At that moment, the sound of a car engine could be heard outside. A red Maserati parked itself in the courtyard. When Luna came in, she saw three people sitting in the living room. When Jasper saw her outfit, his eyes instantly lit up. “Did you just come back from Mr. Nicholas’s house?”Her nightgown was identical to the one in the photos that had just been uploaded online. The paparazzi were really up to date. “How did you know?” Luna did indeed only wear a nightgown, but she also wore a long trench coat on top of it because she had numerous marks on her arms and legs. She was worried about how she was going to return home looking like that. After Jasper’s words, she instinctively pulled the trench coat tighter around herself and stared at him warily. Jasper looked smug. “Everyone already knows that Mr. Nicholas is trying to win your heart.”Luna fell silent. When Jasper showed the photos on his phone, Luna smiled. Nicholas might act like a gentleman, but he had some
The stuff Serenity sent her showed that he had never dated anyone before. He did not even spare a glance at the women who threw themselves at his feet. Ruth should be considered the first and only woman who succeeded in getting his attention through the “staged” accident.It was no wonder why those rumors sounded so believable…“No,” Abel answered lazily. Since he had only just woken up, his voice was a little hoarse. It had a different sort of charm to it. Ruth’s mouth quirked up without her notice while she made a noncommittal noise. As long as he had never liked anyone before, she did not care who started the rumors. Her gaze landed on the screen. As she expected, the internet was rife with news about Luna’s new boyfriend. Mr. Herbert was really efficient. All that was left next was for them to check what the “I-keep-my-distance-from-women-and-stay-out-of-trouble” Nicholas would say to Frank. He had long maintained an image of a cautious and polite gentleman. What wo
If Saul spat on his kindness again, Frank would show him no mercy. On the way back, Connor—Nicholas’s assistant—whispered, “I still can’t get rid of the trending tag. Someone is fanning the flames behind the scenes. But we managed to figure out the marketing accounts doing this. They were paid by Lockton Entertainment.”Nicholas’s eyes grew as sinister as a snake’s. “Lockton Entertainment? Looks like I’ve underestimated Ruth Lockton.”She was really skilled at manipulating public opinion and had used it to destroy Rising Star. It seemed like she had gotten even bolder now and was thinking about attacking him. “Mr. Nicholas, we need to solve this problem quickly. Let’s release a public statement to refute the rumors.” Connor was suggesting they sacrifice Luna. This was the only thing they could do now. Nicholas agreed to it without hesitation. “Make the arrangements.”He sent a message to Luna. [Be at the mansion in twenty minutes.]After some thought, he gave Connor another
“Ah!”The whip landed with a crack, and Luna cried out in pain. Red wounds ran horizontally over her fair skin. When Nicholas saw them, his eyes lit up with excitement, and he hit her even more ruthlessly. An unknown amount of time later, when Luna thought that she was about to die in Nicholas’s hands, he stopped. He reached out and held her gently. Luna trembled, though she did not know whether it was out of pain or fear. “I’m sorry! I really am. I won’t do it again…”“Good. As long as you know you made a mistake, it’s alright.”He caressed her skin and lifted her gown. “But you need to be punished for doing something wrong. I can’t buy you Lockton Entertainment now.”Luna felt a chill down her spine and trembled. She snapped her head up at him. “Y-You promised me!”She had willingly played along with his perverse kinks just to take revenge on Ruth and seize Lockton Entertainment, but he was here telling her that he would not do it after all that she sacrificed?“I did
Nathan might not know about how well their marriage was going, but judging by Ruth’s recent behavior, things were pretty good between them. It would naturally be even better if he could push them to get even closer. Hence, Nathan could not help but advise Ruth to not hold back when it came to showing her affection. Ruth sighed in relief. “Oh. I thought you thought that I was buttering up to him too much!”Nathan fell silent. Yeah, no. What she suggested was not at all worthy of being called buttering up to someone. “For his health and mental state, I won’t be making the lunch box myself. But you’re right. I should show my affection more. I’ll send the lunch box to him personally.”What. Shouldn’t she be thinking about treating him to a meal?At 11:30 a.m., Ruth took the prepared lunch boxes and left her office. Mr. Herbert had been busy with work the whole morning and could only spare time to meet her then. At the moment he arrived at her office door, all he saw was her
Five minutes later, a familiar face showed up at the entrance of the building. Abel’s long and lean figure was wrapped up in a suit and slacks, which made him look stoic and incredibly charming. He stood at the entrance and beckoned Ruth over. “Come.”With the lunch boxes in hand, Ruth trotted over pridefully and feigned calmness. “Didn’t you say you’d be sending someone to pick up your lunch box? Why did you come yourself?”Abel looked down at the lunch boxes in her hand. “You were just passing by and didn’t come here deliberately, but you still brought two lunch boxes?”Ruth had no retort for that. She forgot that the photo she sent had two lunch boxes. He simply refused to lose. Ruth shoved the bag containing the lunch boxes into Abel’s hand and turned around to leave. Abel could tell that his prideful wife was throwing a tantrum, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her back before he interlaced their fingers. “How can I let anyone else receive my wife?”Ruth could not h
