Ch. 651..660

Chapter 651

Genevieve was about to lose her patience when a man walked through the crowd briskly and headed to her.

"Hello, Ms. Rachford."

Genevieve turned around slowly to see a young man standing in front of her. He was wearing a wool turtleneck and gray slacks. His eyes were deep but gentle.

The man seemed to have naturally curly hair, for his hair stuck upward and lent him an artistic air.

An appreciative look appeared in the man's eyes when he saw Genevieve's gorgcous face.

He stuck his hand out and introduced himself. "I'm the owner of Luna Art Gallery, and my name is Yuvan Zeigler."

That Genevieve knew, for he was the reason she came here today.

"Mr. Zeigler, nice to meet you." Genevieve took his hand.

Glancing at the painting, Yuvan placed his hands behind his back. "Mr. Duncan Musvick's "Winter' series are displayed in the art gallery today. Why did you pick this painting instead?" After a pause, he added, "This painting is three times more expensive than Mr. Musvick's "Winter.

Chuckling, Genevieve gazed at the painting. "Actually, I don't know how to appreciate art. I don't understand art at all. My brother once brought me to the Lusterg Museum of Art, but I found the trip boring. This time, I came to your art gallery as one of my brother's friend's paintings is on display. This is the only painting that I understand in this art gallery."

She explained, "This painting shows how evil humans can be, but it also shows how kind the world can be. It might seem conflicting, but it left a deep impression on me."

Yuvan turned to look at her. "The colors are warm and bright in this painting. Why did you say it shows the evil side of humans."

"Are yellow and blue suppose to be vivid and warm? Says who?" A smile appeared on Genevieve's lips. "Sometimes, they can be colder and darker than black."

Her words struck a chord with Yuvan.

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Without hesitation, he revealed, "I'm the one who painted this painting. It has been displayed many times, but you're the first one to understand what it is about."

Genevieve seemed surprised. She then joked, "I must be lucky to be able to buy your painting. Mr. Zeigler."

"I should thank you." Yuvan's lips curved. "Thank you for donating an extra two million to the local children's charity."

Genevieve gave a dismissive wave.

The more they chatted, the more they got along with each other. As it was noon, Yuvan invited her to have lunch together at a restaurant nearby. Genevieve accepted his invitation readily. After lunch, Yuvan hesitated briefly before saying, "Ms. Rachford, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" Genevieve wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Yuvan explained, "You inspired me back in the art gallery, and I came out with a series that I wanted to paint. Can you be my muse and help me with it? You can quote your price." Instead of agreeing to his request, Genevieve thought about it. "If you're drawing me, will it involve nudes?"

"No."

"Then it's a yes from me." Genevieve relaxed and shot him a smile. "The holidays are arriving, so I'll have to spend them with my family. You can call me after the holidays. About the reward..." She pondered over it briefly before suggesting, "We'll divide the earnings evenly between us. Please donate my share to the local children's charity."

Yuvan couldn't hide his surprise, but he quickly calmed down as he had seen it coming. With a grin, he nodded. "Looks like you're fond of charity. Ms. Rachford."

"I have the opportunity, so why not?" Genevieve gestured for him to call her. "Mr. Zeigler, see you after the holidays."

Without hesitation, she got into the car.

Cooper glanced through the rear view mirror and noticed Yuvan standing by the side of the road. "I thought you wanted to improve your aesthetic skills, but you're here for Yuvan. It only took you a few hours to make him interested in you, huh?"

Chapter 652

"Of course." Genevieve massaged her sore shoulders and grumbled, "I scarched for Yuvan's interviews online and watched them all. I also memorized his news until dawn..."

Leaning back into the chair, she added, "I wasn't even that diligent whicnlliad to learn Nardorian."

"Stop it," Cooper chided. "I received news that Miles brought Coco back to meet Old Mr. Zeigler. His parents and Old Mr. Zeigler didn't like Coco, but Sylvie intervened by putting in a good word for lier before Old Mr. Zeigler. Thus, he didn't treat Coco harshly."

