Ch. 621..630

Chapter 621

Afier they sat down, Genevieve turned to Charlotte and asked, "Isn'this a show? Why are there only women here?"

**This is your first time, isn't it?" Charlotte lattceller fyrs at Genevieve playfully and continued in a mysterious tone, "You'll understand soon."

However, Genevieve could make a rough guess aller vaguely overhearing the conversation between the ladies behind her.

Jane also had a hunch. She picked up a glass of champagne and handed it to Genevieve, "Several bars in Nedells offer such entertainment too. However, I've been poorly since young, so I've never cven stepped foot in a bar. Since I'm here, I should see what it's all about."

In truth, humans were prurient beings. Since she had the opportunity to watch handsome men showing of their well-built bodies, Genevieve was also reluctant to miss out.

Soon, the lights in the dance hall dimmed. Then, one handsome man after another with tiny waists, broad shoulders, narrow hips, and long legs strutted onto the stage and started stripping off their clothes. As soon as the men revealed their toned and sculpted abs, Genevieve finally realized why they had to put away their phones upon entering.

This show is only meant for the crowd's viewing pleasure, not for taking photos or videos!

Each of the eight men onstage was handsome in their own way. Their movements were fluid and seductive, and the sight of their chiscled abs was enough to make one want to reach out and touch them

Some even kneeled close to the edge of the stage so the female patrons could touch them. As the women ran their hands over the men's toned abs, they wished for nothing more than to pull them straight off the stage.

It caused the crowd to erupt into ear-piercing shricks and sent the level of excitement in the dance hall skyrocketing.

Jane watched the scene in astonishment while holding her champagne glass, too shocked to cven take a sip or put it down.

On the contrary, Genevieve looked unruffled.

Earlier, in the bathroom, the sight of Bruce's wet body had made a lasting impression on her. It's something I can't forget until today. I even touched his muscles tuith my otun hands! Hence, watching the handsome men perform did not make her heart lluiter in the slightest.

She also subconsciously compared the performers to Bruce and concluded that their physiques were nothing to write home about.

Noticing Jane holding her glass of champagne without knowing where to look, Genevieve could not resist the urge to tease her. "Didn't you say you wanted to see what it was all about? Why are you getting embarrassed now?"

"This show is too much.." Jane did not even know what to say.

She was someone who stayed home most of the time and rarely interacted with anyone from the opposite gender. Even after moving into Cooper's place and living with him, they had always gone to bed fully dressed, and she had never seen him makcal.

Therefore, seeing the group of handsome nellaunting their muscles and their seductivo Cazes was a visual shock to her.

Just ils Jane took a sip of champagne to calm licr nerves, she caught sight of what was happening on the stage and uttered the drink everywhere, nearly choking herself.

Genevieve quickly handed her a piece of tissuc paper. "They're only showing off their muscles, yet you're already acting as timid as a mouse."

At that moment, the crowd's frenzied shricks intensificd.

Genevieve glanced toward the stage curiously before hurriedly turning away in embarrassment, appearing as rattled as Jane.

"Do you still want to watch? Should we leave?"

"I don't want to watch anymore," Jane replied with a wave of her hand. I'm finally feeling a little better, so it won't do for me to get distressed. Hunching over slightly, the two of them left the dance hall quictly.

As soon as Genevieve stepped into the cool air outside the hall, she felt the warmth in her cheeks dissipate considerably. She was about to say something when Jane grabbed her, spun her around, and quickly marched her forward.

*Don't look back. Coop is right behind," Jane whispered.

Genevieve was shocked.

However, they had only taken a few steps when a man's cold voice rang out behind them. "Jane Faulkner, I may wear glasses, but that doesn't mean I can't see."

"Oh, my brother is looking for you." Genevieve dropped Jane's hand like a hot potato. It was as though they were a couple in trouble who had to go their separate ways, and it was now every man for himsell.

I know there's nothing wrong with watching that kind of show, but if I get caught in the act, I'll be doomed!

She tried to slip away quietly, bui Cooper strade over and grabbed her arm in one swift move. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to say hi?"

Next to her, Jane had a somewhat gloating expression as she struggled to contain her laughter.

Genevicve turned around reluctantly, only to find that Cooper was not alone. Behind him, a tall man walked over unhurriedly. Although he wore 1 cap and a mask, she could see that his eyes were dark and deep like an abyss.

Chapter 622

Genevieve quickly shifted her gaze away from Bruce and shot Cooper a sheepish smile. "What a coincidence, Coop! What are you doing here with Bruce?"

Wasn't there a time when he was so mad about Bruce qelling too close to me that he wished he could kill Bruce? Why are the both of them hanging out together now?

"I invited him out as a favor to a producer. We have some matters to discuss." Cooper explained briefly: Then, he asked Genevieve, "And you? What are the two of you doing here?" She answered calmly. "A friend invited us out for a meal, so we thought we'd also catch a... performance."

