After Cael left, Annabelle rushed to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and started filling the bathtub with cold water.This method was crude but effective.At the same time, she planned to call Kendrick.When she took out her phone, she first noticed a message from Julissa, sent using Scott’s phone.Unfortunately, it was too late for that. If she had only checked her phone earlier, she might have been able to avoid drinking that glass of wine. But now, all she could do was try to find a way to ease the burning desire within her.Annabelle switched to Kendrick’s chat window, but her trembling fingers failed to hold onto the phone.The phone slipped from her grasp and fell into the bathtub.Water seeped into the phone, rendering it useless.Frustrated and annoyed, Annabelle set the phone aside. She couldn’t even wait for the bathtub to fill completely before stepping in, barefoot.The icy water engulfed her body, bringing some relief, but it couldn’t extinguish the deep craving insid
His expression was cold, and his sharp gaze swept over Cael and Ariana.Ariana’s heart skipped a beat.Why is Brother Kendrick looking at us like that? Did he suspect something?She glanced at Cael, but he remained completely at ease. He even patted her hand discreetly, as if reassuring her to stay calm.He was right. If Brother Kendrick had truly sensed that Annabelle was in danger, he would have rushed to find her immediately—there was no way he’d still be standing here.So, she had to stay composed and act naturally.“Brother Kendrick, I’ve been looking for you to toast you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere.”She smiled sweetly, picking up a glass of champagne laced with drugs from a passing waiter’s tray and offering it to Kendrick.Kendrick accepted the glass but didn’t drink immediately.“Have you seen Anna? I’ve been calling her, but I can’t get through.”Ariana stiffened slightly, gripping Cael’s arm tighter.She glanced at Cael again, but as expected, he remained composed, ev
Today, Jax had been secretly protecting them. There were also Kendrick’s men stationed in the surveillance room.The moment someone drugged Anna, Jax noticed. He contacted the surveillance team, tracked her movements, confirmed her safety, and immediately reported to Kendrick.The call Kendrick had just received was from Jax.He already knew Cael had taken Anna upstairs. He also knew that—for now—she was safe.But Cael was clearly involved in this, and yet, he hadn’t made any aggressive moves. Instead, he had voluntarily brought him upstairs.Kendrick wanted to know—who drugged Anna? What was the ultimate goal?And most importantly—what was Cael really up to?Cael paused briefly before curving his lips into a smirk. “She was probably given some kind of aphrodisiac. You should hurry, Mr. Gregory—she might not be able to hold on much longer.”Kendrick’s gaze sharpened. &
"Kendrick… is it really you?"Her delicate arm reached out from the bathtub, pitifully clutching his sleeve.Kendrick crouched down, his heart aching. "It’s me, Anna. I’m here."He touched her forehead—it was burning hot. At the same time, his fingers brushed against the water in the tub. It was ice-cold.He immediately understood. Anna had soaked herself in cold water to suppress the heat consuming her body.But this method was far too damaging to her health.Guilt surged through Kendrick. He should have come sooner."You can’t stay in here like this. I’m taking you out."Annabelle obediently murmured in agreement.She seemed frozen stiff, or perhaps the drug had left her in a dazed state. She nestled into his arms without resistance as he carried her out of the bathroom.The moment they entered the bedroom, Kendrick turned on the heater. Then, he quickly helped her out of her
"I..." Annabelle opened her mouth, then bit her lip again.She had always believed that words of love should flow naturally, born from the depths of emotion.Yet this man was deliberately forcing her to say it, making it feel unnatural and awkward, as if she was only saying it to please him—just so they could do that.Seeing that she remained silent, Kendrick scooped her up and gently laid her on the bed. He leaned over, his deep gaze locked onto hers, and slowly unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time, with his long, slender fingers.His firm chest and sculpted abs were soon revealed, seemingly tempting her on purpose.Then, she heard the distinct sound of a belt buckle being undone.Her entire body tensed, her blood surging through her veins.Now she fully understood the drug's effects—it heightened everything to the extreme. He hadn't even done anything, just unbuttoned his shirt, yet she was already burning with ant
Ariana’s legs went weak, and she slumped against the wall.“Miss Murphy, are you okay? Not feeling well?” The man stepped forward to support her, his beady, lecherous eyes scanning her up and down.“Get out!” Ariana roared, shoving him away.“Uh… Y-Yes.” The man didn’t dare look at her again and hurried toward the door.As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Cael leaning casually against the hallway wall.“Jack, where are you going? Miss Murphy needs you right now.”The man, called Jack, hesitated for a moment before blinking his shifty little eyes.“Brother Yang, she’s the daughter of the Murphy family. I wouldn’t dare…”“What are you afraid of? I’ve got your back.”Cael had already told Jack about his sham marriage with Ariana, so when he now insisted that Jack go back in, the man was shocked but quickly understood the situation.“Go on. Tonight, she’s yours. I only have one request—when I come back, the scene be
