Martin pulled out his phone, scrolled through the call log, and shot her a knowing glance.Patricia looked at his phone and was shocked to discover that the emergency number she had dialed in her panic was actually Martin's."I... Wasn't I calling the police?"Martin didn't respond to her question, but said instead, "Even though you infuriated me this morning, I couldn't just stand by and watch you walk into danger. So, I secretly followed you in my car. When you didn't come out for a long time, I came in to look for you. Gavin lied to me, claiming you had already left and stubbornly refused to admit you were here."Hearing this, Patricia was filled with alarm and relief.If Martin hadn't followed her today, would she have died at Debbie's hands?Seeing the fear in her eyes, Martin pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back to soothe her: "Don't be scared, it's all over now!"Resting in Martin's embrace, Patricia was unusually obedient and did not resist. Listening to the ste
With the night still young and fearing that they might suffer from indigestion after such a hearty meal, Patricia encouraged them to walk it off downstairs.Although it was deep into autumn and the cold wind was howling, the temperatures in the south were generally much warmer than the north. Everyone was wearing lightweight down jackets, and after a while of walking, they felt warm and toasty, not cold in the slightest.Jade curiously asked, “Patricia, how is Randy recovering?”“He's doing very well,” Patricia replied. “If the next two surgeries go as smoothly as this one, he will be like a normal child, no longer having to worry about his heart condition flaring up at any moment.”Jade exclaimed excitedly, “Does that mean he can come play at our place then? Let’s set a time and go on a trip together! Bungee jumping, mountain climbing... I heard that the Purple Mount offers paragliding from over two thousand meters up; it’s thrilling. There's also diving, skiing, and so much more...”
It was destined to be a sleepless night.The next morning, Charles's biological clock woke him up promptly at seven, as usual. He went to the restroom to wash up and use the toilet. Once everything was in order, he went to wake the little sleepyhead, Fannie.With her eyes still closed, Fannie groped her way to the restroom, where Charles had already prepared mouthwash and toothpaste for her to use directly.While Fannie was getting ready, Charles had already dressed and gone to the living room.Seeing Patricia setting up breakfast, he immediately rolled up his sleeves to help.Patricia didn't pat his head and praise him as she used to; instead, she was so distracted that her hand accidentally went into the steaming soy milk, and she didn't even notice the burn.Frowning, Charles grabbed her hand and rushed it under cold water at the tap, scolding, "Mommy, what are you thinking about? Your hand is all red from the burn. Can't you feel the pain?"At his stern voice, Patricia snapped bac
Seeing him like this, Patricia's eyes reddened and gradually misted over; to prevent Charles from seeing, she took a deep breath, holding back her tears."Let's go! After I drop you off, I still need to visit the hospital."Charles kept backing away until he was against the wall, unable to retreat further. He stopped and stared at Patricia in disbelief."You're willing to sever our mother-son relationship just to get rid of me?"Patricia’s heart was resolute as she deliberately kept a stern face, "I merely wish for you to return to the Langley family. Even if you blame me, it doesn’t matter to me. No matter what, the blood of the Langley family runs through your veins."She knew all too well that if she told Charles the truth, he would never leave. He might even feel obliged to protect her. She couldn't be that selfish, to leave a child with such danger.Catching the fleeting look of reluctance and distress in her eyes, Charles was momentarily stunned, t
Patricia clenched her fists tightly, using this to suppress the piercing pain in her heart.Just as she was about to step through the doorway, Martin's voice suddenly rang out behind her, “Wait…”Patricia paused, but still did not turn around.Martin asked, “What in the world is going on? Why are you leaving Charles with me? I promised him that I wouldn’t contest custody with you. He's always been with you, aren’t you being too cruel to him now?”Patricia hastily denied it: "I didn't abandon him, I... I just..." She paused, then with a pained expression added, "Compared to me, you can protect him better. He's just living in a different environment now. Our relationship as mother and son won't change."After speaking, without waiting for a response from the two behind her, she quickly left, afraid that lingering would only make her more heartbroken.Martin felt something was off, that there had to be an issue. He wanted to chase after her for the truth, but wi
Hearing that Charles was missing, Patricia bolted upright from the bed, her voice becoming shrill without her realizing, "What did you say? Charles is missing?"Martin blamed himself: "I had been with him all day, and just when I went back to my room to shower, he disappeared. None of the servants saw him leave, and it was only when we checked the security cameras that we spotted him. He must have avoided the servants and slipped out secretly."Patricia’s heart leapt to her throat, her fatigue swept away as she immediately jumped out of bed, "He hasn't come back, send someone to look for him at once, I'm going too, inform me if there's any news!""Will do!"After ending the call, Patricia tried Charles’s mobile phone immediately, only to be met with the notification that it had been switched off.In a panic and without hesitation, she grabbed her phone and car keys and rushed out the door.Jade had just sent Fannie back to her room to bathe and saw Patricia's
