Ch. 1541..1545

Chapter 1541

John stated bluntly, “I’m in a bad mood.”

“And what kind of reason is that for tripping me?”

John smiled and explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world, “Because you're the reason for my bad mood.” Sherry was at a loss for words.

She barely knew what to say as anger rushed to her head and remained there. After a while, she took a deep breath, then without any warning, charged straight at him.

She was going to murder him!

Just when it seemed like she would tackle him with all her weight, John suddenly dodged to the side and vanished behind the door.

Sherry tackled nothing but the air, her body continued to swing forward due to the momentum. She was going to crash hard against the floor.

Moments before she crashed against the floor, she felt someone pulling her back and saving her from a fall.

She was yanked backward by this opposing force and swung into John’s chest with a loud ‘thump’.

Her head felt dizzy. She raised her head just in time to meet John’s dazzling eyes, and his seductive smile.

He was very smug. “Calm down, just ask nicely if you want a hug from me next time. | do appreciate the passion though.” Sherry glared at him. “I’m going to kill you!” A hug from him was the last thing she wanted!

John smiled. “You're too embarrassed to admit it, | get it.”

Sherry rolled her eyes, then tried to push him off. “Let me go!”

John held onto her tightly and even made use of this rare intimate moment to feel up her waist.

Sherry was immediately alerted by this. She pressed her arms against his waist to try to put some distance between them. John frowned.

Sherry scowled grimly and warned him, “Young Master Stockton, if you don’t let go of me right now, you're going to regret it.” John mocked her. “What, with your measly strength?”

‘Hmmph. How dare you take me for a joke?

Sherry took it as a sign of challenge. She was going to put her all into her next attack.

Before she could even launch her attack, John lowered his head and planted a deep, sensual kiss on her lips, all within a second.

Sherry was shocked by the boldness of his action, and she immediately began to fight him off.

John held on to her waist tightly. He lifted Sherry like a weightless sack by wrapping one arm around her thigh and palming the small of her back with their other hand and carrying her to the bed while stifling her cries with his kiss.

She was flung onto the bed with a loud ‘thump’. She was panicking and continued to struggle to no avail.

He was not going to let her off that easily. In the midst of the action, he pinned her arms behind her back and overwhelmed her with sheer power.

After he had enough, he suddenly rose. A cunning look creased the corner of his voice and he said in a queer voice, “So, do you want to try me again?”

Sherry felt a chill surge through her.

While she was being held down by him, traumatic memories from ages ago resurfaced from the depths of her mind. She remembered every harrowing moment she was put through several years ago when John kept her locked up in this same house. The powerlessness that washed over her just now was the same sensation that consumed her entirety back then.

When she looked into the man’s cruel eyes, she found herself weeping without realizing it.

She gnashed her teeth and tried to suppress the feeling. She felt the taste of bile in the back of her throat.

John noticed this and immediately softened the look in his eyes as he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

Sherry stared at him, her eyes puffing red. “Are you going to force yourself on me again?”

John frowned and immediately removed himself from Sherry.

Sherry pulled herself off the bed without a word and quickly walked outside.

“Sherry,” he called after her suddenly.

Sherry only paused briefly before continuing her advance.

John took off his glasses and ruffled his hair, feeling flustered.

Just when Sherry was about to step past the door, he suddenly spoke up, “I was just teasing you, | wasn’t going to force myself on you or anything like that.”

Sherry paused and cast a look back at John.

He put his glasses back on and said, “Don’t worry, although I’m beginning to have some feelings for you, | promise that | won't do anything like that to you without your consent.”

 

Chapter 1542

Sherry seemed mildly shocked to hear this. She answered blankly, “You better.”

John smirked. “As long as you stop tempting me.”

Sherry felt a lump in her throat. She cast one last glare at him before stomping.out. Tempt him? She had better things to do than that.

Inside the living room.

Caprice was snacking with Queenie and Aunt Wanda.

The moment Sherry showed up, Caprice brightened with joy and cried out, “Mommy!” Sherry smiled and quickly went to take Caprice into her arms.

John arrived in the living room as well.

He had straightened up his clothes and restored his usual grace, his beastly appearance just now seemed like nothing but a mirage.

Sherry quipped a look at him, then she took Caprice to the dining table.

Queenie sat next to her.

John took his seat directly opposite.

After they had dinner, Queenie and Sherry played with Caprice for a while longer before calling it for the night.

As usual, Sherry helped Caprice get washed up before washing up herself. After a quick shower, she stepped back into the room and joined Caprice in bed.

