Ch. 1191..1200

Chapter 1191

Sally raised her eyes, revealing a glint of coldness. Beatrix shuddered at her intimidating aura as Sally retorted, "Cooper is my husband. Is there an issue with me bringing him here?"

"Well, only you know if he's your genuine husband," retorted Beatrix. "Everyone knows what General Loake did, and you're no longer the commander's daughter, so why would Cooper take a liking to you?" Beatrix paused for a moment before raising her voice. "I bet he's only after your body!"

The group of heiresses behind Beatrix could not contain their laughter.

Sally furrowed her brows. She could not understand why these women did not seem to grow intellectually. Every time they wanted to embarrass her, they only had one tactic-verbal insults, and it was always the same kind of insults. Sally had grown sick of it.

Seeing Sally frown, Beatrix thought she had hit a sore spot and embarrassed her. It made Beatrix feel good.

She continued, "All of us know you married Cooper to get your father out of prison. Tsk, to think a commander's daughter, once pure and esteemed, would choose to sacrifice herself for the Loake family and her loved one."

Sally waited for Beatrix to finish her ramblings before she replied indifferently, "So you think Cooper is not my husband? Well, we have officially registered our marriage. Of course, I'm pure and esteemed. Have you seen me fooling around with any men before I married?"

With a smirk, Sally added, "I can't say the same for you, though. You seem to enjoy destroying other people's relationships. I remember you once used your connection with the Gaudette family to strike someone's girlfriend down. I'm not capable of that."

Sally despised engaging in verbal insults, but that did not mean she was mediocre at it.

She then turned toward the group of heiresses and warned, "If you have a boyfriend, you better be wary. This person is known to snatch other people's boyfriends. Moreover, Eurydice is her cousin. You will have nowhere to address your grievances if your partners catch her eyes."

Beatrix's face flushed with rage when she saw how Sally's words turned the group of heiresses against her.

Beatrix had heard of an incident whereby Josephine invited Sally to have fun at a bar. In the end, Josephine and her friends humiliated Sally such that she could not counterattack and left pathetically. How is it that she became so good at talking back today?

Beatrix was so enraged that she started to blabber, "So what if you have registered your marriage with Cooper? You're still selling your body!"

Just then, a tall figure approached them. He bent slightly and put one arm around Sally's waist.

Sally let her guard down when she smelled a familiar scent. She turned her head to look at the man. "What brings you here? I thought you were talking to someone earlier."

"I missed you," Cooper answered gently and lowered his head to kiss her ear.

Although his words were arousing, the way he said them was too intentional. Sally felt her goosebumps coming out and was slightly disgusted.

Cooper asked concernedly, "Honey, you seem unhappy. What's wrong?"

Sally suppressed the nauseous feeling in her stomach and replied, "Ms. Lowe here claimed that you were only after my body and that I chose to be your lover to save the Loake family." "Well, she's right. I'm indeed infatuated with your body," Cooper answered as a matter of fact.

Beatrix was stunned briefly as she did not expect Cooper to expose Sally in front of everyone. However, she immediately regained her senses. "Ms. Loake, Mr. Sutton already admitted to it. What else do you have to say for yourself?"

"What else does she need to say?" Cooper looked at Beatrix with a smile, but there was no tinge of warmth in that pair of eyes behind the glasses.

Cooper carefully helped to arrange the loose hair strands near Sally's ears. "My wife is pretty and intelligent. Even the mayor's son is interested in her, let alone a humble businessman like me."

Cooper stared at Beatrix. "I am but a normal human being. What's wrong with lusting after my wife's body?"

Chapter 1192

With a smirk, he insulted Beatrix, "Are you saying that your husband isn't sexually attracted to you? Tsk, then you should really reflect on yourself."

Beatrix's face twisted with anger.

Other than Cooper, the rest of the people in that group were women. Even so, Cooper did not hesitate to be brutally straightforward with his words. Her frustration mounted like a wave crashing against the shore, more so when Cooper's statements were technically correct.

His words laced with malice and contempt; Cooper did not allow Beatrix any opportunity to respond. Cutting like a knife into the depths of her heart, he said, "My wife is from a wealthy family, and even though they've fallen from grace, she still decided to marry me. Though I'm not the richest man on earth. I'm still quite loaded. You, on the other hand..."

With a mocking expression, he curled his thin lips and uttered, "You're neither pretty nor smart. Even your husband wasn't originally yours to begin with. You snatched him from his ex-wife! It bemuses me. You have a cousin from the Gaudette family, but you fail to capitalize on that privilege. You could have chosen someone with a strong family background, and yet you settled for a useless guy."

Sally thought she had a sharp tongue, but in comparison with Cooper, she was leagues behind.

Sally nearly burst into laughter. Barely withholding the urge, she looked down and pretended to rub her eyes.

