"What do you mean? It's late at night. A man and a woman alone in a room… it would be a waste of an opportunity if nothing happened." Emma huffed. Giselle sighed. "Nothing happened. But if you're not convinced, I guess I did hit him. Does that count?" Giselle hit Chester? "Wait a second." Emma couldn't believe her ears. She looked at Giselle with a complicated expression. "Gigi, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing..." "I mean I physically hit him," Giselle clarified and recounted the incident. Emma clicked her tongue. "Gigi, you're good at resisting temptation! Chester made it so obvious, and you still managed to stay composed. Are you secretly a nun?" If it were Emma, she would have taken advantage of the situation. Giselle let out another sigh. "Is that the takeaway here?" Shouldn't the focus be on the fact that she hit Chester? Emma didn't argue further and changed the topic. "Gigi, can I ask you one last question? Please, I'm begging you to satisfy m
The pounding on the door caused the nightlight by the bed to tremble.Giselle was startled awake. She sat up and turned on the light in annoyance before walking to the door. She could see a man outside through the peephole.He was leaning against the door, his fist pounding on it relentlessly.Giselle couldn't tell who it was, so she called for security. While waiting for them to arrive, the man continued pounding on the door. The strength of his knocks went from weak to strong, then back to weak again. Giselle couldn't help but admire his persistence. Five minutes later, the management and security guards arrived. They tried to restrain the man but hadn't managed to touch him before he threw a punch, knocking one of them back. Chaos ensured. Two burly security guards were no match for one drunken man. Giselle was speechless as she watched the scene unfold from inside her house. After some thought, she decided to step in. Amidst a chorus of groans, Giselle opene
People usually couldn't get over their first loves.When Larry was pursuing Emma, he clung to her tirelessly and won her over with his persistence. He once promised her she would never regret choosing him and even declared that she was the only one for him. But that wasn't the truth. As they spent more days together, his feelings eventually died. The allure of other women outside their relationship began to tempt him. However, he lacked the courage to pursue anything. It wasn't until Charlotte gave him some advice that he changed his mind.It wasn't that he didn't love Emma anymore. He simply realized that he needed some excitement in his life. He was dissatisfied with the monotony of their everyday life. Day after day, Larry felt he was on the verge of becoming an emotionless shell of a man. And so, he started an affair with a college girl who resembled Emma. Being with her made him feel like he was reliving the thrill of their early courtship.But he became even mor
The last time Giselle had felt this way was during her first love.Back then, she and Jonathan couldn't get enough of each other and spent every moment they could together. They always checked in with one another before doing something.But their conversations quickly turned one-sided. The chat was filled with her updates and messages, while Jonathan replied to only the last message or none at all. He would divert the topic too.She tried to communicate and fix things, but it proved useless. Jonathan no longer cared about her feelings. Whenever conflicts arose, his go-to strategy was to give her the cold shoulder, certain that she would eventually cave in and apologize.In their seven years of dating, Giselle had spent about six and a half of those feeling neglected and wronged.Looking back now, she realized how foolish she had been. She had wasted so much time on someone who wasn't worth it.Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Giselle set aside her emotions and didn'
Giselle accepted the card. "Alright, Mr. Barton."Having more friends meant more opportunities. Though Chris' favor wasn't ideal, it was better than nothing.Who was to say? She might come to need it someday. Even if she didn't, Emma might. Considering Larry's actions, they needed to stay on guard.Once the deal was settled, Larry was finally allowed out of the interrogation room. His expression turned ugly when he saw Chris. "It's you?"Larry hated Chris' guts. His half-brother was just three years older and overshadowed him in every way. Their father even entrusted the family business to Chris. As for Larry, people may respect him for being part of the Barton family. But he was just a disposable chess piece.Chris glanced at him coolly. "Didn't your mother teach you manners? Not even a word of thanks?"The atmosphere tensed. Giselle was waiting for Emma to arrive and perked up at the commotion. She quietly moved closer and found the perfect spot to eavesdrop.Larry
Both the slap and Larry's voice rang in the quiet night. Giselle calmly withdrew her hand while Larry clutched his face and stared at her in disbelief."Sorry, it was a reflex." Giselle shrugged.Larry lunged toward her. This wasn't her fault! Giselle would never admit the slap was personal. She wasn't stupid. Larry was infuriated. "Giselle Stone! Do you have a death wish?"The anger he had been suppressing went out of control. But before he could act further, someone suddenly rushed out from behind Giselle.Another slap. Larry's other cheek now matched the first. The fiery sting on both sides of his face only fueled his rage. But he froze when he saw who hit him. "Emma?""What are you doing, Larry? Looks like you're the one with a death wish!" Emma stood protectively before Giselle, shielding her while her eyes brimmed with disgust. She hadn't expected to hear Larry threatening Giselle after months of separation.She wasn't going to just let this slide. If they wer