Even when midnight rolled around, John was nowhere to be seen.

Was he not coming tonight?

Sherry was relieved by this. She promptly turned off the light and cuddled Caprice, ready to settle into a good night’s sleep. Just as she was about to doze off, she heard footsteps approaching. She pricked up her ears, fully alert by this point.

The footsteps stopped at the other edge of the bed.

What followed after was a round of faint rustling.

It sounded like he had lied down on the other end of the bed.

Sherry heaved a silent sigh of relief. It should be safe to fall asleep now. That was when she felt a hand grazing her cheeks.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, she winced at the touch.

The few warm fingertips caressed back and forth against her cheeks. Sherry did not dare to move.

Moments before she decided she had enough and was going to launch out of bed to give John a good scolding, he withdrew his hand.

He sighed. The sound of his sigh echoed around the quiet room.

It sounded like he was very troubled about something.

Sherry was baffled by this. What was he sighing about anyway? Was the texture of her skin not smooth and delicate enough for his taste?

The night passed without any dreams.. The next morning, Sherry had to head back to the office. Caprice was going to stick with John today.

John’s driver dropped Sherry off at her building as usual. Before stepping out of the car, she kissed Caprice goodbye before reluctantly bidding farewell.

The next few days would more or less follow the same pattern as her schedule was rather hectic.

Until a certain morning. As usual, Sherry stepped out of the courtyard with John who had Caprice in her arms. They were going to their respective offices.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, they bumped into Madam Stockton. She looked at Caprice, then turned to John. “John, are you taking Caprice to the office again today?” John grunted. “Yeah.”

Madam Stockton tried her luck. “Both of you are very busy with work. Why don’t you leave Caprice at home so we can take care of her?”

John hesitated for a moment and looked at Sherry. Sherry lowered her eyes and pretended to not notice.

She would much rather not get involved in the affairs of the pair of mother and son.

 

Chapter 1543

Sherry had a lot of work to get to today so there was no chance that she would be taking Caprice with her. John could do whatever he liked, take Caprice with him or leave her at home, it did not matter to her which option he chose.

Madam Stockton noticed how she kept her distance from the discussion and quickly averted her gaze back to John.

John cast Sherry a sideways look, then he turned to Caprice instead. “Caprice, do you want to stay home with Grandma?” Caprice muttered softly, “I want to be with Daddy.”

Madam Stockton was immensely disappointed by this, but it was not surprising

since Caprice had always preferred to be with her father.

She took a breath and tried to make the best out of the situation. “In that case, could you bring Caprice back earlier today?” John answered, “I'll try my best.”

Then he added, “It’s cold out here, you should head inside quickly.”

Madam Stockton took the hint. “Alright, I’ll head back right away.”

At least John was showing some hint of concern for her well-being.

She counted this as a win.

“Bye-bye, Grandma,” Caprice suddenly cried out.

Madam Stockton waved goodbye to her dear granddaughter. “Okay, goodbye!”

John took Caprice into the car.

Sherry burrowed into the car as well.

The driver revved the engine, and the car drove out of the house.

Madam Stockton walked back to her room after seeing them off.

While on the way back, she bumped into Julie.

Julie wore a very concerned look and asked, “Mom, did John and Sherry take Caprice with them again?”

Madam Stockton was slightly on guard when she heard this question, her jubilant mood quickly died away as she answered crossly, “Yeah.”

Something shifted in Julie’s eyes. She followed Madam Stockton, the two walked side by side. “They're not going to leave Caprice behind?”

“No.”

“Geez, John sure is something. You haven’t been with Caprice for several days.

Would it kill him to just leave Caprice at home for a day?”

Madam Stockton looked like she was going to say something but quickly held her tongue.

Julie noted the faint reaction her words evoked and continued, “I suspect he still thinks that you have something against Sherry, that must be why...”

Madam Stockton suddenly shot a sharp look at her.

She quickly switched up her tone. “I mean, I’m not saying that he has anything against you. I’m just worried that Sherry might have whispered something in his ears to convince him to not leave Caprice at home, who knows?”

Madam Stockton scowled.

Julie was pleased with this reaction as she thought Madam Stockton must be furious with Sherry.

Earlier this week, Madam Stockton was exceptionally cordial with Sherry, it must be largely attributed to her having spent some time with Caprice. However, her joy was very short-lived since she had not been able to spend time with Caprice the past few days. She must have had some resentment built up inside her.

