Elaine was stunned. She jerked her head up and looked into his deep-set eyes in astonishment.She took a deep breath and asked, “You are messing with me, right, Mr. Saldana?”‘A marriage of convenience? With him? A man who I've only seen a few times and known for less than half a month?’ He fixed his gaze at her and continued in a calm voice. “I’ll give you all the freedom you want after our marriage. You can do whatever you want.” Elaine fell silent for a long while. “Are you talking about a deal? Like a fake marriage?”He lowered his head, and although he did not say anything, Elaine knew what he was trying to say.“Why me?” asked Elaine.Ian retracted his gaze and turned his eyes to look at the wine glass. “You don't want to be bound by marriage, and I don't like other people to tell me what to do in my life. If I have to make a choice, I think you're a very suitable person, Ms. Xavier.”Elaine did not say anything.A marriage of convenience... In other words, they would
Edward’s hands, which were flipping through the newspaper, stopped moving, and he frowned. “Why are you asking this?”As Elaine chewed, she asked bluntly, “If the man I want to marry is his son, what will you do?”Edward was astonished and then slammed the newspaper on the table. “Have you lost your mind!?”Jenna was frightened. She did not understand much about her husband's industry, so she did not interrupt. Still, she was a little surprised that Elaine took the initiative to bring up the word “marriage”.Elaine knew that her father did not like Mr. Saldana, so this marriage was an almost impossible task. Nonetheless, she thought about Ian’s words.‘I really don’t want to get married. If Dad were to arrange for me to marry a man that I’ve never met before or something, I might as well choose Ian over that fate.’“Dad, he said that he would give me 5% of the Synergy Group’s shares if I were to marry him. Are you not interested in that?”Edward’s expression became quite excited
Ian’s voice pulled her back to reality.Elaine frowned, walked up to him, and crossed her arms. “Mr. Saldana, I tried to look past your lack of sincerity, but you actually lied to me?”“I lied?” Ian’s hands, which were holding the hem of the collar and adjusting his shirt, stopped moving, and his eyes were fixed on her face.Elaine looked up at him. “My father said that Mr. Juan Saldana has only one son, and he’s mentally ill. So, Mr. Saldana, are you trying to make a fool out of me?”Ian gave off a soft chuckle and said nothing.“What are you laughing at?” Elaine wondered.He walked aside and poured a cup of coffee calmly and slowly. “I didn’t make a fool out of you.”“Then I... I don’t think you look like a mentally ill person,” she murmured.‘What’s going on here?’Ian took the cup of coffee, walked to the couch, sat down, laughed, and explained calmly, “Juan Saldana does only have one son, but that’s the life that he discloses to the public.”Elaine stared at him and sank
Although Juan had never visited his son, it was uncommon for him to have not abandoned him. The amount of money he paid to the psychiatric hospital every year was worth millions of dollars.Marco had someone to personally serve him in the psychiatric hospital. After all, his father was the well-known Mr. Saldana—the hospital would definitely not treat him badly, and he would surely not suffer while staying there. Marco’s mental illness was congenital. Sometimes, he would act normally, but the onset would send him into a rampage from time to time.There was no other way but to place him in a psychiatric medical center and provide him with quality food, drink, and treatment.Nolan laughed. “What a pity.”“But Mr. Saldana has another son.”“Another son?”Quincy remembered something. “Yes, Mrs. Saldana said that Mr. Saldana was quite a playboy in private back then. He had an extramarital affair with another woman when Mrs. Saldana was pregnant, and the affair went on for six whole ye
Quincy put his glasses back on.Saydie always felt that it was very awkward for him to wear glasses. She felt that it was not pleasing to the eye, so she stretched out her hand, intending to snatch them off his face again.“Stop it. Mrs. Goldmann is here.” Quincy evaded her hand.She explained bluntly, “You look even uglier with glasses on.”Quincy was rendered speechless while Maisie burst into laughter.She walked to Saydie and patted her on the shoulder. “Saydie, don’t keep bullying Quincy just because you think he’s a pushover. If you were to bully him until he loses his mind, he’d lose his job as the person in charge of Blackgold’s brain.”Saydie nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”Quincy was at a loss for words.Maisie left Blackgold with Saydie and got into the car. Her gaze landed on Saydie while they were in the car, and she asked meaningfully, “Saydie, do you really hate Quincy that much?”Saydie paused for a bit, wondered for a while, and replied, “No.”Maisie supported the side
“What makes you think I’m the same as Lucy?” Elaine crossed her arms. “Lucy has had a hard life, and now that there’s a man who can take care of her, you can finally rest easy. But just in case you don’t know this, I don’t need it.”“You…”“Dear, there’s no need to rush Elaine. In fact, it’s not a bad thing to get married later in life. It won’t be too late for Elaine to think about it when she meets her Mr. Right.” Jenna tried to persuade Edward gently.Edward snorted. “If she had the ability to think about it, she wouldn’t have been deceived.”“Dad, I didn’t lie to you.”“You didn’t lie? You’re doing so because you deliberately want to piss me off. Are the Saldanas a family that you can think about marrying into? You didn’t even go around gathering more information about Juan’s son, and you’ve chosen to believe in him!”‘Sure enough, he still cares about the Saldanas.’Lucy wondered. “What about the Saldanas?”Elaine did not answer Lucy but explained, “Ian is the other son of
Edward waved his hand to ask his secretary to leave. She walked out and closed the door.He walked to the couch grumpily. “You’re too arrogant, kid, coming up here to talk business with me. Let me ask you, who is Juan Saldana to you?”Since Edward went straight to the point, Ian didn’t hide. “He’s my father.”Edward paused. “Isn’t his son Marco Saldana? Since when did he have another son?”Ian laughed. “Would he tell the world that he has an illegitimate son?”Edward paused again. People who had influence would not admit they had an illegitimate child because that was frowned upon.The children could only live in the shadows and could not be brought to life. They were very much taboo.Edward didn’t keep questioning him. The son from Juan Saldana’s marriage had mental issues and would not be able to inherit the family business, so it would be different if he had an illegitimate son.However, Juan didn’t seem like someone who would let an illegitimate son take over his empire.
