"Shut up! I'm driving, so now's not the time to say anything that'll anger me. Just wait quietly and I'll explain everything to you later. Be a good girl and listen to me, okay?" said Jeremy in a stern but coaxing tone while keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead.Corinne frowned and obediently sank back into her seat. A multitude of feelings was roiling inside her as she silently stared out of the window at the passing scenery.…In the middle section of the Cross River Bridge, a black commercial sedan with double flashing lights was parked on the side of the road.Jeremy drove past the car and pulled over. Corinne had no intention to get out of the car, but he still reached over to help her unbuckle her seat belt."What are you waiting for? Get out of the car now!"She had no choice but to follow him out of the car.Anya greeted them as soon as the two of them got out of the car. She coughed weakly twice before saying, "Jeremy, you're here!"Jeremy nodded at her. He then
Jeremy did not even look at the message. He simply turned off the phone and put it in his pants pocket.Corinne leaned on the steel railing by the side of the bridge and stared into the distance. The wind from the river blew softly over her hair, making her look like an elegant and beautiful lady straight out of a classical painting.The bridge was located opposite Yonder River's embankment, where one could see the most cutting-edge high-rise buildings in the whole of New Capital City."Be careful. Make sure you don't fall off the bridge."Jeremy grabbed her by the collar from behind as if he was picking up a kitten. In less than three seconds, he managed to ruin Corinne's beautiful image. Her feet were hanging off the ground, making her so uncomfortable that she thought she was going to choke to death.'Oh, my god. He's so annoying. Why does he keep treating me like a kid who doesn't know anything?' thought Corinne."Let me go, Mister. I'm not so stupid as to fall off the bridge
Suddenly, Corinne's stomach gave out an embarrassing growl—she was hungry.Half of Jeremy's anger vanished when he heard her stomach growling. He looked at her with his intense eyes and patted her head. "Okay then, we can start with having a meal together. What do you want to eat?"'Start with having a meal together? What does he mean?' Corinne wondered. Jeremy's words made her feel a little uncomfortable. 'Does he mean what I think he means? Should I ask him? No! I don't want him to think that I'm getting the wrong idea about the whole thing.'Corinne rubbed her hungry stomach and looked away from him. "I'm okay with anything, but I'm too tired to walk anymore."As soon as she finished speaking, Jeremy scooped her up and carried her in a horizontal position.Corinne was stunned. She turned beet red. "Mister…what are you doing?"Jeremy began to walk along the bridge with her in his arms. He looked down at her and said, "Didn't you say you're tired of walking?"Corinne was nonplu
"I decided to learn a little bit about the subway lines after taking a ride with you last time."Jeremy bent down and picked up the subway cards issued by the ticket machine. Then, he took Corinne's hand and led her to the turnstiles to swipe their cards before walking to the waiting area as if he had done the same thing a thousand times.Corinne found it weird that he would want to learn about the subway lines that she missed out on the fact that Jeremy was holding her hand. "Why do you need to know about this kind of thing when you're always being chauffeured around? Don't you find it unnecessary?"Jeremy glanced at her sideways and scoffed coldly, "Didn't someone last time say that I should learn to live life like the average person once in a while?"Corinne was speechless. She remembered that she had indeed said that to him at the racecourse last time. At that time, she wanted to show Rosie that she had principles and was not with Jeremy for his money."I didn't mean anything
Jeremy straightened Corinne's face and continued to lead her to the platform so as not to miss the next train.As they walked, Jeremy solemnly called her name, "Corinne Carew, let's start over."Corinne tilted her head, raised her eyebrows, and looked at him incredulously. "How?""We'll start by going on dates with each other. What do you say? Will you give this old man a chance?"Corinne frowned and, giving it much thought, replied, "Mister, I don't think we're—"She was cut off before she said the word 'suitable'.Jeremy did not let her finish her sentence. "Don't be so fast to turn me down. Give me a chance to pursue you again. Don't worry. From now on, I won't force you to live my life. I'll try to learn to live the way you live too. You like to take the subway to go out. You like to eat street food. You like to go to escape rooms. You like to watch movies. All this I can go with you."But of course, I'll take you to the best restaurants in the city too so that you can enjoy
In the subway carriage, Corinne was so overwhelmed by Jeremy's words that she was starting to feel dizzy. She started to blush crazily, fearing someone might have overheard their conversation even though there was no chance of that happening since the inside of the carriage was filled with a cacophony of other noises. Plus, Jeremy spoke so softly that she was sure that she was the only one who could hear it.She did not look up at him, and she snorted lightly into his chest. "No thanks. It's not like I ever saved you before."Jeremy hugged her tightly. "Who said you didn't save me? You were the one who saved me on that rainy night. I knew it was you."Corinne's brain froze. She still felt very embarrassed whenever someone mentioned that night."And you were the one who rushed over to save me when I was kidnapped, so we owe each other nothing, nor do you have to be responsible for any aftermath."Jeremy could not believe that Corinne would still vehemently push him away even after
Corinne chose a nearby fast food restaurant instead because she was starving and wanted something she could instantly eat.Jeremy never liked fast food as he thought they were unhealthy. However, he did not stop her from eating since it was more important to get some food into her stomach.Corinne ordered a set meal and some individual items, whereas Jeremy did not order anything and simply paid the bill. They sat across each other, and while she was eating, Jeremy just stared at her adoringly.Corinne had almost finished eating. She was sipping her Coke when she suddenly thought of something. "Mister, did you choose me to be your wife because you think that I'll know how to protect myself if I was ever kidnapped? Like you won't be so easily blackmailed if I can handle myself in front of the kidnappers?"Jeremy hesitated slightly. He was quite surprised that she was able to figure that out herself. "Indeed. I didn't want to drag innocent people into my mess, and the woman I hired i
Corinne frowned and calmly looked at the group of people surrounding her. She did not panic, even though she did not understand what was happening. "Why are you all taking pictures of me? Please delete them now. You have no right to take pictures of me."The group of people threw dirty glares at her."What do you know about rights?""How can she be so shameless? Look at the way she's leisurely drinking her Coke after screwing others over.""She's a bad seed, alright. She probably doesn't even know what empathy means.""I agree. She's not fit to be called a human."Corinne did not know what they were talking about. She wanted to let them have a taste of their own medicine, so she dug deep inside her pocket to look for her phone, only to remember that her phone was still with Jeremy.She remained calm even without her phone. "People, have you mistaken me for someone? I'm neither an influencer nor a celebrity, so why are you taking pictures of me?" she said staidly."Nope, we're p
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