Cooper's gaze swept over Janic's slightly flushed face. He asked in a doubtful tone, "Why's your face so flushed after you watched a performance? You even ran away when you saw me." Jane's heart lurched nervously when she saw him glance at her. "I-It was too hot inside. It was sweltering."

Genevieve added, "That's right. Since it was an indoor venue and was very crowded, the air circulation wasn't all that great. Anyway, it's getting late, so you should head home. I'll get going too. Bye!"

With that, she turned to leave.

However, Cooper grabbed her arm again. He called out to a waiter who was about to enter a private room, then pointed at the dance hall Genevieve and Jane had come out of and asked. "What performance is on in there today?"

Suddenly, Genevieve recalled that Armand had had a stake in Imperial Club and that Cooper had inherited those shares.

We're doomed...

Recognizing Cooper, the waiter replied promptly, "Mr. Show."

The moment the waiter uttered those words, Genevieve sensed the usually calm Bruce narrow his eyes and shoot his icy gaze at her, and she felt an inexplicable wave of guilt in her heart. "Mr. Show..." Cooper echocd as he turned to Jane with a hall-smile. "You guys are really something else."

Jane smiled awkwardly and lowered her head.

"Jane and I are adults, so what's wrong with us going to watch that show? Is it illegal?" Genevieve protested indignantly.

"You found it entertaining. didn't you?" Cooper responded with a sneer. Then, he asked Jane, "What about you?"

"We didn't enjoy it. We only watched for a little while before leaving." Jane replied immediately

"We shouldn't be standing and talking here in the corridor. Let's go home first."

Once they were outside the club, Cooper looked at Genevieve and asked, "Did you drive here?"

"Yes," she replied. Not wanting to continue getting reprimanded by Cooper, she could not help wishing he would quickly leave with Jane. "You guys should head back. I'll get a replacement driver."

Suddenly, Bruce appeared behind hier: "No need for that. I'll drive."

"Oh, that's quite all right. You should go back in your minivan," Genevieve replied. She had no desire to be alone with him. Moreover, with Cooper around, she was afraid he would end up berating Bruce.

In the end, Coopcr mcrcly glanced at hier and uttered coldly. "Send me a text message to let me know when you get hoine."

Then, he left with Jane.

After standing in a daze for a while, Genevieve tilted her head toward Bruce. "What did the two of you talk about? Why has his attitude toward you done a one-eighty?" she queried incredulously In fact, the way Cooper treated Bruce was as though they were good friends!

"I merely acted as a go-between to help him set up a collaboration," Bruce replied.

After taking her bag from her, he held her hand and led her toward the parking lot.

Perhaps due to the two glasses of champagne she had downed in the dance hall, Genevieve felt a little light-headed. After she followed him to the car, he even leaned over to help her fasten her seat belt before driving out of the club.

Sneaking a peek at him from time to time, she noticed the tense expression on his face. He seemed to be suppressing his anger, and the terrifying aura radiating from him made her hair stand on end.

When she saw him drive up to Regality Gardens and head toward the parking lot, she could not help saying, "This isn't the right way. My place is behind-"

"I know," Bruce replied, cutting her off.

After parking the car, Bruce unsnapped his safety belt and pulled off his mask. Then, he leaned in close to Genevieve and demanded in a displeased tone, What's wrong with you, Genevieve Rachford? Do you enjoy seeing the naked bodies of other men?"

Genevieve was momentarily dumbfounded. Why does it seem like I've heard those words before?

Feeling like she was getting told off by Bruce, she pursed her lips in embarrassment. "Humans are prurient beings. You can ople at beautiful women, but I can't go and watch buff men?"

Chapter 623

"Who are you to me? What makes you think you can telling what to do?" Genevieve pushed Bruce backward with her finger. She could feel his chiseled chest through his clothing. "Drive the car to the garage of my place," Genevieve ordered with a cold expression.

Bruce acted as though he didn't hear her. With a grim expression, he got out of the car, dragged Genevieve into the clevator, and brought her into his condominiun.

Genevieve watched liim close the door and funcd, "Bruce, I'm sober this time around. I don't want to be taken advantage of. I low dare you bring me back to your place?"

She went to open the door, but Bruce blocked her. "Get lost," she demanded.

"Bruce, I have a temper, okay?" Genevieve narrowed her eyes and asked, "Do you want to ruin your career in the entertainment industry?"

Bruce stared at her and asked softly, "Ms. Rachford, have I done anything wrong to get you mad?

"I'm not mad!"

"If you're not, why are you being so aggressive when you talk to me?" Bruce tried to make his point by saying, "I've been thinking about the conversation we had in the hot spring resort. I really don't know what I had said that got you mad."

Even after the filming had been wrapped up and he had returned, he still had no idea what Genevieve was angry about.

"Just tell me, will you? I'll change," Bruce said.

After getting asked a few times, Genevieve caved in and answered, "I'm angry because you're so indecisive. How could you still think about Coco after what she has done to you? When she went to Lightspring two weeks ago, she stayed at the same hotel as you. She went there to look for you, didn't she?"

