Josie: [Don't worry about the company. We're proceeding according to the plan. We'll wait for you to personally review the quarterly report when you're back.]Josie: [We're very sorry for Mr. Hayes' passing.]Josie sent a photo, and Caroline tapped on it. It showed all the employees placing white lilies at Kenny's office. Caroline's eyes welled up with tears upon seeing the photo. Her tears dropped on the phone screen. She wiped them away and replied to Josie.Caroline: [Thank you all for waiting patiently. I'll be back in a few days.]She sent the same text message to the work chat group.The employees boiled over with excitement right away.Employee A: [Are you feeling better, Ms. Shenton? We were almost scared to death when we saw the trending post!]Employee B: [We're really glad that you're back safely, Ms. Shenton!]Employee C: [Sales hit a new high this month, Ms. Shenton! We're waiting for you to come back and celebrate together!]-Caroline felt warm and fuzzy in h
"You're finally back, Ms. Shenton!" greeted the female receptionist as Caroline returned.Caroline replied with a smile, "Yeah, I'm back."Happily, the receptionist held a card and walked toward the elevator with Caroline.While waiting for the elevator, she looked at Caroline and asked, "Are you feeling better, Ms. Shenton?""Thank you for your concern. I'm pretty much recovered." Caroline smiled elegantly."That's good."The elevator door opened, and the receptionist said, "Please go in, Ms. Shenton."Caroline nodded, entered the elevator with Elvira, and pressed a button.Josie rushed toward the elevator doors upstairs upon learning of Caroline's return. Nervously, she smoothed her clothes and watched the elevator ascend.She took a deep breath and greeted, "Ms. Shenton, welcome back…"Stupefied, Josie looked at the woman standing behind Caroline.Caroline exited the elevator, smiling at Josie. "Didn't I tell you not to come and receive me yesterday?"Josie averted her
It was understandable that Evan wielded significant influence and connections in Angelbay.Scott couldn't swiftly take over those connections, so he had no choice but to seek assistance in maintaining his position.Caroline was disgusted. She couldn't imagine Paige's emotions upon receiving the news.-When Alex read the news in the apartment, he promptly called Paige, who quickly answered. Somberly, Alex conveyed, "Paige, Scott got engaged to Azure."After a brief pause, Paige remarked, "Well, bastards are always the perfect match for bitches."Although she sounded calm, Alex could feel her fury.Concerned, Alex asked, "Paige—""I'm fine. Give me Carol's other number, Alex," Paige interrupted.Alex promptly texted Caroline's contact number to Paige. "I've already sent it to you. Do you need me to do anything?" he asked.Paige gasped. "Get someone to keep an eye on Azure. I'm going to hang up now because I need to talk to Carol.""Okay."After ending the call, Paige swift
They locked the door and relished typing on the keyboard.Calmly, Axel observed Tyler's enthusiasm for the laptop. "We should get ready to start, Ty."Tyler nodded. "Yeah. It's about time because we've wasted so many days."Axel powered on the laptop and gazed out the window while waiting. "I wonder how Lia's doing now. We haven't received any texts from her."Tyler halted his actions, looking at Axel helplessly. "If I'm not mistaken, she texted us last night. It's only been less than a day."Axel smiled awkwardly. "Is it? I find our days longer without her.""That's because we don't even know what we should do. We can't even go to school, can we?" Tyler explained."I don't know when this kind of life will end.""I'll text Mommy later and ask her to talk to Scott about us going to school.""Yeah, but let's not talk about this first. I'll help you remove the record of logging into the wireless network," Axel suggested."Sure, go ahead. I'll start looking up Elvira.""Great."
Tyler took control of the phone.Tyler: [I'll ask Aunt Yuliana to send you the data implantation tool tomorrow, Mommy. Be cautious.]Caroline: [Of course. Have you both been eating well lately? Any updates on Lia?]Tyler sent Caroline the photo that Liora had forwarded to him.Upon seeing Liora's selfie, Caroline was taken aback and quickly messaged Tyler.Caroline: [Is Lia no longer in Angelbay?]Tyler was perplexed.Tyler: [No, I don't believe so. She hasn't mentioned leaving Angelbay.]Liora's picture depicted her in a room with different furnishings from Benjamin's place at the cemetery.Caroline: [Give me Lia's contact number, Ty.]She soon received Liora's contact number, realizing only then that Evan and Liora hadn't disclosed it to her.Caroline called Liora without delay. After a brief wait, Liora picked up. "Hello?"Caroline recognized the familiar, childlike voice. Suppressing her longing to see Liora, Caroline gently said, "It's me, Lia."Liora's eyes widened
"Yeah, it's quite a drastic change, but you've endured it well," Benjamin remarked.Caroline sniffed. "I would like to know about the kids' father, Ben..."Benjamin sighed. "Everyone needs to experience the ups and downs in life, Carol. When you've weathered through it, what awaits you will be nothing but joy."I can't say much, but I can tell you that it's not a bad thing even if it's something that you can't figure out."Benjamin's words filled Caroline with indescribable emotions.She wondered what he meant by that and if she would experience less pain after letting go of Evan.Besides, she didn't understand what he meant by the things she couldn't figure out.Although Benjamin was ambiguous, Caroline still thanked him."Thank you for your advice, Ben. I heard from Lia about the school, and I'll transfer the money to her account.""Please don't, since I'm Lia's mentor. Plus, I can treat her as my granddaughter if you're okay with it since I'm childless."Caroline smiled. "
"I'll bear the consequences I should bear," Scott said straightforwardly.Azure nodded and said nothing more.Silently, she looked up at the bright moon and grew fonder of Scott. She once felt that Alex was the man she liked the most before meeting Scott, but now she realized that it wasn't the case. The man who could move and charm her the most was the man who had pulled her out of the darkness.She recalled the day when she was released. She had been resistant when her elders told her that she had to get engaged to Scott. After all, she couldn't marry the man she had never met.But Scott's gentle and amiable demeanor changed her thoughts when she saw him conversing with the elders. It might not be a bad thing to marry that kind of man. At least, he was so much better than more than half of the rich heirs in Angelbay.-Azure returned to the villa with Scott that night. After washing up, she sat by the bed in her bathrobe and waited for Scott to exit the bathroom.Nervously, sh
The mere thought took Scott aback. He struggled to comprehend why thoughts of Caroline would intrude at that particular moment, especially when she was with him.'Could I… No!' He deemed it impossible for him to harbor feelings for Caroline. 'Absolutely not!'While grappling with these thoughts, Scott rose to his feet and exited the guest room.Meanwhile, Azure was conflicted about Scott in the bedroom when she heard the door creak open.To her surprise, Scott had returned. In a daze, she uttered, "Scott..."Without hesitation, Scott approached the bed and seized Azure's arm, pulling her into an embrace.Then, he gently pinched Azure's chin and lowered his head to kiss her.However, as he did so, Caroline's image became increasingly clear in his mind.Gradually, his breath quickened, and he became more forceful with Azure.Nevertheless, he was resolute in not letting Caroline occupy his thoughts.-At 3:00 a.m., Caroline awoke to the buzzing of her phone. She fumbled for h