Beatrix never thought that a man, especially one who looked so much like a gentleman, could have such a wicked tongue. A deep frown etched onto her face, and Beatrix was speechless. The other heiresses turned their attention onto her, giggling and snickering.

"Please excuse us. We just married, so I'm quite clingy and will be bringing my wife with me." Cooper grabbed Sally's arm and left.

After leaving the crowd, Sally asked, "Are you not afraid of the Gaudette family seeking revenge?"

"What is there to be afraid of?" Cooper shrugged and glanced at Sally. "We're on the same boat now. Besides, I was protecting you." Sally raised her head and stared at Cooper. Her cold expression softened into a hint of a smile, one that was radiant and natural.

Cooper raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing."

Normally, she was too lazy to argue with anyone and would resolve everything using violence. Yet today, she discovered the joy of provoking a person with words. It was even more amusing when the subject of the tongue-lashing became so infuriated that steam came out of their ears.

This was the first time someone tried to protect her in such a manner.

Sally's eyes darted toward the entrance, and she caught sight of a figure making its way in. She swiftly extricated Cooper's hand from her waist. "I need to go to the restroom. Go talk to Mr. Zane in the meantime."

With that, she turned around and left.

Beatrix was fuming angrily on the other side of the room after her encounter with Sally and Cooper.

However, since it was Margaret's birthday, Eurydice was busy helping her father set up connections with the guests. She was unable to spare a moment to entertain Beatrix.

Beatrix knew all too well that Eurydice would be none too pleased by her interruption.

When Beatrix spotted her mother, her eyes lit up with excitement. She trotted in the latter's direction and tugged Karolina's hand. "Mom. did you get the gift?"

"Of course I got it," Karolina replied.

Beatrix had arrived earlier with Eurydice and the rest of the group. On the other hand, Karolina was fashionably late as she had to search for Margaret's gift.

Beatrix knew about the gift and grew excited. "It isn't Mr. Jennings' true intention to celebrate his mother's birthday with this celebration. With this gift, Uncle Benedict...." "Mind your words!" Karolina interjected Beatrix and stared at her, displeased.

Beatrix immediately realized that what she had said was out of place. She slapped herself on the cheeks and said apologetically, "Mom, I was bullied by Sally just now."

"The Loake family is gone. She has nothing to be arrogant about." Karolina warned Beatrix, "It wasn't easy for us to get an invitation here. Do not mess up. Why can't you be more like Eurydice and learn to swallow your ego?"

Beatrix nodded obediently. Jealousy was the last thing on her mind given her admiration for Eurydice, whom she regarded as practically her second mother.

It was Eurydice who taught her how to bring down Charlotte and her family, even making it so that the person who killed Charlotte's father was Charlotte's own boyfriend's uncle!

Beatrix was eager to discover how Charlotte would react when the truth was revealed.

As for Sally...

Beatrix glanced around the room but could not locate her.

After tonight, Mr. Jennings will definitely stand on Uncle Benedict's side. I will be able to make Sally pay for what she has done then!

Chapter 1193

As Karolina noticed Eurydice speaking to Margaret, she retrieved the gift she had entrusted to the servant and hastily made her way over with Larry.

There, Eurydice introduced Karolina to Margaret.

"Old Mrs. Jennings, may you be blessed with longevity as enduring as the mountains and prosperity as boundless as the sea." Karolina presented a box and continued, "I heard you have a fondness for prayer beads, so I specially brought you this as a gift.”

The box Karolina held was crafted from agarwood and emanated a subtle fragrance, an unmistakable sign of its value.

It would have been considered too precious if the gift was for Andy.

However, considering it was Margaret's seventieth birthday celebration and the number of guests present, offering such an extravagant gift in front of everyone was only natural.

In her youth, Margaret had a special affinity for God and often visited various churches. Hence, she had a collection of prayer beads at home.

Glancing at the box in Karolina's hands, Margaret knew that the prayer beads were undoubtedly of the finest quality. She beamed with delight and accepted the box, expressing her gratitude.

However, when Margaret opened the box, the string of prayer beads suddenly snapped.

The beads clattered out of the box and scattered all over the floor.

Karolina and Eurydice were taken aback by this sudden turn of events, and Margaret's shocked scream attracted the attention of the other guests.

Cooper, who had been conversing with someone else nearby, caught sight of the commotion, and his eyes flickered with intrigue.

He walked over and spoke up in a hushed tone amidst the silence, "When I went to the church, I heard a friar say that the string of prayer beads is like the lifeline of a person. If it breaks, it is not a good omen." Initially displeased by the broken beads, Margaret's face darkened even more upon hearing those words. She was looking downright grim.

At her age, she had long since come to terms with life and death.

However, hearing others remind her that she did not have long to live or that there were ominous signs regarding her future made her uneasy.

Andy arrived and soon learned of what had happened.