"What makes you think I'm thinking about hier?" Bruce was perplexed. "I was indeed filmning in Lightspring two weeks ago. However, I was with the film crew the whole time. I didn't even know she was staying in the hotel I was staying in. If you don't believe me, ask Joash. He was with me the whole ume. If you want, I can even get someone to show you the hotel's surveillance footage."

He didn't flinch once when he mentioned Coco. Perhaps he's telling the truth. Genevieve noticed how sincere his words were, "How about the woman on your home screen? Isn't that Coco?" That question had been bugging her for the past two months.

Bruce was amused when he found out that Genevieve had been angry because of the wallpaper hc used as his home screen.

"That's not Coco." Bruce unlocked his phone and moved all the applications to the bottom to reveal the woman on the wallpaper of his home screen.

Genevieve took a closer look at it and thought the woman looked familiar.

"That looks like me..." She then pointed at the wallpaper and stared blankly at Bruce. "Or is that Sylvie?"

Sylvie had gone through minor facial surgery, so she looked similar to Genevieve.

Since Bruce has knotun Swvie for a few years now and they've been cast in a romantic film, it would be more reasonable if he has used her photo instead of Coco's as his home screen wallpaper.

"That's you." Bruce leaned toward her and said, "I took a picture of you when you slept here last time around."

Genevieve was taken aback, and she subconsciously stumbled backward.

Bruce inched closer. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. "You could sce what's on my home screen although I'm using a privacy screen protector? You have sharp eyes, don't you, Ms. Rachford? Ms. Rachford, were you jealous of yourself?"

"Don't get so close to me. It's getting hot in here." When Genevieve was facing Bruce, her usual haughtiness and domineering aura seemed to have been overcome by the man's intimidating presence.

Bruce didn't back away. Instead, he sneered, "If you dared to watch striptease just now, why would you mind how near we are to each other?"

"H-How did you know it was a striptease?" Genevieve stammered.

"If not, why were you and Jane blushing?" Bruce was a little uncomfortable when he imagined her staring at another man. "What? Am I not as good as them?" Genevieve answered instinctively, "Well, I think your abdominal muscles are better than theirs."

She managed to cheer him up with that sentence.

He then held her face and kissed her on her lips before whispering, "Since you like striptease so much, why don't you watch me do it?"

Panting, Genevieve was in a daze when she asked, "Are you asking me to take advantage of you?"

"Yes, please." Bruce chuckled softly,

Genevieve didn't know if she had agreed to it or not, but she followed Bruce into his bedroom anyway

She could barely see him clearly in the dark bedroom.

Under the faint light seeping through the windows, she could vaguely see his Adam's apple bobbing and him unbuttoning his shirt slowly with his slender fingers.

It was as though he had become one with the darkness of the night. He was mysterious, dangerous, tempting, and sexy.

Chapter 624

While they were on the way back. Jane kept glancing at Cooper. Seeing that he kept silent, she didn't dare to utter a word as well.

She kept her head lowered and followed Cooper in when they arrived home.

Cooper threw his jacket onto the couch and went to pour a glass of warm water for Jane. "You are not in good health. Don't go to those stully places too often." "I'll never go there again." Jane took the glass of water and nodded obcdicntly. "The show wasn't even that nice."

Cooper Washed a half-smile and answered, "It wasn't nice? Why were you blushing, then?"

Jane felt guilty, and she didn't even dare to swallow the water in her mouth. Cooper leaned in and kissed lier domineeringly as if he was punishing her.

Jane's limbs were going weak, but fortunately for her, she had the couch to lean on. Otherwise, she would've fallen to the ground.

Suddenly, Cooper's phone rang.

He let go of Jane and took his phone from the couch. After he answered his phone, his expression changed slightly. He then went to the study to continue his phone call.

Jane touched her lips, and she could still feel the warmth left behind by Cooper. At that moment, she could not help but desire more of his kisses.

However, she remembered what Jermaine had said to her in the hospital a couple of days ago. As long as she could be healthy, she wasn't afraid of anything else. However, she could die if the surgery failed.

She felt regretful that she couldn't keep Cooper company any longer.

Jane lowered her gaze and stared at her glass of water for a long while before switching off the main switch in the house.

The next instant, the house fell into complete darkness.

Cooper had just finished his phone call. When the house went dark, he was stunned for a few seconds. After that, he used the flashlight on his phone and went to the living room to look for Jane

"Jane?"

"I'm here." Jane had switched on the flashlight on her phone as well.

When she saw him, Jane walked toward him and said, "I don't know what happened. The power went out all of a sudden."

"Did the main switch trip?" Cooper asked.

"I checked. That's not the case." Jane grabbed Cooper's arm to stop him from checking the main switch. "I think it's just a random blackout. The power should be back soon."

Luckily for her, Cooper didn't insist on checking the main switch. "Have a shower in the bedroom, then."

Jane reached out to hug Cooper. While leaning against him, she said, "I'm not sleepy. I would like to stay with you for a while more."

From time to time, she would act coquettishly with him after dinner. Hence, Cooper was used to it, and he didn't think too much of it.