“Yes, we’ve had too many presents in the past, and I’m out of ideas now. Then I realized I haven’t gotten him any antiques yet.”Christina nodded and had a short chat with her before leaving and letting the young people spend time instead.Barbara had tea with Maisie at a cafe nearby when Maisie remembered something and blurted, “I think I saw someone today.”Barbara asked, “Who?”“Ian Summer.”Once the name came up, Barbara froze. It had been a while, and she didn’t seem to remember much anymore.“Where did you see him?”“When I was on the way here. It was just a glance, but I felt he looked familiar.” Maisie said that while her eyes were on Barbara’s face and chuckled. “Why? Do you still have a thing for him?”Barbara rolled her eyes. “Nonsense! If Helios hears this, he’s going to be so jealous.”“It’s fine then. It’s been so long. I thought you would feel bad if I mentioned him.”“No way!”She didn’t feel bad, but there was regret in her heart because she liked him so muc
“Daisie.” Leah and Morrison walked up to her with wine glasses. “You look so pretty today.”“Thank you,” Daisie said with a smile.Leah lifted her wine glass. “I propose a toast. Morrison and I wish you a happy marriage.”Daisie clinked glasses with her. “Same goes for you and Morrison.”After the toast, Cameron walked up to Daisie with Waylon. Behind them were Freyja, Colton, Maisie, and Nolan.Maisie raised her hand and caressed her on the cheek. “You were great earlier today.”She giggled. “Really?”Nolan added, “You’ll forever be our dazzling pride, so yes.”Daisie grinned as if she was still the little princess of the family.Nollace came over. “Dad, Mom, a toast to the both of you. Thank you for letting me have Daisie’s hand.”“Consider yourself lucky.” Nolan snorted softly, picked up his wine glass, and clinked glasses with him. “You’d better treat my daughter well from now on.”Nollace glanced at Daisie. “Don’t worry. She’ll forever be my one and only.”Maisie chuck
In order to make way for the wedding carriage, other vehicles had been forbidden from accessing the route from the palace to the cathedral.Daisie looked out of the carriage—the streets were crowded with citizens, and they were all there to witness this grand scene.Nollace, sitting on the side, was wearing a double-breasted dark blue military jacket. He looked tall and broad, and there were two St. Patrick’s Stars on his epaulets, one on each side, a full set of medals on his chest, and other complicated decorations.He held the back of Daisie’s hand and smiled suddenly. “You have sweaty palms.”Daisie looked back at him and responded with a trembling voice, “I’m nervous.”He lifted her hand and kissed the back of her hand. “I’m here, so don’t be nervous. Just take it easy.”Daisie’s gaze landed on his wedding jacket. “You look nice in this uniform.”Nollace chuckled. “And my bride looks stunning too.”Arriving at the cathedral, Nollace was separated from Daisie. Accompanied b
“By the way, where’s Cameron?” asked Morrison.Waylon replied, “She’s accompanying her father on a stroll. I’m going to go meet them already, so I’ll leave you to yourselves for now. You can do whatever you want with your free time.”After saying that, he got up and left the couple.Morrison shook his head. “He’s changed now that he has a wife.”“You’re speaking as if you haven’t changed.” Leah got up instantly and left the restaurant.Morrison put his cup down and caught up to her immediately. “Hey, why would you leave me behind? Wait for me.”Maisie and Saydie came out of the private room and ran into Nolan and Quincy in the corridor.Quincy nodded. “Mrs. Goldmann.”Maisie stopped in front of Nolan, and Nolan grabbed her by her hand. “Have you finished catching up?”“Of course. Didn’t you want to go to the Hathaways’ villa with Dad in the afternoon?”Nolan smiled. “I was waiting for you. We’re just going over to have a meal together.”Quincy walked up to Saydie’s side and
Daisie grinned from ear to ear. “Then I’ll wear this crown on my wedding day, which can be considered an endorsement for my mom’s jewelry company and design.”Nollace hugged her from behind. “You can do anything as long as you like it.”…The members of the Goldmanns arrived in Yaramoor two days before the wedding and stayed in the hotel arranged by Nollace. The royal family had reserved the entire hotel for receiving distinguished guests from Zlokova who came to attend the wedding.Members from the Bouchers and the Lucases showed up, and Sunny was also present.There were also some familiar faces from the Zlokovian entertainment industry. Hannah, Amy, James, and Charlie, who were close friends with Daisie, all came.Leah and Morrison were also on the invitation list.When Maisie came to the restaurant, the waiter led her into a private room.As soon as she saw the man sitting inside, she smiled and exclaimed, “Godfather!”Strix slowly turned around.She had not seen him for
