In Aurelia’s opinion, everything Penny did was to seduce Caleb—including breathing. That bitch was also Maeve Easton’s daughter, so everything was her fault. If Penny’s reputation went down the drain or if she died or left Imperial City for good, her and Shawn’s marriage could be saved. Aurelia cared deeply about Shawn. They had grown up together, and their parents had wanted them to get married since they were children. Why should she lose to a woman who had become part of their lives out of the blue?The bodyguards took Penny away and locked her in a pitch-black room.That room was used to punish criminals, and it was so dark inside she could not even see her hand in front of her face. Penny instinctively leaned against the wall after getting thrown into the room. She heard rustling sounds. Given how dark her surroundings were, it was quite creepy. Her hand came in contact with something cold and slippery to the touch. She realized that they were snakes.“Ahh!!!”She let
“It’s none of my concern how she wishes to deal with her relationships.”He turned his laptop off and glanced at the clock. It was time to go to bed. However, he felt uneasy that evening. He took a shower and climbed into bed, but he could not fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. He tried reading a book, but he could not focus on even a single word. At one in the morning, he got dressed and headed out. This time, he drove himself to The Rosarium.Several units at The Rosarium still had their lights on. He cracked his car window open and began smoking a cigarette.When only half of his cigarette remained, he took his phone out and called Penny. No one answered. He leaned back against his seat and stared straight ahead, wondering what had possessed him to drive all the way here in the middle of the night. After laughing at himself self-deprecatingly, he drove back home. He drove past the Sullivan family's company on his way home, but since he rarely paid attention
Penny was curled up in a corner, still slamming her head against the wall. She was not using as much force now, but she was still repeating that same move over and over again like a robot. The man was afraid of these creatures as well, and he felt his movements would be restricted. He hurried toward Penny, planning to sleep with her somewhere outside the room. When he grabbed Penny, she let out a scream and shoved him aside. She did not even know who was standing before her, but the only thought that was in her mind then was that she needed to escape. Escaping to anywhere else other than this room would be fine.The man fell and landed on several snakes. He began screaming in fright. Penny seemed to snap back to her senses. She leaped over and slammed the man’s head to the ground.Stars appeared in the man’s line of sight before he passed out. Penny got to her feet and walked out. Her stomach was spasming from going an entire day without food.There was no one else outsi
He had a frosty look in his eyes as he stared at Aurelia. There was an unreadable expression on his face. Sean Strauss was not as flippant as he seemed to be.He spent some time admiring the artwork and also exchanged greetings with several guests present before leaving. When he returned to his car, he saw that Penny had been placed in the back seat. He drove back to the mansion he was staying at and carried her up to the second floor. After summoning a female employee to bathe her and bandage the wound on her forehead, he called for a doctor. “She’s just in fright. No need to worry, Mr. Sean.” Sean heaved a sigh of relief. He gnashed his teeth together when he recalled what the Fergerson family had done. How could they treat a woman so horribly?!…Aurelia waited until everyone had left before immediately hurrying over to the bodyguards. “Have you found her?” “Not yet, Madam Bailey.”“Useless! Could she have vanished into thin air?! Find out where she is! I don’t
As he walked down the path, he noticed something glimmering on the side. He walked forth and bent down to pick the item up. It was a diamond-encrusted hair clip, and he could tell at a glance that it was an extremely expensive piece meant for women. The staff at the Fergerson Estate would not wear such things. Could a female guest have left it behind? He stood up. He had no memory of the hair clip, but he also could not bring himself to throw it away. That scene was witnessed by Aurelia, who had come running out after him. She immediately recognized it as being one of Penny’s belongings. “That was probably left behind by one of the ladies who attended the tea party, Caleb. Why don’t you give it to me? I’ll return it to the owner at a later time.” Caleb did not say anything. He continued staring at the hair clip. Just as Aurelia reached over to take the clip from him, he asked, “Was Penny here?” The tips of Aurelia’s fingers shook. “Which Penny are you talking about? I d
"Do you hate the Fergersons for treating you this way?"Sean was somewhat confused by the relationship between her and the Fergersons. After Aurelia's last outburst, he had a rough idea of what had happened. He found it all rather absurd.On one hand, Caleb was romantically involved with Penny. On the other hand, he let her be mistreated. Sean wondered if Caleb truly cared for her. Caleb would have known her true identity if he paid a bit more attention to his ex-wife. However, Caleb, high and mighty, saw Penny as nothing more than an insignificant ant. Why would someone so high up care about the struggles of an ant?Absurd.Everything was absurd.Penny remained silent, calmly eating her oatmeal.Sean could not help but sit on the edge of the bed. Taking the bowl from her hands, he placed it on the bedside table. Then, he pulled her into his embrace and gently patted her back."You can cry if you want to."From the moment they returned, she had either been sleeping or sta
