Ch. 1646..1650
Chapter 1646
Sylvia had a few glances at the picture. She sighed and said, “Sherry looks like she lost a lot of weight.” Fortunately, Sherry looked energetic aside from the loss of weight. She must be doing well lately.
Odell saw the worry on her face. He hugged her into his arms and stroked her head in silence.
Sylvia leaned on his chest. The thought of John staying in their house for more than a month now bothered her. She frowned and asked, “Do we need to tell John about Sherry?”
The man was planning to stay as long as it was required to get news about Sherry.
Odell said, “That won’t be necessary. He should have gotten the news as well.”
Meanwhile, downstairs in the guest room, John had just brought Caprice back from Liam’s room.
When he went over to Liam’s room, the girl was already sleeping in Liam’s arms. She did not take Liam as an outsider at all. John pinched the girl’s cheek and removed her jacket and her socks before putting her on the bed. He then lay down beside her. Just when he was about to switch off the lamp, his phone rang.
Ding!
It was Peter.
He picked up his phone and went to the balcony.
As soon as he put the phone near his ears, Peter’s excited voice came through the phone, “Sir, Ms. Fowler is in Coastrock!” John’s deep gaze gleamed. “Are you sure?”
“I'm dead certain! She attended a major event at Coastrock City today, and our men noticed her. They even got a picture of her.” Emotions were brewing behind his golden-framed glasses. He said, “Send me the picture.”
Peter said, “I have already sent the picture to you, and our men reported that Ms. Fowler attended the event on behalf of the Sagers. She should be going back there to work.”
“Good. Keep watching. Inform me at once if there’s anything else.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call ended.
Before John could return to the room, he already received the picture Peter send him.
It was a group photo with Sherry standing in the center. The long-sleeved evening gown coupled with the ponytail made her look outstanding, especially with the smile that she flashed to the camera. Her delicate facial features remained eye-catching. However, she did look thinner than before.
John’s heart skipped a beat, but he was surprised nevertheless.
She was not dead! She was alive and well, living in another city!
He could not help but stroke the screen of his phone where her cheek was. 272
He leaned against the wall on the balcony, basking in the moonlight. His lips curled and his eyes behind the golden-framed glasses somehow became teary.
They were tears of joy. He stared at his phone for quite a while. It was the sudden breeze that brought him back from his trance.
His fingers retracted, and it was then that he noticed the person beside Sherry, who he had blocked with his finger earlier. It was Carl.
Carl smiled brightly at the camera too. John furrowed his brows and entered the room. He quickly dressed Caprice and carried her out. Only Sebastian and Aunt Tonya were awake at this hour, and they were chatting in the living room.
Both of them were surprised when John strode out of his room with the sleeping Caprice, seemingly wanting to leave.
Chapter 1647
Chapter 1647 Immediately, Sebastian asked, “Master Stockton, it’s late. Where are you going with Ms. Caprice?”
John smiled and said, “Sebastian, | have to go back to attend to some urgent matters. When Master Carter and Mrs. Carter wake up tomorrow, please inform them about my leave. | will visit again with Caprice if | have time.”
Before Sebastian could say anything, John left the house with Caprice.
Sebastian turned to Aunt Tonya with his eyes flickering out of confusion. Aunt Tonya was as confused as he was. The man had been staying here for a month now, and he suddenly left in the middle of the night with his daughter?” The silver MPV sprinted along the freeway in the middle of the night.
John sat in the rear seat with Caprice on his lap, holding her with one hand and making a call with the other.
Peter said to him through the phone, “Sir, there’s no more flight to Coastrock from Westchester tonight. The earliest flight will be at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
John looked nervous. “What about the flights from Glenchester to Coastrock?
Peter said in a small voice, “No flights available either. The latest flight will be the same as Westchester to Coastrock at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
John tightened his brows. “Then, book a flight from Glenchester to Coastrock tomorrow morning at nine. Caprice, Aunt Wanda, and Jason are going too.”