A heavy voice came from the other end of the line, "Alan has discovered through street surveillance that the last place Charles was seen is Cambridge Road. The Riverside Apartments are also on Cambridge Road. Could Charles have gone back there?""Cambridge Road?"Could it be that after seeing Randy, Charles had gone back home?As this possibility dawned on her, Patricia shook with excitement. "Hold on for a moment, I'm going to check the surveillance at home!"Without ending the call, she switched from the call screen and opened the home surveillance app.As she accessed the surveillance, she prayed incessantly in her heart, hoping that Charles had indeed returned.Alas, she was met with disappointment.Charles had not come home.A sense of boundless despair overwhelmed her.She brought the phone back to her ear, her voice filled with dejection. "No, I just checked the surveillance. Charles isn't home."Martin knew she was feeling guilty and r
Charles pursed his lips, looking at her as if she were a fool."If I couldn't notice something was off with you today, given my IQ of 180, I'd be underselling myself!" he said.Patricia: "…? Was it that obvious?"Just then, there was a 'ding,' and the elevator doors opened.Mother and son hand in hand, stepped inside.Charles continued earnestly, "I didn't notice last night, but this morning, I saw that something was wrong with you! At first, I thought you were just tired, hadn't rested well. I didn't pay much attention to it. But when you said you were giving me back to Daddy, I realized the situation was far more serious than I had thought."Patricia rolled her eyes at him, "And you cried so sadly? To an outsider, it might seem as though you had lost your parents!""…??" Charles replied helplessly, "Would anyone really curse themselves like that?"Patricia: "…??"That comparison really didn't seem quite appropriate.Charles went on, "I was t
Martin, lost in thought and gazing into the distance, didn't see Charlotte deliberately fall to the ground when her relatives reached out to her."Ah..."Her cry successfully snapped Martin back to reality.He immediately bent down to help her up. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"Charlotte, tears welling up in her eyes, replied pitifully, "My wrist hurts so much, I think I've fallen on it again! I hope it's not dislocated?"Martin noticed the bandage on her wrist had come undone.The packet of medicine inside was nearly falling out. Anger started to well up inside him; this time, he was thoroughly enraged."Alan, take all of them to the police station, contact the lawyer, charge them with slander, intentional harm, extortion... I want them in jail."Feeling his boss's rage, Alan immediately carried out the order."Why are you suing us? We're the ones who have been wronged.""Just because you're wealthy doesn't put you above the law. Let me tell you, we won't back down without pr
Hunter looked at her with tenderness, patiently waiting for her to finish speaking.Seeing his gentle expression, Patricia found it difficult to voice the words at the tip of her tongue. Nervously she reached for the lemon water on the table and took a gulp.She drank too hastily, and the sourness made her teeth quiver, causing her face to scrunch up.Hunter was amused by her adorable expression and considerately poured a little packet of sugar into her lemon water."I remember you used to hate sour tastes! What changed? Are you not afraid anymore? Going straight for it?" he asked with a smile.With her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and faced with his caring gesture, found her words of refusal even harder to pronounce.Hunter stirred the water in her cup with a straw for a while, making sure the sugar dissolved, then handed it back to her: "Here, try now. It shouldn't be sour anymore."Patricia nodded and took a sip through the straw. The taste was a bittersweet delight.Although
Only when the phone’s ringtone broke the silence, the deadlock was finally broken.Martin glanced at the caller ID with a gloomy expression, sighed, turned the phone upside down on his thigh in resignation. He turned to Patricia, unbuckled his seatbelt, and moved closer, taking hold of her shoulders. With a serious and helpless look on his face, he said, "Patricia, I'm sorry, I admit I was too overbearing just now. But I'm being overprotective because I care about you so much, and I don't want to see you getting too close with Hunter."Care? It was the first time Patricia had heard this word from him.The anger in her chest dissipated almost instantly, and her tone softened unconsciously. "Hunter and I grew up together. When Debbie and her daughter bullied me, he was the one who protected and encouraged me time after time. He is very important to me. If a condition for remarrying you is to cut ties with him, then I can give you the answer now."Even without her saying it, Martin gues
