Today was the day of the art exhibition.Madelyn, of course, had not forgotten about it and had gotten up early to prepare. She put on a white cashmere coat, a long black knitted skirt with plush long trousers beneath as the weather today was gloomy and below zero degrees.The weather at Ventropolis of late was like a roller coaster and was very volatile. Frost had already formed on the flower beds at the villa. The maple leaves had still been green the day before, but after just a single night, they had turned red.The white frost alone made Madelyn feel a little chilly. She lowered her face and buried it inside her scarf, her cheeks slightly red.'I wonder if it'll snow today.'As soon as the taxi arrived, Madelyn quickly opened the door and got inside.She did not like to have people waiting for her, so she left half an hour earlier. By the time she arrived, there was already a long queue at the exhibition entrance, everyone with a ticket in hand.A Cayenne drove in about ten
At times, she was afraid of talking too much and annoying others.There was air conditioning in the exhibition hall, and it was not too cold. As she looked at the paintings, Madelyn kept her eyes peeled, not wanting to miss even a single detail.Edward's art surprised and shocked her. The paintings had an almost lifelike warmth. Be it the landscape, portraits, all of them looked so real...Each of the paintings were framed and there were guards standing everywhere, not allowing people to get too close. This was because every single one of these paintings here could go for astronomical prices in auctions."Isn't his art just so amazing?""Do you like them?" Ethan asked her."I first saw his art when I was eight. I climbed up onto my mother's book rack and it collapsed, so I was buried in a pile of books and saw a picture from one of the fallen books. It was a photo of one of Mr. Edward's paintings called the World of Fantasies."It was the prettiest aurora I'd ever seen. The ligh
Madelyn came out of the bathroom and turned on the faucet to wash her hands. When she thought of the new person beside Forrest, she felt the woman looked a little familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.'Aren't Jadie and Forrest a thing? How come he's got a new girl now?'No, basing on how Jadie and Zach were hugging yesterday, they're probably together now. So it looks like Forrest got dumped.'She recalled how Jadie and Forrest had kissed one another right opposite her unit at the fishing village. She was not sure whether they had really been kissing or not, but from that angle, it had looked that way to her.Madelyn could not figure out if there had been something else going on between the two of them.'Ah, forget it. This has nothing to do with me. I shouldn't get involved.'Madelyn quickly washed her hands and wiped her hands dry with a tissue before throwing it away and returning to the lounge.Madelyn had just reached the entrance when she saw Ethan being surro
Forrest looked like a ferocious beast that ran into its beast master and suddenly turned into an obedient kitten.Ethan rarely ever appeared in public. Even when he was gradually taking over the Arnold Corporation, he was always the mysterious person who never showed his face.It was impossible for them to know the person who sat in the wheelchair, but both Timothy and Adrian knew who he was. He was the prospective heir of the Arnold family in Ventropolis, Ethan Arnold.A few years ago, a car accident robbed him of his legs. He had disappeared since.Ethan from back then was far, far better than Forrest now. The two of them had the same discordant, arrogant, and defiant temperament in them. However, Ethan had changed; he gave them an even more terrifying feeling than before.His gaze alone could crush Forrest alive.Forrest was Ethan's half-brother of a different mother. However, besides Mr. Arnold, no one in the Arnold household recognized Forrest as kin.After all, Forrest's b
The art exhibition ended at three o'clock in the afternoon. Jadie noticed the familiar car parked outside of the international exhibition hall.Soon after, she opened the car door and got into the passenger seat."Zach... When did you get here? Why didn't you call me? I would've come outside earlier if you had told me you were here. You wouldn't have to wait so long."Kevin had a copy of Jadie's schedule, so he knew she was out of school today to see an art exhibition.Zach had just gotten off the plane and happened to pass by, so he picked Jadie up on the way."It's nothing, " said Zach.Jadie asked, "How's your project going, Zach?""They signed the contract," he replied."Congratulations! You've been toiling away for the project for over a week. Now you can finally have some rest."The car started moving."Jadie, your seatbelt."Jadie was momentarily startled. Then, she replied obediently, "Oh! I forgot."She quickly fastened her seatbelt. In the past, Zach would have fa
In the face of danger, Madelyn found herself thinking, 'Did he hire these people? But why? Is he getting rid of me ahead of time... Has his revenge plan begun? At least we made it to marriage in our past life, but now... Zach has no intentions of letting me live at all.'She thought of the incident at Portsmouth Fishing Village and wondered if he had also hired them.'But if he were the one who had hired them, why did he take revenge on them for me? Who's he putting on a show for right now? Does he plan on personally watching me die after these people take advantage of me?'If this is the case, why didn't he just let me die in the ocean?! Why did he save me? Zach Jardin, what the hell did Hayson Jent do to you? Why are you directing all your hate for him on me? I didn't do anything!'The men started tearing at Madelyn's clothes, and her white fur coat got taken off. Her strength was no match for the men."Tsk! We're watching an explicit live action. Don't you feel a thing, Zach