Genevieve chuckled, "Looks like we have to thank Sylvic for helping to fan the flames."

They couldn't lay a hand on the Zeigler family for now, but once Coco's scandal hit the headlines, the Zeigler family would definitely be the laughingstock of the country.

**I struck up a relationship with Yuvan, so he'll invite me to a meal in the Zeigler residence one day," Genevieve explained as her lips curled. "Coop, do you think Sylvic will get nervous when she sees me there?"

Cooper promptly understood what she was getting at. "Of course, she will. Even if the Zeigler family doesn't trust you, they'll grow suspicious."

Sylvie couldn't stop Herbert if he were to investigate her background thoroughly.

*That was what I thought, too." Genevieve flashed a grin.

Sylvie was vicious enough to pretend to be the daughter of a soldier. The most satisfying way to defcat her would be to expose her true colors in public.

Genevieve was pulling her phone out when she spotted her painted nails. They reminded her of the time she spent with Bruce.

Turning at her shoulder, she asked, "Coop, were you the one who confirmed that the dead body was Armand's?"

Cooper grunted in affirmation. "I wasn't the only one, for Steven and Timothy were also there. Why the sudden question, Genev?"

"Oh, it's nothing" came Genevieve's nonchalant reply.

Cooper had to head back to work, so he left after dropping Genevieve at Regality Gardens.

Inside the house, she saw the kids in the living room. Lucian was playing with his Lego blocks, and Amanda was watching television on the couch while munching on some snacks, Genevieve shrugged out of her coat and hung it on the rack. "Sweeties, I'm home."

As soon as Amanda spotted her, she jumped down from the couch and ran toward Genevieve to hug her legs.

"Mommy, I missed you so much!" she declared.

Jack's shocs weren't around, so Genevieve assumed he wasn't back yet. She picked Amanda up and headed to the living room. "Sweetie, you seem really happy today, huh?"

"Of course!" That's because Lucian and I went to Mommy and Daddy's house loday.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"No. This is a secret between Lucian and me." Amanda gave her a sweet smile. The little girl promptly changed the topic. "Mommy, the takeaway food we got for lunch was really delicious. I ate them all!"

"Good girl." Genevieve gave her a kiss on her cheek.

After leaving home this morning, she called Golden Restaurant and ordered lunch for the kids.

Hmm, Mandy didn't praise their food when we ate at the restaurant yesterday. This is strange.

Genevieve wasn't interested in the cartoon Amanda was watching, so she got her phone and started reading the news.

Recalling her conversation with Cooper back in the car, Genevieve subconsciously googled Bruce's name. At once, various news and videos appeared in the search results.

She scrolled down and focused on the videos from a year or two ago.

Back then, Bruce was still dating Coco in secret, and he wasn't blacklisted by his company yet. In an interview for a movie he acted in, he had given the camera a warm and polite smile. He had an innocent look about him.

However, Bruce kept a low profile nowadays. He refused to get interviewed unless it was related to his movies. He also didn't accept any magazine shoots, so people might think he was still blacklisted.

His previous innocence was also gone, and it was replaced by indifference.

Genevieve knew that celebrities were supposed to undergo training so they could show the cameras their best selves besides being in good shape. However, it was pretty hard for one to change one's demeanor.

Bruce changed a lot, huh?

She then went to Twitter to find his recent photos. Bruce's eyes from two years ago looked different from his current ones.

In fact, they started overlapping with the pair of eyes she kept hidden in her memories.

Chapter 653

Amanda snuggled into Genevieve's arms and rcalized the latter was observing Bruce's photo. A checky grin flitted across her lips as she asked, "Mommy, why are you looking at this man? Do you like him?"

Before Genevieve could answer, her phone rang

It was a call from Jack

Jack told her that he would be attending Faulkner Group's annual dinner at Xedells and wouldn't get to come home tonight. "If you and the kids want to join me, I'll send someone to give you a ride here."

