"Now that Xavier's made a move, Miller Jewels won't survive. Why don't you pull out now to avoid more losses?" Stephen asked without raising his head. "If you give up on Miller Jewels and want something else, I can give it to you. If you're really interested in jewelry, I can—"Yvonne chuckled bitterly and pulled her hand away. "You're telling me to give up too?""Maybe this was a mistake from the start. Why do you want to keep going down this path? You could use this opportunity to—""Forget it." Yvonne cut him off again. "Thank you for telling me about Fletcher and Xavier's relationship. I'll forget everything else you said." She pulled out a gold needle and warned, saying, "You should shut up now if you don't want it to hurt. I can't guarantee how steady my hand is."Stephen's brows furrowed, but he didn't say anything else. The two of them remained silent for the rest of the session, both of their minds fully occupied. Yvonne squeezed the needle in her palm, fighting to keep her te
Yvonne didn't have a mask on tonight, openly showing off her scar. The dim lighting did nothing to conceal her powerful aura. While she wore a smile on her face, her alluring red lips made people's hair stand on end, drawing attention away from her ruined flesh.At that moment, one could call her an enchanting witch.Kayla was caught off guard for a moment before her face darkened. "What are you doing here? I never invited you.""Mr. Robinson did." Yvonne turned her attention to Xavier, her smile deepening. "Didn't you, Mr. Robinson?"While Xavier had expected her to look for him, he'd never imagined that it would be now. He smiled and played along. "That's right. You're just in time for the cake, Ms. Miller.""Thanks, but I'll have to refuse." Yvonne planted herself between the couple and passed Kayla a bag. "This is Mr. Robinson's gift to you."Kayla was puzzled. She was already holding Xavier's present, so why was there another one? And more importantly, why was Yvonne the one passi
Yvonne had just left the compound when she remembered that she couldn't drive after drinking, so she hailed a cab by the roadside. From the rearview mirror, Yvonne spotted Xavier running after her cab as soon as she left, his desperate expression amusing her. With the night breeze brushing her face, she slowly shut her eyes. Surprisingly, she didn't feel happy at all, even though she'd thought that getting revenge would've made her happy. Suddenly, Stephen's words from last night came to mind, and she frowned without realizing it. She didn't feel like going back to the villa now. Yvonne pulled out her phone and asked Rachel for her address. Sleeping over at her friend's house seemed like a much better option than going home to see Stephen's poker face. Rachel quickly sent her address over and asked, "Did you get into a fight with Mr. Anderson? My, you're too old to run away from home."Yvonne didn't bother explaining. Instead, she mimicked Rachel's reply. "Are we still besties?" Aft
When Yvonne woke up the next morning, the first thing she saw was Rachel wearing a face mask, inches away from her face. Yvonne immediately jolted up, all traces of sleep vanishing. "Rachel Turner! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?""I heard your phone ringing a few times." Rachel raised Yvonne's phone and grinned impishly. "So I used your fingerprint to unlock it and figure out what's going on between you and Mr. Anderson.""This is an invasion of privacy." Yvonne snatched her phone and put on a fierce expression. "Our friendship is over if you ever do that again!""Aww… I was just looking out for you. You wouldn't tell me no matter how much I asked last night, so what choice did I have?" Rachel stretched herself out beside Yvonne and blinked innocently. "Do you feel better after a night's rest?""I wasn't in a bad mood to begin with." Dodging Rachel's eye, Yvonne checked her phone and saw the missed calls and unread messages from Tabitha. Yet there was nothing from that idi
Knowing that she couldn't hide the truth from her friend, Rachel nodded. "Mm-hmm. We started dating last week. He's younger than me, and he debuted recently through a talent show. His name is Dexter Craig. You better keep this a secret." Rachel made a shushing gesture. "Dexter's just starting his career, so he'll be in huge trouble if people find out he's dating."Yvonne couldn't care less about the entertainment industry. All she cared about was Rachel. "When did the two of you meet?" "We met when we were filming the talent show. He asked for my number, and we chatted for some time. We seem to have good chemistry." Rachel responded shyly, smiling and blushing like a teenage girl in love. "Gosh! He's so hot!" Rachel flipped through her gallery and showed a picture to Yvonne. "God, you don't know how nice it is to have a pretty boy!"Yvonne glanced at the image and saw a slender young boy with a pretty face. However, his body seemed more skinny than lean. "It's alright," Yvonne respond
"Do you think I should help her?" Stephen retorted. "Don't forget that I'm merely a blind man right now. What power do I have? The only thing I can do is persuade her to give up."The word "blind" stung Stanley badly. He lowered his eyes and murmured hoarsely, "I'm so sorry, Stephen. If I hadn't…" Five years ago, Stephen had been returning from Stanley's birthday banquet when he met with an accident. Since then, Stanley had never celebrated his birthday. He couldn't help but feel apologetic, thinking that the accident wouldn't have happened if he hadn't celebrated his birthday, and Stephen wouldn't have lost his vision. Stanley bit back the rest of his thoughts, but Stephen knew what his friend was thinking. Stephen frowned. "It's not your fault."The accident was far too odd. Although it was eventually reported as an accident, it was obvious that someone had intentionally planned it. Stephen was already their target, so the accident would've happened eventually even if it hadn't been
