Ch. 1696..1700

Chapter 1696

Sherry wanted to stop the car and greet them, but she remembered that Lisa and Carl were already waiting for her. Besides, now that Caprice was awake, it would be hard to have to explain to her directly why she could not spend the day with her today.

As much as it hurt her to do so, she simply pretended to not notice them and stomped the gas pedal, accelerating past them.

Caprice took notice of the car and seemed intrigued. She pointed a greasy finger at the back of Sherry’s car that was driving off into the distance and expressed, “Daddy, that car looks like Mommy’s.”

John’s eyes darkened. “Yeah.” The car was out of sight in no time.

Caprice continued to nibble on the piece of waffle and the car had become nothing more than a passing thought. “Daddy, this waffle is so tasty, you should eat some too.”

She said as she brought the half-eaten waffle to John’s lips. John took a tiny bite and smiled delightfully. “Thank you, Caprice.” Caprice smiled brightly. “You’re welcome, Daddy.”

She tucked the leftover waffle into a paper bag that came with it and muttered to herself, “I'll save this for Mommy when she comes back.”

John grimaced upon hearing this. His eyes were still fixed in the direction where she drove off into. ‘Sherry, are you so sure about getting engaged with Carl?’ 1 When Sherry arrived at Lisa’s house, Carl and Lisa were already eagerly waiting for her.

As soon as she stepped into the house, Lisa came to greet her and informed her that breakfast was prepared for her. She was asked to set something to fill her stomach before they began dressing her up.

Sherry obliged and enjoyed a quick breakfast with Carl. With that, it was time to commence the preparations. The makeup artist they hired was very skillful.

Most days, Sherry only put on simple makeup when she went to work, so it was a nice change to have a proper, professional makeup artist do it for her for once. The finished product transformed her completely. She was astounded by the result.

Lisa showered her with compliments the entire time.

Carl was already dressed. He wore a fitting suit, his hair was parted into two sides. Sherry had to admit that the man looked very dashing and exuded a fine gentlemanly charm.

He leaned against the wall the entire time and gazed at Sherry with an enamored look in

his eyes.

As if on cue, he immediately chimed in after Lisa finished complimenting her, “You look beautiful, Sherry.”

Sherry smiled awkwardly.

He added, “We're a match made in heaven.”

The corner of Sherry’s lips jerked suddenly.

If not for Lisa being here, she would have told Carl off.

Lisa chuckled upon hearing this and suddenly announced, “Alright, she needs to change into her dress, let's go.” With that, she dragged Carl out of the room.

With the help of an assistant, Sherry was fitted into the white dress with long sleeves, the one she had picked out the other day. With that, she was ready for the engagement ceremony. She walked out of the dressing

room.

Carl and Lisa were waiting for her with eager anticipation. Carl was excitedly peeking around the corner, waiting to see Sherry. They made eye contact the moment she stepped out.

He was immediately transfixed by her beauty. Even his pupils seemed to expand like an excited cat, immediately followed by a smile.

Sherry ignored his reaction and turned to Lisa. “Alright, I’m ready, let’s head to the venue.”

They still had a lot of time to spare, but they had to get a move on earlier since the venue was located in a villa at the borders of the city region.

It was rather far, roughly a two hours drive.

Lisa smiled delightfully. “Sure!”

With that, she led Sherry out of the house.

Carl followed them, his smile did not fade the entire time.

After nearly two hours, they arrived at the vacation villa owned solely by the Sagers at last. The villa was located in a mountainous region. The conditions of the environment were well preserved

It was surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful fauna of all sorts of colors. Sherry and Carl were going to get engaged in this real-life garden of Eden.

 

Chapter 1697

Chapter 1697 The venue was all set up for the engagement ceremony, and most of the family members and guests had arrived.

As soon as Sherry and Carl stepped out of the car with Lisa, they were greeted by Ron and his two sons, Aiden and Caden. The trio walked up to them with identical smiles hanging on their faces. They jolted slightly when they saw how beautiful Sherry looked and could not keep their

her

Lisa screwed her face in distaste and coughed dryly.

Carl held Sherry closer to her and bore a sharp look at the approaching trio. eyes

off

Sherry was the least bothered of them all. She was well aware of the nasty things that the trio got. up to and more or less expected this sort of perverted behavior, so she did seem repulsed by their presence

Ron, Aiden, and Caden quickly snapped back to their senses and stopped staring at her

Ron congratulated her with a feigned smile, “Congratulations, cousin, you're a lucky man! You've chosen a beautiful woman for yourself. Not only is President Sherry beautiful, but she’s also a strong and independent woman.”

