The reporters admired how Miss Wilson remained as gracious and poised as ever, quickly making way for the car.Zachary and William got into the black car, which sped away.Vivian maintained her smile as she handled the press. After the interviews, she even thoughtfully gave each reporter a can of drink.The rain hadn't let up. Once all the reporters dispersed, Vivian returned to her room and checked her phone - three missed calls, all from Zachary.She smiled as she called him back."Zachary? You've never called this many times before. Must be urgent."His voice was cold and flat. "I've given you what you wanted. Now return the person I want to see.""How heartless you are. I'm your fiancée - couldn't you show a little concern for me?"She pouted. “Oh, how heartless are you? After you and your grandfather left, do you know how long I had to deal with those reporters?"Zachary remained cold. "You called those reporters yourself. I imagine you enjoyed answering their questions."
Smoke swirled, blurring Zachary's face as he took a drag from the blue-tipped cigarette. He exhaled before saying quietly, "It's true."As the smoke cleared, Mia stared at him in disbelief. "Zach! This can't be true! You said Sarah was the one you loved - how could you suddenly get engaged to Vivian? And we still haven't heard anything about Sarah. Didn't you promise to protect her, to make her my sister-in-law?"Tears slid down Mia's face as she continued chokingly, "So all those things you said before were lies! You're a coward, a jerk! I see it now - everything you said was fake!"Mia kept talking while Zachary listened silently.He gave a self-mocking smile. Mia was right - he was a coward. Too cowardly to gamble with Sarah's safety, unwilling to risk even the slightest danger to her."I am."Mia laughed bitterly. "Great! You'd even call yourself a coward to avoid saving Sarah. Are you still my brother?""I'm sorry," Zachary sighed."Don't apologize to me. Sarah's the one y
"Sarah is at Adams entrance. Hurry."Melvin crushed the paper, his eyes cold as steel. "Find that car that stopped at Adams. Tear the city apart if you have to."Why would they release her before getting the ransom? No time to think - he rushed to Adams University.The campus was dark at eleven PM. The streets were empty, with not a soul at the school entrance - except for a figure lying on the ground opposite the gate.Sarah lay on the cold ground, her breathing shallow. Hours of rain had soaked her completely, as if she'd been pulled from water.A car screeched to a halt. Melvin jumped out and saw Sarah on the ground as rain continued to fall.He approached her fearfully, crouching down to check for breath against his fingertip. He felt the faintest sign of life.He exhaled with relief. "Open the door!"Melvin lifted Sarah and placed her in the backseat. The driver quickly shut the door."To the hospital!" Melvin ordered.Sitting beside her, he noticed how cold and pale she
"How is she?" Zachary asked.Mia glared at him. "I thought you didn't care about Sarah at all. Surprising you'd even ask."Zachary frowned slightly. "Mia, tell me."Mia gave a mocking laugh. "If you really wanted to know how Sarah is, why don't you ask her yourself? One minute you're with Vivian, ignoring whether Sarah lives or dies, the next you're asking about her well-being. I can't tell anymore if you love her or not."She stomped her foot angrily. "You're nothing but a liar!" She slammed the door.Zachary stared at the tightly closed door with a bitter smile. He understood why Mia was angry - wasn't he himself resentful of his own choice?But things had gone too far now. He had no right to express regret, especially not to Sarah.Every moment in his study, he wanted to call Melvin to ask about Sarah, but his finger hovered over the dial button without the courage to press it.After all he'd said to Melvin before, calling or not calling were equally painful ironies.Thankf
Mia could see he was exhausted. “Zach, please cancel the engagement. If this was going to be the outcome, you should never have told me you loved Sarah in the first place."The matter was settled. Zachary looked at Mia helplessly.Mr. Wilson and their grandfather had already agreed. Canceling wasn't as simple as just saying so - it involved both the Wilson and Reynolds families."I can't," he sighed.Mia seemed to deflate, slamming the door again. "I don't need you looking after me!"When Sarah woke, her entire body ached. She'd slept for a full day and night, finally waking early the next morning.She wearily looked at the metal clock on her bedside table, ticking away with its hands pointing to five o'clock.Rubbing her throbbing forehead, she felt the IV needle taped to her left hand. Following the tube upward, she saw a glucose drip.Her throat felt itchy. She coughed lightly, which made her lungs hurt.She recalled the events of the past two days - the kidnapping, hours i
Sarah noticed something off in Melvin's expression.“Melvin, what's wrong?""Nothing," he said, looking uncomfortable.Sarah coughed lightly. "You're hiding something from me. What is it? Is it about Zachary?"Melvin avoided her eyes, quickly getting up from beside the bed.“Melvin! Tell me what happened!" Something major must have occurred during the day and night she'd been unconscious."Sasa, just focus on recovering. Finish your chicken soup and don't worry about anything else."Melvin didn't want Sarah to know, but she held out her hand. "Brother, give me the remote."He quickly hid it behind his back.Sarah lunged for it. Afraid of hurting her, Melvin didn't resist too forcefully, and she managed to grab the remote.She turned on the TV. The earlier news was gone. She flipped through channels until finally catching a glimpse of Zachary on a financial news station."Reports indicate Miss Wilson and Mr. Reynolds reached an engagement agreement two nights ago. According t
