Chapter 391
“Can you wait a moment?” Caroline got up and looked toward the window seat.
Adrian was too excited to tell Caroline about the feelings he had for her for the past 20 years and
more.
“Caroline, I …”
“Gwen?” After confirming that the person sitting by the window was Gwen, Caroline apologized to Adrian and rushed over.
“Gwen, is it really you? What are you doing here? Also…”
There were a number of beer bottles on the table. Caroline took the bottle of beer from Gwen’s hand and asked, “How much did you drink?”
Gwen was obviously drunk and couldn’t recognize the person before her at all. She stood and tried to get her beer back, but she swayed and nearly fell.
Luckily, Adrian moved fast and held her up.
However, Gwen reacted to this like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She shoved Adrian away. “Go away. You men are all disgusting!”
Every guest in the restaurant turned to look over at them.
Adrian was at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Caroline went forward to hold Gwen up. As she did, she said to Adrian, “I’m sorry. My
friend is drunk.” She also asked for the restaurant staff to bring the bill.
Adrian said, “It’s on me.”
Caroline replied, “No, that wouldn’t be right.”
Adrian said, “There’s nothing wrong about it.”
After he said that, he helped to support Gwen again. “It looks like Gwen has had a lot to drink. I’ll
help you with her.”
The second he touched Gwen, Gwen shoved him away again.
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Caroline felt impatient Thank you, but there’s no need I can send her home myself. I’m very sorry about today I was going to discuss the partnership with you
Adrian hid the disappointment in his eyes. It’s alright,” he said.
But he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really going to be okay alone?”
Caroline was holding onto Gwen, who was swaying violently. “I’ll be fine. We’re leaving now.” Then she guided Gwen out of the restaurant.
Adrian watched as Caroline left. After suppressing the urge for a moment, he finally decided to chase after her.
He said. “It’s better if you let me send you two home!” As he spoke, he took the initiative to hail a
Caroline wanted to say something when she saw Jack not far away, but Adrian had already helped Gwen into the cab. Not knowing how to turn Adrian down, she could only get in the car as well.
Once the cab got moving, Caroline sent Jack a message telling him to leave first.
Jack had noticed that Caroline came out with a man, and they had gotten into the same cab. It was just that he couldn’t confirm it for sure at first.
After all, he had only seen her profile. He was only sure when Caroline texted him.
A cold sweat broke out on Jack’s forehead. He didn’t forget that Kirk had purposely called him to
tell him not to allow Caroline to interact with any man!
Thinking of how Caroline had been giving Kirk the cold shoulder lately, Jack shivered. He quickly
called Kirk.
Right then, Caroline had finally gotten Gwen to the entrance of her place. She felt helpless as she
looked at Gwen, who was sleeping like a log. She turned to thank Adrian again. “Thank you so
much for your help today.”
Adrian replied, “You’ve already thanked me many times today.”
Caroline opened the door and moved Gwen to the couch with Adrian’s help. Wiping away her
sweat, she said, “I don’t know what else to say but thank you.”
“You can also buy me a meal,” Adrian suggested half–jokingly.
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After that, he turned away, not daring to look at Caroline. Caroline was in office wear today, and
her clothes accentuated her figure very well.
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Caroline replied, “Speaking of buying you a meal, I think I’ve mentioned it several times already.” As she spoke, she went to get Adrian some water.
When he accepted the glass of water, Adrian couldn’t avoid touching Caroline’s skin. The touch was like being shocked by electricity. It made Adrian’s face turn red.
Adrian ducked his head and gulped down some water to still his rapidly beating heart. “Right. Are you free this weekend? Maybe we can have that meal.”
After drinking her own water, Caroline raised her head to find that Adrian’s face was red. “Why is
your face so red?” she asked.
Adrian’s mind buzzed, the blush spreading to his neck as sweat dripped. He coughed. “I …”
“You must be hot.” Caroline went to find the remote control. “I think men run hotter than women,
so you sweat easier.”
Adrian’s heart dislodged from his throat. He felt a little disappointed.
Soon, Caroline found the remote control and turned the air conditioning on. Then, she turned to
head into the bedroom and brought out a blanket for Gwen. She covered Gwen with the blanket
and tucked her in.
Adrian watched Caroline do this the whole time. As he saw her tuck Gwen in, he blurted out, “That
looks really comfortable.”
Caroline looked up at him in confusion.
Adrian instantly panicked. “It’s just… it’s just that watching you cover Gwen with the blanket
makes it look really comfortable.
“It reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom covered me with a blanket. Yes, that must be it.
Actually, I don’t understand why Eddy won’t marry you when you’re so great.”
After saying that, Adrian seemed to realize belatedly that he had crossed a line. “Sorry, I …”
Caroline shook her head. “It’s alright, I don’t mind.”
Adrian watched Caroline carefully. Once he was sure that she wasn’t mad, he said, “Have you… let
it go?”
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“Yes, I let it go a long time ago.”
“Your husband helped you let it go, didn’t he?” Adrian asked bitterly.
