Morgan nodded, finding some truth in Jenny's words. "My dad wants me to let you know that things have settled down in the company, Jenny. We'll be sure to turn out profits for you with your investment."Jenny laughed. "Alright. I trust you guys.""Why don't we have lunch toge—""Done with work, Jenny? Let's have lunch," Christopher cut in, appearing from thin air like those weird gnomes in peoples' gardens.Morgan paused and glanced at him. It wasn't the first time she had seen this man. Her heartbeat increased in pace as she gazed at his face. She quickly shook her head, tossing that idea to the back of her mind. Christopher liked Jenny. She'd never dreamed of competing with her.Jenny didn't know what was going on in Morgan's mind, but her smile faded upon hearing Christopher's suggestion. "No need. I'm busy?""Busy? With what?" Christopher knew she was rejecting him on purpose. He wasn't upset, though. In fact, he was determined to stick around.It made Jenny's hackles rise.
Morgan didn't know what to say. She simply followed them into the car, not coming to her senses until they reached the café.When they were ordering, Christopher went to make a call, telling his grandfather about working with the Goldings."Jenny, you really don't have to bother about us if you don't like him. I'm sure my dad can find better clients to work with, not just with the Spades," Morgan said, feeling bad about the situation."I know, but…" Jenny eyed Christopher. "He's not going to give up even if we don't have lunch. So, I might as well squeeze some benefit from this." She had come to realize that Christopher wasn't going to let her go so easily after being followed around by him like a sick puppy. Given his tenacity, no wonder he became heir to his family.Just then, the man came back to the table. "Finished with your orders already? Remember, it's my treat, so just order what you like."He had been feeling great ever since Jenny broke up with Alec, feeling like his
The sudden question made Christopher stare fixedly at her for several seconds. "What?""Just tell me if it's possible," Jenny sighed. She just wanted this over and done with.Christopher gave it some thought before asking, "So you're willing to be my girlfriend?"The moment he asked this, Morgan spoke up, "Jenny, don—""Hell no!" Jenny huffed. "I mean, will your grandfather tell me the truth if I go to Bardoff City with you, not as your girlfriend." Christopher's frown wasn't hopeful. Jenny shrugged. "Alright. Let's pretend I never asked.""Hey, don't give up yet. There is a slight possibility." His grandfather might actually reveal the truth to Jenny if she came knocking on his door."You think so?" Jenny beamed. A trip to Bardoff wouldn't hurt. She'd even benefit by knowing the grand truth behind Christopher's hot-headed pursuit.Christopher nodded. "I know my grandfather, so yeah.""Alright. Give me a couple days to prepare for the trip to the city."This was great news for
"Who'd want to be with Alec again?!" Jenny thought furiously, glaring at Christopher.Just then, Alec and the woman entered the cafe. Jenny turned away from them, indignant.Unfortunately, Jenny and Christopher were quickly spotted by Alec in the small cafe. Alec's sour expression immediately turned gloomy. Jenny wasn't even going to look at him?Christopher smirked, meeting Alec's gaze. He prodded Jenny's plate. "Eat your food. Channel that rage into your appetite."Jenny didn't respond. When she looked up, Alec had already gone into a private booth in the cafe.The anger in her chest boiled dangerously. She directed it to Christopher. "What are you, eight?""Maybe." Christopher met her rage with a grin. He was delighted right now, more so than when Jenny had said she'd go to Bardoff City with him. Sometimes, he wondered if he wanted to date Jenny or if he just wanted to see Alec and Jenny at odds with each other.Jenny sighed, ignoring him further lest she had a stroke.Morga
Alec was taken aback at how fast Natalia called it off. He wasn't upset, though—he wasn't interested in Natalia anyway. "I see. Alright."Looked like Natalia didn't hit his marks either. No wonder he was so indifferent. She huffed and got up to leave before her anger started peaking. "Goodbye.""Why don't you have lunch first, Miss Cruz? We're already here. I want to discuss a business opportunity with you.""Oh? Sure." Natalia sat back, now curious as to what Alec had in mind.The two had their lunch, oblivious to Jenny's terrible mood.After dropping Morgan off, the car was filled with tense silence."Don't you wanna know who the woman is? Alec's female friend?"Who was she?All Jenny knew was that she wasn't from Parrington; otherwise, she'd have seen her profile during her investigation."She's Natalia Cruz from Bardoff City's Cruz family." Christopher had seen her a couple times during public events but never spoken to her. She was a proud woman, that one.Cruz family fr
Back at the apartment, Jenny lay on the couch with her laptop against her chest. If Christopher saw what she was looking at now, he'd definitely make fun of her.Every single bit of information available online about the Cruzes was opened on Jenny's laptop.Christopher hadn't lied when he said it was Natalia Cruz Alec had gone to the cafe with. The Cruzes were of similar status to the Spades in Parrington, both second-class.She really didn't know what to feel right now. Alec wouldn't meet up with a woman for no reason, especially alone. Jenny shook the thoughts away. She really had nothing to do with all of it anymore. With that in mind, Jenny switched off her laptop and went to her bedroom to sleep.Just then, someone knocked at her door. It was already 10 pm. Who could be knocking at her door at this hour? Jenny went to open the door, coming face to face with Alec himself."You—"The man lunged at her, cornering her against the wall. He reeked of alcohol.Jenny pushed at
Too far? Not to Alec. His eyes brimmed with emotion. "It's not what you think, Jenny.""Oh?" Jenny sneered. "It's not what you think between Christopher and me, either." She wasn't lying but couldn't say the same about Alec."You just want to piss me off, don't you?" Alec growled.Jenny glared at him, finding him unbearable right now. In her mind, Alec had done wrong in the first place. "Damn him!" she cursed internally.Neither of them said anything else, stubbornly maintaining their temper. After a long while, Alec said slowly, "I'll explain everything to you in time, Jenny.""Explain what?" What was there to explain? They'd already broken up, no?Why didn't Alec explain before that happened? Expecting Jenny to wait longer for whatever Alec would reveal was outrageous.Alec started to speak but stopped. He didn't want Jenny to worry about his issue with Mortimer or get herself in that man's sight. It'd be strange to see Jenny worry about Alec now that they'd broken up.Je
"I can't, Yvonne." Sam frowned. He was a Bloom. He had to have faith in his family company in the midst of the turmoil. Yvonne glared at him. "If you don't sell them now, you won't have anything by the time the company liquidates. Is that what you want?"Sam stayed silent."Sell them off, Sam. We can use the money to build our own company, just us two as the directors. Wouldn't that be better?" She finally revealed her motives. She had lost hope the moment Simone stepped into the competition to become heir to the company, so she had been readying herself to set up her own company.All she needed was money; she could only get the amount she needed from Sam."But…""No buts, Sam. Think about it. What have you truly accomplished on your own all these years? Do you expect to sit around until Simone surpasses you? You really want the world to see how weak you are compared to your sister?" Yvonne's tone grew angrier the more she spoke. She had long lamented her husband's uselessness.
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