Corinne bet Anya was a wonderful, perfect person to have so many people willingly protect her.She thought for a while and said to Sunny, "I'll give you a solution. Your family is rich too, isn't it? Even if Jeremy pulls his investment from Rosie's family business, your family can invest and help your sister's best friend to get through this difficulty."Sunny looked embarrassed. "I have no say in my family's financial decision yet… My brother makes a clear distinction between public and private interests, and he never likes Rosie, so that's…not going to happen."Feeling apologetic, Corinne said, "Well, there's nothing I can do to help you."Knowing her place, she knew her words did not mean much to Jeremy, and she did not have the right to interfere with his financial decision. Even if Jeremy listened to her, she was not going to be the person to plead for Rosie.It was not her style to help someone who hurt her several times, nearly costing her life in the process. She was a fir
Even after several minutes, Jeremy said nothing in response.Thus, Rosie whimpered, "Jeremy, you're aware of the situation with my family business. If you withdraw your investment, my family business is done for!"Jeremy's tall, distant self stood on the balcony. Expressionlessly, he lit a cigarette and looked down at the distraught-looking Rosie."Holden Group isn't a charity," he remarked flatly. "It's not the first time your family business has been in a downfall. Every year, the investment Holden Group has in your family business has decreased. I've been keeping an eye on them because we've been friends for many years. Today, however, you don't think of me as a friend, and I don't think Holden Group needs to help your family business anymore."Rosie shook her head fearfully and tried to explain herself. "No! That's not it! How can you think that way? When did I do that? We've known each other since we were kids. You're an important friend in my life!"Jeremy glared at her from
Having heard Anya's name in the conversation, Jeremy's indifferent expression finally faltered. After a long pause, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I won't forget that. I'll always fulfill the promise I made to her."Rosie sneered, "Jeremy, it doesn't matter if you don't think of me as your friend anymore, but I hope you'll remember everything Anya did for you. You can't disappoint Anya just because of Corinne. She's a good woman!"After that, Rosie turned around and opened the door to leave.This was when she noticed Corinne was at the door.Corinne was speechless.She thought she heard Jeremy and Rosie talking to each other. Thus, she wanted to rush past the room to avoid having someone think she was eavesdropping.Coincidentally, or maybe it was just bad luck, Rosie opened the door just as she walked slightly past the door.Thus, it looked like she was eavesdropping and did not have the chance to get away quickly enough. No matter how she would explain herself, she still look
Corinne answered indifferently, "Nothing."A dim, complicated light appeared in Jeremy's eyes.Both of them made eye contact, and the ambiance grew awkward.Suddenly, Jeremy frowned and looked to the side to cough, which raised Corinne's concern."Mister, are you sick?"Jeremy looked gloomy when he waved dismissively and said coldly, "I'm fine."Corinne pressed her finger at Jeremy's wrist to feel his pulse. She furrowed her eyebrows.The cave they were in was wet, cold, and humid. Being a gentleman, Jeremy gave his jacket to her before they fell asleep in the cave. It only made sense that Jeremy caught a cold."Mister, you got a cold. Cover yourself with more blankets to sweat it out when you sleep tonight, and you'll be fine tomorrow.""You can tell just by feeling my pulse?" Jeremy looked at Corinne curiously. He recalled Corinne was certain he was poisoned after he mistakenly consumed the food Sherlyn cooked the last time just by feeling his pulse.Corinne nodded. "A litt
Her dream took place when she was a kid.Being sick in her dream, her mother brought her to the hospital. While she had her drip, her mother—having asked if she was hungry—told her she would be right back after buying her a bowl of chicken noodle soup.Before her mother left, she took a good look at Corinne when she was at the door, and her eyes were teary.Her mother's face was blurry in that dream. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see her mother's actual face.After that, Marvin came to the hospital and told her, "I'm your father. Remember that you're a Carew from now on. Do you understand? Now, come with me. I'm bringing you home."She was too young at that time to remember what her last name was. Did she have her mother's last name?All she could remember was her mother gently calling her nickname—'Moonie'. The day she knew her last name was Carew, her name became Luna Carew.When she lived in the convent, Mother Cathrina said her name sounded too cold. 'Luna' mea
"Mph... Mister…! Mmm…"When Corinne finally regained her senses, her instinct kicked in as she shoved Jeremy away from her. She sat up panting and said unhappily, "Mister! What do you think you're doing?"Jeremy did not reply. He turned around sleepily with his eyes closed and steady breathing.Corinne's eyebrows furrowed at this.'Is he sleeping? Did he dream of his beloved woman and get horny, winding up kissing the wrong person in his dream?' she thought.Corinne's lips twitched as she wiped her mouth in disgust and irritation.'Who allowed him to be in my bed?'They had an unspoken rule that one would sleep in the bed while the other would sleep on the couch.If Jeremy did not have a cold today, Corinne would have very well kicked him out of bed.Corinne grumbled with curses, and when she finally regained her composure, she gazed at Jeremy's face.'He's so deeply asleep. Could his cold have worsened?' she thought.Since the light was not on, she could not exactly see Jer
For some reason, Corinne felt embarrassed and stopped mid-stretch. She remembered how Jeremy sneak-attacked her with a kiss and kept kicking the blankets off."Heh. Not so good," she answered.'He probably has no idea the things he did last night because he was sleeping so soundly,' she scoffed.Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "Is that so? When I woke up this morning, I saw you smiling in your sleep. I thought you must be having a good dream."Corinne's face reddened. She grew shy as if he had read her mind.Frankly, she did have a nice dream in the later part of the night.Oddly enough, she managed to fall asleep quickly after she stopped Jeremy from kicking the blankets by sleeping on top of him.She dreamt of delicious food, cute little animals, and funny gag performances. It was an entirely different dream from the nightmare she had before. She was very happy in the second dream."Hey, Mister, did anyone tell you it's rude to stare at people when they're sleeping?""No."Corinn
Annie burst into laughter as she hugged her abdomen, her head raised in laughter. "Was I talking about you? I didn't mention anyone in particular. What makes you think I was talking about you?"Sunny's eyes widened in anger. "You…"Before they could start arguing, Corinne put a stop to it. "Alright. Keep quiet and eat your breakfast. Don't speak when you're eating, or you might choke yourself."Annie nodded obediently and listened to what Corinne said. Sunny, on the other hand, looked at Corinne and snorted proudly before he continued eating his omelet.Meanwhile, Rosie witnessed everything, and evil consumed her eyes. She had no idea what kind of tricks Corinne pulled to mesmerize Jeremy and control Annie, who had always been spoiled. Even Sunny was under her spell and listened to her.The situation was dangerous.Corinne looked pure and naive, but she was a far more powerful adversary than Rosie initially presumed.…The weather was good. The sky was cloudless, and the wind w
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