Monica gulped and smiled nervously. "What are you doing here, Xavier?"Xavier still couldn't talk, so he waved her over and began typing on his phone. "Are you misunderstanding something, Mrs. Jones?"Monica read what he'd typed and studied Xavier worriedly. "Your voice still hasn't returned?"Xavier nodded and began typing again. "Yvonne messed with me. That's why I'm here.""That bitch—" Monica quickly corrected herself, smiling apologetically. "She's that capable? How did I never realize?"Xavier thought to himself, "Kayla really is her daughter. Both of them are so dumb. They still haven't realized that Yvonne isn't someone they want to mess with."Just then, Yvonne's assistant entered the room to inform them. "Ms. Miller isn't feeling well, so she won't be coming in for the next few days. She also asked me to express her apologies to both of you." She relayed Yvonne's message and bowed her head. "I apologize for making you come all the way down here."Yvonne had clearly expected t
When Andy Swift woke up and saw Yvonne's text, he immediately called her, worried that she might be in trouble."I'm kind of in deep water back here, so I can only turn to foreign partners," Yvonne explained softly. "Try to find a company with a low price but decent quality. You know what I want."Andy patted his chest confidently. "Sure thing! Leave it to me!"After that, the two of them began chatting casually. Andy was her partner and her second-in-command at QT, but to the public, he was known as the CEO of QT. Yvonne only worked behind the scenes, so not many people knew who she was. Before returning to the country, Yvonne had given Andy full reign over the company, intending to pass it on to him as well. However, Andy had yet to accept her offer.Yvonne was about to bring the topic up again when Andy suddenly shouted, "Right! Someone from Muguet contacted us last week. They're proposing a collaboration to come up with a new perfume. We'll be in charge of designing the bottle."Mu
A light breeze blew by in the courtyard. Agatha slowly recounted the past.Back then, Daniel and his wife, Katherine, had just had Mark. The entire Carrington family had been celebrating.They had doted on Mark and taken him wherever they went.That day, they had headed out. Before they'd known it, Mark had been taken away.Just when Daniel and Katherine had been on the brink of losing it, they had received a call from the kidnapper to bring the ransom to a specific spot.They had gotten the money and driven there without any hesitation. No one had thought that they would ever return after that. Even Mark had disappeared.When Agatha finished recounting this, her cup of tea had already cooled.She wiped her tears away. She said through a catch in her throat, "Katherine was hugging the bag of money tightly until the moment she passed away, as though she were hugging you."Mark furrowed his brows. Now that he'd heard the truth about Daniel and Katherine, he should have felt pain
As Yvonne left the room, she could tell that Stephen's mood was much better.She looked at him. "Are you thinking of something nice?""No." Stephen looked at Yvonne with a rare twinkle in his eyes."Let me take you to breakfast." Before Yvonne could respond, he took her hand and led her to the elevator.Thinking about how he'd stood outside her room the entire night, Yvonne decided to let him hold her hand.Then, her thoughts drifted to Otto. Somehow, she had a bad feeling.…At the same time, Mark was in the courtyard of Carrington Mansion. He sat next to Agatha and poured some tea for her.He handed her a cup of hot tea. "Great-Grandma, try this."When he noticed that Agatha had no reaction, he called out to her once more. "Great-Grandma?""Huh?" Agatha came to her senses. She looked at Mark in confusion. "What is it?""You've been distracted since yesterday. Are you thinking of something?" Mark asked.Agatha shook her head. "Nothing." Then, she picked up her teacup and
Yvonne stood by the door of the bedroom and looked at Otto, who was looking out of the window in a daze on the bed.The sun shone on his face. He looked quite hungover and had a sickly pale face.Yvonne hesitated for a while before saying gently, "Mrs. Jenner called me last night. She's worried about you."Otto didn't respond.Yvonne went in closer and added, "She said that you called her and asked about your father. She found it strange."Mr. Carrington, why did you suddenly think about your father? Did Mrs. Carrington Senior bring him up yesterday?"All Yvonne got was silence.Luckily, she was patient. She sat on the couch and followed Otto's line of sight. Tiny dust particles were floating among the sunbeams. Yvonne also fell into a daze as she watched them float about.Suddenly, Otto asked, "Have you ever felt like your world was falling apart?""Hmm?" Yvonne was confused. "For example?""I mean, like the person that you trust turns out to be different from what you'd t
