Emma brought Giselle to the top bar in Seaworth City. She was evidently a regular there.As soon as they entered the private room, they were greeted by dozens of young men with different personalities and styles. It went without saying that they all looked good.Giselle said nothing, but Emma generously told her to pick first. "We're in the same boat, Ms. Stone. There's plenty of fish in the sea, so don't obsess over that one dumb fish. Pick whichever guy you like—everything is on me tonight."With her words, the men started showing what they were capable of. Giselle was at a loss for words. After a while, she held a hand to her forehead and said, "I'm not picking a gigolo, Ms. Jones.""Come on now. They're just here to drink with you and alleviate your boredom," Emma said.Giselle was insistent on her rejection, so Emma gave up. The private room was a lot more spacious after Emma dismissed the men.Giselle started pouring the drinks. She downed hers, which surprised Emma. "I wou
Someone asked about the situation with Larry. Jonathan narrowed his eyes and said, "Whoever's caused the problem will have to deal with the fallout themselves."He wanted to see how long Giselle could hold out when she had no one to rely on in Seaworth City. As long as she was obedient, he didn't mind putting a roof over her head and giving her some help. They'd been together for seven years, after all. He didn't think she could sever their ties so easily.Unless… Jonathan thought about the gown Giselle had worn to Richard's birthday celebration. His annoyance surged. Who the hell had given her the gown?The others in the room shut up when they sensed his irritation.Outside, Giselle leaned against the wall, thinking about the conversation she'd just heard. Once upon a time, she'd considered these people her friends. Now, they were badmouthing her behind her back. It was revolting.She didn't stay there any longer—the conversation had destroyed her good mood. She went to the restr
The man eyed Giselle lecherously. She recognized him—he was Phil Cross, one of Jonathan's good friends. She'd already forgotten about this, but his words reminded her.Phil wanted to get in her pants but had never dared to do anything about it because he feared retribution from Jonathan. The only time he'd expressed his desire was when Jonathan had brought Charlotte with him to a charity dinner.Phil told Giselle that Jonathan wasn't in love with her anymore and advised her to switch to someone else. He also told her he was willing to take her as his lover despite having a fiancée.Giselle had turned him down and fallen out with him."Does Jonathan know about this?" Giselle asked, trying to stay calm. She quickly tried to devise a plan to get away.There were three men in the room. If Emma weren't drunk, they would stand a chance of getting away. However, Emma was fast asleep now. Giselle would have a hard time fending the three men off, especially if she needed to protect Emma.
Phil looked at Giselle smugly. "Save your energy, Giselle. Even the most arrogant of people will beg like dogs once they've had that!"She felt horrible. She snarled and shouted, "You're committing a crime, Phil!"He burst into laughter as if he'd heard a joke. It took him a while to stop. "Do you have anything to prove that this is a crime? I haven't done anything to you."The drug he'd fed Giselle couldn't be detected by any professional equipment after eight hours. Even if Giselle were to sue him for sexual assault, he had a video to show that she'd willingly given herself to him. He could even use it against her.Phil started fantasizing about how it would feel like to sleep with her. He couldn't be hasty, though. He wanted to wait until she started begging him like a dog. He wanted to stomp all over her pride and dignity.As time passed, the drug started taking effect. Giselle felt a wave of heat wash over her. She clenched her fists, trying hard to remain lucid. "You're desp
Chester stepped on Phil's right hand while the latter watched in horror. He forced the bloody palm onto the floor before grinding it.Phil's tortured cries filled the room, making the server outside shudder. He couldn't help thinking about how ruthless Chester was.Chester's eyes glinted maliciously behind his glasses. Phil's pleas fell on deaf ears. Even he couldn't bear to touch a hair on Giselle's head, yet a scumbag like Phil dared to covet her. The more Chester thought about it, the more intense his desire to murder became."I was wrong, Mr. Fordham! I-I had no idea Giselle was yours… Please, let me go!" If Phil had known about this, he wouldn't have dared do anything to Giselle. Heck, he would've gone for Emma instead of Giselle!His survival instinct won out over everything else, leaving him incapable of wondering what Chester and Giselle had to do with each other. All he knew was that he didn't want to die!"It looks like you don't need your mouth, either." Chester took of
Chester grabbed Giselle's roaming hands and forced her to face him. He asked, "Who am I, Gigi?"Who was he?Giselle was lost for a moment. Then, the heat took over her again. "Jonathan…"The rest of the sentence was incoherent, but mentioning that name itself was enough to make Chester's expression darken."…I'm so hot," she mumbled.If she hadn't brought up Jonathan's name, Chester would probably have been willing to help her cool down before they reached his villa. Now, however…He wrapped his coat around her again and had the driver turn the A/C to the lowest. "Hang on."The driver sped up; the amorous atmosphere had dissipated.Giselle felt tormented. She wanted to break free of Chester's hold but was too weak. Ultimately, she bit his arm, almost as if venting her frustration.He frowned, his expression grim. But when he looked at her face, he couldn't help softening. "Jonathan's unworthy of you, Gigi."…As soon as Chester and Giselle arrived at his villa, Hector, who w
