"I assumed they wouldn't invite you," Max said with a scowl. "Was it that bastard Alec who invited you?""No, it was his grandfather," Jenny replied. "Considering my previous relationship with him, it makes sense for him to invite me, especially since I was married to Alec."Max's expression darkened. "I didn't realize you and the old man were on good terms.""Yeah, not too bad," Jenny said.The room fell silent until Max said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow. Is that alright?""That's fine," Jenny agreed, not wanting to go back on her promise.Max got up and headed toward the door, but Jenny stopped him with a question. "I've been curious about this. Why do you hold a grudge against Alec?"She had never heard of any feud between the two families. However, from Max's behavior, she could tell that something big must have happened between Alec and him, which made her curious.Max's hands trembled slightly, and a look of distress crossed his face, which made Jenny regret asking. When
Jenny believed that the only reason Max was so infuriating was that he hadn't been properly beaten up before. She took a deep breath and continued her work in the hospital, not wanting to dwell on why Alec feared the dark. When she returned home, she ran into Alec and decided she had to start making plans to move out of the condominium. In the elevator, she pretended Alec wasn't there. After a long silence, Alec finally spoke up and asked if Jenny had received a call from her grandfather. "Are you talking to me, Mr. Faust?" Jenny asked.She already knew the answer to that. Alec's expression darkened, but he tried to remain calm and asked, "Who else could I be talking to? Is there someone else here?""Oh, I received a call from him," Jenny replied nonchalantly. When asked if she would be attending, she answered, "Of course, I will go since Grandpa invited me."However, she quickly added, "If you don't want to see me there, I'll make sure to avoid you and promise not to run into y
The two found a table at the joint and sat down. Alec showed his dislike of the surroundings clearly on his face, causing Jenny to laugh. "You don't seem to like this environment, so why did you choose to live at Perry Residence?" she asked. "If you lived at the Faust Mansion, you wouldn't have to put up with this kind of place within ten miles."Alec didn't answer. The Faust Mansion was a private property with few people in its compounds, which was perfect for a picky person like Alec. He used to live at the Faust Mansion before he got married, but after the marriage, he didn't want to live there because Jenny was there, so he found a place near his company. However, after getting divorced, he was going to move back, but he hadn't expected to see Jenny again. Now, he wasn't sure if he still wanted to move.Jenny looked at Alec for a few seconds, then said sarcastically, "It's not easy for you. You couldn't go back home after getting married."She didn't bother hiding her sarcasm,
Sitting across the table, Alec continued to drink, leaving Jenny's question unanswered for a while.A thought crossed her mind as she looked at him. "Don't tell me you like me?" she asked.Despite her expectations for a righteous denial, Alec remained silent.Feeling nervous, Jenny swore at him. "You're crazy!"Alec put down his glass and replied, "I'm crazy if I like you? What kind of logic is that!"Jenny countered, "It's fine if others like me, but not you.""What sort of psycho only fell in love after his divorce?" Jenny wondered to herself.Alec sighed, "You know, sometimes I think…if I had met you once during our marriage, we'd still be together."Jenny asked in disbelief, "You're telling me you fell in love with me at first sight?"She found it absolutely ridiculous. Alec didn't confirm nor deny it. At that moment, Jenny was feeling conflicted. She regretted her decision to agree to Alec's request to talk. She proceeded to munch on her skewer as she contemplated her c
Alec was silent for a long time. Just as Jenny thought he was about to get angry again, he said, "I'll pick you up for the birthday party tomorrow.""You don't have to do that." When Jenny's rejection was met with Alec's murderous gaze, she explained, "Max invited me to the party first."In other words, Alec was too late. Jenny noted the violent heaving of Alec's chest, and she guessed that he was on the verge of lashing out in rage.After remaining silent for so long that Jenny thought he would never speak again, Alec suddenly said, "Alright then, I'll wait for you at the venue."Jenny didn't try to provoke him further. After all, offending him would do her no good. She just wanted to set clear boundaries with him.As she reached for another skewer, she asked, "Won't you be with Yvonne?""Who said that?" Alec immediately retorted. "We grew up together, so we're just close friends."He had never liked anyone in the past, which was why he allowed himself to get so close to Yvonne
The next day, Jenny was woken up by Max's phone call."What time is it? Why are you disturbing my sleep?" she answered, her tone gruff and unpleasant. It surprised Max, but he quickly recovered. "Did you not sleep well last night?"She had a hard time sleeping last night as the image of Alec's face plagued her mind. As a result, she didn't sleep a wink for the first time."Is something wrong?" Jenny took a deep breath to steady her emotions."Aren't you going to attend Mr. Faust's birthday party today? That's why I'm calling. I'm going to bring you to a stylist this morning," Max said. He felt a little hurt as Jenny was the first woman he had treated so well. Unfortunately for him, Jenny didn't care at all.Jenny slapped her forehead. Barely keeping her anger in check, she replied, "If I remember correctly, the birthday party will only begin at night. Why must I go to the stylist so early in the morning? Is your brain still asleep?""Don't girls usually spend all day at the styli
Although Alec stayed quiet, his ugly expression said it all. Based on his understanding of Jenny, she would agree. In fact, she would likely be very involved with the plan."See you tonight, Mr. Faust. I hope you won't inform the Dickmans." Waving at him, Max entered his car. Alec watched as Max's flamboyant red sports car rolled out of sight. Then, he turned to look at Jenny's floor before he left.Jenny slept until noon, making up for the sleep she had lost the previous night. Once she got up from bed, she checked her phone. Morgan had sent her a text, asking her if she wanted to attend Old Mr. Faust's party together with her. After replying to her, Jenny read the texts from other people. Stephanie had sent her one, saying that she didn't have time to attend the party and hoped Jenny would send her wishes to the old man well for her.It seemed that Stephanie had become very busy now that she had started working for her family after they almost went bankrupt. She was truly dese
Jenny and Gilbert talked on the phone for a long time. After discussing how to attack the Dickmans, they ended the call.In the blink of an eye, it was already 4.00 pm, and there were only two hours left before Jenny had to leave for the birthday party at 6.00 pm. She rose from the sofa and headed to the closet, where she dressed herself.The birthday party was held at Empire State Hotel, which was the most luxurious hotel in Parrington. Nonetheless, it was a small feat for the Fausts to book the entire hotel.As the organizer of the party, Alec arrived at the hotel early to oversee the preparations. After all, it was his grandfather's 70th birthday, so of course he had to help out."Please go and rest, sir. I'll watch over the preparation," Warren said, seeing him busy himself all day.However, Alec didn't leave. "Where's Grandpa?" "He's resting upstairs. Do you want to meet him there?" After a moment of thought, Alec nodded. "I'll check on him. I'll leave the preparations to
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