Jeremy was crouching on the floor, which put him at an eye level slightly below Corinne's. He looked up with widened eyes and said resolutely, "No. Never.""But what if they threaten you?"Jeremy chuckled softly. "No one in this world can threaten me except for you."Corinne pouted. "When did I ever threaten you? And you're not lying to me, are you?"Jeremy's expression turned solemn. "To be honest, I wouldn't have married you if I knew you were Luna Rivera, but now that I have, I promise I'll never let you go."Corinne was stunned by his love for her. The way he looked at her told her he only had eyes for her, and she suddenly got the urge to kiss him gently on the eyes. However, she knew what would happen after that…so she cleared her throat and shook the thought away."Ahem! Mister, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my shower now.""You're tired, right? How about I help you wash up?" asked Jeremy gently.Corinne frowned and looked at him suspiciously. "No, thanks! Don't
Knowing Corinne had seen through him, Cedric cleared his throat guiltily. "Ahem! It's not like that. I just want to invite you over to thank you. My wife wishes to meet and thank you, too."After thinking about it, Corinne asked, "When should I be there?""Anytime you like."'Lucas will be at work in the daytime, and Anya will be too busy taking care of Joey, so… I might just have a chance to dig up some information about my mother's disappearance,' thought Corinne."Okay, Grandpa Cedric. Since you insist, I'll drop by your place today. But you don't have to thank me for saving your life, okay? Let's just treat this as me wanting to spend some time with you.""Okay! You have my word!" said Cedric happily. "I'll send the car to pick you up later.""Sure. Thanks."After hanging up the phone, Corinne saw the message Jeremy sent her earlier in the morning.[Remember to have your breakfast after you wake up.]Corinne smiled and typed, [Quit being a nagger, Mister!]…Corinne went
Meanwhile, at the Riveras' mansion.Benson Miller, the Riveras' butler, stood by with the rest of the household staff at the mansion's entrance, as per Cedric's order.As soon as the car Corinne was in arrived, Benson quickly opened the door for her."Welcome, Miss Corinne. Mister Cedric is waiting for you inside," he said with a bow.Corinne was speechless, to say the least. She was not used to this type of pompous affair.She followed Benson into the living room, and Cedric immediately put down his cup when he saw her."Corinne, you're finally here! Come, sit down, sit down," he said happily.Corinne walked up to him and said politely, "Grandpa Cedric, there's really no need for the household staff to put on such a welcome. This is just an everyday social visit after all."Although Cedric was a very kind old man, he seemed to just get even more stubborn with age."Nonsense. It would be rude of me to put on anything less than that since you're my savior. Come, Corinne, there'
Corinne shook her head. "It was no trouble at all. Really, you two are too kind to me," she said humbly.Beatrice immediately took a liking to Corinne. "Can I ask you something, Corinne? How old are you?""Twenty."Beatrice did a quick mental calculation in her head as her fingers moved subtly as if counting something. "And when is your birthday?"An alarm bell went off inside Corinne's head. 'Why would she ask me when my birthday is? Could it be…'"I don't know when my real birthday is because no one has ever celebrated my birthday after I lost my mother," replied Corinne out loud.The suspicion in Beatrice's eyes became even stronger. "You lost your mother when you were young? Did she die or go somewhere else?"Corinne fell silent. She was not happy with Beatrice's questions at all. 'Why don't you ask yourself that, you old crow! I wouldn't have lost my mother if you didn't chase my mother out of this house just because of some rumors…'Cedric could not stand seeing Corinne s
"Mister Sunny, something happened!""What? What is it? Shock me again like that, and I'll punch you," said Sunny.He was trying to figure out his math homework when Felix suddenly barged in and interrupted him."But something did happen. I saw your grandfather and grandmother talking to a guest like they were very close or something," replied Felix haplessly.Hearing this angered Sunny even more. "What's so weird about that? We have guests over all the time! They're either Grandpa's old friends or Grandma's bridge friends!"Felix shook his head rapidly. "No, their guest is a young lady now, and you know her too!"Sunny frowned. "A young lady who I know? Who is it? God, can you spit it out in one go?""It's Missus Holden! You know, that lady you keep causing trouble for…"Sunny immediately put down his pen and looked up in surprise. "Are you talking about Corinne?"Felix nodded. "Yeah! That's her! Don't you find it strange at all, Mister Sunny? I mean, the Riveras and the Holde
Cedric nodded. "Very well, then. Take your time in the garden, Corinne, and come back inside when you're tired.""Yes, Grandpa Cedric."The servant helped Cedric into an electric buggy, and the two of them drove back to the mansion.After seeing Cedric off, Corinne looked back to the field of dusty blue flowers.'They're so beautiful. It's a pity I didn't get a chance to ask Grandpa Cedric for the flower's name…'She walked closer to the flowers and bent down to take a sniff. 'Strange… These flowers smell nice and sour at the same time. What a shame that a beautiful flower like this doesn't have a beautiful scent to go with it.'Just when she was disappointed about the strange-smelling flower, a tall middle-aged man suddenly popped out from the field of flowers.Corinne jumped up in fright as the middle-aged man straightened himself, both of his hands caked in dirt. Corinne instinctively stepped back and looked quizzically at him.The middle-aged man smiled at her. "Sorry for s
'Moonlight? What a beautiful name. The color does remind me of the moonlight. I've never heard of this flower before… It must be very rare,' thought Corinne.Corinne stared at the field of flowers as though in a trance. After a while, she asked, "Why are you putting the fertilizer yourself? Don't you have a gardener to do it for you?""They're my wife's favorite flower, and they're very picky, you know. They'll only grow if given the right temperature, humidity, soil acidity, and as such. I'm worried the gardener won't do the job well, so I have taken it upon myself to take care of it."'Wife? Is he talking about Anya's mother? Ugh, does he think doing this makes him seem like a romantic? Things wouldn't have ended up like this if this old man treated my mom half of how he treated Anya's mom! What a hypocrite he is!'Corinne would inevitably get angry whenever she thought of how her mother was betrayed by the Riveras. 'It wouldn't hurt as much if the betrayal came from other people
"Mommy's not feeling so well, and she asked for you to see her upstairs," answered Anya.Maxwell frowned. "She should ask for the doctor instead of me. It's not like I know how to cure whatever she has."Anya was stunned. Maxwell sounded just like Jeremy. 'Is that how men treat the women they don't love anymore?'Ever since she married into this family, Phoebe had been doing whatever she could to please Maxwell, Cedric, and Beatrice, but she did not get the love and respect she hoped for. It was only because of Anya and Sunny that she could keep her position as Maxwell's wife.'Sometimes I wonder how a man's brain works. I mean, why is Daddy still pining for his ex-wife and daughter? He should be spending more time with Mommy instead. And that Jeremy…he'd rather marry that scheming country bumpkin instead of me!'Feeling sad for her mother, Anya decided to fight for her sake. "Daddy, maybe you should at least check on Mommy. I heard Grandpa had invited a guest over today, and I'm