Irene sat down and told him, "Let's be serious, Zachary."Zachary sat opposite her in turn, his eyes fixed on her. "I was being serious.""Then tell me. Are you visiting Lulu to see her baby or were you just lying to me?" Irene asked, looking him in the eye.Zachary did a double take, though he had to admit that he had been feeling troubled because he was not allowed to acknowledge his own child.It was as regretful as it was painful, and he certainly was upset that Irene stopped him.Naturally, he understood that Irene was doing this for Lulu's sake, but did he not have the right to be informed and to the child's custody? "I was lying a little," he replied. Even if he was upset and disappointed about it, he had no genuine intention of ruining Lulu's life now. "I admit that Martin is good and has done better than I have," Zachary said, knowing that it was his own fault things ended badly between him and Lulu.If only he had the strength to protect her from harm and from bre
Zachary refused to answer, leaving Irene unable to stay composed at all.He knew Isaac much earlier than she did, and she scarcely knew a thing about his past.What was Zachary trying to say? [Explain yourself, Zachary Slate! What were you trying to say?!]Zachary simply lay in bed, lifting a brow when his phone jingled with a notification, but he did not check it.He knew that Irene was flustered—and certainly had the capacity for it.As it turned out, no one could stay unaffected when something like that happened to them. He certainly did not believe in empathy—one had to experience the same anguish as the person to really know how it felt, and those who had never gone through it would never understand it.Meanwhile, his phone kept jingling, and he finally picked it up for a look.[Zachary Slate!][Zachary Slate!!!]He was being spammed with his own name.Chuckling, he slowly got to his feet and answered the door.Irene was actually stunned, since she did not expect h
Irene remained composed in spite of Zachary's sharp glare and suddenly smiled."Look, I was just trying to convince you not to bother Lulu.""So what was the point of all that?!" Zachary snapped. "What do you think?" Irene asked him in return."I think it's pointless," he replied.Irene heaved a long sigh and said, "Me too. I mean, if a person likes you, that's basically love, right? Can a person love you without liking you? That's ridiculous."That was why she remained so composed when Zachary told her that Isaac only 'liked' her—from her perspective, that was good enough, since there was not much difference between liking and loving!Zachary pouted. "Then why did you bother giving that crap?""I'm not," she said, but Zachary pushed her out of her room before she could explain. "Fine, I get it. You don't want me looking for Lulu, right? I won't go.""As long as you understand." Irene smiled.Zachary rolled his eyes after closing the door behind her.Why should he listen to
Lulu's phone was on silent mode since the last time it rang, it woke Jean right after she put her to sleep.Jean was crying a long while afterward too, so Lulu always put her phone on silent to avoid that from happening again—at least it meant peace for her baby. Earlier, she left it on the couch while washing the dirty laundry, and she was now in the bedroom to feed Jean.Lulu did not see or hear her phone vibrating repeatedly.And after she fed Jean, she folded the laundry and put them in the closet. Once she was done with housework, she lay in bed and took a nap with Jean in her arms.She did not sleep well, after all—in fact, she had not gotten a good night's sleep after she and Martin consummated their marriage.He would come on to her every night and for hours! She therefore needed her nap to recharge during daytime.Martin returned just then, putting some fish he brought in the kitchen. He was planning to make soup for Lulu since she has not been lactating much, and Je
"Of course I know you trust Lulu." Irene smiled begrudgingly. "But I don't trust Zachary…"His move this time definitely left her flabbergasted!"I'll talk to him," Martin said.Irene thought then that Martin was an upstanding person and that he loved Lulu to bits. There probably would not be conflict and he would protect Lulu, right? It was not as if she thought badly of Zachary.In fact, she would save Zachary instead of Martin if she had to choose, since she knew Zachary longer and was closer to him. She was only human, and she was not noble enough to abandon people she was attached with.If anything, she was only nice to Martin because he was Lulu's husband, which was an undeniable fact.She would like Martin to protect Lulu because she was concerned that Zachary would harass Lulu for custody of Jean.She had tried to reason with Zachary endlessly, but it could not be denied that Jean was Zachary's.He therefore had the right.But now, things were fine between Lulu a
Lulu looked up at Martin and said, "You're a married man. What's wrong with that?"Martin appeared to pause for a moment as he watched her, but his lips soon curled up in a grin. "You're right."Before she had a chance to speak, he gathered her fiercely in his arms and kissed her fervently! And with that, they eagerly jumped in bed for yet another round of passionate lovemaking.They had been married for a while now, but it had just been a few days since they consummated. For them, this was their real honeymoon!When they were done, Lulu leaned her head against Martin's shoulder and asked, "Your break is almost over, right?"Martin nodded and turned toward her. "You don't want me to work?""No," Lulu said, staring at his face. "I'm just worried."After all, his work was dangerous, and she was worried that he would run into trouble again.She caressed the surgical scar on his chest and murmured, "I hope I'll grow old with you.""We will," Martin replied, taking her in his arm
Zachary felt a little awkward—to be precise, he felt too embarrassed to start.After all, he was well aware that coming unannounced would cause trouble for both Martin and Lulu, and that he would be imposing.Still, it takes one man to know another, and Martin turned toward Zachary just then. "You want to see the baby, don't you?"While Zachary appeared taken aback, Martin said, "I understand that you're no stalker and that you wouldn't have wished us well in Cloud City if you really wanted to cause trouble for us."Pausing for a moment, Martin then continued, "I understand how you feel, but I also hope you understand—Jean may be your baby, but most of all, she's Lulu's. I won't allow you to take Jean away from Lulu… Unless Lulu gives her to you willingly."Martin knew very well that Lulu would refuse after carrying Jean around in her belly for ten months.There was a blood tie that bound mother and daughter now, and there was no way it could be severed at the drop of a hand.Ev
Lulu stared at Martin. "Are you trying to test me?"Martin tousled her hair. "Don't think of it like that. You can be friends even if you're not into him now. There's no need to treat him like the enemy since you made his acquaintance, refusing to meet him at all. I don't mind it either—I trust you."Lulu pouted. "I know you do, but I don't trust myself. Who knows, I might go with him if he starts to tempt me with sweet words…"Martin suddenly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her ferociously.He knew she was joking, but he was still very much afraid that she would leave him.He held her so tightly as if to make them fuse together. After a long while, Lulu said, "You should take Jean downstairs."She believed it impossible that people could stay friends after break-ups, since she disliked confronting the past.Caressing Martin's firm cheeks just then, she said, "I only need you in my life now." "You don't want Jean?" Martin asked.Lulu paused just then. "He wants Jean?