Outside the door, Emma was texting Giselle. Just as she hit send, the door opened. "Gigi—" She stopped when she saw Chester."Sorry, I got the wrong house," Emma blurted out. She stumbled back and looked up at the door number only to see she was at the right place.But… why was Chester the one opening the door?Emma held back a screech, then started yelling for Giselle at the top of her lungs. Chester frowned. "Stop shouting. She's in the bathroom." Emma stopped. Why was Giselle in the bathroom? A sudden sense of vigilance crept over her and she eyed Chester suspiciously. His clothes looked disheveled as if he had just thrown them on in a hurry. Besides, he mentioned Giselle was in the bathroom. Could it be what Emma was thinking? If so, then Giselle not replying to her messages made a lot of sense. "I just came to grab something from her..." Emma mumbled awkwardly. Chester had an intimidating presence, after all.Chester stepped aside. "Come in and wait for her."
"What do you mean? It's late at night. A man and a woman alone in a room… it would be a waste of an opportunity if nothing happened." Emma huffed. Giselle sighed. "Nothing happened. But if you're not convinced, I guess I did hit him. Does that count?" Giselle hit Chester? "Wait a second." Emma couldn't believe her ears. She looked at Giselle with a complicated expression. "Gigi, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing..." "I mean I physically hit him," Giselle clarified and recounted the incident. Emma clicked her tongue. "Gigi, you're good at resisting temptation! Chester made it so obvious, and you still managed to stay composed. Are you secretly a nun?" If it were Emma, she would have taken advantage of the situation. Giselle let out another sigh. "Is that the takeaway here?" Shouldn't the focus be on the fact that she hit Chester? Emma didn't argue further and changed the topic. "Gigi, can I ask you one last question? Please, I'm begging you to satisfy m
The pounding on the door caused the nightlight by the bed to tremble.Giselle was startled awake. She sat up and turned on the light in annoyance before walking to the door. She could see a man outside through the peephole.He was leaning against the door, his fist pounding on it relentlessly.Giselle couldn't tell who it was, so she called for security. While waiting for them to arrive, the man continued pounding on the door. The strength of his knocks went from weak to strong, then back to weak again. Giselle couldn't help but admire his persistence. Five minutes later, the management and security guards arrived. They tried to restrain the man but hadn't managed to touch him before he threw a punch, knocking one of them back. Chaos ensured. Two burly security guards were no match for one drunken man. Giselle was speechless as she watched the scene unfold from inside her house. After some thought, she decided to step in. Amidst a chorus of groans, Giselle opene
People usually couldn't get over their first loves.When Larry was pursuing Emma, he clung to her tirelessly and won her over with his persistence. He once promised her she would never regret choosing him and even declared that she was the only one for him. But that wasn't the truth. As they spent more days together, his feelings eventually died. The allure of other women outside their relationship began to tempt him. However, he lacked the courage to pursue anything. It wasn't until Charlotte gave him some advice that he changed his mind.It wasn't that he didn't love Emma anymore. He simply realized that he needed some excitement in his life. He was dissatisfied with the monotony of their everyday life. Day after day, Larry felt he was on the verge of becoming an emotionless shell of a man. And so, he started an affair with a college girl who resembled Emma. Being with her made him feel like he was reliving the thrill of their early courtship.But he became even mor
The last time Giselle had felt this way was during her first love.Back then, she and Jonathan couldn't get enough of each other and spent every moment they could together. They always checked in with one another before doing something.But their conversations quickly turned one-sided. The chat was filled with her updates and messages, while Jonathan replied to only the last message or none at all. He would divert the topic too.She tried to communicate and fix things, but it proved useless. Jonathan no longer cared about her feelings. Whenever conflicts arose, his go-to strategy was to give her the cold shoulder, certain that she would eventually cave in and apologize.In their seven years of dating, Giselle had spent about six and a half of those feeling neglected and wronged.Looking back now, she realized how foolish she had been. She had wasted so much time on someone who wasn't worth it.Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Giselle set aside her emotions and didn'
Giselle accepted the card. "Alright, Mr. Barton."Having more friends meant more opportunities. Though Chris' favor wasn't ideal, it was better than nothing.Who was to say? She might come to need it someday. Even if she didn't, Emma might. Considering Larry's actions, they needed to stay on guard.Once the deal was settled, Larry was finally allowed out of the interrogation room. His expression turned ugly when he saw Chris. "It's you?"Larry hated Chris' guts. His half-brother was just three years older and overshadowed him in every way. Their father even entrusted the family business to Chris. As for Larry, people may respect him for being part of the Barton family. But he was just a disposable chess piece.Chris glanced at him coolly. "Didn't your mother teach you manners? Not even a word of thanks?"The atmosphere tensed. Giselle was waiting for Emma to arrive and perked up at the commotion. She quietly moved closer and found the perfect spot to eavesdrop.Larry
Both the slap and Larry's voice rang in the quiet night. Giselle calmly withdrew her hand while Larry clutched his face and stared at her in disbelief."Sorry, it was a reflex." Giselle shrugged.Larry lunged toward her. This wasn't her fault! Giselle would never admit the slap was personal. She wasn't stupid. Larry was infuriated. "Giselle Stone! Do you have a death wish?"The anger he had been suppressing went out of control. But before he could act further, someone suddenly rushed out from behind Giselle.Another slap. Larry's other cheek now matched the first. The fiery sting on both sides of his face only fueled his rage. But he froze when he saw who hit him. "Emma?""What are you doing, Larry? Looks like you're the one with a death wish!" Emma stood protectively before Giselle, shielding her while her eyes brimmed with disgust. She hadn't expected to hear Larry threatening Giselle after months of separation.She wasn't going to just let this slide. If they wer
