In the end, the dinner became a meeting instead. Hence, the entire meal took longer than an hour to finish.After discussing all the plans, Caleb couldn't help but praise Yvonne. "What a ruthless plan! Not only will it drive a wedge between them, but it will also completely destroy Noah's plan to return to Anderson Group.""This is the consequence they have to bear," Yvonne said lazily, yet with a hint of frost."You're right." Caleb stood up and rubbed his tummy. "Thank you for dinner tonight. I'll take it as compensation for my help. It's late. I should leave.""Goodbye, we won't send you off," Stephen interjected as if he had been waiting for Caleb to leave.Caleb was amused. "Alright. I know my way around here better than you, Mr. Anderson. You don't have to send me off."Stephen cast Caleb a sharp gaze. He should shut up and leave!Caleb raised an eyebrow in amusement. Then, he left happily. He had to admit it—teasing Stephen was indeed quite fun.Yvonne could see what t
It was two weeks until the wedding.That day, Katie was trying on her custom-made wedding gown when she heard the news about Lexi Doyle collaborating with Miller Jewels. She was so furious that she wasn't even willing to try on the dress.She pushed the store's staff away. "I'm not in the mood."Coincidentally, Hazel entered the dressing room right at this moment and heard what Katie said."You're a bride-to-be. Why are you so angry? Are the staff not treating you nicely?"Katie turned to look when she heard Hazel. "Hi, Mom.""No, not yet. You and Noah aren't married yet." Hazel took a seat on the couch and signaled for the staff to give them the room.When they were finally alone, Hazel looked at Katie. "I don't know what you did to make Noah want to marry you and give you so much money. He didn't tell me, so I won't ask him. But don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you're marrying into our family."Katie finally understood what was going on. Hazel had de
The first son of the Anderson family was getting married. Naturally, it was a grand affair. Even though Noah wasn't willing to get married, he was already at his wedding. So he could only play his part as the loving groom. He smiled and welcomed the guestsAs the bride and groom exchanged rings, the audience broke into applause. The wedding ended without any hiccups. Katie was finally Mrs. Noah Anderson. Everyone went over to congratulate them."Congratulations on your marriage!""Mr. Anderson, you are one lucky man! Look at how gorgeous your bride looks today!"Katie smiled until her cheeks were sore. She made an excuse, saying she had to get changed. She slipped away from the guests and went back to her room.The wedding gown was heavy. She was so exhausted that she didn't want to move, so she let the servants help her out of the wedding gown. She felt much more relaxed.After changing into an evening gown, Katie waved her hands for the servants to leave her alone. She planned
Noah looked at them. He couldn't help lingering a little longer on Yvonne. Among all the women there, she was the most gorgeous one that day.He looked at Stephen once more with a hint of jealousy.Soon, he changed into a gentle smile. "Stephen, I'm glad you could make it.""It's your wedding. How could I not come?" Stephen smiled vaguely. "Everyone is saying that we don't get along. If I hadn't come, wouldn't that just make the rumor true?"Stephen said in a hushed tone, his voice extremely charming yet icy, "By then, you might be happy, but I'll be the unlucky one."Noah's smile was plastered on his face. Yvonne pretended to be curious. She looked around. "Why can't I see the bride? She'd sent me an invitation. Why isn't she here?""She's resting in her room," Noah said without any change in his expression. "I'll get her to come and greet the guests soon.""I see." Yvonne smiled. "You're such a thoughtful husband."Under the lights, her smile was dazzling. Noah was in
The entire sound system was shut down.In a fit of rage, Noah thought of Stephen. He quickly went over to Stephen and threw a punch at him without saying anything.Stephen stumbled and knocked over the tower of champagne flutes. The floor was covered with glass shards. He was drenched too.He raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Noah. "Noah, what's the meaning of this?""It's you! You're slandering me!"Seeing Noah go for Stephen once more, Yvonne took a step in between them. She looked at Noah coldly. "Do you think that you'll be clear of the crimes you've committed by creating a diversion?""You …" Noah gritted his teeth. "You two are in this together!"Yvonne smiled. "Everyone heard what your wife said. How do you still have the nerve to blame it on us? Stephen and I had long guessed that Mr. Anderson Senior's incident was no accident. "The truth is out now. Not only are you not remorseful, but you even want to drag your cousin do
Soon, the guards found Katie and led her inside.The moment Katie's blindfold was taken off, a slap landed on her face. She could instantly taste blood!Before she could come to her senses, Noah was sitting on top of her, slapping her mercilessly!"You bitch! How dare you betray me! Die, you bitch!" Noah yelled with murderous intent.Katie was in a daze after the slaps. Her ears were buzzing.William stopped Noah by grabbing his hands, and she finally had a moment to catch her breath."Stop hitting her. Are you trying to kill her? No matter what, she is now your wife, and you—""Wife?" Noah shrugged William's hand off. He pointed at Katie. "She betrayed me, yet she still thinks she can be my wife? She can dream on! I'll get a divorce tomorrow!"Divorce?Katie was dumbstruck. She instantly sobered up and looked at Noah in disbelief. "W—why are you divorcing me? W—what did I do wrong?"Katie's face was swollen. The moment she spoke, blood flowed out of her mouth. It was a sca
In the room, Hazel told the servants to apply medication to Katie's wounds. After that, she got them to leave them alone.As the door closed, Hazel asked grimly, "Are you really pregnant?"Katie nodded. "I have a report from the hospital. If you need, I'll—""There's no need," Hazel interrupted her. She added curtly, "I don't think you'd have the guts to lie to us about this."Five years ago, Hazel had forced Simone to have an abortion. Later, Hazel had reached the age where she wanted to be a grandmother. After she'd seen Noah get older year after year and refuse to settle down, Hazel had indeed regretted her choice back then.Noah was finally married now, and his wife was also pregnant. If Hazel were to let Noah divorce Katie and make her abort the child, there was no telling how long she would have to wait before she could be a grandmother. Thinking about that, Hazel harrumphed. "Consider yourself lucky to be pregnant. If not, I would have made Noah divorce you."Katie low
All the shareholders and executives of Anderson Group agreed that Stephen should resume his position as CEO of Anderson Group.When everyone left after the meeting, Carmen asked, "How are you planning to deal with Noah? Do you want to hand this over to the police and take him to court?"Stephen looked at the sunny scenery out of the window, yet his gaze was extremely darkened."I don't think Grandpa would like to see that happen."Carmen furrowed her brows. "But if you let him go just like that, it might cause problems in the future." Although she didn't want to see the family at each other's throats, she knew that Noah would surely take this defeat to heart. If they did nothing about him now, there might be even more serious problems down the line.Stephen knew what Carmen's worries were, but she didn't know that the incident this time was a complete setup.Katie would never confess and point the finger at Noah. If that came to light, Yvonne would be embroiled in the case too.
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