The dinner was uncomfortable for Jenny. She had to watch as Yvonne fed Alec across from her and whispered sweet nothings. At one point, she regretted accepting Old Mr. Faust's invitation.She also noted Alec's ambivalence toward Yvonne—he did not respond to her, but neither did he turn down her advances. That was typical jerk behavior.When she was silently badmouthing Alec, the two suddenly locked eyes. Feeling caught, she hurriedly looked away and pretended that nothing had happened.Old Mr. Faust was unconcerned by the odd atmosphere surrounding the dinner table and turned to Jenny. "Jenny, are you free tomorrow? Want to go hiking with me?""Grandpa, tomorrow won't do." She put down her cutlery. "The hospital has arranged for me to work at one of its free clinics in the countryside. I'll only be back after a few months.""How many months will you be posted?" Old Mr. Faust appeared shocked and glanced at Alec. Alec froze upon learning that she'd be away, but he soon collected

Enraged, Jenny decided to leave. She could not stand another minute around Alec. However, at the height of her emotions, she didn't realize that she had overreacted to his question.Refusing to let her leave, Alec pushed her up against the wall. "If the marriage has nothing to do with you, why are you agitated?""Am I? I'm not," she denied and shook her head, but she felt guilty about lying. She admitted that she might have overreacted."But why? I shouldn't have overreacted!" she thought."You care about my marriage, don't you?" He was inches away from her. His deep voice rang in her ears, seducing her. She looked up and was about to deny his claim, but she found herself meeting his tender gaze and was captivated by it. Silence fell between them. She didn't say a word. All they could hear was each other's breathing.Feeling hot and losing his restraint, Alec looked down and moved his lips closer to her forehead. At this time, Jenny felt she must push him away and slap him in th

"Did you do that to her on purpose because you wanted her jealous? Are you just using me?" Yvonne demanded answers, but Alec ignored all her questions. She didn't let it slip. In fact, she didn't expect an answer from him, for she already knew the truth. Inexplicable rage filled her, and she howled at him, "Why? Why did you do this to me? Am I not as good as her? Why can't you work on accepting me?"He snickered and said coldly, "Why did I do that to you? Don't you know that you deserve this? Yvonne, you could've had a good life, but you walked down the wrong path. I'm keeping you around because you are of use to me. Else, I would have…" He paused and added, "Did you really believe that the cover-up was perfect? Framing Jenny for Steven's murder? If I want to look into a case, you bet I'll get to the bottom of it."Yvonne stumbled backward in shock. She believed it when he said he was capable of uncovering the truth. Cornered, she bit her lips and gave him a pitiful look. "Alec, I'm

The next day, Alec arrived at the Perry Residence, only to find that Jenny had boarded the earliest flight to Claymond City. He called Vincent to get the location of Jenny's program. In the end, he reminded Vincent, "Send me all her latest updates in the future."He refused to be put in a passive position anymore. After the call, he drove to the Faust Group office. During the trip, he made another call to Max, saying, "There's an arranged marriage between the Dickmans and the Blooms. I'm afraid you can't acquire Dickman LLC with Gilbert anymore." "So? What's your reason for calling?" It was rare for Max not to take jabs at Alec. Not only that, he sounded exhausted.Alec passed by the building of Dickman LLC during the call. He slowed down and glanced at it. Then, he muttered, "I like Dickman LLC's building.""Huh?" Max thought he had misheard Alec. "I'll join forces with you to stop the Blooms from helping the Dickmans," Alec suggested.Max instantly sat up straight and asked s

The Blooms would only help the Dickmans if Yvonne married Sam as soon as possible. Dickman LLC wouldn't last long under the current circumstances otherwise.Although the wedding venue was magnificently decorated, one could tell that it was hastily set up. Alec attended the event upon receiving the invitation out of respect for the Blooms, even if he couldn't care less about the Dickmans.The Blooms were as influential as the Fausts in Parrington. Not only that, the family had a long history of doing business. The Fausts started to build their empire from Old Mr. Faust's generation, but it was nothing compared to the Blooms, who had hundreds of years of history and owned countless assets just like the Fausts.At the event, Alec listened to the conversations around him with a glass of wine in his hand. Most of the guests were mocking the marriage.Max and Gilbert were among the guests as well. Even though they were in a bitter fight with the Dickmans, they attended the event out of c