Edward had meant to reject the call but accidentally tapped his phone to accept it instead. Bennett's stern, scolding voice came through at once."Edward Fowler! Do you think you've grown up and gotten tough? You won't even take my calls anymore?"Ever since Edward had posted that photo last night, Bennett had called repeatedly—ten times between then and that day—but the former had ignored every call."You're already divorced. What's the meaning of posting the marriage certificate? The Hart family is demanding an explanation. You'd better figure out how to handle it yourself!" Bennett snapped."What's there to explain? I'm not getting divorced, so there's no reason for me to enter into an engagement with a member of the Hart family," Edward replied coldly."Say that to my face if you've got the guts. I'll beat you to death, you ungrateful disgrace!" Bennett roared, enraged by his son's attitude.Edward sneered. "You think you can beat me? If it weren't for Grandpa, you'd already
Bennett frowned. "Adrian isn't even in the family tree, so the Hart family will definitely pick Ed first."Lana's expression instantly changed. She put on a tearful look and said, "We've been together for years, and our son is already grown. Do you think he's not good enough?""That's not what I meant." He rushed over to console her."After all this time, your father still refuses to acknowledge me or your son. He's your own flesh and blood, but he's not even acknowledged in the Fowler family tree. Everyone thinks that he's an illegitimate son." Lana sobbed even harder.Bennett's expression darkened. His father, Yosef, was still the head of the Fowler family. Yosef might've retired years ago, but he was still in charge of the company and the Fowler household.On top of that, he'd raised Edward and groomed him from an early age. Yosef never thought much of Adrian, so the odds of Edward inheriting the Fowler family's assets were pretty high.As Bennett pulled Lana into his arms,
Alice texted, "Don't worry, Mr. Fowler. I'll take care of May on your behalf. I'll hire ten male strippers tonight to help mend her broken heart."Edward tried calling Alice's number again, but he couldn't get through. Furious, he hurled his phone onto the passenger-side floor."Alice Hart!" Edward spat through his gritted teeth, tightening his grip around the steering wheel.If she really brought in a bunch of male strippers for Macie, he'd make sure that the entire Hart family paid for it.As anger surged through him, a wave of uneasiness crept in. He was genuinely afraid that Alice might go through with it. He picked up his phone as he desperately tried to figure out how to locate her.Edward considered calling Alice's parents but ended up dialing Sean instead. He thought that it would be easier to talk with a peer.He tapped the call button, and a moment later, someone answered."Mr. Hart, where is your sister right now?" he snapped.On the other end of the line, Sean let o
Alice said, "I'm eating now. You want me to go home tonight? "No. I'm still staying at my friend's place."She whispered into the phone, "Ugh, I'm not a kid anymore, okay? Do you think I'm out screwing around or something? We're going home now.""I'm not coming back until Mom and Dad let go of this arranged marriage idea," she added firmly.Sean, who was on the other end of the line, said something else, and Alice frowned. Her voice softened, and she said, "I won't return either. My friend has had some problems recently, and I need to be there for her."Okay. Fine. I'm hanging up now. Go date someone, will you? Also, stop trying to micromanage me like some overbearing dad. Bye."With that, she hung up.On the other end of the call, Sean stared at his phone, speechless. He stood up, grabbed his jacket, and told his driver to take him to Sunnyridge Heights.Inside the restaurant, Alice grabbed her bag and turned to Macie. "Let's go. We're heading to your place."Macie let Alice
"You only took one look? What if Macie and Alice leave again later? How can you guarantee that they won't get up to anything?" Edward tried to come up with an excuse.He continued over the phone, "So, tell me where you are. That way, I can—"However, Sean cut him off, saying, "Mr. Fowler, if you're worried, I can have someone stake out the place."Edward ground his teeth. It was clear that Sean had made up his mind not to reveal the address to Macie's home.Edward was about to offer something else or a business deal in exchange. But before he could speak, Sean interrupted again, saying, "If there's nothing else to say, I'll hang up now. As for the arranged marriage, let's call it off.""That was my dad's decision. I've never agreed to it anyway," Edward replied.Sean let out a derisive laugh and said harshly, "If you didn't agree to it, why didn't you just tell us? What's the point of posting a picture of the marriage certificate on your social media account? Are you trying to dr
"Mr. Fowler, you're really a failure at this whole being-a-decent-human thing. You said you weren't divorced. Yet, you don't know where she lives?" Sean clicked his tongue and continued, "If word got out, you'd be a laughingstock."Edward's hands curled into fists. He wanted nothing more than to punch Sean in the face. However, the call ended before he could even get the chance to curse him out."Goddamn it, Sean! I won't forget this," he growled through clenched teeth before hurling his phone again. "You and your sister are both worthless pieces of shit."After shouting, Edward tightened his grip on the steering wheel and stared into the pitch-black night. He had no idea how long it took for him to calm down before he drove off.He consoled himself with the thought that at least Macie hadn't gone to the strip club with Alice or hired a bunch of male strippers. She was at home.That was the only thing he could be thankful for.…At the entrance to Sunnyridge Heights, the black B
