Jenny finally had free time after Jade and Max's wedding. Thankfully, the holiday was coming to an end as well, which meant she would be returning to work at the hospital, sparing her from the boredom of staying at home."Dr. Walter, are you back from the holiday?" When she got back to the department office, she was greeted by many. She nodded and responded to them. She much preferred the environment in the hospital. While there was competition sometimes, most staff were focused on their patients and didn't engage in workplace drama.On the first day of her return, she had to meet a seemingly endless number of patients. The consultations went on until 7 pm. The sudden busyness tired her out, but she felt exhilarated at the same time."Are you done with work?" Alec showed up at the door when she wasn't looking. He was dressed in a grey coat and was leaning against the door frame. Looking at him from afar, he had a distant quality that would keep people away from him. Only Jenny knew
While Jenny and Alec were flirting with each other, Stephanie ran into someone she wished she wouldn't meet. She had just got off work when she noticed a man standing in the elevator lobby of her apartment. She immediately halted in her tracks as she stared at him in astonishment and nervousness.She did not know why he came to meet her this late in the day. Perhaps, she was a little traumatized and scared of him due to the unsavory incidents that she went through in the past.Still, she gritted her teeth and went up to him with much courage. She kept a few steps in the distance between them, which was just perfect for a conversation or an immediate escape."What are you doing here?" she asked. Paul threw away the cigarette butt between his fingers and glanced at her. "Why are you standing so far away from me?"She ignored him and reiterated, "Why are you here?""Nothing. I just wanted to ask if you're with Leonard Sullivan now." Alec had broken the news to him with the intentio
Stephanie's greatest fear had come true. She was most fearful when Paul lost control. She knew he'd do anything in that situation, even imprisoning her in his villa. She refused to go through that harrowing experience again. When she was trapped and troubled, a figure appeared from behind her and punched Paul to the ground."Leonard? Why are you here?" She was surprised to see him because he should be working his shift at the police station. He shielded her and stared at Paul in a hostile manner. "You didn't reply to my texts, so I was worried and had to visit you."He started worrying when she didn't reply to his texts in time. Moreover, he knew Paul's wretched character and needed to check on Stephanie in person. Thankfully, he had arrived on time to protect her."I'm sorry that I worry you." She looked a little embarrassed. When she first agreed to date Leonard, she decided to leave the past behind and tied all the loose ends with Paul. To her dismay, he still came to her apa
Back at Alec's villa, Alec served dinner in no time and sat down to eat with Jenny. The two chatted during dinner, mostly about the interesting episodes in her consultations. While talking, a thought crossed his mind, and he said, "I have an event on Sunday. Do you want to go with me?"Since they started dating, they had not attended official events as a couple. Sunday's event would be a great time to do so."Sure," she agreed immediately since she would be free on Sunday."Here. Eat up." He piled food on her plate with a smile. He was clearly in a good mood. Although their days looked simple and monotonous, it was a dream come true for him.After dinner, he went back to work in his study. Jenny went to the living room to read. After the previous incident, she didn't follow him to the study anymore—she'd be distracted from her reading, and he'd struggle to focus on work.She was reading profession-related books to prepare for a professional exam in two months. Even with her talent
Alec joined Jenny in checking out the information in an attempt to help. After she was done reading, the expression on her face grew serious.Just as she had guessed, her mom, Lynette, came from an impressive background. The Bell family was quite something. But Jenny had never heard of the family in Bardoff City, which could only mean that the family was located somewhere else.She glanced at Mr. Ortiz's current location—he was in Bayside City. It was a city near the sea. She had heard of the place before. Residents of Bayside were rumored to be good in business, and they mostly ran family businesses. The families there were very united."Alec, how possible do you think it's the doing of my mom's family?" she asked him. He gave it some thought and answered, "Judging from the situation and the details you shared about your parents, I think it's highly possible that her family took your dad."From the clues in the past, one could tell that Lynette Bell's family was against her marr
When Jenny boarded a flight out of Bardoff City, she could not help but lament her hectic life due to all the things she had to deal with. She wondered how Graham was holding up, hoping nothing bad had happened to him.This time around, Alec did not join her on the trip to Bayside City. On the one hand, he was busy with work in Faust Group; on the other hand, Jenny was confident she could handle the matter independently. She was far from helpless and handled most things in life well on her own. He was worried about her but did not insist on going with her—he knew her personality too well. There was no changing her mind once she arrived at a decision.It was a four-hour trip from Bardoff City to Bayside City, a longer trip than to Parrington. That was no surprise because Bayside was closer to the sea. While everyone in Bardoff was huddled up in coats, the residents of Bayside could show off in summer dresses.When Jenny alighted the plane in her coat, she was instantly attacked by th
