On the day Winter Everhart suffers a miscarriage, her husband, Joshua Stroud, and their son, Terence, are out with his beloved Jessica Lynch. They watch the very performance Winter has always loved. "You're just so unreasonable. What's the point of all this?" "Dad, can you get me a new mom? She's so annoying!" On Winter's birthday, she returns from the hospital only to find Joshua celebrating Jessica's instead. Even Terence, the child she nearly gave her life to bring into the world, pledges to protect the woman who has stolen everything from her. Tears glisten in Winter's eyes as she smiles. Then, with quiet resolve, she walks away from the cage of a marriage that has bound her for five years. Joshua and Terence believe she won't survive without the Stroud family. What they don't expect is that she rises so high that they can no longer reach her. "Mr. Stroud! Mrs. Stroud's car design is now number one nationwide—Stroud Group has been completely outshone!" "Mr. Stroud! Mrs. Stroud has just won the World Championship in Artificial Intelligence Design!" "Mr. Stroud! Mrs. Stroud has been invited by a foreign president to attend a state banquet!" Regret tears Joshua apart. Dragging Terence with him, he kneels before Winter and pleads, "Honey, please give me another chance! If being your servant is what it takes, I'll do it!" But just beyond the door, a strikingly handsome man kneels on one knee, a leather collar fastened around his neck. Twining a diamond leash around Winter's palm, he vows with his gaze burning with feverish devotion, "My master, from this moment on, I bow to no one but you. Please, take me in."
View MoreJasmine and Evan were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.Faced with his cheating wife, Joshua, known for his ruthless decisiveness and zero tolerance for imperfection, had not only refrained from punishing her harshly but was offering her a second chance!Wasn't this straight out of some soap opera? Could it be that he'd actually developed feelings for her after five years of sharing a bed?Jessica felt a sharp stab in her chest, and she bit the soft flesh inside her lip until it bled. Meanwhile, Heather felt like she was going to pass out."Ha! Forgive me?" Winter stared coldly into Joshua's dark, frosty eyes. She thought back to how she'd fallen for him at first sight years ago. Now, she only found herself utterly ridiculous.He had cheated on her and paraded Jessica around town. When she was in agony, fighting for her life during childbirth, he was abroad with Jessica, tending to her health with more care than any husband would.Time and again, Winter ha
Florence grew anxious. "Win, say something!""Wait, isn't this guy… Elijah Iverson, the boss of Prestige Legal?" Evan, as the chief prosecutor of Jeston's highest procuratorate, knew everyone in the legal world inside out. He sneered, "This Iverson fellow is notorious for his silver tongue and ruthless methods."Many of my subordinates have been burned by him. He once got a murderer's death sentence reduced to life imprisonment!"Jasmine feigned surprise. "Oh? Sounds like he's no saint."Evan put on a concerned act and spoke earnestly. "Winter, how could you get tangled up with a scheming, profit-driven guy like that? He's full of tricks—he probably got close to you for some ulterior motive.""Mrs. Stroud, Mrs. Stroud Senior, could there be a misunderstanding here?" Jessica chimed in softly. "I grew up with Winter. I don't believe she'd do something like this. Besides, the photos might just be misleading. They're not definitive proof that anything improper happened between her and
Winter bent down to pick up a photo, her eyes widening in shock. The image captured a moment from a few days ago when Elijah had accompanied her to the hospital. The sneaky photographer had angled it to make their actions look intimate, as if they were having an affair.Fury surged within her, and her blood froze into icy shards that pierced her lungs and chilled her to the bone. First, she was enraged that Heather had someone tail her, shamelessly invading her private life.Second, she was livid that Heather had dragged Elijah, someone she cherished, into this melodramatic family saga, turning him into a pawn to slander and attack her.Just as Winter's eyes reddened, ready to crumple the photo, her palm suddenly became empty. Joshua, standing behind her, had reached over her shoulder and snatched the photo away.The next moment, a sharp sting pricked her hand. The photo's edge, sharp as a blade, sliced her pale skin. A bead of blood welled up from the cut."Joshua, open your eyes
Winter was confused by where this was headed, but her expression remained cool and detached."I heard Winter works at Stroud Group. How is she still so busy?" Evan wrapped an arm around Jasmine's shoulder, his usual easygoing smile in place. "Joshua is the CEO. One word from him, and anything's settled. Why would he let his wife work herself to the bone?""Well, here's something you don't know. Winter has already quit her job at Stroud Group." Jasmine twisted out of his grasp, clearly annoyed that he wasn't as hostile toward Winter as she was. "She's got sky-high ambitions. Countless industry elites and top graduates would kill for a job there, but she's a rare breed."She destroyed her own opportunities. Who knows if she's just too lofty or if she looks down on the privileges our family has given her?"Evan raised an eyebrow and opted out of the conversation. The Stroud family was undeniably matriarchal, and where women dominated, drama was inevitable. He almost felt sorry for Jos
"Mr. Iverson?" Natalie gasped.She quickly ducked behind a pillar, her eyes glued to Elijah's tall figure. What was he doing, pacing anxiously outside the gynecology department? If he needed medical attention, shouldn't he be in the andrology department?Unless…Natalie's heart pounded as realization hit her. She skipped her own appointment, planting herself there to see which shameless woman had the nerve to hook up with the man she had her eyes on!She stood there for half an hour. Her legs were numb when she finally saw Winter emerge from the clinic, looking haggard.Damn it! She knew it had to be that greedy, two-timing tramp!As Winter swayed on her feet, Elijah immediately draped his suit jacket over her shoulders, gently wrapping an arm around her waist. He showed her such thoughtfulness, such caution, and such protectiveness. It was a stark contrast to the stoic, elite leader he was at the law firm.Natalie's eyes blazed with fury, and her face twisted with envy. She gri
In the funeral parlor, Steven had the audacity to show up with Ruth and Jessica, his mistress and illegitimate daughter, to pay their respects.Victoria had just passed, yet Steven, being the cold hypocrite he was, couldn't wait to parade his new family everywhere, desecrating Victoria's path to the afterlife. They bullied Winter, a defenseless child, and her mother, a voiceless corpse.In that moment, Winter, dressed in mourning black, stood frozen. Her eyes were bloodshot and shattered, and her lips were bitten until they bled. She watched as the three of them left with smiles on their faces, her bloodstained lips trembling as she tearfully sang a mournful tune lamenting life and death."Leave the underworld through the shadowed gate,See the mist where fate grows thin as slate.A lost soul drifts where the ferryman keeps tide,I pray your footsteps won't be pulled aside.Through seven halls beneath the judges' eyes,We'll cross the ferryman's bridge where sorrow lies.Lift your h
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