"What did you say? Edmund pursued you?" Wendy couldn't believe her ears. Larissa nodded. "Not many people knew about this. I haven't been using that number in a long time, so I can't show you the messages that he sent me. You can choose whether to believe me or not." Wendy remained silent. Larissa couldn't help feeling disappointed. Larissa never thought that her years of friendship with Wendy could be outweighed by a scumbag whom she had known for less than two months. "Edmund didn't fall in love with you at first sight. He got close to you with ulterior motives. "He wanted to use you to blackmail me and Kevan. This was so that he could gain control of Soaring Corporation and secure wealth for his family." Although Larissa's words were true, the truth sounded harsh to Wendy's ears. "How do you know that he couldn't have fallen in love with me? How can you be sure that he truly doesn't love me? Larissa, stop overestimating yourself! "Will you ever stop thinking that the

Larissa picked up the bottles one by one and held them in her arms. "Do you want some?" she asked, looking up at Kevan. Kevan took all the bottles from her arms and left her only with a case of beer. "You can have this," he said."Hey!" Larissa was already in a bad mood. Now that Kevan had ruined her plans of getting drunk, she felt even more irritated. She reached out to snatch the whiskey back from him. Kevan dodged and kept her at arm's length by flicking her forehead. "Listen to me, or I'll take away the beer too," Kevan said sternly. Larissa hid the cans of beer behind her and glared at Kevan. Staring at the whiskey in his arms, she gritted her teeth. "Fine." Larissa sat on the ground with her back against the sofa. She had a can of beer in one hand and a freshly grilled drumstick that Kevan had made in the other. "I feel so miserable." She took a bite of the drumstick, smearing oil on her lips. Frowning, Kevan leaned over and wiped the oil from her mouth. "

"It's too late to wait for him to go to jail!" Larissa slammed the beer can on the ground, splashing alcohol all over her clothes. Kevan felt a headache coming on. On the other hand, Larissa seemed oblivious. Although she was already drunk, she grabbed the can of beer and took another big gulp. "Wendy has been brainwashed by him, don't you know that?"She turned to Kevan and grabbed his collar with her oily fingers. She left five oily marks on Kevan's white shirt. "Wendy's been brainwashed by him! She doesn't believe in me now! She said that I'm a liar and that I disgust her!" Larissa gripped his collar and shook him. Remembering Wendy's hurtful words, Larissa's heart ached. Kevan finally realized the gravity of the situation. Clapping his hands on her shoulders, he forced Larissa to calm down. "What did Edmund tell Wendy?" he asked with a frown. "Can you believe it? Edmund actually turned the story upside down! He told Wendy that I deliberately broke them up!

The hot water in the bathtub gradually cooled down. The gasps and moans that filled the confined space in the bathroom also quietened. Larissa was exhausted. She laid against Kevan's chest. Her long wet hair clung to her shoulders and neck, concealing the red marks on her skin. Kevan held her and stepped out of the bathtub. He took a towel from the cabinet and wrapped Larissa up in it.Larissa's eyelids fluttered open and she muttered in a hoarse voice, "I'm tired …" Kevan left a gentle kiss on her forehead. He shifted his position so that she could sleep more comfortably in his embrace. "Go to sleep." Larissa closed her eyes. After a while, her breathing became steady as she fell asleep. Kevan drew the curtains in the bedroom, leaving only a dim bedside lamp. Larissa was completely out cold. Even in her sleep, her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyelids twitched from unease. "Wendy …" Her unconscious murmurs reached Kevan's ears, making his heart ache at her

"I'm here to clear up the misunderstanding between you two," Kevan said. Wendy's heart sank. "Misunderstanding? There's no misunderstanding between me and Larissa," she sneered. Kevan took two steps forward and sat down on the sofa. "Do you want to come and sit? Aren't you pregnant? Standing for a long time will make your feet ache," he asked Wendy amicably. "I have no need for your concern!" Perhaps because of Wendy's bias, everything Kevan did reeked of an ulterior motive. "Alright then, you can stand there." Kevan didn't insist. He wasn't going to force his kindness on someone who didn't appreciate it. "I heard that you want Larissa to drop the case," Kevan got straight to the point. "Wrong, it's you who should drop the case." Wendy stared at Kevan pointedly. Since Kevan was the one who reported to the police, he should be the one to drop the case. "Edmund shouldn't go to jail for something he didn't do," Wendy continued. "Something he didn't do? Tell me, w

