Ch. 646..650

Chapter 646

Sylvia talked with Sebastian for a little while longer, then she watched silently as he went back to his room before returning to her room.

She took a quick shower and prepared to settle in for the night. Then, her phone rang.

It was Thomas who texted her and asked, “Are you sleeping?” Sylvia picked up the phone and replied, “I’m going to bed soon.” Thomas: “Why are you up so late?” Sylvia: “I had to go out to handle something.” Thomas: “What happened?”

Sylvia was not expecting him to press the issue, so she considered for a moment and answered: “Sebastian was worried about Odell and asked me to talk to him, so | went to see

him.” She did not want to lie to him. He replied shortly after: “I see, get some rest.”

Sylvia: “You too.”

After she sent the text, she tossed the phone aside and lay down on the bed. Meanwhile, right outside the gates to her house was a tall, brooding figure standing in the

darkness. It was Thomas. He looked in the direction of Sylvia's bedroom, his phone still in hand. He only turned to leave after Sylvia switched off the lights in her room.

Sylvia drifted in and out of sleep all night. As if possessed by a demon, the scene of Spencer kidnapping her and Tara flashed past her mind every time she closed her eyes. The explanation Odell gave to her last night kept replaying incessantly as well.

He claimed that he had chosen her from the very beginning. He kept explaining to her how he believed that Spencer was trying to set him up and lull him into choosing the woman she cared about most, which was why he ended up choosing Tara to mislead him.

After thinking about it carefully, she realized that what Spencer did was very abnormal.

If he wanted to get revenge so much, killing the person Odell cared about the most would be the best way to appease his wrath. Why did he let Tara go immediately after Odell chose Tara?

The more she thought about it, the more muddled her head became. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that the first light of dawn had glimpsed the sky outside.

She gave up on getting any sleep and headed downstairs after she made her bed.

Aunt Tonya was already awake. She was watching some time-piece drama on the television

while preparing breakfast. Sylvia greeted her briskly and walked out to the yard. Then, she looked at the neighboring house. Odell’s car was nowhere to be seen. He was yet to come home. She frowned and took out her phone, troubled by a frustrating feeling inside her. Before she could type anything on the search bar, a trending headline immediately popped up on the top of the screen. It read, “Carter Corporation shareholders declare intention to vote to remove Odell Carter.” She tapped into the article instantly. The article was very descriptive and according to reports, Carter Corporation had been experiencing internal turmoil since two days ago. Since Odell refused to return to clean up the mess, the shareholders were getting more anxious by the minute. Initially, most of them still voiced support for Odell but over time, their confidence began to waver as Odell’s absence continued. 12

Insider information revealed that most of the major shareholders had decided to hold a general meeting where they would aim to remove Odell from the board. After that, they would move on to find someone capable who could take over and curb the ongoing crisis.

All of these events described above transpired over the last two days, including the shareholder meetings.

There were countless online discussions revolving around the topic. Most people believed that it was very unlikely that Carter Corporation would survive. The corporation’s only lifeline was if some ultra-wealthy plutocrat with an enormous amount of capital swooped in and addressed all the issues with the lack of funding inside the organization.

The consensus was that Odell Carter, the leader of the corporation, would have to be forcefully ejected. Whose fault was it that he chose the comfort of alcohol in these harrowing times?

Many people directed insults at him.

She closed the article after briefly glancing through the comments.

Chapter 647

Suddenly, a silver car swerved in from the side of the road and stopped in front of her.

Sylvia recognized that it was Thomas in the driver’s seat.

She was taken aback. “Thomas?”

Thomas got out of the car and walked up to her, towering over her with his height. “I’m here to see Grandma.” She muttered a curt “Oh.” in response.

Thomas put a hand forward and touched her head, then he stared at her hazel eyes. “Why are you up so early?”

She strained an unconvincing smile. “I just happened to wake up early.” “You have bags under your eyes. Did you not sleep last night?” he asked. She avoided his gaze and brushed it off. “I slept okay.”

He softly rubbed the corner of her eyes with his warm fingertips, his voice was gentle and comforting. “Is there something bothering you?” 1 Sylvia frowned. She was moved by the tenderness in his voice. So moved that she wanted to confide everything in him, but she figured that he would not be pleased to find out that it was about Odell.

Before she could find a way to answer the question, Thomas spoke in a low, mellow voice, “Is it because of my brother?” She immediately cast him a look.