Now that Julie was fanning the flames, Madam Stockton’s already present

resentment against Sherry was growing. She must suspect that Sherry was behind

all of this.

Julie was sure that any moment now, Madam Stockton was going to begin voicing her displeasure with Sherry. Unfortunately for

her, she was in for a surprise. Madam Stockton began. “Julie, | do hate Sherry, but that doesn’t mean | don’t know what the bigger picture is.”

Julie twitched at this remark.

Madam Stockton regarded her with a harsh look. “You've been whispering a lot of things in my ears to try to get me to turn against Sherry, haven't you? Are you trying to use me to help you drive Sherry out of our house?”

Julie turned pale in an instant, her eyes shifted with guilt. She tried to salvage the situation. “No, you must have misunderstood, that was never my intention! | was only

worried about you and wanted to help fix a situation where you get to spend more time with Caprice.”

“If you were going to help me, you could’ve gone up to John and asked him nicely if he would let Caprice stay at home with me. Instead, you chose to drive a wedge between me and Sherry.”

“No, that’s not-”

“Alright, enough excuses.” Madam Stockton seemed very irritated.

Julie zipped her lips, she looked very wounded by these accusations.

When Madam Stockton saw her in this state, she suddenly felt like she must have been too harsh on her.

She sighed and stated, “Sherry is a very lowly and rude woman, but one thing | can say about her is that she bears no ill will. If she was going to manipulate John against me, she’d have done that by now.” As Madam Stockton said this, a wipe of doubt appeared in her eyes. It seemed like she was still struggling with her stance on this subject.

Then, she continued earnestly, “I know you’re worried about what it would mean for you in the long term if she was fully accepted into the family.”

Julie seemed alerted by this, and her eyes gave her away.

Madam Stockton took her hand and assured her, “Julie, you're like a daughter to me. Even if | were to accept Sherry, it’s solely because | respect John’s decision. |

promise you that as long as | breathe, | will not let Sherry replace you.”

Chapter 1544

Julie lowered her head.

It seemed like everything Madam Stockton said had hit the mark. She seemed deeply ashamed of her actions.

What Madam Stockton could not see was the evil scowl on Julie’s lips. Despite how things had turned out, she was relieved. She turned to Madam Stockton and said, “I’m very sorry.”

“It's alright, you're only trying to look out for yourself. You shouldn’t have tried to use me. Don’t forget that we’re on the same side. It upsets me to think that you'd try to weaponize me against Sherry.”

Julie was still very remorseful. “I’m very sorry. Even though I’m not a Stockton, | have lived with the family for long enough that I consider myself as part of the family. | see you as my mother and | see Queenie as my sister as well, which is why ever since Sherry arrived, I’ve noticed that Queenie hasn't been spending as much time with me. | got paranoid and became worried that you'd also...”

She got choked up at this time and seemed on the verge of crying.

It pained Madam Stockton to see her like this. She quickly comforted her, “It’s alright, Julie. | understand, | truly understand how you're feeling. Queenie is a child and doesn’t know better at times, but I’m nothing like that. I’m on your side.”

Julie’s eyes were bulging with red as she sobbed and apologized, “| made a mistake, please forgive me. | won't ever do it again.’

“I'm happy you apologized, | won't hold it against you.” Although Madam Stockton was rather upset when she realized Julie’s ploys, she decided it was not right to hold it against her. Julie had been widowed for so many years with the family and had displayed nothing but loyalty, so she deserved to be forgiven.

She observed how Julie still seemed devastated and quickly told her, “Go on, go back to your room and get some rest. Stop worrying about it, remember everything that I’ve told you.”

“Alright, I'm going,” Julie answered obediently, then she walked toward her room.

As soon as she turned her back on Madam Stockton, she scowled viciously. All of that guilt and shame was nothing but a facade the entire time as she had taken off

the mask and revealed the repulsion underneath. When did the damn old hag see through her lies?!

Fortunately, her true goal was not discovered just yet. So long as she remained with the family, so long as the stupid old hag still trusted her, she still had a chance. She was going to boot that vile and despicable Sherry out of the house and away from John!

She took a deep breath with these spiteful ideas in her mind and hurried back to her room.

Downtown Glanchester.

Sherry finished her work at roughly three p.m.

She sent John a message to check if he was done with his work.

There was no reply even after some time had passed.

He was probably in a meeting or something along those lines.

She decided to head to the Stockton Tower herself.

