Ch. 571..575

Chapter 571

Chapter 571 “Who are you talking to?” All of a sudden, the man’s gruff voice came from above her. Startled, Sylvia vented her annoyance at him. “It’s none of your business.”

The moment the words escaped her mouth, she realized she was not speaking in the right tone. She immediately looked at Isabel and saw the girl snoozing on the couch. Sylvia had a glance at the boy beside her.

The boy was not asleep but he was carried away by the book, seemingly uninterested in his parents’ conversation. She sighed a breath of relief.

Without further concealing her feelings, she glared at Odell.

Odell was looking at her with a bewitching grin.

Sylvia wished she could scold him out loud but she had to hold back urge and chose to whisper her reminder instead, “It’s getting late. You should go back and rest.”

“Good night.” The man then strode out of the house without pause. Sylva stared at his figure as he left her sight. Her brows strangely furrowed.

At the end of the day, Odell only came by at night and accompanied Isabel. Other than the one question that he asked, he had no other interaction with Sylvia.

She started to believe he moved next door to be with the kids, so the suspicion soon escaped her.

Regardless of the reasons, she never wanted anything to do with him anymore. She raised her hand and patted Liam's head, and said softly, “Liam, it’s getting late. Time for bed.” “Okay.” Liam obediently closed the book and put it aside. Sylvia smiled and then carried the sleeping Isabel into her arms. She then walked Liam back to their room.

After Liam fell asleep, Sylvia returned to her own room.

In the next few days, Sylvia basically spent most of her time at home accompanying the kids. The two little ones would either play at home or run next door to visit Madam Carter.

At night, Odell would come over for dinner punctually and stayed for a while until Isabel fell asleep Sylvia and Odell were like strangers sharing the same roof. They sat in the living room

together but there was little to no interaction between them. Soon, New Year's eve arrived.

Both Aunt Tonya and Sebastian decorated the place early in the morning. Sylvia also put on new clothes for Isabel and Liam to celebrate the New Year’s arrival. She even tied the little girl’s hair into two tiny buns. Liarn continued to read quietly. Although dressed in brand new clothes, it did not diminish his cool presence.

Isabel was like a puppy out of the cage, running around and jumping up and down cheerfully. With Ben and Jacob watching her, Sylvia was not worried about the girl getting hurt, so she went on to help Aunt Tonya with the decoration. She soon arrived in the living room with the celebratory decorations.

Aladder was needed to hang the decorations over the door and window.

Sylvia went up the ladder instead of asking Aunt Tonya. Aunt Tonya passed her the decorations and reminded her to be careful, “Be careful up there.”

“Okay.” Sylvia nodded and stood higher on the ladder to stick the decoration over the door. When she was about to get down, her foot suddenly slipped. She screamed out of shock and started falling backward. Just when Sylvia expected a terrible fall and Aunt Tonya screaming in horror, a pair of strong arms came in and caught her.

The expected pain did not arrive, which was a relief. She then turned to the man who caught her.

The man wore a black overcoat over his handsome suit. His towering figure made it easy for him to catch her and he was looking at her with his handsome looks.

Sylvia turned around and landed on her feet before she left his embrace.

Odell narrowed his eyes. “Tell Ben or Jacob to do the dangerous things. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way anymore.”

Chapter 572

Sylvia was rendered speechless by his words. She disliked his condescending tone but he did save her. Had she fallen, she would either have broken a leg or at least been bruised.

Sylvia quietly walked away and continued decorating the living room

Odell stood there and stared at her back for a moment before he went out.

The morning went by without any more accidents,

The entire house was in a festive mood.

Later in the afternoon, two chefs came from next door and prepared for the New Year's eve feast at night. When it was time for dinner, a feast was prepared at the table.

Isabel was drooling over the food.

Odell came in when dinner was served.

The moment his towering figure appeared, Isabel ran over to him and he carried the girl into his arms. Isabel stared at the alluring food on the table and mumbled, “Baddie, I’m hungry. Let’s eat!”

Odell carried the girl to the table and sat her down. He then shot a deep gaze at Sylvia and said, “Let’s eat.” He would come over for dinner almost every night recently, so it had become a routine and Sylvia had gotten used to it.

Moreover, the feast was prepared by his chefs, so Sylvia simply humined a reply and called Aunt Tonya and Liam over for dinner.

As expected of professional chefs, the dishes served were delicious. It was a lot better than Aunt Tonya’s cooking or even her own cooking

Not only did Isabel enjoy the food, but Sylvia also ate more than usual.

After dinner, Isabel dragged Liam to the yard and wanted to play with fireworks Sylvia was worried about them being burned so she followed them out.

Isabel set the fireworks on the ground and Liam followed her with the lighter When she was done, Liam lit the fuse. Sylvia watched from the side.

The moment the fuse was lit, she carried Liam away.

