Getting a divorce now or two years later didn’t make much of a difference for Zoey. She was okay with it either way. Besides finding another way to sustain her mother’s high medical expenses in the hospital, nothing else would change much.Zoey thought about it seriously and told Laurence truthfully, “If you need to, I’m willing to cooperate.”She could unconditionally terminate the contract earlier as long as he paid her the corresponding liquidated damages in accordance with the contract.After she’d said that, she noticed Laurence’s expression darken. He became reserved and gloomy. He was unpredictable, but Zoey had always been unable to gauge his temper. She contemplated it, polished her words a little, and mentioned tactfully, “Well, if it is terminated early, I should get compensation, right?”She asked the question carefully, afraid that Laurence might change his mind if he got upset. She could now understand why Laurence preferred to trade money and goods. It was straightforwar
Laurence wasn’t pleased after hearing that. He shouldn’t have said so much; it made him seem more concerned than he was.He was quiet for a few seconds before his expression changed to a fleeting cold smile. “I hope that you’ll be able to follow through with your plans when the time comes.”Laurence had known many women who were terrible at discerning others’ characters. He had a scatterbrained female cousin who fell in love with a man with a poorer financial background than her. When she finally had him, she provided for all his financial needs. Her actions were that of a lovesick person. And yet, in the end, the man never saw her as a romantic partner; once he’d garnered a fortune and could stand on his own two feet, he’d discarded her without a second thought.Laurence’s cousin had sobbed when she begged through gritted teeth for Laurence to teach the man a lesson that he would never forget. Laurence was annoyed by her weeping, so he simply agreed to her request. Before he could
The nurse was startled by Zoey’s tone. Zoey had always been soft-spoken and civil. She had never raised her voice at the nurse before.“Ms. Teller brought flowers with her, so she didn’t seem like someone with bad intentions. She said that she was an old friend of your mother’s, so I let her in,” the nurse said shakily.Zoey felt a bit light-headed from anger. An icy expression hung on her face, a rare look for her. “Please tell her to leave the next time she comes.”The nurse let out a breath of relief. “Alright.”Zoey’s anger still hadn’t dissipated after she ended the call. She forced herself to calm down and mull over Jasmine’s motives for today's visit. Jasmine wouldn’t visit her mother for no reason—she wasn’t one to do anything just for the sake of it. She was clearly more intelligent than the average person, considering how she’d waited for so many years. Jasmine had played a pivotal role behind the scenes regarding Robert’s smooth and easy acquisition of the Fulton family’
The young woman was pleased with the progress and looked forward to seeing the final product. “Alright then.” She’d heard that Zoey was tight on money, so out of the goodness of her heart, she referred a potential client to Zoey. “Miss Jenner, my uncle recently bought a house for his girlfriend, but it hasn’t been remodeled yet. He’s probably looking for someone to help with the remodeling. I’ll point him your way in a few days.”Zoey definitely wouldn’t give up the chance to make money, but it didn’t hurt to be more careful after the example that was James. “How old is your uncle? And what would you say his personality is like…”The young woman laughed. “He’s quite young, not much older than you, actually. He’s a nice person too. He’s a man of his word. He’s very good-looking but not much of a chatty person, so he’s on the distant side. To be honest, I don’t know if that lady is actually his girlfriend—he seems to be into her, but that woman has been trying to get back with her
Zoey was prone to feeling cold, so she pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders before looking for a deserted corner. She then asked for a warm water from one of the waiters.Sarah had a rather wide network; the venue was filled with many notable people tonight. Zoey spotted plenty of well-known people in Northwell.In truth, Zoey had initially studied jewelry design. During the summer break in her freshman year in university, her lecturer signed her up for a major competition.Sarah and Zoey were in the same year, and they were also in the same faculty. However, they had different lecturers.Newbies were able to make their debut during the annual competition. Her tutor sent her the collections of designs that had won first place right before Zoey handed in her own work. The designs that her tutor sent were completely identical to the work that Zoey planned to send in.Zoey’s heart had stopped at the sight.The tutor kept singing his praises over Sarah’s winning design. Zoey c
Shawn had walked over to her languidly, picking her up from where she had fallen. His arm was on the skinny side, his veins popping prominently under his skin. He wrapped a hand around her neck as he casually said, “Zoey?”Zoey had never exchanged a word with him until then. She had no idea what she’d done to cross him.Shawn waited until she was close to dying from the lack of air before tossing her aside like trash. He loomed over her with mad red eyes. “If you get in Sarah’s way again…”Shawn was a beautiful man, and his smile was breathtaking. However, the words that left his mouth were cruel and vicious as he pointed at the men behind him. He continued to smile as he casually let Zoey know, “I’ll let them take turns having their way with you.”Tears kept streaming from Zoey’s eyes, but she didn’t make a sound. She watched as Shawn left with his groupies and curled up on the ground, unable to stop her trembling.She knew that Shawn would follow through with his words, for he w
Zoey didn’t pay much heed to Laurence’s words. Although there were quite a few unfriendly looks thrown her way, she remained as cool as a cucumber. She eyed Jasmine indifferently. Jasmine was almost 40 but looked like she was in her early 30’s. While she wasn’t a standout beauty, her features fit together harmoniously. Her face was gentle and easy on the eyes, making people feel at ease around her.Zoey still remembered the first time she met Jasmine. Her mother had been lying in a hospital bed on the brink of death while Jasmine stood outside of the room, peering through the glass panel of the door.Jasmine had then said in faux concern, “How pitiful.”The Fulton family was practically decimated, and Zoey’s uncle was in prison due to a white-collar crime. Meanwhile, Robert had brought her over to Northwell. She knew very well that Robert hadn’t taken her with him out of the kindness of his heart—he was simply worried that tongues would wag, so he reluctantly took her in. Jasmine woul
Laurence liked Zoey’s intelligence and her occasional acts of spontaneous seduction. He looked at her face, her lovely smile still hanging on her lips. Even if she had been forcing it, her smile was still far prettier than anyone else’s in this banquet hall.“Don’t get on her bad side next time.” Laurence didn’t say anything else.Zoey felt like a dagger had stabbed right through her heart, but she ignored the pain, gradually letting her smile disappear. “Why would I rile her up? She was the one who started it,” Zoey said.Laurence nonchalantly raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you avoid her?”“She’s trying to hurt me because she thinks of me as an obstacle. How can I avoid her?” Zoey squeezed his arm affectionately and smiled again. “Why don’t you tell Jasmine that I’m just your wife on paper? Maybe she’ll stop out of the kindness of her heart.”Laurence was quiet for a while after she finished. Perhaps it was because he didn’t believe that Jasmine would be petty enough to pull such childish