Ch. 1216..1220
Chapter 1216 Several hours later.
The sun was about to set. Deep red and amber gleams of sunlight slipped through the cracks in between the curtains and penetrated the room.
The bedroom that had been quaking with movement finally came to a rest.
The man got out of bed and picked his clothes off the floor, proceeding to put them on one after the other.
Shortly after that, he was fully dressed and went to put his glasses back on. He darted a glance at the bed.
The bed was a mess by this point and underneath the blankets lay Sherry who was curled up into a ball and had her back turned to face him.
She did not move nor did she utter a word.
He frowned and called her name, “Sherry.” The silence rang in his ears, this was all the answer he got. “Sherry.” He called her name again.
Sherry continued ignoring him and faced away from him without moving like she was a piece of sculpture. John squinted and leaned over to her, he wanted to turn her around to make her face him.
As soon as his hand grazed her skin, she swung around and threw herself on him.
He was caught off guard by the sudden assault, he lost his balance and fell onto the bed.
This was immediately followed by a sharp pang of pain in the center of his arm. Like a rabid dog, Sherry had buried her fangs into his arm and was gnashing away at his flesh. John grimaced at this sight. Upon noticing that she had no intention of letting go any time soon, he was left with no choice but to forcefully shove her away from him.
She conceded and unclenched her jaws. She stared at John, her eyes had become bloated and red,” Get out of here, or else I'll eat you alive!” John was taken aback by this aggression, he suddenly stiffened and was at a loss.
After a brief pause, he raised a hand and gently brushed her face, rubbing away the tears from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips. He said to her with a soft smile hanging on the corner of his lips, “Sherry, don't look at me like that. You're looking at me like you're the victim
when you're the one who did this to yourself.”
He believed that deep down, Sherry understood the deep feelings he held for her.
She must know the true reason why he decided to keep her held up in this place, even if he had to make her his servant.
If his goal was to humiliate her, there were countless other approaches he could have gone about to tear her apart. He had been very lenient with her as is.
What did she ever do for him this entire time? She only ever thought about how she could get on his nerves and even resorted to scheming with Mason under his nose! Did she think that he had forgotten about how she and Mason had made a cuckold out of him!
Sherry felt a lump in her throat. She gnashed her teeth and glared at him.
John smiled and offered, “You don't have to go back to the staff dormitory, just stay here.” 1 With that, he let go of her and proceeded to head out of the room.
Sherry felt a terrible swole around the center of her throat. There were so many things she wanted to say but she could not utter even a single word.
The floodgates opened, tears poured relentlessly out of her eyes. She sat up and covered her face with her hands, she cried her eyes out.
She should never have come to Glanchester!
She should not have given in to her sympathetic side back when Matthew and Janine came to her, she should never have come to John!
She deserved all of this, she did it to herself! 1 Odell quickly walked out of the courtyard. 1
A gust of cool wind blew across his face, he felt the burning heat inside him cooling down at last. Suddenly, he felt the sharp sting of pain around his arm.
He looked down at his arm to inspect the damage, he could see the blood soaking through his shirt and the imprint of Sherry‘s teeth surfacing onto his shirt.
Chapter 1217 Heh. She must have put her strength into the bite.
He merely shrugged off the pain, then he turned to the two bodyguards posted by the entrance and ordered them sternly, “Keep an eye on her, don't let her out.”
The bodyguards answered dutifully, “Yes, sir.” John slung his coat over his shoulder and walked to the adjacent courtyard.
Celine was standing in the courtyard at the time and upon seeing John’s return, she immediately sprang into the living room.
When John entered the living room, he saw Shannon standing in front of the couch. It seemed like she had been crying for some time, she wore a hurt expression.
“John...” she called after him in a sorrowful voice.
John smiled at him as gently as he always did.
He walked to the couch next to her and sat down himself, then he turned to her, “Don't just stand there, come on and sit.” Shannon sat down as she was told and looked at him timidly, “John, did you and my sister... did you two...”
“I'm the one who has done you wrong.” John smiled without emotion and said to her, “We're engaged but we haven't obtained our marriage certificate yet, it's not too late if you want to call it off and go back to your family. | can compensate you accordingly and give you a respectable sum of money that you should be able to live off for the rest of your life. If you leave now, | will transfer the money to your account right away.” 1
Shannon‘s eyes widened, and tears soon flowed from her eyes.
