"T—there's no need! I can get home by myself!""Hmm?" Stephen raised an eyebrow. "Do you not need me, or do you not find it convenient for me to pick you up?"Her head still buzzing, Yvonne didn't pick up on the double meaning behind his words. "I'm already on my way home." She turned her head and met Rachel's prying eyes, and her head began pounding again. "I'm hanging up. I'm almost home. Thanks for the offer." Yvonne hung up and smiled at Rachel sheepishly. "Would you believe me if I told you that was my father?"Rachel grabbed her friend's arm. "What do you think? So? Who's the guy?"While thinking of what to say, Yvonne spotted a cab waiting nearby and quickly broke away from Rachel's grasp. She dashed toward the car like a bat out of hell. "I'm heading home first. I'll explain everything to you when I have time.""Yvonne Miller!"In the car, Yvonne gave the driver her address and prompted him to drive faster. It was a long drive home, and the skilled driver made the journey smo
Stephen leaped up and turned his head instantly. Someone's head was protruding from his quilt, and the dark locks looked like a mess."Who is it?" he demanded."Where's my doll?" Yvonne murmured, fondling the bed."Why are you in my room?" Stephen frowned. This woman had only been drawing a line between them minutes ago, yet here she was. On his bed! Gosh! What was up with her?However, it didn't seem like Yvonne had heard him. She continued to search for her doll, sounding desperate enough to cry. "My doll… My dolll…" Stephen finally realized that she was dreaming. He frowned in disgust at seeing a grown woman searching for a doll in her sleep. Hold on. Yvonne hadn't mistaken him for her doll, had she? To test his assumption, he sat back down on the bed. Sure enough, Yvonne snuggled up to him again.This time, to make sure her "doll" didn't disappear, Yvonne wrapped her whole body around him. Stephen's back stiffened. In the quiet room, his sense of touch had become extraordinarily a
After breakfast, Yvonne helped Stephen back to his room and checked his vitals.Compared to his initial readings, Stephen's condition had improved much faster than she'd expected. In addition to Yvonne's treatments, his excellent physical condition played a role in speeding up his recovery.Yvonne subconsciously turned to look at Stephen. The sunlight shining into the room illuminated his body, highlighting his handsome facial features. However, his lifeless eyes were like a bottomless pit that could suck in anything effortlessly.In a daze, Yvonne began to worry. If Stephen recovered successfully, would that mean that he would no longer need her? It would be a great loss if he turned his back on her and she lost her cash cow, especially since she hadn't had the chance to use him yet!"How's it going?" Stephen asked, noticing that Yvonne had been silent."Noth—" Yvonne cleared her throat and pulled her hand back. Calmly, she replied, "You're recovering quite well."Stephen hummed in ac
In Miller Jewels, Yvonne entered her office with her assistant following closely behind. "Ms. Miller, this is the list of names you asked for; it has the names of all the influential figures in our industry.""Good work." Yvonne took the file and flipped through the pages casually, her eyes landing on the first name, Xavier Robinson.He came from one of the four most prominent families in Northerna City. He began working with jadeite jewelry before expanding his business and becoming the leading jewelry company in the country, taking over the top spot in the industry."A Robinson… and Kayla even attended a dinner he organized…" Yvonne frowned and wondered if the mysterious man the other night had been Xavier Robinson."Ms. Miller, do you know Mr. Robinson?" her assistant suddenly asked.Yvonne was startled. "Why?""He sent someone to invite you to dinner today. He said the Miller family and the Robinson family used to be quite close, and the two might work together in the future. He ho
Xavier quickly returned to his senses. "I guess you're still mad about what happened last night, Ms. Miller?" He lifted his glass of wine and smiled. "I wouldn't have caused trouble if I'd known it was you. Allow me to show my sincere apologies." Before Yvonne could respond, Xavier threw his head back and downed the entire glass."Wow! You're great at drinking, Mr. Robinson!" Amidst all the applause, Xavier downed two more glasses in one go. He showed Yvonne his empty glass and smiled. "Satisfied yet, Ms. Miller?"Yvonne hadn't seen the man's face clearly back in the bar lounge, but under this lighting, he looked like the devil, his eyes smiling charmingly. Alarm bells immediately went off in Yvonne's head. She was sensible enough to know that men like him could be highly mesmerizing."You're too polite, Mr. Robinson. I offended you first last night. How can I ask you to apologize?" Yvonne poured some tea into her glass. "Instead of wine, let me use tea to—""It seems like Ms. Miller
Everyone here knew that Julian was Stephen's right-hand man, so they were dumbfounded to see him here. They began to wonder how this hideous woman knew Julian."It's a surprise to see you here, Ms. Miller. I have something to discuss with you but haven't been able to get a hold of you."Yvonne internally applauded Julian's acting skills and played along. "Yep. I've been kind of busy lately." She turned around to bid Xavier goodbye. "Mr. Robinson, something's come up, so let's meet again another time." Mindful of who Xavier was, Yvonne reluctantly pulled out her name card and placed it on the table. "Feel free to contact me if you need me, Mr. Robinson."With that, Yvonne turned to follow Julian out when the latter suddenly remembered something. In a loud voice, he asked, "Ms. Miller, have you given the investment Ms. Anderson proposed to you any thought?"Yvonne was at a loss, having no idea what Julian was talking about. Julian peeked at the table out of the corner of his eye and made
Meanwhile, Xavier stood on the steps of the restaurant, watching the Maybach drive out of sight. If he wasn’t mistaken, the figure sitting in the back seat was Stephen. What a surprise! Stephen had finally left the mansion, and more importantly, it was to pick up an ugly woman. If word of this got out, it would be the most sensational scandal in Northerna City. Yvonne’s last words before she left echoed in Xavier’s ears. Smirking, he muttered to himself, "Pointless? I don’t think so."Thanks to Yvonne's easy-going personality, the atmosphere in the car had eased considerably. Julian breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Madam was a perceptive woman; otherwise, he would've had a headache dealing with both of them. "Don't meet with Xavier so often in the future," Stephen suddenly blurted out in a domineering manner. "Why?" Yvonne replied without hesitation. "Do I have to tell you the reason?" Stephen sneered. "Do you really think Xavier would be interested in an ugly woman like yo
Yvonne walked for an hour before finally managing to catch a taxi, cursing Stephen the entire way home. Yvonne continued to be annoyed with Stephen for the rest of the week, often going an entire day without saying more than three sentences to him. That morning, Yvonne received a phone call and had to leave the house. When she passed Stephen in the living room, she didn’t even give him a second glance. As the sound of her footsteps grew fainter, Stephen furrowed his brows in frustration. It seemed like she planned to stand by Xavier’s side to the bitter end. Yvonne went to a hotel in the suburbs rather than her company. There were two pillars at the entrance of the hotel, and two burly men were leaning against them, smoking and making small talk. When they noticed Yvonne approaching, they hurriedly snuffed out their cigarettes and threw them away.Standing up straight, both men nodded respectfully to Yvonne. "Ms. Y."Yesterday, Gwen had instructed them to deliver a man to Ms. Y in
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