Hazel was the first to notice Stephen behind Philip. She furrowed her brows. "Why did you bring him here?"That made Philip frown immediately. William quickly stepped in and said, "Father, Hazel didn't mean anything by it. You know as well that Noah and Stephen don't get along. Noah has been down recently. He won't be happy to see Stephen.""They are cousins. Do you want them to not get along for the rest of their lives?" Philip asked sternly.William immediately nodded. "You're right. They are cousins …"Hazle wanted to chime in, but William pulled her back. She shut up reluctantly.Philip ignored them and asked, "Is Noah still in his room? Didn't you tell him that I had returned?""We did." William looked troubled. "But Noah isn't willing to let anybody go near him. We have been at home all the time, and we haven't seen him at all."Philip furrowed his brows. "Take me to his room.""Okay." William was just about to take over Philip's wheelchair when Stephen stopped him.
"I meant what I said." Noah swept a glance at Stephen before looking at Philip once more. "Ever since I was young, no matter how hard I tried, all you ever saw was Stephen. I knew that I could never be as good as him in your eyes. "Which is why I had long given up on getting your approval. I'll fight for the things that I want."Noah sniggered. "Setting you up to hurt you was my choice. It's only a pity that it wasn't successful. If not, I would surely have had the last laugh."A slap landed on Noah's face. William yelled, "You bastard!"Noah smirked and wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'm just telling the truth. I've lost. I'll admit it, but if you want me to beg for mercy, you can dream on!"William raised his hand once more, but Hazel stopped him. She pleaded through her sobs, "S-Stop it. Noah is already an adult. How humiliating would it be for him if you slapped him?"She turned to look at Noah. "Noah, you should stop too. Just apologize to your gr
In the study, Philip sat in his wheelchair, quietly looking at the scenery out of the window.Stephen stood not far away from him with a darkened gaze.After a while, Philip finally spoke up. His voice made him sound like he had aged many years in a short time."Is there nothing you would like to say to me?""Nothing," Stephen replied. "You wanted to give Noah another chance. I can understand, but that doesn't mean I agree with you."If Noah had asked for forgiveness and had wanted to join Anderson Group once more, Stephen most likely would have stopped him. However, Noah hadn't done that.That was what Stephen couldn't understand either. Knowing Noah, he wasn't one to give up on any opportunity, yet his reaction a moment ago was as if he had given up on everything. He no longer wanted anything.The last time he had made a deal with Yvonne, he had still been very ambitious. That hadn't been too long ago.Had Noah completely given up already?Stephen furrowed his brows. Thi
As the sky darkened, the bar came to life with alcohol and worldly desires, accompanied by a cacophony of loud music, glasses clinking, and people chatting.A group of people were sitting by the corner booth, happily chatting away, when a strange lady plopped down in their booth, interrupting their fun.One of the guys looked at her strangely. "Do you have the wrong seat? We don't know you.""Have you forgotten me so quickly?" The lady leaned in closer so that they could have a better look at her face. "I just joined Anderson Group together with you all. Have you all forgotten?"Another lady soon recognized her. "You’re the one who got kicked out on the first day of the job. You were asking me about Mr. Jacobs the other day."Jane looked at her and smiled. "You don't have to add the first sentence."Hearing the warning in her tone, the other lady was a little unhappy. "You've been fired. Why are you still trying to get close to us?""Who says I don't have a chance of returning
"Bring me another glass." Noah slid the glass forward and laid on the bar drunkenly.The next second, a hand gently tapped on his shoulder.He had already rejected a few ladies' advances that night. At that moment, he was just utterly annoyed. He pushed her hand away. "Fuck off!"However, not only did the lady not go away, but instead she sat down next to him."Mr. Anderson, it's too boring to drink alone. Let me accompany you."Noah turned to see a young blonde lady. He furrowed his brows. "Are you even of legal age? You should be in school.""I came of age two years ago." Jane raised her hand at the bartender. "I'll have what he's having."Noah still looked unhappy. "Little girl, getting drunk at a bar isn't good for you. Also, I'm not in the mood to have fun with you.""I only want to talk." Jane turned to face Noah, resting her elbow on the bar. She smiled and said, "I know Stephen and Yvonne. I'm quite familiar with them."Noah sneered. "What does that have to do with
Julian was on the phone with Stephen, reporting about Noah's situation. "We're still looking for him. We should be able to find him soon. "Also, we have already spoken to all of his friends. No one would dare to take him in. Which is why we'll know immediately the moment Mr. Noah checks into a hotel."Julian was confident about his arrangement. He truly believed that Noah wouldn't be able to hide from him since he had nowhere to go."Hmm," Stephen responded, then he realized Yvonne was calling him."That's all." He hung up directly.Julian was baffled. He had been busy the entire day. He had done such a good job on it, yet there was not a single word of praise from Stephen! How heartless could Stephen be to hang up on him?Stephen answered Yvonne's call. "Yes?""I just wanted to ask … How is Mr. Anderson Senior?" Yvonne asked hesitatingly, afraid that she might tread on Stephen's toes."His talk with Noah didn't go well. Grandpa wanted to send Noah to Mount Northerna in a
