Jenny stopped and sighed in exasperation. "Yes? Is it your turn to fight me now?"Alicia stepped back as Jenny began cracking her fists. "I-I'm no match for you.""Smart. Now leave me alone, or you won't get a warning next time," Jenny snapped. This time, Alicia stayed behind while Jenny went to her car because she knew just how dangerous that threat was. Jenny was about to drive home when someone approached her car door."Melissa? You're still here," she exclaimed in surprise. Melissa smiled awkwardly. "I uh…it's not as easy getting a taxi out here in the country as it was in the city."Translation: Would you mind giving me a ride back?"Yeah. Taxis don't get their fair share of customers around these parts." Jenny opened the passenger seat door. "Get in then."Melissa gladly went in, tossing Alicia into the back of her mind.Jenny soon reached the freeway."Where to?" she asked Melissa, though there came no response. When Jenny turned to look, she spotted Melissa dozed of
Jenny really didn't have the words. "You came to the city on Alicia's behalf? Empty-handed?""I didn't plan to either, but when she called me and started crying about her brother, I figured, 'Hey, this might be a good chance to try out the city life,' plus, I couldn't just refuse to help her. Jonathan and I trained together," Melissa explained."You're not from the city?" Jenny asked in surprise."Yeah. I couldn't stand the small-town life anymore, so I decided, might as well come here." She had thought her chances of getting hired as a bodyguard would be higher in the city. That was one of the reasons she took on Alicia's request as well.Jenny nodded in understanding."I'll buy you dinner then."Melissa's eyes widened like saucer plates. "Really? You're not messing with me, are you?""Don't worry, I'm not." Jenny started the car and drove them to a nearby restaurant. She had plans for Melissa that she couldn't risk Rowena knowing, so she couldn't bring Melissa home for their m
"You plan to continue living aimlessly like this without a penny to your name?" Jenny asked.Realizing how bad that sounded, Melissa gave an awkward smile. "I can't exactly do anything else, can I?""You have good martial arts skills," Jenny suggested, to which Melissa gave a weak shrug."So what? People still won't hire me.""You could come work for me." That was the point of all this, really.Melissa gazed at her in surprise. "Work for you? As what? Your bodyguard?"Maybe it might not be such a bad idea…But wait, why would Jenny need a bodyguard if she was already capable of defending herself?Sure enough, Jenny shook her head. "I don't need one." She really didn't, nor did she like the idea of having someone following her around 24/7."Oh. Then what's my job? I don't know much besides how to fight." If only she could be Jenny's bodyguard, Melissa thought dejectedly. "If you're willing to learn, you'll know more in time," Jenny continued. "I can educate and train you, so
Jenny brought Melissa to Alfred, arranging a place to stay for her before finally going back to Walter Castle. It was past midnight when she reached home. Graham had long gone to bed, yet Rowena was still in the living room.The woman opened her eyes when Jenny came in through the door. "What took you so long? You're not indulging in your filthy desires, are you?""Is that envy I hear?" Jenny cackled. "If you want to 'indulge' yourself so much, why don't you just divorce my father? No one would stop you then."Divorce? Rowena's eyes bugged out in shock. She went up to Jenny and said, "How could you say that? You can't tear this marriage apart!""Why can't I?" Jenny shot back. It wasn't like they were good for each other. Why keep up the act for so long?Rowena held back the urge to slap Jenny. "I hope you don't utter this nonsense in front of your father. He's past his youth now. Do you really want him to spend the rest of his days alone?""How do you know he'll be spending tho
Jenny sat in front of her desktop in her room, awaiting a response from Zack online. She had sent him the photos of her mother, needing him to check if they were edited.Zack swiftly replied, "No, they're not."Now Jenny was really starting to worry. Was her mother really at Rowena's mercy? Then why only play this card now? Isn't it a little too late for this move?Plus, that woman in the photo…though she did resemble Jenny's mother, she still found it odd. She didn't feel a connection to that woman. Still, she didn't want to risk it if it really was her mother.Jenny would have to ascertain this information with Graham first thing in the morning. If it was true and Rowena had her mother captive, they'd do whatever it took to rescue her.In truth, Jenny preferred her mother being missing rather than being held captive by Rowena. At least that meant she wouldn't have been submitted to years of captivity.Jenny also couldn't begin to fathom how terrible Rowena would've treated her
"Nope!" Graham shook his head confidently. "She looks exactly like your mother, except for her eyes. They're not your mother's eyes."He then gazed at one of the photos. "Plus, your mother has this mole on her neck. It's so small that only those intimately close to her can spot it…"Graham hadn't noticed it at the start, but only after finding the woman in the photo very odd did he start paying attention to the details, thus concluding that the woman wasn't his loved one.Jenny sighed in relief. "Rowena must've really cranked her brains to come up with this."If they had believed her trick, they would have immediately stopped everything they were doing against the Glasses, thus falling into their hands. Thank goodness Graham knew her mother well enough to spot a fake."That horrible woman. I can't believe she'd think to use this against us!" Graham growled angrily. Rowena had actually plotted to use the woman he loved the most to hold him ransom!Jenny hurriedly calmed him down.
Even though Rowena knew this, she could only force Graham to take action. "I don't care what you do, but if you don't get him to stop within three days, we will take action!"Graham eyed her coldly before leaving the house, much to Rowena's dismay.Shouldn't he be begging her to have mercy on Jenny's mother? Not be this…cold and uncaring.Had he actually stopped loving her after all these years?What should've been good news to Rowena as Graham's wife was now conflicting because that meant Graham and James might just continue attacking them, disregarding that woman.Rowena was suddenly at a loss of what to think or feel.Meanwhile, James was just walking downstairs in his villa when Jolene plated breakfast on the dining table.She had been forced to learn how to cook these days, refining and perfecting her skills just so she could appeal to James' appetite. Of course, they had significantly improved after James' constant criticism and picking, so now her cooking was of fair, hom
Jolene remained still, biting her lip and holding back her tears. The sight of her infuriated James. "The hell does the Glass family have to do with you, huh? It's not like they've ever helped you with anything.""My uncle and cousin are my family too," Jolene responded. They were her relatives, so they had everything to do with her!James scoffed. "Sure. But do they feel the same about you?"He was pretty sure the Glasses thought of Rowena and Jolene as pawns to exercise their bidding, easily tossed away at a moment's notice.Evidently, Jolene hadn't thought about that. "Of course they do. We're family."James sneered, shaking his head at how foolish she was. He set down his silverware and said sternly, "Stay out of what doesn't concern you, understand?""Mr. Windsor…" Jolene tried again, but James instantly turned and left the house.She sighed in place, having expected it already. Nearly every single layer of her pride had been stripped off throughout her days in this house
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