Madeline smirked, irony apparent in her eyes. ‘How can you still say such a thing, Jeremy Whitman? ‘Be it the person I used to be or the person I am now, what did I do to deserve Meredith’s bullying? ‘Is everything she does just correct in your eyes?’ Madeline’s fingers tightened around the stem of the glass while Jeremy remained deep in thought. After a while, he raised his deep gaze to stare at her. “I owe it to her,” he replied. Madeline frowned in confusion. “What do you owe her?” Staring at Madeline’s clear and sparkling orbs, Jeremy’s gaze trailed to stare at the horizon across the sea before them. “I couldn’t fulfill what I promised her. So I thought perhaps I could make it up to her in another way.” Madeline scoffed lowly at his reply. ‘You can’t fulfill the promise you made to Meredith, so instead, you’re now trying to make it up to her? ‘But Jeremy, since when have you fulfilled any of the promises you made me? And since when did you make up for those yo

“You fancy me, don’t you?” His seductive tone drifted into her ear with warmth. “I can feel it.” His tone was decisive, and confidence was the only thing in his peach blossom eyes that had glazed over.Madeline found herself slightly at a loss with how close they were and the words he was saying. “You’re drunk,” Madeline responded calmly, though doubt was flashing in her eyes. Was he actually drunk, or was he just pretending? “It’s nice being drunk. At least then I get to see her…” He smiled, the ‘her’ spoken so quietly that she almost missed it. The night wind blew past them, ruffling the wisps of his bangs. His eyes were gentle, tinted with fondness and adoration under the hazy colors of the night that Madeline had never seen before. He stared at her, then closed their distance even more. The scent of wine tickled her face with every breath of his. “I missed you so much…” he suddenly proclaimed, staring at her. Madeline’s heart shook and she was about to push him awa

Jeremy’s pupils contracted. “You mean, last night, we…” Madeline nodded before he could finish speaking. Distress immediately surfaced on Jeremy’s features. He admitted that he was infatuated with the woman in front of him, but he was also clear that such infatuation was an extrapolation of the yearning he felt for Madeline. He meant it when he said he wanted to marry her, but he had never thought of engaging in any form of skin-on-skin relationship with another woman after Madeline. He had approached Vera out of selfishness. He wanted to stare at the features of someone who looked exactly like Madeline a little longer, just so he could ease the guilt within him. Yet right now… He felt like a b*stard. He claimed that he loved her, yet he found himself unable to withstand the allure of another woman in his moment of drunkenness. “Look at you. You seem distressed. Why? Because I remind you of the ex-wife you hated so much? You must feel disgusting and dirty.” Madeline

The two fell silent and the atmosphere around them turned inexplicably weird, though not uncomfortable. The center was over 500 yards away. It took Jeremy about three minutes to carry Madeline over. It had almost been 20 years and the health center was still there, albeit renovated. The two never expected to see the very same doctor, who despite being at the age of retirement now and having a head full of white hair, she remained at her station out of a passion for her work. She recognized Jeremy the moment he carried Madeline into the clinic.“I remember you, young man. Your features are very distinctive.” The doctor smiled warmly as she treated Madeline’s wound, dressing it in no time. Madeline smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Doctor.” “You’re welcome.” She squinted and readjusted her reading glasses as she analyzed Madeline. “I knew that the two of you would end up together.” Madeline was stunned. Pushing the gloom down, she wore a confused expression instead. “You knew

Meredith was stunned and slightly anxious. “Why are you asking me this so suddenly, Jeremy?” “Did you lose it?” Jeremy pressed on coldly. “No! How could I?!” Meredith immediately ensured, saying, “It’s something you gave me, so I made sure to keep it really well.” Jeremy stared at Meredith with doubt in his eyes. “Where is it?” “...” Meredith halted before breaking into a gentle and small smile. “Are you wondering if I yearned for you all those years? Of course, I did. That’s why everything you gave me is in safekeeping. I can take it out for you now if you don’t believe me!” With that, she ran out the door. Half an hour later, Meredith returned with a small bookmark made from a leaf in her hands.The leaf was real, for it was laminated between two pieces of plastic—still whole and unbroken after all these years. “Look, Jeremy.” Meredith handed the bookmark over with a sweet smile on her face, her tone sounding meaningful. “I really miss how it used to be back then, Jere

