It wasn't Stephen's first time meeting Elvin, but he was still shocked by the kid's mature demeanor. Elvin was relatively cute; however, he always had a scowl on his face that made him seem unapproachable. "Britney misses you," Stephen replied, not showing any changes in his expression.Britney nodded fervently. "Yes. I haven't played with you in a long time, El." She looked at the kindergarten and asked curiously, "Is it fun here?"Elvin frowned, ignoring the little girl. To him, kindergarten was nothing more than a boring, childish place. How could it possibly be fun?Britney wasn't waiting for his answer either. She shifted her attention to Stephen and said, "Daddy, I want to study here too. I want to be with El!" "Copycat," Elvin muttered in displeasure, not bothering to conceal any of his hostility. Stephen raised his brows slightly, giving Julian a look. Julian understood him at once and immediately gave Elvin the two sets of toys in his hands. He'd done his research b
"Britney ..." Stephen wanted to use the same excuse again, but he swallowed back his words and suddenly turned grave. "How do you usually teach your child?"Yvonne was stunned, wondering what he meant by that. Then a pang of annoyance stirred up in her. "Are you saying that El isn't sensible?" After a moment's thought, he replied seriously, "He's too sensible."Then he thought, "What's the point of a child being so sensible? Isn't it good to be naive and innocent like Britney? Look at how likable she is." Yvonne couldn't understand what was going on in his head. "Is there something wrong with you? Are you here to start a fight on purpose?""Do you always talk badly about me in front of him?" Stephen asked."No. Just mentioning your name alone makes me feel ominous." Stephen raised his brows, looking like he was determined to get to the bottom of this. "Then, why does he hate me so much?""How would I know?"Until now, Yvonne had no clue when Elvin had found out about Stephe
Meanwhile, Yvonne had been driving with a sullen face after she'd returned to her car. Andy had been in the car the entire time and had seen what had happened outside the kindergarten just now. "Yvonne, why did Mr. Anderson look for Elvin?" he asked in a low voice."He knows that El is his son." "What?" Andy was shocked. "How could you let him know? Northena City isn't like overseas. The Andersons have a formidable presence here. If Mr. Anderson fights with you for Elvin, everything will be over.""He'd better not." Yvonne narrowed her eyes. If Stephen dared to do anything like that, she would never let him off the hook. She'd protected Elvin under his nose before, and she would do it again for the second time. Sensing the sudden fierceness in Yvonne's temperament, Andy swallowed his saliva nervously and forced out an awkward smile. "Of course, with your abilities, you can definitely compete against him." Yvonne didn't respond to him. She fell into deep thought, questioning
Ariel had been distracted since leaving Oceania Villa that day. She couldn't figure out what was going through Stephen's mind, and she didn't dare ask him about it out of fear that he'd get mad. Still, bottling everything up was making her feel uncomfortable. Hence, the only way she could vent was by working.In the remaining three days before joining the drama production crew, Ariel busied herself by filling her schedule with various activities. Even Katie had tried to make an appointment with Ariel several times but failed. Finally, she contacted Jodie instead. "Is Ariel very busy lately?" she typed. When Jodie received the message, she was at the studio, watching Ariel pose for a magazine's cover photos."Yes. Her schedule is packed," she replied. "Did something happen? I've been contacting her lately, and she doesn't seem to be in her best form," Katie asked soon after. After reading the message, Jodie flitted her eyes back to Ariel again, her brows furrowing. Ariel had b
"What? Stephen acquired an amusement park company for his son?" James exclaimed upon hearing the news from Julian. Then he turned to look at Stephen. "Buy a company for me too; I'll call you dad from now on."Not long ago, James' world had been shattered when he'd found out that Stephen and Yvonne had a son. Now, with this other piece of news, James felt like he could no longer understand the world. Stephen cast him a cold glance. "Buzz off." James became timid at once and returned to his seat. "Stephen, when are you going to introduce your son to us? I'm quite curious about him." "It's not the time yet," he replied flatly. "What does he mean by 'not the time yet'? He's clearly helpless! Look at how unfazed the kid is despite receiving such a great gift," Julian muttered inwardly. Considering how Elvin had accepted the contract and not the other gifts, it simply showed what a genius he was. He definitely hadn't just taken it because he thought it was fun, but because he knew
"Do you know that Yvonne has a son born out of wedlock?" Philip asked in a stern voice. Hazel was sitting beside Philip, looking helpless as she couldn't stop his outburst.Stephen spared her a glance and instantly guessed what had happened. "How did you know?" His question was directed at her. Guilt-ridden, Hazel stammered, "I ... I heard it through the grapevine. Lately, the wealthy women in our circle have been saying that Yvonne has an illegitimate child ..." Illegitimate child?"Who's spreading it?" Stephen asked, his gaze turning frostier. "Why are you getting angry at your aunt?" Philip was hot under the collar. "You knew that Yvonne had a child a long time ago, didn't you? You even delayed your marriage for her! What exactly are you thinking about?" He'd just learned about the news, so he hadn't fully digested it yet.Then Stephen's calm voice came through. "Since you know about the child's existence, then there's no need for me to keep you in the dark anymore," he p
"Give me some time to think about it." Noah wanted to pull his hand away, but Hazel tightened her grip on him. "Is that even necessary? Yvonne is divorced and even has a child with Stephen. If you pursue her for real, it's going to be extremely humiliating for your dad and I." The more Hazel thought about it, the more terrified she became. She couldn't believe that she'd almost fallen for Noah's words and thought Yvonne was a suitable match for him. Now, she couldn't allow Noah to pursue Yvonne, not even over her dead body. She couldn't bear the thought of her son, whom she was so proud of, becoming a laughingstock!"You'd better take our lives first if you're still thinking of being together with Yvonne." Hazel was so angry that her eyes reddened. "We can't afford to bear such a disgrace."Noah felt his head throb. "Cut it out, will you? I know what I'm doing." "If so, swear to me then! Promise me that you will never get close to Yvonne again!" Seeing that Hazel wasn't going
Caleb was stunned. "You knew about it already?"Yvonne tried hard to suppress her anger. "If Old Jim hadn't given me a call, how long were you and Conan planning to keep me in the dark?" Jim had called Yvonne today and told her that he hadn't seen Conan in the medical institution for quite some time. It wasn't until he investigated that he found out that Conan had sneakily returned to the country. After ending the call, Yvonne had immediately recalled what Caleb said to her in the car last time—the medical platform proposal. Given that Caleb had joined forces with Conan to work on the platform, he must have had something to do with the latter coming back to the country this time. Hence, she'd immediately set her work aside and gone to see Caleb. Looking at Caleb's reaction, Yvonne knew that she was right. "Conan is still young, and I can understand his recklessness. But what about you, Caleb? You aren't someone who'd act without considering the consequences." Driven by rage, she
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