He wore the same understanding expression and said, “I saw the news. The corporation is a mess now and it seems like he’s going to get pushed out.”

Sylvia answered, “I just saw the news too.” Thomas gently patted her head again. “Don’t worry, he’s very resilient. I’m sure nothing bad will happen to him.”

It was true. He was nearly killed by his stepmother before he even reached adolescence and survived all by himself. Surely he was still the same Odell, made of something greater than steel.

However, she could not be so confident when she remembered the way he was relying on alcohol to sustain himself now.

Thomas suddenly caressed her cheeks again with his slender, pointed fingers. A darker tone surfaced in his voice. “I’m going to get upset if you keep worrying about him.”

Sylvia pursed her lips. “I’m sorry Thomas. | didn’t want things to be this way either.”

If only she had not seen the sapphire ring, then Odell would not have told her about all his internal monologue back when Spencer kidnapped her and Tara. She would not be put in this state of mind to begin with. 1

Thomas looked at her frail expression and fell silent for a few seconds. Then, he murmured,” You don’t need to apologize to me. I'm not upset because you're concerned about him. | just don’t want you to get yourself hurt by getting involved with him again.”

Sylvia looked at him with a ruminative look, then she blurted out, “He explained everything to

me. “Explain what?”

Just as she was about to confess, she suddenly took her hand and suggested. “There’s this place that serves really good breakfast. Let’s talk while we eat.” He smiled gently at her. She felt a weight drop off her chest and smiled pleasantly back at him. 1 After that, she got into the car with him. They arrived at the restaurant she talked about shortly after. Thomas requested a private room upstairs. The two of them sat face to face and Sylvia explained everything to him, including the rhetoric behind why Odell had chosen Tara instead of her. 1 After listening to her explanation, he commented, “His explanation sounds reasonable enough.” She stayed silent. She doubted that Odell would lie to her as well. Besides, he was not the type to lie. Thomas poured her a drink and said, “But | think he has this strange obsession with that Tara girl. It does seem like he cares a lot about her as well.” Sylvia sighed. “It’s all because of the ring.” Thomas’ hand that was holding a glass suddenly stiffened. He paused for a moment before reverting to his natural state and asked with an inquiring look, “What ring?”

“There was this rainy night many years ago where | rescued him in an alley in the old district. Back then, we barely saw each other's faces and didn’t know each other’s names but before he left, he gave me a sapphire ring. | was very close with Tara back then and she fell in love with the ring the moment she saw it, so | gave it to her. That’s how Odell came to mistake her as the one who saved him that night instead of me.”

Chapter 648 Asharp silence took over the moment Sylvia disclosed these past events. Sylvia assumed that Thomas was baffled by the tale and chuckled self-deprecatingly. “You think it’s absurd too, don’t you?”

He clenched his hand into a ball of fist underneath the table, but hung a faint smile on his lips. “It’s pretty incredible, | admit.” After a pause, he asked again, “Does that mean he realized that you were the one who saved him all along?”

“Yeah, Tara ended up returning the ring to him. It was sometime around when you took me to Lush Heaven with Isabel and Liam to visit him. After that, | paid him another visit and that’s when | accidentally saw the ring.” An awkward silence descended upon them again. She sensed that something was off and stole a look at him. His handsome expression seemed to beam underneath the ceiling lights. She could see her own reflection inside his hazel eyes. He spoke suddenly, “So, are you planning to go back to him?” This flustered her and invoked a sense of guilt that came out of nowhere. “I never even thought about that, Thomas.” He curled his lips into a faint smile. “We're not officially together yet so you can go back to him if you want to.” “I won't ever get back together with him again,” she declared firmly, “There was some misunderstanding between us, that’s true. But it doesn’t erase all the hurt he’s done to me in the past.”

The pain he caused her was not something that can be erased with mere explanations and the evidence of the sapphire ring. Asoft, endearing look returned to Thomas’s eyes. He suggested, “So does that mean we can begin dating officially?” Something gleamed in Sylvia’s eyes, and she stammered for words, “I... I...”

“You haven't made up your mind?” he asked. She avoided his gaze and grunted, “Hm.”

This was all too sudden so she was unprepared. “Is two days enough for you?”

“Two days?” She was still registering what he said. He grinned and stated, “Two days for you to consider whether you would become my girlfriend.”

