in spite of his anger. "You should be a good girl and marry me, Annie. Don't push me into a corner. You wouldn't want to know what I'm capable of doing if I'm cornered!""Keep dreaming! I'll never marry someone like you!" Annie's eyes were red with resentment, disgusted after seeing Juan's true colors. She would have loved to beat him to death right there if she could.However, her wrist was held in his tight grasp, leaving her unable to jerk her hand free or to land a slap on him.Juan sneered like a pervert. "Aren't you afraid that your nudes will be uploaded onto the internet? If that happens, you'll—"All of a sudden, a tight slap landed right on Juan's face, sending him tumbling back and crashing into the mural in the corridor.Corinne dusted her hands in disgust. "Stupid jerk!"Annie was stunned.Juan's vision turned black
Jeremy helped Annie up and gestured coldly. "Take him away. We wouldn't want Lunar Century Manor's corridors to be tarnished with such lowly vermin!""Yes, sir!" Tommy sent someone to bring Juan away.As Jeremy held his crying niece helplessly, he glanced at Corinne and asked in a stern tone, "Are you injured?"Corinne shook her head. "Thanks for your concern. I'm perfectly fine."At that moment, Zoey hid in the corner of the corridor and saw what just happened. She was deeply attracted to a powerful man like Jeremy as he had all the qualities of her dream husband—wealth, influence, and good looks. What she did not like, however, was that Corinne received the privilege of being saved by him like a knight in shining armor.To her, Corinne would seize any opportunity to dangle herself in front of rich men, and she did not want her to succeed!After giving her next move some thought, she gritted her teeth and rushed out crying, "Miss Annie, I was framed! Don't let yourself be fooled
Corinne had a nonchalant expression. "Yes, and no."Jeremy was still focused on his documents as he turned over a page. "So it is a yes or a no?""Zoey was the one who put up a video, but I recorded their conversation with the cell phone and added it later," answered Corinne truthfully.Jeremy snorted. "I brought you here to be a bridesmaid, but you ruined the bride's wedding on your own accord. How do you plan to explain yourself?"Corinne frowned. "To be honest with you, I know better than to meddle in your family's affairs, but scumbags are the bane of society, and I am duty-bound to end their existence if I see one."Jeremy nearly let out a chuckle as he smirked. "I never took you for a self-styled vigilante."Corinne was filled with righteous anger. "That Juan guy cheated on Annie and even tried to cop a feel when we first met and shook hands earlier. That just shows how degraded that f*cktard's general behavior is! I don't think you'd want your niece to marry that kind of m
After the 'kiss' was over, Corinne pushed Jeremy away at once.She gladly took the painting from Tommy and walked away with her arms held around it. After about two steps, she turned back to give him a wink, even complimenting him, "Thanks, mister! You're super handsome today!"Jeremy's expression was sullen and vague as he pursed his thin lips. 'Did that little snob call me handsome only after I gave her a gift?'Tommy watched Corinne walk cheerfully into the courtyard and unconsciously beamed. "Sir, she's actually...rather cute!"Jeremy shot Tommy a cold look. "Still staring at her, are you?"Tommy looked away in fright. "Ahem! So where are we going next, sir?""The company.""Got it!"-The next day, Corinne received a call from Annie just as she was eating the sumptuous lunch Pamela made for her."Aunt Corinne!"Corinne did not have Annie's number saved, but she recognized Annie's voice and asked, "Why do you have my phone number?""I got it from my uncle!"Corinne was
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