At the same time, a strong arm also carried Isabel away from the fireworks. Rang! The fireworks shot up into the sky and exploded into a beautiful sparkle

Isabel sat in Odell’s arms, covering her ears and giggling at the beautiful display. Sylvia slightly bent over and covered Liam’s ears while she listened to Isabel’s giggling. She looked up at the fancy fireworks and it put a smile on her face. As the sky flitted in colors, the man stood beside her, staring at her beautiful face with a deep gaze.

Seeing the smile on her face put one on his face too.

At the same time outside the door, under a robust tree, a tall figure had been watching from the dark The gate was opened, so the exploding fireworks shed their temporary brilliance all over the yard. He was able to see the family of four in the yard and his gaze turned frosty.

Sometime later, he turned around and went into the dark

Chapter 573

At midnight, the New Year arrived with a bang

At Lake Victoria Villa, where Tara lived, the house was in total darkness except for a lamp in the living room. The dim light revealed the messy interior

Other than the necessary furniture, all the branded and luxurious items were gone.

Tara wore her newly bought coat and was drinking on the couch.

Then, a series of footsteps came from outside the door.

Tara turned around and saw a tall figure and a handsome, but cold, face.

She felt like she saw the man before but the frosty eyes made her shy away.

Tara nervously looked away and cautiously asked, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Thomas stopped in front of her and looked at her. “Do you want to regain your old life?” Tara’s eyes gleamed. Of course, she wanted her old life back. After cutting ties with Odell, all she wished for was to return to her extravagant and lavish life.

Although she was still able to fill her stomach and wear new clothes, almost all the expensive furniture and items were sold off to fuel her lavish addiction. If she could not come up with a way to regain what she lost, she would eventually end up as everyone else, living a normal life.

Aglance at the man told her that he was not just any John Doe. The cold presence that he emanated was bone-chilling Some thoughts later, she asked in a small voice, “Can you help me to regain my old life back?” “I can, as long as you wish for it.” Thomas looked at her coldly.

“| want it! | want it!” Tara anxiously cried. She then asked, “What do you want me to do? What do | need to do to regain my old life back? I'll do anything!”

Thomas peered down at her anxiety. A few seconds of silence later, he said, “I can help you to get back to Odell’s side, as long as you work with me.”

Tara’s eyes were of hope but she recalled the resolve and the frostiness Odell showed when he cut ties with her, and it made her eyes shrink in fear. She said in a small voice, “But Odell has cut all ties with me. Can you really bring me back to his side?”

Thomas sized her up from top to bottom. She was neither ugly nor outstanding, just a material woman who would give up her body in a heartbeat to gain wealth. She was probably the cheapest and lowest woman there was.

If without any special reasons, his brother would not be fixated on her for so long “First, you need to tell me how you met Odell back then and why he’s so infatuated with you.”

Tara’s eyes shifted. She continued in a small voice, “Why do you want to know?”

“To help you, of course.” A few seconds of hesitation later, she asked again, “Why are you helping me?” Thomas stood there with a frosty look. His noble demeanor emanated a distant and cold feeling that could easily push people away. He calmly said, “You can say no to my offer and continue selling your things to keep your lavish and extravagant life.” Tara’s eyes shrunk in fear. She could not let it continue as she refused to live normally. She wanted to wear branded clothes and eat expensive food! She could not be outshone by her friends! Soon, she made up her mind and said, “I met Odell many years ago on a rainy night. | was still young and Odell was just a teenager. Because of his stepmother’s schemes, he almost got beaten to death...”

Tara choked on her words. She took a deep breath and continued, “I saved him and accompanied him in an alleyway, but | left on the second morning. After that, | met him again after many years.” “Why after many years?” Tara gasped for air and explained, “Because during that night, | don’t know his name and he doesn’t know who | am. We didn’t even see each other's faces clearly.” “How did you recognize him after that?” Tara lowered her head and said, “After | saved him, he gave me a sapphire ring. Some years later, | went to the wealthy district together with Sylvia. She’s one of my old friends. He coincidentally saw the ring | wore during an event, so we recognized each other.”

Chapter 574

Chapter 574 Thomas looked at her in silence. No wonder his brother treated Tara so special. She saved his life before.

Though it was difficult for him to picture a weak woman like her saving Odell from a bunch of professional hitters. Tara then looked at him. “I've told you everything. How are you doing to help me?” “You'll receive a text in two days. Just follow the instructions.”

Thomas then turned around and walked outside. Tara stared at his back. Before he could step outside, she held him back. “Wait!”

Thomas paused.

“Can you tell me who you are?” she asked.

The answer she got was Thomas leaving quicker than before and the chilly breeze from the night. Tara frowned

She suddenly thought about what her mother, Melanie, said when she first arrived. Melanie mentioned that there was someone powerful supporting her to separate Sylvia and Odell.