On Valentine's Day, Yvonne took Elvin to Anderson Group. She held Elvin's hand in one hand and a gift in the other.When she entered the building, she immediately regretted her decision to come. On the way to Stephen's office, many staff members looked at them nosily. After all, she had appeared in their office on such a special occasion. Everyone would surely speculate.However, she was already there. All she could do was brace herself and enter the elevator. She headed directly to the floor where the CEO's office was.As she got off the elevator, she bumped into Julian, who looked bitter. She greeted him and saw him quickly change his expression. She asked, "Has work not been going well recently?"Julian shook his head. "No, I just didn't have a good sleep last night." How could he dare to tell her that he was supposed to be on holiday that day? He was just unlucky to have a boss who would put his love life over anything else!"Mr. Anderson and Ms. Britney are waiting for
On the eighth floor, Elvin was hiding in the archive storage, bored while waiting for Britney to look for him. He popped his head out of the door and grumbled, "Britney sure is slow."Right at that moment, Britney bumped into Noah. She had met Noah a few times at Anderson Mansion, and he had always been quite the gentleman. Britney knew him quite well, so she wasn't on guard at all."Britney, are you playing alone?" Noah asked with a smile.Britney shook her head and replied, "I'm playing hide and seek with Elvin. Do you want to join?""Oh?" Noah raised an eyebrow. "Where's your Dad?""He's with Aunt Yvonne.""I see …" Noah replied pensively. He had been waiting outside Miller Villa for the past two days. He had been waiting for a chance when Yvonne would take Elvin out. He had followed them all the way to Anderson Group.He had initially thought that there would be no more opportunities to deal with them once they were in Stephen's territory. But he had never expected
A light breeze blew by in the courtyard. Agatha slowly recounted the past.Back then, Daniel and his wife, Katherine, had just had Mark. The entire Carrington family had been celebrating.They had doted on Mark and taken him wherever they went.That day, they had headed out. Before they'd known it, Mark had been taken away.Just when Daniel and Katherine had been on the brink of losing it, they had received a call from the kidnapper to bring the ransom to a specific spot.They had gotten the money and driven there without any hesitation. No one had thought that they would ever return after that. Even Mark had disappeared.When Agatha finished recounting this, her cup of tea had already cooled.She wiped her tears away. She said through a catch in her throat, "Katherine was hugging the bag of money tightly until the moment she passed away, as though she were hugging you."Mark furrowed his brows. Now that he'd heard the truth about Daniel and Katherine, he should have felt pain
As Yvonne left the room, she could tell that Stephen's mood was much better.She looked at him. "Are you thinking of something nice?""No." Stephen looked at Yvonne with a rare twinkle in his eyes."Let me take you to breakfast." Before Yvonne could respond, he took her hand and led her to the elevator.Thinking about how he'd stood outside her room the entire night, Yvonne decided to let him hold her hand.Then, her thoughts drifted to Otto. Somehow, she had a bad feeling.…At the same time, Mark was in the courtyard of Carrington Mansion. He sat next to Agatha and poured some tea for her.He handed her a cup of hot tea. "Great-Grandma, try this."When he noticed that Agatha had no reaction, he called out to her once more. "Great-Grandma?""Huh?" Agatha came to her senses. She looked at Mark in confusion. "What is it?""You've been distracted since yesterday. Are you thinking of something?" Mark asked.Agatha shook her head. "Nothing." Then, she picked up her teacup and
Yvonne stood by the door of the bedroom and looked at Otto, who was looking out of the window in a daze on the bed.The sun shone on his face. He looked quite hungover and had a sickly pale face.Yvonne hesitated for a while before saying gently, "Mrs. Jenner called me last night. She's worried about you."Otto didn't respond.Yvonne went in closer and added, "She said that you called her and asked about your father. She found it strange."Mr. Carrington, why did you suddenly think about your father? Did Mrs. Carrington Senior bring him up yesterday?"All Yvonne got was silence.Luckily, she was patient. She sat on the couch and followed Otto's line of sight. Tiny dust particles were floating among the sunbeams. Yvonne also fell into a daze as she watched them float about.Suddenly, Otto asked, "Have you ever felt like your world was falling apart?""Hmm?" Yvonne was confused. "For example?""I mean, like the person that you trust turns out to be different from what you'd t