However, the house was dark, and the flashlights on their phones weren't enough to light up the place. When one was unable to see, other senses in the body would be heightened. Cooper could smell her fragrance, and he gulped slightly.

He diverted his attention by asking, "It's Christmas tomorrow. How would you like to spend it?"

"Anything is fine with me as long as I can spend it with you." Jane rested her head on Cooper's chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. At that moment, she felt contented.

At the same time, they could hear a faint Christmas song coming from outside their house. There, both of them started dancing together.

Jane then suddenly asked, "Have you gotten a Christmas present for me?"

"No."

"I won't spend the day with you tomorrow, then." Jane scoffed and added, "I'll go and look for Santa Claus. He'll give me candies as a Christmas gift."

Cooper chuckled softly and held her hand in response.

All of a sudden, Jane could feel a metal object sliding onto her finger.

Jane's heart was thumping

She then shone the flashlight on her hand and saw a platinum ring on her ring finger.

**This is not a wedding ring. I've custom-made it for you. I've gotten your name engraved on the inside of the ring" Cooper kissed her ear and whispered, "One day when you meet the person you love

He was hoping that he would be the one who could lend her a shoulder to cry on when she needed it.

However, he was also willing to let her go if she wanted to leave because he knew he couldn't provide Jane with anything.

Right then, Jane raised her hand and covered his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Coop, I don't pity you, and I don't need you to feel bad for me. I love you deeply, and I hope !

can spend the rest of my life with you. There's no one else in the world who can make me fall so deep in love.".

Chapter 625

Cooper had been through a lot, and he wasn't a young man anymore. However, Jane's words made his heart flutter, and he felt like a tochager once more. In fact, he felt as though a girl he had a crush on liad just confessed her feelings to liim.

Although he liked her a lot, he couldn't find the words to express his feclings.

Cooper hugged Jane tightly and leaned his licad on lier shoulder. After letting out a sigh, he said, "How lucky I am to have been loved by you."

"I feel the same way." She flashed a faint smile while looking at the platinum ring on her finger.

She then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Cooper was tightening his arms around her waist before he eventually let her go. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Go take a shower."

Jane shook her head and pressed her check against his. "I want to be with you."

"Be good, okay? We've talked about this."

"I haven't given you your Christmas present." She looked at him with her bright eyes and asked, "Don't you want your Christmas present?"

Cooper knew exactly what she meant, but he ended up pulling her arms away from his shoulders.

Jane seemed disappointed. "Are you afraid?"

"Why would I be afraid?" Cooper asked. "It's just that I know I'm not a good person, so I don't want to taint you."

Back then, for revenge, he had tried to destroy Genevieve, and later, he had been regretting his actions and trying his best to make it up to the Rachford family. Since Cooper had given Jane the last ounce of love he could afford to give, he didn't want to hurt her.

I'm not even worthy of her.

Jane held his face and kissed his check. "You're the person I love the most. How could you possibly taint me? Since it's such a special day, I hope you can accept my gift." She kissed luis lips again and smiled, "The show I watched in the dance hall was rather sensual. Who knows? I might even dream about it tonight."

Cooper suddenly frowned when he heard that Right then, he was getting slightly jealous.

"You don't want it? Fine." Seeing how Cooper had not answered her in a while, Jane let go of him and backed away. "Let's just pretend as if I've never said those words." Cooper quickly pulled her back into his embrace. "You've already said them, though. How am I

supposed to pretend like it never happened?"

He then lowered his head and kissed her passionately

Late that night. Jane made sure Cooper was asleep before she cautiously moved his arm away from her waist. She put on her nightgown, took his phone, and went to the study. Since she knew the password, she managed to unlock his phone casily.

She checked his messages and saw a tcxt sonconic had sent to him a few hours ago. Her expression turned solemn.

Earlier that night, when she saw Cooper going to the study to talk on the phone, she knew something was wrong. However, she didn't know things were so dire.

Jane turned on the laptop on the desk and was busy working on it till dawn. It was only after the

ad risen that she closed the email tab and turned off the laptop.

When she went back to the bedroom and saw Cooper fast asleep, she went up to him and hugged him affectionately.

After a long while, Janc let go of Cooper and kissed his lips. I better look at his face a while longer so that I can remember him forever.

Cooper opened his eyes slightly and saw Jane staring at him. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"My mom isn't feeling well. I need to head back to Xedells."

"I'll go with you." Cooper instantly felt awake, and he wanted to get out of bed.

"Who will you go as?" Jane chuckled before pushing him back into the bed. "I've already called Steven. He'll keep me company."

With that, she went to the walk-in closet to get changed.

Cooper put on his pants and went after her. "Do you want to take the private plane? It's a hassle to go to the airport."

"That's not necessary. Steven has already booked flight tickets."

Before she left, she turned around and kissed Cooper. She then looked at him tenderly and said, "I'll be back by six in the evening at the latest. I'll definitely spend Christmas with you, Coop. Remember to miss me, okay?"

"Okay." Cooper leancd on the door and watched Jane leave.