She bawled her eyes out, “John, is that all you have for me? | married you because | loved you, don't you have any feelings for me the entire time?” John took out a tissue and wiped the corners of her eyes with it. He spoke softly as he continued caring for her,“ Shannon, we both know that you are no fool. I'm sure you know the true reason for me marrying you this entire time just like how | know your true motives behind marrying me.”
Shannon‘s eyes quivered, she was suddenly stunned and unable to move.
She gazed at the handsome man in front of her, she silently observed his kind gestures in caring for her and wiping her tears. Contrary to the warmth of his gesture, she felt nothing but a terrible shiver run through her body, a degree of coldness she had never known.”
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“|... [don't have any hidden agendas, | just wanted to marry you because | love you.” She vowed. John smiled, “Shannon , you've been married to Mason for five years before marrying me.”
0 Shannon felt exposed, “We only got married out of our parent's wishes, there was no love between us.” “| know that, he never really loved you.” Shannon felt something caught in her throat.
John looked at her with determination and continued, “ Your family immediately cut things off with the Browns the moment | went to your family, is that true?”
“|... [don't know, it was all arranged by my parents.”
“Alright Shannon, there‘s no need to explain any further.”
John sat back and threw the tissue soaked with her tears on the ground.
He leaned back on the sofa and folded his hands across his chest, his demeanor was languid and graceful.
It was clear that he was different from the rest of them, he was a deity in a world full of mortals. Underneath his tender expression was a threatening aura. Shannon looked at him tenderly. “If what you want is the title of Mrs. Stockton , you are free to stay with us as you have done all this time. The members of the family will treat you with the same amount of respect as before , however ... the tile of Mrs. Stockton is all you get.” 2
She would be entitled to the usual glory, wealth, and fame she deserved as the rightful Mrs. Stockton, but that was the extent of her privileges.
Shannon frowned, she felt her arms stiffening involuntarily. She knew what John was implying.
The name and title were all she could have, but she would do well to stop having delusions about expecting more from John. She was not to interfere with his private affairs, his affairs with Sherry for instance. 1
She clenched her fists tightly, she was upset and was at a crossroads. She did not want to lose to Sherry, but she would be a fool to walk away.
Sure, she could have more money than she could ever dream of if she walked away, but staying here would help preserve the honorable title of Mrs. Stockton. She could have the respect and veneration of everyone in the city.
Then it occurred to her. So long as she was here, Sherry would forever be doomed to the fate of a lowly mistress, the subject of everyone's ridicule and mockery, she could
never hope to become anything more than that! 1
Something shone in her eyes. She burst out in tears again and pleaded with John, “I don't want to leave you, could you please let me think about it?”
Next Chapter
Chapter 1218 John flashed a smile that hardly reached his eyes and stated, “Sure.”
With that, he rose and walked out.
“John, it's already late, where are you going?”
Shannon did not receive an answer, the last thing she saw was John’s distant figure departing.
He barely spared a look at her, he hardly had any intention of ever stopping.
Shannon froze. After John walked into the courtyard, she swept her arms across the table and sent everything clattering against the floor. She beheld the mess she made and cursed out loud,” Sherry, you bitch!” 1
Celine was frightened by such a spectacle. She waited until it seemed like Shannon had calmed herself a little before carefully advising , “Miss, the master must have been seduced by that witch already. You're still young and so pretty, there's no reason you should subject yourself to this fate. | think you should take his offer and leave, the money you get from the master should be enough to last you a lifetime of comfort.”
Celine believed that this was the best thing Shannon could do for herself. As long as one had money, one had nothing to fear, there was no reason Shannon should be bound to a man who did not love her.
Shannon immediately shot her a look.
Celine assumed that Shannon was going to take her advice, that was until she felt a teacup smashing against her face. There was a loud crash, it was a very heavy teacup. 1
“Ah!” Celine gasped from the pain and immediately covered her face.
Shannon glared at her grimly, “Celine, you're saying that | should give up the title of Mrs. Stockton to that bitch Sherry?” Celine hurriedly explained herself amidst sobs, “That's not what | meant, | only said it out of concern for you.”
“Hmph.” Shannon glared at her with contempt and said, “The only thing | want is for her to lead a miserable life.”
So long as she held the title of Mrs. Stockton, she would *** never let Sherry taste joy!
She sighed and slumped back into the couch. The bitch had told her that she would leave as soon as she settled the debt of eight hundred million with John!
