Early the next day, Caroline woke up. She hurriedly lifted the blanket, only to find her clothes intact. They … hadn't done anything last night."You're awake?"Caroline looked up and saw Kirk coming out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his hips. Cold water fell from his hair, dripping down his well-defined muscles before getting absorbed by the towel. The sight bewildered her. She answered, "Yeah."Kirk approached her and sat down on the bed, which dipped under his weight. His movements made Caroline's heart pound, and her face turned crimson.Kirk fiddled with Caroline's earlobes, saying, "You fell asleep last night.""Huh?" Caroline remembered what had happened last night. Kirk had left the room to answer the phone, and … she'd fallen asleep. Her face reddened even more as she apologized, saying, "I'm sorry!"Kirk pulled her into his arms, asking, "How do you plan to make it up to me?"Caroline quivered and said shyly, "C—close your eyes."Kirk listened
When Caroline arrived downstairs, she called Gwen, asking if she wanted to go shopping for gifts together.On the other end of the line, Gwen mumbled, "I have to work overtime today, so I can't come with you, Carol."Caroline replied, "It's okay. Go ahead and work." After hanging up the phone, she looked up nearby places where she could buy gifts. By the time she was done buying and wrapping the gifts, it was already evening.The store did home deliveries, so Caroline gave the staff her address. Then, after checking the time, she was about to call Kirk when her phone rang. Caroline's eyes turned cold when she saw the caller ID. She answered it after some hesitation."Carol." Sarah asked flatteringly, "Are you free?"Caroline answered coldly, "No."Sarah explained diffidently, "Layla knows she's at fault for what happened at the competition. She wants to treat you to dinner and apologize. Carrie, you should forgive when you can. Do it for me …"Caroline refused without hesita
"Stop!" Caroline cried out, feeling the coldness of the hands gripping her. "I'll do it! I'll call him!"Upon seeing this, the two bodyguards looked at each other, unenthused. Then, they left the room unhappily.After finding out that Caroline had finally agreed to make the call, Brie walked into the room triumphantly. With a bright smile, she looked at Caroline, whose clothes had been torn into tatters. "See? You should've agreed sooner. Give her the phone."Caroline hugged herself tightly and didn't take the phone the bodyguard handed her."What's wrong? Did you change your mind?"Caroline sniffled. She looked at Brie, asking, "At least let me wear some clothes.""You're not trying to stall, are you?" Brie scoffed. "This is my family's territory. Never mind your husband; even Eddy would have a lot of trouble getting here. There's no point in stalling."Caroline smiled coldly, tears still in her eyes. "I just want some clothes. What are you afraid of?""Fine." Brie didn't ha
The hospital staff took Caroline to the operating room. Kirk wanted to follow her in, but Sean stopped him."Kirk." Sean tried to calm his friend down. "Caroline will be fine."Kirk looked back at him. His eyes were still red from anger, which made him look terrifying. Despite being his longtime friend, Sean was also a little scared of him. He knew Kirk too well. He was always calm and composed; he'd never lose his composure unless someone hit his trigger. Without him realizing it, Caroline had become his soft spot at some point. It seemed like Kirk himself didn't know about that."How is Carol?" Gwen asked Sean as soon as she arrived. She'd rushed to the hospital as soon as she'd heard what had happened. Sean glanced at Kirk, then looked at Gwen and answered, "She just went into the operating room.""Which bastard did this to her?" Gwen growled.Sean said, "Brie.""That fucking bitch!" Gwen turned around and was about to leave.Sean stopped her. "Where are you going?"
Kirk hugged Caroline. They held each other close, their hearts beating as one.His minty scent filled Caroline's nostrils, and she felt her cheeks turning warm. Then, she suddenly thought of something and anxiously touched Kirk's body. She asked, "Are you hurt? Brie's bodyguards didn't hurt you, did they?"Kirk felt his body heat up from her touch. He had no choice but to hold Caroline's hands, his voice low and hoarse. "I'm fine, but if you keep touching me, I can't guarantee I won't do anything."When Caroline heard his words, she froze. She didn't realize he'd tricked her until she heard his cheerful laugh. She weakly punched Kirk's chest.Kirk held her fist and placed a kiss on her fingers. "You'd better not go back on your word, Caroline.""What?""About being with me," Kirk said.Caroline's face turned red again. "Who said I wanted to be with you?"Kirk happily pecked Caroline on the lips. "You tease."Caroline was so shy that she didn't know what to do. "Kirk, you scu
Although the big four families were at odds with each other, they had to see each other whenever something happened.Layla's face turned pale. "How did this happen?"Caroline should have been the one who'd disappeared, not Brie."I'm not sure. I'll head over there," Eddy said. Then, he quickly left, leaving behind a panicking Layla.When Eddy arrived at the Collins family's home, he discovered Brie's situation was far more severe than Jude had described. Disheveled, she was lying on the bed as if she'd been tortured. Her entire body, especially her face, was covered in bruises to the point where no part of her was unharmed. She was muttering something, but her voice was so soft that no one could hear what she was saying.Howard was heartbroken when he saw his daughter like this."Did you find out who did this to her?" Eddy asked.Howard shook his head in distress. "No. I couldn't find anything!""What about Brie? Doesn't she know who did this to her?"Howard raised his hea
Caroline was taken aback. The amount of information in Gwen's words was a lot to process. For a while, she didn't know what to say or ask. After a while, she stammered, "Y—you guys prepared for a surprise proposal at a restaurant?""Yeah!" Gwen said regretfully, "It's probably all gone now. After all, we don't own the restaurant. It's a pity. I didn't get to take pictures and capture the moment."Caroline felt regretful as well. After a while, she pulled herself together and asked, "I passed out when Kirk arrived at the hotel. Do you know what happened after that?""I wasn't with him, so I don't know."Caroline asked worriedly, "Are the public talking about this?" Kirk had left the hotel unharmed and taken her away. There was no way Brie would give up after this."No." Gwen took Caroline's hand. "Don't worry, Carol. If Brie dares to cause any more trouble, we'll let Mr. Morrison Senior handle this.""Don't. Grandpa is old and in poor health," Caroline refused. "We'd better no
Eddy's expression darkened. He snarled, "Gwen!"Gwen said with contempt, "What's wrong? Did she expect to escape unscathed after kidnapping Caroline and dragging her to Saint Pierre Grand Hotel?""What did you say?" Eddy was utterly confused.Caroline looked at the foolish Eddy, who seemed to always come and question her whenever something happened. "Mr. Eddy, please get the details right before you start pointing fingers. I have no idea why Brie was beaten up. If you have proof that I was behind this, feel free to show it to the police.""Hear that?" Gwen giddily watched Eddy's face turn livid. "Also, Carol is married …" She picked up Caroline's hand, waving the diamond ring right in front of him."You've got to stop looking for Caroline every chance you get. Even if you're not afraid of being misunderstood, I'm worried people would call Carol a philanderer."Eddy's expression turned even darker. "Caroline, you're becoming really cruel. Even if you had nothing to do with wha