Jenny was about to reach the main hall when Blake stormed toward her, her eyes moist and red."You sneaky bitch!" Blake screeched.Jenny cocked an eyebrow at her. She hadn't crossed Blake a single time tonight, so what the hell was she on about?"Alec wanted to break up with me, but I know it was your doing, wasn't it?!" Blake screeched again like a tire hissing on the pavement."Alec's breaking up with Blake?" Jenny thought. She was truly surprised. She had only told Alec to not rely on Blake or her family, and here he was, already breaking up with her. Still, she smiled. "I'm not sure what you mean, Ms. Watkins?""Stop that pathetic act, Jenny Walter! You told Alec to break up with me, didn't you?" The second Alec returned to her after talking to Jenny, he had raised the topic of breaking up, even emphasizing it had nothing to do with Jenny.What? Did she take Blake for some idiot?Jenny chuckled, then asked, "Aren't you just business partners with Alec Faust?""We—" Blake st
If Jenny was in Blake's position, she'd spend her time moping over her minimal chance of being heir to do what she loved instead. She'd even leave the family if that meant finding her own happiness. Sadly Blake didn't plan to do so. She neither had the determination nor wanted to let go of the safety net that was her family, so she could only let her family conflict painfully tug at her from all angles.Jenny spotted Alec the moment she returned to the hall. His height made it nearly impossible to miss him. The man nodded slightly at her when their gazes met but did nothing else. Now Jenny didn't know what that meant. So she paid no mind to it and continued on with the night.Near the end of the celebrations, Jenny heaved a great sigh in anticipation of the night ending and was grateful nothing terrible happened. But the moment she did that, she spotted Randy Glass walking into the hall.The Glasses had long gone bankrupt, and neither had they been invited to tonight's celebration
The first thing that came to mind when Jenny saw the dozens of bombs strapped to Randy's body was to run, but Randy seemed to have guessed it already. "I advise you to stay put, or I'll blow up these pretty little things and hurt everyone here."So Jenny stayed put. Even if Randy didn't detonate the bombs, she still had to put on a brave front to protect the others' life, or she'd become the talk of the town for the next decade for being a coward."Good, good. You still have your wits about you, I see." Randy's grin turned menacing as he dragged Jenny up onstage, the bomb detonator in the other hand. He tapped on the mic and said, "Good evening, everyone. Glad to be here tonight."The audience was deathly silent, though Randy didn't seem to mind. He scoffed. "Dear me, it doesn't sound like I'm very welcome here. I'll warn all of you first. Any of you try to escape this place tonight, and I'll send the building collapsing on us all." Now the crowd of guests was really frenzied. The
Randy nodded in approval, then gazed at Graham and James amongst the crowd. "You two are so fucking pleased with yourselves, aren't you? You got what you wanted—my family wiped off from Bardoff City.""You can tell us what you want, Randy, and we'll give it to you, whatever it is. Just let Jenny go first. I'll swap places with her instead." Graham offered. If Randy detonated those bombs on his body, he would lose his daughter.Randy snorted. "I said to stay put, didn't I?"Graham pursed his lips but stayed where he was.While everyone waited for Randy to speak up about what he wanted from them, Stephanie had just returned home. She was about to relax and head inside after the exhausting night when she spotted someone familiar at the door.Chills ran down her spine. She froze where she was, hesitating about whether to go forward or not."Shit, it's not like I could wait out there all night. Plus, there's no reason to be scared of him. He doesn't have any influence in Bardoff City.
"Let me make it up to you." Paul grabbed onto Stephanie's wrist, stopping her from walking away."Some things aren't that easy to mend," Stephanie replied."I know I messed up before, Stephanie. But I know better now. I know I need to improve, so please, give me a chance." Paul said dearly. In truth, he rarely showed this side of himself, so Stephanie was actually touched by his words. She loved him once, after all. But still, she remained level-headed. They weren't compatible. Even if they dated one another, they'd never have a happy ending.There was no point in wasting each other's time.Shaking loose from Paul's grip, Stephanie said, "You don't need me around to improve yourself. You should be able to do it alone."Steph—"Paul was cut off by his ringtone. He was about to decline when he saw the caller ID. His expression changed the moment he heard the other person speak. Stephanie picked up on it instantly. Something told her it wasn't anything good.But it was none of
A sniper. Probably from the police force.But their shot wouldn't hit a vital spot, which meant Randy still might be able to trigger the detonator.Jenny decided to try and get Randy to move into the sniper's target."I know you just want your family to go back to how they used to be. I can make that happen," Jenny said.Randy narrowed his eyes at her. "How?""I can return all the properties that belonged to you. I'm sure all the witnesses here can hold me accountable.""We'll do the same," James spoke up. Nothing was more important than Jenny's safety.Randy seemed to believe them for a split second before quickly scoffing. "What use would that be? Just because you'll return me to my former glory doesn't mean you won't also come after me later."He knew there was no way things could ever go back to how they used to be, not with the police probably already gathered outside to take him in."But imagine the good it'd do for the rest of your family," Jenny said.It didn't look l
Alec huffed a laugh, then raised his palms in the air to indicate he wasn't going to do anything. He then slowly walked over to Randy and handed him the guarantee.Just as everyone thought the danger would pass, a voice came from the crowd. "He isn't actually going to believe them, is he? I mean, who here would even stand with the Glasses to enforce the guarantee? Is he that naive?"Randy immediately dragged Jenny back upon hearing it, his expression shifting drastically."Naive? Haha…hahaha!" He cackled hysterically. Though the guarantee had been a shifty idea, he had still held out hope. He hadn't wanted to commit suicide that night, either.But it was too late now."Let's all fucking die then, shall we?!" Randy roared, pressing the detonator.Before he could, Jenny swiftly wrestled out of his grip and reached for the device."Get out of the way!" she cried, diving for it.Someone reached out at the very last second, then came the loud sound of bones breaking."Fuck!" Randy
After removing the bombs from Randy's body, the bomb squad disarmed another one by the hall entrance before announcing they were done. Only then did they realize that Randy had never planned to kill anyone, just intimidate them. They could've left at any time they wanted from any other entrance in the hall.Those pissed at being messed with took their chance to go up to Randy to slap and kick at him with all their might.As the guests left, Jenny recalled what was spoken when Randy was about to seize the guarantee. No one else had noticed, but Jenny had immediately recognized who had spoken—Yvonne Dickman.She turned to find the woman, who immediately hid behind Brandon under her searing glare.Brandon wasn't looking too good at the moment, either. He had heard Yvonne speak during that tense moment, thus incurring Jenny's wrath.With a sneer, Jenny warned, "You better be careful, Mr. Britt. The rose you adore so much might bleed you with her thorns."Brandon stiffened but said no
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