“Yes, sir. I'll make the bookings right away,” Peter said.
The call ended.
John looked at the driver. “We’re going back to Glenchester.”
The driver nodded.
John put his phone down and stared outside the window.
The spacious freeway had fewer cars cruising on it at this hour, so it would take them less time to reach Glenchester than usual. His eyes flickered. He went on his phone again and tapped on the gallery.
He zoomed in on the group photo with Sherry in the middle.
The sky was still dark when they arrived home back at Glenchester.
John carried Caprice back to her room and laid her down on the bed so that she could continue sleeping. He then told Aunt Wanda and Jason to prepare to leave for Coastrock tomorrow morning at nine.
Both Aunt Wanda and Jason were instantly energized when they heard that John was bringing them to Coastrock to look for Sherry.
John sat down beside Caprice and watched the girl sleep. His mind started to plan out the schedule for Coastrock once they landed.
While he was deep in thought, Madam Stockton and Queenie’s voices came from the door.
Queenie tried to drag her mother away from the door and said, “Mom, go sleep. Just leave John and Sherry alone.”
Madam Stockton frowned. She removed her daughter’s hand with a frown on her face and said, “Off you go. Stop bugging me!”
“MOM!” Queenie was running out of patience. “Please! | know Sherry came from a lesser background, and she cheated on John before, but she saved you from Julie, so just leave them alone. Let John settle this with her.”
Queenie just found out that John had brought Caprice back from Westchester and they were preparing to go to Coastrock to look for Sherry. She wanted to ask her brother about how Sherry was doing, but she ran into her mother at John’s door.
Madam Stockton looked angry while standing outside the door, seemingly wanting to stop John from leaving for Coastrock. However, Queenie held her back and stopped her from going in.
Madam Stockton somehow mustered enough strength to break free from her daughter and drag her back to the living room. “Mom, please! | beg you!” Queenie pleaded.
Madam Stockton glared at her. “Take your hands off me. | was going to talk to your brother about something important!” Queenie was caught off guard by her mother’s answer. “What? Is it about Sherry?”
Madam Stockton furrowed her brows and wore a complicated look on her face. “It’s related to her, but I’m not trying to badmouth
her.
Queenie was stunned once again. “Then, what are you going to say to John?”
Chapter 1648
Chapter 1648 Madam Stockton’s expression turned grim.
Queenie stared at her mother. “I don’t care what you are going to say. | won't allow you to stop John from going to look for Sherry!”
As her voice subsided, John was coming out of the room. He looked at his mother with a rather frosty expression.
Madam Stockton’s expression shifted immediately and said, “John, | have something to talk to you about. Don’t worry, I’m not here to stop you. | just want to tell you something that happened a long time ago.”
John looked rather dubious. “Something that happened a long time ago?”
Madam Stockton’s eyes flickered. She somehow started to evade his gaze, but she mustered up enough courage to speak in a softer voice than usual, “I've buried it in my heart for a long time, and it’s time for me to tell you.”
John’s expression changed as well. He looked at Queenie and said, “Leave us.”
Www
Queenie released Madam Stockton’s arm. She had one last worried glance at her mother before she reluctantly walked out. The living room returned to silence.
John looked at Madam Stockton. “What is this about?”
Madam Stockton took a deep breath and said, “The truth why you and Sherry broke up nine years ago.”
Nine years ago?
The truth why he broke up with Sherry?
Nine years ago, Sherry wanted to break up with him because of his inferior wealth status, and when he caught her in the same bed as Mason, he had agreed to break up.
He had experienced the breakup himself, so what other truth would there be?
John’s expression turned grim. “Mother, are you trying to remind me of the things she did to me?” “No, no. It’s not that. Don’t misunderstand me. | didn’t mean that,” Madam Stockton said.
“Then, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?” John looked at her coldly.
