Madelyn caught her breath. Zach helped her into a fresh skirt before carrying her downstairs to eat. Dalton, his face showing signs of healing, played with his spoon as he sat in a kiddie chair. The maids smiled, watching the couple come down the stairs. After Madelyn took her seat beside Zach, a maid swiftly brought over a bowl of chicken soup. Seeing it, Madelyn's face showed a hint of displeasure."You don't like the soup?" Zach asked."It just tastes different from what I'm used to."Understanding her, Zach said, "You don't need to eat it." He signaled to the maid, "Take it away."The maid nodded, replying, "Yes, Mr. Jardin," and promptly removed the bowl.Zach then asked, "Ready to dig in?"Madelyn always took her time eating. Even as a kid, finishing just one plate of food could take her up to half an hour. Her father, Hayson, had a saying: "Stay quiet at the dinner table and bedtime." Because of that, she usually did not chat during meals unless someone spoke to her first.
Zach was always spontaneous. He guided Madelyn to the driver's seat in the garage and fastened her seatbelt."No lectures today," Zach said. "Start by reversing the car. Remember how I taught you?"Madelyn gripped the steering wheel. "It's been a while; I think I've forgotten," she said with a hint of nervousness. "Can you show me again? I promise I'll pay closer attention."Zach looked at her sternly. "You excel in many areas, but driving isn't one of them. When will I ever trust you behind the wheel alone?" He was just commenting offhand. Even if she learned the basics, she would not be allowed to drive alone.Madelyn's driving skills were clearly lacking for Zach to be so direct. Yet, she was not the type to back down easily. With a resolute tone, she said, "I'll improve with more practice. Not everything's as clear-cut as you think."Zach chuckled, nodding, "All right. I'm eager to see your progress."Madelyn had a tough time driving, taking nearly twenty minutes to back out
"Do you remember him?"Madelyn asked, "Did I know him before? Or were we supposed to?"Zach replied, "You don't need to know him. If you see him, just keep your distance; you don't want to be on his radar."Madelyn tried to recall anything about Fred. After Zach carried her to her room, he told Margaret to keep an eye on her and ensure she did not wander around.As Zach came downstairs, a black car pulled up outside the Jardin residence. A man stepped out, his scar over one of his eyes giving him an intimidating look. Snowflakes clung to the badge on his shoulder and his tall boots. The maids were hesitant to approach."Sir, who are you looking for?""I'm looking for the master of the house," a man who appeared to be a prison officer replied.Fred gestured for his deputy to step back, "Where's Zach? I'm a friend of his.""Mr. Jardin is—"Before the maid could finish, Zach interrupted, "Got a lot of free time lately?"Fred's cold eyes met Zach's as he approached, and the maid
Madelyn figured that Mya would not be this scared by just bumping into Zach. So, it could only be Fred, who had just come to the house earlier.Besides, Zach had promised Madelyn that he would not do anything to Mya.Mya walked over and sat cross-legged on the floor with Madelyn before saying with a serious expression, "Fred? Fred Turner? The person who's in charge of the largest prison in Ventropolis?"Madelyn replied hesitantly, "I guess so."Mya took a deep breath and held her face in panic, "Oh no... I'm going to die! Boo-hoo... If I knew it was him, I wouldn't have gotten into his car even if Serena beat me to death.""You and Fred?" Madelyn could not imagine what connection Mya would have with Fred.Mya could not stop rubbing her face, wearing a comical expression of despair.Then, she grabbed Madelyn's hand and cried, "I'll tell you the whole story. I went shopping the other day and bumped into Serena pretending to be you. I scolded her, and she called other people to bea
"I remember that we didn't talk to her much when we were still in school."Madelyn could not understand that, too. Indeed, she was not close with Serena at all. Instead, Serena was actually Jadie's good friend.So, she could not figure out why Serena would impersonate her.After some time, they heard the sound of a car starting. Someone downstairs was probably leaving.Zach walked into the room. Mya, who was playing around with Dalton, suddenly fell silent and froze.Madelyn saw Mya lowering her gaze. She knew Mya was afraid of Zach, but not to this extent."Is he gone?" Madelyn asked."Yeah. What do you feel like eating tonight? I'll get the maids to prepare the ingredients," Zach said.Madelyn turned to Mya and asked, "Stay for dinner tonight. It's been so long since you came over.""Can I?" Mya stole a glance at Zach timidly."Why not? I'll have the driver take you back later."Mya immediately nodded with a smile, "Great. I'm going to eat a lot."That night, Mya prepared
Mya squinted her eyes and shielded the blinding light with her hand. The vehicle slowly approached her until it stopped next to her.She saw the car window on the driver's side roll down and instantly held her breath. Her delicate face revealed a frightful look under the night sky, and she dared not to look at the terrifying man in the rear passenger seat."Ms. Harper, Mr. Turner would like to have a chat with you."'Wh-Wh-Why would he be here? Didn't he leave already? Madelyn told me to stay away from him.'He's not a good person.' Mya thought to herself.After what had happened to her in the past, Mya was afraid of associating herself with people like Fred."I-I-I-I..." Mya nervously clutched the strap of her bag in front of her chest and stuttered, not knowing how to react. She blinked her innocent eyes, feeling scared.At this moment, a green car arrived. Mya wasted no time, turned around, and ran into the car. "Quick, quick... start the car...""Ms. Harper, what happened?
Because... Madelyn's concern was not unreasonable. Zach never wanted to get involved in someone else's personal matters, let alone Fred's.He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and dialed someone's number.It was only nine-thirty at the time.The Jardin Corporation was still brightly lit, and the employees, including Kevin, were working late into the night."Hello, Mr. Jardin," Kevin said.Zach directly said, "Have someone keep a close watch on Mya. Don't let her and Fred have any contact."'Mya and Fred?' Kevin could not fathom how Mya could be connected to Fred.Fred was an extremely dangerous man, and countless women would always surround him. As for Mya Harper, she was nothing but a child to Fred.If Fred was really attracted to her, he would most likely make her life miserable.Kevin had always been an efficient man. He contacted a few private detectives and paparazzi who stalked Fred and found something in just a while.Then, he forwarded the information he gathered
Ceciliia reached out toward the scar near Fred's eye, but before she could touch him, Fred grabbed her wrist and looked at her aggressively.Cecilia was unfazed as she stood up from him. She then walked to the wine cabinet and poured two glasses of red wine, "No one knows him better than I do. Zach has really fallen for Madelyn."Although you treat him as your brother, he might not feel the same way... There's something you might not know about.""Oh?"Cecilia approached with glasses of red wine. Fred held her waist as she settled on his lap, and he took the glass from her, sipping the red wine.Cecilia continued, "The reason Zach wants to leave Ventropolis and go overseas is because he wants to marry her. At this point, there's nothing he wouldn't do for her."Zach is even willing to go so far as to adopt a child and raise him just to keep her by his side."Fred raised his eyebrow, amazed by how hard he had fallen for Madelyn.Then, Fred pinched Cecilia's cheek with his other