Everyone present was an adult—they instantly understood what was happening inside the room.All eyes turned to Cael, the pathetic groom-to-be who had just been humiliated at his own engagement party.Cael did not disappoint. He put on the perfect performance, displaying the emotions expected of him.He first forced an awkward smile and turned to the crowd. “The waiter must have led us to the wrong room.”Then, grabbing the waiter’s collar, he angrily said, “You’ve ruined my fiancée’s reputation! I’m going to file a complaint against you.”The waiter, playing his role well, cried out, “I swear, sir, Miss Murphy really went into this room! If you don’t believe me, see for yourself!”As he spoke, he handed Cael the keycard.Ariana’s parents had no trouble recognizing their daughter’s voice from inside the room.Her father, fearing that this
Madam Lin glanced at the ugly man cowering in the corner, hastily covering his lower half. Her voice caught in her throat, and she couldn’t bring herself to continue.Ariana clutched the side of her face, now numb from the slap. She wanted to cry but held back the tears.She turned to look at Cael.Their eyes met, and Ariana’s heart clenched. Why did it seem like there was a trace of glee in his gaze?Cael snapped out of his stunned state and rushed to the bedside. He grabbed Jack by the collar and threw a vicious punch at him.Jack scrambled to plead for mercy. “Boss, stop! Miss Murphy wanted it! She said she was into something more exciting! I was just following orders!”The crowd gasped in shock.Who would have thought that the supposedly pure and noble Miss Murphy was actually a woman of such insatiable desires? And to have the audacity to engage in this kind of act at her own engagement party… Tsk t
No one knew how long had passed before peace finally returned to the bedroom.Sunlight slipped through the curtains, casting soft rays across their bed.A thin blanket was draped over Annabelle, her bare shoulders and arms exposed.She had just woken up, already drained of energy, and now her entire body felt sore and weak—as if all strength had left her.Passion could make one forget their troubles for a moment, but once it faded, all those nagging worries returned, one by one.She lay quietly beneath the faint sunlight, watching the play of light and shadow on the bed, lost in thought.“Still upset about breaking the clay doll yesterday?” Kendrick murmured against her shoulder, planting a soft kiss there.Annabelle gave a slight nod, then shook her head.The doll, with its auspicious meaning, had been shattered—it felt unlucky. But more importantly, the incident made her realize something:She and Kendrick had been together for so long, yet they still didn’t have a child.“Why haven
Annabelle shook her head at the little boy. She could tell he hadn’t done it on purpose, so of course she didn’t blame him.At that moment, the boy’s mother arrived. She scolded her son for misbehaving—how could he run off like that before he’d even learned to stop properly?Then she turned to Annabelle and Kendrick, thanking them and apologizing for the broken item. She asked how much the figurines had cost so she could compensate them.Annabelle didn’t want to fuss over it. “It’s fine,” she said. But the woman insisted—her child had broken someone else’s things and she had to pay for it.The clay dolls weren’t cheap. Kendrick glanced at the mother and son, then casually quoted a price: “One hundred fifty.”The woman immediately transferred the money and even pressed her son’s head down, making him apologize.The boy then said again, “Sorry, uncle… sorry, sister…”The corner of Kendrick’s mouth twitched, and he replied coolly, “It’s okay.”Afterward, Annabelle and Kendrick crossed th
Annabelle suddenly realized that all those rapidly increasing follower counts on her social media—each number represented a real person. And the red bean cake vendor standing in front of her was clearly one of them. This unexpected kindness from a stranger warmed her heart, though it also made her feel a bit embarrassed. No matter what, she decided to pay for the cakes. But no matter what she said, the vendor firmly refused to take her money. There was a line of customers behind her, so she didn't want to keep holding up the queue. Instead, she quickly scanned the QR code, estimated a fair price, and transferred the money to the vendor before leaving with peace of mind. Yet before she’d walked a few steps, the young vendor chased after her, insistently stuffing two extra portions of red bean cakes into her hands. His face was even redder than before. He wanted to look at her, but didn’t dare, scratching his head as he said shyly, “I said I’d give my goddess a freebie, and I me
Linda paused. Marvin couldn’t help asking, “And then?”She snapped back to the present and continued, as if telling someone else’s story.“Luckily, my brother came back. He was a sophomore in college and had just returned home for summer break. He saw that bastard trying to hurt me, grabbed a kitchen knife, and slashed his neck. Blood sprayed all over my face.“He kept hacking at him until the guy couldn’t move anymore. Then he held me and said, ‘Linda, it’s okay now. He’ll never hurt you again.’“After that, my brother was sentenced to death. I was sixteen.“The day he was executed, my grandfather had a stroke and didn’t survive. After the funeral, my stepmother asked for a divorce, and my dad agreed.“The night before their divorce, my dad opened the gas valve. He and my stepmother died of carbon monoxide poisoning.“I spent a month in the hospital but survived. After that… I was on my own. I didn’t really ‘struggle’ in society—I just drifted. Took life one day at a time.“This job
