Isaac did not move. Irene blinked. "You want to eat mine?"Before he could say a word, she continued, "I drank from the soup. My spit is in it.""I don't mind," Isaac replied. Irene was left speechless, her jaw almost dropping right then!Was this really the Isaac she knew? When did he become so carefree? Nonetheless, she clutched at the bowl, as if worried he would take it—but that was not the case, since she was just embarrassed to give it to him. They were not intimate enough to drink from the same bowl!"Are you blushing?" Isaac chuckled.Getting embarrassed so easily? She was just so innocent.Irene touched her own cheek, but retorted, "I'm not. Don't lie."Isaac did not want to argue, and simply said tenderly, "Of course. If you say so."Irene felt herself tensing up and evaded his gaze right then. She herself had no idea what she was being embarrassed about, but Isaac's words were just ambiguous!Isaac stopped teasing her just then, and he had a simple lunch bec
Isaac studied the courier and saw the large bouquet of roses he was holding.Who were those meant for? Irene Spencer?At the same time, Irene was craning her head from her bed in curiosity. "Who is it?"The courier could feel the chilling presence Isaac was projecting, and gingerly replied, "Are you Ms. Spencer? I'm from City Express, and I will need your signature for your parcel.""Who's the parcel from?" Irene asked. "A Mr. Gooding, ma'am," he replied.Irene promptly turned toward Isaac, and noticed his jaw clenching—she was just looking from a particular angle, but could still sense the displeasure he felt.She could tell that Isaac guessed that it was Harvey, who deliberately sent it even though it would incur Isaac's wrath.Meanwhile, the courier quickly sidestepped Isaac and squeezed his way in, passing her the receipt to be signed before handing her the bouquet of ninety-nine roses. "Thank you."Irene smiled in return as he quickly left the room, feeling as if this wa
As Irene hung her head, Stan said, "Please pack her belongings, Mrs. Watson."Despite what Stan said, Mrs. Watson just had to pick up Irene's laundry and nothing else. After she was done, Stan brought a wheelchair, and Mrs. Watson helped Irene to get on it.With the men he brought, it looked as if Stan was afraid she would run away, and the overkill was enough for Mrs. Watson to tell that something was wrong. "Did you upset your husband again, Mrs. Jefferson?"Irene said nothing."Why?" Mrs. Watson simply could not understand, and disliked that about her. Irene could get along with Isaac and have a blissful married life with him. How many women would die for that?!"Because—"Before Irene could finish, however, they watched as Stan stomped on the rose bouquet Harvey sent, leaving an utter mess before telling Irene, "Mr. Jefferson's orders."Irene remained impassive—she did not really like those roses anyway."Do whatever you want," she said flatly. "Was that from the man
The doctor did not answer immediately, and instead asked, "Is your family with you?"Samantha, who had been standing at a corner, promptly replied, "I'm his wife."Like any other human being, Samantha yearned dearly for the one thing she lacked. While she was just a mistress, she certainly would never miss a chance to introduce herself as Mrs. Spencer out in the open!"Is my husband alright, doctor?" she asked then."No, there's no need for worry," the doctor replied. "Anyway, I'll be writing a receipt for you, Mr. Spencer. There's another test you should take."After writing on a piece of paper and passing it to Lionel Spencer, the doctor said, "You can go now. Your wife can stay."Lionel, however, could tell that the doctor was trying to send him out of the room. "Just be honest with me, doctor," he said. "There's no need to hide anything from me. I'm prepared for the worst."The doctor stayed awkwardly silent for a moment, and said, "Very well."He read through the reports a
However, Irene did not feel anything toward Harvey's predicament—the man had come up with that plan himself. He should have been prepared to fight Isaac when he did. He was not, however, and he could only blame his own stupidity for his losses."That's your darling, right there. Don't you have anything to say?" Isaac asked as he stared at Irene's face, looking for a reaction—he naturally did not take Harvey's explanation at face value.Irene was completely nonchalant, and he knew right then that Harvey was mostly telling the truth. After all, if she was really in love, there was no way she would not get worried about Harvey. Her nonchalance just meant that she did not care!But even if that had been an act, it was reality that she wanted to divorce him!Was she really that obsessed with leaving him? "Why are you so insistent on a divorce, Irene Spencer?" he asked directly with a dark look.Irene rolled her eyes. "You know that I'm with Harvey—""He already told me that it's a
"L-Let go…" Irene whispered even as she struggled. Isaac did not, however, and held her soft hand in his palm as he leaned in to kiss her lips.Irene would have usually resisted, but she was weirdly silent and did not push him away this time.In fact, she closed her eyes, quietly feeling the breath of another person and her heart racing as a result! His kiss was passionate, endless and enrapturing. One could not help being captivated by it! Since it was the first time she was being so docile, Isaac wanted more than kisses, and began to reach deeper to conquer her.His fingertips brushed past her collarbone, loosening her collar and sliding off her straps. Irene finally regained her senses from his dizzying kiss when she felt the sudden coldness over her chest, and realizing what he was doing, evaded him in panic. "Stop!"Isaac's gaze appeared clouded. "You enjoyed that too, didn't you?""No, I didn't." Irene denied it."Really?" Isaac brushed a finger over her lips that was
