Jenny returned to the company. Plenty of people were looking at her, curious to know if she had succeeded in securing the collaboration.Right as she sat down at her seat, Cherry Winter, who was sitting close by, scooted over. "Don't be upset, Jenny. Things don't usually work out the first time. Back when I first started, I didn't even get to meet the client."Although Cherry knew that Jenny had the Walters backing her up and that collaborating wouldn't be a problem, no one really knew what Mr. Walter was planning. What if word spread and no one had Jenny's back anymore?If that were the case, she would not have a high chance of securing the collaboration."Thanks," Jenny said. She knew that Cherry was comforting her. "But the contract has been signed."Now it was Cherry's turn to be surprised. "On the first try? That's amazing!"She had not been quiet with her words, and people looked over. "Did Jenny succeed?" they wondered.Some of them were jealous, but they thought it was e
To take down the Glass family, the Walters and the Windsors were enough. Alec wasn't necessary to the plan, but Jenny had personal reasons.Alec had only just arrived in Bardoff City. He was at a disadvantage in every area. If she let him in on their plan, they would be able to prove his abilities. Moreover, he'd benefit from it and be able to develop his company even faster.But then she thought for a bit and decided not to talk to James about the Glasses. They could talk about it when Alec came back. If they talked about it now, they would take action before Alec could come.She was about to speak, but then someone ran over. "James."Jenny raised her eyebrows. It was Jolene, and she wasn't calling him Mr. Windsor anymore. Anyone would think they were friends.Jolene was stringing Brandon along and hitting on James at the same time. That wasn't very nice of her.James looked at her and said nothing, but the dislike in his eyes was apparent. "Let's go, Jenny."Jenny nodded and w
Not long after, the car stopped at the entrance of the restaurant. James and Jenny walked inside, and it was then that she noticed something was off. No one was in the restaurant, while melodious piano music played in the air. Even a fool could sense that something was not right.She turned and looked at James. "James, did you arrange all this?"Jenny was not too sure. She thought that he wasn't the type to do something like it. On the other hand, only he was around.James smiled and said nothing. He brought her into the restaurant, and they sat down at the table, which was already prepared.Jenny was almost certain now that this was James' doing. But…what did he mean by all this?James sat before her. A smile hung on his lips like usual, but upon closer inspection, Jenny realized he was nervous.Nervous?What was he so nervous about?A million questions popped up in her head, but then James spoke, and Jenny understood everything."I actually have something to say to you, Je
James grew quiet after hearing Jenny's words. Very, very quiet.Jenny wasn't in a hurry. She didn't mind letting him think for himself. It'd be best if he could figure it out clearly.Right at that moment, the waiter served them their food. Jenny ate peacefully, waiting for James to figure it out."You're really unbothered by all this, Jenny." James watched her happily eating, unsure of what to say.Jenny shrugged nonchalantly and smiled. "I might not have accepted your confession, but that doesn't mean I have to starve."Even if they weren't a couple, Jenny still trusted James' character. She knew that he wouldn't hate her because of it."Yeah. You can carry on eating whatever you want. I've booked the entire restaurant." But now, it seemed highly unnecessary. Hence, regardless of whether he would succeed, he had to tell her how he felt. The end result was pretty much what he expected. Jenny had not accepted him."I know how you're feeling, James, but it's unnecessary. There ar
However, his phone was still turned off. It only made her even more worried. She had no choice but to call Vincent. It took him a long time to answer, and Jenny's anxiety was through the roof."Miss Jenny?" Vincent picked up. He seemed bewildered that Jenny was calling him.Jenny didn't waste any time, asking, "Where's Alec? Why isn't he picking up?"Vincent was stunned. He looked at Old Mr. Faust before him, who shook his head. He said, "Mr. Faust is in a meeting. He's been very busy lately, so his phone has been with me. It's probably out of battery.""A meeting?" Jenny raised her eyebrows. That was weird. "When is it going to end?" Jenny asked. She had to hear his voice, or she wouldn't be at ease.Vincent didn't know what to do. He knew that Jenny would wait for Alec to pick up the call after his meeting, but the problem was that no one would answer. Alec was still nowhere to be found.His silence made Jenny even more confused. "What? Can't you tell me?""No, it's just that
Jenny understood that reasoning. "Have you found out what happened to him? Has he appeared at Faust Group these two days?""No," Zack replied.Jenny was now certain that something had happened to Alec. But if something really did, why would Vincent and Old Mr. Faust lie to her? Were they afraid that she would leak it out?She had no time to think about that. Jenny ended her call with Zack and immediately went to book a plane ticket to Parrington. But it was already late; the next flight was in the morning. She was feeling very antsy.The next day, Jenny and Graham both took days off. Although she knew it wasn't nice of her to take the day off when she hadn't been working for some time, she was lucky that she was in the sales department and had just bagged another client. She had more freedom in that sense.Jenny boarded the plane to Parrington. On the way there, she had a dream.A nightmare, really.It haunted her even after she woke up.It was only a two-hour flight to Parring
Old Mr. Faust felt conflicted when he heard what she said.After their divorce, he worried that Alec and Jenny would go their separate ways. After that, he saw how Alec began to care for Jenny, and now, even Jenny was worrying about him. Old Mr. Faust couldn't help feeling a little glad. However, they had no idea if Alec was dead or alive. That was cruel news for Jenny to bear.Jenny was even more anxious when she saw how quiet he was. "What happened to Alec, Grandpa?"With her pressing questions, Old Mr. Faust finally broke down and told her what had happened.On the night that Jenny had called Alec, he hadn't picked up because he had no means to.That night, not long after leaving the Old Mansion, he realized he was being tailgated. His stalker was fierce and relentless, refusing to lose him. After that, Alec's car was found at the bottom of a cliff. No one knew what had happened between the two events.Old Mr. Faust had not received his call when it happened. Obviously, Alec w
"The wind is getting stronger, Miss Jenny. Let's go. There are people looking for him down there," Vincent said. He knew how important Jenny was to Alec, so he couldn't let anything happen to her, especially now. Or else, if Alec survived and returned to find that something had happened to Jenny, he could not imagine what would happen.Jenny had no intention of leaving. She turned toward him and said, "Vincent, could you help me get a waterproof suit?""Miss Jenny, are you…""I wouldn't be able to forget it unless I went down there myself." Even though many people were looking for him, Jenny still wanted to do it personally.What if they were slacking off? What if they missed a clue that Alec had left behind?Vincent wanted to stop her, but Paul appeared. "Get her ready. We have no reason to stop her if she wants to sacrifice herself for Alec.""Mr. Wagner…""What a pity she didn't treasure him when he was still around. Now she's putting on a show. I don't know what she means by
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