Martin didn't give her a chance to escape, questioning every word, "So, is what Hunter said true? Are you really going to get engaged and marry him?"Patricia felt that the matters between her and Hunter couldn't be explained in just a few words, and moreover, everything was premature without having cleared things up with Hunter first.Seeing her still not responding, Martin grew impatient and urged, "Answer my question."Patricia pulled her hand back and said indifferently, "I won't marry him."That was her only answer. The rest, she wasn't ready to share with Martin yet.This answer caused a surge of joy in Martin's heart, his previously tense facial features gradually softened as he smiled like a child, unable to hide his delight."I knew you wouldn't like him." He said.Patricia rolled her eyes at him, "Now take me back to the restaurant."The smile on Martin's face vanished in an instant, and he refused without hesitation, "No, I won’t..."Before he could finish, his cell phone r
Upon hearing his question, Patricia burst into laughter, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "So what if it is? What difference does it make if it isn't?"She did not deny it.Martin took her non-denial as an admission, and his handsome face darkened like the bottom of a pot, his eyes filled with brooding shadows."I don't agree.""Haha..." Patricia laughed even harder, her snort of derision loud and unmasked. "And might I ask, who are you to me? By what right do you interfere? What does it matter to you whom I'm with? At best, you're nothing more than my ex-husband. Remember, ex-hus-band."She enunciated the words “ex-husband” deliberately, making sure he grasped their significance.Martin's normally composed brows furrowed, wrapping him in an aura of cold sternness.He was clearly displeased with these words. Then silence hung in the air, heavy and enigmatic.He spoke with grave seriousness, "Let's remarry!"As he spoke, a chilly wind blew past them, its whistling sound drowning out Mar
Hunter expected Martin to back down and leave in a sorry state.However, to his surprise, Martin’s expression was filled with pain as he stared at their clasped hands for a moment and then strode over to them.Confusion filled Patricia as she instinctively turned her head and locked eyes with Martin, whose gaze burned with fierce anger. Her mind felt like it was exploding as if something detonated."How did you get here?" Patricia asked, barely able to form the words.No sooner had the words left her lips than Martin had reached out, forcibly separating Patricia and Hunter's clasped hands. In Patricia's stunned state, he grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away."Martin, what are you doing?" Patricia's heart began to flutter with slight panic.Martin's face had been a ghastly sight just now, as if he was on the verge of a killing spree. She had no clue where his rage was coming from.Hunter quickly stood up and seized Patricia's other wrist, forcing Martin to stop. Martin turned
The doctor conducted a thorough examination of Charlotte. Her wrist wasn't fractured but had suffered from a dislocation and soft tissue damage."Mr. Langley, please hold her tightly. I'm about to reset the bones in her wrist, which may cause some discomfort. Keep her steady, and do not let her move.""Bone reset!" Just hearing it, Charlotte's eyes widened with fear, and her body trembled. Despite this, she bravely closed her eyes, extended her hand, and prepared herself for the pain. "Go ahead! I'm not afraid of the pain!"The doctor looked surprised and said, "It's going to be very painful. Are you sure you're not afraid?"His words instantly drained the color from her face, but she vigorously nodded, clenching her teeth, and refusing to voice her fear."I'm not afraid! Back when I was boarding at school, someone pushed me down the stairs, and I broke my leg but didn’t cry. I can handle this pain!" she explained."You were pushed down the stairs?" Martin's discerning eyes narrowed,
Patricia's heart skipped a beat. She knew she had been framed, again. And this woman's tactics were identical to Debbie's.Not only did she remind her of Debbie, but her methods and cunning were also the same. Indeed, Martin's taste had never changed. He always liked these hypocritical, nauseating women who could put on an act.The incident had happened too quickly; the onlookers only saw a scuffle but hadn't truly seen who had started it. They only saw someone fall and another with a hand outstretched as if pushing, so they naturally assumed Patricia was the aggressor."Professor Watson, what happened? Why did you push her?" one on looker asked."Yes, Professor Watson, is there some conflict between you two? If so, have a proper conversation about it. Getting physical in public won't do your reputation any favors." Another said."Yes! Professor Watson, perhaps you and her should talk in your office? It's not convenient in this corridor."After the incident with Debbie, everyone's vie
Martin had thought he would be calm when he saw Patricia again, as if nothing had ever happened.But in this moment, with Patricia standing right in front of him, his heart raced with intense emotions that he had suppressed for so long. It was in that moment that he realized the depth of his love for her, far greater than he had ever imagined.He couldn't bear to see her with Hunter, nor could he draw a clear line between them. "You..."Martin's lips parted as he tried to speak to her, to bridge the distance between them.Unfortunately, Patricia had made up her mind to keep her distance, and with her head bowed, she took a step back, yielding the path ahead.Martin clenched his fists tightly, struggling to contain the anger and turmoil within him. Unaware of the tension between Martin and Patricia, Charlotte flashed a sweet smile at Martin and said, “Martin, let’s go! I can’t wait to see Randy!”Patricia smirked derisively, her lips curling up."Well, isn’t that affectionate?"Marti