"It's too cold, so we'll just stay at home." Genevieve didn't like to be photographed by the media with thic kids.

They chatted briefly before she handed the phone to Amanda and went to the kitchen.

Rosa had left some ingredients in the refrigerator. Genevieve might not be a good cook, but she still wanted to cook for the kids occasionally.

A while later, Lucian joined her. "Mommy, let me help you."

"Thank you, my son." Genevieve gave him garlic to peel. Touched, she said, "Looks like my cooking is good enough for you to miss it dearly."

"That's not it." Lucian told her coolly, "I want to make sure the food is cooked so Mandy and I won't suffer from food poisoning again."

Genevieve recalled how the kids suffered from food poisoning after eating her cooking some time ago. Flashing a sheepish smile, she said, "I'm going to pan-fry some steak today. Medium rare steaks are edible, right? I can do it!"

Lucian peeled the garlic silently.

Soon, the delicious smell of steak wafted around the kitchen.

"Mommy." Suddenly, Lucian broke the silence. "Do you like Mr. Valentine?"

Genevieve knew that her son was smarter and more composed than luis peers. Grunting in affirmation, she didn't bother lying to him. "Yes, but I like him the same way you like him." "But Mr. Valentine likes you a lon." As Lucian was very observant, le noticed lack only had eyes for her.

Mr. Valentine has looked at Mommy that way ever since I can remember

Jack was the only man that Lucian approved ol besides his father who he had never met. Jack was talented, wealthy, and powerful, but he only bad eyes for Genevieve and adored the kids. Whenever he was free, he would bring the kids out to have fun lle didn't have other women or

kids.

Before Genevieve told them the truth, Lucian assumed Jack was their father.

Genevieve pursed her lips, at a loss for words.

No matter how smart he is, he's still a kid. Our relationship is too complicated for him to understand.

Seemingly understanding her dilemma, Lucian added, "You can choose not to answer me if you want. Mandy and I want to be with you forever, so we respect your decision. This time, I discovered that we have a rich uncle. It doesn't matter if I don't have a father."

Genevieve was both amused and touched to hear her son's words.

She crouched down and kissed his forehead. Grinning, she said, "Your reward is to help me squeeze three glasses of orange juice."

Lucian was speechless, "Mommy, is this a reward or punishment? Why do I have to work?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

The boy was speechless.

After Amanda ended her call with Jack, she scurried into the kitchen to help Lucian with the orange juice. Alas, she was clumsy enough to spill the juice all over herself. Genevieve helped her take a shower and change her clothes before going back to the kitchen to prepare the steaks.

When the steaks were ready, Genevieve plated them nicely and brought them to the living room. "These are the steaks I prepared. Try a bite, Sweeties!"

Amanda tried to cut the steak into pieces but to no avail. "Mommy, I can't cut the steak."

"Huh? That's impossible." Genevieve thought Amanda was too weak to cut the steak, but when she tried to cut the steak herself, she realized it was indeed too hard. Thus, she cut her portion into pieces and gave the plate to Amanda.

Amanda immediately took a bite of the stcak. She chewed it several times and stopped abruptly as her eyes widened.

"Delicious, right?" Genevieve asked cheerfully.

Amanda didn't want to humiliate her mother, so she swallowed the steak in her mouth. Her face scrunched up as she urged, "Momny, take a bite yoursell."

Chapter 654

Genevieve took a bite and noticed that it had been cooked for too long. It was difficult to chew and didn't taste great.

She told Amanda to spit out the stcak she was cating and said with a smile. "I followed the recipe when I was cooking, so I have no idea why it turned out like this. Let's just get takeout." The woman had only just gotten to the living room to get her phone when the doorbell rang,

It was a receptionist in uniform standing at the door. Secing that Genevieve had opened the door, she handed her the food container she was holding and said, "Ms. Rachford, this is your dinner."

"All right. Thank you." Genevieve took the food and saw Cooper's name and phone number on the receipt.

The container was filled with grilled meat wrapped in vegetables, along with steaming cheese sticks with pasta.

