The top of Mistral Mountain was incredibly high, and it offered a breathtaking view of the sunset. The setting sun's rays bathed Madelyn in a warm glow. A bodyguard received a call from Zach and approached her. "Ms. Jent, Mr. Jardin would like to speak with you."Madelyn took over the phone and asked, "Is something wrong?""Get home soon. Don't let me worry about you. It's dangerous when you go down the mountain, so behave and take the cable car, okay?" Zach demanded.Yvonne's voice came not long after, "Zach, I've changed into another gown. Let's take another set of photos."Madelyn hung the phone up and passed it to the bodyguard. She then said, "Let's go back."The bodyguard pointed out to Madelyn, "Ms. Jent, the cable car is this way."Madelyn didn't reply, just kept on walking. By the time she reached the mountain's base, the sky had darkened. The path ahead was barely visible, and her accompanying bodyguards, filled with trepidation, had their flashlights beaming to light t
"He is fine now," Yvonne said.Due to Zach's presence, Yvonne dared not speak of the incident. However, she was secretly delighted. If Madelyn asked about Ethan, it would mean she still cared for him. It was the same for Ethan. He was in a coma while still holding to his last breath. It was all to wait for her return.'Glad to hear that he's okay,' Madelyn thought. She could finally let go of the burden she had all those years.Zach sent Yvonne back. Yvonne originally wanted to let Zach stay at her house tonight. However, she would rather not make him mad."Madelyn, come visit me next time." said Yvonne.Madelyn nodded.As soon as the car doors shut, Zach lifted Madelyn's chin and said, "After all these years, you still can't put him out of your mind. Have I been too good to you, Madelyn? Is that why you'd even dare to bring him up in front of me again?" There was anger in his voice.Madelyn met Zach's furious gaze. In comparison, her expression was calm."What do you plan to d
But Yvonne was okay with it. In a short while, she and Zach would be getting their marriage certificate at the Clerk of Court's office. She believed that after today, she would be Mrs. Jardin officially; the one and only wife of Zach, and nobody could challenge her status.Everybody had their own self-centered side, and Yvonne was no different. She wasn't willing to put up with their relationship for long. Once she and Zach got married, she secretly planned to send Madelyn overseas.Yvonne sidled up to Madelyn, lowering her voice to say, "Ethan never really planned on marrying Donna, you know.""He'd made up his mind before you left. If you weren't okay with the kid, he was going to give the child back to Donna and ask her to move out of the Arnold residence. He'd find someone else to raise the child," Yvonne confided quietly.She continued, "Remember that news about Ethan getting married two years ago? All a sham. He did the interview to put on a show because Donna was threatening
"Push back all unnecessary meetings in the afternoon," Zach ordered."Yes, Mr. Jardin," Kelvin answered.Zach then glanced at Madelyn. His voice was cold, "The bodyguard will send you back later."Madelyn obliged, "Mmm." Madelyn lowered her gaze.After a long time, the bodyguard walked over and said, "Ms. Jent, Mr. Jardin has already left. We still have two hours to visit the hospital."For safety reasons, Madelyn left in another car. The other vehicle had a GPS tracker, allowing Zach to track her location using his phone.In the car, the bodyguard gave her a gray orderly's uniform and a face mask. He passed it to Madelyn and said, "There are many people who work for Mr. Jardin in the hospital. You must disguise yourself and pretend to be a hospital orderly to enter. This is your identification card, and you need to hang it on your neck.""Okay," Madelyn answered.The bodyguard turned around to give Madelyn some privacy to change her clothes. Madelyn just put the uniform over h
Madelyn's emotions were a tangle of confusion and dread as she pushed through the door into the sterile hospital room. The sharp scent of disinfectant assailed her senses, heightening her unease.The moment the door swung open, she saw a man lying on the hospital bed, his face obscured by a respiratory mask. He was emaciated, still in a coma. His hand bore a large, discolored patch of burned skin. He seemed devoid of any signs of healthy flesh.If Madelyn hadn't known that the man before her was Ethan, she might not have recognized him at all. She clamped a hand over her mouth, unable to hold back her silent tears.'How did things get to this point?' she thought. Her legs felt like they were made of lead; she wanted to approach him but couldn't summon the strength.'Is all of this my fault?' swirled through her mind.A voice inside her resonated with guilt: 'This happened because of you. He was in that accident searching for you. If you hadn't run away, he wouldn't be in this cond
Zach took the pen from Kevin. Then, he signed at the bottom of the paper and handed it to Kevin."Give this to the legal department.""Yes, sir."Zach had always been someone who would go to any lengths to achieve his goals, not to mention a mere fake marriage like this.To him, it did not matter who his bride was."No need for lunch today.""What's going on? Do you have to head back to the office? We just got married, you know. Honey, can't you stay with me just this once? We've never really shared a meal together. Can't we make an exception today, just for me?""Yvonne, you need to know where to draw the line. Don't get too lost in the role."Yvonne felt a chill at his words. Zach climbed into the car without another word and drove off."Mr. Jardin, should we head to the office or to Floral Loft?"Zach closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose.'I've accomplished what I set out to do, but why do I feel this growing sense of irritation?' he wondered."H
After Zach and Yvonne got married, Zach continued staying at Floral Loft.However, he did not require Madelyn to follow him to the office.She had already become the talk of the company when she appeared that day.Since Yvonne was now the rightful wife of Jardin Corporation's CEO, he knew what the people would say if Madelyn showed up again.In the next few days, the entire Ventropolis buzzed with excitement.The news of the marriage alliance between the Jardin Corporation and YTCorp was all over the place,The wedding ceremony was set to be held at the most upscale hotel in Ventropolis.For the next few days leading up to the wedding ceremony, the hotel was closed for business and dedicated themselves entirely to decorating the wedding venue.Meanwhile, Madelyn was under the guard of Yvonne's bodyguards. Madelyn did not go to the hospital again today and went to Mistral Monastery instead. Apart from days with bad weather, Madelyn hiked up to the monastery every single day. She
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind rushed in as someone opened the door, causing the container to tumble. The cards were scattered and jumbled, with one card landing farther away from the rest.The abbot retrieved it, discovering it was a card of great fortune.Madelyn went to the hospital after she returned from the monastery.Every time she came, Frida would leave the room without even sparing her a glance.On Madelyn's way back from the monastery, she suddenly coughed up blood. All of her bodyguards were shocked. Then, she blacked out and completely lost consciousness.Madelyn had been overexerting herself for the past few days. She practically did not have a proper wink of sleep.The bodyguards hurriedly carried her back to ground level, arriving just as the ambulance did.Madelyn was taken to SereneCare Hospital.While she was wheeled into the emergency, she groggily regained consciousness.The first person she saw was the person she did not want to see—Kai Stewart.He wo
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