"Here's the settlement fee—from Chris," Giselle said.A look of surprise flickered across Emma's face when she heard the name. She asked, "It was Chris who came to bail Larry out?"The relationship between the two brothers was deteriorating by the day. Why would Chris personally come and bail Larry out? On the day Emma got married to Larry, Chris did not even attend their wedding ceremony. All he did was send a wedding gift over.Perhaps they were on better terms now? No, this seemed implausible.Chris was a complicated person. Emma simply could not wrap her head around it.Eventually, Emma gave up trying to figure it out. She returned the bank card to Giselle and said, "Keep this, Gigi. I'm sorry about Larry. I didn't know he had people following me…"Had Emma not returned to Giselle's place to get her things, Larry would not have harassed Giselle.In the end, she was the one to blame.Giselle responded, "Why are you apologizing? Larry's got nothing to do with you anyway. Be
Charlotte still wasn't about to give up. However, Chester's patience had already run out. He suddenly stood up and strode toward her.Charlotte instinctively swallowed hard and stepped back. Her back hit the cold door, and her palms were slick with nervous sweat.She held her breath. "M-Mr. Fordham..."Chester extended his hand, voice sharp and commanding as he said, "Hand it over."Panic instantly surfaced on Charlotte's face. Her eyes darted around as she didn't dare meet his eyes.She tried to play dumb. "W-What do you mean?"Chester said flatly, "If you still want to survive in this city, I suggest you cooperate."The moment he finished speaking, that suffocating silence returned, cold and heavy.Charlotte's back was soaked in cold sweat. Her hands trembled uncontrollably.Chester caught every subtle expression on her face.Two minutes passed.Unfazed, Chester pulled out his phone and started dialing for someone."I-I'm sorry, Mr. Fordham!" Charlotte panicked and blur
"M-Mr. Fordham." Charlotte walked into Chester's office under immense pressure, careful with every step she took.Faced with the stunningly handsome man before her, there was not a single trace of desire in her eyes. Compared to Jonathan, Chester was far more terrifying.Yet, deep down, she couldn't help but feel jealous of Giselle.Why did Giselle get to enjoy such special treatment? She was just a fake heiress who had taken someone else's place!Charlotte often found her thoughts spiraling every night.Did Giselle pull a trick of some sort to steal her rightful place? Otherwise, how could she have screwed up so badly?Chester's cold gaze swept past her like she was barely worth looking at. It was as if even one glance in her direction would disgust him.Chester asked, "Do I know you?" His deep voice was full of impatience.Charlotte, trembling with fear, clenched her palms and forced a smile that looked worse than if she'd been crying."Mr. Fordham, I know it was you who tol
Polygamy wasn't allowed at all in Caldora."I know. We're not getting legally married, so it's not against the law.""Please, don't make things harder for Madam. Who could even give you advice on something like this?""Today's stream has really been an eye-opener.""If you want to be the first on the wedding night, couldn't you have discussed it with the other woman? Worst case, draw lots! If you're still unhappy, fight it out.""Where's the wedding tomorrow? I wanna watch the drama in person.""This stream's been recorded! If you just joined, check my page. Everyone has got to see this madness."Giselle's viewers were something else.Not only had they recorded the live stream in real time, but they also managed to piece together enough clues to figure out which hotel was booked for tomorrow's wedding.Giselle watched the flood of comments for a while.After a moment, she said, "Since you're already fine with two women sharing one husband, what difference does it make who's f
"Hi, Madam. I'm really troubled by something right now. My ex-husband is getting married tomorrow. I'm going to marry him alongside another woman. How do I ensure he chooses to spend the wedding night with me first?"The confused female voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.Everyone, including Giselle, was left dumbfounded. The live stream chat fell into dead silence.Moments later, it exploded with a flurry of activity."Wait, your ex-husband's getting married? You're marrying him alongside another woman? And you want to be the first to consummate the marriage?""Has the world gone completely mad? The only thing I haven't seen at this point is a ghost.""If this isn't scripted... Ma'am, you've got one hell of a mindset.""So, polygamy has made a comeback? Hey man, start a seminar. I'll listen to everything you say!""What kind of brainwashing is this? Madam, snap her out of it! Don't embarrass us women like this!""Some of us don't even have a wife, and this guy's marrying t
Chester looked into Giselle's eyes as he raised the corners of his lips slightly. "You're my wife. You can do whatever you want."After his last accident, he had taken advantage of the situation with Giselle under the pretext of amnesia. He would call her his "wife" or "Gigi" interchangeably.Until now, he had not had the time to come clean to her about this. Chester needed more time.Giselle was overwhelmed by the sudden profession of love.For some reason, her entire body suddenly felt warm. She looked away quickly, rolled down the car window, and let the wind blow upon her face. It was only then that her pounding heart settled into a calm rhythm.Chester caught everything from beside her.A trace of delight flashed across his eyes at the speed of light. When their gaze met again, however, it had disappeared without a trace.Chester decided to take it slow and easy.He straightened up and said, "A new restaurant recently opened in the suburbs. Should we go there for lunch?"