It was nightfall, and the dark clouds kept the moonlight obscure.Madelyn could not breathe and felt suffocated. She felt like a stray stranded on the streets and did not know where to go.'The world is a big place, but I never knew where I belonged.'Zach walked out from the darkness. Madelyn did not hear him respond and only heard the sound of the wind from the other end of the line.Then, she heard loud and steady footsteps. She turned toward the sound and looked at the figure through her tears. Everything seemed somewhat surreal.Madelyn's phone, which was by her ear, weakly slid out of her hand as Zach approached.Her arm continued to bleed profusely, and her face turned pale from excessive blood loss. She was in complete despair. Madelyn grabbed Zach's pants and said a little breathlessly, "Why? What did I do, Zach Jardin? Why are you doing this to me?"She silently lamented, ''I love you so much, but why do you hurt me and break my heart time and time again?'"Madelyn, s
Just as Zach picked up Madelyn, a snowflake fell onto his nose. It was cold and quickly melted upon contact with his body temperature.He lifted his head and saw that it was starting to snow heavily. The snowflakes fell and remained on the ground before they melted shortly after.Memories flooded Zach's mind.When he joined the Jent family, Madelyn was eight."Look, Zach! It's snowing!"Madelyn was eleven."Zach, can we go build a snowman outside? I like doing that the most!"He thought of eighteen-year-old Madelyn."Zach, if it snows in Ventropolis again this year, I'll confess my feelings for you. Then you'll be my boyfriend, okay?" she said.'You did nothing wrong, Madelyn! But... It was wrong for you to be born into the Jent family. What you've gone through is only the beginning,' he said to himself....Madelyn wandered in the dark for a long time.She felt like a soulless and mindless puppet that was being controlled. When a light appeared in front of her, she walked
Liam was standing in the rain, and though it hadn't been long, he was thoroughly drenched.Blake quickly pulled him close, her voice laced with concern. "Are you crazy? It's pouring rain! What if you catch a cold?"Liam's look was subdued, his face showing signs of fatigue. "I'm okay. This is for you; I didn't want you to have to come out in this weather."As Blake took in his forlorn appearance, her heart softened suddenly. 'Am I losing my mind?' she thought."Now you'll have to pay more attention to me, Blake... I was just so scared of losing you. I've put everything I have into getting you to agree to marry me; the idea of you walking away is unbearable."Overwhelmed with emotion, Blake locked eyes with him. "Did she teach you to say that too?" she asked, her hand moving on its own to brush away the raindrops from his hair.A maid nearby, observing the scene, rushed over with a blanket and an umbrella. However, Grace, fully grasping the gravity of the moment, halted her. Ackno
Cecilia said, "It's fine. Let's give them a week. Rearrange the flight and all the plans for the trip. This is Blake's first time getting married and going abroad for honeymoon. I want to make sure she has a good time."Susan nodded. "Okay, Ms. Samford."Not long after Cecilia left, three editors who used to work for Olivia's company entered her office. All of them spoke in panic, "Ms. Blue, what should we do? Ms. Samford already knows everything. If the legal department finds out about it, will we go to jail?"Olivia remained calm as she said, "Don't panic. Just focus on your work.""But we got into this company through you. What if they say we got into this company through the back door and then fired us?"Olivia sat at her desk, supporting her forehead with her hands. She was obviously panicking. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."You guys can leave now."Olivia did not expect this matter to be exposed so soon. She wondered how Cecilia found out about it. 'Could it be that she'
StartReading Literary was the last place Cecilia wanted to be. But she made an exception this time.Olivia had just finalized a cooperative copyright deal with another website company. Several editors from her own company were there at StartReading Literary. As she entered the office, she saw all the editors from StartReading Literary sitting upright, not daring to make a sound.She also saw her office door was wide open. She frowned as she walked into her office and was surprised to see an unexpected gust.Olivia put down the documents in her hand. "Ms. Samford, what brings you here?"With her legs crossed and Susan standing behind her, Cecilia stared at Olivia, who was in front of her.Cecilia sneered and stood up. She ran her fingers along the desk. "StartReading is actually the last place I want to be. I came here because I found out that you enjoy meddling in other people's affairs. Otherwise, you wouldn't even qualify to see me."Olivia instantly looked wary. She remained s