Caroline blinked a few times, hiding the emotion in her eyes. Even so, Adrian felt that something was amiss.
“Did
you two… get into a fight?” He clenched his fists, trying hard to settle his roiling feelings.
Caroline forced a smile. “You can say that, I think?”
“Can you tell me about it?” Adrian looked at Caroline with an anticipatory look. There were goosebumps on his skin.
Suddenly, Gwen’s mumbling came from the couch. “Go away. All men are trash. Go away…”
Caroline gave Adrian an awkward smile.
But Adrian wasn’t paying attention to Gwen. His attention was completely fixed on Caroline. “You can tell me. I don’t mind letting you rant.”
Seeing the sincerity in Adrian’s eyes, Caroline seemed to think of something. She immediately looked away and grimaced. “There’s nothing much to talk about. Just… a fight between a married
couple…
”
“But you don’t look happy at all,” Adrian pointed out.
“You’re completely different from when I first saw you at Thorne Corporation.” As he spoke, he
stepped forward.
“Back then, you were so happy, like a flower in bloom. Now, you’re like a ship that’s been drifting
about for years, only wanting to make harbor.”
Adrian took another step forward. “Actually, when you…‘
“Adrian!” At the very same time Caroline spoke, the doorbell rang.
Saved by the bell, Caroline walked to the door. “Let me see who that-”
As the door opened wider and Caroline saw the person outside clearly, her eyes widened further.
Chapter 393
“Kirk?” After a brief feeling of astonishment, Caroline felt rage surge through her. How had he
known that she was here?
Kirk smiled as he looked kindly at Adrian, who was behind Caroline. But there was a violent wave
buried deep in his eyes.
Adrian was stunned when he first saw Kirk. His immediate reaction was to recall which family
this man was from.
But no matter how he went through the memories in his mind, he couldn’t place the man. In the
end, Adrian looked at Kirk warily. This was no simple man.
As Adrian regarded him without inhibition, Kirk only swept Adrian a casual gaze before ducking
his head toward Caroline.
“Jack said you were sending Gwen home, so I came over to check on things. Is everything alright?
Do you need help?”
As he spoke, he took Caroline’s hand, wordlessly saying that she belonged to him.
Caroline was currently angry at Kirk because he knew her whereabouts. She didn’t notice the two
men glaring at each other. “It’s nothing. Gwen just got drunk.”
“And who’s your friend over there?” Kirk tilted his chin at Adrian.
“Adrian Sorkin,” Adrian said, offering his name. His gaze lingered for a short while on Caroline’s
wrist.
After some hesitation, Adrian held out his hand in a gentlemanly manner. “You must be Caroline’s
husband.”
Kirk’s gaze flitted over Adrian’s fingers as he waved a hand. “Sorry, I have to hold my wife’s hand,
so I can’t shake your hand.”
Adrian and Caroline were speechless at this.
Kirk said, “Darling, can we go home now?”
Caroline replied, “Gwen is drunk. I want to stay and take care of her.”
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Kirk caressed the back of Caroline’s neck and said, “Then Ill stay with you
Just as Caroline was about to say that there was no need, she hesitated when she recalled Adrian’s unspoken words. She didn’t reject Kirk.
“Adrian, thank you for your help tonight,” Caroline said sincerely.
As for what Adrian had left unspoken, Caroline didn’t care what they were. She just wanted to maintain how things were. “I’ll treat you to a meal one day.”
Adrian wasn’t a fool. Caroline was making herself very clear. If Adrian kept insisting, he would only earn Caroline’s disgust. “Alright, then. I’ll be leaving now.”
Once Adrian left, Kirk hugged Caroline from behind. “Darling…” He kissed her earlobe, acting as if he were trying to get on her good side.
Caroline shoved Kirk aside. “You should go too. I just want to take good care of Gwen.”
“Darling…” Kirk’s grip tightened on Caroline’s wrist. He raised the other hand to tilt Caroline’s
chin up, forcing her to look at him.
“What exactly happened? Can’t you tell me, please? I’ll change if I’ve done something wrong.”
Caroline looked into Kirk’s deep eyes. “How are you supposed to change if you don’t even know what you did wrong?”
Kirk started to speak, but Caroline cut him off before he could say a word. “I know I seem like I’m
throwing a tantrum, but …” Caroline’s voice shook.
She bit her lip before continuing, “I really know very little about you. You never told me anything
about your past.
I don’t know what you were like as a child. I don’t know when your mother passed away or why.
You never tell me. It’s like… your past is a huge secret that you must keep to make sure we can
stay together.”
Kirk’s heart ached as his eyebrows furrowed. Seeing Caroline in so much pain, he felt like his
heart was being cut into smithereens. He wanted to tell Caroline, but….
“Darling, you’re overthinking.”
Kirk raised his hand to caress Caroline’s hair, but she dodged him. Looking at his palm, Kirk
smiled.
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“Things aren’t as complicated as you think. I’ve never told you about my past because I didn’t see a need to
“Is that so?” Caroline sniffed
“Maybe I’m overthinking, or maybe I’m sensitive. You leave first. I want to spend some time alone” In any case, all she had to do was wait until Tuesday. By then, everything would be settled.
