The sharp sound of the slap froze the surroundings. Giselle's head tilted, and her fair face turned red and swollen from the force of Sebastian's slap.Sebastian opened his mouth, but instead of the words he had planned to say, a sharp accusation escaped. "Giselle, don't push it."He never thought about hitting Giselle. She had been his sister for over 20 years, even without a blood relation, and the Grant family would accept her as long as she remained compliant. Unfortunately, Giselle always opposed Charlotte, making it clear that he would choose his biological sister over her.Besides, Giselle owed Charlotte everything, so she had no right to bully her. This thought quickly erased Sebastian's guilt.Giselle looked down, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her face, hiding the emotions in her eyes. She gently touched the sore spot inside her cheek with the tip of her tongue. The pain brought clarity to her thoughts.All eyes were fixed on her. After a moment, Giselle smirked
Giselle couldn't help but notice the joy sparkling in Charlotte's eyes. "Instead of claiming that Charlotte is suffering on my behalf, it's more accurate to say that the Grant family has engaged in too many wrongdoings, and this is karma.""Giselle!" Sebastian shouted in anger. He raised his hand to strike, but Giselle quickly grabbed his wrist. A look of shock crossed Sebastian's face. He was taken aback by the unfamiliar, chilling defiance reflected in her eyes."Are you addicted to slapping, Sebastian? That slap was my way of repaying your kindness. From now on, stay out of my life. Take your dear sister and get out of here." With that, Sebastian's hand was forcefully shaken off.Giselle had never been kind and was aware of who treated her well. However, Charlotte's presence made everyone favor her. Giselle rejected any kindness she believed was insincere. Her determined and cruel gaze appeared genuine. Sebastian was at a loss for words, showing a complex expression.All
The station fell silent. Sebastian's face flushed as he clenched his fists in embarrassment. Nobody saw it coming when Chester took hold of Giselle's hand and delivered a sharp slap to Sebastian's face.In Seaworth City, the declining Grant family still garnered respect due to their upcoming marriage to the Lawson family. Chester's action was clearly humiliating the Grants."Sebastian, are you alright? Does it hurt?" Charlotte snapped back to reality and tried to touch the spot where Sebastian was hit.Yet, he avoided her, looking distressed. At 32 years old, he faced a level of humiliation he had never experienced in his life. Chester showed him no respect at all.Sebastian was furious but knew he had to hold back to avoid offending Chester. Despite not having the Fordham family's support, he realized that upsetting Chester could be a mistake.Sebastian tried to calm down and realized he had another concern. He wondered how Giselle got close to Chester. Their bond seemed sign
Charlotte felt Giselle's words were very insulting. She trembled uncontrollably. After a moment, she turned and threw herself into Sebastian's arms in grievance.Logically, Sebastian should have insisted that Giselle apologize once more. Yet, at that moment, he seemed to be rendered speechless.Giselle found it absurd, yet she accepted it. With the final remnants of her connection to the Grant family fading away, she realized her world didn't rely on anyone else to shine. She was the light herself.Sebastian and Charlotte fled in embarrassment, ending the farce. Giselle sighed in relief, but before she could fully relax, Chester pulled her away."Mr. Fordham…" she whispered, struggling briefly before being placed in the passenger seat. Chester placed one hand on the door, lowering his eyes, his jaw set with cold determination. "Key."Giselle looked up. "What?""Your car key."Giselle wasn't sure why Chester wanted her car key, but she handed it over obediently under his seriou
Giselle couldn't shake the feeling that she was hallucinating. Chester, being such an incredibly intelligent man, would never utter such statements. It seemed impossible.Just as Giselle exhaled in relief, Chester said again, "It truly hurts."Giselle was utterly speechless, her embarrassment leaving her unsure of where to place her hands.She avoided looking into Chester's eyes. After a moment, she quietly suggested, "How about I go with you to the hospital for a CT scan now?"She figured she shouldn't be strong enough to break someone's head.Chester noticed Giselle was feeling guilty. He held back his smile and started the car. "No need.""I called you multiple times, but you didn't respond, so I leaned over to help you buckle your seat belt," Chester explained, stopping his teasing.Giselle felt a wave of relief wash over her. As for Chester's request for her to rub his face, perhaps it was merely a joke. She had managed to convince herself otherwise. However, once she com
During her seven years of being with Jonathan, people believed Giselle wasn't good enough for him and was marrying above her station. Today, she heard someone say the opposite for the first time, leaving her feeling confused.Chester offered her a tissue thoughtfully, then opened the car door. "I'm going to step out for a cigarette."He made sure to leave room for Giselle, knowing she had a strong personality and likely preferred to guard her vulnerable side. If Chester were his partner, he wouldn't allow Giselle to face her negative emotions alone. He was cautious about crossing any boundaries that might jeopardize her trust. He was patient enough to wait.Chester stood casually by the car in the darkness, a cigarette flickering between his fingers. Since finding out that Giselle was engaged to Jonathan, he locked himself away and smoked all night. Ultimately, he decided to quit as he realized that cigarettes were detrimental to his health.It was just an excuse to allow Giselle