"I've got nothing to hide," Sean said flatly. "If you're set on blaming me anyway, then there's nothing more to say." He stayed calm when he saw Edward losing his temper.His tone stayed sharp as he continued, "As a stranger, why would I give out someone's private info? Even if you sued me, the court would take my side.""Sure, you don't know her, but you know me. Can't you just be on my side for once? Why are you making this harder than it has to be?" Edward shot back."I'm not here to pick sides but to do what's right," Sean replied."You…" Edward was seething. Every time he saw Sean putting on that holier-than-thou act, he fought the urge to punch the latter.He thought that Sean was such a pretentious asshole. Sean would act like a saint while walking around with a halo, spreading love and justice.The staff members were watching the scene in confusion. They wondered if Sean really knew Edward's wife. He denied it, but Edward was clearly hunting him down for answers abo
"Really? You're reluctant to invite me, yet you still booked the restaurant? Mr. Fowler, you really talk out of both sides of your mouth. Fine. I'll go and spare you the embarrassment," Sean said.He flashed a smile at the furious Edward and walked out.The manager from Fowler Group, Eric Coleman, muttered quietly, "How is that okay? Mr. Hart is way too chill."Edward immediately clenched his fists. He glared at Sean's retreating figure, and his expression darkened. Sean's words hit him like a punch to the gut.Eric dragged Edward along. He kept throwing Edward every desperate look, basically begging the latter to keep it together.Then, they quickly caught up with Sean.Sean was in a great mood. He looked at them and teased, "Mr. Fowler's giving me a death glare. I hope you're not planning to poison my food."Eric let out an awkward laugh. "You're funny, Mr. Hart. Of course not. Don't worry."He smiled and smoothed things over."If it doesn't kill you, I hope it leaves you sp
Yosef barked over the phone, "Edward and Macie's divorce isn't even final yet, and you were already rushing to arrange a marriage alliance with the Hart family. Did you seriously think that Edward would thank you for that? Don't give me that 'I did it for his own good' bullshit! You were clearly looking for your own gain!"After being chided by his own father, Bennett's face darkened. Clutching his phone tightly, he shot back, unwilling to back down, "Do you think your precious grandson will forever be grateful to you? You're doing the exact same thing you did to me—forcing him to marry someone he doesn't even like! The only difference is that, at least, my ex-wife came from a reputable family!"Yet, you made him marry an orphan with no notable background and no family to speak of. Careful, or one day he might realize the truth and hate you so much that he won't even show up at your funeral!""Y-You ungrateful little bastard!" Yosef was shaking. He was about to curse at Bennet when
Back when the Hart family tried to propose a marriage alliance to the Fowlers, they found out that Edward was already married. Now, the Fowlers had brought up the idea of an alliance again, claiming that he was already divorced.Diana had always wondered why the marriage hadn't been made public two years ago. The Fowlers were the kind of family that cared about social standing. Would the bride's family really agree to a hidden marriage? But after learning who Edward's ex-wife was, things started to make more sense. She figured that the elders of the Fowler family must have disapproved of the match altogether, so they skipped all the formalities. In the end, their marriage only lasted two years."Either way, Edward's not a good man," Sean added. "Alice said he was violent and that he put his ex-wife in the hospital with fractured bones. Also, do you remember his cheating scandal a while back? He nearly got her killed in a gas leak while trying to pressure her into a divorce."Every
Alice's words stunned Macie. The latter simply looked at Alice. She wondered who had the guts to trash-talk Alice and if it was another heiress from the same social circle."Do you need my help?" Macie asked.Alice shook her head. "It's better if you don't get involved. If you show up…" She paused. "You might get dragged into this, too. Don't worry. I can handle it."If Macie joined her in exchanging insults and Edward showed up mid-argument, he would drop his temper in a heartbeat and start groveling like a puppy. Alice felt gross when she thought about that. It'd be like watching a pig roll around with her prize-winning cabbage.So, she kept going toe-to-toe with that mad dog Edward. She called him out publicly and stirred things up in the socialite group chat. Her goal was to tarnish his reputation and warn the other women before anyone else was fooled by his polished mask and rotten core.That night, Edward's reputation was in ruins. Within their circle of elite families, he