After that, Jenny headed straight toward the villa, marching as though she was on her way to a battle. Mr. Ortiz hurried after her. The last thing he wanted to see was Jenny getting herself in trouble after what had happened to Graham.She knocked on the door. A pair of servants, one old and one young, answered the door fairly soon, and both frowned at the visitors. "Who are you? And what are you here for?"It was common knowledge among the residents of Bayside City that this area was the territory of the Bells. No one would stir trouble there because that'd be courting death. Jenny and Mr. Ortiz didn't look like locals to the servants."I'm here to meet the head of the Bell family," Jenny announced. The young man frowned and smirked. "Who do you think you are? How dare you demand to meet the head? You…""I am the daughter of Lynette Bell. Pass the message to him. Let's see if he will meet me or not," Jenny fired back boldly. She was confident that the Bells would be curious abou
"Is Graham Walter looking for Lynette? But why? It's been many years, and he should have put the past behind him," Barry thought. Barry and Georgina had many questions in their head, but instead of saying them out loud, they treated Jenny coldly. "Are you suspecting us of taking your dad?""I can't think of anyone else who'd do that aside from the Bell family. That's why I came here to clear things up," Jenny explained, her eyes remained fixed on the couple. She observed the look in their eyes and was puzzled by their shocked faces when they heard that Graham was searching for Lynette. Did they not know about Graham's disappearance at all? Who would be the mastermind behind the disappearance if not them?"Hmph! That's ridiculous." Barry scoffed, looking displeased. "Graham Walter thinks too highly of himself. We'd never waste time on him. And you—who do you think you are? Why should we prove ourselves to you?"Her expression fell. The rumors appeared to be true—the Bell family was t
That afternoon, Gilbert called off his engagement to the Silveras. He did not pick up a single one of Lottie's calls. When he found Marigold, she was taking Caleb on a stroll around the neighborhood. It had been a while since she'd taken notice of anything related to Gilbert. She suddenly felt how nice it was to have her mental energy spent somewhere else, no longer being so hung up on that man. However, when Gilbert appeared before her, her heartbeat quickened. "Why are you here?" Marigold said, snapping out of her reverie. Gilbert smiled lightly. Without saying much else, he pulled her into an embrace. "Didn't you say that I could come to see you once everything is settled?" Marigold was stunned. She was in disbelief. "So, what you're saying is it's all over?" "Didn't you read the news?" Gilbert was speechless. "No. I didn't want to care." Every time she saw anything about Gilbert and Lottie, she felt miserable. She'd rather save herself the pain and block out anything
In the end, Esther went with Gilbert's suggestion. However, she did not trade Bradshaw Operation's projects with Jenny. She went with the Silveras. For one, she did not trust the Walters. On the other hand, the Silveras and the Bradshaws were going to be united through marriage. They deserved to be trusted more. Gilbert didn't mind. After all, if anything happened to the Bradshaws, the Silveras would not help. With those projects in hand, they would only fall further into debt. The plan was going smoothly. Gilbert had not gone to see Marigold once. He knew that before subduing the Bradshaws, going to visit Marigold would only endanger her. After all, Marigold was safe. Nothing had happened, and Caleb was growing up healthily. One month later, things began to feel off in Bradshaw Operations. After Faust Group received their money, they did not start the project. No one knew what they were doing. Esther was feeling antsy. She prodded Gilbert to ask if there was anything wro
That very afternoon, Esther and Gilbert rushed to Faust Group to sign the deal. Gilbert said he was worried that Alec would change his mind, so he urged Esther to sign it. Only through a written contract would they be able to relax. Esther thought it made sense and agreed to rush to Faust Group with Gilbert.In the meeting room, Alec looked at the two people before him, expressionless. "You have a good son, Mrs. Bradshaw." "I'm flattered. My son had Bradshaw Operations' interests at heart. He'll inevitably be a little insensitive. Please don't hold that against him, Mr. Faust." Esther smiled. She didn't mind Alec's sarcasm because it didn't matter. As long as Bradshaw Operations could truly benefit from this, she didn't care how much Alec mocked her. Alec smiled coldly and slid the contract over to her. "You may flip through it." Esther took it and read through it seriously.If this project succeeded, they would reap massive rewards. However, it required a massive upfront inv