His expression became rather grim. "Mdm. Sutcliffe, I am already grateful that you have come to celebrate my mother's birthday. There is no need to bring such a valuable gift."

Karolina immediately became flustered when she saw Andy's unhappy expression. "Mr. Jennings, I bought this string of prayer beads and even checked it over myself. There was no problem with it until just

now."

"So, it's my fault that the beads broke as soon as I opened it?" quipped Margaret.

"No, no, that's not what I meant..." Karolina stammered, her nerves getting the better of her.

Despite her frequent interactions with elitists, Karolina found herself misspeaking under pressure.

Fortunately, Eurydice appeared just in the nick of time to help her out. "Aunt Karolina told me about her desire to purchase prayer beads for you. She also mentioned that you have a penchant for high-quality prayer beads, so she went to great lengths to source a string of fragrant sandalwood beads from an old friar at Dopdur Church."

"However, the old friar has been keeping this particular prayer beads for a long time, so it has not been used in a while. As with an unused guitar string, it's no surprise the thread on the prayer beads could have easily snapped," Eurydice elaborated, painting a plausible picture that made the broken string appear as an unfortunate accident.

Seeing Margaret's brows relax, Eurydice continued in a soft voice, "As someone who believes in God, you must know that some people believe that broken beads could also signify that it has absorbed negative energy and protected its owner from misfortune."

Standing among the crowd, Sally crossed her arms and observed Eurydice as she expertly defused the situation. She leaned over and whispered to Cooper, "I told you she's very composed and eloquent." "So what? That doesn't change the fact that Old Mrs. Jennings still feels uneasy." Cooper chuckled.

Margaret had been a devout believer since her youth, and he was the first to mention that a broken string was an ill omen. Therefore, despite Eurydice's flawless explanation, Margaret would still harbor misgivings.

Cooper bent down and leaned in toward Sally's ear. "You mentioned earlier that you were going to the restroom. Is this what you were really up to?"

It was impressive how Sally managed to sneakily damage the beads without anyone noticing.

Chapter 1194

His breath brushed against Sally's ear, sending a warm and ticklish sensation down her ear.

Nonetheless, she did not avoid him since there were people around. Instead, she leaned closer to him, acting like they were a loving newlywed couple. "Thanks for saying that."

Cooper responded with a faint smile. "You're welcome. I'm glad that we have chemistry."

Somehow, he had sensed that Sally was to blame for Margaret's misfortune and reacted swiftly.

As Cooper guessed, although Margaret believed Eurydice's explanation, she did not accept the prayer beads. The fact that she returned them to Karolina indicated that she was still uneasy. Karolina was anxious and upset by Margaret's action.

She had searched for the prayer beads for some time, hoping they would please Margaret and help improve Andy's and Benedict's relationship. However, she felt disappointed when the gift was not received with gratitude.

While Cooper was chatting with a few veteran politicians, Sally placed her champagne glass on the table.

This time, she went to the restroom for real.

Not long after, Eurydice, too, arrived at the restroom.

Eurydice went there not with the purpose of using the facilities but to wait for Sally. Despite her calm expression, her eyebrows were knitted in concern.

When Sally came out of the cubicle and walked to the sink to wash her hands, Eurydice uttered, "I don't want us to turn on each other, but there's a limit to my patience. I don't like it when people keep stepping on my toes."

Upon hearing that, Sally let out a cold snort.

After taking two pieces of tissue paper from the box to dry her hands, she turned around to glare at Eurydice. "You don't want us to turn on each other, yet you target my family. What does that mean?" Eurydice responded, "Don't you dare blame me. Your father did something wrong in the first place."

"I know what kind of person my father is. I'm his daughter, after all." Sally played along. "My family has lost everything, and my father is in jail. What makes you think I dare to step on your toes, Ms. Gaudette? You better investigate properly before accusing an ordinary folk like me."

Eurydice's face darkened when she heard her sarcastic remark. "I know you were the one who sabotaged the prayer beads."

"How could you blame me? I didn't even touch your Aunt Karolina's gift." Sally's voice turned cold. "Feel free to check the surveillance footage in the banquet hall, Ms. Gaudette."

Eurydice did not bother to check at all.

Karolina had told her the prayer beads were intact when she inspected them back then. Thus, the beads could not have broken when they were presented to Margaret. Eurydice believed Sally was the culprit, but she had no evidence.

Eurydice took a deep breath and said softly, "Your father and mine are close friends. With your father behind bars, my father has tried to help him multiple times."

Sally sneered, "By destroying the evidence and forever branding my father as a rapist who sexually assaulted a minor?"

"I hope you can persuade your father." Eurydice did not want to argue with Sally anymore. "If he's willing to support my father, I will do my best to clear his name. Besides that, once he's released from jail, he'll be reinstated to his former position and given a chance to continuously climb up the ladder."