"Mommy, this grilled meat is yummy!" Amanda exclaimed after eating a piece.

Lucian's eyes had also lit up after he took a bite of the food.

Genevicve threw the meat she cooked into the trashican. Then, she grabbed two bowls and filled them with chowder.

She took a sip and was stunned by how delicious it was.

This tastes familiar.

It was nearing New Year's Day, and the atinosphere was getting more and more festive.

Genevieve felt it would be too tiring to hold an anniversary banquet for a small company, so she booked a few tables at Lovely Heart Hotel to have dinner with her employees. She gave them and the artists who attended each a new year's gift and twenty thousand to celebrate.

As the guests ate, she was so busy welcoming and greeting the higher-ups of the company and the artists she invited that she quickly became exhausted.

She went to the restroom and saw Bruce on her way back. He seemed to be talking to someone at the entrance. By the time she was done talking to one of the higher-ups, he was already gone, Then, on her way home from dinner, Genevieve could vaguely remember the video,

The man's frivolous way of speaking surfaced in her mind, and she couldn't help thinking that it was completely different from the man's attitude in real life.

Not only that, but she also had no idea what Bruce was thinking at all. If he was so sure that he could fool me, why didn't he just con me of my money and resources? Illy did he have to make a bet with someone else like that? Is it he afraid that they would snitch, and I would not give him any work in a fit of anger?

A few days before New Year's, Jack finally returned froin Xedells. Genevieve and the man brought

the children to stock up on their holiday supplies.

Even though the man had not been in any new movies in a long time, he was still recognized by his old fans as they walked the streets. Sccing him, the fans started to scream and surround him while asking fo pictures.

Genevieve took the children and left the place, separating themselves from him for the sake of the children's safety.

She was worried that the fans would upload pictures of them online, trending them on social media platforms. After getting into the car, she pulled out her phone and saw that there wasn't a single picture of the children on Twitter, nor was Jack trending.

The woman thought that Cooper had sent someone to help, and she couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

On New Year's Eve, Genevieve gave Steven a call. "I'm currently overseas handling some stuff, and Timothy has surgery to perform tonight. Besides, I don't really feel like having New Year's Eve dinner," the man informed.

At six in the evening, she brought the children to Golden Restaurant,

To celebrate New Year's, the owner of the restaurant had redecorated the place half a month ago. He had emptied out a space at the center and set up a stage.

That way, singers could sing and dance while the customers dined.

With such a setup in the restaurant, the whole place seemed a lot more lively.

Being the playful and lively kid that she was, Amanda couldn't bring herself to sit still in her seat. In just a short while, she ran to the side of the stage and enjoyed the performance with the other children. Cooper called for a waiter and handed him a jewelry box after giving some instructions.

After the performance ended, a host went on stage and said through the mic, "The upcoming event is a little special. All the kids here can participate."

Then, he began presenting the prizes of the event, which included dolls and remote-controlled cars. The prize for first place was a tiara covered in diamonds.

Chapter 655

The little girls exclaimed in awe upon seeing the tiara.

"This is a princess' tiara," the host said as he held the box close to his chest, seemingly afraid that it would fall onto the ground. "All you have to do is come up here and present your talents. Whocver gets the loudesi cheer from the crowd will win this."

Before he even finished speaking, the children were already hopping in their spots as they raised their hands to get picked. The rest of the staff quickly let them draw lots to determine their order of performance.

Genevieve glanced at Cooper in a dumbfounded manner. "Coop, that's just too much! What if Mandy loses?"

"Our Mandy can defeat the other kids with just her beauty alone."

"Mr. Sulton's righi," Jack said, his lips tilting upward into a smile. "He prepared a gift for Mandy. so I can't be empty-handed as a father."

With that, he waved and called for a waiter.

Father? As if?

Cooper rolled his eyes at him inwardly.