Chapter 394
“Darling, Kirk said.
“You head home first.”
Kirk watched as Caroline turned mercilessly away, his fists clenching. “Alright, I’ll go home first. Call me if anything happens,” he said.
After that, he was silent for a moment before he left and closed the door behind him.
When the door clicked closed, Caroline couldn’t maintain the rigidity of her back anymore. She slid to the ground. She covered her face as her shoulders trembled gently.
After more than half an hour, Caroline rushed into the bathroom and wiped the tears from her face.
When she looked up, she saw herself in the mirror, her makeup ruined. Although she had been trying hard to fill the emptiness in her heart with work, as more time passed, the pain got harder to deal with.
If this went on, she would go crazy.
She took out her phone and clicked on her chat with Marina. There were no new messages. There were still 18 more hours until working hours started in Macldo.
Caroline had the urge to sedate herself and sleep until she could get the answer. But she couldn’t do that.
After cleaning the makeup from her face, Caroline returned to the living room. Gwen was still asleep, spread out in an ugly sprawl on the couch. Caroline couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
This was probably her first real laugh in all this time. But after laughing, she frowned.
She had been so busy with the company and Kirk that she had been in much less contact with
Gwen lately. She wondered what was going on with Gwen.
After staring at Gwen for a while, Caroline got sleepy and fell asleep soon. When she woke again, it
was already the next day.
Seeing that she was sleeping on the bed, Caroline got up and walked to the door. That was when
she realized that she was at Gwen’s place.
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There was breakfast on the table–the same kind of thing that she usually ate every day. Gwen was still lying on the couch with the blanket kicked to the ground.
Just as Caroline walked by the dining table, Gwen’s voice came from behind her. “Morning, Carol 1
Caroline turned to look at her. Gwen was stretching lazily. “You didn’t buy this breakfast?” she asked
Gwen was still in a mess. She blearily climbed up from the couch. “Breakfast? What breakfast? Isn’t it nighttime?”
Caroline was impatient as she said, “Let me get you some hangover cure.”
“This is my house, right? I don’t have any hangover cure at my place…”
As Gwen spoke, Caroline had already found the hangover cure. It was on the table. Caroline passed the pills to Gwen with a mug of water.
Gwen looked at it and smiled. “Thanks, Carol.”
The mug had the name of some medical association printed on it. Expressionlessly, she asked, ” Did you and Sean have a fight?”
At the mention of that, Gwen didn’t need a hangover cure anymore. She immediately became alert. “No, definitely not.”
Caroline stared at Gwen silently. That mug and medicine had to be Sean’s. The breakfast was
probably from Kirk. He… must have carried her into the room…
If Gwen hadn’t gotten into a fight with Sean, then they would probably have seen Sean around
when they woke up. Besides, Gwen had gotten drunk.
At that thought, Caroline couldn’t help but smile. “We’re really good friends.”
They went through thick and thin together. They even fought with their partners at the same
time.
Chapter 395
Gwen couldn’t keep it a secret anymore with the way Caroline was looking at her. She could only swallow he: pills, wash them down with water, and say, “I’ve been suspended at work.”
Caroline frowned “Why didn’t you tell me such an important thing?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you.” Gwen sighed. “Besides, I didn’t want to keep bothering with all my little issues.”
Caroline replied, “But I’m your best friend.”
“Alright, alright. Are you going to listen or not?” Gwen whined.
In response, Caroline could only say, “Alright, tell me.”
“Actually, it’s really simple, but I have to start from Macovo …”
After Caroline and Kirk had left Macovo, Gwen and Sean had kept looking for witnesses. But after going through dozens of people, no one came forward.
They didn’t know if it was because the witnesses found the matter too troublesome or because they really didn’t see anything.
Seeing that their vacation was almost over, Gwen had no choice but to give up. After all, she assumed that she would just have to take the blame from Mia’s mother.
Unexpectedly, on the third day she was back at work, Gwen had gotten a notice from the head of the HR department.
The head of the HR department had called Gwen into the office and said that someone sent a complaint to the company’s email, informing them that Gwen had stolen the person’s boyfriend.
Confused, Gwen read the entire complaint.
Caroline asked, “Who wrote this complaint?”
“We still aren’t sure about that, but it’s obvious it was Mia.” The mention of Mia’s name made Gwen frown in disgust.
“The complaint basically swapped everything that happened in Macovo around.”
“What do you mean?”
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“Basically, my vacation in Macovo with Sean became her vacation with Sean. Her hounding Sean
became me hounding Sean. And since we took a private flight, I have no way of proving that I had
gone to Macovo with Sean.”
Caroline frowned. “But the proof of her hounding Sean can’t be faked, can it?”
At that point, Gwen recalled the ugly face of the HR department head and became furious.
“Don’t even mention that proof. I get angry just thinking about it. The HR department head at my
company is a 60–year–old geezer. He doesn’t even know that photos can be manipulated.”
