Jenny wanted to turn him down, but she was a bit hesitant. After all, she didn't exactly have any conflicts with Luke. It seemed rather unreasonable for her to refuse him outrightly. She thought she shouldn't let Alec affect her that much.As she thought about it, Luke continued, "Jenny, Walter Inc and Faust Group haven't tried collaborating over the years. I happen to have a good project in hand now. Why don't you consider it?""Since you put it that way, what reason do I have to refuse you?" Jenny agreed with a polite smile. It was also at that moment she realized the reason why she didn't like Luke.Luke was the kind of person who would not give up until he achieved his goal, and to do that, he wouldn't bat an eye when resorting to unscrupulous means. That was why Jenny instinctively disliked him.However, as Luke had mentioned, both families had never worked together before. If he really had a good project in hand, Jenny wouldn't mind having a meal with him. After all, it was j
In the face of Evan's mockery, Alec was unfazed. He approached Evan because he had something to discuss with him and not to argue or pick a fight. After Evan was done speaking, Alec asked, "Does it matter which fool it is? What matters is whether they'll cause you trouble, don't you think?"Evan frowned and stared at Alec for a while before smiling. "What are you trying to say?"Alec wouldn't approach him for no reason. There must be a purpose behind his action; he couldn't have come up to him simply for an idle chat."Why don't you help me deal with Xavier?" Alec smiled, and from his tone, it sounded more like he wanted to discuss the matter rather than ask him a favor.Evan was surprised by Alec's words. He looked at him for a while, and after confirming that Alec wasn't joking, he couldn't help but laugh. "What makes you think I would help you? Besides, it's Luke who's in my way now, not his father. Aren't you taking me for a fool by asking me to deal with Xavier?"It was Luk
"As the saying goes, 'Know thy self, know thy enemy; and you can win a hundred battles without defeat.' You should understand this principle more than anything." Although Evan appeared before he had fully regained his memory, Alec had a gut feeling that he would pose a threat to him, so he spared no expense in investigating him thoroughly.After a moment, Evan smiled helplessly and said, "Mr. Faust, you truly are meticulous in your thinking. I'm in awe."He had also investigated Alec, but all the information about him was publicly available, and anything he found could be found by anyone else. Because of that, there was no value in using any of that information against him.Alec didn't respond to his praise but asked, "What do you think of my proposal earlier, Mr. Clarke?""What if I refuse?" Evan asked."It's okay," Alec said indifferently. Before Evan could breathe a sigh of relief, Alec continued, "That would give me something to talk about with Jenny. I think she should know q
Unexpectedly, Alec shook his head, his expression solemn. "If Xavier is dead, Luke won't be able to cause much trouble. And if two people from the Faust family die at once, you won't be able to withstand Zeke's wrath."The head of the Faust family wasn't to be trifled with. It wouldn't matter if Evan's men were brought in from abroad; if Zeke got serious, not a single one of them would be spared, and Evan himself might even end up in trouble too."That's true." Evan understood the reasoning as well. He just wanted to see if Alec was intentionally trying to get him killed. However, the result surprised him."Don't worry. We're working with each other now. I won't knowingly send you to your death." Alec glanced at him, once again able to tell what he was thinking.Evan sneered coldly and said, "I find it more desirable to work with Xavier to kill you rather than help you kill him." Alec was even more detestable than Luke, and the threat he posed was even greater."Is that so? Are yo
Jenny felt a bit embarrassed at his words. "Sorry, I—""It's okay." Alec stopped her; he didn't need Jenny's apology. "Do you have time to go for a walk together?""Sure." This time, Jenny didn't refuse.These days, she didn't have her meals with Evan or Alec. In fact, she was kind of avoiding them. She knew how both of them felt toward her, but the more she was aware of it, the less she wanted to think about it.She could give a clear answer to Evan, but the same couldn't be said for Alec. Jenny didn't have an answer in her heart.Alec didn't drive, so he walked with Jenny along the roadside. They walked side by side, but neither spoke, yet the atmosphere wasn't awkward.There weren't many people on the street at night, especially on the small path near the river where they were walking. Only a few sporadic night runners were around, making it particularly quiet."Is your work at the hospital going well?" Alec asked as they walked. He asked it in a way as if they were old frien
If she didn't like it, she would have pushed him away at the first instance, feeling repulsed by him or maybe even slapped him.All that should have happened instead of what went on now—she neither pushed him away nor raised her hand against him, and her heartbeat was faster than usual.Jenny's originally flushed cheeks were even redder now. Her cheeks were practically scarlet, looking like a ripe, delicious apple meant to be devoured.When she regained her senses and wanted to slap Alec, he didn't give her a chance to do so. He lowered his head and planted another kiss on her lips. The unique scent of his breath came between their lips, and Jenny was so dazed by the kiss that she lost all sense of her surroundings and couldn't tell where she was for a moment."I told you this is a good place for kissing. Look at them. They're even bolder than us." A voice came behind them, presumably from the young couple they had seen earlier.Jenny's face turned even redder at that, and she for
Jenny was already feeling upset and restless in the first place. Since Stephanie asked, she decided to tell her everything, hoping that she could help analyze Alec's behavior. After she listened to Jenny pouring out everything that was troubling her, Stephanie's mouth opened wide in shock. It was so wide, an egg could easily fit in. "Jenny, shouldn't you be analyzing yourself now?" She couldn't understand why Jenny didn't notice she was behaving abnormally too.Upon hearing that, Jenny paused, seemingly coming back to her senses. "Alec forcefully kissed you, and you're not scolding him; instead, you're analyzing his mind? Jenny, are you having brain fog?" Stephanie was speechless, not knowing what else to say.There was a brief moment of silence where Jenny was embarrassed and didn't know how to respond either. "I was too stunned to react at the time.""Then what about now? Have you snapped out of it yet?" Stephanie asked, feeling like Jenny hadn't just failed to react but had
It was a Saturday the next day.The sound of her phone ringing woke Jenny up from her sleep. She reached out a hand from under the covers and answered the call. "Hello? Who is it…Oh, it's you, Evan…Where did you say you were?" Jenny sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. If she didn't hear him wrongly just now, it seemed like Evan was saying he was right outside Walter Castle. Jenny came to her senses after a while. "Alright, I'll send the butler to pick you up." She hung up the phone and rubbed her temples. Although she had fallen asleep quickly after talking to Stephanie on the phone last night, she didn't sleep well. It was because she had a dream about Alec that was quite inappropriate, and it annoyed her.With no time to think too much, she got up from bed, freshened up, and walked out of her bedroom. She noticed Evan sitting in the living room downstairs right away."Evan, why did you come so early?" Jenny was puzzled and quickly walked downstairs toward him.It had been a few
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