Before this, Corinne never answered the question so straightforwardly nor did she ever call him first.Jeremy chuckled. "I'll be back in a few days. There's still some work left for me to do here. Be a good girl and wait for me to come back, okay?""Okay," Corinne replied coldly.Jeremy quickly hung up the phone after that because the toddler in his arms was starting to cry for his mommy.Corinne's eyes lost their sparkles when she heard how busy Jeremy sounded on the phone. She then laughed at herself. 'How could I be so stupid?'She always thought she was a very rational girl, unlike those girls whose existence was all about finding their soulmates. She was never the one who fell blindly in love or trusted men. However, the fact of the matter was she was human after all.Corinne never once doubted Jeremy, not even when Anya showed her the cesarean scar on her abdomen and told her she had a kid with Jeremy. She thought Anya was just lying, wanting to drive a wedge between her an
By the time Jeremy turned around, Corinne and the others were already nowhere to be seen in the hospital corridor.'Was it my imagination? I could've sworn I heard a little rascal's voice just now,' thought Jeremy.Anya came back with the medicine. "Jeremy, I got the medicine for the baby. We can go back now."Jeremy nodded. The toddler — with his head resting over Jeremy's shoulder — already dozed off and the three of them walked over to the elevator.Anya was glowing with pride and happiness when she realized all the passers-by were looking at her with admiring eyes. She tilted her head to look at the handsome man with her child in his arms.'I can't believe I'm finally living my dream life. From this moment onward, Jeremy, me, and our baby are going to live happily ever after.'…Corinne, Xante, and Aaron were back in the minivan.While driving, Xante took a glance at Corinne from the rearview mirror. "Boss, where to now?" she asked cautiously."Take me back to Holden's est
Corinne nodded. "Thank you."As usual, she walked slowly up the stairs but halfway through, she stopped, turned around, and asked, "By the way, Bowen. Have my things arrived?"Corinne arranged the engagement gifts she got back from the Carews to be delivered to Holden's estate."Yes, ma'am. I've already asked the maids to keep it in the storeroom. Would you like to take a look?"Corinne waved her hand. "That's okay. Just remember to tell Jeremy about it when he's back.""Yes, ma'am."She then continued on her way. The reason she got the expensive engagement gifts back was so that she would not own the Holdens anything.Bowen looked quizzically at Corinne walking up the stairs. He sensed there was something off about her but he could not quite put his finger on just what it was. 'Oh well, it's probably nothing,' he thought. Then he quickly went to the kitchen to instruct the cook to make something for Corinne.Before he left, Jeremy specially told him what to look out for in Cor
Not wanting to wake her up from her dreams, Jeremy got up and walked to the door. He planned to go take a short rest in the study but just when he was about to reach the door, he suddenly realized something was off.'How come I don't hear any breathing sound coming from the bed at all?' A jolt shot through his heart and he quickly turned on the light. He scanned the room and a frown immediately appeared on his face when he realized there was no one in the room at all.He hurriedly walked to the bed and pulled off the blanket. It was empty!'Where could that little rascal be at this time of the night?'He took out his phone and called her, only to find her phone was ringing on the bedside. That phone used to be his but he already gave it to Corinne.'How come she didn't bring her phone out?'A sudden thought occurred to him and he quickly walked over and opened the wardrobe. Her clothes were gone!His pupils shrank to pinpoint size and his face darkened. "Bowen!" he shouted.Bow
'What's she trying to pull? Is this her way of cutting ties with me? Well, dream on, Corinne Carew!'Jeremy finally opened his mouth and said fiercely, "Continue to look for her! Go to the ends of the earth to find her if you have to! You don't stop looking until you find her!"Tommy tried to ignore the chill running up his spine as he said, "Yes, sir!"…A month later.The city of Thalassa was one of the stops in Michel's — the renowned painter — World Tour Art Exhibition.The lady greeter at the entrance of the gallery was dressed in her elegant work clothes with a light orange silk scarf around her neck. Her makeup was exquisitely done which complemented the professional smile she had on her face as she welcomed the guests into the exhibition.The gallery was one of the most high-end galleries in the whole of Thalassa. The guests were all dressed in expensive and classy tailored suits or couture gowns. However, the smile on the lady greeter's face was immediately replaced by
"Why are you shouting so much? Are you trying to ruin the gallery's reputation by letting our guests see you acting like a crazy woman?" scolded the gallery manager after walking over.The lady greeter immediately dropped the attitude when she saw the gallery manager. "Sorry, sir. There's a woman who's causing trouble here. She didn't dress according to the dress code but she insisted on going in," she said innocently.The gallery manager took one look at Corinne and his face immediately changed. He bowed to her and said servilely, "Miss Carew, you're here!"The lady greeter was stunned and bewildered. "Sir, who's-"Corinne smiled. "Yes, I'm here but your gallery doesn't seem to welcome someone who's dressed like me."The gallery manager smiled awkwardly before he glared at the lady greeter for offending Corinne. He then quickly apologized to her, "I'm so sorry about the staff, Miss Carew. She's just a temp so she's not familiar with the gallery's rules yet. Please don't get angry
'He's not coming?' thought Corinne with a frown. 'This isn't good since I can't fly overseas at the moment.'Jeremy looked all over the place for her in the past month. She was sure she would be found as soon as he found the record of her flying out of the country. During this one month, she never used her card to buy anything. Instead, she used either Aaron's or Xante's card to buy the things she needed to avoid Jeremy finding her.She did not have the time nor the energy to pretend to be Jeremy's wife so that he could please his elders anymore. The most important thing for her to do now was to find out who her mother was and what happened in the past to make her abandon Corinne.If her mother was still alive, she would find her no matter what.If her mother was dead, then she would find out who killed her so that she could avenge her!The gallery manager noticed the bored expression on Corinne's face so he said, "Miss Carew, if you're not interested in these paintings, there are
The man smiled at her while his dark eyes sparkled flirtatiously.Corinne frowned in alarm when she realized who the man was. "What are you doing here?"Jason was wearing a well-tailored dark brown suit. His innate nobility mixed with a little impishness radiated from his whole body as he smiled and said, "I heard two of the paintings by Nellie Nymphaea would be exhibited here so I came here to try my luck."Corinne raised an eyebrow. "Well, sorry to say but Lady Luck doesn't seem to be on your side today. You're just one step too late 'cause I've already bought the two paintings."Jason took one step toward her and the smile on his face became even wider. His eyes seemed to be drawing her in and he said, "No, that's where you're wrong. Lady Luck is indeed on my side because I came here to see you and here you are."The corners of Corinne's lips twitched for a moment. 'He's still as flirtatious as ever.'Previously, she wanted to buy the three Nellie Nymphaea paintings in his gal
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