Ch. 1896..1900
Chapter 1896
Piper was on the phone when Caprice entered the room.
It sounded like she was on the phone with her parents.
Freya was not around; she must have gone to work.
Caprice climbed into her bed.
Piper wrapped up the call shortly after and proceeded to snuggle into Caprice’s bed as well.
She cast a sincere look at Caprice. “Caprice, my Dad asked me to thank you for him. Thanks for helping us out of that terrible affair back there.”
Caprice made a look and said gravely, “Piper, I’m the reason why VV Entertainment plotted against Trey.” Piper asked inexplicably, “Why would it be because of you?” “Heather's father is the chairman of VV Entertainment.”
“What?” Piper was taken aback by the news. Then, she considered for a moment, “Even if VV Entertainment belongs to her family, what does any of this have to do with you?”
“Remember when you went to Emerald V with Frey?” “Yeah, what about it?”
“Heather saw you two that day. After you left, she went and called her dad and asked her dad to tamper with the deal with your family’s business.“
Piper was transfixed with shock. “Caprice, how do you know about all this?” Caprice told her everything. “Moses came to me last night and told me that he saw and heard. Heather calling her father.”
“That bitch!” Piper cursed viciously, “She is the worst! There is no reason that our mutual resentment should not stay between me and her only. Why does she have to bring my family into this? My brother was sincere in his effort of trying to work with her family!”
Caprice tried to quell her rage by gently ruffling her hair. “Piper, I’m also to blame for this. If it wasn’t for me, the deal would have worked out just fine.”
“Why should | blame you? You're not the one who told her to do this!” Piper reflected with an exasperated sigh, “It’s fine. We've all seen the true colors of VV Entertainment now. We will never even consider working with them again in the future.”
Caprice smiled, glad to see that Piper was over it. “Sounds good.”
Piper returned a smile before mentioning, “Hey, does Liam know that Heather was behind this?” “| don’t know,” Caprice said pensively. “I don’t think he knows.
She doubt Heather would tell him about it either since she would not want him to know.
All he knew was that VV Entertainment had tried to set up Rockon Technology. It was unlikely that he would place any suspicions on Heather.
Piper stirred when she heard this. She suggested cautiously, “Why don’t you tell him about this? Maybe he will dump her once he sees the kind of wretched person she is.”
“Forget it.” Caprice did not want to resort to such tricks to break them up. “He'll hold it against me if they end up breaking up that way.”
If Liam had feelings for her, he would have chosen her long ago instead of ending up with Heather.
Piper heaved a deep sigh. “Okay. Anyway, | won’t forget what Heather did to me. She’s in for it if | ever see her again!” Meanwhile, in the study of the Carter household, Sylvia stood next to the window and watched as Liam’s car drove out of the house. Then, she reached for her phone and made a call to Sherry who
was in Glanchester.
After several rings, the call was connected.
She heard a pleasant, warm voice with a hint of age coming from the other end of the phone. Hey, Syl! Did you need something?”
Sylvia darted a glance at Odell who was sitting on a chair nearby and began her proposal, “Sherry, there’s something very important | want to discuss with you. Are you available to talk right now?”
“| have time. Go on.” “Liam and Caprice are adults now. What do you think about them getting engaged?” Sherry was surprised by the sudden proposal. “What, right now?”
“Yeah, Liam is almost twenty-seven, and Caprice is nineteen. They've known each other since they were children and have always been close to each other even till now. | think it's a good time for them to get engaged.”
was it Liam’s?”
Sylvia smiled and told her, “I consulted Liam about this before coming to you.”
Chapter 1897
It was evident that this was not only her and Odell’s idea but Liam’s as well.
Sherry was glad to hear this. “Okay, I'll discuss it with John and Caprice later and get back to you.” “Gotcha.”
After hanging up the call, Sylvia turned to Odell with a smile. “Sherry says she will talk to John and Caprice about it before getting back to us with an answer.”
Odell pursed his lips. “Alright.”
Sylvia raised her concern, “I think she wants to see Liam and Caprice together as well. The only problem is whether John feels the same.”
John treasured his daughter more than anything in the world since she was his only child after all.