Deep down, he felt unsettled for no reason. Why do I feel as though this is our last goodbye?

Chapter 626

When Genevieve woke up the next morning, she opened her eyes and saw Bruce looking at her with his arm supporting his head.

How long has he been staring al mee

She then remembered how she had been seduced by the sexy man in front of her. Awkwardness and embarrassment surged in her right away. After locking eyes with Bruce for three seconds, she pulled the blanket over her head.

Bruce pulled the blanket down and chuckled softly. "Ms. Rachford, you were the one who took advantage of me. What are you scared of?"

"I'm cold." Genevieve answered calmly. However, her cars had turned red. "Since the sun is up, you should leave, no?"

"Ms. Rachford, we're at my place."

Genevieve froze momentarily before asking in bewilderment, "Didn't you say this place belongs to your friend? Will he kill you if he found out what we've done in his bedroom?"

If Bruce were to bring a girl into my house to do such a thing. I would definitely kill him.

Bruce couldn't help but laugh. "If we both keep our mouths shut, how would he ever find out? Perhaps we should do this at your house next time, Ms. Rachford."

Genevieve was stunned. "Next time? You want to do this again?"

"Yes." Bruce admitted frankly. He then leaned over to kiss Genevieve and uttered, "Ms. Rachford, do you find me not attractive enough, or do you think I don't have enough stamina?" "Okay. Please stop talking." Genevieve was done listening to what he had to say.

Bruce is too good at acting. When I first met him, he looked extremely innocent. However, he's actually very good at flirting. I bet he was just pretending to dislike women. He just wanted me to feel bad for him so that I could fall into his trap and sleep with him.

Bruce saw how Genevieve's expression was changing, and he found that amusing,

I bet her mind is a mess now. Although she's already a mother of two, she's still as cute as she was four years

Bruce smiled and asked, "Do you want me to carry you to the bathroom so that you can wash

up?"

Before Genevieve could answer, Bruce carried lier to the bathroom. Ile then took a towel and laid it down on the washbasin before putting her on it.

Genevieve saw the familiar gesture and asked, "Who are you?"

Bruce's gaze darkened.

He shoved a toothbrush into Genevieve's hand and asked, "Why do you ask, Ms. Rachford? Do I remind you of someone?"

"Why did you lay a towel on the washbasin?"

"Well, because your nightgown is made of silk. It's thin, so I was worrice that the washbasin could be chilly: That's why I laid down the lowcl." There was at hint of amusement in Bruce's cycs. Genevieve had her head lowered, so she didn't see his gaze. She mcrcly acknowledged his answer and brushed hier teethi absentmindedly.

"What would you like to have for breakfast?" Bruce asked.

"Aglio olio."

"Okay." Bruce washed up and got ready to leave the bathroom. Before he left, he said, "The ladies' clothes in the walk-in closet are all bought for you. You can wear whatever you want."

Genevieve washed her face and went to the walk-in closet.

The walk-in closet was huge. Apart from a few sets of men's suits, the rest of the compartments were filled with ladies' clothes. In fact, there were clothes ready for every season, and they were mostly in green color.

Why did he buy so many sets of clothes for me? It's not like I'm going to stay here often.

Genevieve's cyes lit up when she saw the dress shirts in the wardrobe. She picked out one of them and buttoned the shirt up as she walked out.

By then, Bruce was already done making breakfast.

When he saw Genevieve walking over in an oversized dress shirt, his eyes lit up. Her long, slender, and attractive legs captivated him.

The look in Bruce's eyes changed immediately, and his breathing turned rapid. "Ms. Rachford. are you doing this on purpose?"

"Don't I get to choose what I want to wear?" Upon sceing his expression, Genevieve felt as though she had gained back the dignity she had lost the night before. Naturally, she was pleased. She went to the dining table and pulled a chair for hersell. After taking a scat, she asked, "Is breakfast ready? I'm famished."

Bruce served her a plate of aglio olio and sat opposite her.

He did his very best to suppress his desire. During breakfast, le suddenly asked, "Ms. Rachford, it's Christmas today. How would you like to spend it?"

Chapter 627

"Don't know." After two long months, Genevieve, who finally had her craving satisfied, was enjoying the meal prepared by Brucc.

She looked up and glanced at Bruce. "What about you?"

"I want to accompany you." Bruce, with his dark eyes, stared at Genevieve unabashedly.

Genevicve almost choked on her food, and her face flushed red because of the intense coughing

She retrieved two tissues to wipe her mouth and replicd, "We're not in a relationship, and I don't need you to accompany me. Whatever resources that you need, just let me know, and I will do my best to secure them for you."

Bruce answered, "If you refuse my company, then it's not right for me to accept anything from you." He continued, "Ms. Rachford, you can treat me as a dispensable tool just like Charlotte." Shocked, she glared at Bruce. "A-Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm not. I just want to be there for you, yet at the same time, I do not want to pressure you." Bruce put up a straight facc. "The moment I become useless to you, then I'll leave."