Ricky addressed Irene as 'Sis' the instant he stepped through the front door, but Irene remained impassive, and was certainly unaffected by that title. "Why did you want to see me?""You're a doctor, aren't you? You must know people," Ricky said tearfully. "You have to ask them to help Dad. His condition is very serious, and he won't survive for long if he doesn't get surgery."The usually haughty boy appeared despondent, just as Irene stiffened.She had a hunch, but it still struck her like a truck to find out that it was reality. "What did his doctor say? What's his condition?" she asked quietly."Malignant brain cancer. It's metastasized to his lungs," Ricky replied.Irene was stunned. "W-What?""You have to get him the best doctors, Sis. There might still be hope," Ricky cried anxiously.Irene, however, knew that the cancer had advanced to a very late stage if it had actually begun to metastasize, and not even surgery could help much.As she became silent, Ricky demande
"Yes, there isn't a limit," the cashier repeated, and explained, "The spending limit of Centurion Cards is upward of a billion."As a matter of fact, only the super-rich could afford the set of china Irene had picked.Being an employee there, the cashier had naturally met many such individuals, and more or less understood the way things worked among the upper-class. On the other hand, Irene was dumbstruck, but she soon remembered Isaac's words. "You can buy anything you want."She finally understood that now… but how could she bear to accept so much money from him?Meanwhile, the cashier had already gift-wrapped the tea set, and Mrs. Watson walked up to carry it for Irene. "Your card, ma'am." The cashier then returned the card, holding it with both hands once more.As Irene took it, she suddenly found it so heavy she would drop it—but it was just a card.She thought Isaac was joking when he told her that she loved her, and did not take it seriously. But why would he give
Soon after the wedding, Mr. Fowler proposed for Stan to work at his company to get used to the work over there.He was worried as he did not have much time left, and it would not do if he was gone before the proper arrangements were made.Still, Stan returned to Franconia with Isaac and his family, sorting out things at work and finishing every task he had on hand.While Isaac used to have a lot of free time with Stan around, he was just slightly busier after Stan left. After all, no company should operate in a way that losing a single person would stall all their operations.And after a week, Stan sorted out all the remaining tasks he had in Franconia and returned to Zidonia to start work at the Fowlers' family business.While Stan had property in Zidonia too, he moved into the Fowlers' mansion, but not as a live-in son-in-law. He was simply aware of Mr. Fowler's illness, and Rea wanted to spend more time with her parents.And as the son-in-law, he was obliged to do that much.
Despite feeling wistful, Mr. Fowler eventually passed Rea's hand to Stan. "I hope you will both cherish each other from now on."Rea told him, "We will."Thereafter, it was the usual proceedings of a wedding, with exchange of rings and vows, the wedding speech, and the luncheon!Though everything went smoothly, Mrs. Fowler could not help shedding tears.She was pleased that her daughter was finally getting married, especially since she was looking forward to this.But now that Rea really did marry, she was worried that her life might get difficult and unhappy.Such was the worrisome nature of mothers.-Later, Stan led Rea to Isaac's table.They were all acquainted, but Stan introduced everyone once again to reacquaint them with Rea.After all, she was no longer Zachary's friend's cousin now, but Stan's wife.Erin was grinning from ear to ear. "Congratulations.""Thank you." Rea smiled in return."Congrats," Baby said, imitating the adults.Rea reached out to stroke his c
Zachary said, "I heard you sealed the deal with Rea Fowler, and her family is preparing for your wedding."Stan smiled. "I'm the look of success—getting a girl couldn't be simpler. See? I'm getting married already.""Well, I guess we're all taken now," Erin said.Tommy poked his head up just then. "Congratulations, Uncle Stan.""Thank you." Stan chuckled, patting his head."Also, I heard that you're marrying into the Fowler family?" Zachary asked.Everyone turned to stare at Stan in shock, but it was understandable.Stan was not that modest that he would have to go that far—he had money and was successful enough to afford a wife.Still, Zachary—who knew the Fowlers—suggested, "To be fair, they do need someone to take care of the family business…"-Either way, it meant that Irene's family would be delaying their return trip to Franconia.After all, none of them had expected to attend Stan's wedding so soon after Zachary's.Stan himself did not expect that either, as he had