"My father, Mr. Zane, and General Zeigler are innocent. You guys are at fault," Sally sneered at Eurydice. "Millions of people have worked to get to where they are now, yet the high-level administration became corrupted in just a few decades. And people have had no choice but to pick a side in order to survive in the system. How ridiculous is that?"

Eurydice calmly said, "Without rules, there can be no order. My father did everything with the country's best interests in mind."

Eurydice's words elicited another snort from Sally. "Eurydice, you know very well what the Gaudettes are thinking. If your father takes power, this country will be under the rule of your family." When Sally was about to walk past her and leave the restroom, she stopped in her tracks.

"Armand and Genevieve might be dead, but that doesn't mean anyone can bully their children. They still have an uncle and General Ziegler as their grandfather. Consider this your first and final warning. If you try laying a finger on them again, be prepared to face the music," Sally warned.

"You know I'm good at fighting. Killing someone comes as naturally to me as breathing." She shot Eurydice one last cold glance before leaving.

Eurydice turned around and stared at the closed restroom door. Her face gradually became gloomy.

Chapter 1195

After Sally had returned to the banquet hall, Cooper walked over to her.

The man handed her a glass of champagne and studied the indifferent expression on her face. "You don't look good. Did you bump into someone you didn't want to see in the restroom?"

Sally nodded and replied calmly, "Eurydice wanted me to persuade my father not to oppose the Gaudette family."

Cooper grinned. "Aren't we aware of the consequences of opposing the Gaudettes?"

Sally took a sip of the champagne and suppressed her dissatisfaction. "Have you talked to Mr. Jennings?"

"What makes you think I, an ordinary businessman, have a chance to talk to him when he has invited distinguished guests like the mayor?" Cooper massaged his forehead. "He probably won't bother to entertain me at all."

Surprised, Sally turned around to look at him. "But you're good with words, aren't you?"

"Are you mocking me?" Cooper narrowed his eyes and flicked her forehead with his finger to express his displeasure.

The flick on the forehead was gentle, so Sally decided to let it go.

After glancing at a spot in the hall, Cooper whispered, "Mr. Jennings didn't want to take sides at first. Now that Robert has cleared his name and will soon be reinstated, however, Mr. Jennings might use the prayer beads incident as a convenient excuse to avoid confronting Mr. Gaudette for a while."

Individuals holding positions in public administration had to be cautious of the choices they made. Choosing the wrong side would mean being subjected to an investigation, which could mark the end of their prosperous days.

Sally was able to read between the lines. She gave him a faint smile and said, "It seems we did Mr. Jennings a favor just now."

"Just think of it as helping each other." They came here to prevent Andy from siding with Benedict.

Suddenly, Cooper embraced Sally and whispered, "Don't you feel everything seems to have quietened down following Stefan's death?"

Although it was Stefan who set up the trap that landed Gerald in prison, the Gaudettes had also taken the opportunity to wipe out the Loakes.

Likewise, they also wanted to get rid of Sally. That was why they had been monitoring her every movement in secret.

In other words, Gaudette's men must have learned that Sally had made a trip to Baykeep.

Sally kept silent for a while before answering softly, "I always felt that Stefan was incapable of executing the plan alone. I suspect he might have cooperated with the Gaudette family."

"Suspect? Come on. I can even feel it in my bones." Cooper smirked. "Even if everyone knows that Stefan is not Gerald's biological son, he still carries that same family name. Everyone turned their attention to you when General Loake was in trouble, but no one thought of him."

Sally had long suspected this, but all the while, she had treated him like a younger brother since he had grown up in the Loake household.

Despite having her doubts, Sally refrained from overthinking the situation because she considered him a part of her family.

Now that Cooper had helped ascertain her suspicions, Sally felt upset and quietly downed her champagne in one gulp.

Cooper glanced sideways at the banquet hall, appearing to have noticed something. Suddenly, he leaned over and whispered a few words into Sally's ear.

After hearing Cooper's words, Sally remained motionless and hummed in response.

Cooper then took the empty champagne glass from Sally's hand and left. Soon after, a group of men abruptly entered the banquet hall.

Despite their casual attire, they exuded an unmistakable air of authority.

The man in charge scanned the crowd before striding toward Sally and handing her an arrest warrant. "Miss Sally Loake, we suspect you are involved in a murder case!" he declared.

Sally remained silent but cooperated by extending her hands and following the plainclothes police officers. The onlookers were left stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Meanwhile, Cooper was also handcuffed and taken away alongside her.

Chapter 1196

Karolina was in a foul mood because of the prayer beads. Fearing that she would make her mother angry by saying the wrong words, Beatrix made sure to keep her distance from Karolina.

When Beatrix saw a group of plainclothes officers barging in to cuff Sally and Cooper before taking them away in front of everyone, she found herself delighted to witness Sally's embarrassment. However, at the same time, she was baffled.

Why is Sally getting taken away all of a sudden?