If she knew it would turn out like this, she should never have gone to Mason, let alone let Mason in!
She began to wonder, how did John know about her plots? She was convinced that she covered her tracks well and nobody knew about Mason slipping in.
Besides, wasn't he supposed to be on a business trip? Why did he come back out of nowhere, and at such an opportune moment to stumble into Sherry and Mason? How did she not know that he was returning home?
The more she thought about it, the more the entire situation seemed off to her. Sherry was wretched, but she would not have resorted to such a roundabout plan if all she wanted was to get with John. Therefore, it was safe to eliminate the possibility that Sherry planned all this.
What was going on?
It was already dark when Sherry cleaned herself and walked outside.
Her legs were sore and weak, she took a deep breath and carried her tired feet, she wanted to head back to the staff dormitory. That was when the two bodyguards posted by the
entrance stopped her from leaving. They were large and muscular, these were trained personnel.
She recognized them as the same pair of bodyguards who watched over her back when she was imprisoned here.
She glared at them weakly and obediently turned back to her room without needing to be prompted.
Was the bastard going to keep her locked up in this wretched place again?
She shuffled to the living room and lay on top of the dining table with a deep frown across her brows.
Shortly after that, her stomach began to growl with hunger, and that was when she heard movements outside the door.
She turned to look.
It was Queenie and Hailey. Queen was leading the way, she seemed visibly upset.
Chapter 1219 If it wasn't for Hailey who was trailing closely behind Queenie, Sherry would have presumed that she was here to give her a hard tinie.
Upon entering, Queenie eyed her up and down with a judgmental look in her eyes. Sherry leaned back against the chair and greeted her lazily, “Hey.” Queenie shot her a look, “Sherry, what's your deal? Why did you meet up privately with Mason out of nowhere?”
Sherry answered, “It wasn't me who arranged the meeting with him.”
Queenie was doubtful, “Then how do you explain my brother getting so angry? He... he's going to keep you imprisoned here again.”
“He came to give me money.”
“Huh?” Queenie proceeded to sit next to Sherry. “Just tell me what exactly is going on.” |
Hailey approached and set a platter of food on the table, it was a sizeable portion.
Sherry was so hungry that she immediately grabbed a spoon and gobbled several spoonfuls before she finally
turned her attention back to Queenie, “There was some financial crisis with the Browns and the Fowlers more than a year ago, that was when | ended up approaching your brother for help and got him to invest about a billion into the family’s projects.” “I know about that, what happened after that?”
“His investment only saw a return of two hundred million over the last year, that was when he claimed that | still owed him a debt of eight hundred million and that | had to slave away for him until | paid off the debt.”
Queenie was confused by this, “...It's the Browns and the Fowlers who owe him the money. Besides, investing and taking a loan are quite different things.”
She seemed rather at a loss of what to make of this.
Sherry only groaned weakly in response to this, “Well, your brother made his call and there‘s not much | can do.” Queenie asked, “So Mason came to see you today to give you the remaining eight hundred million?”
Sherry muttered, “Yeah.”.
“Then why is my brother so angry?”
“He's a psycho.”
Queenie glared at her, “Sherry, if you insult my brother in front of me again, I'm not going to bring you food anymore in the future.”
Sherry swallowed another bite and stayed silent.
That was when Hailey suddenly spoke up, “Miss, it's a pretty straightforward matter at the end of the day. The young master still has feelings for Sherry and is using the money as an excuse to trap her. He must have been enraged when he found that Master Brown wanted to take Sherry away from his clutches by clearing the debt for her.”
Sherry froze for a brief moment, then she regained her composure and continued eating. Queenie suddenly gasped, “Oh, | hadn't considered that possibility.”
She turned to Sherry again, “Sherry, what's going on between you and my brother? Sure, you may have gone to him and asked for financial assistance to bail out the Browns and the Fowlers, but that's not enough reason for him to keep you locked up inside our house and continue keeping you prisoner even after he got married! Besides, why would he marry your sister if he was so into you?” Sherry buried her head in the platter of food and continued gobbling away. Queenie knew there was something more than this, she raised her voice and interrogated Sherry, “Did something happen between you and my brother in the past? Did you do anything to betray his trust back when the two of you were together?”
Sherry ate with such ferocity. (1) Queenie was getting impatient, she immediately snatched the platter away from Sherry.