Felipe turned around a few seconds later, concern tinting the gentleness on his chiseled features that were enhanced by the warm rays of the setting sun. “I just want to ask you one last time, Vera. Are you sure that this is what you want? It wasn’t easy escaping the claws of a monster. Are you sure you want to be caged by him again?” His tone was warm like the winds of spring, but in his eyes held a fierce glint. Madeline hesitated for a confused moment before a revengeful flare shone in her eyes. “I can take the pain and humiliation they gave me, but I’ll never forgive the two of them for teaming up to destroy the ashes of my precious child. The death of my child is something I must avenge!” Madeline balled her fists as hatred imprinted itself deeply onto her gentle features. There was a sharp and strong-willed look swimming in her eyes. After being gifted with rebirth, taking revenge was the top goal that gave her the determination to continue living!Felipe did not persu

Madeline ran toward Jackson without care, completely disregarding the danger of the situation. Her body made the instinctive decision to protect Jackson, even if it meant getting hurt in the process. Holding Jackson in her arms, Madeline had not the time to run. She prepared herself to get hurt as she felt the car coming into contact with her body. In the nick of time, someone shrieked, thinking that a horrible accident was about to occur. However, the car suddenly came to a stop. Meredith swore as she stared at the scene from afar. Oh, how she had hoped the car would rid her eyesores, both Vera and Jackson, from her life with this accident! The car braked, and Madeline felt the world around her grow silent. Carefully, she opened her arms to stare at the little boy buried in her embrace. She could not help the sudden burn around the corner of her eyes. “It’s alright now, Jack. Big Sis Vera promised you, didn’t she? I promised to protect you, so I will.” Madeline raised

The video ended. “Vera.” Jeremy rewatched the video twice as his heart thumped loudly in his chest. Quickly putting on his blazer, he dialed for Madeline. The call was left unanswered. He then sped to the location of the crash. Jeremy received a call just before he arrived. Jeremy felt his heart calm greatly at the caller ID. Tapping on his Bluetooth earphones, he answered the call nervously. “Vera?” “It’s me.” A familiar voice echoed through, soothing the taut hold over Jeremy’s nerves. He met Madeline ten minutes later, his gaze heavy as he scanned her unharmed appearance. He pressed on, asking, “Are you really alright?” Madeline stared calmly at the scratch on her leg. “It’s a small issue. Rather than worrying about me, Mr. Whitman, I’d rather you worry about your son instead.” Jeremy’s brows furrowed. “Jackson?” “Yeah. I have to ask you, is Jackson really Meredith’s son?” Madeline inquired confusedly. “I was shocked to see her leaving her son to be hit by

Meredith looked at Jeremy with her charming almond-shaped eyes that were filled with grievances as she said angrily, "Jeremy, Jack is our precious son. I wouldn’t allow him to be hurt at all as if my life depended on it. How could I have abandoned him?"Just then, Eloise slowly walked over with Jackson. Her contemptuous gaze was directed at Meredith. "Miss Quinn, I heard that you’re about to marry Jeremy's uncle, so why are you still hanging around here all day long with my daughter’s fiancé? Have your parents never told you that it’s shameless for you to do this?”Faced with Eloise’s sarcasm, Madeline merely gave a tranquil and composed smile. “You’ve asked a good question, Mrs. Montgomery. My parents didn’t teach me this because not long after I was born, they brought someone else’s child home and abandoned their biological daughter due to their moment of negligence."When Madeline mentioned her life experience all of a sudden, Jeremy looked at her unexpectedly.Seeing the elega

Madeline, who had not gone far, smiled quietly.This action of retreating to advance was very successful, and sure enough, it was her who Jeremy cared more for now.Jeremy kindly opened the car door for Madeline.Madeline got into the car and saw Meredith bursting from anger in the rearview mirror. She felt happy thinking about it.After the car started up, Madeline said while looking embarrassed, "Although I’ve promised you to no longer pursue the kidnapping case, it seems that they’re going to sue me instead? A robber acting like a cop. I can't bear this kind of grievance.""I won’t allow this to happen." Jeremy promised.Madeline looked at him with interest. "You’re really working hard for Meredith."Jeremy's eyes sank when he heard the words. He wanted to deny it, but in the end, he did not say anything.After a moment of silence, he seemed to have thought of something. "You told me just now that you have good news to tell me. What good news is it?"Madeline raised her del