Gwen gritted her teeth before continuing, “Besides, all the chat records had been cropped so that
the profile pictures were gone, and he actually believed I sent those messages. He really astounds
me.”
“Then you should have gotten me to go over there.”
Gwen waved a hand. “It would have been useless even if you were there. You don’t know how good
of an actress Mia is …‘
“She went to your company?”
“Yeah. Not long after I was called in by the HR department head, she caused a fuss at the company.
“Do you know how she showed up there? She was in a wheelchair and bandaged up. Plus, she was
screaming and crying, saying that I stole her boyfriend and made her fall.
“You don’t know how hard she cried. If I wasn’t the victim, I would have believed her.”
“And your company fired you because of this?”
Gwen picked up a sandwich and took a bite. At least this way, her stomach finally stopped
rumbling.
“Not fired, suspended. But that’s not much different from being fired. But I wouldn’t go back to
that horrible place even if they begged me!”
Just thinking about her colleagues‘ suspicious glances made Gwen feel completely awful. Furthermore, she had no way to prove her innocence.
“Then how come you broke up with Sean?” Caroline asked. From start to finish, it seemed like
Sean was innocent.
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Gwen’s expression turned gloomy. After a moment, she said softly, “I’m tired”
Deeply in her heart, Caroline felt the same.
Gwen took off her shoes and put her feet up on the coffee table. Leaning back, she stared at the ceiling.
“When I watched Mia cause a ruckus that day, I… I thought of my mother.
“Once, when I was small, my mom found out my dad was cheating. She took me to his company to catch him in the act.
“Back then, the same thing happened. Everyone poked their heads out to watch the show. Their excited expressions were the same. It’s like nothing has changed in 20 odd years.” She added, “Looking at her, I thought, what if I became that person one day?”
Chapter 396
When she got to that point, Gwen laughed. “It was better in the past when I would dump them
after I got them
“I didn’t have to worry about the guy cheating at all. As long as we break up fast, they won’t get to
cheat on me.”
Caroline smiled as she looked at Gwen, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Gwen was right. Love was
really quite tiring. One needed to nurture love with a lot of effort so that it could last forever.
“What about you?” Gwen asked, turning her head toward Caroline.
The smile was still on Caroline’s face, but now her gaze drifted. “I … Do you remember I told you I
was scared?”
Gwen blinked.
“The husband was a murderer, but the wife only found out when the police came to their door …”
Gwen sat up. “You mean
”
Caroline shook her head as she laughed. “No. It’s just that my complete trust in him seems to be
cracking.
“What exactly happened?”
Caroline shook her head and looked at the time. “I’m not sure yet. I still have to wait…”
Caroline just had to wait a little more–just two hours and a bit more. Then, the answer would be
revealed.
“I think you can ask Quentin for help with your problem.” Caroline turned the topic back to Gwen’s
issue again.
“Forget it. There were no surveillance cameras in Macovo. Besides, it’s been so many days already,
“Gwen said.
“It doesn’t matter anymore if I’m innocent. In any case, this way, I can rest for a while. At worst, I’ll
go home and inherit the family business.
“But just the thought that it was the old man who built the business makes me feel dirty.”
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Carcaine watched Gwen silently Without saying anything more, she walked to the door and
changed into her shoes
Then, she asked, “Why don’t you come to my company?”
“No, thanks I can take care of myself at home” Gwen pushed Caroline out the door.
“Hurry up and go to work. Don’t worry about me. Go make money and support me in the future.”
Hearing the words “support me, Caroline’s heart trembled. Kirk had seemed to say the same
words before. When Caroline thought of him, her eyes dimmed.
Caroline shook her head, dispelling Kirk’s lingering image from her brain.
Once she got the information from Marina, she would be free from this agony. Whether or not it
was true, she would put an end to things.
Once she left Gwen’s apartment, Caroline rushed straight to the company. Once she went inside,
she saw Cheryl trying to tell her something with her eyes.
“Caroline, guess who came?
“Who?” Caroline asked.
“Mr. Sorkin!” Cheryl forced her excited voice down.
“He’s in your office waiting for you right now! He said he’s here to sign a contract. Caroline, is Mr.
Sorkin investing in our company?”
Although the Sorkin family couldn’t compare with the Morrison family, it would make a great
impact on Evans Group’s unstable situation if they were to invest.
Caroline paused in her footsteps as she looked toward the door not far away. “Adrian is inside?”
“That’s right.” Cheryl was about to push the door open, but Caroline stopped her.
“Hold on.” What happened yesterday really gave Caroline a headache.
“I… Mr. Sorkin is here to sign a contract…”
Before she could finish speaking, the door was opened from the inside.
Caroline looked at Adrián standing before her and found herself unable to escape. She forced a
smile and said, “Mr Sorkin …”
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“Sonia Norman will be our brand ambassador. Later, you will have to get into contact with her manager and use the company’s official social media to announce the news.”
Cheryl looked at Sonia’s information and said, “This actress doesn’t seem to be very popular.”
“Yes,” Caroline replied.
“But she has a new webseries airing soon. I’ve watched it. It might only have a small budget, but the story and costumes are decent.