She felt her cheeks radiating with heat. “Okay.”

He looked at her with a profound look, then he added, “You can choose to return to him after these two days if you want to. However, if you promise to be my girlfriend, | won’t simply give you up anymore.”

He declared with a sharp, resolute tone.

Sylvia pursed her lips. “Okay.”

After breakfast, she went back home with Thomas. He promptly went to see Madam Carter while she returned to her room. Isabel and Liam were already up.

By the time she entered the room, Liam had already put on a shirt and a pair of denim trousers with suspenders. He was busy helping his sister with the collar of her shirt. Upon noticing her, Isabel rushed to her and asked, “Mommy, Aunt Tonya told us you went out. Where have you been?” Sylvia patted her head and said, “Your uncle is here to see Great-grandma. Mommy was having breakfast with him just now.” Isabel's eyes lit up. “Uncle is here?” “Yes, he’s visiting Great-grandmother next door.” “I want to see Great-grandma too!” She wrung herself free from Sylvia’s arms and bolted outside. Sylvia emitted a soft sigh, then she took Liam’s hand and left the room.

Aunt Tonya had just made breakfast. It was a special ndodle dish that the children loved. Since it did not seem like Isabel was going to come downstairs anytime soon, Sylvia ate a little more than usual with Liam and Aunt Tonya.

Shortly after they finished eating, two figures of different sizes emerged. Isabel had a bunch of treats in her arms and was lying comfortably in Thomas’ arms. The moment she showed up, she announced at the top of her voice, “Mommy, Uncle says that he’s going to bring us somewhere very fun!” Sylvia turned to Thomas.

Chapter 649

Thomas smiled at Sylvia. “There’s this new children’s clubhouse that opened in the new district. There are all kinds of activities going on there which I think should be very fun for Isabel and Liam.”

With Isabel being so excited, there was no reason that Sylvia should refuse. She turned to Liam and asked, “Liam, do you want to go?”

He stared blankly at Thomas.

Isabel was worried Liam would not want to go and quickly urged, “Liam, lets’ go. Lets’ go!”

Liam gave a curt answer, “Okay.” Sylvia turned to Thomas and smiled faintly. “Alright Thomas, we'll leave in a bit.” “Alright.”

Just as Thomas described, there were all kinds of fun activities in the children’s clubhouse. There were even some high-tech installations that offered virtual gaming experiences such as the spacewalk simulator. Isabel had a blast. Even Liam enjoyed some of the simulations. There was also an escape room designed for a family-sized group. There were several tricky stages, but Thomas and Liam managed to effortlessly solve the puzzles. Even Isabel, who was always obsessed with messing around, managed to find important clues so they could pass the level. Sylvia barely had to contribute anything and they all made it out.

The day came to a close before they realized it. The sky had darkened by the time they stepped out of the clubhouse. Thomas drove in the driver's seat.

Sylvia and the children were seated in the backseat. The children were worn out from the day’s activity and fell asleep next to Sylvia shortly after getting in the car.

Even Sylvia was a little exhausted after they left the clubhouse. She was absent-mindedly scrolling through her phone when she saw another article on Carter Corporation that immediately jolted her awake.

It was quiet inside the car. She peered outside the car windows and looked at the cityscape at night. Soon, the car stopped in front of the house.

Thomas turned to the backseat and announced, “Sylvia, we’re here.”

Sylvia immediately recollected herself. They carried a child each and took them back to their room to settle in for the night. Then, the two of them went to the living room.

Aunt Tonya smiled very politely and cheerily at Thomas. “Thomas, sit down and have some

tea.”

He answered politely with a friendly smile, “Sure.”

He sat on the couch.

Sylvia was going to walk him out and was not expecting Aunt Tonya to invite Thomas for a cup of tea. She ended up sitting on the couch as well.

After Aunt Tonya set the brewed tea for them, she informed dutifully, “Take your time, you two. I’m going out for a walk.”

With that, she vanished.

Sylvia pursed her lips meekly. Thomas turned to her. “You don’t look very good. Are you tired?” She avoided his gaze and answered, “Maybe a little.”

He drew closer to her, making sure to still keep a respectable, short distance from her. Then he broached the topic. “Carter Corporation is on the news again. Have you seen it?” She did not lie to him and grunted, “Yeah.” “Looks like my brother is still shacked up at Lush Heaven.” She frowned. “I guess so.” As she said this, she felt the cool touch of his fingertips pressed against her brows. She slowly turned to him and met the soft gaze in his eyes. He was gently massaging her brows and temple. “You're frowning. Are you worried about him?

