Xavier and Yvette were sitting quite close to each other. While listening to her, he could smell her nice body scent. He gulped. Recently, he had started to have dreams about their past, including their intimate moments."Do you still not believe me?" he asked. His voice was hoarse. Yvette looked at him. Figuring that he wouldn't lie, she shook her head. "No, I'm just thinking that you're amazing. Although you can't see, you can play the piano. You even helped me amend my piece."The helplessness in her voice gave him a clue as to why she had sounded so sad when he had come in. Her spirit seemed to wither. "Because I have to excel," he said softly.She was stunned.He continued, "I've been dreaming about my childhood lately. I took all kinds of classes. I was groomed to be the heir of the family. I had no choice but to grow up."He paused momentarily before continuing, "Even today, it's the same. If I'm not good enough, how can I look after you and your baby?"Yvette didn'
Zachary was clearly putting Xavier in a difficult spot, and Viola could tell immediately.Right when she was going to refuse the offer, Xavier piped up, "Yes, I'll go fishing tonight."That caught the ladies surprised. Yvette wondered, "Why so suddenly?"Viola wasn't buying it. It was the cold winter, and the frozen layer over the river would be at least 12 inches thick. How was he going to catch fish from the river? Even if he was going to bluff, he should've made up something reasonable. But reality proved them otherwise. There was nearly nothing that money couldn't do. At 10:00 pm, freshly caught fish was delivered to their doorstep! It was Viola's favorite—carp!Xavier handed the fish over to Yvette. She then quickly made some soup with the fresh ingredients. She left some fish to share with the neighbors later, too.Yvette wasn't curious about how Xavier had gotten the fish. After all, people were willing to help as long as they were paid. However, Viola didn't want t
The car slowed down to a stop at the entrance of Seasons Hotel.Sitting in the car, Kiki stared at the inside of the hotel. Emotions swirled in her. Forcing herself to calm down, she alighted from the car with Zachary. Yvette got out of the car too.Zachary looked at his watch. It was almost time, but the man wasn't here yet! Did he not want to earn money? What a bad service! If Zachary could leave feedback somewhere about the man, he would surely give the man zero stars!On the other hand, Kiki hadn't taken his words seriously. After all, how could a kid find her a plus-one who was better than Leonard? She looked over her shoulder at Yvette. "Yvvy, I'm so nervous."Yvette stepped forward to hold her hand. "Relax. I'm here with you."All these years, Kiki hadn't gotten into a new relationship because of Leonard—not that she hadn't had any suitors; she had turned all of them down. Back when she had just returned to the country, the first thing she had done was look for Leonar
Since Kiki was a CEO's daughter, Olivia believed Leonard would definitely benefit from keeping in touch with her. Alas, Yvette saw through Olivia's intentions. As the realization struck her, she could no longer be bothered showing Olivia any respect. She didn't even care that Leonard was there with them."Oh, I see. You sure are a selfless mother. Your son is getting married, and you're helping him find mistresses. Does your future daughter-in-law know?" Without waiting for Olivia to response, Yvette continued, "Kiki isn't hung up on your son; she's here to attend the wedding. She only wants to see which proper lady is going to be ruined by your family."After speaking, Yvette coldly looked at Leonard. "Mr. Cook, I can finally see where you got your personality from. If you're just going to stand there and let your mother say things like that, do you even deserve to be a lawyer?"Before she'd come to the wedding, she hadn't known Olivia's true colors; she'd thought that Leonard
A live broadcast of the wedding banquet was playing in a room upstairs at the hotel.Mark was stunned. "Since when was Zachary Kiki's son?"Ever since Xavier had returned to Tirion, he'd been meticulously ensuring Yvette's safety. He told Mark it wasn't stalking; rather, it was a measure of protection. That was why he had bodyguards recording Yvette and the others at the banquet downstairs. Mark could hear them loud and clear.Xavier wasn't surprised by Mark's remark. It was quite normal for two best friends to "share" a son. But "daddy"?Since Zachary had mentioned the most powerful man in Tirion, Xavier wondered if he should make an appearance. Then again, he was blind now. Besides, even if Yvette and Kiki could share a son, they couldn't possibly share a husband. Xavier had no intention of being another woman's husband, either.He instructed Mark, "Go downstairs and take care of it." Yvette's friends were his friends; he couldn't let his friends be bullied."Yes, sir."
Zachary's face darkened. How had Tristan gotten the invitation meant for the male escort he'd hired? It seemed like Tristan had taken advantage of the situation.Zachary had no choice but to play along. "You're right, Dad" he echoed.At that moment, the three of them looked every bit like family as they stood together. Leonard watched the beautiful scene in front of him, feeling a sting in his eyes. He maintained a calm facade as he greeted Tristan. "Mr. Shaw, I apologize for the poor hospitality."Tristan's narrowed eyes glanced at Leonard, his gaze icy. He said slowly, "It's not just poor hospitality. You've insulted my woman and son. How do you plan to settle this? You're a lawyer, right? Are you confident you can win your case?"For the Shaws, crushing Leonard would be like squashing an insignificant ant. Leonard understood this well too. "I'm sorry. Please allow me to apologize to you."However, Tristan had no intention of accepting his apology. He turned to Kiki, Zachary,
As Tristan watched the three of them leave, his brows furrowed slightly. "Not even a thank you," he muttered before getting back into the car.Inside the luxurious limousine sat an elderly man with a full head of white hair. Exasperated, Archibald said, "You useless brat. They didn't get in the car, and you're not even trying to go after them? Don't you know what persistence is?" He was deeply concerned about Tristan's marital status. When he'd overheard Tristan casually mention Zachary's note about finding someone to pretend to be his father, he'd insisted that Tristan attend the wedding. He'd threatened that Tristan wouldn't live to see the next day if he didn't. Hence, Tristan had come to the rescue."Am I the type to be persistent?" Tristan retorted.Archibald raised his cane, ready to strike. "I'm telling you, Kiki is the only woman I'll recognize as my granddaughter-in-law. You must marry her, by any means necessary."After he'd met Kiki, he'd had someone look into her.
"Yvette?"Shannon looked at Mandy, her mind racing with various speculations. Still, she didn't think that Zachary could be Yvette's son."Could Zac's father be a relative of Yvette's?" Shannon mused.Mandy also found this plausible. "Recently, Ms. Snyder's mother and brother have also returned to Tirion."Upon hearing that Yara had returned, Shannon visibly became glum. "Surely they aren't trying to leech off our family again."Mandy informed Shannon that Yara had married a wealthy businessman overseas and was now financially well-off. However, it only made Shannon despise Yara even more; she thought the latter was a useless woman who could only survive by relying on a man.As the conversation shifted, Shannon forgot about Zachary. "By the way, how is Xav doing?""Mr. Lane hardly goes out; he stays home all the time," Mandy replied, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the once-proud Xavier who had fallen so low.Shannon sighed. "It's on him for not listening to me. If he'd had