Odell approached Sylvia and wrapped his arms around her shoulders before pulling her into his arms, “They will say yes as long as it’s what Caprice wants.”
Sylvia smiled. “That's true.” Trey had gone home to Glanchester.
Piper was bored of hanging around the dormitory all day, so she found herself a part-time job as well. She tried to get Caprice to join her as well, but Caprice expressed very little interest in working as an online streamer advertising products.
Whenever Piper and Freya went to work, Caprice was left all by her lonesome self at the dormitory.
She spent her time either stalking Liam or lazing in bed. When she was truly bored out of her mind, she would take a look at the projects she invested in.
The same evening, while Caprice was lying on her bed browsing Liam’s profile, she suddenly received a call from Sherry. She was not expecting the call. She answered it and greeted her affectionately, “Hey, Mom.”
Sherry was just as glad to hear her voice. “Hey, Caprice, how have you been doing in Westchester these past few days?” “I'm fine. I’ve mostly been with Piper and Frey.”
“| see.” Sherry seemed to hesitate briefly before asking, “Have you seen Liam?”
“Yes, | went to his place for dinner with him and his parents yesterday.”
Sherry threw a glance at John who was listening in on the call next to her. She had put the call on the speakers so he could listen as well.
John frowned but did not make a sound. He gave Sherry a look, hinting at her to continue the dialogue.
Sherry began in a formal tone, “Caprice, here’s the thing. | would to ask your opinion about something.” Caprice asked curiously, “What's the matter?”
“Aunt Sylvia thinks that it’s a good time for you and Liam to get engaged since you two are grownups now. What do you think?”
Clack! Caprice’s phone dropped to the floor. “Caprice?” Sherry called out when she did not hear an answer.
Caprice took the phone and pressed it back to her ear before she spoke in a low voice, “Mom, has Aunt Sylvia asked Liam for his permission?”
“She did. She only came to me about this after receiving Liam's word.”
Liam had given his word?
He had a girlfriend. How could he be open to an engagement?
There was nobody he respected more than his mother. Chances were that he had only agreed to
it because he was worried about upsetting his mother. Otherwise, he would not have kept his relationship with Heather a secret this entire time.
“Caprice, what’s wrong? Is there something on your mind?” Sherry asked worriedly.
Caprice bit her lip. “Mom, | don’t want to get engaged to Liam.”
Chapter 1898
On the other end of the phone, Sherry turned stiff.
John was just as startled by Caprice’s response.
He snatched Sherry’s phone without warning and asked, “Caprice, be honest with your father. Did Liam do anything to you?”
He knew that his dear daughter had been fond of Liam since she was a child. There were several years in a row when her birthday wish had been to be with Liam forever.
Now that the Carters proposed an engagement for the pair, she turned it down of her own volition. The only logical explanation for this decision was that Liam had done something to her. John could not see any other explanations.
Caprice was taken aback to hear his voice. She was not expecting her father to be listening in. She hurriedly explained, “Dad, it's not like that. Liam hasn't done anything to me.”
“Then, why don’t you want to be engaged to him?”
“There’s no reason. | just- | just didn’t want to.”
“Don’t you have feelings for him anymore?”
Caprice felt her voice catch in her throat. She could not bear to lie about her feelings regarding Liam.
However, she knew her father would not give it a rest until he heard a valid explanation. If not, he would suspect that Liam had been nasty to her.
She struggled for an eternity before straining her voice. “Hmm.”
John fell silent for a while, then he spoke softly and reassuringly, “Caprice, we miss you very much. Since Piper is already back in Westchester, that means Freya has someone to keep her company. Why don’t | pick you up tomorrow and take you home? What do you think?”
Caprice smacked her lips. “Okay.”
She had to admit that she was getting bored out of her mind since Freya and Piper had to go to work every morning. She might as well go home.
At Stockton House in Glanchester, after hanging up, John reached for his phone and contacted his driver.
He instructed his driver to pick him up before the dawn had even cracked tomorrow. He was going to Westchester to pick his daughter up first thing in the morning.
Sherry observed him and waited for him to finish the call. After that, she asked, “What's with the rush?”
He was acting as if Caprice had suffered some sort of major injustice in Westchester.
John said sullenly, “That brat must have hurt her feelings. | know it.”