“I can’t be sure that it will be a hit, but I think it will be quite popular. Sonia did especially well with her acting. She stands out in a small–budget webseries like this. She will be noticed by everyone.”
Listening to all of Caroline’s logical points, Cheryl couldn’t help but say, “Caroline, what if … just what if … this webseries fails? Then wouldn’t our 800 thousand dollars go to waste?”
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Adrian frowned imperceptibly when he heard Caroline use such a formal form of address.
I’m here about yesterday.” Adrian started.
“Andrea said you wanted to sign with one of the female celebrities under Sorkin Group. Is that
night?”
“That’s right.”
Seeing that Adrian was talking about business, Caroline’s tense back finally relaxed. “It’s Sonia Norman This is the contract we’ve drafted. Please have a look.”
She continued, “As for the fee, we will use a new model. There will be a basic fee for her to become our ambassador, and then 10% of the profits. Is that alright?”
Caroline had checked Sonia’s other sponsorships. Sonia was paid a million dollars or more every year. With Evans Group’s current situation, every cent had to be spent well. Thus, Caroline had offered a fee of 800 thousand dollars and then profit sharing later on.
To Sorkin Group, this amount wouldn’t lose money, but it wouldn’t make money either. For business people, not making money amounted to a loss.
Hence, Caroline wasn’t confident that she could get this contract signed.
“Not a problem.” Adrian was very decisive.
“We’ll go with the amount you set.”
Caroline froze for a moment. She had been prepared to bargain with Adrian.
But Adrian quickly signed the contract and then looked up at Caroline. “Ms. Evans?”
Caroline came back to herself and looked at Adrian’s bold signature on the page. She hesitated for
a moment before saying, “Mr. Sørkin, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“This amount is unfair to you, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, it is,” Adrian replied honestly.
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After watching Caroline hesitate for a while, Adrian smiled.
“Before I case, Andrea already told me that I have to sign this contract, even if you don’t pay
anything. She said you helped her before, so this is her repaying the favor.”
Hearing that, Caroline’s heart returned to its rightful place.
Adrian also noticed the visible way Caroline relaxed and could guess why. A bitter look flashed in
his eyes.
Suddenly, he was glad that he hadn’t said what had been on his mind last night. Caroline had
already put distance between them before he said it. If he had, she might never see him again.
At that thought, Adrian pushed away the sadness he was feeling. He said, “Alright. If there’s
nothing else, I’ll take my leave now. My girlfriend is still waiting for me downstairs.”
Hearing about a girlfriend, Caroline froze for a moment before smiling. “Is it that woman you had a
blind date with before?”
Adrian wasn’t paying attention to what Caroline was saying at all. He was too focused on the way
her eyes lit up. It was as if she had had a burden lifted from her when she heard that he had a
girlfriend.
It seemed that she really didn’t have feelings for him.
After finding this out, Adrian simply said something in answer and hurriedly escaped.
Watching Adrian leave, Cheryl said in admiration, “Seeing how quickly Mr. Sorkin is leaving, he
must really want to see his girlfriend fast. What a great man. Oh, I wonder when I’ll get a sweet
romance of my own.”
Caroline giggled and teased, “Ask Mr. Jack, and you’ll know!”
Cheryl’s face immediately turned red. “W–why?”
Caroline only laughed, not giving an answer.
Cheryl’s face became redder. “I’m ignoring you, Caroline.”
“You can’t ignore me.” Caroline passed the information on Sonia to Cheryl.
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“Sonia Norman will be our brand ambassador Later, you will have to get into contact with her manager and use the company’s official social media to announce the news.”
Cheryl looked at Sonia’s information and said, “This actress doesn’t seem to be very popular.”
“Yes,” Caroline replied.
“But she has a new webseries airing soon. I’ve watched it. It might only have a small budget, but the story and costumes are decent.
“I can’t be sure that it will be a hit, but I think it will be quite popular. Sonia did especially well with her acting. She stands out in a small–budget webseries like this. She will be noticed by
everyone.”
Listening to all of Caroline’s logical points, Cheryl couldn’t help but say, “Caroline, what if … just what if … this webseries fails? Then wouldn’t our 800 thousand dollars go to waste?”
Chapter 398
Caroline smiled. “That won’t happen. Sonia has a solid fanbase. Even if the webseries fails, we can still get sales through streams.”
Cheryl immediately relaxed when she heard that. “Caroline, you’re amazing. You really thought of everything. I’ll be going then.”
Caroline nodded. After watching Cheryl leave, she slumped onto the couch in fatigue.
Even though she was at work, she needed to expend a lot of energy to concentrate on doing her job. Otherwise, her thoughts would always drift off, and she would think about how Marina’s search was going.
What if Kirk really had another wife? What would she do then?
All these thoughts suffocated her, making it hard for her to breathe.
Caroline looked up at the clock on the wall and unlocked her phone. Marina should be at work at this hour, but there was still no news from her.
Clicking on their chat, Caroline hesitated before deciding to send Marina a message anyway.
“Have you found it?”
