Gilbert was stunned as he never thought his feelings had hurt Jenny. "Jenny, I—""Gilbert, I know you never intended to hurt me. But your feelings hurt me. It hurts that they ruined the siblinghood we shared for so many years. Do you understand?" That was the reason why she had avoided Gilbert. She was afraid of the situation she was currently in, afraid that she couldn't even call him her brother. They had spent so many years together, was it all going to end just like that?Gilbert was silent for a while, wearing a pained smile. "That's why you will never like me, right? Even if I don't want this brother-sister relationship?""Yes." Jenny nodded without hesitation, looking him in the eye. "If you give up on our siblinghood, it will only make me hate you." She didn't want things to evolve to that state. Gilbert sighed as if he had resigned to his fate. "I know.""So, what is your choice?" Jenny asked warily, afraid that Gilbert would still insist on pursuing her. If he did, what
Gilbert didn't stay at Jenny's house that night. After watching him leave with Zack in a taxi, Jenny returned to her apartment. The sight of Alec still sprawled across the table gave her a headache."Alec?" Jenny walked over to him and shoved him, but he didn't respond. "If you can't drink, why did you drink so much?" she grumbled. Then, she helped him up and brought him to the guest room.She wanted to help him back to his condo, but unfortunately, she didn't have the keys to his house. After finally getting him inside her guest room, she threw him hard on the bed. However, due to inertia, Jenny ended up on the bed, pressing on Alec's body. Finding herself in that awkward situation, she let out a loud squawk. He was so close that the sound of his breathing rang in her ears, causing Jenny to blush.She was grateful that Alec was asleep. Otherwise, he might even accuse her of molesting him. With that in mind, she was about to get up from the bed, but someone grabbed her wrist suddenl
When Alec woke up in Jenny's house the next day, his mind was still flooded with last night's memories. The thought of the kiss made him smile goofily. He reached out and touched his lips as if he could still feel Jenny's warm lips. He heard a voice from outside the door; it was probably Jenny. Without hesitating, he quickly got up from bed and opened the door to see her in the living room. When their eyes met, neither spoke, and they began blushing hard, especially Jenny.Glaring at Alec angrily, she said, "The toiletries are in the bathroom. I happened to have some extra lying around, so you can use them."Nobody of the opposite gender had stayed overnight in her house, not even Gilbert and Zack. Who knew Alec would be the first?"Thank you." Alec nodded. He turned and walked into the bathroom.Outside the guest room, Jenny silently cursed him for pretending to be a gentleman. After last night…Jenny sighed at the thought. Smacking her forehead, she told herself not to think a
"Zack," Gilbert called, his voice heavy. "I may have to leave for a while. I believe you'll take good care of Jenny when I'm gone, right?"Zack froze in his tracks and instantly turned to look at him. "Leave? Where are you going?""I need to attend to matters regarding my company's overseas business. I'm going to investigate them."Hearing that, Zack rolled his eyes at him. "Oh, a business trip! I thought you were planning to leave for good.""There are a lot of things going on over there, so I may not be back so soon," Gilbert elaborated.Zack, who was in the middle of sighing in relief, instantly frowned. Studying Gilbert, he realized he was serious. He jerked upright and snarled, "Why are you doing this? You're trying to escape!" He was not stupid. Since Gilbert suddenly wanted to leave, there was only one reason. Zack assumed it was because he never resolved things with Jenny. "Maybe." Gilbert didn't deny it. "If I remain here, I'm afraid I won't be able to control my feelin
At La Vie Jen Rose Designs, Jenny's conversation with Jade had just ended when she received a call from Zack. After he finished reporting to her, Jenny asked, "So, he was employed by Yvonne because his sister was seriously ill, and he wanted to use the money to treat his sister?""According to the information I've found, that seems to be the case," Zack replied.Jenny was conflicted. Jonathan was a skilled martial artist, but he had aided Yvonne in her plans, knocking Jenny out and putting her in the room where Steven was killed. As a result, she was nearly framed as a murderer.She had found it strange that someone as skilled as Jonathan would aid Yvonne, so she asked Zack to investigate Jonathan's background. Little did she know, he had a younger sister who was seriously ill. It suddenly made sense why Jonathan became Yvonne's hitman. It was likely that he was extremely short of money. Knowing that, the anger she had harbored toward him also dissipated."Yvonne is really cruel. A
Jenny thought that Wednesday would be an ordinary day. However, the day proved otherwise when she received a call from prison informing her of Jonathan's death. The news caught her by surprise, and she was stunned for a long time before she returned to her senses. Half an hour later, she arrived at the prison."How did he die?" she asked the warden, a little worried that Yvonne had silenced Jonathan. Since the incident happened so long ago, wasn't it too late to silence him?The warden's answer cleared her suspicions. "He died by suicide.""Suicide?" Jenny raised her voice without realizing it. "Why would he commit suicide?"It was not like Jonathan to commit suicide. Why did he suddenly commit suicide?"We don't know what happened. When we found him, he was already dead," the warden replied.Jenny had too many questions, but she knew asking the warden all of them was pointless. She requested to see Jonathan's body, and the warden complied. After carefully inspecting Jonathan's
Seeing Zack's reaction, Gilbert knew he hadn't realized his mistake at all. After a moment, he said, "You better tell Jenny about it. She's probably confused by the news of Jonathan's death.""Wait, are you asking me to tell her I caused his death?" Jenny would rip him to shreds if he did that. Gilbert stared at him and replied, "Didn't you?"Zack fell silent. All he wanted was to express his anger on Jenny's behalf. He didn't attack Jonathan physically; all he did was mock and ridiculed him. Just like that, he became a murderer?Nonetheless, he heeded his brother's advice in the end. He called Jenny and confessed that he had met Jonathan in prison. Jenny was still in Alec's car when she received Zack's phone call. Hearing his story, she had mixed emotions."What's the matter?" Alec asked after the call ended, sensing that her expression wasn't quite right.Jenny didn't try to hide it from him. "I found the reason behind Jonathan's suicide."Alec was puzzled. How did she find o
"Well, you'll have to give me the chance to cook for you." Alec turned around to look at Jenny. "So, will you give me a chance?"Regretting her words, she blinked and looked at the restaurant. "I haven't been here before. It looks wonderful." She walked into the restaurant, leaving him shaking his head defeatedly at her awkward change of topic.The waiter led them to the reserved table by the window. On the 30th floor, they had a perfect vista of the brilliant night view.Jenny looked out of the window, lost in thoughts. When she thought about it, she had never seen Parrington's night view after living here for a long time, not even in the two free years when she had been married to Alec."Have a taste of their signature menu. I wonder if you'd like it." He brought her to a Cagliostronese restaurant that he thought was good, but he had no idea if it matched her preference. She tasted the food and nodded. "Yeah, it's good.""Eat up. You probably haven't been eating well because y
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