Melanie also mentioned that the particular someone was mysterious but also handsome. She refused to reveal too many details as she was afraid of the person. Tara somehow had a feeling that the man she had just seen was the mysterious man Melanie mentioned However, it was not the time to ponder the man’s identity. As long as he could help her return to Odell’s side, she did not care about his identity at all.

Two days later, while the New Year mood was still in the air, Sylvia dressed up Isabel and Liam for the occasion Liam carried his book as usual.

Isabel jumped and ran to the next door as soon as she got dressed. Ever since Oddell moved in next door, the girl had been running back and forth.

Especially when Odell was having his New Year break, the girl spent most of her days over there

Although she mostly went next door to eat and snack, she also snuck a lot of valuable stuff back home, sixhas more snacks Odell also gave the iwo of them presents for the New Year, including toys and diamonds for P# of thpun

Sylvia kept all the valuable items the two of them received in their exclusive safety box

Since the girl was in a festive mood and was happier than usual, Sylvia simply let her be. The day went by quickly. During the evening, when Sylvia came out from her art studio and planned to help Aunt Tonya with the cooking, a towering figure came in from the door.

The man was in a handsome black suit with an overcoat. He was carrying Isabel with a bag of snacks.

Sylvia was baffled by his arrival.

He came over almost every day but he would only come during the dinner hour, so why the early visit today? Odell carried Isabel to her.

“I'm going out tonight. You guys don’t need to wait for me.” He then passed the girl to her mother. Sylvia took Isabel from him and furrowed her brows.

He sounded like Sylvia would wait for him for dinner every night. Sylvia zipped her mouth. The girl said, “Baddie, come home early.” Odell smiled and stroked her head. He then showed an enchanting smile at Sylvia. “I'll be back soon.” Sylvia choked on his words and decided to ignore him. Odell then turned around and left.

After he left the gate, Sylvia carried Isabel to the couch.

 

Chapter 575

There was a restaurant with a hundred years of history in the Old District and it had almost all the specialties of Westchester City. To dine at the restaurant, one would need to book one month in advance. Tonight, the place was bought out by someone.

That someone was none other than Odell.

He would come to this restaurant every New Year to have dinner with his peers and seniors from the extended Carter family. It was a social gathering for the family members and also a chance for each of them to maintain their relationship.

He attended the dinner like every other year and when he arrived, most of the Carter extended family members were already there. The seniors were sitting up front while the juniors, or his peers, were at the back Odell greeted each of the seniors before he followed them up into the room on the second floor.

The dishes tasted as good as always and the family members talked to him about more or less the same thing.

After a few drinks, one of the seniors asked, “Odell, | heard you divorced Sylvia again and even let her obtain the rights to the kids? What happened?”

Everyone at the table turned to him instantly. Odell put his glass down and said, “Third Grandfather, I've agreed to keep the details private, so | can’t reveal too much.”

The elderly known as Third Grandfather knew Odell's temper well enough to know when to stop asking. He sighed and slightly altered the question. “But you can’t just give her the rights to the children. It’s the New Year. All your cousins brought their kids here, and you're here alone. How lonely is that?”

Odell pursed his lips and said, “Third Grandfather, thank you for your concerns, but I’m doing just alright.” Isabel was being clingy recently and she even told him to go home early before he left for dinner

As he said, he was doing just alright, Third Grandfather swallowed his other questions and stopped prying into his private life.

Sometime later, Odell put his cutlery down. When he stood up, the others followed immediately, Odell looked at them and said, “Third Grandfather, you guys continue. | have to go back to attend to some private matters.”

Everyone knew his temper, so they bid him farewell and did not even persuade him to stay.

Odell strode out of the restaurant and headed to the parking lot. The driver opened the door for him.

After he got in, the driver got into the driver’s seat and asked, “Sir, are we going home?” “Mhmm...”

It was snowing outside. The snow looked like marshmallows under the street lamps. After turning into the junction, the car had to travel along a long road to leave the Old District.

There were almost no other cars on the lengthy road, so the car cruised smoothly ahead.

Just before it turned out of the road, a woman in rags dived in from the side. Startled, the driver stepped on the brake immediately.

The woman fell to the ground and was horrified by the near-death experience. It was then several other men, seemingly part of a gang, came over from where the woman dived in.

They were armed and they were eyeing the woman’s body. “Hey girl, where are you going?” “Come on, I'll make sure you enjoy it.” “No! Help! Help me!” The woman cried and got on her feet. She threw herself on the car and cried for help from the driver The driver finally had a clear look at the woman’s face and it shocked him. He turned around to the man in the rear seat and sald, “Sir, it’s Ms. Avery!” The men put their hands on Tara and tried to pull her away from the car Odell's eyes turned frosty “Save her”

The driver nodded and stepped out of the car,