Jade clocked out from Jeneration Group once she was done with her work. There was barely anyone out and about in the streets anymore. She sighed and was prepared to hail a taxi when a white luxury car stopped before her. Her expression fell the moment she recognized it.The car doors opened, revealing a man and a woman Jade knew very well."What are you doing back in Bardoff City, Jade Weston?" The woman asked, hooking her arm around the man.Jade sneered. She was Maria Biscotti, her best friend, once upon a time. The man she was holding was none other than Hayden Lowe, the man she had deeply loved long ago. These two people had betrayed her trust, forcing her to divorce Hayden without taking even a cent for alimony, and even made her leave the city.Jade ignored them and walked off, but the two swiftly caught up with her. Hayden even grabbed her wrist, dragging her back. "You said you'd never come back to Bardoff, Jade. What are you doing here now? Having second thoughts?"Jade b
"This is for your own good, Jade. You could expand your skills anywhere and however you wanted outside of Bardoff City," Hayden insisted, stopping her from leaving.Jade frowned. "You want me to leave because you're scared I'll take away everything you have, aren't you?""Scared?" Hayden stiffened. "You really are still as proud as ever. Do you think you're that capable? Trust me, I have nothing to be afraid of, whether it's Jeneration Group or some startup of yours."Hayden was only giving her this alternative because killing her would claim a lot of resources. "Funny that it gave her this impression," he thought.Jade wasn't upset at all. She had long grown out of the limited perspectives that held her back all those years ago, especially her uncontrollable temper. "Then there's no need to waste your breath here. Goodnight." She made to walk away, but Maria stepped in front of her."I know you hated me for stealing Hayden from you, Jade," Maria began. "But I truly do love him. B
"How dare you?" Jade yelled angrily. Hayden really hadn't changed one bit. He was still as violent as ever."Try me, bitch!" Hayden snapped back, swinging his hand. Though he had divorced Jade, in his mind, she still belonged to him, so he felt he had the right to do whatever he wanted to her.Jade stood still, waiting for Hayden's hand to land. The moment it did, she would call the cops on the bastard. But the slap never landed. Instead, a man stepped in front of Jade, protecting her."Max?" Jade gasped. Shouldn't he be in Parrington?"You alright?" he asked briefly, turning to glance at her.Jade nodded, still curious as to what he was doing there.Max didn't explain. He turned to glare at Hayden instead, flinging his hand away. "What kind of cockless sonuvabitch would hurt a woman?"Hayden stumbled back from the force. Jealousy burned in his chest when he saw how close Jade was to Max. Jade was his whether or not they had divorced, so there was no way he would allow her to be
Jade took a while to recover her senses on Max's car, then started gnawing at her gums as to why she had hopped on in the first place. "Uhm…thank you for earlier," she said hesitantly. She didn't know what else to say, embarrassed as she was. Very few people had seen her so unhinged before.Max shrugged, oblivious to her embarrassment. "No need. I'm glad to have helped.""What brings you to Bardoff City?" Jade asked, switching the topics.The car stopped outside a restaurant before Max answered, "Let's grab something to eat.""No, thank you. I've eaten." She really just wanted to go home and rest.Max gazed at her longingly. "Can you stay with me while I eat, then?"Jade reluctantly agreed and followed him into the building. She couldn't be rude now, especially after he had just helped her. Max got them a table and ordered several dishes that Jade felt were the food she liked. When their meal was served, Max asked, "Was that man really your ex-husband?""Yes. I told you I'm a
Jade couldn't actually hold her weight in alcohol, save for beer, but this was white wine she had. Right now, she was lounging in Max's lap, hand caressing his jaw and eyes roaming across his face. "Be careful with those eyes of yours, kid. Else I eat you right up," she cooed.Max's heart leaped, but he didn't show it. "Really? How do you plan to do that?""I plan to…" Jade smiled, then gently pressed her lips against Max's. She had wanted to do this for a long time but never had the chance to while sober. Only when her mind was uninhibited could she let these desires run free.The moment their lips touched, Max's temple throbbed. He really was holding back as much as he could."You're playing with fire, Jade," he groaned. He hadn't imagined someone as proper as Jade to be such an enchantress after drinking.Jade ignored him and arched in his lap instead. She huffed. "You're the one getting burned."The next second, Max had lifted her up by the waist. He went upstairs to where
Jenny massaged her aching temples and went to the bathroom. She nearly jumped at her reflection. "I look like I got mugged," she mumbled, amused. She really did look awful.Her dreams were lost to her. All that she remembered was the fact that they were nightmares.After washing up, she put on makeup to hide her exhaustion and went downstairs. Graham was already having breakfast with Rowena and Jolene. They turned to look at her when she reached the first landing."Good morning. Come join us for breakfast," Graham offered.Jenny nodded and went over. Her hunger had tripled from the exhaustion and nightmares last night, so she began devouring her food like a starving beast.The sight made Jolene cringe internally."Hey, Jenny, why did you choose to go to the sales department? They have a minimum target to hit every month, don't they? Aren't you worried you won't make any sales? It's not like you know anyone in Bardoff yet." Before Jenny could answer, Jolene faked a shocked gasp. "
Jenny was somewhat disappointed when Jolene was restrained. She had been ready to fight back. After all, she needed to show Graham just how much of a bitch Jolene was.Sadly, Rowena was too sharp a woman.Still, what transpired was enough. Graham's face had already darkened."Dad, I—" Jolene tried to explain, but a stern look from her father silenced her. She looked down at her knees instead, staying quiet."Keep your daughter in check!" Graham barked at Rowena, then left the table and went outside, most likely heading for work.Meanwhile, Jenny happily beamed, eating her breakfast.When Graham left, Jolene glared at Jenny, her eyes now red and watery. Jenny ignored her, for she never did anything more than glare or fume. After breakfast, she left straight for the office, leaving mother and daughter in the dining room. Jolene whined to her mother, "Dad's too biased, Mom!"Rowena held dearly onto her child, feeling upset and disappointed. "Yes. I'm afraid he only loves that w
To her shock, not even Old Mr. Faust picked up the call immediately. It took a while before the call finally came through, much to Jenny's agitation."Grandpa—""Miss Jenny," Warren, the family butler, answered. Jenny blinked in surprise. "Where's Grandpa? I need to talk to him about something important.""He has gone out on some errands. I can help you leave a message." Warren's tone was light, completely unreflective of his serious expression.Jenny decided to reveal what was on her mind. "It's about Alec. He isn't answering his calls, and he isn't at his office either. I just wanted to know if he's at the Old Mansion?""Mr. Alec has gone out along with Mr. Faust. I believe he forgot to bring his phone, hence not answering his calls," Warren replied without a moment's hesitation.Jenny knew and trusted the butler, so his words were enough to make her relax. "That's all I needed to hear. Thank you. Tell Grandpa I said hi."She then hung up the call and started her work at the