When they exited the elevator, there were few people around. Wendy increased the distance between her and Kevan, slowing her pace gradually. Kevan pressed on the doorbell of a room. The door opened immediately. The person inside the room sounded surprised to see Kevan. "Mr. Rogers?" Kevan turned to look at Wendy and patiently waited for her to catch up. "I brought someone with me," he said to the person in the room. When Wendy finally sauntered to the door, the person in the room exclaimed when he saw her face. Pointing at Wendy, he looked to Kevan for confirmation. "Isn't this person related to Edmund …" When the man mentioned Edmund's name, Wendy looked up anxiously. That man was tall and burly. He had a bald head and a menacing scar on his face. He definitely didn't look like a good person. Wendy froze in fear. Kevan nodded and confirmed the man's suspicions. "Yes, she is. Let's go inside and talk." Kevan gestured to Wendy. Wendy did not move and stared at the both

"Which room was it? Was it at Maple Hotel?" Wendy asked anxiously. Vick chuckled. "No, it's not. The room in Maple Hotel was afterward. Initially, you were placed in a basement that Edmund rented temporarily. "That woman named Larissa, your friend offered herself in exchange for you. She forced Edmund to have you sent to the Maple Hotel." "Larissa in exchange for me?" Wendy was stunned. Edmund had never mentioned this to her, and neither did Larissa. However, the way Vick spoke about it didn't seem like he was making it up. "Edmund's ultimate goal was to capture Larissa and bring her back to Caldor. He employed me and my underlings to keep an eye on her and ensure that she couldn't escape. "Since he couldn't capture Larissa, he took you as leverage instead. He threatened Larissa so that she would meet him." The fact that Edmund drugged her was true, but Wendy had no idea what happened afterward. When she woke up, she and Larissa were lying safely in Maple Hotel. T

With trembling hands, Wendy used all her strength to push the door handle down. However, she struggled to open the door. After some time, the people outside lost their patience. They pushed the heavy door which collided with Wendy, who was behind the door. She staggered back several paces. Feeling the resistance, one of the people outside poked their heads in. They were surprised when they saw Wendy standing behind the door. "Miss, are you okay?" Wendy endured the pain and waved her hands weakly. "I'm fine." She moved further away from the door. To avoid contact with men in the room, she decided to hide in the bathroom. One by one, a large group of men entered the room. The room was initially quite spacious, but suddenly it felt cramped with the number of people inside right now. Vick had them lined up according to order. Some people who seemed to be Aldorian were not respectful of Vick's authority. Before a conflict could arise, a few Caldorians who were Vic

Realizing what Kevan was about to do, Wendy screamed in horror. "Mr. Rogers, calm down! Larissa won't agree with you killing people! Do you really want to be stuck in prison for the rest of your life, leaving your wife and kid alone?" "Who said I was going to kill anyone?" Kevan's smile became wider. With a slight move of his finger, Kevan pulled the trigger. A gunshot echoed in the room and a thug let out a howl. "My foot! My foot is shot!" A bullet was lodged in his foot and blood gushed out from the wound. Wendy had never seen anything gory in her life. Covering her eyes, she screamed and turned away. She quickly ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Several more gunshots ensued and various cries of pain rang out. Wendy covered her ears with her hands. She tried to stop herself from imagining the gruesome scene that was happening outside. After a long pause, there was a knock on the bathroom door. Kevan's voice came through the frosted glass door. "Ms.

Larissa dialed Kevan's number.The phone rang for what felt like ages. Kevan finally answered it just before it could disconnect."Hey, Lari?" Kevan seemed to intentionally lower his voice. "Are you up?"It was eerily quiet on the other end of the line, making it impossible for Larissa to pinpoint his current location."Yeah," she responded. "Where are you?"He hesitated for a moment before replying, "Me? Well, I'm at the hospital."Larissa immediately sprang up from the couch. "What happened?""It's not me," Kevan paused briefly. His voice became softer as he continued, "It's Wendy.""Wendy?" Larissa rushed into the room, not realizing her knee had collided with the coffee table, causing her to wince in pain. But even then, nothing could stop her."Which hospital are you at? I'm on my way!" she exclaimed."Don't—" Kevan interjected. "Wendy is asleep, and she won't wake up for a while. I'll head back home soon. We can go visit her together tomorrow.""Ah ..." Larissa sighed,