LOGINSharon was startled. She hadn't expected Jamie to draw a gun so abruptly.Almost instinctively, she stepped in front of Thomas. "Jamie, calm down first. We can talk this through."Jamie looked at her unconscious protective gesture, and it only felt as though his anger had been doused with a bucket of ice water. The heat drained away instantly, leaving something cold and bone-deep.At the same time, he saw the faint, half-smiling curve at the corner of Thomas's lips.It was smugness. It was provocation. It was contempt—Thomas simply didn't take him seriously at all.Everything Thomas had done today had been deliberate, meant to provoke him.When Sharon was with him, she could act as though nothing was wrong. But the moment a choice appeared, she would choose Thomas without hesitation—even when she clearly knew Thomas was being unreasonable and deliberately difficult.In her heart, right and wrong were never that important.The anger in Jamie's eyes slowly faded, replaced by a de
After running around at the hospital the entire day, night had already begun to fall outside.Sharon asked, "It's getting late. Should we go eat something first?"Thomas didn't refuse. "Sure."Jamie followed the two of them in silence to a restaurant.During the meal, Sharon recommended several of the restaurant's specialties to Thomas with an unusually good attitude, even politely asking if he had any dietary restrictions.When the dishes arrived, she even took the initiative to cut his steak for him.Jamie found it utterly irritating.Thinking that Little Tabby was still in Thomas's hands—and that he could use it to manipulate both him and Sharon, with no telling what tricks he might pull next—his gaze grew colder by the second.Thomas, who was in the middle of eating, seemed to notice that hostile stare. He lifted his eyes and met Jamie's gaze directly."Jamie, you're not eating and just staring at me. What is it?"Jamie replied flatly, "I was thinking… since you're so bad
Thomas's few piercing question directly cornered Jamie, leaving him unable to refute a single word.Jamie let out a cold laugh. "Earlier, in front of Marina, you didn't say a word. Now that she's gone, you're finally showing your true colors."Thomas smiled faintly. "Unlike you, I do care about my image in front of friends. First impressions matter. Once they're bad, no matter how hard you try to fix them later, it's very difficult to salvage them."Jamie's gaze darkened.Sharon stepped in at just the right moment. "Let's go to the hospital first. If we're late, it might delay treatment."As she spoke, she also glanced at the scratch marks on Thomas's hand. They already looked like they had started to scab over. She quickly looked away, expression unchanged. "Let's go. I'll drive."Since Sharon had spoken, Jamie naturally wouldn't contradict her in front of Thomas.He stopped engaging with Thomas, turned, and walked toward the car.He pulled open the front passenger door—but be
Although Sharon knew the password to Thomas's villa, she couldn't simply barge in now that he was home.The two of them could only ring the doorbell.After nearly half an hour, the villa door finally opened.Thomas stood at the entrance in casual clothes. His hair was still slightly damp, clearly just out of the shower.Seeing Sharon and Jamie, he raised a brow."Sharon, I don't think we're that close. Bringing people to my house so many times—don't you think that's inappropriate?"Not that close…For a moment, Sharon thought of Marina again, and a faint tightness rose in her chest.But now was not the time for sentimentality. She quickly composed herself."Thomas, we've lost a cat. The surveillance shows you were the one who took it. That's why we came uninvited—to ask whether you've brought the tabby cat back?"Thomas stood at the doorway without any intention of letting them in."A tabby cat did scratch me," he said lazily.Sharon's gaze shifted—and sure enough, there we
After hearing this, Sharon joined in the search for Little Tabby.Jamie, meanwhile, pulled up the café's surveillance footage to determine when it had slipped out. After reviewing it, he discovered that Little Tabby had escaped more than ten minutes earlier. He immediately switched to the exterior cameras.The tabby had chased a butterfly to a street corner and then vanished completely from view.Jamie's expression darkened. He immediately called his assistant and instructed him to pull footage from surrounding streets.A few minutes later, he stared at the screen, his face turning colder by the second. A familiar figure appeared—carrying the tabby by the scruff of its neck and getting into a car. Then both disappeared from the camera's view.The tabby had been taken by Thomas.At the sight, Jamie's entire expression soured.Back then, Thomas had nearly strangled the little cat to death.And now that it had literally walked right into his hands—what would he do to it?Sharon h
Marina's voice seemed to drift through layers of dense fog before reaching Sharon's ears."Thomas, I packed some pastries for you. When you're hungry, you can eat them so your stomach won't act up again."I also packed more floral tea—specially blended for your stomach. And some warming tea too… if you get caught in the rain, just drink a cup and it'll drive out the cold."Last time you were so sick and didn't even tell me. I only found out from Liam and Doug—you actually had a fever for three days and ended up in the hospital."It seemed she wanted to give Thomas everything she considered the best in the world.Just then, Jamie suddenly stood up."It's getting late. We should head back."Only then did Marina shift her attention away from Thomas. She didn't seem particularly fond of Jamie."Alright. Feel free to leave first."She then looked at Sharon. "Sharon, you can stay a little longer if you'd like."Sharon lowered her lashes, concealing the thoughts in her eyes."It's
"Carter, she's out here blowing your money like it's nothing. She's buying whatever she wants and even fighting us for it. Seriously, how long until we can freeze her assets and stop her from pretending she's something she's not?" Nate's face twisted with frustration.Carter shot him a cold glance.
Matty was the future heir of the Cooper family. If he couldn't even handle conflicts with a few kids, then maybe he wasn't fit to be an heir at all.This was exactly why Xavier had never once stepped in—not even when he saw Matty come home bruised because of Theo.His way of raising Matty had its
Mr. Cosgrove froze for a moment, then quickly adjusted, bowing his head toward Sharon."Sharon… I sincerely apologize. This was entirely our fault. We shouldn't have bullied your son… and we definitely shouldn't have laid a hand on Matty."By now, it was clear to him—Xavier and his son weren't act
Kelly's smile stiffened for a second before she quickly recovered. "Of course not. Theo's always been an honest child," she said softly, casting him a gentle glance. "Which is why, Sharon, I hope you can try to trust Theo a little more in the future."She pivoted fast—barely a few sentences before