Sherry expressed with a frown, “She told us herself that Liam hasn’t done anything to her.”
John asked sharply, “Do you believe her when she said she doesn’t have feelings for him anymore?”
This silenced Sherry.
Both of them knew their daughter like the back of her palm, and they knew that she was lying.
She still had feelings for Liam, so why wouldn't she agree to an engagement?
What if it was true? Maybe Liam had hurt her somehow?
The next day, Caprice slept until she woke up naturally as usual.
It was only after she woke up that she noticed the message her father sent her nearly an hour ago that read, “Caprice, we’re waiting for you outside your dorm now.”
Caprice nearly jumped out of bed. She was slightly upset and replied, “Dad, | just noticed your message. Why didn’t you call me?”
They had been waiting for an hour. Why didn’t they call her?
John replied, “We're not in a hurry. Are you awake now?”
Caprice replied hastily, “Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in a minute.”
She sprinted into the bathroom and washed as quickly as she could, then she threw herself into a clean set of clothes. Lastly, she went to Caprice and Freya to bid them a hasty farewell before jogging out of the dormitory.
She spotted her father’s car parked right by the gate.
As soon as she emerged from the dormitory, John and Sherry stepped out of the car. They must have spotted her the moment she came out.
They haven't met each other for many days, and Caprice was starting to miss them too. She felt a sting rise up her nose. She broke into a trot and flung herself into their arms.
“Mom, Dad...” Sherry patted her gently on the back.
John caressed her and brushed her hair. “Come on. Let's go home together.” “Mm-hmm!”
Chapter 1899
Chapter 1899 Caprice got into the car first.
Then came John and Sherry. They entered the car from each side of the car so that they could have Caprice seated at the center, squished between her parents.
She felt like had been transported to ages ago when she was just a child. She cast a strange look at them. John curled his lips into a gentle, doting smile.
Sherry smiled tenderly and took her hand.
Caprice was confused.
Had she truly been away for so long? Were they beginning to miss her this much already?
The ride back home took several hours.
Caprice tended to get sleepy on lengthy car rides. She spent half of the ride sleeping against her father’s shoulder and the other half burrowing herself into her mother’s arms, drowned in sleep.
It was a wonderful journey. Upon her return home, Madam Stockton stuffed her full of her favorite food. Aunt Queenie showed up as well with her three-year-old son. Her son was adorable. He was a little devil who ran amok.
Caprice spent the better half of the day with the boy latched to her every waking second. It was only after the boy had grown tired from playing that she finally had time to herself.
She fled back to her room and collapsed on the bed, ready to sleep.
Ding!
Her phone rang suddenly.
She reached for her phone. Her sleepy eyes immediately pried themselves wide open.
It was Liam texting her. The message read, “Are you free tomorrow?”
Why was he asking her this?
She replied, “Hey, Liam, | just got back to Glanchester. Did you need something from me tomorrow?”
On the other end of the phone, Liam regarded the message with a morose frown.
He had been very occupied with work these days and finally managed to free up his schedule tomorrow. He was planning to take Caprice shopping and spend the day with her only to receive the unexpected news that she had returned to Glanchester.
Why did she not tell him that she was going home?
His eyes darkened. He replied curtly, “Never mind. It’s nothing important.”
Upon seeing this, Caprice texted him, “Okay then. It’s getting late, you should get some rest. Good night...” Clack!
Liam was halfway through composing a paragraph of text when he deleted the entire thing and tossed the phone onto the table. He had barely finished his piece and Caprice had already brushed him off!
Was she so opposed to a brief chat with him?
Besides, it was only nine o’clock!
He shut his eyes and rubbed his fingers against his temple to cool his restless mood.
After a while, he managed to soothe himself. He reached for his phone again and called Sylvia this time.
The phone was connected within the first few rings.
“Hey, Liam, what is it?” Sylvia’s gentle voice rang through the phone.
Liam asked curtly, “Hey, Mom, what did Aunt Sherry tell you?” He was referring to the supposed engagement Sylvia mentioned that she would discuss with Sherry two days ago.
He wondered if his mother knew what he was referring to. There was a thick silence festering on the phone when he presented the question.
His eyes darkened. “Did they say no?”