Giselle's eyes glinted mockingly at Chester's question. She clutched her mug so tightly that the veins on the back of her hand protruded.To put it bluntly, Phil was one of Jonathan's lapdogs. He wanted to get in her pants but didn't have the nerve to do so. He wouldn't have dared to act like that last night without Jonathan's permission. It looked like Jonathan had ultimately acted ruthlessly to avenge Charlotte.Anger washed over Giselle. Chester took away her mug as she simmered. "You don't have to answer me if it's inconvenient, Ms. Stone."Giselle slowly calmed down at his words. She sat up in bed and searched for her phone, but it wasn't anywhere to be found. Chester saw what she wanted and handed it to her. His bodyguard had retrieved it and brought it over earlier in the morning while reporting to Chester.She thanked Chester before calling Emma. Emma only answered before the call cut off. She rasped, "Hello…""Where are you, Ems?" Giselle asked.Emma was a little slow on
At the moment, Giselle felt so embarrassed that she just wanted to melt into the ground.She knew that she had a bad habit of going around biting people whenever she got drunk. Although she had been drugged yesterday, she still bit Chester despite not being drunk. But she shouldn't have done anything worse, right?She didn't know, and she didn't want to know either. It would only be even more embarrassing for her if she knew.Chester was worried that he was making Giselle distressed, so he quickly left the room, letting her tidy herself up before coming out for lunch.As the door clicked shut behind her, Giselle belatedly had another dreadful thought.Who had been the one who changed her out of her clothes?…Half an hour later, Giselle bit the bullet and had lunch with Chester. After she was done with lunch, she decided to meet up with Emma.Chester sent her there since it was on his way. While Giselle was getting out of the car, he said, "Call me if you need anything."She n
Giselle hurried to the hotel where Wendy was staying. When she arrived, Emma was already there.Yarick was in Emma's arms, his eyes puffy from crying. The moment he saw Giselle, he struggled against Emma to get down. Emma set Yarick on the ground, and he immediately ran toward Giselle."Giselle." He looked up at her with teary eyes, "The bad guys hurt Mom."Half an hour earlier, a group of thugs had barged in and started smashing the room. In the chaos, Wendy was accidentally elbowed in the nose. She was now in the bathroom, trying to stop the bleeding.Emma had come by to speak to Wendy and learn more about her situation, only to witness the mayhem. Fortunately, she managed to snap a picture of one of the intruders.Giselle glanced at the photo and shook her head. "I don't recognize him." She bent down and picked up Yarick before giving him a piece of candy to comfort him.Yarick held the candy tightly and turned toward the bathroom. "Mom was hurt. I want to give the candy to
"Did you call? Sorry, I was so engrossed in talking to Gigi that I didn't notice." Caroline lied, of course.Chester cocked a brow at his parent's blatant lies, clearly unimpressed.Giselle reached out and rested her hand on the back of his cold hand.Chester stiffened. He quickly lowered his gaze, hiding the emotions in his eyes. "Why didn't you wear a coat before coming out?" Her usually calm voice carried a hint of reprimand toward Chester.Hector chimed in with a smirk. "Gigi, you need to talk some sense into Chet. I couldn't even catch up with him on the way here. Do you know how many people looked at him like he'd lost his mind?"Hector swore he wasn't exaggerating. It was like seeing someone wearing a winter coat in the middle of summer. It was completely out of place.Chester shot him a warning glare. But with Giselle around, Hector felt bold.Instead of arguing with him, Chester reluctantly pulled his hand away from Giselle's. "Don't touch me. My hands are cold.""S
When Charlotte returned to the Grant family, everyone found out that Giselle had been living a stolen life.Giselle enjoyed the wealth and privilege that never belonged to her for over 20 years. To the world, she was beyond guilty. Her former friends turned on her, and she became the butt of the joke. Giselle was an orphan who was deemed unworthy to be anywhere near them.If not for the fact that she was once Jonathan's fiancée, she would have suffered even worse.When Caroline asked about her parents, Giselle froze before regaining her composure."It doesn't matter anymore," she replied calmly. "I don't like wasting my time on meaningless things."Giselle never felt loved when she was with the Grant family. Harold and Linda must have known she wasn't their biological child, so they were never affectionate with Giselle.She had long since grown used to being on her own. What good would finding her biological parents do? If her real parents were happy in their current lives, her a