Beatrix raked her gaze across the crowd and saw Eurydice. Although Eurydice only gave her a glance, Beatrix immediately understood what her cousin meant.

She squeezed through the crowd to the front to sneak a few shots of photos, eager to upload them on the internet.

Soon, the news of Specter Corporation's director-cum-CEO getting brought to the police station spread like wildfire on media websites. Even Specter Corporation's shares were getting affected by it. The company's public relations department hastily started working to resolve the issue.

On the other side of things, once Sally and Cooper were brought to the station, they were led to different interrogation rooms.

Two officers sat down in front of Sally, and one of them asked, "Were you the one who killed Stefan Loake?"

Sally's expression was as icy as her tone. "Stefan's my little brother. Why would I kill him?"

"How dare you lie to us? We've already investigated that hotel," said the officer in a stern voice. "Stefan invited you to meet at the hotel, and he went missing after that. Even Ninette Dawson, the girl involved in your father's case, is dead. Were you the one who killed her too?"

At that, Sally lifted her head to glance at the two police officers with an indifferent look. "Stefan's missing because I sent him overseas for studies. I was the one who sent him to Baykeep Airport that afternoon, and you can check the airport's surveillance cameras to verify my words. As for Ninette..."

A pause later, she continued, "I believe my father's been wrongfully accused, and I've been looking for ways to prove his innocence. Ninette's the witness for that. If Ninette dies, there's no way I'll ever be able to clear him from the accusations of being a rapist of a minor. In fact, my wish for her to be safe and sound is far stronger than yours. Why would I want to kill her?"

The police officers fell silent.

No matter how harsh their interrogations went, Sally could always respond to them in a logical manner.

In the end, they had no choice but to take Sally to a cell.

Half an hour later, the police got their hands on Baykeep Airport's surveillance footage of that particular day.

In the footage, they saw Stefan's figure. The airport staff also told them that there was indeed a traveler named Stefan Loake on one of the flights to Luceras. Cooper's statement was similar to Sally's.

Due to Gerald's incident, Sally was afraid that her brother would be shunned by the others in school, so she and Cooper decided to send Stefan to study abroad instead.

As they often stayed in that hotel at Baykeep, they chose to meet Stefan there. After their chat, Cooper then went to the hospital to visit Herbert while Sally sent Stefan to the airport.

Right as the police officers were stumped by the case, Specter Corporation's lawyers came.

The lawyers then showed the police the relevant surveillance footage and statements to prove that Stefan was still alive. Once they proved that there was nothing suspicious about Sally and Cooper, the police had no choice but to let the two go.

Around six in the morning, Sally and Cooper finally left the station.

Cooper dismissed the lawyers and hailed a cab by the side of the road before returning to Swallow Garden with Sally.

As Cooper looked out of the car window at the entrance of the police station zooming past them, the memories of the past flooded his mind. "The dumbest thing I've done when I was younger was sending Genev to the police station."

Back then, he had been blinded by hatred-he despised the Rachford family.

He did not care about how the Rachford family had raised him for over twenty years as he killed Wayne and his wife. As the impressionable individual he was back then, he did not even spare Genevieve. He nearly killed her.

Cooper rubbed his eyes and put his glasses back on before turning to Sally.

After a while of staring at her, he continued, "Armand was working with Genev back then, but he was still discreetly setting her up. Frankly, you're so much luckier than Genev. You're only taking care of the two kids for me, but I have to take care of so many matters for you. I'm not even setting up a trap for you."

Perhaps the whole fiasco with Genevieve was the reason why. When Cooper found out that the Loake family had collapsed and that Sally had become all alone in the world, his heart ached for her.

He tried to help Sally out in an attempt to alleviate his guilt-a gesture of atonement.

It was a way to tell himself, See? I'm not that bad. I'm still a good brother.

Chapter 1197

Without a doubt, Sally knew that she would not be treated this nicely if she were to work for someone else.

Furthermore, Cooper was a man of his word, and he spent no time dilly-dallying.

When he said he was going to help her get Robert out, he did pull out all the stops to look into Edward. Before she could even unearth anything in her investigation, he was almost done with his. He was smart, too. He could predict what his opponents were going to do, and he would make arrangements to counter their actions.

Anyone would fall for a capable and intelligent man like him.

His gentleness was like the dripping of water on a rock, slowly but steadily worming his way into her heart.

Only after Cooper was done speaking did Sally say, "Are you close to Armand?"

Cooper narrowed his eyes. "In what way?"

"I used to find your facial features rather similar when the two of you stood together," Sally quietly said. "I also heard that your father used to be in a relationship with Samantha Faulkner." "Mhm. Everything you heard about was true," Cooper muttered as he leaned back in the seat.

Even though Ayden had gotten his people to erase the news about Zachary and Samantha's relationship back when he was still alive, Sally, as a child of the Loake family, would not have any trouble finding the truth of the matter.

