"Why did you force yourself to accept his apology?" Alec asked softly.With a chuckle, Jenny answered, "Well, as you said, the Dickmans are not the Lawrences, so there's nothing I can do about it. Can I really refuse their apology?""I can help you," he said.Jenny cast him a strange look, as if he were a monster, and then backed away from him. "She's your childhood sweetheart. Is it right for you to turn around and do this to her?""We're just friends," Alec said seriously. "She's not my childhood sweetheart."However, Jenny didn't seem to care. "There's no need to tell me, Mr. Faust. As I said before, it has nothing to do with me.""Jenny—""Alec!" Yvonne cried, helping Steven out of the restroom. "Steven was attacked."Steven was sporting a bruised nose on his swollen face. The swelling of his face made him look just like a pig. Jenny covered her mouth, resisting the urge to laugh aloud.As Steven came to his senses, he pointed at Jenny and roared, "It was you! You're th
"Of course! It's my pleasure to be friends with you, Miss Dickman." Jenny smiled at her.When the siblings were out of sight, the smile on Jenny's face disappeared. Befuddled, Alec shook his head, asking, "You clearly don't like her. Why did you agree to be her friend?""If I refused her, wouldn't I seem petty?" Jenny asked. After casting him a glance, she got up and walked out of the restaurant. Alec stopped asking questions and trailed behind her silently. He couldn't figure out what was going on between the two women. "Where are you going?" he asked. "I'll see you off.""I won't bother you, Mr. Faust. Someone will pick me up." As soon as she said that, a white sports car pulled up in front of Jenny. Max appeared before them, and Alec's expression turned ugly. He stared at him coldly. "Did you get a new car?" Jenny asked in surprise as she remembered Max driving a red sports car."Didn't you tell me to be less flashy? Isn't this better?" he asked, pointing at his new car,
"Fine." After a while, Jenny finally nodded in agreement. She thought there would be no problem repaying Max's favor by attending an event.Max laughed heartily, clearly in a good mood. "Good night. Sweet dreams," he said.Jenny got out of the car and walked toward the apartment. After waving at him, she quickly disappeared from his sight. As usual, Max didn't leave immediately. He lit a cigarette as he stared at the stars hanging in the night sky. "There are so many stars tonight," he sighed to himself. At that moment, he heard a car approaching in the distance, and he turned back to look at it. Alec didn't get out of the car when he pulled up beside Max. He lowered the window and said in a sarcastic tone, "Must you wait for me every time after you drive her back?""Of course," Max answered, not denying it. Raising his eyebrows at him, he added, "It brings me joy seeing you upset!"Alec didn't know how to respond to that. "You're a little late today. Normally, you would sh
With some liquor in hand, Max recalled how Jenny had scolded Alec at the Perry Residence. All he could think of was Jenny's last words. She was Alec's ex-wife?While he knew that Alec was a divorcee, he never imagined that he and Jenny were once married. It confused Max greatly as Alec was clearly interested in Jenny. So, why did he get a divorce?He glanced at Jenny, who was sitting opposite him in the local eatery. At the sight of her upset expression, he grinned and asked, "Are you still angry?""Why would I be angry? I just think Alec is crazy." "Did Alec think she harbored feelings for him? He was one big narcissist," she thought."I think he's crazy too," Max said, agreeing with her. "But there's one thing I don't understand. Are you really Alec's ex-wife?"Jenny grunted, not denying it."Why did he divorce you?" Max asked, failing to make sense of the situation."His 'sister' and his childhood sweetheart are always around him, so he has no room in his life for a wife? I
Alec stared at the living room, wondering if he was imagining things or if nothing had changed for the past two years. "Has the mansion been renovated in the past two years?" he asked Mrs. Langston. "No," she replied before adding, "Your grandfather told Mrs. Fau—"Recalling that Alec and Jenny had divorced, she paused and started again, "Well, he told Miss Walter that she could do as she pleased with the house, but she didn't change anything."Alec's face darkened. He knew why Jenny made no changes to the house. Like him, she was reluctant to get married. Since she didn't think it would last long, of course, she wouldn't waste time decorating the Faust Mansion."What did she do for the past two years?" He felt a sudden urge to know more about Jenny's past. Mrs. Langston glanced at him, wondering why he was asking about Jenny after their divorce. Nonetheless, she didn't dare to ask him why, and she told him the truth, "Miss Walter's daily routine here was very simple. She woul
A loud chime jarred Alec from his thoughts. Seeing that it was his grandfather calling, he immediately answered the call."It will be my birthday in three days. What are you going to get me?""Grandpa, how can you ask me that question?" Alec was dumbfounded."Why not? If I don't ask, I might end up not liking your gift?" Old Mr. Faust was holding his phone in one hand while stroking his beard with the other, grinning to himself. Thinking of the portrait of his grandfather he had prepared, Alec replied, "I promise you will like my gift.""To hell with your promises," his grandfather chided. "There's only one thing I want for my birthday.""Tell me what it is." Alec was much more patient when it came to his grandfather. After all, if Old Mr. Faust knew what he specifically wanted, it would be much easier for him."Bring Jenny to my birthday party," he said.Alec frowned. After a moment, he finally replied, "If you want her to attend your birthday party, it's better to call her you
The news of the Lawrences' bankruptcy and the acquisition of Lawrence Solutions by another company quickly spread throughout Parrington, shocking many people. Were the Lawrences, who had a close relationship with Alec, going down just like that?While everyone was shocked, they were more curious about the reason behind it. Some claimed that the Lawrences had offended someone, and others claimed that it was Alec who they had offended. In any case, there were all sorts of rumors. As soon as it was disclosed that the Mayflower Group, which Gilbert owned, had acquired Lawrence Solutions, more rumors began to brew. As all of this unfolded, Jenny calmly watched the news report. To begin with, the Lawrences had many weak spots. Given the information she had passed to Gilbert, it would be a miracle if they didn't go bankrupt. However, she didn't expect her brother to act so swiftly. She thought it would take some time, at least.Before she could give it more thought, Morgan knocked on he
Alec decided to come back the next day instead of waiting till the end of Jenny's operation. After all, his grandfather's birthday was the day after the next, so there was still time to invite her.When he entered his car and was about to head to work, Yvonne called him. "Alec, are you free this afternoon? Come shopping with me. I haven't been back for two years, and Parrington has changed a lot.""Sorry, I'll be busy this afternoon." Alec refused her invitation. If it weren't for Jenny, he would have agreed. However, after the incident with Jenny, he had an unexplainable dislike for the Dickmans. Since Jenny didn't like Yvonne, he didn't want to be too close to her.Yvonne didn't expect to be rejected. Although she was angry, she didn't lash out at him. Instead, she said, "The day after tomorrow is your grandfather's birthday. I want to choose a gift for him, but I don't know what he likes, so I just—”Although he couldn't see her, Alec could imagine the sad look on her face. It
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