"Mia, have you forgotten? We've known each other longer than you've known Sarah, haven't we? We used to chat together, shop together, laugh together. Why did you start disliking me after Sarah came along? It hurts me too."Mia froze, not knowing how to respond. It was true - she had cast Vivian as the obstacle between her brother and Sarah.In all fairness, Vivian had always been nice to her. "I... it's all my brother's fault!"She threw down her utensils and ran to her room.Vivian concealed the laughter in her eyes. She'd always known Mia was easily manipulated.At the Chancer residence.James returned home exhausted from work. His mother was playing cards with several women in the living room."James, you're back?" His mother didn't look up from her game.James took off his coat and went upstairs, his mother's conversation with the other women following him."Have you heard? That Zachary Reynolds is engaged to Miss Wilson. The engagement party is in a month. That Sanders gi
The nurse finished changing Sarah's medication and said warmly, "If today's tests look good, you can be discharged tomorrow.""Great, thank you."Alone in the private hospital room, the emptiness only amplified her feelings of isolation.With no one around, she repeatedly watched news footage of Zachary leaving the Wilson mansion, analyzing his expression five times over, trying to determine if his feelings were genuine or forced.She couldn't tell. At noon, Melvin arrived with lunch.Sarah noticed his furrowed brow. "What's wrong? Something's bothering you."Melvin forced a smile. "It's nothing. How are you feeling today?""The nurse says I can leave tomorrow." Sarah's voice was unnaturally flat. "If something's happened, don't keep it from me."Thinking of recent events, Melvin seemed to deflate. "Are you really okay, Sarah?""I'm fine, truly. Now please tell me what's going on."Under her persistent gaze, Melvin finally explained."There's trouble at the factory in West R
At the front desk, Sarah watched seven or eight people standing in line, all holding identical discount vouchers. This was likely a company team-building activity.She listened to their chatty discussions, which included some crude language as they made no effort to hide their rough backgrounds."This place is so luxurious! The company really splurged to send us somewhere this fancy. I've never stayed in such a nice hotel in my life.""Me neither, but let's not forget why we're actually here and pretend we're just on vacation!""Oh, come on, who's going to forget?"Sarah's ears perked up. These people's conversation seemed suspicious, almost as if they wanted others to notice them.After about fifteen minutes, when everyone ahead had finally checked in, Sarah presented her VIP custom invitation and completed her member registration. She lay on the spacious bed in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered views of the beach and ocean.It was noon, and sunlight spilled onto
"Mr. Sanders, I believe I was very clear in my email. With the current uncertain situation, cooperating with me is the most rational choice," Zachary said seriously.Melvin burst out laughing. "I might have believed you if you'd said this a few years ago, but times have changed. Zachary, do you remember what you promised me before? Have you kept any of those promises? Neither three years ago nor now have you delivered."When Melvin mentioned three years ago, Zachary's eyes filled with gravity and shame. No one understood better than they did what had happened—that horrific scene was too painful to even think about.He moved his lips. "People can't always live in the past."Even he couldn't believe his own words.Melvin said with self-mockery, "Listen to yourself. How absurd that sounds. People indeed can't live in the past forever, but Sarah has been trapped in that darkness for three years. Do you dare to face it? To uncover it?"After being wounded, a bleeding injury slowly form
Vivian exhaled deeply and said anxiously, "Grandfather, what happened last time upset Zachary, and he won't see me now. But I'll handle it properly."Old Mr. Wilson gave Vivian a meaningful look. "Good. I certainly trust your abilities."After seeing Old Mr. Wilson into his car, Vivian returned to her office and made a mysterious phone call, giving some instructions.After hanging up, her face broke into a satisfied smile, as if she was already enjoying the sweet taste of victory.At the Sanders Group."Smack." Sarah hit Melvin hard on the head.Melvin winced in pain. "Are you doing this on purpose? Taking personal revenge? I haven't even bothered you lately."Sarah shrugged, looking innocent. "Didn't you say your right eyelid keeps twitching? The left means money coming, the right means trouble. I'm just using an old folk remedy to ward off the bad luck."Melvin couldn't help rolling his eyes. "I don't know if the bad luck is gone, but I almost got a concussion from your 'remed
