Jenny instantly made a call to Alfred upon reading his texts. "So, are you going to compete?"He was slightly surprised by her huge reaction. "Why? Are you scared that I'd leave?""You're overthinking. Look, you're talented but not irreplaceable," she denied, but deep down, she was worried that her company would lose him. Jeneration Group had newly gone on track, and Alfred's untimely departure would only cause her to suffer. Still, she wouldn't stop him from leaving if he wished to. Everyone had the freedom of choice, and she had no right to stop him.Alfred smiled helplessly at her denial. "You're a stubborn one. Don't worry. I won't leave."Somehow, she let out a sigh of relief, and she realized that she had overreacted just now. "I'm sorry. I was…""I know," he cut her off. "You don't have to explain to me. I'm only staying at Jeneration Group to prove my worth. No one can change my decision."Despite not being in contact with the Fausts, he could imagine the complexity of th
Rowena brought Jolene to the Glass family's residence."Randy." Jolene started sobbing when she saw her cousin. Confused, he hurriedly asked, "What's the matter? Did anyone bully you?"She quickly updated him on the events at home. At the same time, Randy's dad entered the living room and overheard Jolene's story."How sickening!" Wayne Glass bellowed, feeling bewildered at how his sister and niece were treated at home.Jolene quickly greeted him, "Uncle Wayne."Rowena, feeling aggrieved, had tears in her eyes. "Wayne, Graham has crossed a line this time. He wanted to marry Jolene off without considering her feelings."She wouldn't have come to her family for help had she not been forced into a corner, well aware that the Glasses would not side with her in minor arguments with Graham. However, this was a wholly different issue. Graham marrying Jolene off would mean depriving her of a chance to take over the family business, affecting both Rowena and the Glasses."Why would he ma
In the study room upstairs, Wayne was frowning at Randy. "Get someone to keep tabs on the Walters, especially Graham Walter. I need to know what he's up to lately.""Dad, what are you suspecting?" Randy was curious."A few of our business contracts ran into problems. I suspect that someone has been sabotaging us." Wayne did not get to where he was without his shrewdness. The problems he identified were minor, but their sudden emergence puzzled him.Randy immediately grew wary. "Is someone sabotaging us? Who? The Walters?""I don't know. It's just a guess." Wayne started suspecting Graham because the man had recently acted bolder and more irreverent toward the Glasses.Randy frowned with a resentful look in his eyes. "That's possible. Graham Walter has been upset with us for a while. He's just holding back all along." He was sure that Graham was behind everything, but he could not figure out the reason behind his audacity. The Walters might be more powerful than the Glasses, but th
Like Jenny had guessed, the Walters and the Britts released a joint statement about the engagement before noon. The engagement event was slated a week later. Not only were the Walter Inc employees gossiping about it, but netizens were also discussing the news. Most sent their blessings to the couple.In their eyes, the two families were a great match. Jolene would be marrying into wealth anyway, which was definitely better than becoming a corporate slave like the rest of them.Jenny quickly glanced through the online comments and soon went back to work. It had been some time since her last successful business negotiation. During the period in between, she was occupied by non-work issues. If she didn't get started, her colleagues would think she came to work just to pass the time.She poured through the information of clients in hand and hesitated on who to approach. Graham had introduced her to many of the contacts in events before, and she was sure they wouldn't turn her down. Stil
Randy flashed an earnest smile at her. "I won't do this for outsiders. My generosity is only reserved for family, for example, my dear cousin."She silently smirked at the remark but did not call him out. The land south of the city, which the Glasses bid, was going to be developed into a business district. Clearly, the area would flourish in the future. But Randy suddenly offered her a partnership in the lucrative project they had just bagged, and it all felt odd to her."That's a huge project. I need to discuss it with Dad." More importantly, she needed to do some investigation into the issues behind the land—there must be something. Else, the Glass Family wouldn't have suggested a partnership.While they were planning to acquire the Glasses' business, the Glasses might also be scheming against the Walters. At the end of the day, the Glasses were no saints.Randy had no objection to her request for time. The Glass Family recently got their hands on the land and did not start any c
After that, they engaged in a pleasant conversation, or so it seemed to Randy and the others.Jenny, on the other hand, never entertained the idea of working with the Glasses. That family was going down soon anyway."I need to go to the restroom." She left the table. Seeing that, Randy called his father and shared some updates about his lunch with Jenny. She had no idea about the call, occupied by another pressing matter. A man had showed up in front of her, his figure towering over her. He seemed surprised to run into her.She stared at Alec Faust. When she was about to speak, he frowned with irritation. "Miss Walter, please have some self-control. I don't like women who obsess over me."She was speechless. Did Alec just accuse her of obsessing over him?"Alec Faust, you're a narcissist," she snickered and fired back since he did not show her any respect in the first place. "If anything, you're the one who's obsessed with me," she added , tone hostile.The frown on his face
"They look great together," Blake remarked casually, attracting Alec's gaze. She hurriedly clarified, "The Walters and the Glasses might be relatives, but Jenny and Randy are not blood-related. Everyone knows that."Although Graham presented Jenny as his and Rowena's long-lost daughter, everyone was clever enough to figure out that Rowena was not Jenny's birth mother.Alec was irked by the reminder that Jenny and Randy were not blood-related. Their existence seemed unusually jarring to him when he looked at them again. "Let's go," Blake urged. He nodded and left with her. He didn't expect to run into Jenny during his business meeting at the restaurant, and he was even more surprised to see her dining with Randy.Once Alec and Blake were gone, Randy shifted his focus back to Jenny. "Isn't that guy your ex-husband?"Thanks to his thorough investigation, he was more than familiar with Jenny's background. That was how he recognized Alec Faust right away."Yeah," she didn't deny. Her
Unaffected by her anger, Randy kept smiling and was even secretly glad to have evoked some emotions from her. "Shall I send you back to the office?" he asked."No," she turned him down and left immediately. He didn't insist and watched as she left. The relationship between Jenny and Alec left him wondering.After lunch, Jenny drove to Walter Inc. Although the encounter with Alec ruined her mood, she didn't let it affect her work. She strode to Graham's office, knocked on the door, and entered.He quickly shut the document he was reading and smiled at her. "Take a seat. I heard from the staff that you've been here since morning. You must be tired.""I'm not as weak as you thought. I came in early in the morning but did nothing of importance. Tired? I'm far from it." She knew Graham wanted to be a good father to her, but she wasn't accustomed to his doting manner.He smiled at her comment and joined her on the couch. "Is something up?""Yeah." She nodded and handed him Randy's prop
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