Just a simple answer from Cooper, and Sally already figured out everything. Arching a brow, she said, "It seems like intelligence is something that can be inherited."

After that, the two of them fell silent until the cab reached Swallow Garden.

Having been locked up in the cell for an entire day, Sally had not been able to get a chance to wash her face. Thus, the first thing she did upon returning to Swallow Garden was to head to the bedroom on the second floor to shower.

By the time she was done showering and had gotten changed, she went back downstairs to find a towering figure working away in the kitchen.

Realizing that it was Cooper who was preparing breakfast, she folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "Mr. Sutton, I thought you didn't know how to cook."

"Not cooking, but I'm all right with making breakfast," Cooper replied without turning around.

He was already done with his shower, and he had changed into a set of brown loungewear as he made beef burgers by the stove.

Once he put the beef patty, cheese slice, tomato slices, and pickles on the toasted bread, he squeezed some sauce on the burger as a finishing touch.

After wrapping the burger with food wrap, he passed it to Sally and said, "Try it."

Sally walked further into the kitchen to take it. Upon lowering her head to bite the burger, she realized that the bread was toasted to perfection and the patty was tender. "It's delicious." "I'm glad to hear that," was Cooper's relieved response.

As Sally continued digging into the burger, she glanced at him and commented, "It sounds like this is your first time making breakfast. Am I the lab rat?"

"It isn't my first time. I've been studying under the chef at the cafeteria for a long while." Despite his words, Cooper had not actually tried the beefburgers and bacon sandwiches he had made himself.

As he put some orange and pineapple slices into the blender, he went on, "But you're the first one to try the breakfast I've made."

Cooper was worried that his food would not taste good. Coincidentally, Sally came downstairs while he was fretting over that, so he decided to get her to try his cooking first. If it truly turned out to be bad, he would then have the time to get the housekeeper to remake breakfast for the two children.

Once the orange and pineapple slices were blended, he filled half a glass of juice and handed it to Sally. "Try this too."

Sally did not speak.

She could guess that it was also his first time blending juice, meaning he was using her as a lab rat again.

Nevertheless, she took the glass and sipped from it.

Cooper kept his head hung as he studied her expression. Even though he could not decipher what was on her mind, he guessed that the juice could not be that terrible as it was made from fruits. However, when he heard nothing from her, he asked, "Is it good?"

"Would you like to find out?" With that, Sally wrapped her hand around the man's neck to pull him toward her before kissing him with her cold lips.

In the next instant, Cooper wrapped an arm around her waist as he supported himself with a hand on the counter.

He could taste the pineapple on her lips-sweet and sour-and the faint scent of shower gel wafting from her. All these combined were making him lose his sanity.

Chapter 1198

Sally moved away to stare at him with her dark, cold eyes. "You're hard."

"It'll be strange if I don't react to your flirtations."

Fortunately, Cooper was wearing loose loungewear, and there were no housekeepers on the first floor. That saved him from a moment of embarrassment. Sally gave him a small smile, but she did not let go of his neck. "It's only seven in the morning. It'll be the perfect time for breakfast an hour later."

"Am I that useless that an hour is enough?" Cooper knew what she was talking about, and he was displeased.

"Then... an hour and a half?"

He could only take in a deep breath in response.

An hour and a half later. Cooper changed into a new set of loungewear and went back down the stairs with Sally.

By then, Amanda and her brother were having breakfast by the table.

"Uncle Cooper, you seem happy," Amanda remarked when she looked at Cooper. As she bit into her burger, she beamed and asked, "Is Aunt Sally going to have a baby?"

"Am I not allowed to be happy even if Aunt Sally doesn't have a baby?" A laugh escaped Cooper as he walked over to the girl. "Is the burger nice?"

"Mhm!" Amanda nodded. "It's yummier than the ones you buy in restaurants!"

Cooper was delighted to hear her compliments. As he wiped the bread crumbs from the corner of her lips with a piece of tissue, he said, "I'll make more for you if you want them next time." Amanda then glanced at Sally before turning back at Cooper. "Uncle Cooper."

"Hm?"

She raised her head to look at Cooper curiously. "Have you taken wedding photos with Aunt Sally?"

"No..." Cooper was not expecting that question from her.

Although he had married Sally, both were only in a mutually beneficial relationship, and they were going to get divorced once everything was settled. That was something he knew well, and so did Sally.

"You married Aunt Sally, but you didn't take wedding photos?" Amanda exclaimed. "I've seen Uncle Tim and Aunt Jojo's wedding photos! They were stunning!"

Timothy had chosen to frame and hang up a few of his wedding photos with Johanna on the second floor's corridor.

When Amanda was living at their place, she would see her godparents' wedding photos every time she walked down the corridor, and she found them beautiful.

It was then Amanda began to look forward to seeing her parents take wedding photos and her becoming the flower girl.