Finley forced a smile. She put down the bowl and then turned around to meet Chester's indifferent gaze."Ches—Mr. Fordham." She corrected herself in time.Finley knew Chester would go after her family if she called him by his name."I saw your parents taking Giselle away when I came over," Finley said. As she finished, she noticed a change in Chester's expression. Her heart tightened at the sight. She watched as Chester pulled the IV needle out of his hand and got out of bed. His recklessness stunned her.She trembled as she asked, "I'm curious, Mr. Fordham. What do you even like about Giselle?"She couldn't understand. Not now, not ever.Giselle was an orphan. How could she compare to her? Finley couldn't wrap her head around how she lost to someone like Giselle."Do you need a reason to like someone?" Chester didn't want to argue with her.His mind was plagued with worries about Giselle being mistreated by his parents. He called both of them, but neither answered. It felt l
Giselle was being herself and didn't try to be humble just because of who Caroline and Zachary were. Chester's parents exchanged pleased glances.If Chester really liked Giselle, they wouldn't mind having her around. After all, as parents, they wished to see their son have a successful career and a family of his own.Since they gave birth to Chester at an old age, he was able to have whatever he wanted while growing up. That said, they didn't know what went wrong as he turned out to be aloof. He would always keep his distance from everyone and never made his parents worry.The only thing they were worried about was his marriage. Chester was almost 30 years old now, but he had never been in a relationship. When they asked if he had anyone he liked, he would always say he wanted to focus on his career and work in the laboratory.When he graduated from university, he went to another country by himself. Throughout those years abroad, he almost never touched the Fordhams' assets. Ever
Finley knew Chester had serious germaphobia, and she wondered why he didn't find Giselle to be dirty and disgusting. She then thought about how traditional the Fordhams were and wondered if they really could accept a relationship like that.She wanted to see the Fordhams make things hard for Giselle. After all, Finley couldn't understand why someone who wasn't as impressive as her could easily get something she couldn't get her hands on. To her, Giselle wasn't worthy in the slightest."Zach, do you think Chester will be angry if we talk to Giselle ourselves?""Angry, huh? Even if he does get upset, he'll need to endure it! If he dares throw a tantrum, I'll give him a piece of my mind!"Zachary was a perfect example of a man who loved his wife too much. As long as Caroline was there, everyone else would have to keep their distance, even their children. If they hadn't gotten pregnant with Chester back then, Jean would've been the only child in their lives.Finley continued standin
The expression on Finley's face stiffened, and her pupils dilated immediately. Finley didn't expect to hear the name she hated the most from Caroline's mouth. After suffering multiple losses because of Giselle, Finley would react to her name by instinctively feeling disgusted.Finley suddenly looked pale and terrible, causing Caroline to gently ask, "What's wrong, Finley? Do you feel unwell?"Finley clenched her fists tightly and forced herself to take a deep breath. Then, she put on a fake relaxed smile and managed to look elegant. "I'm fine, Mrs. Fordham. I do have a friend who's quite close with Giselle."The unexpected answer made Caroline exchange glances with Zachary. "Oh?""But… I don't think that's true anymore. After all, they had a little conflict between them. If I talk about it, we might get too emotional."Finley was being smart about it, as she couldn't badmouth Giselle directly. If she wanted to do it, she would have to find a scapegoat. That way, if her plan failed
Giselle followed Hector outside the ward, and the nurse sensibly left them alone to check on the other patients.Hector then said, "Giselle, I have some relationship-related issues that I need to ask you about."It had been a month or two since they last talked about it, and it seemed to Giselle that his relationship with Julia had gotten worse. Julia had used up all of her leave days at the hospital, and her IP address showed that she was overseas.Hector felt frustrated because of it. If it weren't for Chester's accident, Hector wouldn't have returned to work so soon. Upon returning, he had to personally deal with all the work that had been piling up. Once he started getting busy, he couldn't even have a proper meal, let alone coax Julia.After hearing about his predicament, Giselle tried to find a suspicious loophole."When did you last see her?""It was around two weeks ago. I was drunk back then, and my friend called her for me so that she could pick me up."Hector tried hi
The next morning, Giselle headed to the hospital after she was done washing up. The scabs from her injuries were starting to fall off, and the stitches were breaking apart too. She was well on her way to a full recovery.As for Chester, most of his injuries were superficial. The worst injury he had was around his stomach. When the car flipped, a sharp object pierced into his flesh. Fortunately, it didn't injure any of his vital organs. If it had gone a little deeper, he wouldn't have survived.When Giselle arrived at the hospital, Jean was talking to Chester about Joshua. The police had interrogated Joshua the whole night, but he didn't reveal anything of importance. Instead, he kept insisting that he didn't know the driver and that he didn't hire anyone to attempt homicide.Chester had already expected Joshua to be this shameless. He leaned back against the hospital bed with a cold look on his pale face. Then, he lowered his gaze to cover the frustration in his eyes."He's not goi