After sending the message, Caroline immediately turned her phone screen off, too scared to look.
Yet the screen lit back up right then. In response, Caroline looked over with one eye open and one eye closed.
That was when she realized it wasn’t a text from Marina at all, but a call from Charles.
Caroline took a breath before answering the call. “Mr. Lane.”
“Madam.” Charles looked up at the building before him.
“Mr. Morrison is worried that you might be too tired from caring for your friend last night and
asked me to bring you a care package. I’m just downstairs. Can I come up?”
Caroline pinched the bridge of her nose and said, “I’ll have someone go down and collect it.”
“No need. It’s just a short journey, so I can come up now. Are you at the company?”
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Caroline sat straighter. “Yes, I’m here. You can come straight up.”
On the other end of the line, Charles sounded relieved. “Alright.”
Caroline didn’t notice Charles‘ relief. She ended the call and immediately saw a new message waiting for her in the notification bar.
Caroline’s heart started to race as she clicked on the message with trembling fingers.
This time, it was really a message from Marina!
It read, “I found it. There’s indeed some information on a Kirk Morrison, but I don’t know if he’s the person you’re looking for. I’ll send you the details now.”
On the screen, it showed that Marina was typing.
Caroline’s heart was lodged in her throat as she clutched her phone tightly. She was so anxious that her eyes didn’t leave the screen for a second.
Right then, a photo came through.
Caroline held her breath as she zoomed in on the photograph. At first glance, she spotted Kirk’s picture on the top right corner. Then, she quickly scanned through to get to the marital status field.
The word “married” was like a storm raging through her.
Married! Was Kirk really married?
Instantly, Caroline felt like all her energy had been drained out of her.
She and Kirk had registered their marriage in Easton. Of course, Easton didn’t share their database with Macldo.
That meant that the Macldo government didn’t know that Kirk had gotten married in Easton and wouldn’t have him registered as married.
Unless …
He was also married in Macldo!
Chapter 399
“Madam, what’s wrong?” The moment Charles came into the office, he noticed Caroline slumped on the couch, pale–faced.
It looked like she had just been hit hard by something and was barely holding on.
Caroline didn’t hear what Charles said at all. She couldn’t even see Charles in front of her. She
could only sense that there was someone’s figure moving around.
She felt like her soul had been sucked out of her, and she was left in a daze.
Charles was at a loss for a time too. Then, he spotted Caroline’s phone on the floor in his peripheral vision. He instinctively bent to pick it up while he extracted his phone to call Kirk.
At that moment, Caroline pounced on him as if possessed, ripping the phone away from Charles.
Charles was shocked by Caroline’s behavior.
After a few seconds of astonishment, he finally reacted. “Madam, are you alright?”
Caroline shouted, her eyes red, “Get out!”
At that moment, she didn’t want to see anyone who had a connection to Kirk.
Charles looked at Caroline’s phone again. Although he hadn’t had a good look, it seemed like a document about Kirk’s marital status.
Charles‘ expression changed completely at that thought. Before, Charles had taken measures to make sure that the marriage was believable and to prevent Jude from suspecting Kirk. For instance, he had gotten a government worker at Macldo to change Kirk’s marital status …
Could this matter be what made Caroline suspicious that Kirk had two wives and caused them to fight?
At that possibility, Charles started to sweat. He tried to explain, but he had become like a parrot
learning to speak.
All he could do was repeat the same thing. “Madam, calm down first…”
“Leave! Get out now!” Caroline’s emotions were in a mess.
Seeing Caroline explode again, Charles thought for a moment before deciding that it was a better
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He had come to see Caroline to try to find out why she was fighting with Kirk. He never expected that he would find out the truth in such an accidental way.
After the torn Charles left, Caroline once again stumbled to the couch and collapsed there.
With solid proof right in front of her, her first impulse was to check the dictionary to see if the definition of the word “married” might be different from what she knew.
What a joke. How could she not believe it when the proof was right there?
Feeling pained, Caroline buried her head on the couch. The roil of emotions she had been suppressing for the past few days finally burst out of control, and she started to sob.
Meanwhile, Charles left the building where Evans Group was located. He felt cold despite standing under the sun.
Kirk chose this exact moment to call him. Seeing Kirk’s name as the caller ID, Charles felt a jolt of fear.
He was afraid that he might not survive this. There was no way Kirk was going to forgive him for messing up this badly.
Holding onto the idea that it was better to get it over with, Charles answered the call with
determination.
He said bravely before Kirk could speak, “Sir, I found out why you and the madam are fighting.”
Kirk was speechless.
Charles told Kirk the whole story. “I didn’t make a mistake. That was definitely a document about your marital status.”
After saying that, Charles didn’t try to defend himself. He waited quietly for Kirk’s verdict. After all, his mistake had caused this problem.
Yet, he didn’t hear any response from Kirk, even after a long time.
Nervously, Charles asked, “Sir?”
Charles put the phone away from his ear and looked at it. He was stunned to find out that Kirk had
hung up. He stood in place, at a loss for words. He didn’t know where to go at the moment.
