LOGINTheo's face scrunched in thought, torn between choices. After a moment of careful consideration, he said, "I like Thomas more… he's saved me so many times, and he always plays with me, and he's amazing at everything…"He rattled off Thomas's qualities as if reading from a treasured list. Then, as if remembering something, he added quickly, "But I also really like Dad. I just like Thomas a tiny bit more than Dad."He lifted a little finger to illustrate the slight difference.Carter, though Theo's biological father, had little time to spend with him. Sharon had raised Theo in the early years, and even after she left, Carter's interactions were limited. Calm and serious by nature, he had always seemed a little intimidating to Theo, far less approachable than Thomas.Sharon crouched down to Theo's eye level."Theo, Thomas is sick. He needs to get treatment, but he can't bear to leave you and Mommy. Next time Thomas wants to contact you, can you refuse him?"Theo's brows furrowed in
Theo whispered softly, "Mom… I wasn't in the car when it happened. I went to the roadside restroom, so I'm fine."Sharon's gaze darkened. "Which hospital are you at? I'm coming to see you."Theo told her the name.She immediately turned the car toward the hospital.By the time Sharon arrived at the treatment room, Carter's injuries had already been cleaned and dressed.Seeing the scrape on his forehead, Sharon asked quietly, "Carter… are you okay?""I'm fine," Carter replied calmly. "Just some superficial wounds. Nothing serious."Sharon's expression darkened. "What happened?"Carter explained, "Just like Theo said. I was waiting for him to go to the restroom when a car lost control and hit me. Luckily, I dodged in time, so the impact wasn't severe. The driver didn't flee. He got out, apologized, said he was a beginner, didn't hit me on purpose, and offered to cover all damages and medical expenses."Sharon lowered her head in silence.Carter had been to Marcentine many times
Sharon lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry… Carter is Theo's father. I can't avoid seeing him."The air grew heavy, suffused with tension. In the quiet room, only the sound of Thomas's increasingly ragged breathing could be heard.Sharon pushed him away and turned to leave—but suddenly, Thomas grabbed the back of her head and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips.His kiss carried the sting of punishment, raining down on her face and body with relentless intensity. Sharon felt tiny flashes of pain.She twisted and dodged, struggling to resist, but she was no match for him. With one hand, he pinned both of her hands easily. His body was like solid rock, immovable.Thomas had never been rough with her before. He had never forced her. Yet now, stripped of his usual restraint, he was so unfamiliar, so frightening that Sharon's heart jolted.Carmen had been right—Thomas's control over himself was almost too perfect. At times, Sharon had even thought he was normal, that his issues were minor, man
Carter's eyes narrowed slightly.After Sharon finished speaking with Theo, she turned her gaze toward the two men.In that instant, the emotions in Thomas's eyes seemed to recede like the tide, settling into an unsettling calm—as if what he had just seen had been nothing but a trick of the mind.It was clear: no matter how intelligent Thomas was, hearing about these matters could never leave him indifferent.After a while, Theo tugged Thomas toward the amusement park's shooting range for a target competition.The sun was blazing hot, so Sharon slipped over to a nearby refreshment stand and bought four drinks.Carter accepted the specially made drinks Sharon handed him, his sharp eyebrows lifting slightly. "You remembered I liked this?"Specialty drinks were crafted according to personal preferences. Carter belonged to the high-maintenance type; someone with a poor memory would never recall all his countless specifications.Sharon watched Thomas and Theo at the shooting range an
Sharon dried her face and said lightly, "Thomas, this isn't a physical problem. It's a wound of the heart."Thomas fell silent.When she stepped out of the bathroom, Carter and Theo were waiting outside, their expressions full of concern."Sharon, are you okay?" Carter asked.Theo's face was tense. "Mom, if you're not feeling well today, just stay home. We don't have to go play."Sharon shook her head with a smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."Breakfast had been light. After eating, they all piled into the car and drove to the amusement park.Carter sat stiffly in the passenger seat, periodically glancing in the rearview mirror at the backseat. Sharon, Theo, and Thomas were seated there.Theo chatted happily with Thomas and whispered a few secrets to Sharon, laughing. For him, it seemed they were the real family of three, and he was just the driver.He suddenly understood why Sharon had asked him to help. Thomas was not someone she could easily walk away from.At the amu
Sharon's pupils constricted sharply.She had thought her words were cruel enough, sharp enough to wound Thomas. But she never expected that Thomas—someone who should have been proud and untouchable, like a favored son of heaven—could appear so… humble, so diminished.Her throat felt blocked, as if something had lodged there, and no words could escape.Thomas saw her pause and took a step forward, closing the distance between them.But Sharon snapped awake. She took several hurried steps back, putting space between them, then fled, her retreating figure disheveled and frantic.Thomas watched silently as she disappeared, making no move to follow.…Another sleepless night passed.While washing up, Sharon stared at her reflection, dazed. Just a few words, and she thought she could make Thomas give up—but it wouldn't be that easy. Time was slipping away; she couldn't afford to delay any longer.Perhaps from consecutive sleepless nights, her complexion looked pale and haggard.Aft
Julliard's decision to have Johanna steal the Walton Group's trade secrets—his bid to strike back at Jamie—had been a private act, one he'd told no one in the company about.Now that everything had unraveled, his assistants and secretaries all assumed the crisis was a simple cash flow problem. But
"…For a while," Liam hesitated, then decided to say it anyway. "Miss McKinzie, it's best if you keep your distance from him—as far as you can. It's safer that way."During these episodes, Thomas's mind sank into a fog. Sometimes, he didn't even know what he was doing.What separates people from an
No one in the room had time to react.Even Sharon froze where she stood, too stunned to stop what had already happened.This was Yuicuador, not Marcentine. And even in Marcentine, you couldn't just kill the heir to the Noel family and expect to walk away.The Noels were no small house.A sharp u
Sharon also had kindred spirits like Ginny, Melanie, and Carol.And now, she'd even come to know Xavier, Matty, Julliard, and Uriah.There were plenty who disliked her, but just as many who didn't.Sharon thought for a moment. She was about to tell him that both she and Wendy could be his friends







