Rachel moved her mouse around, clicking through different links as she searched for information to the Chapman Group's latest design competition. Fine, detailed illustrations and graceful fonts were littered around the website. Her attention snapped to the theme of the competition, namely, youthfulness, the future, and hope. Rachel half-closed her eyes as countless ideas flashed through her mind. 'Youthfulness, the future, and hope, huh?' The quieter and calmer Rachel appeared, the more antsy the people around her behaved. Several design staff members wheeled themselves on their office chair to the employee who had previously tricked Rachel. "Melissa, I hear the new girl isn't just 'someone'!" "Not only that! Anne led her out of the president's office!" "Don’t be fooled by the fact that she has the same position as us. Just look at her station, she has the sunlight and space, she's definitely someone special!" "Tsk tsk, that sounds about right! Could she be the pre
Rachel carefully kept her draft away. Since she did not get enough sleep the night before, she gave a long yawn before slumping over her desk and took a nap. Nathan, who had been observing Rachel from his office the entire time, slowly stood up and walked to the fridge in the corner of his office. He opened up the fridge full of an assortment of cakes and desserts. Nathan simply took out a few of them, including a bottle of milk, and slowly made his way downstairs. Seeing as no one was around, he put the food down on Rachel's workstation. He then slotted his hands in his pocket and looked at Rachel sleeping. Before he returned to his office, he set the air-conditioning on the first floor to a higher temperature. Very quickly, lunch hour had passed and people began to return to the office. The noise returned too, replacing the serene silence. Hunched over her work desk, Rachel yawned and slowly sat upright. While she stretched and yawned, she accidentally pushed a past
Nathan sighed, wondering how he had managed to keep his friendship with a weirdo like Edward for more than a dozen years. Edward cared about — or it could even be said that he prioritized — his son, but he had never allowed pictures of his son to appear anywhere and that was because he wished to protect him. Similarly, pictures of his wife Rue had never appeared anywhere as well, though outsiders said he was trying to protect her. However, Nathan understood. Edward simply did not want Rue to appear anywhere, or else it would have connected him to her. Nathan tilted his head as if he did not understand anything at all. Years ago, Edward had told him that he slept with a woman and it was pretty clear that he was very attracted to her. He even publicized his search to find that woman. That woman was later known as Rue. So the searches ended as she appeared, but why was he so disinterested in her after that? It almost felt like he was disgusted by her. If not for that rea
Mrs. Bennet adjusted her handbag while she moved her gaze slowly from Ziggy and back to Rachel. Her brows were knitted in wretchedness. "Rachel, you know I hate people who break their promises, and you are that kind of person! What did I teach you when you were young? You should always keep your promises, but look at you now! You disappoint me!" Upon hearing Mrs. Bennet's words, Rachel's heart froze. This was her first time meeting her mother after five years, yet there was no morsel of concern or even a pretentious greeting. The moment Mrs. Bennet saw her, all she did was condemn and blame her. She thought her mother would show her a little kindness and yearning, even a little bit will do... Unfortunately, there were never any, to begin with. Rachel scoffed in a faked indifference. "What are you talking about, Mrs. Bennet? I don't understand." Mrs. Bennet was stupefied. "Rachel, what did you call me?" "Mrs. Bennet, am I wrong to call you that?" Rachel asked. Mrs. Ben
Mrs. Bennet looked at Rachel, hoping she would reprimand Ziggy for speaking out of order. Though instead of doing that, Rachel gave Ziggy a thumbs-up. Seeing that, Mrs. Bennet almost passed out. Rachel rubbed Ziggy's head. "Baby, you're so good. How did you learn to scold people without using swearwords?" Ziggy shrugged. "It's not that, I just can't be bothered to use swearwords on people like this." Rachel chuckled softly. "You're so good at it!" Mrs. Bennet clenched her jaw upon seeing Rachel's persistence and eventually dropped to her knees with a pitiable look on her face. "Rachel! I beg you, seeing that I carried you to term and that I gave you your life, promise me that you will leave the Orange Country forever. Can you do that?" Faced with a second kneeling from Mrs. Bennet, there was no longer any hint of sympathy from Rachel. Slowly, she lowered herself to Mrs. Bennet's height. "Mrs. Bennet, this seems to be your second time groveling for me, a younger generati
After Rachel's declaration, Ziggy replied with a straight face, "That's not right! I should be the one to protect mommy, not the other way around!" Rachel nodded with a smile. "That's right, my baby is protecting me!" At the same time, a Lincoln stretch limousine slowed to a stop on the side of the road. A side window of the limousine lowered, unveiling Nathan, as well as another man with flawless features and aloof nature, to Rachel. Nathan was a little taken aback seeing the child in Rachel's arms. The child was face-to-face with Rachel, so he could only see his back and not his face. Edward, meanwhile, was wholly focused on the document in his hands, not sparing any attention to anything outside. "Mr. Chapman." Rachel nodded and greeted simply. Nathan nodded in response and looked at the child in Rachel's arm. "The child is..." Rachel smiled, unafraid that she might lose the job after admitting that was her offspring. "Oh, this is my son!" Nathan did not manage
Jodie was speechless. She had never thought that was the reason Ian hated Rachel so much. 'Rue again, it's always about Rue!' Time after time, no matter what phase of abnormality Ian was going through, it was inevitably because of Rue! This time, unsurprisingly, it was Rue again! "Even Rue and Edward's child should've been mine and Rue's, it's our son..." Ian uttered in a drunken stupor, his mind completely filled with Rue and no one else. Seeing drunk Ian, Jodie quickly stood up from the sofa and held onto Ian's shoulder tightly. "Ian! Stop sinking deeper into your fantasies! Rue has already married Edward, she will never marry you!" Ian pushed Jodie away angrily. "Stop your nonsense! Rue is my wife! We have a child together! I know all of you are just jealous of us!" Falling heavily on the ground heavily, broken shards pierced Jodie’s skin and sank themselves deeply into her palms. She gasped and as she looked at the shards on her palm, she felt no pain at all.