Lisa smiled and remarked, “Of course, my son is a lucky man indeed.” Ron chuckled.

Caden observed the snarky tone in Lisa’s voice and how she seemed annoyed to have to deal with Ron, then he suddenly stated, “Let's hope his good luck streak continues, careful you don’t end up a cuckold.”

Lisa immediately glared at him, she looked like she was going to slap him across his face. Sherry was just as irritated and did not hold back at all. “Caden, did somebody take a crap in your breakfast today?” Lisa followed suit. “Definitely. How else could you explain the foul stench coming out of his mouth?”

Caden seemed deeply offended by this. He did not dare to speak up against Lisa and so chose to direct his anger at Sherry instead. “Sherry, where’s your decency?”

Sherry laughed and barely took him seriously. “| have more where that came from, I’m just not sure if you can handle it.” Caden stammered. Sherry lunged forward suddenly. Before Caden could react to what was happening, he was struck in the face by a clenched fist.

Thump!

It landed square on his face.

He staggered backward and nearly lost his balance.

He was furious. “B*tch, how dare you punch me?! I'll kill you!”

The moment he regained his balance, he began charging at Sherry

Carl immediately stepped in front of Sherry and delivered a swift kick at the aggressor. Thump!

His kick slammed against Carl's face again, this time successfully sending him pummeling toward the ground in an embarrassing display.

Caden cussed, “F*ck!” He was furious and spat out countless obscenities.

Carl smirked audaciously, “Caden, if | were you, I’d be careful about putting hands on Sherry, you don’t want to test my patience.”

Caden was intimidated by the sharp warning and immediately zipped his lips.

Everyone in Coastrock knew about Car's circle of influence. There were rumors that he had numerous contacts with the big shots in the underground organizations.

It was not a good idea to challenge his patience.

Ron and Aiden rushed to Caden.

He was helped up to his feet.

As irritated as Ron was, all he could do was smile like a lapdog.

They could not risk offending Carl or Lisa, they were the ones at the helm of the Sager Corporation.

He smiled sheepishly and made a cheap excuse. “Sorry about that, Caden just had a bad sense of humor and likes running his mouth. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he gets a stern scolding, everybody relax”

Lisa had stepped forward in the middle of the commotion to guard Sherry as well. Upon hearing this, she sneered condescendingly and said, “You'd better, or else the brat is going to get more than a punch and a kick to the face next time.”

After a dramatic pause, she added, “If you get on our bad side, you're going to end up homeless and begging on the streets.” Ron turned pale and stayed silent.

Lisa sneered, then she led Sherry into the venue.

Carl followed after

After they left, Aiden and Caden exchanged a look.

Their eyes glowed with a venomous glare as they cast a hostile stare at Sherry’s departing figure.

Chapter 1698

“B*stards! All three of them, b*stards! Just you wait!” Caden shouted, completely furious.

Aiden tried to calm him. “That's enough, don’t let them hear you.”

Ron’s face darkened significantly He suddenly asked in a hushed voice, “Have you guys made the arrangements?” Aiden smiled wretchedly. “Yeah, everything is ready, we’re going to humiliate them in front of everyone later

Ron was glad to hear this as he smiled and assured his sons, “Aiden, Caden, we just need to make sure everything goes as planned today. I'll take care of the rest and make sure they get booted out of the corporation Then we can take over and you two can take charge of the corporation from there on.”

Aiden and Caden chuckled villainously.

Meanwhile, the trio of Sherry, Lisa, and Carl went into the woods next to the villa. Carl suddenly patted Sherry’s head and remarked, “Sherry, you looked adorable just now when you punched that

rascal.”

Adorable?

Sherry shot a look at him.

Was that supposed to be an insult? Did he want to get punched as well? Carl winked coyly

Lisa walked along the other side of Sherry and did not notice Carl shooting looks at Sherry She had something to say about what happened as well. “That punch you threw back there was so satisfying. I've been wanting to see those damn brats getting a damn thrashing for ages now.

Carl remarked, “Mom, you should've said it sooner, I’d have been more than glad to do the dirty work for you.

Lisa shot him a sideways look. “You little brat, do you think giving them a childish beating is enough to kick them out of the corporation?”

“One beating might not be enough.” Carl smiled. “But I’m sure a couple more beatings could help with that.”

Lisa quipped, “I'll give you a couple beating, see if that helps.”

“Mom, I’m your son, remember?”

“Of course | remember, I'd have dragged your butt across the floor if it wasn’t for that.”

Carl was speechless.