Liam stood up. He watched as Blake, who looked weary, walked away. "Blake, what do you want me to do so you'll like me?"Blake did not stop walking. Instead, she took even bigger steps and left.She went to the Harper residence, which surprised everyone.Grace asked, "Blake? Why did you come back here? Where's Liam? Why didn't he come back with you?"Blake stuttered, unable to find the words. She just made up an excuse, saying, "It's nothing. I just wanted to come back."After Hannah and Yael left the wedding last night, they went back to the research institute.As for Simon, he went to the farm to manage the business.After Blake went to her room, Grace became worried. She followed her and saw her sitting with a blank expression in the room, not knowing what to do.When Blake saw Grace, she quickly adjusted her mood. "Grace, why are you here?""I came to check on you. Blake, what's wrong? Did you have a fight with Liam? You just had your wedding yesterday, and you're already
The pregnancy test report came out fifteen minutes after Blake did the test. She was indeed pregnant. She was even seven weeks pregnant.Blake had indeed been involved with Kevin while in Northern Myanmar over a month ago.She held the medical report while standing bewildered in the cold hospital corridor. Lights shone through the floor-to-ceiling window onto her body, but all Blake felt was the cold, which made her hands and feet numb.She was lost in her thoughts. 'I'm really pregnant. What should I do with this baby? I want it to be born more than anyone else. But now, everything has changed. This child shouldn't come into this world.'She wandered in the corridor. Suddenly, she saw someone coming out of another gynecological room.She thought, 'Some things are just destined by fate. When I long to see him, even catching a glimpse of him in a dream feels like a luxury, an unattainable wish. But now, when I don't want to see him, it seems he appears everywhere I go.'Kevin supp
Blake wondered, 'I'm now pregnant with Kevin's child. What should I do?'She woke up groggily when she felt someone carry her. She opened her heavy eyelids and asked, "What time is it now?"Liam responded, "It's four-thirty in the morning. It's still early; go back to sleep for a while more."Blake said in a hoarse voice, "I've made an appointment for an abortion at eight o'clock. Regardless of whether I'm really pregnant or not, I don't want to keep this child."She had thought about it all night and believed this was the best decision.Kevin was going to get engaged. Blake believed he would get married and Audrey would give birth to his children. There was simply no need for her to complicate things further.She thought, 'If I choose to be selfish and decide to keep this baby, and if people find out about it, my child will be treated as an illegitimate child. I don't even dare to imagine how badly the child will be treated.'If giving birth to the baby will bring it a lifetime
Blake continued, "What about you, Liam? Do you mind?"If you do, you can choose to divorce me. After all, I've wronged you. No one wants to marry a woman who's carrying someone else's child."Liam stepped forward on the shattered cup and hugged her tightly. "I don't mind. Blake, I love you, including everything about you. I don't mind your past. I just want to start over with you. I didn't tell you about the pregnancy because I was selfish; I wanted to keep you by my side."Blake, your child is my child. I want to raise the baby with you."Don't leave me, okay?"Blake did not know why, but she was not surprised by her pregnancy. However, she felt that there were still some things that she could not let go of, though she was unsure what those were.She was not as calm as she had imagined.She thought about her past events. Then, she indifferently said, "Liam, I don't want this child. Since I'm prepared to be with you, I won't keep this child. It wouldn't be fair to you."Liam di
On this romantic night, the moon was obscured by the clouds.Breathing heavily, Blake felt some pain in her abdomen. She asked to stop. "Liam, my stomach hurts. I think I'm going to have my period soon."Liam sobered up instantly. "I'll go get you some medicine."She peeked out from under the blanket as the bedside lamp turned on. She could clearly see Liam's naked upper body. Her face flushed as she averted her gaze. "It's fine. Just help me call the front desk and ask them to bring up a pack of sanitary pads. I'll go to the bathroom to deal with it."Liam replied, "Let's go to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up."Blake picked up her clothes from the floor and went to the bathroom. "It's okay. It's probably just my period."However, judging by the blood flowing out, it did not seem like menstrual blood to Blake. It looked like something else.Blake's voice came from the bathroom again. "I think we should go to the hospital."She sat on the toilet and watched the tall, slende
Blake had no bridesmaids, so she returned to the hotel room alone. As she stepped out of the elevator and was ready to use the room key card in her hand to swipe and enter the room, she suddenly saw a figure appear from the corner of her eye.She stopped her action and looked at the person who had left the wedding earlier.At that moment, Blake felt her breath catch, but it was only fleeting. She then quickly regained her composure and averted her gaze. She asked, "Didn't you leave? Why are you still here?"Kevin replied, "Congratulations."Upon hearing his congratulations, Blake felt a mix of amusement and discomfort. "There's nothing to congratulate. If anything, I should congratulate you. You're soon to be the mayor's son-in-law. In the future, we won't belong in the same social class anymore."I'm tired and came back to rest. You should leave now before Liam comes up and sees you here."Don't look for me again. I don't want him to misunderstand."Kevin responded, "Audrey and