“I'm not,” she said defensively. He smiled. “I won’t be angry. | just don’t want you to be in a bad mood because of him.” “Thomas, you don’t have to be so good to me, 1 —

Before she could finish, her voice was muffled by his finger pressed against her lips. She zipped her lips shut.

He looked at her tenderly. “Even though | don’t have a legitimate profession, the projects | have invested in these years have paid off remarkably well. | also have shares in Carter Corporation, so | managed to save up a decent amount of money this way. Even if Carter Corporation goes down, | will do what | can to help Odell. He’s my brother after all.”

Chapter 650

Something warm glowed in Sylvia’s eyes. Just as she was about to voice her opinion, a sharp and intent look surfaced in Thomas’ eyes. Even the very air around him seemed to solidify. He declared, “I'll see to it that he will not be reduced to poverty, so there’s no need for you to worry about him or concern yourself with this news concerning the state of Carter Corporation.”

With that, he removed his finger from her lips. Sylvia smiled and thanked him sincerely, “Thank you, Thomas. I’ll stop worrying myself over these matters.”

Now that she had Thomas’ word, she finally could stop worrying about Odell.

With Thomas’ help, it was very feasible for Odell to recover from this and make a comeback in the future. She only needed Odell to live through this and stand on his two feet so the children have a father to turn to.

She felt a weight lift off her chest. Finally, she could breathe easily again. Thomas turned up his wrist and looked at the time on his watch. Then he urged, “It’s getting late, you should get some rest.”

He rose. Sylvia got up and offered, “Let me walk you out.” He swept a glance at her. “Alright.”

Cold tuffs of wind blew across the night sky. Sylvia had just stepped out of the doorway and a gust of wind swept past her and made a mess of her hair, sweeping them all over her face. She tried to pry her hair away from her face.

Thomas was one step ahead of her. He briskly gathered her hair into a small clump and tucked them behind her ears. She turned to look at him.

He stood like a totem in front of her and gazed into her eyes.

The streetlamp shone on them.

In just one glance, she could vividly see his genuine feelings, passion, and fervent for her.

Something flickered in her eyes. She tried to lower her head to avert his gaze. Thomas moved his hand from the back of her head to her chin and softly raised her chin to look at him again.

Immediately afterward, he lowered himself and planted a light, gentle kiss on her forehead. His lips were soft to the touch. Sylvia felt as if she had been electrocuted. Her body stiffened and her eyes widened.

Thomas let go of her after the kiss. A faint red shade began to color his pale cheeks as he mumbled shyly, “Sorry, | couldn’t hold back.”

She broke out into a hearty chuckle upon seeing him in this state. “It's okay. Hurry up and get home. Drive safely.”

“Alright.” With that, he turned and got into the car.

The silver car came to life as its engines rumbled.

Sylvia waited for the car to drive away before turning back to the house.

Meanwhile, across the dark road and underneath the shade of trees diagonally across her gates was a black car hidden from view. It had been parked there since Thomas and Sylvia returned home with the children and never left since.

There was nothing but dead silence inside the car. The air inside was stagnant.

The driver as well as Cliff who was seated in the passenger seat held their breaths and kept their mouth shut the entire time, afraid to even utter a single whisper.

In the backseat was Odell’s broad figure. Through the car windows, he gaped at Sylvia who was just stepping into the living room

There was impenetrable darkness inside his eyes. His body exuded a bone-chilling air that made the driver and Cliff want to escape from the car and make a run for it.

After what seemed like forever, when the driver and Cliff were on the verge of suffocating, Odell suddenly broke the silence. “When are the shareholders holding their meeting?”

Cliff gulped and answered cautiously, “Tomorrow, at 3p.m. in the afternoon.” Three p.m. tomorrow afternoon.

Odell glanced at the time on his watch, nineteen hours to go. He pressed his knuckles together and cracked his fingers one by one. The crunch of bones resounded in the car and echoed unendingly.

He shut his eyes to suppress the vicious, murderous intent that felt like it was going to lunge out of his body.

After a while, he asked, “Is everything arranged?” Cliff promptly answered, “Everything has been arranged, all according to your instructions