The rest of the people laughed.The night came, and the entire city was shrouded in a mist of neon light. Daisie and Nollace returned to Taylorton after having their dinner.Her hair was wet as she got out of the shower. Nollace took over her towel and helped her to dry her hair.She sat in front of her dresser and looked at the person behind her through the mirror. There was a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she said, “Nolly, I’m really looking forward to our wedding.”“Really?” Nollace gently dried the soft tips of her hair. “I’m looking forward to it too.”“I can say that my life is perfect now, right? Since I can marry and walk down the aisle with the man I love the most.”He laughed out loud and leaned down to her ear. “You know what? All the wishes in my life have come true as well.”Daisie turned her head around. “What are your wishes?”“Marry you, give you a wedding, and have our own kids.”She was stunned. Slowly, her face turned red due to her embarrassme
“Yeah, it’s true,” replied Zephir.“It seems like you’ve finally become more mature after coming back from your vacation.” Naomi patted his shoulder. “I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.” He smiled at her but did not say anything.…Soon, it was the end of the month. Their vacation had come to an end, and they returned to Bassburgh.Maisie and Nolan were waiting for them in the courtyard. After getting out of the car, Daisie ran up to them. “Mommy! Daddy!”She hugged both of them.Nolan petted her head and smiled helplessly. “You’re an adult now. You should stop acting like a kid.”She smiled back at them and said, “But I know I’ll always be your kid in your eyes.”Maisie chuckled and looked at the other people. “It seems like you guys had a lot of fun. Anyway, come in first. We should eat together tonight.”Freyja and Cameron went to look for their kids after they went into the house. Charm and her two cousins were staying in the same room. All of them were sl
Nollace looked at them. “What a coincidence.”“Morrison and I were here earlier than you guys,” said Leah. “We only found out that you guys were here when Daisie posted a photo on her Facebook page.”Daisie pulled Leah to the seat and said, “Then you should stay a few more days with us.”After Morrison took his seat, Waylon introduced him to Freyja and Daisie. “She’s my sister-in-law, Freyja, and she’s my sister. Her name is Daisie.”“I’ve seen them before at your wedding,” said Morrison. “Your sister is my wife’s classmate. She has told me before.”“Since when did I become your wife? There’s a chance I may not marry you in the future,” said Leah.“We’re already engaged. If you don’t want to marry me, who else are you going to marry?” Morrison frowned, causing the crowd to break out in a burst of laughter, save for Daisie.She looked at Leah in disbelief and asked, “Engaged? When did you get engaged, Leah?” Leah cleared her throat and replied, “Well, I forgot to inform you abo
The stall owner said, “$10 for three chances.”“$10 for three chances only? That’s expensive,” commented Freyja.The stall owner raised his head and said, “I’m the cheapest around here. Other stalls offer $15 for three chances.” Daisie tugged at Freyja and said, “Let's just give him the money. It isn't easy for them to set up a stall here anyway, so let's have some fun.”After that, she gave $20 to the stall owner and said, “Please give us six hoops.”The stall owner gave her six hoops. She had her eyes set on a bracelet. Although she knew it was fake, it was rather beautiful. She held a hoop and threw it toward the bracelet.However, she did not get it.She threw another two hoops at the bracelet, but her attempts failed, much to her chagrin. She had only three hoops left.Seeing that Daisie was prepared to give up, Cameron took over the rest of the hoops in her hand and said, “Leave it to me.”She squinted and aimed at the bracelet. After that, she threw the hoop at it an
The night of the old town was silent. The air was filled with nothing but the humming of insects. There was a lamp hanging outside of the tent on the grass. The atmosphere was quiet. Daisie was tossing and turning in the sleeping bag as sleep just wouldn't come to her. Suddenly, an arm appeared across her waist as she was brought into a chest. “What’s the matter? You can’t sleep?”“Yeah…” She buried her head in his chest and said, “I want to go to take a leak, but I’m a little bit scared.”Nollace kissed her forehead and said, “I’ll go with you then.”Both of them came out of the tent. Nollace took a flashlight and led Daisie to a row of trees in the distance. Daisie turned her head and said, “You wait for me here.”Nollace nodded. “Just shout my name if you need anything.”She walked into the forest and stopped in front of a tree not far away from Nollace.After she had done her business, she hastily got out of the forest and held tightly to Nollace’s arm. “Alright, let’s go