The moment Giselle's name was mentioned, Chester couldn't help but want to listen further.Tony scoffed inwardly. He then walked to a corner of the racetrack and shielded the microphone of his phone. "Lindsay said Giselle is pregnant, and the father is Jonathan."His words sent Chester's heart plummeting to the depths. The casual expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a stormy gloom that seemed to chill the air around him."What did you say?" he asked for confirmation in a hoarse voice. His grip on the phone tightened, and the veins on his hand bulged.Tony shrank back instinctively, feeling a chill run down his spine. He regretted not keeping his mouth shut. Half an hour ago, he had bumped into Lindsay, who was also there to watch the race.She was clearly a social butterfly. She used her connection to Chester as an excuse to strike up idle conversation. Somehow, the topic had veered toward Giselle. That was when she had casually dropped this bombshell onto Tony.At
What Giselle said was one thing, but how they carried out the operation was another matter entirely.Three hours later, the SUV came to a stop across the street from the target location.The street was essentially a strip of private clubs. Impeccably dressed elites were seen coming and going. The cleaner the facade, the filthier the secrets hidden underneath. Suddenly, Giselle's phone rang. Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the car, she reluctantly answered. "Mr. Fordham." "Where are you? I'm across the street from Luxe Haven." Giselle was surprised. She hadn't expected Chester to be here as well. Maybe he had just arrived.Her emotions grew slightly complicated, but she quickly suppressed the strange feeling. "I'll come to you," she said. Giselle got out of the car and scanned the area. She spotted a sleek Maybach parked nearby. The window rolled down, revealing Chester's strikingly handsome yet cold face.…"Mr. Lawson, could we revisit the terms of this collabo
Meanwhile, Giselle had just found the first-aid kit and sat next to Chester.The light in the living room was a warm orange, softening the hardened knots between Chester's forehead. He removed his jacket, leaving only a thin shirt on. "This might hurt, so bear with me."Jonathan really did not hold back one bit. Chester's skin was already fair. The contrast only made the purplish bruise even more striking and distressing.Giselle and Chester were growing nearer to each other.They were in such close proximity that he could take in the fragrance of her shampoo.Her attention was on the corner of his lips. She had cotton dipped in iodine to clean the dried blood on the area of the wound.Chester's breathing suddenly came to a halt.His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. His breath was warm, and his gaze was deep.After a while, Giselle retreated to her original position. As she kept the first-aid kit away, she said, "It's done. When you get home, try not to let water come in con
In Giselle's cold eyes, there was nothing but indifference and annoyance."Gigi, I'm in pain…"Jonathan stared at her, the emotions in his eyes flickering back and forth. His weak and vulnerable tone was completely different from the violence he portrayed earlier.He was now trying to use pity to get Giselle to sympathize with him.Jonathan thought that if Giselle still loved him, then he would let everything go.Unfortunately, reality was more cruel than he imagined. Giselle's expression did not even waver.In an instant, the asphyxiating heartache turned into a wild beast, ruthlessly tearing him apart.Jonathan's arm fell to his side helplessly. Suddenly, he staggered backward as if his soul had left him, no longer behaving as arrogantly as he had before.He should be fuming. And Giselle should also be taught a lesson.But Jonathan could not do it.He loved Giselle so much, so why was she doing this to him?"Jon? Jon, what's wrong…"Vivian looked at Jonathan, who was obvi
Jonathan called Chester by his first name. He was not even willing to address him with due respect.Jim sensed the gravity of the situation and immediately had the other officers leave the room, giving the two some privacy.With the sound of the door locking, the atmosphere in the entire room fell below freezing temperature.With tensions running high, nobody dared to even breathe.Jonathan stood in their way, his tall stature overwhelmingly intimidating.As he stood face to face with Chester, their imposing presence seemed to match evenly.Jonathan looked like fireballs were about to shoot out of his eyes while the latter's eyes were as calm as a still, bottomless abyss, ready to erase his opponent's existence without leaving so much as a single trace.Vivian was so overwhelmed that her tears wouldn't come. She was really afraid that Jonathan would beat Chester up.The current situation was way more serious than her writing a love letter to her classmate."Why should I give y
