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
"Poor Xena. It's all your fault!""You'll get your karma, you evil woman!"Corinne shook off her shock and took a deep breath. She patiently took out some tissue and wiped off the Coke dripping off her face. Then, she looked up at the group of people who had no idea just how far away from the truth they were. She kept telling herself to calm down and try not to fight back. She was just released from the police station, and she did not want to have to end up going back there because of a brawl.'Xena must be the name of the purple-haired female influencer,' thought Vicky.However, the man who threw the cup of Coke at her was still angry at her. "Everyone, follow my lead and throw your Coke at this shameless woman. Let's teach her a lesson to never mess with Xena!""Yeah! Her face makes me want to puke. I might as well not waste the Coke!""I'm not going to drink my Coke, too!""Let's all throw it at her!"Everyone picked up their Coke and raised them high. Seeing this, Corinne i
As soon as she stepped out of the fast food restaurant, Corinne heard a stampede coming from behind her. She turned to look back and saw the same group of people chasing after her. Moreover, some reporters had received a tip-off of her whereabouts and were rushing over to where she was with their cameras held up high.Both Jeremy and Corinne thought it would be best if they forgo the taxi because taxi drivers were known to be sensitive to the subject of scammers who cheat people out of their money by pretending to get into an accident with their cars. It would be disastrous for Jeremy and Corinne if their taxi driver joined the angry mob."Run, Mister!" Corinne grabbed Jeremy's hand, and the two of them started running away together. She was not afraid of the angry mob, but she found them bothersome and difficult since she could not do anything about them.Besides, there was Jeremy's status to think about. The livelihood of the entire Holden Group might be affected should he receive
"Yeah! I agree with you! And I support that idea!""I managed to get a very clear picture earlier, so I'm going to post it online!""I'll do the same too! If all of us work together, I'm confident that the scammer lady won't be able to get away with it!"...The Mercedes-Benz slowly began to drive at a more stable speed.Corinne sat in the car, rested for a moment, and felt much more relieved. Her stomach was not as uncomfortable as before, so she stretched out her hand and said, "Give me the phone, Mister!"Jeremy had a sullen expression as he took out his cell phone to hand it over. Corinne was just about to take it from him when Jeremy raised his hand all of a sudden to prevent her from reaching it. He then asked coldly, "Before I give it to you, I want to know why you told me to go without you."Corinne frowned. "Because... Because I'm worried those people might take pictures of you!"Jeremy's eyes were sullen. She did not regard him as someone close to her, and she even se
Tommy consciously raised the partition window to separate the front seats from the rear seats. Out of sight, out of mind, as they said.He did not want to be glared at by Jeremy's sharp gaze.Jeremy rubbed Corinne's stomach for some time and stopped when she saw that her complexion had improved. He then took out a wet towel, wiped her sticky coke-splashed face, and felt heartbroken yet angry at her. In his annoyance, he lectured, "Weren't you always feisty when you're with me? Why did you just let them splash the drink all over you instead of biting them back?"Corinne rolled her eyes at him and said arrogantly, "I'm not a dog, Mister. Are you going to bite a dog if it bites you? We need to deal with a dog using human methods, not by stooping down to the level of a dog to bite them back. I don't intend to bear a grudge against them either, because they're all idiots with a herd mentality who have been blinded by the fallacies being perpetuated online. If anything, I should be direct
That was when Chris' wife recognized her as Anya. "It's you, Miss Anya!"She had met Miss Anya at the police station that day, and she had a very strong impression of Anya after her husband spoke about Anya to her.Chris's wife was very polite. "Please sit down, ma'am. I'll get you a glass of water!"Anya looked at the simple sofa in this puny house and had a look of disgust in her eye. She smiled contemptuously and said, "I won't bother. I'll be leaving soon anyway."Her arrogance left Chris' wife feeling a little awkward and unsure of what to do.Anya went straight to business and opened the black suitcase in her hand. She then put it on the table and cut to the chase, saying, "Tell your man to keep his lips sealed, and I guarantee that he'll be released soon. Once that's done, you and your family will move out of the city. This money is more than enough for your family of three to live worry-free for the rest of your lives."Chris' wife's eyes widened when she saw the money. "
Anya acquired Xena's data from her brother and secretly made a copy to her cell phone. She then edited the video, blurred her grandfather's face, and used special means to hack Xena's account so she could accuse Corinne of those 'evil deeds' on the Internet. It led to an uproar.The real Xena then ran back to her hometown and was afraid to go online anymore after being scared by her brother.Her brother had always indulged her transgressions, and anyone who offended their family would not be let off so easily, regardless of their status or background. Meanwhile, he had always been indifferent to outsiders, and even if he saw that the scandal about Corinne was untrue, he would not interfere in things that did not concern him.As for her grandfather, he was a famous scientist who spent his days researching things in a laboratory. He did not care about stuff on the Internet. He had been injured by some harmful gas due to an experiment a while ago, and he almost certainly would not find
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