As the children were queueing up to draw lots, the host announced, "Just a few moments ago, another customer added a gift for first place. It's a bluc diamond ring!**

As he spoke, he raised a hand to show the customers the prize

Since they were at a restaurant instead of a place where rich people would normally gather, the customers assumed that the host was just exaggerating to get the children excited when he said that the prizes were made of real diamonds.

However, some of the customers started to cheer for their own children after hearing what the host said. Gradually, they also added prizes for the winner.

The customers provided a cash prize of up to ten thousand, a three-day-two-night ticket for a luxury cruise, a plush, and many more.

Soon enough, there were at least thirty prizes for first place. The customers weren't even eating their New Year's Eve dinner anymore as they stood with their phones raised and cheered for the children.

Genevieve pulled out her phone, planning to take a video of Mandy later, and she asked, "Luc, do you want to take part too?"

"No," he responded expressionlessly. "I'm not a clown."

The next moment, the host announced that someone had added a prize for second place. It was Rubik's cube with the three-time world champion's signature.

Hearing that, he instantly hopped off his chair and walked toward the stage.

Genevieve was rendered speechless at that.

The host gave the children who were the first few to perform five minutes to think about what they would be doing so that they could prepare the props and any music needed. Since there were so many prizes to be won for first place, almost all the children in the restaurant participated.

Some of them were confident as they made their way up the stage, doing anything from singing to dancing. However, some of the children with stage fright left after singing a few sentences. Soon enough, it was Amanda's turn. She was wearing a bright red dress, looking especially lively and cute.

Having found out that she wanted to dance, Jack took the initiative and played the piano for her.

Amanda danced to the beat of the song titled: Winter Wonderland. The bottom part of her dress would float every time she twirled around, making her look like a fairy on the winter days. The crowd around was immersed in her cute dance.

Once she was done, she thanked the crowd, and they instantly applauded her like crazy.

Lucian didn't know how to play instruments, nor did he know how to dance, so he performed magic in front of the crowd. Everyone was shocked and confused as they couldn't tell how he did it at all.

Amanda had gotten the loudest applause and cheers out of all the children who performed.

Even though there was a girl who did ballet, the crowd found Amanda's dance to be better.

After finding out that she would not be getting first place, the girl who did ballet instantly cried, "This is unfair! The handsome man played the piano for her when she danced, but he didn't do it for me. I've learned ballct for three years, and I worked so hard for it. So how is it possible that I lost to her?"

At the sight of this, the crowd's hearts started to soften for her.

However, Amanda's eyes reddened, and she was about to cry too.

Coincidentally, Lucian was standing next to her. He leaned in and whispered something in her cars.

Chapter 656

Amanda's eyes were red as she said in het SWCei voice, "You worked hard in your ballet classes. but I worked hard in my dancing classes too. If you feel that it was unfair, then let's change it up. The person in charge of the music can play the piano for me, and the handsome man here can play for you. Is that all right?"

The girl wiped away her cars and nodded. The rest of the crowd also nodded in agreement at that.

Both girls played rock-paper-scissors, and it was decided that Amanda would be going first.

She put on her red hood and acted like she was Little Red Riding Hood. Amanda acted cute onc moment and whimsical the next. Everyone was laughing their hearts out as they watched her performance.

On the other hand, the girl danced to "Swan Lake." Her moves were clegant, but they could never be compared to Amanda's.

She was about to cry again when she found out that she had lost again.

At that, Amanda pouted and said, "We're here to show off our talents. We can do whatever we want. There's no rule saying that we have to dance. Don't cry for small reasons like this. It's embarrassing. I-If you really want first place, then I'll give it to you."

The crowd felt outraged for her when they saw how big-hearted she was being.

One of them voiced, "Why should you give it to her? All of us saw that you performed better than her. Both times too!"

"That's right. Competitions don't work in your favor just because you cry. That's not how it works."

Soon enough, all the customers were in support of Amanda getting first place. Even the host gave her all of the prizes for first place.

He wanted to give the girl who did ballet the prizes for second place, but Lucian suddenly stated, "She's good at ballet, but am I not good at magic?"