Sherry smiled as she listened to the pair of mother and son bickering back and forth. Soon, they found themselves in an opening in the middle of the woods.

It was a large open space surrounded by lush greenery This was where the engagement ceremony was to be held.

There was a platform built at the opposite end, and tables and chairs were already laid out for the guests and relatives attending the ceremony.

Most of the guests had not gone to their assigned seats yet, they were walking around the venue and busy mingling with one another

Upon noticing Sherry and Carl, the main characters of the day, the crew of guests greeted them warmly and showered them with words of congratulations.

Lisa thanked every one of them. After a while, she noticed that the scheduled time had crept up to them and summoned one of the staff members in charge of conducting the ceremony to ask, Have all the guests arrived?”

The staff informed her, “Everyone is here.”

Lisa smiled. “Perfect, let’s begin, then.”

“Alright.” The staff member quickly went to get the event host for the night.

Suddenly, a sharp shrill of a voice that sent a shiver down their spines emitted from the crowd. “I haven’t even sat down yet, what's the hurry? Some host you are, not prioritizing the comfort of your honored guests!”

This attracted Lisa’s attention so she turned around to see who this was. Sherry turned around as well and was confronted by the sight of Madam Sager.

Anne and Ada were next to her, helping her keep her balance as she slowly limped toward her seat. Following closely behind them were Ron, Aiden, and Caden.

Sherry frowned. Why was the old hag here? Lisa and Carl seemed concerned as well.

Lisa remembered inviting Madam Sager to the ceremony but what she got was a swift and adamant refusal. In the words of Madam Sager, she was not going to let Sherry into the family so long as she was breathing on this earth.

Why was she attending?

Although Lisa was puzzled by her sudden appearance and could not deny her aversion toward the vulgar old lady, she knew better than to let it show in a public space. One way or another, she had to give Madam Sager the respect she was due

She smiled gracefully “That’s a surprise, didn’t you tell me that you were not coming? My bad, | assumed you wouldn’t come so | thought we could kick things off already.”

Chapter 1699

Madam Sager scoffed upon hearing this and no longer made an issue of it. She had Anne walk her to her seat, walking past Lisa in the process. Ada followed closely after her and when she passed by Sherry, she made a point of shooting a hostile glare at her

Sherry scowled but did not otherwise respond to the gesture. Soon, Madam Sager was seated directly in front and center of the stage. Anne and Ada took their seats by her side.

Ron went up to Lisa and said while swiping a dismissive glance at Sherry and Carl, “I ended up convincing Mom to come along with Anne. After all, today is a big day for Carl and it would be wrong to miss the perfect occasion. She’s here to give her blessings.”

Lisa held back an ugly scowl.

She doubted Ron would ever have such kind intentions. If anything, he would be the first one wishing for their downfall especially considering what it would signify for him. Still, she was not too concerned because she doubted there was much he could do to derail the engagement. ceremony at this point. She thanked him perfunctorily. “Thank you, you're very thoughtful.”

With that, Ron went to his seat, accompanied by Aiden and Caden.

Now that all the guests were installed in their seats, Lisa turned to Carl and Sherry “Carl, Sherry, get ready to go on stage, I’m going back to my seat as well.”

Carl smiled and nodded. “Sure.” Sherry smiled politely. “Don’t worry about a thing. Aunt Lisa.” Lisa smiled kindly, then she went to her seat which was right next to Anne’s

With everyone seated, the host marched onto the stage with an air of cheeriness and commenced the engagement ceremony by giving a short and sweet introduction speech.

After the speech, he raised the pitch of his voice and set the stage for the main event of the day.” And now, let us welcome the stars of the show, Mr. Carl and Mrs. Sherry!”

This was accompanied by thunderous applause.

Carl beamed with joy as he held out a hand toward Sherry and requested graciously. “Shall we?” Sherry smiled and gave her his hand.

Hand in hand, the pair stepped onto the red carpet and walked toward the stage, showered by rose petals that danced in the air and thunderous applause.

After they stepped onto the stage, the crowd cheered. The host further roused the crowd to a fever pitch, the emotions of the night had reached their peak.

He held up another microphone to Carl and presented him with a question. “Enlighten us, dear Master Sager, what made you fall for Mrs. Sherry?”

Carl turned to Sherry with a seduced look in his shining eyes.

He announced proudly. “To tell the truth, it was love at first sight.”

Deep down, Sherry was getting uncomfortable from the way he stared at her His proud declaration attracted countless oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

The only ones who were not cheering were the family of Ron and Sager, which all wore disinterested looks on their faces. Worst of all was Ada who was blatantly scowling at the sight of the soon-to-be-engaged couple.