Every second mattered, and all Bruce wanted was to be by her side, be it for a day or an hour.

Genevieve fell silent as she finished up the breakfast. Then, she went back to her roomn to change.

When she came out of the room, Bruce passed her handbag to her.

From the moment they finished breakfast until they left, they did not utter a single word to each other. Only after exiting the building did Genevieve notice the enormous pile of snow covering the area, presumably from the heavy snowstorm last night,

While on her way back, she recalled that Bruce was the one driving last night too.

And the keys were not in her handbag.

Genevieve stood in the snow for a few seconds before abruptly pulling out her phone and sending a message to Bruce: I left my car keys. Please drive my car over here. Bruce did not reply, but after three minutes, her car pulled out of the garage.

Genevieve opened the door to the passenger seat and got in. However, instead of getting seated, she unhurriedly approached Bruce and kissed him on the lips. With his hand around her waist, Bruce looked up and kissed her back.

After a passionate kiss, Genevieve got on her seat and said with sparkling lips, "Let's go somewhere remote and fun."

"Sure." Bruce flashed a faint smile.

After thirty minutes, they arrived at an outdoor ice-skating rink.

Because of the heavy snow last night, the roads and the trees were covered in snow, blending into the scenic view surrounding the ice-skating rink.

The place was far from the city, and given that it was Christmas, only a few were at the ice skating rink

After scanning the surroundings, Genevieve impatiently looked toward Bruce. "I did say to bring us somewhere remote. But why did you choose this place? I know how to ski, but not how to ice skate."

"Don't worry about it. I'll teach you." Bruce held onto her hand and walked toward the counter.

After getting the skates, Bruce casually squatted down beside Genevieve and helped her put them on. After that, he helped her up. "Try taking two steps."

Genevieve did as he asked but nearly fell to the ground. Quickly, she hugged Bruce as though her life depended on it.

"We're in public, so you should not hug me like this, don't you think so?" Bruce slyly remarked.

Genevieve looked up and shot him a stare.

With Bruce's undivided attention as her trainer, Genevieve could pick up the techniques swiftly. In less than ten minutes, she was able to skate freely. Narrowing her eyes, she could feel the breeze brushing across her cheeks.

Realizing that Bruce was not paying attention to her, Genevieve furrowed her brows as a plan hatched in her mind. She crept closer to Bruce's back and wanted to catch him off guard. However, before she could place her hands on his back, Bruce instinctively turned around and carried her up. The next second, they were skating across the rink in a fluid and swift motion. Shocked, Genevieve, with her eyes staring furiously at Bruce, clutched tightly at his shoulders,

"You noticed me much earlier but pretended not to. Did you do that on purpose?"

"What are you talking about?" Bruce was acting dumb, but he failed to conceal the checky smile on his face.

In response, Genevieve rolled her eyes at him.

After a few hours, Genevieve got bored and asked Bruce to bring her to the nearest mall. Bruce then got her a basket of coins for the machines at the arcade center. Without restraint, Genevieve, like a kid, excitedly slotted the coins in the machines. But after a long afternoon, she failed to get any doll from the claw machines.

"I want to call the police!" Genevieve frustratedly said, "I want to report that this arcade center is a sham! How can they install such a loose claw?"

ne ducalia status as Luchtov. if you give me a kis I get you the dollyou want

Bruce chuckled slightly. "Ms. Rachford, if you give me a kiss. I'll get you the doll you want."

Chapter 628

"Ha! Is my kiss worth that little?" Genevieve poulcd:n she voiced, "Onc kiss, and you'll need to get me tell of those!"

"All right." Bruce bent over and fashed his cheek at hier

"Are you that confident?" Genevieve refused to believe that Bruce could do it. She had trico switching the claw machines multiple times but couldn't get anything out of them.

Betting that Bruce would humiliate himself, she kissed him on the check.

"Which one do you want?" asked Bruce,

After knowing which doll Genevieve wanted, Bruce slotted in the coin and started controlling the joystick. Effortlessly, he got hold of the doll that she wanted.

Genevieve was dumbfounded. She walked up to the adjacent claw machine and said, "This one 100,"

Bruce effortlessly got that one too.

Genevieve refused to believe that Bruce would continue to be that lucky. "You got them effortlessly because I have been pouring the coins into these machines. I've made it casier for you. Let us try the machines over there!"

"Sure." Bruce smiled and followed her closely behind.

Even after switching machines, Bruce could get Genevieve all the dolls she wanted.

Shortly after, Genevieve had a handful of dolls of different shapes and sizes.

This time, Genevieve had to accept it. "It appears that you're not only good at acting, cooking. and sports but also claw games! Not bad."

Bruce let out a soft chuckle and teased her, "Don't you think I'm much better in bed?"

Her face blushed red; Genevieve gritted her teeth and stomped on the ground before leaving

Bruce carried the dolls and followed her with a smile on his face,

It was Christmas, so an event was happening outside the mall. For every entry, the competition participants were guaranteed to win a prize.

A crowd gathered below the stage, and many of them were taking videos with their phones.