The next morning, Yvonne opened her door to see Stephen standing outside. She was caught off guard."What is wrong with you this morning? Why didn't you knock…"While talking, Yvonne noticed that Stephen was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Don't tell me you didn't leave last night? Have you been standing outside this door all this while?""Hmm." Stephen looked at Yvonne intently. "I thought you would've figured it out quickly."Yvonne was speechless, but she thought to herself that she'd slept like a baby the night before.She smiled at him. "Figure what out?" She noticed Stephen frowning as though he were on the brink of losing his temper.She quickly added, "I-I mean, you have to give me a hint, right? I've thought about it the entire night, but I still don't understand. My brain isn't functioning well."Stephen asked suspiciously, "You've been thinking about it the entire night?""Yes, which is why I didn't look for yo
"If I hadn't come to find you tonight, you probably wouldn't tell me anything about what happened tonight, would you?" Stephen asked in retort.It wasn't a big deal, as long as they returned safely. Yvonne wondered why she needed to report this to him.But she still smiled. "It's late. How could I disrupt your rest? It would've been the same if I told you about it tomorrow morning, right?"Stephen sniggered. "Yvonne, you still don't know where you've gone wrong."He suddenly went in closer to her. Yvonne instinctively retreated until her back was up against the wall. She glared at him."What on earth is wrong with you? I've already said that I would've told you tomorrow morning—"A punch went past Yvonne and landed brutally on the wall.Yvonne was a little stunned. She looked into Stephen's eyes and furrowed her brows. "Stephen, I don't want to quarrel with you for no reason. "Mrs. Carrington Senior went to look for Otto today. Calbert couldn't reach him the entire day, so he
Jane returned to the private room, distracted.She sat down next to Cory. She looked at him as he reached his hand out to her in confusion.Cory furrowed his brows and asked unhappily, "Where's the wine?""Wine… Yes! Wine!" Jane came to her senses. She was just about to get up when Cory pulled her back.He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at him. "What happened when you went out?""N-Nothing."Cory tightened his grip. Jane furrowed her brows in pain. "I-I… I saw Yvonne. She told me that she and Stephen got remarried.""What?" Cory relaxed his grip a little. "They got remarried?""Hmm.""So, what?" He had no intention of letting her go, and he looked at her sharply. "Does it bother you so much that Stephen got remarried?"Jane looked at Cory frantically. "Cory, what do you mean by that?""What do I mean? You know what I mean."Cory went in closer. His tone turned icy. "You used to pursue Stephen. Now that you know he's gotten married, you're in this shitty mood
Yvonne turned around to see Jane smiling at her ambiguously. She furrowed her brows. How were they always bumping into each other?Jane crossed her hands in front of her chest and leaned against the wall. She swept her gaze at Calbert and Otto. "Two guys and one woman. You sure know how to have fun!"Calbert instantly snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?""Why are you being so fierce? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Jane snickered. "Two guys and a woman came out of a private room in the middle of the night. Anyone would come to the same conclusion. We're all adults. There's no need to pretend to be innocent.""You—" Calbert was about to go up to Jane, but Yvonne stopped him."Since Ms. Ford is here, I'm guessing so is Cory?" Yvonne smiled, yet her smile didn't reach her eyes. "If you cause a scene here and this bar gets raided, guess who'll be the ones walking out here alive?"Jane's expression turned ugly. "Are you threatening me?""It's just a kind reminder." Yvon
Calbert and Yvonne managed to track Otto's car to a bar, thanks to the information they'd gotten from his staff. Otto's car was right outside the bar.Calbert looked at the neon sign and furrowed his brows. "Why is Otto here? Did what Mrs. Carrington Senior said really hit him so badly that he has to drown himself in alcohol?"Yvonne said nothing and headed directly inside the bar."Wait up for me!" Calbert went after her. He subconsciously protected her from all the drunk patrons.The lighting in the bar was dim. Many of the patrons were drunk and having fun.Yvonne and Calbert walked around the booth area, but Otto was nowhere to be found. They pulled a server over to ask if there was a patron by the name of Otto Carrington who had reserved a private room.Coincidentally, the server had just taken two bottles of wine to Otto's room. So, he led them to the private room.Calbert tipped the server before opening the door and entering. The entire room reeked of alcohol.He looked
After Agatha left, Otto stood in the same spot without moving.A long time later, Zac entered the office. He looked at Otto's back and asked quietly, "Mr. Carrington, will you still see the client?""No." Otto sounded heartbroken.Zac didn't dare ask further questions. He gently closed the door and reminded the secretary that no one was to disturb Otto.In the office, Otto was alone. He slowly walked over to the couch and slumped into it. His mind was in a mess."Alexander was the one who planned the kidnapping back then."Agatha's words rang in his mind for a long time.Alexander's young face appeared in Otto's mind, smiling at him affectionately."Otto! Amazing! Yes! Just like that!""You're amazing at badminton! You're going to make the country proud! I'm going to be so proud of you!""Otto, my son!"Memories of his interactions with Alexander flashed across his mind at that moment.Otto couldn't imagine that such a loving father would do such an absurd thing. Alexander