"Don't any of you have something to say?" Old Mr. Wilson sat in the chairman's exclusive seat, leaning back with an expressionless face as he surveyed the room.Some shareholders had come just out of respect for Old Mr. Wilson. They exchanged glances for a moment before Mr. Jefferson finally broke the silence, "What if we lower our prices or add more package deals?"As soon as he finished speaking, several members of the company's management team eagerly agreed. "Mr. Jefferson makes a good point."Old Mr. Wilson twirled the dragon-headed cane in his right hand, his expression revealing neither approval nor disapproval.Vivian, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting, finally spoke up, "I don't think that's appropriate."She looked at everyone present, her tone serious, "First, the Sanders Group's revenue has already exceeded the projected line by over a billion. If we lower our prices, even if we attract more customers, the overall result will be the same."By this
Vivian never expected that despite her orders to keep the detained shipment a secret, the board of directors would somehow catch wind of it.As soon as the meeting began, the middle-aged man sitting in the first seat on the right frowned and questioned her, "Ms. Wilson, are you hiding something from us?"Mr. Jefferson had the largest shareholding in the Wilson Group after Vivian and her grandfather. Compared to others, his words carried more authority.Naturally, Vivian had to show him some respect, given that she was the younger generation."Mr. Jefferson, by seniority, I should call you Uncle. You've watched me grow up. Do you think I would hide anything from you?" Vivian decided to play dumb first. She was certain these people had only heard rumors and hadn't yet gathered evidence.This was indeed the case. Mr. Jefferson narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, speaking in a tone that was half-joking, half-threatening, "Ms. Wilson, please don't say that. When it comes to bus
Charlotte ignored her, still peering behind the caretaker.The caretaker patted her chest and smiled as she approached. "Are you looking for Mr. Chancer? He went back to work. He asked me to take care of you. I thought you might wake up soon, so I went out to buy some nutritious soup for you.""You're saying he left? He left before I even woke up?" Charlotte struggled to open her dry lips, her voice raspier than ever before.Hearing this, the caretaker quickly set down the thermos and handed her the cup of tea from the table. "Please drink some water to soothe your throat, but don't drink too much. You've just given birth, so try to stay in bed and rest as much as possible."Charlotte found the water being offered to her ironically bitter.She had endured excruciating pain to give birth to James's child, yet he couldn't even spare a simple "thank you" for her efforts. Was this the marriage she had schemed so hard to get?Did she regret it? If someone asked, she might answer yes, b
"Answer me. Do you most hope it's heads or tails?" Sarah's voice carried an undeniable authority.The woman finally spoke. "Tails."Before Sarah's hand moved, the woman hurriedly corrected herself, "No, no, no—heads."Her indecisiveness reminded Sarah of her former self. Choosing between reason and emotion was often the hardest decision. It had once taken her several days to make up her mind.Sarah opened her palm. The woman's eyes widened, staring as if trying to burn a hole through Sarah's hand. But quickly, she discovered that Sarah's palm was completely empty. There was no coin at all.No heads or tails—there wasn't even a coin to begin with.Seeing the woman's confused expression, Sarah smiled and said, "In the moment I opened my hand, your heart already had the answer. I can't tell you how to solve your problem, nor can I make the decision for you. But you should know that you only have one life, while love can be found more than once. The fact that you're troubled by this s
This single subtle gesture revealed her inner feelings. Without needing to look further, Sarah immediately understood. Through the monitor, she could see that the photograph was a selfie of a man.Beyond heartbreak, she couldn't think of any other explanation.The emotion release room had been open for nearly a week. During this time, she had observed many clients. Those who came to release their emotions fell into several categories: heartbreak, work conflicts, friendship issues, personal disputes, or being stuck at a crossroads in life, unable to make the right choice.They came here to vent their emotions, and often only after destroying everything could they finally see what they truly wanted in their hearts.This was Sarah's original purpose in creating the emotion release room. But more importantly, this wasn't just a simple place to vent emotions—it offered clients more valuable services, such as guidance from top psychological counselors to help them quickly resolve their tr
"Enough. I've heard too many words like these. It's all for my own good, it's all to protect me—using these noble-sounding excuses to make me believe him, to understand him. Well then, why don't you who want me to believe him try to convince him to believe in me? Are you all underestimating me, or overestimating Vivian? I don't want to hear this kind of talk anymore. Everything he suffered today was his own choice."In this moment, Sarah's coldness fully erupted. She was no longer indifferent or dismissive, because she simply couldn't ignore the pain in her heart.Mia hadn't expected Sarah to say such things today. She held Sarah's hand sympathetically. "Sarah, I'm sorry. It's because I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said those things that upset you."When emotions reach their breaking point, they tend to explode, but often calm down shortly after the outburst.Sarah had regained her composure. She shook her head with a bitter smile. "This isn't your fault. Since the doctor is he