In the evening, Sean received a call from a friend, inviting him out for drinks. However, he could not shake off his concern for Penny."Take good care of yourself. Focus on resting and recovering. Aurelia won't let you off the hook easily, so you need to come up with a plan to fight against her. Otherwise, she'll find one way or another to get her hands on you."He knew that Penny, on her own, stood no chance against the Fergersons.…Sean arrived at the bar, and to his surprise, Caleb was there too.He raised an eyebrow and took a seat next to Jeremy.Jeremy had dropped Penny a call earlier that night. Penny was completely open with him and told him that she was at Sean's place. As such, Jeremy's tone turned sour when he saw Sean."Quite the charmer, aren’t you? I wonder what you said to Penny to make her willingly go to your mansion."Jeremy was hitting two birds with one stone. He was taunting Caleb and testing Sean's attitude.Jeremy was more of a player than Sean, and
The other attendees at the scene had all fled, unable to believe that they had witnessed Caleb resort to violence.Caleb had always been a unique figure in their social circle, built from a foundation of reason and coldness. Yet, he was in an all-out brawl with Sean now. Both men were exchanging punches and kicks without giving an inch.Jeremy and Winston sat there in shock. Jeremy had not expected Caleb to act so aggressively and for Sean to be so quick to retaliate.At this point, even Winston was panicking. He quickly turned to Jeremy and said, "Jeremy, what the hell are you waiting for? You grab Sean and I'll take care of Caleb!"If they continued fighting, it would not be long before the senior figures of the Fergersons and the Strausses intervened. Moreover, a brawl over a woman was not something to be proud of. Jeremy quickly restrained Sean while Winston held Caleb back.Caleb had taken a blow to the stomach and two blows near the mouth, so he was coughing up blood.
Penny was displeased but was too shy to voice it out. Her body felt empty.“Are you happy that he’s back?” “No.” “Then, do you want me?” Penny bit her lip. He had caused sweat to break out across her body. Caleb’s phone rang. Finn was on the other end of the line. He answered the phone, and Finn’s voice rang out. “Imperial City is going to be in chaos tonight. The higher-ups are hunting for the results of Caspian's experiments, and even Uncle Shawn is getting involved in this. "He just called and told me that the higher-ups contacted him and basically forced him to agree to convince Caspian to give them the results. "Cas has also contacted the higher-ups himself and told them that unless Penny is by his side, the mental torture he was subjected to will stop him from recalling where he’s put the chip.” It was a matter of national security, and this was what Caspian was using as his bartering chip the minute he returned. There was no doubt the higher-ups would put a
Penny had made it out of the room by then. Her face was deathly pale. “Penny!” Caleb ran after her and pulled her into his arms. He pulled her behind a pillar where no one could see them. Caleb knew what was going through her mind, and he held her face in his hands. She did not look at him. Her chest heaved as she struggled to process the truth. Caleb did not know what to say and merely brushed the tip of his nose against hers. When she did not resist, he slowly moved down and kissed her. He knew why Caspian had chosen this sort of appearance. Not only would he manage to devastate Penny, but he could also announce to everyone that he was Penny’s first love. That way, he could also cause Caleb to find himself in a sticky situation. However, Caleb could not care less. As he kissed Penny, he tightened his arms around her waist. Their breaths turned ragged as they continued kissing for another ten minutes. Finally, he rested his forehead on her shoulder. His back was slig
Despite everyone staring at him, Caleb only had eyes for Penny. Penny did not know the reason behind that, and her brows were knitted together tightly as she watched Caspian make his way down from the second floor. He took the ring from the host and placed it before her solemnly. “I’m here to fulfill my promise, Penpen.” Penny wanted to smack his hand away, but he slowly bent over and smiled as he took her hand. He tried to put the ring on her finger, but his actions were stopped by someone else. He looked in the direction where the hand had come from, and his gaze met Caleb. “Long time no see, Caleb.” Caleb pulled Penny from her seat into his arms. She was left with no choice but to sit on his lap. Caleb could not care less about whatever sort of tricks Caspian would pull. If he allowed Caspian to put that finger on Penny’s finger, he would change his last name! Penny wanted to struggle out of his grasp, but the warmth of his body caused her to stop. He was still
