There was a crowd gathered outside, staring up at Central Tower. Zachary and Ember did the same, and saw several banners dangling over the glass walls of the tower.[Zachary Slate is a bastard!][Zachary Slate, kiss my ass!][Ember Lindt is a whore!][Ember Lindt is a bitch!]Zachary was not upset at first, but glowered when he saw that Ember was dragged into it. "Where's security?" he snapped. "Why isn't anyone taking those down?!""Right away, sir!"Nonetheless, the Lindts were already alerted—Ember's parents stepped out as well, and their faces fell when they saw the banners."You'd better have an explanation, Zachary."As a family with a reputation to uphold, the Lindts were certainly embarrassed that something like that happened at their daughter's wedding.Mrs. Slate quickly explained, "It must be a prank—""Everyone knows our families' standing in this city, but they mess with us despite knowing that!" Mr. Lindt barked, and turned toward Zachary. "It's obvious tha
Irene turned around to find Zachary standing there and she quickly explained, "It's just a hunch."She only wanted to tell Isaac what she thought, and did not expect Zachary to be listening!Zachary had actually hurried to them to see them off and had inadvertently overheard Irene. He did not believe that it was Lulu, and was quickly convinced that Spencer was responsible. Ricky was young and impulsive—it certainly looked like something he would do."It's your wedding. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be busy?" Irene asked, changing the subject."I was going to see you off," Zachary said, hesitating for a moment before continuing, "Also, please pass a message to Lulu.""What is it?" Irene asked."Tell her…" Zachary's voice trailed off, and then said, "Forget it."It was pointless to say anything now—there was no question that he was the one who let her down.…Jimmy the chauffeur was the one who brought Irene to Central Tower, so she sent him home while she
Irene woke up to the faint scent of antiseptic. It was such a familiar scent that she immediately knew that she was in the hospital.As she slowly opened her eyes, the lights on the ceiling were so bright that they hurt her eyes. She closed her eyes, rested for a while before opening them again.Mrs. Watson had Tommy in her arms. Relieved to see Irene open her eyes, she exclaimed happily, "You're awake, ma'am!" Irene wanted to get up, but she suddenly found herself too weak and unable to muster any strength. "The doctor said that you're very weak and shouldn't move. You should rest," Mrs. Watson told her.Irene glanced at Tommy just then and held out her hands. "Can you give Tommy to me?"Mrs. Watson put Tommy on her bed, and Irene said, "Let me have a moment."Knowing that she wanted to be alone, Mrs. Watson asked, "Is there anything you want to eat? I'll get it for you."Irene had no appetite at all, and told Mrs. Watson as much.Mrs. Watson sighed and tried to reason
It was Stephen Carr."Feeling better yet?" he asked.Irene sat up. "Much better, Dr. Carr. Though, why are you here?""I was present when they brought you in," Stephen replied. "I did the initial checkup, followed by the Head of Gynecology…""Wait, do I have a gynecological disorder?" No way… She knew her own body well enough. "I was just losing sleep for a while, and a little tired from work. I'm not—""You might be pregnant," Stephen said, cutting her short.Irene did a double take. "What?!"She had been taking contraceptive pills. How could she get pregnant?"There must be a mistake…""Not if it's the Head of Gynecology," Stephen countered. Irene was dumbstruck. "No way.""You can check yourself if you don't believe me," Stephen said, holding her gaze. "It should work to your benefit too, since it can ease tensions between you and Isaac…"Irene did not think so. She and Isaac barely saw eye to eye with Tommy, and even after they finally started to develop a bond,
Irene was actually surprised that Isaac would call her first—he never did that after he went abroad twice.Naturally, it surprised her that he would call her."Why…""Mrs. Watson told me that you were sick."Irene's fingers clenched on her phone—he only called because Mrs. Watson told him that she was ill, not because he missed her?Hanging her head, she said, "I'm fine. I just fainted from fatigue.""Are you feeling better now?""Yeah, much better. You don't have to worry.""Yeah."Silence ensued, and it was so quiet that both could hear each other's breathing. Neither of them spoke, but they were not hanging up either.Eventually, Irene broke the silence. "You must be busy. I'll hang up if there's nothing else.""Yeah," he replied.However, neither did.More silence. Eventually, Isaac said, "Let's just hang up.""Yeah," Irene said, and did just that.As she put away her phone, however, she felt unusually calm—as if all her pent-up frustrations and grief all left he
Ricky appeared dumbfounded. "What banners?"Irene kept a close eye on his reaction. "You really don't know?""Time out, Irene. What banners are you talking about? I really don't get what you're talking about."Ricky still appeared to be dizzy from his hangover and he could not understand Irene just then. Irene kept staring at him for seconds, ensuring that he was not playing dumb before saying, "Yesterday, someone hung banners over Central Tower, mocking Zachary and Ember…""Hahaha!!!" Ricky burst out in laughter right then. "He got what he deserved!" "Was it you?" Irene asked seriously."Nope," Ricky said, his smile remaining on his face. "Guess I'm not the only one who hates him. It's what he deserves for being a piece of shit."Irene pursed her lips, and actually began to doubt him. "It really wasn't you? It looks exactly like something you would do."Ricky shrugged. "If you insist that it's me, then it must be me. I'm just glad he didn't get off easy.""Don't do that ev
Ricky snorted. "We were. What's that to you?""Shut up," Irene snapped and promptly tugged at his sleeve—he was going to make Mrs. Slate misunderstand, especially when she clearly did not like Lulu. His phrasing would just fuel Mrs. Slate's notion that Lulu had loose morals and hurt Lulu in turn.Ricky, however, was not letting up. "I'm just telling the truth! What is there to hide?"Mrs. Slate scoffed at Lulu then. "I knew it—what an unseemly woman you are. Well, this suits me just fine. Now that Zachary is married, there's nothing between you two, so don't bother him ever again. In turn, I won't press charges regarding the banners.""Hey, are you even listening? I told you—it wasn't Lulu. She's been with me all this while, and I can testify for her!" Ricky snapped, indignant at how prejudiced was Mrs. Slate acting."You? Testify? You've been defending her all this while. The best you can manage is perjury," Mrs. Slate laughed coldly, before adding in disdain, "Truly… birds of
On the floor, Ricky was lying on his back. His bath towel—which must have loosened from his waist—was just covering his privates.Lulu was standing at the living room, a glass of water in hand as she stared impassively at him.Sheryl was nearby as well, gaping at Ricky in shock Irene was speechless. What was going on here?! Nonetheless, a resounding scream soon followed, and she had to cover Tommy's ears."Aaarrrggghhh!!!"Ricky's fair buttcheeks were bare even as he held his towel against his groin as he fled.Bang! The door was shut so loudly that Tommy jumped in surprise. Irene stood at the stairway and looked downstairs, asking, "What happened there?"Lulu calmly drank her glass of water before telling her. "He came out of the shower with just a towel around his waist, and asked me for water since he saw me drinking. He wasn't watching where he was going while he drank, and knocked into the table, tripped, and fell, breaking the glass…"Irene was at a loss for wo