Hearing no reply from the other side of the phone, Mrs. Bennet asked anxiously, "Rue? Are you okay, Rue?" Rue gritted her teeth. Even at her most hateful state, she could not express herself. "Don't worry, mom, I'm alright. What can we do if stubborn Rachel doesn't want to leave the Orange Country?" Mrs. Bennet sighed softly. "If Rachel did not have a child, she wouldn't have been a threat even if she stayed in the Orange Country. But as long as that child is here, it's so much more dangerous for you." How would Rue not know Mrs. Bennet's line of thought? Way back when she took the older brother away, she had an urge to take the younger one as well just so she could choke him to death! After all, if she saw the younger one, she would immediately think of Rachel! However, that would not do. If there was no baby in the nursery, Rachel would have her suspicions. That was why Rue left a baby in there even though she knew there would be risks. The best-case scenario was to t
Ziggy kept his head lowered. If he had lifted his chin, his face that was identical to Josh's would be recognized. "Mommy, I have a stomach ache. I'm going to use the toilet." He then turned around and ran, not seeing Jane who was approaching. As a result, the two crashed into each other, and Ziggy was sent flying before he landed by Edward's side. "Are you alright?" Edward helped Ziggy up with one arm but was stunned when he saw Ziggy's face. The little boy had pink lips, pearly teeth, and looked adorable. However, the child and Josh looked exactly the same too! Ziggy stood up straight, his wise-beyond-his-years eyes reflecting a hint of seriousness. "Looks like we can't hide it anymore." "Hide? Hide what?" Rachel and Edward asked simultaneously. Josh and Ziggy shared a look before Josh took his mask off. The moment the mask was off, Rachel froze in surprise. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the twins — Ziggy and Josh. She could not seem to react. "What, wha
Edward shook his head lightly, his eyes deepening in coldness. Since when did he catch a cold? Some ungrateful fool must be talking about him behind his back. Seeing as Josh and Edward were descending the staircase, the old butler approached them. "Master Edward, Young Master Josh, good morning." Josh nodded as he fixed his gaze on the main entrance of the house. "How is mother?" The old butler shook his head before saying, "Mistress is nowhere to be seen, I checked this morning. I didn’t see her anywhere." Josh's eyebrows raised. "Did you send someone to have a full sweep of the area?" The old butler answered. "We've looked everywhere, but we couldn’t find her." Edward carried Josh into the bathroom calmly. "Don't worry. She's an adult, not a child. She wouldn't have waited the entire night outside. She's probably back at the Bennets' place. He handed Josh the electric toothbrush. Josh took it before they both stood side by side and brushed their teeth by the sink.
