Cameron was ready to go to bed once she finished her dinner. Although she seemed calm on the surface, she had spent the day on edge. The shop didn't belong solely to her. Monica also had a stake in it. It couldn't be ruined because of her personal grudges with Nerissa.Cade suddenly asked, "Where does it hurt?"Cameron paused while lifting her blanket. "Huh?" she asked."This afternoon in my office, you kept saying it hurt."He stared intently at her. Cameron had a rosy complexion, showing no signs of the fragility she had earlier in the day when she murmured in pain while her eyes were shut. Now, her clear gaze was filled with incomprehensible astonishment.If he hadn't sat beside her, and she hadn't opened her eyes only to whimper that she was in pain, he might've believed that she was still dreaming.Seeing her putting on an act of clueless innocence made him feel as if he were being ridiculed. Why would he still believe her after being deceived over and over again?Camer
Cade looked up, and his gaze swept coldly over Fabian. "Is your salary paid by me or her? If you're so worried, why don't you quit and be her secretary instead?"Fabian was flummoxed. Why was Cade acting like he had eaten explosives for breakfast? Was it because Cameron would rather take a cab than get in his car?He blinked mischievously, eager for gossip, and asked, "Mr. Carter, are you sure you don't like Madam? I think Madam would be voted 'Most Beautiful Woman' every year if she was a celebrity."He was implying that Cade had no taste. If Fabian married such a beautiful woman, he would cater to her every whim. Even if he had to go without food and drink, he would gladly save his money and let her spend it. But, apparently, Cameron lived very frugally. Two weeks ago, if someone had told Fabian that the woman named Cameron who struggled with paying the rent on her shop was actually Cade's wife, he would never have believed them.Cade said, "The oleander growing at the side o
Diane was delighted that Cade was asking about Cameron of his own accord. She quickly put on a worried expression. "Madam went upstairs as soon as she got home, and she didn't even have dinner. She looked rather peaky, and she seemed unwell."Cameron had kept her head lowered, and her fringe had covered her face, so Diane hadn't seen the injury on her forehead.Cade frowned slightly but did not say anything else. Diane sneaked a glance at his expression and asked tentatively, "How about if you bring Madam some dinner when you go upstairs later?""If she won't eat unless she has to be requested to do so, then forget it.""Madam has a weak stomach. If she doesn't eat on time, she might get gastritis again. It was so painful for her the last few times that she was in tears—"Cade paused halfway through eating. He cut her off expressionlessly. "She won't starve if she eats one meal less."Diane sighed and went back to the kitchen quietly. Although Cameron had said that she wasn't
Cade could hear the wariness in Cameron's voice. He paused for a moment and smiled carelessly. "What do you think I'm going to do? Rape you?" Cameron said nothing. Cade's humorless smile disappeared, and there was a hint of contempt in his cold voice. "You are ridiculous." There was no emotion in his voice, but his disdain was painfully clear.Cameron was triggered by his haughty and scornful manner. Ever since she had moved into the Carter residence as their adopted daughter when she was 14, this was the look that she had seen in his eyes most frequently. Her expression darkened, and she said icily, "Get out of my sight."But Cade did not even move an inch. "Do you know why this place is called Carter Mansion? It belongs to the Carters, not the Yorksworths." Cameron corrected him. "The deed of this house has my name on it."It hadn't been called Carter Mansion in the past. It was only called that now because Cade lived here.Although she was not the Carters' ideal daughter
The next day, Cameron was woken up by a call from Wilfred, who ordered her to go home.She had switched her phone to silent mode so that she could have a good night's sleep. But when she woke up, her entire screen was filled with missed calls and unread messages. Most of them were from Nerissa and Blaire. Cameron skimmed through them and spotted Wilfred's name.Wilfred was a typical male chauvinist who placed most of his attention on his work. He rarely bothered with affairs at home.If problems between his children were brought to his attention, he would educate them severely with sheer force. He did not have a good relationship with his children, and apart from asking them perfunctorily about how they were whenever they met, he rarely contacted them. Cameron went home after work. The moment she reached the front door, she heard Nerissa crying inside. "Dad, I'm sorry, please don't be angry."Wilfred was a loud man, and he sounded like a lion whenever he got angry. He was v
Nerissa reached out to take his arm, but Cade avoided her. As they kept walking, he asked, "How is Mr. Yorksworth now?""They're still treating him, but Dad has high blood pressure. The doctors warned us not to get him agitated…"Cade walked over to Blaire and comforted her for a while. He asked the doctors about Wilfred's condition. His calm demeanor seemed to reassure everyone, and the panic that they had felt seemed to diminish in his presence. Blaire finally calmed down enough to look at Cameron. She had been standing silently at a distance from them the moment they got to the hospital. She was acting as if none of this had anything to do with her. Blaire was deeply hurt by her callousness, and any remaining guilt that she felt toward Cameron disappeared. She said coldly, "You can leave."She hadn't mentioned any names, and Cameron's thoughts had been wandering. She didn't realize that Blaire was talking to her.Seeing that she didn't react, Blaire raised her voice shri
Cameron had wanted to stay a little longer since she rarely got to come by. However, Cade's appearance paired with his stern expression, reminiscent of a disciplinarian teacher catching a troublesome student, ruined her mood for drinking. She got down from the stool and said irritably, "You've scared everyone away. There's no one left for me to have fun with now."The young model, although not famous, was perceptive enough to recognize that Cade was someone he could not afford to mess with. He slipped away unnoticed while they were talking.As soon as she opened the door, she felt the biting chill of the wind. It seeped through her collar and pants. Cameron shivered from the cold and pulled her coat tighter around herself."Cold?" Cade asked."Yeah."For a moment, Cameron had an absurd thought that Cade would take off his coat and offer it to her. But she quickly realized that she was overthinking it.Cade stared lazily at her and said in a half-mocking, half-sarcastic manner
"Hah." Cade scoffed. "Don't you know basic safety precautions? Even a three-year-old knows better. It's late at night and you're a drunk woman. Yet, you're still thinking about getting into a stranger's car?"Cameron inclined her head. Her narrowed eyes were captivating as she gave him an inscrutable smile."A plain woman like me has nothing to worry about.""If a man is in the mood, it won't matter even if you're ugly. Some don't even care about the species. Being born beautiful might make it easier to attract men, but it doesn't mean they only go after beautiful women.""Many aren't picky. Don't go challenging a man's base nature with your stupidity," Cade said.Silence befell the car as Cade finished speaking. Only the soft whirrs of the engine and air conditioning filled the space.Cameron silently stared out the window. Her desolation and loneliness were magnified by the darkness of the night. She unconsciously pressed the power button on the phone in her hand. With every