"Here's the settlement fee—from Chris," Giselle said.A look of surprise flickered across Emma's face when she heard the name. She asked, "It was Chris who came to bail Larry out?"The relationship between the two brothers was deteriorating by the day. Why would Chris personally come and bail Larry out? On the day Emma got married to Larry, Chris did not even attend their wedding ceremony. All he did was send a wedding gift over.Perhaps they were on better terms now? No, this seemed implausible.Chris was a complicated person. Emma simply could not wrap her head around it.Eventually, Emma gave up trying to figure it out. She returned the bank card to Giselle and said, "Keep this, Gigi. I'm sorry about Larry. I didn't know he had people following me…"Had Emma not returned to Giselle's place to get her things, Larry would not have harassed Giselle.In the end, she was the one to blame.Giselle responded, "Why are you apologizing? Larry's got nothing to do with you anyway. Be
"I have decided. I will not be going even with Cody anymore. I'll be the one to shoulder all our living expenses."His money will be used to pay off the mortgage and the car, while the rest will be saved for the wedding."Maddie appeared determined as she came to this conclusion. Not a single word was said in jest.Giselle forced an affectatious smile and said, "It's such a waste.""What is?" Maddie asked.Giselle answered, "It's such a waste that I'm not a man, or I'd be the first one in line fighting to ask you out."Maddie smiled bashfully and said, "Stop teasing me, Giselle."Giselle was lost for words.All hope was gone. There was no cure for Maddie anymore. She could not even tell when someone was being sarcastic.Giselle had her fair share of meeting people like Maddie before. Those who heeded her advice had a happy ending. As for those who ignored her advice, all they could do in the end was cry in regret.The girl sitting in front of her was stubborn beyond salvation
Yarick drank his orange juice, the corners of his mouth stained with ketchup.Hearing Giselle's question, he thought carefully for a moment. "Dad is nice to me."Just as Giselle and Emma thought they were overthinking, Yarick added, "Dad buys me whatever I want. But he never hugs or kisses me unless I ask him to. Mom says it's because Dad is too tired."Never initiating affection. That was weird. But why exactly…Giselle felt she needed to investigate this further. She checked her watch and decided it was time to take Yarick back to the hotel.When they returned, the argument between Wendy and Sebastian seemed to have ended.Sebastian was stood by the window, smoking a cigarette, while Wendy sat on the couch, holding back tears.Seeing Yarick come back, Wendy forced a smile. "Yarick, you're back? Come here."Yarick instinctively sensed Wendy's sadness. He nestled in her arms, rubbing his cheek against hers, showing a sensitive side beyond his age. He was a sweet child. "Seba
Children had incredibly sharp memories. By the age of three or four, they could already remember certain events.Yarick was now five years old. Although he seemed cheerful and lively, he kept many thoughts to himself.As they walked to the elevator, Yarick wiggled in Giselle's arms. "You can put me down. I'm heavy."Giselle told him he wasn't heavy but still respected his wishes and gently put him down.Holding his hands on either side, Giselle and Emma walked alongside him. Yarick kept his head lowered, his sadness written plainly on his face.Once out of the elevator, Yarick looked up at Giselle. "Giselle, are Dad and Mom fighting because of me?"Judging from the question, it was clear that Sebastian and Wendy had frequently quarreled even while they were abroad.Emma and Giselle exchanged glances before they began comforting him."Yarick, you're such a sweet boy! Your parents love you so much. There's no way they would fight because of you. Don't overthink it. Come on, we'll
The familiar voice and tone—it was Anthony. Giselle calmly ended the call, logged into her email, and found the email Anthony sent. She tentatively opened it. At the top of the email was a photo. After skimming through the text below, Giselle quickly understood the situation."What is it, Gigi?" Emma asked curiously.Giselle handed her phone over. "It seems to be information about the thugs from earlier."But how did Anthony have this information? The question lingered until Sebastian arrived, breaking the tense silence."Wendy! Are you alright? Were you hurt? How's Yarick?" Sebastian looked disheveled, his face tinged with worry. He grabbed Wendy by the shoulders, scanning her and the surroundings.However, his expression darkened when he saw Giselle."What are you doing here?" His accusatory tone angered everyone present. Wendy tried to hold herself back but failed. "Sebastian Grant! Giselle is my friend. Watch your tone!"Giselle had gone from being Wendy's sister-in-
"Why not?" Giselle frowned.She looked at Wendy seriously. "This isn't about you or Yarick. You and Sebastian aren't divorced yet, so he's still your husband and Yarick's father. You've been hurt, and he has the right to know and resolve this issue."Even if they were divorced, Sebastian was still responsible. He was the one who offended these people. Why should his wife and child pay the price? This was ridiculous.Wendy fell silent. Her hands fidgeted as she struggled with her thoughts. After a moment, she accepted Giselle's suggestions. Under the watchful eyes of both Giselle and Emma, Wendy called Sebastian for the first time in days.The phone rang for a while before it was answered. Sebastian's stern voice soon came through. "Have you changed your mind?"Sebastian believed Wendy was just throwing a tantrum by staying outside. On top of that, his work had been keeping him busy, leaving him with no time to coax her.Charlotte had warned him to not coddle women or they would b
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