Sylvia hurriedly explained, “No, it’s not that they refused. It’s...” “It was Caprice who refused,” she finished the sentence. “yeah.”
He shut his eyes.
In that darkness, he heard his mother’s voice ringing in his ears, “Liam, Caprice must have some things on her mind as well. She’s still very young and probably thinks it’s too early for her to get engaged. Look, don’t overthink it. | can tell that she still has feelings for you.”
“| understand. Have a good night.” Liam hung up promptly. Then, he went to Caprice’s social profile.
There was only one new post from her today. It was a picture of her and her three-year-old nephew. The nephew in the picture was posing with a cool sticker of a cartoon character on his face while Caprice’s face had countless random stickers splattered all over.
It looked like the nephew had a lot of fun with her.
Liam found himself grinning as he looked at the picture. He proceeded to save the picture to his phone before a grim frown came to him.
Chapter 1900
Several days later, in Glanchester, Caprice was lazing around on a swing in her courtyard when she suddenly received a call from her mother.
Her dear mother told her on the phone, “Caprice, there’s going to be a party for a brand launch tonight. The thing is | don’t have time to go. Could you go in my place?”
Caprice agreed.
“Thank you, darling. Just buy whatever catches your eye when you get there tonight with the card | just gave you. Splurge all you want. Don’t go easy on me.” Sherry hung up after the final statement.
Soon, Caprice dozed off.
Around evening, she made herself presentable for the night, then she took the invitation letter for the brand launch party and head out.
The event was held at the largest, most reputable hotel in Glanchester, the Elysian Hotel.
It was only after she arrived at the venue and noticed the brand logos hung everywhere that she realized that it was the launch of a new line of products for a very famous luxury brand.
There were many successful entrepreneurs such as her mother invited. There were also many celebrity ambassadors of the brand. Since there were many celebrities, that also meant many of their fans came to see them and take pictures of them.
Needless to say, it was packed. Caprice happened to be walking behind a very famous celebrity.
Alarge group of fans swarmed the celebrity, and she ended up getting shoved to the back of the crowd. When she was nearing the rear of the crowd, someone bumped into her and she lost her balance.
Moments before disaster, she felt someone grabbing her from behind. She turned back and saw Trey.
He was wearing a dazzling purple suit, and his hair was slicked back behind his ears. He was decked in all sorts of accessories such as earrings and a necklace. It was a very fashionable look, albeit slightly juvenile.
He could easily be mistaken as a celebrity.
Trey withdrew his hand from Caprice after he made sure she was okay. He asked with a candid smile, “Caprice, why are you here?”
The Caprice he knew was a homebody and would rarely if ever show up to such events.
Caprice explained, “My mom asked me to come in her place.”
Trey ruffled her hair playfully. “I see. Hey, if you see something you like in there, just let me know and I'll buy it for you.” Caprice smiled appreciatively, “Thanks Trey, but my mom gave me her card, so you don’t have to
pay for me.”
“That won't do. There’s a marked difference between your mother buying it for you and me buying it for you. Look, | said I'll buy something for you and I’m going to do it.”
“Okay.” Caprice only agreed because she did not want to go back and forth with him over this.
The crowd seemed to have calmed down a little. She tapped Trey’s wrist. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Since they were not celebrities, they did not have to cross the red carpet. They could simply pass through the main entrance and head into the venue.
Meanwhile, there was a figure standing next to a French window in a remote corner of the venue.
It was Heather. She was wearing a boutique dress that was part of the brand’s most prestigious product line. Her outfit was complimented with a set of luxury jewelry of the same brand. She was the embodiment of luxury and fashion.
She held a goblet in hand as she cast a venomous look at Caprice and Trey who had just walked into the venue. Her assistant attended the event with her this evening.
When her assistant observed her glaring at the two figures, she asked out of curiosity, “Miss, do you know them?” Heather said severely, “That man over there is the young master of Rockon Technology.”
“So it is.” The assistant observed her dark expression face before motioning at Caprice. “How about the girl next to him? She looks pretty young.”
Heather scoffed, “She’s useless. A waste of space. She wagered that she only managed to squirm her way in here because Trey was with her. Claim Bonus For Free Every Day>>