"Must you be so rude and harsh? I guess you can never expect nice words from a despicable person." Sadie crossed her arms and glanced condescendingly at Rita. She could not stand how Rita treated the marriage to the Parrs as elevating her to a higher social class.Rita chuckled. "Only a bumpkin like you would think that way."Sadie's expression then changed abruptly, for she detested being called a country bumpkin, especially by Rita."Who are you calling a bumpkin?""I'm merely stating the truth. You are a country bumpkin, aren't you? Your entire being screams 'village girl'.""What did you just say?!" Sadie seethed. "You don't know anything! I'm the most fashionable person in school. The girls in school take cues from me all the time when choosing which clothes to buy. You're the 'village girl' here! Just look at how you dress! Who are you to call me unfashionable when you're not even fashionable yourself?"Sadie was arguing incoherently, while Rita found herself growing calmer
Vince nodded in agreement.Rita and Sadie soon took their places at opposite ends of the table. As soon as Sadie sat down, she lowered her head in dejection.Vince asked casually, "What's wrong? Did you have a bad night's sleep?"Tears welled in Sadie's eyes as she lifted her head.Rita could only marvel at Sadie and Karen's increasingly dramatic performances. She felt that they ought to dabble in an acting career, as Sadie would be able to make a name for herself and have an outlet to put those acting skills to good use.Having to deal with their charades was exhausting. There were times when Rita had to put up an act too if she wanted to escape swiftly from a particular predicament.Rita struggled to contain her laughter as she thought of all that while reaching for her favorite dish."It's nothing, Dad. Rita doesn't come back often, so let's not dwell on it any longer. Let's eat. You said you were hungry, didn't you, Mom? Go ahead and have more of your favorite dish."Vince
Rita never knew that she had become such a troublemaker in her father's eyes. "Fine. If you say I'm in the wrong, then please enlighten us on what exactly I've done to offend you, and why that somehow made you decide to put on this act in front of my father," Rita retorted. She leaned back in her chair and smirked at Sadie.Sadie frantically waved. "I'm not accusing you of anything! This is just a misunderstanding on Dad's part." She turned to Vince and tried explaining, "Rita didn't do anything. It's all my fault! I was just upset when I woke up. It has nothing to do with Rita. Don't take all this the wrong way. I miss Rita a lot now that she doesn't come back often."Rita's smirk only fueled Vince's anger. "Unbelievable! Show some respect, Rita. Now that I've seen you threaten Sadie right before my eyes without even the slightest hesitation, I can't imagine what you've done to her when I'm not around. Apologize to Sadie right now, and promise me you'll never behave this way again."
Vince then reflected pensively. "That's good. I hope you don't let me catch wind of you contacting anyone you shouldn't have. You know how much resolve it took for me to bring you out of that place, and you've also promised me you'd never look back to your past. I can safely say that I've fulfilled all my responsibilities to both of you over the years, and I've been able to give you whatever you wanted. I don't want any of you dredging up the past, and that goes for Rita too."He then turned to Rita and said, "Just because you're my daughter doesn't mean you can act however you want. You haven't even apologized for what happened earlier. Who taught you to throw your cutlery like that? You used to be so well-behaved at home, but your attitude changed completely as soon as you married the Parrs. How do you expect to set a good example for your sister?""Are you getting senile? When did I have a sister? You're not seriously going to tell me that you're raising someone else's daughter as
Rita could no longer contain herself when Vince brought that up. She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet before addressing her father condescendingly, "I've never asked you for anything, and this will be the only time I'll ever make a request with you."Please stop begging Sherman for money. I'll provide you with whatever you need, and it's not like the company needs financial assistance after the recent injection of capital. Why are you asking him for more? Can't you at least let me have some dignity?"Vince immediately stood up and slapped her to silence her. "I can't believe I ever raised such a heartless daughter! Are you going to tell me you've fallen for Sherman? You mean nothing to him, so stop pretending! Whatever monetary request I ask from him is between him and me. You just need to keep quiet and cherish your time with him while he's still interested in you. You'll come crawling back home anyway when he gets tired of you and divorces you. That's when you'll begin to
"I wasn't speaking to you, was I?" Sherman turned and gave Sadie a glance that silenced her from continuing her sentence.The look he gave her was like a splash of cold water, extinguishing the joy she felt upon seeing him.Karen seemed a little displeased as she pulled the stunned Sadie over to her. Sadie was always one to seek attention without regard to the situation, but doing something like that in front of Sherman was nothing short of digging her own grave. It was as if Sadie was oblivious to Sherman's flaring anger after noticing the bruise on Rita's face.Sadie did not read the room at all in her rush to defend Vince. That being said, Karen was nonetheless a little heartbroken to see how sad Sadie was. After all, Rita's affection for Sherman was undeniable, but Vince had opted to marry Rita to Sherman instead.The mere thought stoked a fire of resentment within Karen. She wanted Sherman to marry Sadie, but Rita was the lucky one who got that chance.Even Vince cast a disap
"Okay, let's have Donna whip up something quick. She's got quite the knack for cooking shrimp. You'll have to give them a try!" Rita momentarily forgot the throbbing pain on her cheek. It was Sherman's first proper meal at her home as her husband. The timing and circumstances were not ideal, but she was still eager for him to relish her favorite dishes.Sherman nodded politely. "Sounds wonderful."Vince then interjected, "Donna has been part of our family for a long time. She came along when I married Rita's mother. Rita grew up with Donna's cooking, and Donna knows her preferences perfectly. If you're okay, you can bring Donna over to the home too. She'll be more than happy to prepare your meals."Sherman did not immediately decline. Instead, he glanced at Rita to seek her opinion.Rita did not know how to respond. They were not living together at the moment, and she wondered where Donna would stay after moving out of the Russells. Splitting her time evenly between Rita's and Sher
Rita then remarked casually, "Must Sadie feel the need to speak her mind all the time? Doesn't she feel embarrassed?"Sensing that an argument was about to brew over, Karen intervened hastily, "Ahem! Donna can cook whatever they want after moving with them to Southerhill. You don't need to worry about them, Sadie."In fact, I think you should drink more of this soup even if you don't really like it. Just look at how thin you've become. You're practically just skin and bones. You need to eat more so your brain has the energy to cope with your studies in school. And besides, you ought to cherish these last few days that Donna is still around."Sadie did not seem grateful at all when Karen filled her bowl with soup. She felt the need to hate things that Rita liked, so she pushed the bowl away in disgust and nearly spilled its contents.Sadie tensed when Vince glanced over, but she remained stubborn and said, "I told you the clams are overcooked, Mom. I don't want any more soup, and ev
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