Rowena and Jolene's expressions had long turned ugly."Dad, I wanna work in the company too," Jolene said hastily. It hadn't concerned her before, but now she had to do something. What if Jenny won over everyone's support at the company?Graham looked at Jolene skeptically. "I thought you said no the last time I asked?""I-I didn't know any better then," Jolene stammered. "But I do now. I want to help you with the family business like Jenny."Her genuine tone touched Graham's heart. "I'm glad to hear that. You've grown, Jo." He was then about to permit it when Jenny said, "I don't think that's necessary.""What are you saying, Jenny? Are you looking down on me?" Jolene fumed. Jenny's interception had interrupted her father right before he could give his permission.Jenny continued kindly, "I don't see why you need to struggle as I do. Why don't you find a nice man to settle down with?"Remembering that they had this conversation prior, Graham nodded too. "Has anyone caught you
"Jenny Walter!" Rowena fumed, unable to do anything with Graham looking after her.Jenny grinned. "Yes? Can't wait to do away with me, can you? C'mon then, you really think I'm afraid?"Rowena gnashed her teeth. "Alright. You'll see!"With that final hiss, she dragged Jolene back to their rooms. Jenny felt somewhat disappointed being left unharmed. If Rowena could've done something violent to her, she might've been able to get Graham to take action. Unfortunately, she was still cunning and knew she couldn't touch Jenny under the man's watch.…"Why didn't you let me talk, Mom? I could've told Dad who I liked!" Jolene whined in her room. If she had told her father, there was a high chance he would've helped the two of them grow closer. Jolene might even end up marrying James—something she had dreamed of for so long. Rowena sighed and asked, "Have you ever wondered what would happen to your claim to this family if you married someone else?"Jolene pouted. "So what? The Walter
Alfred walked into the hospital ward, staring fixedly at the man lying on the bed."Huh," he scoffed, then stayed silent.He hadn't thought much of it when he heard that Mortimer had gotten into a car accident. At most, the man had some bad scratches, but after hearing from the doctor that Mortimer was in a coma from the accident, he didn't know what to feel.A coma…No one could've imagined Mortimer Faust, that proud, selfish man, would end up in that state. Alfred really was speechless.The door opened, and in came a familiar face, though it was the first time they had met in person."Heard he's a vegetable now." Max Pearson walked in. He had just gotten off a flight that was supposed to take him straight to Jade. He hadn't considered paying Mortimer a visit until hearing what happened.Alfred frowned. "Are you still keen on your revenge with him like this?""Revenge? What revenge do I need to take?" Max scoffed. Sure, his mother had cheated on his father with Mortimer, and y
After their brief exchange, Jenny left Alfred's office. She then took out her phone before hesitating. Mortimer was Alec's biological father, no matter what. Would Alec be upset to hear the news? Had he heard about it?Jenny called him anyway. The call rang on for several long seconds before Alec finally picked up. He sounded tired. "Jenny.""You sound exhausted. Are you alright?" Jenny asked, concerned."Yeah, I'm alright. There's just been a lot to get done at work." All Alec wanted was to settle everything as soon as possible and then go to Bardoff City, where he could focus on taking down the Glasses as they had planned.The moment the Glasses were taken care of, he could officially be with Jenny. That's why he was in a hurry to make it happen.Jenny was oblivious to it. She had only mentioned it back then because she wasn't yet sure what to do with her relationship with Alec. His exhaustion made Jenny wince. "Don't rush. Take your time. Vincent is still manning the fort for
While Jenny and Alec were talking over the phone, trouble was brewing on the other side of the city.A menacing man lounged back in his chair, gazing intently at the pictures on his phone. "Are you certain?" he asked his bodyguard.The bodyguard nodded. "Yes, sir. The old man is one of the few who left the family those years ago. That's his grandson. He's achieved quite the success in Parrington."The man in the lounge switched off his phone. "What do you think their intentions are, these…strays? Why come back now after they left all those years ago?"The bodyguard stayed silent, not daring to suggest anything."Heh. For power, obviously. They think they're losing strength, so they're crawling back for help. I wonder what makes them think the family will help them," the man snorted, ignoring the guard.He was incredibly pissed right now. He should've been next in line to take over the family, but then their family elder put out the order to recall all family members, even the on
Jenny found Mr. Caiman waiting for her on the 12th floor."This is your cubicle, Miss Jenny. Our department handles sales. I'll give you a rundown of everything we do," the man said kindly. He wasn't an idiot. Jenny was obviously starting from the bottom in order to thoroughly learn the workings of the company. There was a high chance she would be his boss one day, so he didn't dare offend her now.Jenny nodded. "You can just call me Jenny, sir.""Um…" He really didn't want to risk it."Really, it's fine," Jenny insisted. She knew what the manager's concern was. Might as well try to alleviate it.Mr. Caiman relented. "Alright, Jenny. Take a look at these documents first. You're welcome to ask me if you have any questions."Jenny went to her cubicle and started studying the papers given to her. The information listed was much more detailed than what she had dug up herself, so she soon grew quite invested, turning oblivious to everyone else's attention on her.The other employees
"Miss Jolene," Philippa greeted cheerfully, walking into Jolene's office on the 17th floor. "Here are the documents you wanted.""Mm. You can leave it there." Jolene nodded at the table. "How long have you been working here?""Two months, miss," Philippa reported, fearful she might get picked on because of it. She'd heard Jolene was tough to handle. Surprisingly, the woman only smiled.Two months was a good time; not too new, not too experienced either. Philippa would be of good use to Jolene in the coming days. "Not bad. Work hard, and I'll make sure you get your worth," she praised, then unclasped the bangle on her wrist, placing it on the desk. "Here, a gift. Take it."Philippa gazed at her in shock. "I can't possibly, miss—""I said take it," Jolene snapped. "You're my assistant, and my assistant should be able to own fine things."Philippa bit back her refusal and hurriedly tucked the bracelet into her bag with gratitude.Jolene hissed internally at the sight. That bangle
Jenny spotted Adrian and immediately asked, "Come join us for dinner, sir!""Miss J—" Adrian quickly stopped himself. "You've just started here, Jenny. I can't let you treat us. It'll be my treat instead.""Ooh, Mr. Caiman is treating us tonight. I've never seen him so generous," someone teased, making several other employees hoot along, embarrassing Adrian. He wasn't that stingy. He was just occupied with work usually, so he didn't have time to have dinner with his staff.Jenny nodded. "Alright. If Mr. Caiman treats us to dinner, we'll go for karaoke afterward. My treat.""Yeah!" Someone cried happily, eliciting a flurry of cheers. "Free dinner and free karaoke!"This news just happened to reach Jolene's ears on the 17th floor. Her expression immediately turned dark. "Fucking rabble."Philippa said nothing, standing to the side of the table.Jolene hadn't expected Jenny to be able to build connections that fast at work. Her plans to cause some trouble downstairs were disrupted
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