Abel said nothing and just stared at her lips. Ruth realized what he wanted and shoved a strawberry into his mouth. “Want a bite?”As if this was entirely natural, Abel enjoyed having her feed him. Once he ate the strawberry, he asked, “What’s the partnership? Tell me.”Ruth immediately sat up straight, wiped her hands, and picked up the tablet beside her. Once she got his permission to talk about work, she quickly logged into her account and opened a project plan covered in words. “We obtained the copyright for these works recently. We’ll be working with Harper Williams on them. You’ve heard about it, right?” She scrolled down the screen and adopted a serious tone as she talked about work. Abel just watched her quietly. “I did.”Ruth smiled brightly and went straight to the main topic. “Are you interested in joining us?”After casually leaning back against his chair, Abel gave her an unreadable look. “Do you still need investments now, considering your situation?”In the
Feeling anxious, Ruth thought about telling Abel the truth that night, but Abel acted as if he was on aphrodisiac when he came home, because he immediately grabbed her and asked for interest. There was no chance for her to say anything. The next day, the satiated richest man of Sommerset was made to sleep in the guest bedroom. Nothing else happened over the next few days. Ruth was busy with work and gave Abel attitude. Because of it, she forgot entirely about telling him that she was Harper Williams. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the party to celebrate the end of the Gate to the Heart’s shooting. The small party for members of the production became the center of everyone’s attention because of Harper Williams’s reputation. Ruth did not put on a business attire that day. Instead, she chose to wear a black evening gown and a pair of heels. She also put on the makeup of a mature woman, which made her look imposing, mysterious, and cold. The elevator from the walk-in
Galen stood nervously at the side. At first, he wanted to step in and help, but he held himself back.In the end, he gave up and watched the fight.The more he watched, the more startled he was.Despite her delicate frame, her moves were calculated and ruthless.Many of her moves were lethal.She was a young woman who was loved. She was pampered and adored by everyone. How was such a person so ruthless in combat?It was as if she often fought to the death…Mr. Watson was shaken as well. He covered his neck with one hand, while his other hand hung limply by his hand. He looked at Lily in shock. His other hand hung weakly by his side. He looked at Lily in shock.How could such a small and delicate-looking person possess such strength? Was she really the heiress of the Cavendish family?“Do you want to verify it? The wounds match with the one who attacked me. I broke his right wrist on the spot, though. After that, I didn’t wait for reinforcement to come. I moved immediately an
Her hand paused while hefting the silver fork.Ruth’s husband was really very considerate. He loved her sister truly and everyone in her family.She decided to find a boyfriend like him for herself in the future.“I definitely will!” She thought.She stood in the spacious living room and looked at the man beside Galen who wanted to get to the bottom of this investigation. Her fingers tightened on the fork. “Words might not be enough to explain. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you give this a try?”Galen had not reacted when Charles spoke, nor when Abel had talked about switching it to a blunt weapon, but he definitely did now. “Nonsense!” he said sternly and stood up.Lily’s fighting spirit was ignited, but his stern rebuke deflated half of it. “Why not? Is it now allowed? You said attacking a police officer wasn’t allowed, didn’t you?”“He doesn’t count!” Galen said with disdain.Lily’s aggressive stance was completely deflated. “Well… if he doesn’t count, then his skills
The seemingly innocent question was directed at the young police officer.He looked troubled.Her delicate appearance did not help.The young police officer turned to the stern-faced man beside Galen for some help. The man pursed his thin lips and spoke in a deep voice.“Your Excellency… Madam… the nature of this case is severe, but the process of investigation is smooth. If your daughter doesn’t reveal the whole truth, it’ll be difficult for us to reach the crux of the issue. I assume that you don’t just want the result from this investigation but also the truth?”His firm voice was authoritative yet respectful.Charles turned to look at him. His brown eyes were calm, and he was sizing up this person.The police officer’s cold demeanor momentarily faltered. He quickly looked away and did not dare look him in the eye. “We’re just following procedures. To prevent this matter from escalating further, we hope for your cooperation.”He sounded intimidated yet resolute. It seemed
