Ruth sat at the dining table and stirred her oat porridge with a spoon. She stared at the porridge, but her thoughts were somewhere else. Abel held a spoon in one hand while he read finance news on his phone. In his suit, he looked handsome and refreshed. He was a stark contrast to Ruth’s listless person. He might have been affected by her gloomy mood, because he finally looked at her and kindly broke the silence.“What’s wrong? You’re still feeling down today?”Ruth’s mind returned to the present, and she looked at Abel. How unfair. Why did he look so relaxed? It was as if sleeping in the guest room did not affect him at all. Was all that clinginess and affection just for show?He only needed to pretend to be devoted to her to make her fall head over heels for him. He even made her pregnant…Her grandfather was not going to wake up anytime soon, and she had yet to claim Lockton Corporation’s shares. In fact, she had not even had her wedding yet. But she had a bun in her
Ruth’s icy cold demeanor terrified the manager. He did not ask any questions and just said, “We do. It’s the clothes Demi Barker wore for a press conference yesterday. We haven’t had the time to return them to her.”What?Ruth’s anger faded away as she slowly turned around and gave Apollo a strange look. Apollo waved his hand in denial. “Don’t misunderstand! Something happened during the press conference, but she couldn’t go to her changing room, so she thought of changing her clothes in a car. Her manager wasn’t around, so she used my car!”He was talking at lightning speed, and there were two suspicious blotches of red on his cheeks. His manager, too, realized what was wrong with what he said, and he explained the situation as well. “That’s right. She only used our car to change her clothes. Apollo did not go out during the entire process, so there’s no way any paparazzi got photos of them. Don’t worry!”It sounded like a suspiciously specific denial. The more they talked,
Apollo knew Eilam. He was Abel’s personal bodyguard and took up a lot of special missions in the past. To Apollo, he was the most capable person, second only to his brother. Ruth gave him a scrutinizing look and felt quite speechless. Even so, she said, “You followed me? You saw me calling someone to pick me up, then? Why didn’t you think about helping me, if that’s the case?”“I didn’t know you called someone to pick you up,” Eilam answered methodically.Both Ruth and Apollo fell silent. Ruth thought. “Gee, thanks. You make it sound like I called a cab or something.”Ruth went to the gynecology department. Eilam tailed her but kept his distance. However, when he saw the checkups she received, his eyes lit up with understanding, and he realized that something was off with Ruth. Awkwardness showed up on his face. He brought out his phone and sent a message. Meanwhile, Apollo and his manager were busy playing detectives in the basement. “Say, do you think my brother real
This was good news. But the bad news was: the Blakewell Jewelry jewelers who passed the preliminary rounds all worked for Nicholas. Meanwhile, the two best, influential, and most famous jewelers were eliminated at the preliminary round. Rumors spread within the corporation that Nicholas was Callum’s son-in-law and had ties with Seema. He was going to use his cooperation with Seema to gain decision-making power of Blakewell Jewelry. The results were a clear signal. The rumors were true. The leader of Blakewell Jewelry was about to change. “Miss Luna is the one in charge of the preliminary rounds, but she doesn’t care for the competition, and she doesn’t understand how the selection works. Seema’s group didn’t join the selection, and no one knows what the selection standards are,” the person-in-charge explained feebly why their two jewelers were eliminated. Abel casually flipped through the name list. “Is this the final result? When was it announced?”“It is the final re
When the person-in-charge closed the office door behind him, Abel massaged his temples and leaned back against his office chair in exhaustion. He liked being a “kept man” and enjoyed having Ruth protect him, but he did not want Ruth to ask her “male friend” for help. It was fine for him to not work with Seema for the time being. His phone vibrated. It was a message from Eilam. He frowned. Ever since they came back from West City, Eilam stopped telling him about Ruth’s whereabouts and was willing to protect her. Why was he messaging him?Was he reporting her whereabouts to him again?Abel threw the phone on the table. There was no need for him to monitor her life. In any case, she had plenty of friends. Even if something happened to her, she did not need his help. He went back to his work. Five minutes passed, but he did not move his mouse. His phone vibrated again. Abel pursed his lips. In the end, he picked up the phone and opened the message. Eilam: Mr. Abel, th
All sorts of emotions raged in Abel’s eyes as he stared at the closed door. Then, it swung open. The first person Ruth saw was Abel. He was leaning against the wall with his shirt collar unbuttoned and his suit jacket draped over his arm. He no longer looked as aloof and regal as he usually was. In fact, he looked quite defeated. The morning light shone into the corridor and landed on him. It cast a shadow on the floor. Ruth was surprised. “Why are you here?”Abel just stared at her. “Why are you at the hospital?”Ruth was briefly stunned before she thought of something. Understanding flashed in her eyes. “Well, not here for food, obviously.”“Give me the medical report.”Ruth then remembered how nervous she had been and what the report stated. Her expression stiffened, and she instinctively hid it behind her. Abel went forward and grabbed her shoulder with one hand while he tried to take the report with the other. Ruth took two steps back and knocked into the door. T
Abel did not need to look at the report. Based on the conversation with the doctor, he could understand what had transpired. Ruth thought that she was pregnant, but was told that it was just irregular period. The doctor then thought they were preparing for a baby and said that they were in too much of a hurry. The result allowed Ruth to stray away from the potential “problem”. But it could not quell his anger. Ruth’s actions alone were problematic. If she were really pregnant, would she have quietly gone for an abortion?Would she not care about anything else for the sake of achieving her goals?Just what was he to her?Ruth frowned, and her confusion turned to realization. Her gaze turned cold, and she retorted coolly, “You’ve already guessed it, haven’t you? Why are you asking me?”He clenched his fists, and his voice turned cold as ice. “I want to hear it from you.”Ruth pursed her lips. Her eyelashes fluttered due to her nerves as she stared at him. The dim light
Feeling guilty, Apollo looked away and went after Ruth. He went beside her and eagerly supported her. “Are you feeling sick? Are you okay?”“Let me go!”“Stay away from her. You’re an eyesore to me as well!”Two voices spoke up at the same time. The first one belonged to Ruth, who was wary. The second belonged to Lyla, who scoffed at Apollo. But Apollo fearlessly followed them with a smile. “Don’t worry. No one can recognize me when I’m dressed like this.”Abel and Gabriel continued talking to each other after the trio left. After a few seconds of silence, Gabriel asked, “What exactly happened?”“It’s just a small problem. Apollo blew it out of proportion,” Abel answered coolly.Gabriel scrutinized him. “Did you two really come to the hospital for Ruth’s health checkup?”“Why else would we be here?”“Your grandfather’s here too. I thought that you two were arguing because of your grandfather.”Abel shut his eyes. He felt a little tired. Ruth had attacked Frank a long t