She glared at Sherry intently, “Tell me, what did you do to my brother back then?”.
Sherry avoided her gaze and answered meekly, “That was so many years ago, I’ve long forgotten what happened back then.” “Don't lie to me, who do you think | am? Hurry up and answer me or else you'll never get to eat again!”
“Okay.” Sherry stuffed her hands in her pockets , it did not seem like she was planning to confess.
She was fine with not eating.
Queenie felt her voice tightening, “Sherry, I'll never talk to you again if you don’t answer me!"
Her face burned with anger, even her eyes were slowly glowing red.
Sherry sighed helplessly, “I ended up ditching him because | thought he was too poor for me and that he'll never give me a good life.”
Queenie was speechless upon hearing this.
Her eyes widened like a pair of giant marbles, she was floored by this confession.
Chapter 1220 She rose immediately and jabbed an accusatory finger at Sherry, “All those years ago, you were the reason my brother got kicked out of the family by my father. He gave up his rights as heir to the family assets and cut off all relations with us, he suffered so much for your sake and you complained that he was too poor for you? You... as if that wasn't enough , you even went and dumped him!” Sherry pursed her lips and held on to her silence.
The more Queenie thought about it, the more vexed she became, “Sherry, | can't believe | thought of you as a friend, | can't believe you were such a heartless and materialistic person all this time!”
She flung the platter of food she had snatched from Sherry moments ago to the ground, and immediately stomped out, completely furious.
Hailey who came in with her cast a conflicted look at Sherry before running out after Queenie.
The living room fell silent again.
The platter was smashed into pieces when Queenie flung it against the floor, but Sherry could still use the spoon and fork to pick off whatever remnants of food scattered over the floor.
Despite that, she felt like she had lost her appetite and could hardly stomach another bite of food. She got up and went to lie down on the couch, she stared at the ceiling above, her head in a daze.
Distant memories from another lifetime suddenly resurfaced from the depths of her mind. Her first meeting with John was when she caught Mason and Shannon in bed.
The Browns and the Fowlers already had plans to join their families with an engagement then and had already planned to match Mason with Shannon. The hiccup in their plans came when they discovered that Shannon was not the rightful daughter of the Fowlers.
The still — living elder of the family, Master Brown at the time insisted that Sherry got wed to Mason instead. Since Sherry and Mason were into each other as well, Matthew and Janine conceded to Master Brown‘s wishes and agreed to the arrangement.
Several years later, Master Brown passed away. That was when Mason and Shannon got together.
Mason said that he had drunk too much that night, Shannon was bawling her eyes out, devastated by the betrayal. That was when the two families collectively decided to arrange an engagement between Shannon and Mason instead without ever considering Sherry's feelings.
It ended sourly for all parties involved, Sherry ended up walking out on her family and essentially cut things off with them. That was when she ran into John in a nightclub.
It was her roommates in college who dragged her to the nightclub with them. They happened to meet a group of other friends in the club and Sherry had a little too much to drink that night. They had dared her to head into a box and kiss any stranger of her choice.
She was so young at the time and was fueled by both liquor courage and the recklessness of youth. She took the dare and walked straight into the VIP box where she seized the most handsome man she could find and kissed him.
That man was none other than John Stockton.
To this day, she could still remember the taste of his lips. She remembered the soft touch of his lips and the smell of alcohol, but it was not unpleasant and even invigorating . After the two shared a kiss, John blushed shyly.
She bolted away after the kiss. Two days later, John found her.
She remembered that he came to her wearing a shining white shirt. His feature was like that of a roman sculpture and he stood tall as a tree, his figure was like that of a
model's. He was undoubtedly the most handsome man she had seen.
They began dating shortly after that. That was, until she found out that he was the heir of the Stocktons, the Stocktons soon got to know of her as well.
The Stocktons turned into a shadow of their former glory shortly after the passing of the elder Master Stockton. Knowing that Sherry was of a common background, they wanted her to break up with John.
John tried to convince his family to acknowledge his relationship with Sherry but it never worked, then he ended up cutting ties with his family.
Sherry remember that night like it was yesterday. John showed up at her place in nothing but a common white t shirt and trousers, not a single cent to his name. He embraced her tightly and told her, “Sherry, | cut off ties with my family, we can be together without worrying about being judged now.”
He held her tightly. She embraced him tightly as well. They lived a simple life together in a regular unit that they rented together.
She went to school while working a part-time job on the side.