“No way!” Marvin spat out, his voice tight with disbelief. “Anna just finished a jewelry event last night—there’s no way she could be in North City!”“Maybe she flew over after the event?” the reporter offered weakly, desperation creeping into his tone. “Mr. Gregory, if your brother finds out I tried to dig into this… you’ve got to protect me.”“Enough already. I get it.” Marvin snapped, the edge of impatience slicing through his words.“Alright, alright. No time to chat—gotta push the story out before someone else scoops it.” The reporter hung up in a hurry.But he was already too late.Another outlet had already dropped part of the exclusive interview, cleverly holding back the juiciest bits to keep viewers hooked. Within twenty minutes, the full conversation with Kendrick and Annabelle was everywhere.In a private hospital room in Elfhedge, Marvin stared at the news reports, fury radiating off him like heat from asphalt. His phone met the floor with a sickening crack, screen shatte
Annabelle had long known that the reporters were fixated on this topic and would eventually bring it up again.Even though they were blocked from interviewing her at yesterday’s press conference, here they were today.She was just thankful that she wasn’t facing them alone.As for the real reason behind her and Kendrick’s flash marriage, it was simply because she didn’t want to marry a perverted old man, and Kendrick had agreed to marry her because she claimed she could help treat his headaches.Neither of those reasons could be made public. Otherwise, people would assume Kendrick was just a backup plan, and the fact that she knew medicine would be completely exposed.Kendrick might not mind being teased, but if people found out she had medical skills, things would get very complicated.Just imagining it—every time one of Kendrick’s friends or business associates (especially the ones she didn’t like) met her, they'd stick out their wrist without a word and ask for a diagnosis. That wo
After ending the call with Kendrick, Annabelle felt much better.Regardless of how her parents acted, her future was her own. With Kendrick by her side, always considering her needs, she already felt content with her life.Still feeling drowsy, she lay on the bed for a while and ended up falling back asleep. When she finally woke again, it was hunger that roused her.She planned to get up and find something to eat.Looking around, she couldn’t see where her clothes had gone. A white T-shirt, clearly Kendrick’s, was draped over the sofa beside the bed.She got out of bed barefoot and slipped the oversized T-shirt over her head.Kendrick was tall, so the shirt was long enough to cover her hips. Loose and casual.She walked to the dining area and spotted the lunch Kendrick mentioned. She was about to warm it up in the microwave when she suddenly heard commotion outside the door—lots of voices.She vaguely made out someone calling, “Mr. Gregory…”Was he back? She didn’t dare open the door
Annabelle's personal social media account was gaining followers at an explosive rate—so fast it could give someone high blood pressure.For her, this kind of media exposure was obviously a great thing.You could say that Alice had practically sacrificed herself to boost Annabelle’s popularity.Not only did the incident showcase Anna’s personal capabilities, but it also unintentionally promoted Murphy Jewelry—an unexpected wave of free publicity.Under this trending topic, netizens began checking out the pieces shown at Murphy Jewelry’s latest press conference.Many even tagged her: “Supporting Anna! Already bought it!”Similar comments were flooding in.Out of curiosity, Annabelle checked the e-commerce platform authorized by Murphy Jewelry.To her surprise, 80% of the newly released items from the previous night were already sold out.No wonder that last time, when she was being slammed online, Kendrick didn’t suppress the news but instead flipped the narrative and gained popularity
Actually, Kendrick had already grown suspicious when breakfast was delivered.The strange eye contact between the two servers caught his attention, especially the male server who looked somewhat familiar.Previously, when Kendrick was negotiating business with an important partner at a hotel in Elfhedge, Ryan launched a surprise attack. That was also when Anna took a tranquilizer dart for him.During that confrontation, Kendrick vaguely remembered a face just like this—handsome, with thick brows and big eyes. He looked honest and trustworthy, which was exactly the kind of appearance that lowered one’s guard.But Kendrick couldn’t be sure if it was the same person.The call he made to Jaime was to have him investigate the people who had just delivered the food.If it was the same person, then Ryan was making another move against him.As for whether the breakfast was actually poisoned, Kendrick had only suspected it at the time—he wasn’t certain.He also thought, if Ryan really wanted t