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Suddenly, a figure moved past him. When he focused on the person, he realized that it was Caroline.
She had hailed a cab, which quickly sped off.
After being stunned for a few seconds, Charles finally fished out his phone in a panic to call Kirk.
The call was quickly picked up.
“Sire, the madam just got into a cab
Before Charles could finish speaking, he heard a sharp noise from the other end of the line. It sounded like the squealing of tires. Then, the call was cut off.
Charles was at a loss for words.
After getting into the cab, Caroline sped to the villa. She didn’t know what she was thinking. All she knew was that she wanted to move out of that place, which was full of past memories.
That villa stood like a gigantic monument that reminded her of how foolish she had been and how Kirk had tricked her so easily.
The cab soon arrived at the villa.
As soon as Caroline got out of the car, she flew into the building and went to the second floor. She shoved everything she owned into her luggage.
It felt like this was the only thing she could do to dispel the sound of laughter echoing in her head.
She was lost in a huge wave of pain and didn’t notice the blare of a car horn from downstairs.
As Kirk pushed the door open downstairs, he could tell that Caroline had come back to the villa. Without thinking, he rushed up to the second floor.
When he saw Caroline packing her clothes, fear overwhelmed him.
He took large strides toward her and held her from behind.
Kirk’s familiar scent made Caroline’s heart jolt. When she noticed Kirk behind her, Caroline
struggled with all her might to escape his arms.
But Kirk was too strong. His arms were like metal shackles, locking her in.
She was so angry that she hit him and punched him, but he didn’t even make a noise.
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After some time, Caroline got tired of venting her frustrations. She put her hands down and let Kirk hold her, seeming like a lifeless shell.
Her tears fell one by one, landing on Kirk’s arm. They were hot enough to burn, nearly scalding Kirk. Stiil, Kirk refused to let go. He knew all too well what the consequences of letting go would be.
“Darling, don’t leave me, please?”
His low plea plucked at Caroline’s heartstrings.
Perhaps in the past, Caroline’s heart might have softened. But after seeing that document, her heart had turned to stone.
“Let go of me! Let me go! I don’t want this to turn ugly.”
“Don’t be like that…” Kirk turned Caroline to face him, the redness of his eyes spreading.
“Even the court wouldn’t sentence me to death without hearing my testimony!”
Caroline sniffed and raised her head. She shot him a pained smile. “Alright then, speak. Tell me why you have another wife in Macldo!”
By the time she finished her sentence, Caroline was yelling. She didn’t want to be like this. She hated being like this. But she just couldn’t control herself.
Looking into Caroline’s reddened eyes, Kirk felt like his heart was being carved out of his chest. Countless excuses floated around in his mind, but he couldn’t say a thing right then.
Suddenly, he didn’t want to lie to her anymore.
“Tell me, then. Why aren’t you saying anything?” Caroline pulled her hand back.
‘If you don’t speak, then I will. Because it’s the truth. You have a wife abroad, and you have one
here …”
No, darling, the truth is …” Kirk’s brows furrowed tightly.
The truth is… I’m Eddy’s…”
Chapter 400
“What?” Caroline took a step back and interrupted Kirk.
“Enough. If you’re still hesitating at this point, I doubt you’re going to tell the truth
“How about this? I’ll give you time to think about it. Once you come up with a lie, you can come and see me again.”
After saying that, Caroline picked up her luggage and strode downstairs.
Kirk caught up to her when she reached the doorway.
“Where are you going? I’ll drop you off.” Kirk gripped Caroline’s wrist as he begged sincerely.
The words to reject him stuck in Caroline’s throat. They wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard she tried. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Seeing that Caroline wasn’t rejecting him, Kirk let her go and put her luggage in the trunk.
In the car, Caroline didn’t say anything more than “Take me home“. She didn’t want to speak to Kirk, and she didn’t have the energy to talk anyway.
Kirk wanted to say something more, but Caroline had already slammed the door closed on him.
He could only stand there without saying a word.
After Cheryl got into contact with Sonia’s manager, the manager used Sonia’s social media to announce the collaboration. Cheryl also shared the post, and it was considered an official
announcement.
Since Sonia wasn’t a very famous, celebrity, Cheryl didn’t expect there to be a huge reaction to the
announcement.
But on the way home, she noticed that both Evans Group and Sonia were trending.
After a while, Cheryl finally figured out what had happened. It seemed that someone had posted
news that Evanson Corporation had hired Daphne Dawson as their brand ambassador.
Thus, the competition between Evans Group and Evanson Corporation had been brought up again.
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Someone had even published a posting asking which company people would support since both Evanson Corporation and Evans Group were going with a horoscope theme.
Naturally, Cheryl would choose Evans Group. After voting, she realized that there were only a few votes fo: Evans Group. She guessed that those votes had probably come from Sonia’s fans.
Cheryl sighed.
Jack heard her sigh as he drove. He laughed and said, “What’s wrong?”
Cheryl waved her phone in the air and told Jack about the vote online.
After listening, Jack said, “But I think Ms. Evans will win.”