"What's the problem? We've already slept together," Rea said as she put her clothes on.She frowned as Stan was still on the bed and not moving. "What, are you going to stay in my bed forever?""What am I supposed to wear?" Stan shrugged. "You haven't brought my clothes here.""I'll get it for you."Rea remembered his suitcase then and hurried downstairs to bring it up."Wear whatever you like. I'll be waiting downstairs," she said and hurried away.Stan got out of bed and put on a suit—it was only right to dress formally when it came to discussing marriage.After cleaning up and heading downstairs, he found Rea sandwiched by her parents.Stan had no idea if she had already mentioned it, but both Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were both staring at him, leaving him further tense.Clearing his throat, Stan began, "Excuse me, but—""Yes, we agree to you marrying our daughter.""You mean marrying into our family," Rea corrected them.Everyone else was staring at her before asking all at o
If Rea asked her parents now, they would only get sad, and life would become difficult for everyoneWhat should she do to make them happy?Right, she could get married! Her parents would definitely be pleased. As for the choice of bridegroom, did she not have one readily available here?If Stan could pretend to be her boyfriend, he could definitely be her husband too.They could fake their marriage if they had to!Putting the medical file back where she found it, she wobbled up to her feet and left the room.Stan had yet to step out of the bathroom when she returned, so she sat on the bed and waited.After a while, Stan stepped out with a towel around his waist and paused when he saw Rea sitting there. "Where are my clothes?" He asked, presuming that Rea had forgotten since there was nothing on the bed or the table. "My suitcase is still in your car trunk."Rea turned toward him. "Let's get married."Stan was left speechless for a moment and soon chuckled, "Did you forge
Mrs. Fowler smacked her daughter, but while Rea thought she was angry, she said instead, "Just do your best."Rea's mind was blown—were her parents bewitched? They were completely different from before! A long time ago, her parents had used to tell her that she did not have to marry as long as she was happy.But later on, they had persistently sent her on blind dates… and now, they were telling her to seduce a man?Touching her mother's forehead, Rea asked, "Are you sick?"Mrs. Fowler slapped her hand off. "Your dad and I are leaving now.""Yeah." Mr. Fowler nodded. "The chauffeur is waiting."Rea walked them to the door and watched as their car left before returning inside.She did not go upstairs since Stan was asleep, and she would be bored—she was the type who just could not sit still.However, it was inappropriate if she left since that would leave nobody home.In her boredom, she thought of pranking Stan. She headed upstairs to find him asleep, and soundly at that.Ca
Unable to argue against her parents, Rea said, "Fine, fine. Whatever you say."Mrs. Fowler smiled. "Then help Stan upstairs to get some rest.""Which room?" Rea asked.Mrs. Fowler realized with a start and quickly said, "Oh, there's no bedding in the guest room… So let him stay in your room."Rea was left staring at her in shock. "When did you get so open-minded? Letting a man stay in your daughter's room?"Mrs. Fowler shrugged. "What can he do when he's drunk?""Haven't you heard of drunken fumbles?" Rea asked.Both Mr. and Mrs. Fowler shook their heads at the same time. "Nope."Rea was left totally speechless—this was just outrageous!She would think that Stan was actually their son, if it was not for the fact that they were not acquainted before.They were not like this before either—even if they were urging her to get married, they were not throwing her at a man like this!Mr. Fowler then said, "If anything happens, we'll demand that he takes responsibility and marries y
"I get it," Stan replied quietly. "I wouldn't have been upset even if you didn't explain yourself. But since you did, I forgive you."Rea's brow creased as she pursed her lips. "See? I knew it. We really shouldn't be too nice to you."While Stan was speechless, Mrs. Fowler was enthusiastically putting food on Stan's plate. "This is our family's favorite dish. Try it."Stan nodded after a bite. "It's good."Mrs. Fowler smiled, while Mr. Fowler poured him a glass of wine. "Can you hold your liquor?"Stan smiled. "More or less.""You're being humble now." Mr. Fowler smiled at him. "You're definitely a good drinker.""A little."Rea had enough right then. "Dad, Stan has work to do, and he has to return to Franconia tomorrow. You're going to make things difficult for him."Mr. Fowler smiled awkwardly. "Right…" "You think?" Rea huffed, snatching his wine away. "Everyone only gets to have one glass."Mr. Fowler glared at Rea. "Party pooper."Rea shrugged. "I'm doing this for your
Rea turned her head aside. "Then what's your hobby?"Stan did a double take and remembered his life… which was work and more work.It had been years since he took leave, and he would not get to goof off the last few days if it had not been for Zachary's wedding.Hobby? He certainly did not have anything like that.Now that he thought about it, his life was boring and monotonous, and he did not have anyone very close.That was why he wanted a kind, understanding wife to care and offer him company while he took care of her needs.When he looked up at Rea, he clearly felt that she was not for him—he needed someone to take care of him, but with her, he would be busy taking care of her instead."You're looking at me weirdly," Rea suddenly said."How so?" Stan asked.Rea moved closer, looking him in the eyes and asking solemnly, "Don't tell me—you've fallen for me?""You don't just suffer from a flawed personality—you're narcissistic too."Stan pursed his lips and checked the tim