In the end, her wait lasted until now.

Hearing nothing but silence from Cooper prompted Amanda to tug his sleeve and say, "Uncle Cooper, why don't you skip work today and take wedding photos with Aunt Sally instead?" As if he could read her mind, Cooper asked, "Mandy, are you thinking about being a flower girl?"

"No! I just think Aunt Sally's so pretty, and if you take wedding photos and hang them up in the corridor or your room, you'll get to see pretty Aunt Sally every morning when you open your eyes!" Then, she quietly added, "But of course, I want to be a flower girl too. I want to wear pretty dresses."

"All right, then. I won't go to the office today," Cooper dotingly said as he pinched her cheeks.

To Amanda, he and Sally married because they loved each other. Therefore, he would satisfy all of the girl's requests so that she would not think otherwise.

Lifting his head and turning toward Sally, he asked, "Do you have any bridal shops in mind?"

"No," Sally answered.

Thus, Cooper called Bertilla. Once he was done giving work instructions to Bertilla, he asked him to check upscale bridal shops in Jadeborough before telling him to send the addresses of those shops. Soon, Bertilla sent him the name of a bridal shop One-which was located in the north and would take them an hour and a half s drive to get there.

The designers in the shop were all internationally famous designers, and their orders were backlogged all the way to the year after next. Besides customizing bridal wear, they also provided services like wedding photoshoots.

The people in the shop knew Cooper and were aware that he was an exceptionally wealthy man.

Therefore, not only were the staff extremely enthusiastic in greeting them, but they even took out the sample boards meant for only the most distinguished guests.

Amanda then asked Cooper and Lucian to wait for them downstairs.

She even solemnly said to Cooper, "The groom can only see his bride in her gown after entering the church. So, Uncle Cooper, even though this is just a wedding photoshoot, you can't see her first." "All right," said Cooper with a smile and a nod.

Chapter 1199

Men's wear was only available in black and white-the only difference between the suits was the styles, so Cooper and Lucian took ten minutes before making their decision.

After that, they went to the patio to play chess.

It was a game that Cooper often played, and he was sure that he was a pretty good player. However, after getting defeated by Lucian twice in a row, he was starting to doubt everything in his life.

As a matter of fact, the boy would use his phone while he was waiting for Cooper to make his move. At that, Cooper asked, "Luc, are you cheating and making me play against an Al?" Chess-playing expert systems were meticulous, and even world champions were defeated by them. If Cooper was playing against an artificial intelligence like that, it would be no surprise that he was losing. "Do I really need an Al to help me out if I'm playing against you, Uncle Cooper?" Lucian replied in disdain.

He then lifted his phone to show its screen to Cooper. "Uncle Cooper, you're too slow in making your moves, so I've been playing chess on my phone as well. The guy I'm playing against here is even faster than you in making his moves."

Cooper was rendered speechless for a while before he asked, "Have you ever played chess with your father?"

"I have. He's a little better than you."

Upon registering the gleeful look on Lucian's face, Cooper guessed that Armand had to have lost plenty of times against his son in chess, so his mood lifted again.

Kids' brains are more active than ours. It's no surprise that they're smarter.

Right as they were done with their third round, a member of the staff came over to say, "Mr. Sutton, Mrs. Sutton has gone to the site with the photographer. Please come with us. We'll send you there as well." Cooper hummed in response before taking the shop's car to an Epean-styled manor with Lucian.

By the time they arrived, it was almost one in the afternoon.

However, the sun was not blinding that day. Instead, it draped a pleasantly warm blanket on everyone beneath it.

After entering the manor, Cooper spotted a few people on the field a distance away. There, a woman in a black wedding dress was standing with her back toward him.

The woman's black wedding dress was a fitting, spaghetti-strapped dress. The veil draped on her shoulders and back was like a thin dark mist that brought a sense of surrealism to her entire being.

All kinds of colors surrounded her, yet the stark contrast of her dark figure against her background caught his attention oh-so- easily.

"Uncle Cooper!" Amanda waved at Cooper.

The designer had picked a red layered dress for Amanda, and the girl adored how she looked like a princess in it.

When Sally heard Amanda calling out for Cooper, she subconsciously turned toward his direction.

She looked poised and aloof in her black dress as she stood in the middle of the green field.

It was as if she was a thorny rose.

Cooper had only come to the wedding photoshoot with Sally to make the children happy, but at that very moment, he found himself lost in a daze as he stared at her. Even when he was with Jane, his desire to get married had not been that intense; he could sense that Jane was in love with him, but he only had some feelings for her. However, upon seeing Sally in the wedding dress, he felt a strong desire to truly have her as his wife.

No matter how sharp her thorns were, he was going to take her away from the fields and keep her for himself.

Cooper was startled by the abrupt thought. It was then he realized that men could truly be enamored with someone just from witnessing the person's beauty.

