Shane committed all sorts of wrongdoing, relying on his family's power and influence. His grandfather was a prominent figure in politics, and his father worked in the government administrative department.Although Shane didn't have a job himself, he still held considerable sway in their circle due to his family background.In Jade's previous life, he was the one who had assaulted Melanie, causing her to miscarry after six months of pregnancy. Eventually, he abandoned her. Unable to bear the blow, Melanie jumped off a building.Melanie's miserable fate once again flashed before Jade's eyes. She clenched her fists, but she still couldn't extinguish the raging anger in her chest."Shane, you're here at last." Cooper greeted Shane warmly, guiding him to his seat. He gestured towards Jade as he introduced her, saying, "Meet my good friend, Jade Severin."Cooper emphasized "Jade Severin", so Shane immediately caught the hint and responded with a meaningful "oh".Jade's name wasn't unfa
Shane felt a twinge of awkwardness. He was accustomed to calling the shots and others fawning over him in his circle. Never before had he encountered rejection like this.Initially, he was just asking casually, but Jade's attitude stirred up his competitiveness. He made up his mind that he must win Melanie over."Forget it if you don't know her." He decided to take a step back for now and put Melanie aside. "I'll take care of your matter. I'll get back to you tomorrow."Shane was very generous not to stoop to Jade's level. His smile remained soft on the surface, but there was a chill in his gaze.Cooper was somewhat puzzled and signaled to Jade with his eyes, asking her not to be so cold. Having Shane around would make things easier for her.Unfortunately, Jade hated Shane to the core. Not only did she refuse his favor outright, but she couldn't help the urge to kill him now that they were sitting together.The reason she didn't leave right away was a favor to Cooper. After all,
Cooper hurriedly introduced Melanie, "This is my good friend, Shane Bancroft. Shane, this is Melanie Newell."Cooper was unaware of the bar fight, thus he did not know about the girl Shane had asked about earlier.Shane politely greeted Melanie, "Hi, Melanie. You look really sweet."Melanie, typically laid-back, had never experienced such praise before. Like any other girl, she dreamed of being treated like a princess. Instantly, she smoothed out her rough edges and smiled at Shane, resembling a docile kitten. "Thank you."Observing Melanie's shy expression, Jade couldn't help but feel a twinge in her heart.Was this fate? In her past life, Melanie and Shane had crossed paths, and now they seemed destined to be intertwined once more.With both Melanie and Shane already seated, Jade found no excuse to ask Shane to leave, so she reluctantly took the passenger seat."Melanie, have you finished your thesis?" Jade tried to make conversation.Melanie's face fell, and she complained,
Jade stared into Melanie's eyes, asking with utmost seriousness, "Do you believe in rebirth?"Melanie blinked, then waved a hand and laughed heartily. "Are you drunk or something? Hahaha!"Jade stayed silent. She knew Melanie would think she was crazy, yet she couldn't ignore the memory of Melanie's previous suffering.Jade held Melanie's hand and asked nervously, "Melanie, can you promise me something?" Seeing Jade's serious expression, Melanie put away her smile and nodded. "Go on.""Could you... not associate with Shane?" Jade asked reluctantly.Melanie's smile froze momentarily as she gazed at Jade with uncertainty, and she struggled to say, "Jade… do you like him?"Jade was speechless."I actually noticed earlier that you've been staring at him." Melanie's expression turned somewhat crestfallen. "If you like him, I can—""What nonsense are you blabbering?" Jade quickly interrupted her, "How did you even come up with the guess that I like him?""Then why don't you want m
"No!" Jade refused outright, trying to brainwash Melanie. "Shane is not a simple person. He's seen all kinds of girls, so don't delude yourself into thinking he likes you."Melanie pouted. "Jade, why do you have such a big issue with him? It's not easy for me to have someone like me for once, and you're just discouraging me."Melanie wasn't bad-looking, with a round face that was quite cute, albeit slightly chubby. Plus, she was easygoing and carefree, so even if someone liked her, he wouldn't dare confess to her. Consequently, she had remained single over the years.Shane had a poised demeanor and smooth eloquence, precisely the image of a perfect man in Melanie's eyes. His appearance ignited her flames of romance and set them ablaze.Jade frowned, concerned that Melanie might fall into Shane's trap if she continued like this.Jade explained, "It's not that I don't want you to date, but he may not be as good as you imagine. Before getting too close, it's wise to observe his chara
"Once my medicine hits the market, who will it pose the greatest threat to?" Jade asked back.Melanie instantly grasped the key point of the issue. "Kerry Pharmaceuticals. No wonder Lloyd has been so quiet lately. He's trying to stir trouble.""He's hitting three birds with one stone—helping Neve, doing the crew a favor, and tarnishing my reputation. He's really cunning," Jade couldn't help but sneer.In her previous life, she had known that Lloyd was quite scheming and never showed mercy to his rivals. She hadn't expected him to use these tactics against her now, though."What should we do? We can't let him continue slandering you like this," Melanie said with concern. The medicine hadn't hit the market yet, and this damaging information about Jade had already surfaced, so it would definitely affect the company.Jade, who was unfazed, grabbed her bag and smiled at Melanie. "Let him be. The medicine will still hit the market. Do you think I'll stop just because of this?"Melanie
Jacob insisted. "If you don't comply, I can't guarantee what kind of shameless acts I might resort to. I've already reached the end of my rope, so I might as well tell the media that I slept with you. Who cares about the truth? People will only find it entertaining.""Do you not have any shame?" Jade felt her blood boiling at that moment. She knew Jacob was shameless, but she didn't think he would stoop so low."A broke, powerless heir is no different from a maggot. If I'm going down, I'll take everyone down with me. What do I have to fear?"Jade closed her eyes. She had to coax Jacob first. "I don't have that much money on hand right now. 7,000,000 dollars is impossible, but I can give you 700,000 dollars. If you want it, I can transfer it to you now. If not, so be it.""Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?" Jacob sneered. "Good job, Jade, you've got guts."As soon as he said that, he hung up.Jade stared at the blank screen of her phone, a sense of foreboding washing over her
The room was dimly lit, like a beast with a gaping mouth that was ready to feed. Jade took a deep breath, ready to step inside, when the bodyguards stopped Owen. "Only she can go in.""No way, I have to accompany her." Owen insisted. He refused to let Jade enter alone, but the bodyguards blocked him and threatened him. "Don't make things difficult for us."Not wanting the situation to escalate, Jade told Owen, "It's okay, I'll be out soon.""I'll wait outside. If anyone tries to harm you, just shout for me," Owen said with concern.Jade nodded and pushed open the door to enter.Inside, she saw men and women in pairs and groups. It took a while for Jade to adjust to the lighting and see who was sitting there.One of the men was wearing a large gold chain around his neck and had a bald head and women on both his arms—Bobby Dickens. He looked at Jade with interest and kicked the cowering Jacob while asking, "Is she your sister?"Jacob, who looked like a startled rabbit, glanced at