Meanwhile, inside the villa next to the venue.

Someone was lurking by the window on the top floor

The man was holding Caprice in one arm and a pair of binoculars in the other. His eyes peered through the lens of the binoculars and spied on the rowdy venue down below. Aphone was positioned next to him which transmitted a live audio broadcast from the venue.

He heard the host’s ecstatic voice come through the speakers. “Well then, Mrs. Sherry, would your tell us when you fell in love with Mr. Carl?”

John frowned upon hearing this, he zoomed in on Sherry.

Sherry looked at the host and put on her most genuine smile. ‘I fell in love with him at first sight as well.”

The host exclaimed, “Wow! You two are truly a match made in heaven!”

Everyone laughed cheerily and applauded.

John scoffed upon hearing this.

Caprice watched her father with a look of intrigue and observed the pair of binoculars in his hand with stark curiosity.

She did not understand what was so funny about what the host had said and why her father seemed so amused. However, she had a sense that she heard her mother’s voice on the speaker. She made a weak little pout and asked, “Daddy, was that Mommy's voice on the phone?”

Chapter 1700

John averted his eyes from the binoculars for the first time and turned to Caprice with a warm and gentle smile. “You're right, that was Mommy's voice.”

Caprice perked up upon hearing this and asked naively, “What does love at first sight mean?”

John fell silent for a while and considered his response. He answered, “It can mean a lot of things. and it depends on the context, who the person saying it is.”

This further stirred Caprice’s curiosity. “What does it mean when Mommy says it?” “Awhite lie.”

Caprice raised another question. “What does white lie mean?”

John smiled and answered, “It means not telling the truth to not hurt someone’s feelings.”

He might have bought it if she had said that her feelings for Carl developed over time, but to say that it was love at first sight? Not a chance.

“Ohh.” Caprice feigned understanding despite still failing to see the connection and expressed, It’s so complicated.” John smiled and suddenly asked, “Caprice, shall we go see Mommy?”

It was about time for them to head over.

Caprice beamed with joy and nodded excitedly. “Okay!”

At the venue.

The guest was highly entertained by the host’s questions and cheered brazenly With that, the host carried them to the next sequence “Now, let’s move on to what we've all been waiting for, the exchange of engagement rings!”

Acrew of staff showed up on cue and delivered a pair of matching diamond rings on stage. The speakers began to play a soothing and romantic tune. The giant screen erected behind the stage began cycling through pictures Sherry and Carl had taken together.

When everybody’s collected attention was focused on Sherry and Carl who were about to exchange engagement rings, Aiden and Caden’s attention was directed to the screen instead.

Caden began counting down. “Three, two, one.”

The music had reached its emotional peak, Sherry held out her hand for Carl to put the ring on her

Suddenly, a dreadful silence fell upon the venue.

Apart from Ada, Ron, Anne, and the rest of their families who were grinning ecstatically, everyone else at the venue was horrified, with Lisa being the most visibly affected of them all.

Sherry frowned and directed her attention toward the screen behind her Carl and the host were similarly puzzled by the mysterious silence and turned in unison to the screen behind them as well. The screen was displaying a different set of pictures.

It was not the pictures Sherry and Carl had taken together. They were replaced by a different set of casts, which included Sherry, Caprice, and John,

There were pictures of Sherry walking Caprice to the beach, and pictures of them building sand castles with John watching over them from an intimate distance.

There were pictures of John outside Sherry’s house, handing Caprice over to her

There were also various pictures of her holding Caprice at the park with John standing close to her While none of the pictures showed the two of them having any sort of romantic interaction, it was till hard to ignore what these pictures hinted at

Not only did the child’s appearance closely resemble that of Sherry’s, but there was also an unmistakable mark of resemblance with the appearance of the mysterious man in the picture.

They looked like a family of three. Sherry wore a consternated frown. Carl furrowed her brows tightly.

Astiff silence overtook the venue. The host that had been masterfully stirring the atmosphere all night was baffled by this display and stammered amateurishly. “What. What's going on?”

Carl turned and glared at Ron, Aiden, and Caden.

Ron feigned shock and cried out loud so everyone could hear him, “My god! Who is that man and that girl? Are they related to Sherry? Is it just me or does that brat in her arm look just like Sherry?”

Since there was not so much as a whisper below the stage, his booming voice traveled across the venue effortlessly.

After he expressed his scandalous speculations, Caden burst out laughing and asked sharply.” Sherry, that’s not your daughter, or is it now?”