Madam Stockton sighed and said, “Actually, Sherry didn’t cheat on you back then. The whole fiasco about her wanting to break up with you because you were poor and then how she cheated on you with Mason... She did all that because | got to her and made her do it to leave you.”
John’s expression changed drastically. He thought he heard his mother wrongly. He stared at her and asked, “What did you say?”
Madam Stockton looked down, averting his gaze. “Sherry wanted to break. up with you because | approached her and indirectly forced her to cheat on you.”
The spacious living room plunged into dead silence.
The man’s slender figure froze. He looked at his own mother, who dared not look at him, and his gaze turned frosty. It took him a while to suppress the rising anger in his chest. He took a deep breath and continued, “How...did you make her do it?”
Madam Stockton continued looking down. She explained in a small voice, “I...didn’t really force her to do it. | simply told her about how we were doing back then.
“| told her that your brother is terminally ill and had a number of days to live. Your father was in a bad condition as well, and you are the only heir to the family business. | don’t want your father’s lifelong work ending up in someone else’s hands; it must be family.
“You left the house because of her, and your father forced you into labor work. You were injured and | was worried, so | told her that if she doesn’t want to push you over the ledge, she must break up with you...”
Her voice stuttered as she reached the end of the explanation.
She started to tremble, not just because of the dense atmosphere, but also because she could no longer control her son who she took pride in raising.
John’s face turned pale and his eyes were bloodshot as if he was bloodthirsty. “Anything else?” he asked.
Madam Stockton flickered her eyes and continued, “She left crying and said she would have to think about it. | met her two days later, and she agreed. She even said she had broken up with you, but you didn’t want to let her go.
“| told her that if she doesn’t want your father to continue torturing you with labor, she has to break up with you completely. Then, she emphasized how poor you were and tried to use all kinds of excuses to leave you, but you didn’t let her go either. You had to work even harder and got insulted by those bastards...
“| was worried about you, so | went to her again, and she asked Mason for help...”
Chapter 1649
Chapter 1649 Madam Stockton did not finish the sentence.
When she found out that Sherry had used Mason to break up with John, she was shocked too. Despite her admiration for Sherry for her ruthless methods, she was heavily prejudiced against her back then and her admiration was buried.
The living room plunged into silence again. John’s face turned pale, his eyes bloodshot. When Madam Stockton finally looked up at him and saw his terrifying gaze, she got frightened and staggered backward.
She teared up, and with a regrettable tone, she said, “John, it was my fault. | made you hate her and separated you two for so many years. | deeply regret it. If | knew what would turn out today, | would have persuaded your father to let you two be together.”
As John was petrified on the spot, his fists were tightly clenched. He looked at his mother and saw the nervous and guilty look on her face. He said, “I got it. Go out.”
“John, | really don’t want to lie to you anymore. | don’t want you to remember the bitter memories as well. That’s why | decided to tell you. Just blame me if you want. | just hope you can bring Sherry back-”
“I said, GET OUT!” he shouted. Frightened, Madam Stockton’s face turned pale and she trembled.
John looked at her with his reddened eyes. His fair and humble countenance was replaced by a grim and vicious expression as if he was a living demon.
Madam Stockton dared not stay for a second longer. She quickly staggered to the door and left the living room. As soon as she stepped out of the house, a loud bang sounded behind her, causing her to squeal in shock.
John had kicked over the tea table out of anger.
The loud bang startled Queenie and Aunt Wanda, who were eavesdropping outside the house. Neither of them dared to look inside the living room.
The tea table toppled, shattering the cups and the teapot on the floor. The man stood in front of the broken shards and stared blankly at the floor with his bloodshot eyes. The living room returned to silence but his mind remained tumultuous. His mother’s words echoed in his mind ceaselessly.
The scenes from nine years ago, where Sherry wanted to break up with him, played again and again in his head. She had wanted to break up with him. He had asked why, and she had simply said she was bored of him.
Two days later, she had asked for a breakup again. She had said she did not want to live in a cheap apartment with him and lead a life of poverty.