Initially, Genevieve did not want to join in, but when the emcee mentioned the prize for first place, she halted.

Staring at the emcee, she told Bruce, "My son likes that Lego set a lot. It's a limited edition set that's in collaboration with Transformers. He could not get it from the website when it first hit the market." Genevieve wanted to get it as a gift for Lucian, albeit at a higher price, but the latter rejected.

Knowing that Lucian wanted the Lego set, Bruce was determined to get it for him. He eagerly passed the bag of dolls to Genevieve. "Stay here. I'll go register."

"Don't go." Genevieve tried to stop him. "Given your popularity, I'll be doomed if someone recognizes you."

"That'll be great. Then I can be yours forever!"

Genevieve was speechless.

The competition was simple. All the participants had to guess the song's name and sing the complete lyrics. The judges would give their scores, and the participant with the highest score would win first place. Participants swarmed to the registration area, forming a long line at the side of the stage.

Having a tall stature, Bruce was casy to spot among the crowd. Even with his face mask on, the side of his face was hard to miss.

Given that the songs were recent hits, many participants could guess the songs' names shortly after the music was played. Nonetheless, most of them either struggled to sing the song's full lyrics or stuttered while doing so.

Genevieve noticed the frown on Bruce's face, and she started to doubt if Bruce could do it, given that he did not answer anything up to this point.

After quite some time, Bruce raised his hand and correctly answered the song's name.

Because of his towering height, he had to sit before the microphone. Following the melody, he started singing in his baritone voice.

His deep, magnetic voice perfectly resonated with the song.

The audience under the stage was immersed in his singing, goosebumps rising all over their bodies. Many of the ladies even started recording him and singing along.

The three judges were equally mesmerized by his voice. When he finished, they unanimously gave him a perfect score.

As no professional singer was on stage, Bruce was the only one who scored a perfect score, and he managed to win first place.

Bruce shook the box and said, "No one recognized me, and I managed to win first place. How did I do?

Upon hearing that, Genevieve was amused.

Chapter 629

After reaching home, Bruce look out the tray and washed the food before having a barbecue at the table with Genevieve.

He was the one who grilled the food, while Genevieve enjoyed the barbecucd food to her heart's content.

When Genevieve looked out the floor-to-cciling windows in the living room and saw that it was snowing again, an urge to play in the snow appeared in her mind. Immediately, she put on her down jacket and dragged Bruce down the stairs.

The lights of the artificial lake not far from the house illuminated the path as the snow blanketed the land. There was no one in siglit at all.

Genevieve then grabbed a pile of snow from the ground and rolled it into a ball. Then, she tumed around and throw it at Bruce. When she saw the snow covering his face, she began chuckling "So now you're throwing snow at me, huh?" the man asked in feigned anger. He then rolled a snowball and threw it at Genevieve as well.

The two of them began having a snowball fight by the artificial lake. Genevieve hit Bruce with the snowballs every time, but when it was Bruce's turn to throw snowballs at her, she would swiftly hide away before hurling another snowball at him.

Excluding her time with her children, Genevieve had never been that happy for a long time.

Frankly, she was hesitant. She did not want to see Bruce around, for she was afraid that she would get trapped in an ambiguous relationship with the man. Yet, at the same time, she needed not to worry about anything when she was with him, and she could be as silly as she wanted to.

Bruce always unconditionally doted on her and tolerated her. In fact, he had never lost his temper with her.

Genevieve was confused. She did not understand why Coco would cuckold a good man like him, but soon she would be overcome by how glad she was to have him.

After they entered the house and just as Bruce closed the door. Genevieve leaned over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him downward. The two kissed.

Genevieve let her hand crawl over to the man's jacket before hurriedly pulling down his zipper to take it off him. The two of them continued holding onto cach other and kissing all the way to the bedroom.

Justas Genevieve was about to turn on the lights, Bruce suddenly grabbed her hand,

"What's the matter?" Genevieve chuckled as she bit his lip. "Aren't you full of pillow talks in the day? Why are you so hesitant now? Are you shy?"

Bruce carried her to the bed. "I don't want you to see me; you just need to remember that I'm giving you happiness. That's all."

He then cupped her face and gently kissed her.

After over an hour of intimate moments, Genevieve was completcly drained of her strength. Bruce brought her to the bathroom to clean up.

As she stayed in the bathtub, she reached out to play with the black choker the man had on his neck. "I want to see."

She had never seen him take off the choker before.

"The scar is too ugly." Bruce took her hand and placed it by his lips before planting soft kisses on it. "I'm scared that you'll have nightmares at night if you see it." He did not agree to it, and Genevieve did not insist.

After going back to the bedroom, Bruce helped Genevieve put on her nightgown. As if the scent he had was an aromatic scent that aided in sleep, she soon went to her dreamlands. Nevertheless, not long after she fell asleep, she was awakened by the sudden ringing of her phone on the bedside table.

When she saw that it was a call from Steven, she quickly picked it up. "Steven, what's the matter?"