Jim handled everything professionally."Jon…" Vivian reached out, tugging at Jonathan's sleeve. "Don't let mom know. She's going to be so mad."Vivian knew Jean's temper all too well. If she had not been afraid of Jean finding out about her love letter to Harry, Vivian would not have made Jonathan come pick her up from school.But if Jonathan had not come, the consequent chain of events would not have happened.Jonathan exuded an intimidating energy as he remained silent.Meanwhile, Giselle wasn't the least bit bothered.Harry was the same. After all, he had only done what he did to stand up for Giselle. Even if his family members were to come bail him out, none of them would be mad at him."Ms. Stone."Jim turned toward Giselle and said, "You may have Mr. Fordham come get you."Mr. Fordham. Chester Fordham.Jonathan couldn't bear hearing this name.As soon as he heard this name, he would immediately recall the words Giselle said. "Well, obviously I'm after his body."Absol
She was after his body. Giselle was going after Chester for his body.Jonathan completely lost all of his sanity when he heard those words, delivering another blow to the board.He could not be bothered about the excruciating pain coming from his knuckles. Through gritted teeth, he demanded answers from Giselle."You've slept with Chester?"Before Giselle could even respond, Harry, who had just returned from retrieving his phone, ran over at full speed.Without any explanation whatsoever, he punched Jonathan in the face."Now that I'm here, don't even think about hurting Giselle!"As someone young, tall, and one who worked out daily, Harry's one punch broke the skin on the corner of Jonathan's mouth.The piercing pain made Jonathan give up all his reasoning.Immediately, the two men broke into a fight.Vivian scrambled to get up from the floor, looking miserable. She wanted to pull them apart but was afraid she might get injured in the process.As such, she just glared at Gi
When they were at the hospital the other day, Chester made Vivian feel awfully stressed. This uncle of hers was way too overprotective of Giselle.If Jonathan were to lay a finger on Giselle, Chester would definitely hunt him down. And when that time came, the fact that she twisted the truth would be revealed.Vivian gritted her teeth. The fear she felt outweighed her reasoning. Without a second thought, she rushed over."Jon, stop!"Vivian held onto Jonathan's arm. The blood vessels in his knuckles popped as he squeezed every word out with restraint. "Let go."This was the first time that Vivian had ever seen Jonathan like this. She clenched down on her molars and cried out, "No!"The siblings' double act was absolutely comedic in Giselle's eyes. She rubbed her wrist which had turned red from Jonathan's grip. Then, she turned on her heels, wanting to leave.Jonathan jerked free from Vivian's grasp, stretching out his hands as he tried to grab onto Giselle once again.However,
"Giselle, I need to ask you something."The two looked at each other. One had an indifferent expression while the other looked like they could barely tolerate this request.Giselle tried to free herself but her wrist remained firmly locked in his grip. The heat between them instinctively triggered a visceral sense of disgust in her.Her stomach churned violently, and her expression went dark. "Let go."Jonathan kept his stare on her with eyes that were deep and enigmatic. "If I don't—" Before he could even finish his sentence, he suddenly gasped in pain.Giselle did not care if she hurt him. She had swiftly raised her knee and went for his groin. Even though Jonathan reacted in time, she was too fast for him to avoid the blow entirely.The anger in his eyes surged. He gritted his teeth and exclaimed, "Giselle Stone!"This "new" Giselle felt extremely foreign to Jonathan.The Giselle he remembered was someone gentle and caring. There was never a time she would be this violent.
The moment Giselle heard Jonathan call out her name in full, a look of surprise flashed across her eyes. Had he recovered his memories?Giselle scoffed. "Am I wrong? Mr. Kendrick is asking Harry to pretend that he has feelings for Vivian and to wait until the exams are over to talk about it. Isn't he asking the kid to lie?"Harry has made it crystal clear that he has no feelings for Vivian. A clear rejection is the best solution. You're afraid that Vivian's state of mind might be affected, but what about Harry's?"Every word was carefully chosen.Even though Greg did not explicitly say it, Giselle understood his underlying intention without misconstruing anything.Harry clapped his hands as sparkles danced around his eyes. "You got it! I don't like Vivian. I don't like her now and I certainly won't like her in the future!"Vivan was not his type to begin with. What's more, after learning about the things she had done to Giselle, the chances of him liking Vivian were even slimmer
Jonathan's towering figure emerged in the doorway.Instead of his usual formal suit, he was dressed in a hoodie and cropped pants.To put it simply, he looked like a mannequin. His handsome face was as cold as ice, making him look unapproachable. As his eyes swept across the room, he suddenly paused when his gaze fell upon Giselle.The hand by his side instinctively clenched. It seemed like he did not expect to find Giselle here.He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was reminded of the ignored text and what Vivian had told him.He pursed his lips for a moment, forcing the words back down. "Now that we have everyone's guardians here, let's talk about what happened earlier today."Greg Kendrick, the homeroom teacher, pushed his glasses up and cleared his throat before continuing, "I understand how kids your age are going through a phase where you yearn for the opposite gender, but this is the time to be focusing on your studies. "The college entrance examinations