He was already determined to stake everything on his plan.“Right,” Lily said, “What about those bodyguards assigned to protect me? How were they swapped?”“Abel offered them ten times the price and bribed the group of bodyguards hired by Denver. The two poor people were taken down. The rest were replaced by our own people,” said Galen icily.Lily was shocked. She looked at him and then at Abel, who was driving calmly.Ruth looked at her husband with the same shocked face.So, this was how money made the world go round!When Denver had transferred money to that company, Lily had caught wind of it, but it seemed Abel had found out even sooner.He had already made arrangements to take drastic measures.“Don’t they have any morals? I heard that those kinds of organizations have principles. They won’t willingly betray the ones who employed them,” said Ruth.“As long as it’s not a terrorist organization, every organization needs connections. William’s group was already in dire stra
It was mainly because Denver clearly fabricated an alibi. But he had appeared on the scene and had been taken away.It was indeed quite puzzling.At that point, everyone looked at Abel in confusion.Abel looked straight ahead and did not speak. He only spoke when he was asked directly.“The father and son lost because they didn’t know each other’s motivations. It’s easy to bribe their people to send a message to the other and get them to the scene…”Before they set off, Sean received news that Denver was going all out and wanted to go down with Lily in the manor in the suburbs.Sean did not doubt it because Denver had been acting increasingly strange recently.He was transferring his assets and buying and renovating manors. It was as though he was prepared for death.He had even arranged for his funeral.Afraid that his son was taking things too hard, he put down whatever he was doing and rushed over to the scene.Since that was taken care of, it was easy to deceive Denver af
“See what you are doing? What if something happens to your sister?”Charles was not known for showing affection or caring about people outright.However, when his daughter cried and threw a tantrum, he could not stop himself.Charles stood by Lily without hesitation and scolded Abel for his incompetence.Ruth was originally filled with resentment and wanted to vent it out on Abel too, but when she saw that the father and daughter duo had joined forces to attack her husband, half of her resentment dissipated.With four bodyguards that had been arranged to deal with two outsiders, coupled with Lily’s abilities, her life was indeed not in danger…She glanced at Lily hesitantly. At this moment, Galen had cleaned up all the stains on her palm.Other than the redness between her thumb and index finger, she did not seem too badly hurt.All the resentment was gone. In fact, she was even a little protective. “Why did you have to deal with the four bodyguards?” Lily lowered her head an
Everyone was speechless.This discussion was fruitless. Everyone had their own opinions, and no one wanted to give in.In the end, Reina and the old man took a car, while Ruth, Abel, Charles, Galen Barker, and Lily got into another.The fire slowly died down.The cars left one after another.After Mr. Lockton got into the car, his cloudy eyes became shrewd. He asked his daughter, “Do you think that police officer is also interested in Lily?”Otherwise, why would he be so active and rush to the front? Why would he find such a lousy excuse to be the one to drop her home?“I think so, but unfortunately, Lily doesn’t seem to be as interested as before,” Reina said helplessly.Otherwise, why would she reject such a good opportunity to get into his car?Wouldn’t she have acted pitiful enough to earn his sympathy to get into the car?Mr. Lockton frowned. He was in deep thought.The last time he had heard that his granddaughter had fallen in love with another man who happened to be
Also, she was sure that if it was Luna being attacked at that time, he would have helped her without hesitation.This man was just like Notus. He was stupid, stubborn, and hypocritical.The reason why she spoke on his behalf was that she could not stand Luna’s smug face. Even if she wanted to drag someone down, she had to ask first.It was just the truth. She would not die if she made that clear anyway.Luna’s smug look cracked as she stared fixedly at her. Her gaze shifted from doubt to resentment and unwillingness.Aquilo was not surprised when Lily accused him. He knew that he had done something wrong. If not for Abel’s careful consideration, they would have died here today.However, he was quite surprised to hear her defend him.As he was handcuffed and escorted to the police car, he could not help but turn to look at her.“Lily…”Lily was about to walk to her car.She paused for a moment and turned to look at him calmly.Her usually playful eyes were indifferent at that
Aquilo opened his mouth but did not know what to say.Just then, a team of uniformed police officers rushed over to the scene to rescue the hostages.Looking at the people standing before them, they could not tell which ones were the hostages.Galen Barker walked over from behind and glanced at them. “What are you still standing here for? Get out quickly!”This manor had an ancient Sommersetese courtyard.The place where they were gathered was a small open space in the courtyard.After passing through the desolate artificial mountain pavilion, they arrived at the large courtyard outside the manor. There were many people gathered there, with many police cars parked nearby.A fire truck had also arrived.To Lily’s surprise, Sean Lovehart and his father were also there and were being escorted into the police car.When he saw her coming out, Denver’s face filled with hatred. He wanted to rush to her and strangle her. “You’ve got guts! You risked your life to drag us down with you!