The receptionist at the front desk recognized her as Sager Corporation’s President Sherry and greeted her cordially, “President Sherry, are you here to see Mr.

Stockton?”

Sherry nodded. “Please tell him I’m heading up to his office.”

“Understood.” The receptionist was about to pick up the phone when Peter happened to pass by.

He seemed surprised by her appearance and greeted her, “Mrs. Sherry, is that you?” Sherry turned to him and smiled. “Assistant Peter, good afternoon.”

Peter returned a polite smile, then he turned to the receptionist. “Next time you see President Sherry, just let her head upstairs. You won't have to notify Master

Stockton.” Peter was John’s assigned assistant, his authority was only lower than John’s, and his order was the law.

The receptionist hurriedly put down the phone and took note of this.

Peter then said to Sherry, “Mrs. Sherry, you can head up right away. Master Stockton is inside his office.”

Sherry thanked him politely. “Okay.”

Peter was very efficient and reliable. The prick had chosen a good assistant.

She went to the elevator which took her straight to John’s office.

When she flung the door open, she was greeted by an empty office.

That was strange..

Peter mentioned John was in the office. Where was he?

What about Caprice?

Were they napping in the break room?

Sherry went to the break room. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Caprice sprawled across the center of the bed where the child was out cold.

She also heard the sound of running water from the direction of the bathroom. Was the prick taking a shower?

She curiously approached the bathroom.

 

Chapter 1545

Chapter 1545 She approached the door and poked her head out to steal a peek inside, and that was when the door suddenly slid open. She was immediately confronted by John’s towering figure.

Fresh out of the shower, he looked rejuvenated, the texture of his skin was lustrous. She could see his Adam’s apple and collar bone underneath his unbuttoned collar, his chest was toned and shapely.

She was taken by shock.

The heat that poured out of the bathroom seemed to cloud her mind as she found herself staring enchanted at his chest. What a body...

She gulped.

John observed her reaction and remained silent.

After a short silence, he smirked and proceeded to button the top of his shirt.

With that, the show was over. The curtains that were the fabric of his clothes had concealed the skin underneath.

Sherry snapped back to her senses. She turned to John and greeted him sheepishly,” Hi.”

John squinted suspiciously and immediately went to tease her. “Hey yourself. Did you come here to spy on me in the shower like a creep?”

“No!” Sherry refuted the accusation and explained, “I heard some noises inside here so | came to investigate.” John chuckled, then he suddenly unbuttoned his clothes without warning.

He pried his collars open again.

She stared at it subconsciously.

He noticed her staring and asked with a smile, “How's the view?”

She froze, and then stammered, “What are you talking about? | only looked because you suddenly unbuttoned your collar, it caught my attention.”

“| see.” John chuckled.

She could feel her cheeks turning red, so she prepared to leave.

He grabbed her by her ponytail.

She turned around and scowled. “Let go!”

He smiled seductively. “You know, this isn’t the best place to do this but if you want, you can come inside here and | can let you stare as much as you want.”

Stare as much as she wanted?

The bathroom was a very cramped space. If she were to enter with him, he was definitely going to lock the door. What if her lust got the better of her and she ended up seduced...?

Sherry refused adamantly. “No thank you! I’ve seen your body enough times back then and I’m sick of it!”

John smirked. “I’m in much better shape now compared to back then.”

Better than several years ago?

What sort of improvements had he made?

Sherry’s eyes glowed up, then she continued shaking her head vigorously.

No, she only married him for Caprice. She was going to steal Caprice away eventually, so she could not let these idle thoughts distract her.

She had enough time to recover her composure. She was not going to cave in.

“| don’t care and I’m not interested!” she cried out. Then when she noticed John still holding her by her ponytail, she warned him sternly, “Let go of your filthy hands or else!”

John looked at her bewitchingly. “Sherry, are you absolutely sure you don’t want to see?” Sherry shook her head and insisted. “No!” “Alright then.” He swiftly let go and re—buttoned the collar of his shirt.

Sherry was surprised that she felt a vague sense of disappointment when she saw John buttoning his shirt. Then she promptly turned back to the room where Caprice was resting.

Caprice was still sound asleep.

Her adorable sleeping expression helped relieve the nerve and tension Sherry had been feeling. She heaved a sigh, then sat on the edge of the bed to bask in Caprice’s peaceful presence. John joined her after drying his hair.

He put his gold-rimmed glasses back on and strapped a watch on his wrist. He looked every bit like a professional leader of a company.

Nothing like the wolfish pervert when he emerged from the shower.