Some people were speculating if they had gotten back together again, and some were even wondering if Caleb was blind. Why did he pass on Khloe Strauss and choose a designer who did not come from a prestigious family? No matter how well Penny ran her company, these people would still view her as a lowly designer fighting to make a name for herself in the market. She ignored everyone else’s stares and merely took a piece of tissue. She turned slightly to wipe the sweat from Caleb’s forehead. Caleb opened his eyes slightly and looked at her. The two did not say anything. Plenty of people were standing around them, but the light above their heads seemed to have enveloped them in a world of their own. Penny felt her heart rate increase as she clutched the tissue and returned her gaze to the stage. “This is a piece of emerald that Mr. Winston Hill has donated. Bidding starts at three million dollars.” Everyone’s gaze turned toward Winston. Winston smiled at everyone as he int
Ethan patted her head and then noticed Sean's gaze shifting toward them."Sean?"Sean leaned back and remained silent, merely twirling his phone between his thumb and forefinger. His lowered lashes cast a shadow.He stood up and heard Ethan say again, "Leave your phone."Sean chuckled. "Ethan, you're being too serious right now."He left his phone behind and went upstairs.Khloe continued to sway Ethan's shoulders."Ethan, I had Wind take action against Penny tonight. This time, success is mandatory. Failure is not an option."Ethan's expression turned grave instantly. "Didn't I tell you not to act on your own?""But I nearly lost my life because of her, twice."After saying this, she touched the area over her heart, her complexion turning pale in a moment."Khlo?"This time, Khloe genuinely felt discomfort in her heart, and the next second, she fainted."Khlo!"Ethan was no longer concerned about reprimanding her and immediately took her to the hospital.…Tonight, the
After returning to Dawn Haven Villa, Penny pulled up her laptop to check public opinion. There were those who vilified Zach, those who vilified her, and even more who vilified S.M. The autistic child's mother, who had published that post online, was even planning to hold a press conference today to accuse S.M. of not having contacted her yet.Penny obtained the mother's contact number and made a call, but the woman did not answer.After just testing the waters, Penny hung up. She then had people from Dawn Haven Villa follow the autistic child's parents and also had someone investigate the whereabouts of Linda and her group.After leaving Sky Lounge last night, that group of wealthy youths checked into a villa Khloe had purchased in Imperial City.The villa had helpers to attend to them, and the group of wealthy youths lived it up.Penny had a rough idea of the culture in Americana, which was much more open than here, with many policies far more lenient.Her fingertips tapped on
A lot of people had gathered around the police station. Zach had just won a grand prize and was currently a top male star with many fans.Hence, being embroiled in a scandal like this shocked the entire internet.The post written by the autistic child's parents placed Zach directly in the spotlight.The combination of the words 'child', 'abuse', and 'autism' had a huge impact.Fans were voicing their disbelief, but bystanders had already boiled over with rage online, hurling insults and curses.S.M. instantly became the target of public condemnation!When Penny arrived at the entrance of the police station, Zach's agent, Otis, was already waiting there. The grown man was crying so hard his eyes were red."Ms. Sullivan!"He immediately stood up from the ground when he saw Penny."I'm sorry, Ms. Sullivan."Penny did not look at him and headed straight into the police station.Zach was sitting on a bench with a police officer still questioning him.Penny had a strong presence.
Penny stood still for a while, feeling unsettled as she got back into the car.Firstly, it was due to her situation with Caleb. Secondly, it was because of Ethan's words. Was something about to happen?She looked up, intending to speak with Winona. However, she suddenly heard Winona's soft sobs. She was lying on the steering wheel, so engrossed in her emotions that she did not notice Penny getting into the car."Winona?" Penny called out.Awakened from her daze, Winona quickly sat up straight. "Ms. Sullivan.""Did your ex-boyfriend come looking for you again? Haven't you already paid him back? Won't his family let you be?""That’s not it.""Is it because he and that woman are getting married? Did they send you a wedding invitation, which made you feel upset?""No."Then what was it?Penny knew that the family situations of the people close to her were quite simple. Winona came from a single-parent family, and her mother did not care much for her.Raven's parents had passed a
Ethan's gaze fell on Penny, and his brows furrowed. His good upbringing prevented him from making any sarcastic remarks at this moment.After all, Penny was alone on her side. On the contrary, they had strength in numbers. Khloe was just discharged from the hospital today and was planning to welcome friends who had come all the way from Americana to see her.Seeing Penny alone, she felt a surge of satisfaction.Given her status as Ms. Strauss, she had many friends in Americana and would never be as isolated as Penny.She had specifically called Linda over, knowing Linda's temper was explosive. Just a little sob story from her and Linda could spew out some really nasty words.Linda spoke up again at this moment."Slut, we'll get you killed sooner or later!"She touched her face as she glared fiercely at Penny as if she wanted to devour her alive.Khloe quickly intervened, saying, "Linda, let's go. We should head inside."Ethan, Sean, let's go."Sean stood by, sighing slightl