Alec instantly tried to dial Jenny's phone number again, but his attempts were all left unanswered no matter how many times he called. He could only send his men out to locate Jenny as well as try to figure out what had happened.In the Bardoff countryside, Jenny was awoken by the chills racking her body. She was half-submerged in a bubbling river in the middle of the forest.How lucky she must've been to not crack her skull open falling down, but also to have been swept to shore by the river's current and not drown to death.She climbed up the river bank to pull herself out of the water. The gunshot wound on her thigh was still bleeding. If this went on without something to stop it, she'd probably die of shock before those mercs found her.Nearby was a large boulder that she climbed up onto. Jenny then tore her clothes into strips and tied an emergency tourniquet around her thigh to slow the bleeding.Now that she'd resolved this temporary issue, time to turn to the serious on
Jenny wanted to answer in the affirmative, but she really wasn't in the mood to embrace her pain right now. "Wh-what are you doing here?"She'd imagine seeing Gilbert or even Alec on the search for her, not Evan, who she'd not seen in ages.Evan gently set her down, then crouched again. "We'll get to that later. C'mon, hop on."Piggybacking her out would be easier than a princess carry. "It's…it's fine. You just need to help me walk." Though they'd grown up together, she still maintained some distance considering the actual distance between them over the years."Just climb on up, Jen. We can't linger here a minute longer. You don't want to die out here, do you?"He was right. The mercenaries were most likely still looking for her, so sticking around was a death sentence to both of them. Ultimately, she climbed onto his back so he could carry her out of the woods.Jenny could smell a faint pine scent on the man's clothes, something she'd familiarized with him since long ago. It
Only when Gilbert's men had dispersed did he finally turn back to Alec. "Thank you for the ambulance, Mr. Faust. On behalf of both Jenny and me.""No need." Alec knew who this man was now and also knew just how much he disliked him. But that didn't bother him. All that mattered was that Jenny was safe."Heh." Gilbert scowled. "I heard you found someone new. I don't think you need to be so concerned about Jenny now, then, or your lover might misunderstand."He then got into his car and left, not bothering to hear Alec's explanation.Alec's brow didn't relax even as the car left. He never imagined his memory loss to have such a grave impact. Thanks to the memory loss, he had no idea why Jenny's brother was so hostile toward him. "Best to regain memory as soon as possible," he thought.Gilbert arrived at Bardoff Hospital, where Evan waited outside the emergency room while Jenny was being tended to inside.He sat down beside Evan. "How is she?""Doctor hasn't come out yet." Evan a
Jenny's ward was quickly crowded with visitors.Graham's eyes were wet with tears as he gazed at his daughter still passed out on the hospital bed. "Is Jenny…""She'll be alright, sir," Gilbert reassured him. He still respected Jenny's father even though they'd barely met.Stephanie and Jade were visiting, too, as news of Jenny being hospitalized had spread far and wide. Sadly, they couldn't do much before when she was in trouble.Everyone was glad to hear that Jenny would be fine."Why don't you all head home first? I'll stay back to keep her safe. She'll be fine, I promise," Gilbert spoke up.The visitors soon dispersed. As much as they'd like to stick around, they couldn't protect Jenny or be of use to her in this state. However, Graham was reluctant to leave. "Why don't you leave first, too? I'll stay watch here.""I think it's best if you let me do this, sir. Jenny would only get upset at me if she knew you stayed up for her," Gilbert insisted.Graham was about to respon
Graham had no idea how Evan was so confident. Given Jenny's personality, he didn't think his chances were too high. That woman didn't let her affections go that easily.As for Evan's romantic interest in her, to Graham, that was nothing more than puppy love. Something an adult would've grown out of by now. Still, Evan was the only man Jenny had ever confessed her love to, so he might have a higher chance of winning her over.After Gilbert left the ward, Evan gazed at Jenny, who was resting on the hospital bed. With a smile, he said, "Here we are again, Jen. After all these years…you must've been really upset when I rejected you all those years ago, huh? I've never heard from you even once since then."He didn't grow up in Orchid Village with Jenny and her brothers. They came to know one another at the elementary school in town, becoming friends ever since. The four of them always studied in the same school, from middle school to high school. It was only when Evan was about to leave
"All we need to do now is send someone over to pull the plug," Wayne suggested. Jenny wouldn't have her guard up now that she was unconscious. The only issue was how to get close enough to her to land the killing blow.Randy nodded. "I'm on it."The Glasses were not the only ones having a hard time sleeping for the night. Jolene had been equally disturbed upon hearing the news that Jenny was still alive.She had heard of Jenny's accident only after she was hospitalized and prayed to everything in existence that she'd just die. Such was the hatred Jolene had for her "sister."It went without saying then that she wasn't in any good mood now that Jenny was out of the danger zone. Especially when James had rushed to the hospital first thing after hearing Jenny was in there. Even a blind person could tell how much he cared for her.Though Jolene should've known by now that James had no feelings for her, she still felt hurt that the man cared so much for Jenny.Just as tears were strea
While Jolene gave Rowena a call, Jenny woke up in the hospital. She just had a dream in which she was running on an endless path. At the peak of her despair, a person fell from the sky—Alec.Seeing him, she was elated, thinking that Alec still liked her. She believed that his memory loss and disinterest were fake. However, amid her joy, she opened her eyes to the sight of Evan, not Alec. She was momentarily stunned but quickly remembered what had happened."What did you dream about? I saw you smiling earlier, but now you're not. Are you disappointed to see me?" Evan joked.Coming to her senses, Jenny let out an awkward laugh. "Evan, stop teasing me.""Alright, fine. Are you hungry?" Evan asked.Jenny nodded. Since she hadn't eaten for almost a day, she was hungry."You have to stay hungry a little longer. The doctor said you can't eat yet and can only drink a little water." He handed her the warm water in his hand.Jenny rolled her eyes at him. "If I'm not allowed to eat, why
The next day, Jenny woke up, and when Evan saw her awake, he approached her and said, "The doctor said you can drink some chicken soup today." He then brought the chicken soup over and prepared to feed her with a spoon, saying, "Come, have some. It's not hot anymore.""I'll do it myself," Jenny responded. Although he had always been kind to her, she felt a little uneasy and uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other in so many years that Jenny wasn't used to it."Can you move it?" Evan asked, referring to the wound on Jenny's shoulder, which was still bandaged. She probably shouldn't move it.Embarrassed, Jenny replied, "I still have my other hand."Her right shoulder was injured, which rendered her right hand useless, but her left hand was fine, so she had no issue eating. Since she was so insistent, Evan didn't say more. With a nod, he put the chicken soup on the table in front of her, and she used her left hand to eat.Halfway through her meal, Gilbert
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