Remembering how she had criticized Jodie, she was instantly filled with regret. So the former assistant set down the box in her arms and walked toward the entrance of the building. She needed to expose everything! Just as she was approaching the entrance, her hand was pulled and she was dragged aside. The assistant looked at Jodie, slightly disoriented. "Jodie? Why are you still here?" Jodie lowered her gaze and looked at the woman she had fired. "Why did you turn back?" The assistant retrieved the card from her pocket. "I saw this and realized I might have misunderstood you. So I turned back and saw the entire scenario. Jodie, I'm so sorry to have doubted you!" Jodie shook her head as she did not mind the apology. "There's nothing to apologize for. As long as you bring the card to that company, they'll give you a pretty good position." The assistant nodded, but her gaze lingered on Rue and Ian. "Jodie, thank you, but there's something I need to do before I go!" Jod
Jodie frowned and picked up the business card from the floor. Then, she pulled the assistant's arm and placed the card into her hand. "Don't be silly, you need the job. You need to build your career in the city so you can earn more money to send home, don't you?" The assistant scoffed before she turned around to pack her things. "I don't need your pretentious pity! Since you wanted me to leave, you must have cut me off any backup plans I may have, so save it!" Jodie backed up, still frowning. "I'm not pretending. I'm just thinking you should leave here before it's too late." The assistant was so enraged, tears began to well up in her eyes as she put her things in a box. "Fine, since the entire Comer Corps is yours! I'm just a tiny employee, I have nothing I can say!" After quickly cleaning up her desk, the assistant bumped into Jodie’s shoulder when she walked past Jodie as if she was avenging herself. Jodie almost fell. However, she still walked up and grabbed the assist
The next day, when Rue woke up in the bed, Ian was already dressed and prepared to leave. "Ian, where are you going?" Rue cocked her head and asked in confusion. Ian was slightly surprised. "I have to go to work." Disappointed, Rue lowered her head. "What about me, Ian? Where am I supposed to go?" Ian sat on the side of the bed and hugged Rue. "You weren't home the entire night, won't the Bluemels be worried about you? Why don't I send you home?" Rue's gaze lowered. 'Worried about me? Impossible! Why would the Bluemels worry about me?' She reached out and tugged at Ian's collar, shaking her head. "No, I want to follow you to work." Ian was a little hesitant. "Today? Right now? But I haven't let my current assistant go yet..." Rue grabbed onto Ian's waist with an affectation on her face. "So fire her. You're the general manager, right? It's just a phone call away. I want to be with you, the sooner the better..." Ian was ecstatic at Rue's words. He stroked her back.
Josh's eyes sparkled. When he had gifted the gift, Edward was aloof and only casually asked the old butler to keep it. However, he did not expect Edward to value it so much that he placed the table lamp here. Edward looked at Josh's sparkly eyes and patted his head. "What are you looking at? You should sleep. Aren't you going to school tomorrow?" Josh nodded quickly and the two fell onto the bed playfully. Even though the two were sleeping on one side of the bed each, Josh was satisfied. The moment he shut his eyes, Edward took him into his arms. The young Josh was immediately enveloped in Edward's warm embrace. Deeply moved, Josh's eyes opened wide. He then reached out to hug Edward's waist with a glad smile. As everyone had slowly drifted off into dreamland, a human figure sat in front of the Bluemel mansion, shivering in the cold breeze. Rue clutched her palms into fists. Seeing the darkness around her, she picked up her phone and dialed a number. A drowsy voice
Rue halted and turned around, her body trembling uncontrollably. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were right. She could not control a man like this! However, she did not want to give up on a man this exceptional, even though she could not manipulate him, and worse, she did not want to give Rachel the opportunity! "Edward, w-what is it? Do you have anything else you'd like to do?" Edward squinted coldly. "What are you trying to do, going upstairs?" Rue gritted her teeth. "I would like to go and rest..." "Rest? You hit my child, and now you want to go upstairs and rest?" Edward cocked his head with Josh in his arms. There was a chilling look on his face. Rue shuddered. "I've already explained myself. It was only an accident, but you didn't believe me. Besides, you've already hit me, what more do you want?" Josh tugged at Edward's hand non-stop. "Father, please let it go. I think mother might not be in a great mood tonight, so she..." Edward held onto Josh's tiny hand with his large
Rue's expression was full of darkness and displeasure. "What did you say, Josh? You've become bad. You weren't like this before. Who taught you to disobey your mother like this?" Josh allowed Rue to pull him around by the collar and his face turned redder by the second. Lifting Josh by his collar, Rue almost strangled him as Josh was about to pass out from not being able to breathe. "No one taught me, I was only stating the fact." Rue's eyes narrowed as she lifted Josh higher and higher, not paying attention to how he was struggling to breathe. "Rue, what the hell are you doing?!" Edward was standing on top of the staircase when he called out coldly. He could not wait for Josh to knock on his door anymore, so he went outside to see what was happening. However, He did not expect to be treated to a sight like this! 'That woman deserves death for treating my son like this!' Hearing Edward's voice, Rue whipped around instinctively to look at Edward. She shuddered and
Rachel paused, confused. "Baby, why do you say 'again'? I just found out from them this afternoon, did you already know?" Ziggy shook his head. "No, didn't you just mention the incident at the toilet?" Rachel scratched her head awkwardly. "Oops, I must've confused myself."Ziggy reached out from under the blanket and patted Rachel's head with a smile. "Mommy is a little scatterbrained!" Rachel hugged Ziggy and rolled around in bed as they both laughed loudly like bells. "Baby, I have a feeling that a guardian angel is protecting me! Every time something bad happens, they’ve always protected me from all the bad things!" Ziggy nodded happily. He wanted to tell Rachel that he was the guardian angel she was talking about.However, to avoid scaring her, he chose to remain silent. "That's right! Mommy's guardian angel must be very handsome!" Rachel pouted. "How do you know it’s a man?! I think she must be a beautiful woman angel!" Ziggy shook his head decisively. "No no!