In the following days, Gilbert headed over to Faust Group infrequently during the day. To others, he was there to talk business with Alec. But in reality, it was a different scenario altogether. Vincent brought Gilbert a cup of coffee in Alec's office. Because of all the times he'd been there, Vincent knew what he wanted without having to ask. Alec had a cup of coffee placed before him, too. Everyone thought that Gilbert was trying to convince Alec to give him one of the shares, which was why he always came there, but that was not the case. The collaboration was a set-up. As long as the Bradshaws signed the deal on the project, they would not escape unscathed. Gilbert had planned this for a long time just to trick the Bradshaws into accepting the project. However, the scheme had to be executed perfectly. Since Gilbert buttered up the project in front of the Bradshaws, Alec had to feign disinterest in his collaboration. Otherwise, it would seem suspicious if Alec, a smart ma
After the engagement party, Gilbert officially had a stronghold in Bradshaw operations. Because he was already very capable, he had a lot of supporters. No one challenged him in the company. Most of them sucked up to him because they knew that if things went well, he would be the heir of the company.Gilbert didn't really care about that. He didn't even want to be there for long. He knocked on Esther's door and walked into her office."Come, sit." Esther was all smiles when she saw him. It was more sincere than before.She used to doubt him a lot, but now, although she still had her reservations, she mostly believed in him. In her eyes, no one would reject the chance to inherit Bradshaw Operations. This was basically manna from Heaven. Gilbert just didn't know it back then, and now he did. Gilbert sat down in front of Esther and began reporting the information he had gathered, as well as his thoughts on Bradshaw Operations and his plans for the future.When he presented the inf
Gilbert and Lottie's engagement party was held at Bardoff Grand Hotel on Saturday.A ton of people showed up to their engagement party. After all, the Bradshaws and the Silveras were pretty big names in Bardoff City, and plenty of the other families knew of their true wealth. They all came to attend the party. Jenny and Alec had both received invites. Jenny was Gilbert's sister, and on top of that, they represented the Walters and the Fausts. It was to be expected. At first, Jenny didn't want to go. The party held no meaning to it. It was just a show put on for Esther. It would be a complete waste of her time. However, she was talked into it by Alec. It would be weird if she didn't go. Zack brought Janet to the party. He found Jenny and was in a daze. "Wasn't Gilbert courting Marigold? Why is he engaged to Lottie?" Jenny rolled her eyes. "What have you been doing, Zack? You're really bad at keeping up." Gilbert had been courting Lottie for a while now. If Zack paid attention
Gilbert drove to Jenny's villa, but he was in no rush to get down. He didn't unlock the doors, either. He obviously wanted to talk to Marigold. But Marigold evidently didn't want to. "I want to take my child and leave." She was afraid. What if Gilbert and Lottie married and took her child away? She no longer believed in love. The only thing she believed in was her child. Gilbert tightened his grip when he heard that. "Marigold, the engagement is only for Esther to see. I have no feelings for Lottie." "Who knows? People change. You said you didn't have feelings for me, too." Marigold found this all very amusing. Perhaps this was fate. Gilbert wanted to keep explaining, but Marigold did not give him the chance to. "Just let me and Caleb leave. If what you say is true, you can come to find us once everything is over." And if Gilbert didn't come looking for her, the truth would unfold itself, and she would give up all hope. Gilbert understood that Marigold had already made
Marigold was miserable throughout dinner, but she persevered till the end without being too dramatic. After dinner, they walked to the entrance of the shopping mall.Gilbert went to get the car. Lottie stood with Jenny and Marigold. Watching Gilbert leave, she turned toward Marigold. "I heard that you used to like Gilbert very much." "It's all in the past. It's not worth mentioning." Marigold didn't want to talk about it. She was afraid that Lottie would see that she still liked Gilbert. Most importantly, she was afraid that Gilbert's plan would be ruined. Lottie smiled. "That's true. The past is the past. You're such a nice person. You'll definitely be able to find someone better suited for you in the future." Marigold pursed her lips. Gilbert soon brought the car over. Lottie was about to get into the car, but before she did, she suddenly turned to Marigold and said, "Gilbert and my engagement party will be in a few days' time. If you have the time, you're more than welcom
Everyone was shocked to hear her speak so suddenly. Lottie was stunned, and she explained, "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I just think that if the child follows his father, it'll help him develop better, and you'll be less stressed." "I don't need your concern. I can raise my child alone," Marigold snorted. She did not hold back at all. Lottie looked unpleasant. Gilbert had no choice but to step in. "We'll have our own child together. And whoever likes it the most will get to keep it." Although they knew that Gilbert had meant this for Lottie to hear, Marigold found it extremely upsetting. She looked at Gilbert, and for a moment, she was unable to tell if he was being genuine. She thought of all that Gilbert had said to her last night, saying that he didn't like Lottie and had no intention of marrying her. But he looked to be truly in love. Marigold didn't think she could tell if he was faking it. "I'm sorry. I need to go to the restroom." Marigold didn't w