That was what was happening to him at that moment.

Meanwhile, it was Sally's first time seeing a look like that on Cooper's face, and she could not help but curl her lips.

"It seems like I look fine."

"No, Aunt Sally, you don't just look fine; you look sensational!" Amanda turned to Cooper and giggled. "Uncle Cooper, it's so embarrassing to see how stunned you are by Aunt Sally's beauty!" Cooper snapped back to his senses at the girl's teasing. Clearing his throat, he then turned to the photographer to ask when they were going to take the photos.

The photoshoot did not take long; they were done in two hours.

When the photographer went through the photos, he wistfully commented about how it was rare for him to meet couples who looked like they were a match made in heaven and how they seemed to complement each other perfectly during the photoshoot.

Usually, they would take over four hours for a set of photos when they did wedding photoshoots.

Amanda enjoyed herself thoroughly, and when they were on their way back to the city, she exclaimed, "Uncle Cooper, when is my daddy coming back? I miss him and Mommy so much!"

Chapter 1200

"Soon." Cooper tore open a pack of gummies and handed it to Amanda. "Your mommy needs to recover before she can hold a wedding with your daddy. Isn't that right?"

"Right." Amanda did not doubt a word Cooper had said.

After shoving a few pieces of candy into her mouth, she poked her head through the space between the front seats to look at Cooper. "Then when are you holding a wedding with Aunt Sally?" "About that..." Cooper glanced at Sally, who was driving, from the corner of his eye before replying with a half-smile, "Her family has to be there, so we must wait for her father to return to hand her off." "As Mommy's brother, you'll be at the wedding to see her off, right?" inquired Amanda.

"That's right. You're so clever."

It was past five o'clock in the evening when the car arrived at Swallow Garden.

Amanda did not want to walk, so she wheedled Cooper into carrying her.

"Are you satisfied with the arrangements today, Uncle Cooper?" whispered Amanda into Cooper's ear after looking at Sally, who was ahead of them.

Cooper was stunned for a moment but quickly realized what the girl was talking about. "Why?"

"That's because Mommy said that if you live alone for a long time, you'll be prone to depression, and when you're no longer fit to work, she'll have to take over. However, she doesn't like to work." Then, Amanda added with a grin, "Mommy wanted me to play matchmaker for you. Even though I don't know many attractive women, Lucian and I both like Aunt Sally a lot. Not only is she beautiful, but she also has a pretty cool personality. On top of that, I think she likes you too."

After hearing that, Cooper asked with a smile as a glint of light flashed across his expressionless eyes, "Why do you think so?"

"That's because sometimes when Aunt Sally looks at you, her eyes sparkle," answered Amanda before patting Cooper on the shoulder. "Uncle Cooper, you have to be more understanding, you know? After all, Aunt Sally's a woman."

After some thought, Amanda added, "Don't let depression get to you, Uncle Cooper. You have to remember to always be in a good mood!"

Amused by the girl's words, Cooper had no choice but to nod with a chuckle.

Cooper had lived in hatred for the first half of his life, and after having gone through so much, he got sick of relationships and life in general. The only joy he had was brought to him by his niece and nephew.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sutton," greeted Melissa at the door before helping to carry Sally's items. “Mr. Jensen arrived an hour ago.”

"Uncle Tim is here?" Amanda's eyes immediately lit up before she squirmed out of Cooper's arms and hurried into the living room.

When Amanda saw Timothy reading a magazine on the couch, she excitedly ran to him, and in turn, the man put down the magazine to embrace the little girl.

"I've missed you and Aunt Jojo so much! I wanted to play with Asel so badly!" Amanda then kissed Timothy a few times. "However, I didn't dare visit because Uncle Cooper said Aunt Jojo was pregnant, and I worried we would bump into Aunt Jojo by accident while playing."

"Asel misses you very much too..." Timothy could not help but feel guilty when he looked at the little girl's delicate face.

He had always treated Amanda and Lucian like his own. Ever since Amanda started calling him Uncle Tim, Timothy had promised he would take good care of her, but he had failed to do so.

Back when Johanna disappeared, he completely neglected the two children.

On top of that, Timothy blamed everything on Genevieve even though he knew she was emotionally unstable and that Armand was simply doing his best to protect her.

Timothy could not help but be disgusted at himself.

Seeing the man's eyes suddenly welling up, Amanda extended her petite hand to wipe them. "I know you haven't seen me in a long while, but you don't have to cry, Uncle Tim. Men shouldn't..." Despite her bes effort, Amanda forgot the rest of the saying. "The point is you shouldn't cry, Uncle Tim. It's embarrassing."

"Mandy," called out Cooper as he entered the living room. "Are you going to serve him just water? Don't you think you should get some fruit too?"

"Yeah. I'll get right on it." After climbing off of Timothy, Amanda hurried into the kitchen excitedly.