"You don't have to explain anything. Me and Jonathan? We're just aunt and nephew to each other."You're trying to ask him out, aren't you? When you finally win him over, don't forget to address me as Aunt Giselle, okay?"It was a soul-crushing blow.Giselle used their unique relationship as an opportunity to attack them without mercy!The greatest part about this was that they could not do anything to her.Charlotte's and Jonathan's expressions matched, which was a rare sight. Jonathan clenched his teeth in anger. His eyes hardened as he said, "Giselle, you're truly something else!"She knew to hit where it hurt. How did he not know that Giselle had this side to her?Giselle feigned humility. "You're too kind."The whole fiasco between the trio was becoming something of a movie to the passersby. Even when lunchtime was almost over, they were reluctant to leave.Some really were born with the talent to gossip.If they had to choose between money and gossip-worthy news, they
One could easily find Giselle's, Chester's, and Jonathan's names online through related keywords.The news came from an insider, so the credibility was 99.99%.The atmosphere between the two became heated.When Jonathan finally managed to suppress his negative emotions, Giselle's phone rang. Instantly, his heart skipped a beat. Alarm bells started to ring in his head.Sure enough…"I'm sorry, Chester. I forgot that you're no longer at Lawson Group."Giselle addressed Chester affectionately without any hesitation.She did this on purpose, of course.Jonathan was rendered speechless. He was so mad that he could even kill someone right now.But when Jonathan recalled his mother's admonition after his fight with Chester, he did his best to hold his anger back.From the phone, Chester could be heard saying, "Just stay there. I'll come over right now."When the call ended, Giselle could hear Jonathan's sneer. "Do you have to get on my nerves, Giselle?"His resentment was as cle
Jonathan was practically running on autopilot mode as his legs carried him toward Giselle.Meanwhile, Giselle was waiting for Chester's reply.All of a sudden, a shadow loomed over her, followed by a familiar voice that called, "Gigi."Both of them were good-looking people. Their standing side by side drew many people's attention.Passersby—including the employees—looked in their direction. They had even slowed down subconsciously as they walked by, just to catch a glimpse.Giselle's gaze went from casual to chilling in a split second.There was coldness hidden in her eyes, and a look of vexation settled on her face.Giselle took two steps away from him, putting some distance between them.Jonathan felt like someone was gripping his heart tight, making him feel suffocated.Dismay instantly replaced the feeling of excitement he had felt earlier. He stared at Giselle with woeful eyes. "Gigi…"Giselle did not buy into his words and pitiful act.She grunted. "Jonathan, is this h
An hour later, the car arrived at Lawson Group.The sky looked gray and hazy, while the air was hot.It was now lunchtime, so there were a lot of people going in and out of the building. Giselle texted Chester, letting him know that she had arrived.At the same time, Jonathan, in his sleep-deprived state, was staring at his phone. The expression on his face was so dark that Rick, his assistant, was trembling with fear when he came in to brief Jonathan on his schedule. He did not even dare to breathe."M-Mr. Lawson…""This had better be important!"Jonathan was like an explosive that could detonate any second.Rick gulped. "Mr. Lawson, I've notified the board that the meeting will be held at the conference room at 2:00 pm…"His voice trailed off at the end.With a loud bang, Jonathan threw his phone to the ground.When it crashed onto the floor, the screen shattered into pieces.That immediately shut Rick up.Ever since Jonathan had returned from the hospital, his temper had