The two were talking and didn't notice that Jolene was still there. Jolene couldn't believe it. Jenny, who came from the countryside, knew James? And why did they seem so close?Jolene suddenly realized she didn't know a thing about Jenny, which scared her. "Do you know Mr. Windsor, sister?" Jolene approached them with a smile. Although both families were from the top ten families in Bardoff City, the Windsor family was considered more prominent, and Jolene saw them as a good choice for in-laws. However, James had always been indifferent toward her, ignoring her whenever they met at dinner parties. Only Brandon would follow her around.Jenny nodded and smiled. "Yes.""What a coincidence! Mr. Windsor and I know each other too," Jolene said, but her eyes were fixed on James.Hearing that, James frowned and turned to look at Jolene.Jolene Walter. He knew the name but was familiar with her. He continued talking to Jenny, "The party is almost over. Shall I take you back?"Jenny h
In James's car, the atmosphere was pleasant as the two chatted about various things, catching up with each other. At the thought of their mentor, Jenny missed him. "I wonder where he has gone.""I have no idea," James answered. "The old man never contacts me. I thought you would know." Despite Jenny being Mr. Birkett's secret student, she received more love and affection from Mr. Birkett, which made James jealous of her.Jenny smiled wryly. "I haven't been able to contact him for a long time.""Don't worry. He has spent many years like this. He knows what he's doing." James knew what she was worried about and tried to comfort her.Jenny nodded and asked, "James, when will you be free? Let me treat you to dinner."James had been very kind to her. When they were under Mr. Birkett's mentorship, James had always guided her, so Jenny wanted to thank him."Well, I'm free whenever you are," James said with a grin. There was no way he would forgo such a precious opportunity. Jenny
Looking at the bodyguards surrounding him, Alec frowned. "What are you trying to do?""What am I trying to do?" Jolene asked with a chuckle, finding him rather interesting.Raising her chin, she walked up to him. "Weren't you acting all high and mighty? Didn't you say you were going to intervene? I thought you were so powerful."Before investigating his background, she thought he was a son who hailed from a powerful secret family. After all, she knew almost all the children of the Ten Elites of Bardoff City, and she had never seen him. However, after her investigation, she burst out laughing. Did Alec think that he was all that just because he had some influence in Parrington? How dare he behave so arrogantly and brashly in a place like Bardoff City where important figures hid in plain sight."Kneel down and apologize to me!" Jolene decided she would have to experience that satisfaction no matter what. After all, Alec was Jenny's ex-husband. If he knelt and apologized, it would fee
"What are you doing? Let go of my daughter!" Rowena rushed out with a group of bodyguards after receiving Jolene's call.She had rushed, thinking all she needed to do was to help her daughter teach someone a lesson. She didn't care whose fault it was and wanted to support her daughter immediately. However, she was shocked to see her daughter in Alec's hands, her face flushed from lack of air."Mom..." Jolene managed to say, tears streaming down her face.Rowena was angry and anxious, "Sir, let my daughter go. I'll give you whatever you want."Alec was indifferent. "I just want her life."Rowena tried to intimidate him by saying. "Do you know who she is? She is the daughter of the Walter family. If you attack the Walters, you won't leave here alive."Jolene was losing consciousness and waved her hands frantically, but Alec was unmoved. In fact, her mother's words only disgusted Alec.Rowena urgently instructed the bodyguard behind her, "Quickly, save her!"As the bodyguard was a
Alec loosened his grip on Jolene's neck and looked at Graham. "I'll show you some respect because you're Jenny's father." Holding back was Alec's show of respect to Graham, for he had vowed not to go easy on Jolene no matter who came to him.Graham did not need anyone's respect. Be it in tiny Parrington or Bardoff City, he was always the one to decide who deserved his respect. He had been unhappy with Jenny's marriage to Alec, and his dissatisfaction with Alec only increased after Alec divorced Jenny. Now, he had the guts to be impudent in front of him.When the bodyguards successfully took Jolene away, Graham finally spoke, "Alec, you can only be impudent if you are capable. Look around you and understand where you are right now. You shouldn't throw tantrums as you like," Expressionless, he addressed Alec in an icy tone.Alec raised an eyebrow without any fear. "Mr. Walter, from the sound of it, you will take action on me. Is that right?"He glanced at the number of bodyguards bes
Ten minutes of fighting later, Alec started feeling worn out as he noticed that he was no match for his opponent. He was gripped by shock and frustration for not being stronger.Alec stumbled backward from the impact of another punch that landed on his cheek. The middle-aged man didn't give Alec time to recover—he charged at Alec and punched him violently. Had he not strictly followed Graham's orders to teach Alec a lesson, Alec would have been dead by now.Soon, Alec was face-down on the ground."You may leave," Graham said to the middle-aged man. Then, he strode up to Alec and stood towering over the defeated man on the ground with a regal air. "Alec Faust, I get that you're quite capable, but your ability is still lacking for Bardoff City standards. Had you met another opponent instead of me, you would have died here today. Here's a warning—lay low before you are strong enough so you can live longer." With that, Graham turned around to leave. He suddenly stopped and said, "Jenny
Jenny thought he'd complain about the pain, but Alec shook his head and said. "No, it doesn't hurt."He was speaking the truth and was especially enjoying the moment when Jenny applied the ointment to his injuries.Hearing that, she couldn't resist pinching his bruised skin hard. He promptly yelped in pain. "Jenny, what are you doing?" He was puzzled and wondered if he had said something wrong."How about now?" she asked. Alec learned his lesson and nodded. "It hurts. It hurts a lot."She snickered and said in dissatisfaction, "Good that it hurts. Learn your lesson. You shouldn't think you're still in Parrington. Aren't you scared of dying?""How did you know?" Alec was curious, knowing that Graham would not tell Jenny about the fight. She avoided his question and said, "I know you're used to walking around like you own the place, but now that you're in Bardoff City, you need to toe the line. Luck is not always on your side.""Great. Even you're scolding me now." He felt help
Alec nodded, looking calmer than Jenny. Carefree as always, he'd only take on the problem when it surfaced. He believed that there would always be a solution to any problem.He led her to the sofa, sat her down, and handed her the ointment. "You should at least finish what you started."She didn't object to that and continued applying the ointment to his body. The living room fell into silence when they stopped talking.Soon, she was done and ready to leave. "Have a good rest. It's best if you could rest at home for a few days.""Are you leaving?" he asked. She nodded. "It's late. I need to get home." She knew Graham didn't like that she was in touch with Alec, and she worried she might fuel Graham's dislike of Alec if she got home late."Jenny," Alec called out, his deep gaze fixated on her face. "The truth is, you still care about me. Don't you?" As expected, she was silent. He added, "I'm not strong enough yet. Can you wait for me?""Wait for you?" She was puzzled by his wor
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