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
Giselle tensed immediately. The next moment, Chester leaned in, his warm breath brushing her ear. It was a foreign sensation. "There's surveillance," he murmured, his voice soft.Giselle forced herself to remain calm, ensuring she didn't expose herself. She pointed at the woman standing at the end of the line.The unselected women filed out one by one. As the door clicked shut, Chester pulled Giselle onto the couch beside him. The room was dimly lit, its air filled with a faint sandalwood fragrance.They looked every bit the picture of a couple—a handsome man and a beautiful woman seated closely together.Chester's hand remained firmly around her waist. Giselle felt an inexplicable heat rise within her, the warmth at her waist particularly searing. She forced her thoughts elsewhere and lifted her gaze to the young woman now standing before them."How old are you?" Giselle asked.Yvonne Sullivan kept her head down, clearly uneasy in her revealing outfit. Tugging at the hem
The noise was deafening. Yvonne clutched Giselle's arm and gulped in fear. "Just say it was me who broke the camera. This way, t-they won't go after you," Yvonne stammered.Giselle grasped her hand firmly and said, "Do you really think the person taking you away can protect you?" This shattered Yvonne's delusion, and she froze.There was no time for further discussion. Giselle quickly found a cabinet large enough to hide someone and pushed Yvonne inside. "Don't come out," she instructed before shutting the cabinet door and walking over to Chester. Chester frowned. "You're not needed here." "Mr. Fordham, don't underestimate me," Giselle replied. She wasn't oblivious. From the moment they had entered the club, she had felt the weight of a gaze. It was disgusting and ever-present.Perhaps their enemy had seen through their disguise from the start.The noise outside grew louder. The sound of shouting merged with the relentless pounding on the door.Chester glanced at his p
Giselle looked at Jonathan like he had sprouted another head. "What's wrong with you?" They were nothing to each other now, yet he had the audacity to order her to go to the hospital with him. What gave Jonathan such courage?She was so angry that she laughed instead. Her eyes flashed with scorn, a look that struck Jonathan like a painful blow.He clenched his fists, and his eyes quickly filled with anger. "Giselle!" He felt stupid now. At that moment, his body had acted before his mind could catch up.His thoughts drifted back to their school days. Whenever Giselle was bullied, he was always there to protect her. With his strength, it was impossible for him to get hurt. But back then, he would deliberately injure himself in obvious places just to gain her concern. Now, he was seeing the same Giselle before him, but there was coldness in her eyes. It made him choke up, and his heart throbbed with pain.Chester had been observing the entire scene. He looked down at his phone
Giselle was certain that Yvonne's mother had not divorced and was still desperately clinging to their broken family. Yvonne was the only thing holding it together."I'm already 22. I dyed my hair, and do you know what she called me? She called me a whore…"…Four hours later, Giselle and the others arrived at the Seaworth City Police Station.As soon as they got out of the car, a middle-aged woman rushed forward and slapped Yvonne across the face."So, you're finally willing to come back! Why didn't you die out there with your useless father?" she shouted, her chest heaving with rage as she hurled insults at Yvonne.Everyone around them fell silent.Giselle frowned. She stepped forward and stood protectively in front of Yvonne.Yvonne clutched her reddened cheek, her short hair falling over her face, obscuring her expression."I fed you, clothed you, and raised you just so you could run off with those men? Yvonne, can't you think?" The woman continued her tirade. She even re
Half an hour ago, Charlotte was already getting ready for bed when a man suddenly barged into her ward.That man said that he was going to take her to see someone.When she realized that the person he wanted her to meet was Jonathan, she became overcome with fear and staggered a few steps backward, refusing to comply.The incident from the other day left an indelible shadow on her soul.She still wanted to live.Meanwhile, Jonathan really wanted to kill her.The caretaker smiled and said, "Ms. Grant, I'm just notifying you. I wasn't asking for your input."Charlotte clenched her hands into fists. The wound that had finally healed tore open once more.The pain made her face turn pale, while the fear caused her entire body to tremble.The caretaker continued, "Ms. Grant, there's no need to be afraid just yet. I forgot to tell you one thing. Mr. Lawson—your dearest Jonathan—has lost part of his memories. He no longer remembers you."Hearing this, Charlotte froze for a moment.
Caroline said, "I will tell Jean about this. You haven't done anything wrong." She had also heard of Jonathan and Giselle's history.As a woman herself, she could empathize with Giselle the most.She, too, had her partner commit adultery but had instead become the one who was labeled the adulterer. Just the thought of it was aggravating!Caroline said, "If you ever find yourself having to fight him again, just remember to stop before he becomes a cripple."Chester answered, "Okay."Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Jonathan was lying in the hospital, drowning in a haunting nightmare. Vivian stood to the side, mumbling something to Jean. Eventually, Jean interrupted her and said, "That's enough. I'll be here. Go home now. You have school tomorrow."Jean was exhausted. Tons of things had been going on at the research institute recently, and Jonathan had only added more to her plate. Couldn't he just let her catch a break?Jean rubbed her temples. She took her phone out and
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.