"She likes you, but you already know that." Marigold had turned to Jenny for help because she most definitely had already told Gilbert about how she felt but was faced with his rejection.Gilbert scoffed. "Likes me? Who knows if it's a trap set by the Wagners? They've always done underhanded things to achieve their goals."Were the Wagners that pathetic? Before Jenny could think of a reason, Alec walked over. "That's not right of you to say, Gilbert. Who hasn't done underhanded things in the business world? And that includes you."Marigold stood next to Alec, her eyes reddened. Evidently, she had heard Gilbert's words."I quite forgot that you're close with the Wagners, Mr. Faust, especially with Paul Wagner. People even say that you're like brothers. Of course you'd stick up for them," Gilbert said sarcastically. His words implied that he turned up his nose at the Wagners, and now, even Alec.Alec didn't deny it and said, "So what if we're close? Do you have something to say?""
Marigold left right after she spoke. Jenny stole a glance at Gilbert's expression. It was worse than before."Didn't you always tell me not to judge a book by its cover?" Jenny said after a moment's silence. "Maybe the Wagners are dislikeable, but that doesn't mean that every member of the family is bad. At least, I think Marigold's decent."Gilbert said nothing. She didn't know what he was thinking. He stared at the direction in which Marigold left for a long time, still lost in his thoughts."Gilbert?" Jenny called. He came back to his senses.He looked at Jenny and said, "You're just too naive. Is she going to announce her motives while getting close to me?""Aren't you overthinking things? Marigold is just a girl. You can choose not to like her, but accusing her of evil intentions that she may or may not have is going overboard," Alec finally said, unable to bear it anymore. He and Marigold were not close, only coming into contact with her through Paul, but he could tell that
"Stephanie? Didn't she come here with you?" Mr. Walker looked bewildered. "A few days ago, she said she was going to stay over at your place. You didn't know?"Jenny was stunned. Stephanie hadn't mentioned anything like that."Something happened to you, right? Once you got back, Stephanie said she was going to keep you company for a few days. I figured that since you'd been through an earthquake, you'd need the support. So I didn't think too much of it and let her go," Mr. Walker continued.Jenny didn't answer. She remembered how Stephanie had called her to check in on her but had not come to see her. Jenny thought that she was busy, but that wasn't the case, apparently.Her silence made Mr. Walker nervous. "What's wrong? Didn't she go to see you?""No. She gave me a call but never visited. I thought she was busy, so I didn't think too much of it." Who would have known that Stephanie told her father she was coming to see her? Wasn't this a blatant lie?Now Mr. Walker was truly ne
Jenny had departed quickly and without telling Alec. So, when Alec noticed she was missing, he called her and learned about Stephanie's situation."Don't worry, alright? I'll send someone out to look for her, too." Alec said."Thank you," she said. If Alec was willing to help, they would find Stephanie faster.When the call ended, Alec ordered Vincent to get someone to do the job. He then felt that it wasn't enough and called Paul as well."Help me find someone," he said once the call was accepted."Who?" Paul's voice was calm. Alec had no idea what he was doing, and he couldn't care at the moment. He told Paul about Stephanie. But then, Paul did not answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He thought this was weird."Is there a problem?" Alec asked. Finding someone was an easy task for Paul. It was the first time he was reacting this way.After a moment, Paul laughed lightly on the other end. "She's got such a good friend.""What does that mean?" Alec frowned. He could sense
Facing his friend, Paul didn't hide things from him. He told Alec about his situation with Stephanie and asked, "Do you think I'm wrong?""Of course!" Alec responded at once. "If you really like her, you have to pursue her the right way and make her your girlfriend. And if you don't like her, quit wasting her time. Now you're forbidding her from being your girlfriend, yet you're not letting her go. I'd call you a motherfucker, but you're worse than that."He had no idea what his friend was thinking. If he liked her, why was he treating her like this? Who could accept it?Paul frowned, his expression solemn. "You know what my family is like. I could never marry her."He didn't want things to be this way, but he knew how the Wagners worked. If he got together with Stephanie, he wouldn't just be making her miserable; he'd be hurting her too. Alec grew quiet. The Wagners were much more complicated than the Fausts. Alec could pursue whomever he wanted, but Paul had no such liberty."
Jenny left the Walkers' house after comforting Stephanie's parents.The moment she stepped outside, she called Zack and Gilbert. As expected, there was no news regarding Stephanie. It was as if she had never existed—there was no trace of her anywhere.Jenny was afraid for Stephanie. Something could have happened to her.She thought about it for a while and called Alec, hoping to get a lead."Jenny." Alec's low voice sounded from the receiver. He sounded a little stiff, but the anxious Jenny didn't notice."Have you…found anything?" Jenny asked. Her palms were sweaty. If Alec hadn't found anything, she had no idea what to do.Alec was silent. He didn't wish to lie to Jenny, but at the thought of Paul, his lifelong best friend, he had no choice but to do so."Alec Faust?" Jenny said again, not receiving an answer. Her heart thumped hard.Alec came back to his senses. "I'm sorry, Jenny. I found nothing."At once, Jenny fell into despair. If Alec couldn't find her, who could? Just
Stephanie was missing for three days. Jenny had turned up empty-handed.She'd gone to the police station countless times, and Jenny had begged several people for help, but still, there was no news of her. Jenny's heart began sinking little by little.In Gilbert's villa, Jenny checked the surveillance cameras alone in the room. She didn't give up just yet.Gilbert and Zack stood at the doorway, worried. "Bro, can't you tell her to rest? If she keeps doing that…""It's no use. She won't stop until she finds Stephanie." Gilbert knew Jenny very well, so he had not told her to stop."It's so absurd. How can a person vanish just like that? If not for Jenny's insistence, I'd think her friend had never existed." Zack began doubting his technical skills.Gilbert frowned. He knew how great Zack's and Jenny's skills were and found this very weird, too. It shouldn't be this way.After a while, he walked into the room, stopping next to Jenny."Jenny," he said.Jenny stopped typing. "Is the
"Of course he'd cover for his friend," Jenny thought.She remembered the call she had with Alec that day. His tone was off, and she hadn't noticed anything then. But now that she looked back on it, it seemed obvious.It was no wonder that Alec didn't come to see her these past few days. He didn't contact her often, either. He was probably afraid that he would give something away.At once, it felt as if a huge rock were weighing down on Jenny. She couldn't breathe.She got up and walked out of the room. "I'm going to make a call."Gilbert didn't ask her any questions. He guessed that Jenny was going to call Alec. He was happy to see this happening. He didn't believe for one second that Alec knew nothing about this, and Jenny would not believe it, either.Jenny went to the balcony and took a deep breath before calling Alec."Jenny?" Alec's voice sounded the moment the call went through. He seemed surprised that Jenny would call him.She said nothing, suddenly realizing she didn'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