Alice's instincts moved faster than her brain. She grabbed the phone from Macie's hand and smiled wryly. "Don't call back. It might be—"Macie interjected, "It's Nathan, Edward's assistant."Alice froze. Her face shifted through a range of emotions. She turned her head and said guiltily, "You've divorced Edward, right? Don't answer it or call back. It's probably because you blocked him, and now he's using Nathan's phone to contact you."Macie pressed her lips together and didn't respond. She had guessed as much and wasn't planning on returning the call.Alice quickly blocked the number, deleted the call log, and returned the phone to Macie."I already blocked that number. Don't answer calls from anyone related to Edward," she said.Macie nodded and continued to watch the movie. Alice was about to set the phone down when the messages started flooding in. The pinging sound felt like a ticking clock.Those messages were from Edward, and the content of his texts were insults dir
The officer looked at Edward and said, "Mr. Fowler, please mind your tone and choice of words. The other party has already agreed not to press charges."Edward slammed his fist onto the table furiously. "I didn't do anything wrong. Why the hell should Alice forgive me? This is completely messed up.""Ha, stubborn as a mule. How about—" Before Alice could finish, Nathan quickly stepped in and ended the call.He turned to the officer and smiled awkwardly. "Officer, we've provided all the necessary information. The other party has already verbally forgiven us. Can we go now?"The officer glanced at Edward and noticed that the release form hadn't been signed yet. Edward sat there, fuming. He wanted to tear the damn paper in half."Mr. Fowler, please sign it," Nathan urged as he approached him.Edward was seething. He'd never swallowed this kind of humiliation before. But if he didn't sign the document, he couldn't leave. And dragging in his connections would only tip off Yosef—some
"Mr. Fowler broke in illegally tonight, tricked the security, and even threatened me," Alice said.By now, the standoff had been resolved. The police had taken Edward into custody, but he was still cursing at her.She watched as he was led away. She scoffed, then turned to the security guard. "Remember his face. If he ever comes near the building again, call the police."The guard nodded. They were grateful that Alice had noticed in time. If the suspect had attacked Macie, a resident under their care, they would've been legally liable for it.The security team leader stepped forward and spoke to Alice. He tried to persuade her not to report the property management's failure to the authorities.She agreed and didn't give them a hard time. But her agreement was on one condition—that the security guard do not inform Macie about that night's events. Alice would tell Macie later.The security team leader understood. He assured her that the reminder sent to the property group would not
Alice went to the kitchen and told Macie that her brother had shown up. Then, she hurried downstairs. Macie didn't think anything of it.Outside the residential complex, Alice met the guards and police. She helped them to confirm Edward's identity. She also showed them her phone. Then, she explained that Edward had tricked his way inside and that she hadn't realized what he was doing at the time.Edward was ultimately arrested. He shot a vicious glare at Alice, who turned against him. He thought that the Hart brother and sister were a pair of damn troublemakers.Alice stared right back without a hint of fear. Edward was in a mess—his hair was disheveled, and his shirt was wrinkled. There wasn't a trace of that polished CEO image left."Well, well, well," Alice said sneeringly. "Mr. Fowler, breaking into someone's home and lying your way in? I can't wait to see what that does to your reputation."When they heard her address Edward as "Mr. Fowler", the police and security guards
"Sean wants to check in with the security guards to make sure everything's safe," Alice said.Macie quickly slipped off her gloves, grabbed her phone, and searched for the number. Alice took one quick look, memorized the number, then bolted back to her room and securely locked the door.The guard picked up the phone almost immediately. Alice hurriedly said, "There's a man outside the entrance trying to get in. His name is Edward Fowler. You need to stop him now!"He's dangerous and violent. If he gets to Macie Smith, the resident here, he could hurt her. And if that happens, your whole team will be held accountable."Inside the security booth, the guard on the phone glanced outside and shouted, "Is someone named Edward Fowler trying to get in? Stop him! He's a threat to a resident!"The guard at the entrance checked the visitor's log. As expected, it was the same suspicious man from earlier. It turned out that their instinct was right. The guard immediately alerted his compa
Alice texted Edward, "Where are you?"Edward shared his location.When she saw the name of the residential complex where he was, a chill shot down her spine.It turned out that this stalker was outside the entrance. She wondered if he had followed them there earlier. At that thought, she determined that it was because she'd let her guard down.Alice stole another glance across from her, only to lock eyes with Macie."What's wrong?" Macie asked when she noticed the sudden change in her friend's expression."It's nothing," Alice responded, smiling. "It's just my brother being annoying again."Macie nodded. Casually, Alice asked, "Is the security in this residential complex good? Strangers can't just walk in, right?"Macie thought that Alice's brother was overprotective, so she answered, "It's pretty tight. Security's on duty 24/7. No outsiders can get through unless a resident personally led them in."Alice was relieved to hear that. She figured that Edward was probably stuck at