To keep her by his side, he had gotten another laborious assignment the next day so that they could move into a better apartment soon.
Two more days later, when he came back on a rainy day, he had seen her and Mason in the same bed.
He had finally agreed to break up. He had left and stood in the rain for the whole night. The rain fueled his resentment for her and continued to torment him even up until this day.
Now, he learned that all that had happened was fake!
They were all fake!
He frowned. More and more flashbacks occurred in his mind.
The first time when she asked for a breakup, she had not even looked at him.
The second time when she asked for a breakup, she said she did not want to lead a life of poverty, but her eyes had been teary.
The third time was when he had caught her in bed with Mason. They were just sitting on the bed with the sheets over them. There had been no intimate body contact or signs of sexual intercourse. Her eyes had been teary as well.
As a matter of fact, she had not been bored of him or ever disliked him for being poor and had never cheated on him. She had never wanted to break up with him either.
She had only done it because his mother got to her and made her leave him so that his father would not torture him to death. They were all part of an intricate plan to separate her from him!
She did not even mind being hated for the rest of her life!
Chapter 1650
Chapter 1650 What about him?
Not only did he hate her for years, but after becoming the richest man in Glenchester, he had plotted to get the Fowlers and the Browns to develop their business here so that he could lure her out.
He had imprisoned her for a year, made her eat nothing but leftovers for a year, made her sew for a year, made her mow the lawn, and forbade her from stepping out of the front yard.
He enjoyed taking revenge on her that year, and until one month ago, his
misunderstandings for her deepened.
Once again, he imprisoned her, starved her, and let her bleed. He even left her to die in the fire! What would that make him?
What had he done for her all these years?
He felt helpless and weak all of a sudden. He straightened his back and sat on the floor.
His mind thought about nothing except for her face. From nine years ago until now, when they had broken up, when he had imprisoned her, and when she had bled on the floor a while ago, all the scenes in his head suffocated him.
While his head hurt and his chest tightened, he covered his head with both his hands.
Tears rolled down under his golden-framed glasses and wet the floor. His eyes were tightly closed and the living room went quiet for a while.
The lights were bright, but he felt like he was dwelling in the shadows.
Depression, pain, and guilt ate him up inside.
Some time later, maybe an hour or more, a series of light footsteps approached him. “Daddy...” The sweet and adorable voice broke the depression in the room.
The man looked up. Before he could have a clear look, the girl threw herself into his arms. “Daddy, why are your eyes red?” Caprice said as she took his glasses off and stroked his cheek. He choked on his emotions. He hugged the girl tightly into his arms.
“Caprice, Daddy is sad,” he said.
Caprice leaned on his shoulder.
Hearing his words, the girl’s brows tightened. She tapped on his shoulder, offering him some comfort.
“Daddy, don’t be sad. Caprice don’t want you to be sad,” the girl said straightforwardly. John smiled bitterly. “Okay.”
Despite the tightness in his chest, the girl’s consolation made him feel re-energized. He patted her head and asked, “Caprice, why are you awake now?”
Caprice pouted. “I had a dream and | can’t find you anywhere, so | woke up.”
“You don’t have to be afraid, silly girl. I’m always here with you. You will always find me,” he comforted the girl.
Caprice protruded her lips. “Caprice will also be at Daddy’s side forever. | won't let you be sad.” She nuzzled against his cheek with her chubby face.
John smiled. “Thank you, Caprice.”
“You're welcome, Daddy.”
The floor was chilly.
John picked her up onto his lap. He stroked her chubby face and asked, “Caprice, do you miss Mommy?” Caprice answered without a second thought, “Yes!”
John curled his lips. “Daddy will bring you to go look for Mommy in the morning, okay?”
Caprice smiled brightly when she saw the smile on her father’s face. She said, “Okay!”
After that, John brought her back to the room and tucked her in.
The sky was still dark, so the girl should be sleeping. He lay down beside her for a nap to re -energize himself for the trip to Coastrock.