“Why?” Cheryl was curious. In all honesty, she wasn’t very confident.
“Hmm. It’s a feeling, I guess.” Jack spun the steering wheel.
“Before, when she was at Thorne Corporation, everyone thought Ms. Evans had no experience and wouldn’t be better than that… What’s her name?” (1)
“Vivian Patterson.”
“Right, right.”
Then, Jack continued, “You know what happened with that.”
“Yes, that’s true.” Cheryl looked down to see all the mocking words in the comments.
“But these people don’t have faith in us. Not even the people at the company do, and this is their project.”
Yet, Jack still smiled and said, “I believe in Ms. Evans.”
Hearing Jack’s light tone, Cheryl smiled as well. But then her expression dimmed. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but said nothing even after many attempts.
Jack was focused on driving. So he didn’t notice Cheryl’s hesitation.
Seeing how unbothered Jack was, Cheryl gave up.
Jack said he had given up on his feelings for Caroline while at Thorne Corp, but…
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Chapter 401
In the end, Cheryl didn’t dare ask about it. She was afraid that Jack had only said that he had let go of his feelings because he wanted to keep staying by Caroline’s side.
Meanwhile, Daphne found out that Caroline had signed with Sonia while she was playing cards with Jane. The second she heard that the celebrity was a no–name one, her expression went dark
The two wealthy ladies sitting with them were friends Jane had brought to play with them. Seeing Daphne’s expression change, one of them asked in concern, “What’s wrong, Ms. Dawson?”
Daphne had to try very hard to keep from bursting into curses right then and there. “It’s about work. I have to deal with it for a moment.” As she said this, she strode toward the villa’s entrance.
Her manager chased after her.
At the door, Daphne couldn’t hold it in anymore. “What does Caroline mean by this? Is she trying to tell me that I’m nothing compared to some no–name celebrity?”
Daphne’s manager was sweating. She didn’t really understand what was going on in Daphne’s head.
“All I did was sign with Layla instead of with Caroline. Does she have to annoy me this way?”
Her manager said, “Daph, don’t be angry.”
“How could I not be angry? She’s getting more popular because of me. I’m so mad!”
At that thought, Daphne recalled how Kirk had given Caroline gifts, and she felt a new surge of hatred rushing up. She grabbed the documents in her manager’s arms and threw them all to the ground.
Jane had followed Daphne. When she saw Daphne reacting this way, she went forward and said, Daph, what’s going on? Who made you so mad?”
Hearing this, Daphne felt so aggrieved that her eyes went red. “It’s that Caroline, of course!”
Jane frowned. She got mad at the mention of Caroline too. But it was just too bad that she was
Sean’s wife. If they made a move against Caroline, they would risk offending Sean.
“Did you know? Caroline isn’t actually Sean Yates‘ wife. We were tricked last time!”
“1
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After some time, Caroline got tired of venting her frustrations She put her hands down and let Kuk hold her, seeming like a lifeless shell
Her tears fell one by one, landing on Kirk’s arm. They were hot enough to burn, nearly scalding. Kirk stuli, Kirk refused to let go He knew all too well what the consequences of letting go would be
“Darling, don’t leave me, please?”
His low plea plucked at Caroline’s heartstrings.
Perhaps in the past, Caroline’s heart might have softened. But after seeing that document, her heart had turned to stone
“Let go of me! Let me go! I don’t want this to turn ugly”
“Don’t be like that.” Kirk turned Caroline to face him, the redness of his eyes spreading.
“Even the court wouldn’t sentence me to death without hearing my testimony!”
Caroline sniffed and raised her head. She shot him a pained smile. “Alright then, speak. Tell me why you have another wife in Macldo!”
By the time she finished her sentence, Caroline was yelling. She didn’t want to be like this. She
hated being like this. But she just couldn’t control herself.
Looking into Caroline’s reddened eyes, Kirk felt like his heart was being carved out of his chest. Countless excuses floated around in his mind, but he couldn’t say a thing right then.
Suddenly, he didn’t want to lie to her anymore,
“Tell me, then. Why aren’t you saying anything?” Caroline pulled her hand back.
“If you don’t speak, then I will. Because it’s the truth. You have a wife abroad, and you have one
here…
”
“No, darling, the truth is…” Kirk’s brows furrowed tightly.
“The truth is I’m Eddy’s…”
Betrayed by her fiancé, Caroline Evans decides on a whim to marry someone else. Everyone mocks her for the decision of giving up on the heir to the Morrison family and choosing some poor punk instead. However, that poor punk is actually secretly the top wealthiest person around, newly back in the country to invest in its development. He’s also her ex’s uncle! Lamenting about being tricked, Caroline Evans insists on a divorce. But her husband corners her and says unblinkingly, “That billionaire is not me. That guy had cosmetic surgery to look like me.” Looking at his handsome face, Caroline believes it. “What a curse to have the same face as someone of the Morrison family!” The next day, the world is surprised to find that the heir of the Morrison family has been kicked out and now has nothing. As for the newly crowned top billionaire, he starts wearing a mask to hide his attractive features.