The next morning, Yvonne opened her door to see Stephen standing outside. She was caught off guard."What is wrong with you this morning? Why didn't you knock…"While talking, Yvonne noticed that Stephen was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Don't tell me you didn't leave last night? Have you been standing outside this door all this while?""Hmm." Stephen looked at Yvonne intently. "I thought you would've figured it out quickly."Yvonne was speechless, but she thought to herself that she'd slept like a baby the night before.She smiled at him. "Figure what out?" She noticed Stephen frowning as though he were on the brink of losing his temper.She quickly added, "I-I mean, you have to give me a hint, right? I've thought about it the entire night, but I still don't understand. My brain isn't functioning well."Stephen asked suspiciously, "You've been thinking about it the entire night?""Yes, which is why I didn't look for yo
"If I hadn't come to find you tonight, you probably wouldn't tell me anything about what happened tonight, would you?" Stephen asked in retort.It wasn't a big deal, as long as they returned safely. Yvonne wondered why she needed to report this to him.But she still smiled. "It's late. How could I disrupt your rest? It would've been the same if I told you about it tomorrow morning, right?"Stephen sniggered. "Yvonne, you still don't know where you've gone wrong."He suddenly went in closer to her. Yvonne instinctively retreated until her back was up against the wall. She glared at him."What on earth is wrong with you? I've already said that I would've told you tomorrow morning—"A punch went past Yvonne and landed brutally on the wall.Yvonne was a little stunned. She looked into Stephen's eyes and furrowed her brows. "Stephen, I don't want to quarrel with you for no reason. "Mrs. Carrington Senior went to look for Otto today. Calbert couldn't reach him the entire day, so he
Jane returned to the private room, distracted.She sat down next to Cory. She looked at him as he reached his hand out to her in confusion.Cory furrowed his brows and asked unhappily, "Where's the wine?""Wine… Yes! Wine!" Jane came to her senses. She was just about to get up when Cory pulled her back.He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at him. "What happened when you went out?""N-Nothing."Cory tightened his grip. Jane furrowed her brows in pain. "I-I… I saw Yvonne. She told me that she and Stephen got remarried.""What?" Cory relaxed his grip a little. "They got remarried?""Hmm.""So, what?" He had no intention of letting her go, and he looked at her sharply. "Does it bother you so much that Stephen got remarried?"Jane looked at Cory frantically. "Cory, what do you mean by that?""What do I mean? You know what I mean."Cory went in closer. His tone turned icy. "You used to pursue Stephen. Now that you know he's gotten married, you're in this shitty mood
Yvonne turned around to see Jane smiling at her ambiguously. She furrowed her brows. How were they always bumping into each other?Jane crossed her hands in front of her chest and leaned against the wall. She swept her gaze at Calbert and Otto. "Two guys and one woman. You sure know how to have fun!"Calbert instantly snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?""Why are you being so fierce? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Jane snickered. "Two guys and a woman came out of a private room in the middle of the night. Anyone would come to the same conclusion. We're all adults. There's no need to pretend to be innocent.""You—" Calbert was about to go up to Jane, but Yvonne stopped him."Since Ms. Ford is here, I'm guessing so is Cory?" Yvonne smiled, yet her smile didn't reach her eyes. "If you cause a scene here and this bar gets raided, guess who'll be the ones walking out here alive?"Jane's expression turned ugly. "Are you threatening me?""It's just a kind reminder." Yvon
Calbert and Yvonne managed to track Otto's car to a bar, thanks to the information they'd gotten from his staff. Otto's car was right outside the bar.Calbert looked at the neon sign and furrowed his brows. "Why is Otto here? Did what Mrs. Carrington Senior said really hit him so badly that he has to drown himself in alcohol?"Yvonne said nothing and headed directly inside the bar."Wait up for me!" Calbert went after her. He subconsciously protected her from all the drunk patrons.The lighting in the bar was dim. Many of the patrons were drunk and having fun.Yvonne and Calbert walked around the booth area, but Otto was nowhere to be found. They pulled a server over to ask if there was a patron by the name of Otto Carrington who had reserved a private room.Coincidentally, the server had just taken two bottles of wine to Otto's room. So, he led them to the private room.Calbert tipped the server before opening the door and entering. The entire room reeked of alcohol.He looked
After Agatha left, Otto stood in the same spot without moving.A long time later, Zac entered the office. He looked at Otto's back and asked quietly, "Mr. Carrington, will you still see the client?""No." Otto sounded heartbroken.Zac didn't dare ask further questions. He gently closed the door and reminded the secretary that no one was to disturb Otto.In the office, Otto was alone. He slowly walked over to the couch and slumped into it. His mind was in a mess."Alexander was the one who planned the kidnapping back then."Agatha's words rang in his mind for a long time.Alexander's young face appeared in Otto's mind, smiling at him affectionately."Otto! Amazing! Yes! Just like that!""You're amazing at badminton! You're going to make the country proud! I'm going to be so proud of you!""Otto, my son!"Memories of his interactions with Alexander flashed across his mind at that moment.Otto couldn't imagine that such a loving father would do such an absurd thing. Alexander