For a moment, neither of them reacted. They froze in the same position as the light from the phone shone between them. Rebecca stared into Daniel's deep eyes, feeling the damp warmth on her hand, and gulped.The action snapped her back to reality. Ripping her hand out of his grip with more force than necessary, she turned her back to Daniel. She didn't need to mirror to know how red her face was at the moment—her ears felt like they were on fire.Breathing deeply, she reprimanded herself silently, "What the heck, Rebecca? You just touched his hand! It wasn't like you were fondling his chest just now." As her mind raced a mile a minute, she heard Daniel's voice from behind her. He sounded wide awake now."Are you blushing, Rebecca? Weren't you just touching me when I woke up?""Shut up!" Rebecca interrupted irritably. She turned back to glare at him.Daniel laughed. Under the light of the phone, his eyes seemed to soften with mirth. "I was right, wasn't I?""Just shut up," Rebecca
Rebecca turned toward the sound. Barefoot and disheveled, she looked like the very picture of poignant beauty, a damsel in distress. The fact that she didn't realize how alluring she looked only fueled Daniel's anger even further, or maybe it was just because Sam was with her. "I mean, I don't mind if you really want to pay for my shoes," Rebecca said, not understanding the source of his anger. She brushed her hair behind her ears, looking bemused. "You could go to the mall and get me a pair right now. I really don't care as long as they're new."Sam, on the other hand, could see where the animosity came from. He glanced at Rebecca, then took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. "In that case, Mr. Winston, get going. You wouldn't want Rebecca to be barefoot when we leave, would you?" He gave Daniel a look. When their eyes met, sparks flew. "With you? She's my wife. She's not going anywhere with you," Daniel snorted coldly.Everyone around them had their ears perked, but none
Karen didn't seem to have expected his prompt answer. She was stunned for a minute."Mom, what happened?" Jessica asked anxiously when she saw Karen's expression, fearing the worst. Karen did a double take on Daniel's message and breathed a sigh of relief. "We did it!" she laughed. "Daniel said he'll be here soon. Don't forget what I taught you; act as pitifully as possible. Men love that stuff." Jessica nodded in relief as well. "Yes, Mom," she said obediently. "From now on, I'll listen to you. I won't act on my own again." As long as Daniel was willing to see her, she still had hope. She didn't want to be tormented by that demon again.Karen didn't know what was on Jessica's mind. She just felt sorry for all the bullying Jessica had been through online lately. "That's okay, my darling daughter. I'm sorry you had to go through all this," she said, hugging Jessica. "I'll help you with whatever you want, and I'll seek justice for you when you're mistreated. Okay?"Jessica leane
However, Rebecca wasn't at all surprised. Even before the true nature of her relationship with Ethan was made public, she had already anticipated that the Browns would come looking for her. She just didn't expect it to take so many days for them to call her. She was eager to answer the phone. After letting the phone ring out for a while, she picked it up slowly. She answered the call without saying a word. Karen's voice could be heard on the other end of the line. "Becca, it's Mom. What have you been busy with lately?" she asked.Rebecca was eating at that moment. Sam had bought her a cake to appease her on the way back. She cut out a small bite with a fork and put it into her mouth. She knew it wouldn't do any good to refuse an olive branch when it was extended to her."Mrs. Brown, if I'm not mistaken, you asked me to stop calling you 'Mom' ten years ago. Let's skip all the niceties, shall we? What do you think I'm busy with these days? I'm obviously busy trying to get my divorc
"Ethan …" Tears welled up in Rebecca's eyes.Since George's passing, few people had said anything as touching as that to her. "What did I do to deserve such kindness?" she thought. After losing a family member who genuinely cared for her, she ended up finding an entire family who truly loved her. Seeing that Rebecca was about to cry, Ethan quickly put a stop to their conversation and made a playful remark. "Alright, Becca. We can't keep talking like this. If Sam comes home and sees you crying, I dare not imagine what he'd say about me," he said in a teasing tone. The contrast from before made Rebecca smile involuntarily. Her nose was still stuffy as she said, "Sam wouldn't dare to scold you."Among the boys of the Johnson family, aside from Albert, who was the eldest, Ethan was considered the most mature and stable one in the family. Although Sam was a bit older, his personality was more similar to Alex's. He appeared carefree, unreliable and had even been reprimanded by their el
Ryan typed quickly, filling the screen with his words.Ryan: "Is Daniel blind? That woman is so ugly! She made a mistake, yet she won't even have the decency to apologize. On the other hand, he made the staff work overtime over the weekend just to clean up her mess! He treats her better than his own mother!"Ryan: "Luckily, you decided to divorce him early on. You've finally grown out of your tendency to follow him around since you were a kid."Ryan: "Speaking of which, Daniel is really a bastard. Whenever I teasingly called you Bex, he would yell at me. But look at what ended up happening! He fell in love with someone else. I'm telling you, Bex. You made the right decision to distance yourself from such a hypocrite!"…Daniel stood behind Ryan, sipping his coffee, as he watched Ryan badmouth him to Rebecca. He didn't attempt to interrupt and merely watched on silently. After all, his wife hadn't bothered to acknowledge Ryan's texts yet. The way Ryan flooded Rebecca's phone with t
When Rebecca received the message from Ryan, she was making some finishing touches on her design draft. Sam's birthday was coming up. She planned to make him a ring as a birthday gift.However, when she saw the message notification on her phone, the pencil slipped from her grip. It left a crooked line on the paper, completely ruining the design she was sketching. She picked up her phone and stared at it blankly for a long while."He's finally proceeding with the divorce?" she thought.She could hardly believe her eyes. She sent another message to Ryan, asking for confirmation. Ryan replied, confirming the statement, and even wrote that he was forbidden from ever mentioning her name to Daniel in the future. She no longer had to inform the man of her whereabouts.Bex: "Understood. Thank you."Rebecca stared at the message on her phone blankly for a long while. After thanking Ryan, she turned her phone off. This meant that she and Daniel had severed all ties. It was for the best. Aft
Rebecca didn't shy away from Ryan. She allowed him to lean in close. Even so, he maintained a safe distance away, unlike the people around them, who already looked inseparable. Despite Ryan's casual flirtiness, he could be as serious as Daniel when needed. When it came to Rebecca, he knew what lines not to cross.Rebecca didn't answer his question right away. She picked a cocktail in front of her instead. It smelled like fruit juice to her, so she decided to take a small sip.The drink tasted sweet. Feeling emboldened, Rebecca took another big gulp before smiling at Ryan."You won't be able to beat me."Thinking back to the time when everyone had witnessed him tripping on the dance floor, Ryan felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. He straightened his back, feeling his mood dampen."I was going easy on you last time. Besides, you kind of cheated, so it doesn't count." "Do you want a rematch then, Mr. Jenkins?"Ryan shrank back at that. However, Rebecca leaned in closer, le