Irene felt muddle-headed and almost conscious, but her eyelids felt too heavy for her to open her eyes.She was vaguely struggling against the darkness, but soon groggily fell asleep again.Isaac breathed a sigh of relief at that—she would not be this peaceful if she woke up.Still, the thought left him scowling, and her wedding dress was certainly an eyesore. She looked so beautiful in that dress, but wore it to throw herself into another man's arms… the very thought left his face ashen!This woman…!He hence started to rip off the wedding dress, unable to lean in to kiss her lips after ogling her naked form for a while, and pulled a blanket over her.Dragging what remained of the wedding dress out of the room and closing the door behind him before leaving the house, he handed the torn dress to the security guard. "Throw this.""Yes, sir." The security guard promptly did so, while Isaac returned inside and took a shower, changed into fresh clothes and lay down beside Irene.
Ricky bellowed furiously, "You lost my sister yourself, and you want us to help you?! You should be feeling lucky that we're not calling the cops on you!"Harvey, however, calmly replied, "Believe it or not, Irene has been taken away from me. Help me look if you want Tommy back, and I'm not returning the boy until she's found. I have no leads or evidence here, but I have a feeling it's Isaac Jefferson. If you can get something out of that man, I'll return Tommy to you immediately once I recover Irene. What do you think?""Do you really think Irene would fall for you, coercing like that?!" Sheryl snapped at him. "She's a mother, and she was just marrying you to keep Tommy safe. She hated you the instant you took him from her!"Harvey, however, did not care—he had already thought of that! And he learned that the end justifies the means… from Isaac Jefferson himself!"I'm going to keep looking," he said, and called in his men. "Get them out of here!"Ricky and Sheryl were walking o
"Well, as you can see for yourself—he's busy messing around with women," Sheryl explained. "Would he spare the time to abduct Irene? Maybe you're right, and she's on the run."Sheryl was confident that she knew men.In fact, after marrying Lionel and being betrayed by his adulterous behavior, she came to the conclusion that all men were pigs. And with a man like Isaac who could get any woman he wanted... Would he even bother stopping Irene's car and abducting her?If there was actual affection involved, why did they get a divorce?If they were really in love, would Irene hide Tommy from him? It was obvious that like Lionel, Isaac did not have a heart, leaving Irene disenchanted enough that she could agree to marry Harvey just to protect Tommy…That actually reminded Sheryl of something else just then. "Wait! Irene wouldn't have abandoned Tommy to run away alone!" she exclaimed."Maybe she wants to get away first, and then try to rescue Tommy after?" Ricky suggested. Sheryl
Over the last few days, Henry had been sulking. Although Moneypenny had voluntarily apologized and admitted to what he did, he had been coerced and actually deserved sympathy.However, Henry still allowed himself to be talked into splitting up Irene and Isaac's marriage!He had wanted someone to take care of Isaac, to give him a woman who can offer him a family… Only for everything to end up a mess!He did not even want to imagine how Isaac would react once he found out that he and Moneypenny had a hand in his divorce, along with the kidnapping of his son!What respect and kinship he held would vaporize, would it not?"Honestly, what should I do now?" It was not as if Henry had gotten senile—Moneypenny had spent of his life serving him and more than proved his loyalty. He was not about to send him to the gallows over one mistake!"Sir." Moneypenny bowed reverently then. "Perhaps I should confess to Master Isaac…""Forget it. Do you think you'd live with that temper of his? And
Henry was already feeling ill and irritable, but he still had to comfort Kathy as she continued her crying fit.That alone made Henry think less of her than Irene.Women could be delicate and their vulnerability might tug at the heartstrings of men, but being exceedingly spoiled would get on anyone's nerves. Henry was already feeling irritable, and he certainly did not have the patience to comfort someone else!"You told me you wanted me to get together with Isaac, right?" Kathy sobbed.Henry kept his patience as he told her, "Sit."At the same time, Moneypenny reminded her, "Say what you have to, but no one would understand you if you cry louder than you speak."Kathy glanced between him and Henry just then. Even though Henry was not visibly angry, he was a lot less mild than usual. She was naturally smart enough to notice Moneypenny's kindness, and quickly stopped sobbing. Having ensured that she was calm, she said, "Did you know? Isaac transferred me from the headquarters
The more Henry tried to control Isaac, the more his grandson strayed away from him!Still, Kathy was smart enough to hear the ominous meaning in Henry's words. "What do you mean, Henry? Are you giving up on me?""I'm old now," Henry sighed. "There's a limit to how much I can help you. Whether you win Isaac's heart depends entirely on yourself, so you would have to make him fall for you, so that he willingly spends the rest of his life with you. Am I supposed to keep helping you if you keep running to me whenever there's an issue?"Kathy bit her lip miserably, even as Henry continued, "Who knows? Your transfer might fall through if you had an accident or you got hurt on the way to the branch office. Try to buy time, and go on from there!"Henry could not have made himself clearer—the rest was up to Kathy. "I'm tired. You should go."Finally realizing that she had come at a bad time, Kathy said, "Oh! I must have disturbed you… I really came at a bad time. Please take care of your
Moneypenny had served Henry for years, and Henry still trusted him—but he could not deny that he had doubts after what happened recently. This counted as a test! Still, he could only hope that Moneypenny had really been coerced and nothing else……Over at Rose Garden, the sedatives had worn off and Irene had regained consciousness.However, her limbs were still bound to prevent her from moving, and the sedatives left her lethargic.Having no idea who her captors were, she yelled, "Is there anyone out there?! I'm hungry!"There was no response—Isaac had instructed the guards outside to call him once she woke up, but also forbade them from entering the room.If she started screaming, let her scream all she wanted!When they heard Irene, the guards made the call. Isaac was in a meeting within a conference room that could accommodate a hundred people. Most of the others present were executives and department chiefs—it was a full house since it was a quarterly meeting.Isaa
Isaac always carried himself as if he was above the rest. Stalking a married woman cheapened him! It definitely would not be him!As for Chad, who was Irene's prime suspect, she believed that they had no feud. Moreover, Chad himself said that he wanted to get back at Isaac for driving Whitney to her death, and would use her to that end.She laughed bitterly at the thought—Isaac had already divorced her, and found himself a new lover. If Chad wanted revenge, he should be abducting Kathy instead.Why her?She looked around, studying the whole room, but did not recognize it as she had long since forgotten about it. The curtains were left open with a foot wide gap, and light was spilling in, illuminating the room. She blinked, suddenly not interested in moving while feeling dryness in her entire mouth!She closed herself to sleep—maybe she would not be that thirsty afterwards.Still, it took her a long while to doze off!…When she finally opened her eyes again, she picked up t
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