The slur in her voice was obvious, so Steven guessed that she must have fallen asleep a long while ago. Thus, he lowered his voice and said, "Ms. Jane is missing."

"What?" At that, all traces of Genevieve's sleepiness were gone as she shot upright on her bed.

As it turned out, Jane had told Cooper she wanted to return to Xedells to visit her mother, since her mother was ill. Whien night came, Cooper still saw no sign of Jane returning. It was after he called Steven did he finally find out that Jane had lied to him.

Jane had never contacted Steven that morning, and neither had she returned to Xedells.

After ending the call, Genevieve rushed to the walk-in closet and grabbed the closest sweater she could find

Bruce had overhcard parts of their conversation, so he, too, quickly put on thicker clothes. When the two went out, he took the scarf and put it on for Genevieve in the elevator.

At the sight of Genevieve's anxious mood and the snowy weather, he decided to be the one to drive instead.

The two soon reached Cooper's place.

After entering the house, both Bruce and Genevieve saw several people sitting in the living room, seemingly working on something. Genevieve worriedly asked Cooper, "Coop, have you found Jane yet!"

Chapter 630

"No." Cooper shook his head.

He liad been looking through the surveillance footage of when and left the house, and he had searched through all the footage of the places she had gone to. Ilowever, she later went somewhere without surveillance cancras, so he lailed to track liercowni.

Furthermore, he was not close to the core neubers of the police force in Jadeborough, so he could not find a way to get Jane's phone activity.

Genevieve furrowed her brows. "Was there anything amiss when she left?"

"No, she only told me that she wanted to go back to Xedells," Cooper quietly said as he held his forehead. "But at that time, I somehow felt as if I could never see her again." Yet, back then, he had thought that he was only overthinking things.

If only I took the sense of foreboding more seriously. Everything would have been fine now if I had stopped Jane and asked her to clarify things.

All of a sudden, Steven said, "Mr. Sutton, there's no need for you to hide anything from Ms. Rachford anymore so she won't think that Ms.Jane is deliberately hiding from you."

At that, Genevieve whipped her head over to Steven. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Xavier escaped from Xedells Prison a few days ago, and the police from both sides are pursuing him at the moment," Steven told Genevieve honestly.

*Back then, Mr. Faulkner and Mr. Sutton annihilated Wood Group, and Specter Corporation acquired many of Wood Group's businesses. I'm certain that Xavier has a grudge against Mr. Sutton and will want to take revenge on him. Perhaps Xavier contacted Ms. Jane and said something to her that forced her to meet him."

Indeed, if not for Steven's confession, Genevieve would not have known about such a major incident, "The security at Xedells Prison is tight. How did Xavier escape from jail?" Moreover, Xavier would not be able to come all the way to Jadeborough from Wedells if he did not have help.

"Maybe the guards weren't wary enough, or maybe a guard secretly helped him out." Still, those were only Cooper's guesses. He had no power in Xedells, so he could not find out about the details.

Cooper then said to Genevieve, "Genev, I didn't want you to worry, so I didn't tell you about it."

However, he had never thought that Xavier would target Jane'.

After Genevieve learned that Jane might have gone to meet Xavier alone, a myriad of terrible thoughts popped into her head. Jane is in poor health too...

The few people that Cooper hired busied away for a long umne, but their efforts were to no avail.

As Genevieve stared out at the white scenery outside, she suddenly thought about someone who might be able to offer them help. Once it was around seven in the morning, she quickly called Charlotte

"Hello?" Charlotte's voice was hoarse, and clearly, she was sleeping up until the call came through.

Genevieve gave her a swift apology before asking her for a favor to look for help from friends who worked in the telecommunication company once Charlotte was wide awake, Genevieve added that she needed to find out about the recent activity of a phone number.

As Charlotte still recalled how she had owed Genevieve a favor for setting her up with Jerry. she readily agreed to Genevieve's request.

Less than twenty minutes later, Genevieve received the information about Jane's phone activity. Instantly, she and the others hastily drove off to the location.

Jane's last location was at a long-abandoned mini aquarium.

The roof of the aquarium had already fallen off, and the sunlight was seeping into the building that smelled full of rot. Not long after Genevieve walked into the space, she caught a whiff of the pungent scent of blood.

Then, she saw blood carpeting the dust-covered floor, and some parts were still wet.

Seemingly spotting something, Steven, who was usually calm and collected, inhaled sharply.

Genevieve then followed his gaze to see a long trail of blood at the side of the aquarium tank. There, a woman lay at the bottom of the moss-filled aquarium ta

ILUL

Cooper could see the ring on the woman's finger-the ring that he had put on for her himself the night before.

For a moment, his sight went dark. He had never felt such intense fear, and he kept swinging his fists again and again, trying to break the thick glass.

However, he soon calmed down and began scouring through the area. Once he found the ladder in the corner, he quickly used it to climb into the aquarium and fish the woman out before laying her on the ground.

Cooper prayed that it was not Jane, but the very sight of her colorless, swollen face and the long knife wound on her neck made him break down.