"I even gave you a cold shoulder when we met that day, but you still helped me out. How magnanimous of you, Mister Sherman," said Rita sulkily, unable to control her disappointment. She did not know what was wrong with her."Miss Rita, I don't just help anyone with their troubles. It's also because we have a connection. Our interactions the last two times made me realize you're definitely not that kind of person. Besides, our cooperation with your family's company is also on the agenda, so helping you can be seen as doing a favor for your father as well," Sherman said, not entirely sincere.After the dinner party he attended last time, he was clear that he absolutely could not cooperate with such a company, let alone talk about putting it on the agenda.Rita looked up with surprise. She opened her mouth but did not know what to say. She never imagined it would be for such a reason."You're indeed magnanimous, Mister Sherman. Thank you so much." Rita took a deep breath, putting on a
"Then I guess I really don't have anything to worry about. I believe Virgil will be happy to hear this news," said Rita, crossing her arms and giving the appearance of agreeing to no longer get involved in the matter.However, Sherman knew she would not give up that easily."Let me remind you one more time, Miss Rita: don't try to secretly investigate that developer. Otherwise, no one will be able to save you if anything happens," warned Sherman seriously, and Rita could not help but nod obediently."Alright, you've made yourself clear. How could I possibly take such risks? Well, I've asked all the questions I wanted to ask. Since you've given your answers, that's that," said Rita, getting up and swiftly packing her materials into her bag.Sherman remained seated, unable to suppress a soft chuckle. It had been a long time since he had seen someone take the initiative to leave before him. Only Rita would dare to do such a thing. Just as she was about to leave, Rita suddenly turned b
"You can just buy the photos. There are many ways to handle it. Alright, it's settled then. You'll pick me up tomorrow.""Okay."After hanging up the phone, Sherman could not help but sigh. Despite being close friends with Claire, they always seemed unable to progress further. He knew he had always harbored some resentment over that issue. They were just destined to stay as they were.Claire hung up the phone, her smile fading. She turned to her agent with a cold expression. "Are the paparazzi arranged for tomorrow?""Everything's arranged, but are you sure about this? Mister Sherman will be angry if he's caught by the paparazzi. None of his photos have ever been put up online before..."Serena hesitated before adding, "Won't this push him further away?""What do you know? You don't understand him at all. I just want to give him a little pressure. He's the type that takes one step back whenever I take one step to him. I know he still minds about what happened back then, but it's
After some thought, Rita gathered the information about that person and decided to ask Karen in person."Oh, you're back. Have you eaten? Is your work going smoothly lately?"Karen asked Rita these same perfunctory questions every time she returned, and Rita was tired of hearing them. It was not like Karen was really interested in the answers. Asking these questions and letting the servants hear them was just a formality for Karen.Karen turned to go back to her room, but Rita stopped her."Wait a minute." Unexpectedly, Rita blocked her way."What do you want now, Rita? I don't seem to recall offending you recently."Before marrying off this troublesome girl, Karen decided to take a break and distance herself from her. 'Who knows what kind of trouble this girl was plotting for me and Sadie to jump into before she got married?'"Oh? It sounds like you're feeling guilty over something."Rita crossed her arms and looked at Karen, who was adorned with jewelry from head to toe, like
"Hello? Karen, is that you? Did you call me?"Karen remained silent as the voice of the man on the other end sounded anxious."I know you wouldn't call me for no reason. Is something wrong? Whatever it is, I can help you!""Esmond..."Karen's voice excited the man on the other end. "After all these years, I finally got a call from you. Whatever it is, I can help you with anything. I'm just glad you're still willing to call me by my name," he eagerly responded.Karen clenched her teeth and made up her mind in that instant. "Esmond, I need you to deal with a woman for me.""Say no more. I have many men working for me, so dealing with any woman is a piece of cake.""Her name is Rita Russell. She's a reporter."Esmond frowned. "Rita Russell? Isn't she the annoying woman who's been on our backs lately?""What do you mean?""Oh, it's an internal matter of our company. It's been a long time since we sold that piece of land, but it's still causing us problems. There's this damn repor
Originally, Rita's investigation was just scratching the surface. They just never expected that a small reporter like her would uncover the truth about their development of that land years ago.Back then, they had put in immense effort to deceive and relocate all the residents. Since the land was in the hands of Sherman's company, him turning against them was not out of the realm of possibility if anything inappropriate was exposed.To nip this possibility in the bud, they needed to deal with Rita quickly, especially since Karen had conveyed this order to him. Finally, Karen needed his help, and he had to do everything he could to get it done.…"Sherman, stop the car here. I saw a donut vendor on the roadside. It's been so long since I've had them, and I kind of miss the taste," said Claire.Sherman hesitated. "I don't think it's a good idea to stop here. It's so crowded, so you might be recognized. Neither of us will be able to leave then.""Why are you being so cautious right
Sherman shook his head. "It's nothing, probably just my imagination."Claire started to panic, so she quickly reassured him, "Let's go. I told you nobody apart from my fans would recognize me. See, nobody else is paying attention to me at all."Once they were back in the car, Sherman breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I'm pretty sure more and more people will know you in the future, and you won't be able to go out shopping like this anymore."Claire held the bag of donuts tightly but did not seem to want to eat any. "Is that so? I'm actually looking forward to that day.""I thought you wouldn't like always being in the spotlight. Judging by your personality, don't you prefer freedom more? You don't even like giving interviews."Claire hugged the donuts closer. "It's not that I don't like giving interviews; I just don't like random reporters asking me random questions. They're more interested in my gossip than my dancing, so there's no point in accepting their interviews.""So
"I don't know why you're so biased against her. She interviewed you and spent time with you. Shouldn't you know better than me what kind of person she is?""It's precisely because she had interviewed me before that I know how unreliable she is. We've been working together for almost half a month, and she hasn't even submitted a draft to me. Do you think that's the action of a reliable reporter?"Sherman, I have my reasons for saying what I said about Rita. If she were really as good as you say, why would she be so careless about her work? The fact is that she's just a spoiled girl who relies on her father. Now that you've appeared in her life, of course she'll try to please you for her father's sake."Sherman instinctively wanted to defend Rita. She worked so hard on her interviews and materials; it was impossible for her not to submit any drafts for so long. Perhaps there were other issues with the handover of work.However, when he met Claire's gaze, he suddenly did not want to s
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