"We're both boys here. Let her have it this time, okay?" Seeing that there were so many customers watching, the host didn't want the girl to cry again.

Lucian shrugged and put on an aggrieved look on his face. Even the way he spoke sounded pitiful as he said, "I would have let her have it if I were fourteen. But I'm only four! She's already seven. It should be the other way around."

The crowd found what he said to be reasonable.

A second later, Lucian said generously. "Fine. I'll let her have her way. We can split the prizes for second place."

Thien, he walked toward the area where all the prizes were and asked for the Rubik's cube from

the stati

The host was left dumbfounded by how the boy acted, but he quickly handed the girl the other prize and added a Disney plusli for her.

When Lucian was finally back at the table, Genevieve patce his head and said, "You did well. You protected your rights."

When it came to competitions involving boys and girls, people would normally hope to see the boy's giving girls the advantage Ilowever, it didn't mean that the boys weren't gentlemen if they refused to.

Everything should be fair in competitions. There shouldn't be any situation where somconc had to give someone else an advantage.

Since Amanda had gotten first place, she received more than thirty prizes. Her arms had gotten sore from opening them up, but her favorite one out of everything was still the tiara. She couldn't wait to put it on the moment she got it.

"Thank you. Uncle Cooper," she said. She put her arms up and made a heart shape at Cooper.

Then, Amanda leaned over to Jack and kissed liim on his check. "Thank you for the blue diamond ring too! I like it very much!"

At the sight of this, Genevieve couldn't help but feel that her daughter was a fair and just person even though she was so young.

The band continued to perform on stage, and the restaurant seemed to have gotten more lively as everyone ate their New Year's Eve dinner with their families.

Having eaten the food at Golden Restaurant, Genevieve could finally put the feeling of confusion behind her.

She speculated that Bruce had learned how to cook at the restaurant. Hence, the reason the food he made tasted so similar.

Nonetheless, she never noticed this previously

It was already ten at night when they were done with their dinner. Amanda was so excited to return home to play with fireworks. However, Cooper received a call at the last second, saying that he had to handle some things.

He drove to Imperial Club after bidding goodbye to Genevieve and the group.

Cooper was now one of the bosses of the club. Ile headed straight for the office upstairs and saw a figure situing on the couch the moment he pushed the door open.

The figure was scrolling on his phone. Though he had a dark look in his eyes, the slight smile he had on made him lose a little of his coldness.

A hint of warmth lingered in his eyes.

Cooper was stunned at the sight of the man. After closing the door behind him, he took off his coat and walked toward the couch. "You can't appear in front of me so suddenly like that. I thought you'd climbed out of a coffin."

Chapter 657

He took the bottle of whiskey from the table and poured himself a glass. Then, pointing at the man's face, he said, "Didn't you get plastic surgery to look like Bruce?"

"I don't have such a weird fetish." Armand replied as he puused the video.

He clinked glasses with Cooper and said, "I spent a lot of money and contacted a few doctors from a top rescarch center to make me a hyper-realistic mask."

The latter was in disbelief when he heard that. "Aren't hyper-realistic masks really thick?"

He had met Armand with the hyper-realistic mask previously. His face looked like it was exactly like the original. There wasn't a single indication that it was a mask from his eyes to his neck. "That mask is really thin. You would have to put on makeup and medicine once you put it on too." It was time-consuming and tiring to repeat the process every day.

However, the thought of Genevieve and the children made him a little less tired, and he was able to keep it up.

After finding out that the mask cost two hundred thousand and that he needed to change it every day, Cooper felt that it was only reasonable that it was so expensive. Taking a glance at Armand's fair skin, he asked, "Was your skin bleached?"

The former replied with a grunt before he took a sip of the whiskey. "I have to do it twice a month, and I have to take medicine before going to sleep every night." "Can't you just use an excuse? You could have said you went to the beach or something."

"Do you think I didn't want to?" Armand sounded upset as he said, "Bruce is a celebrity. Everyone in the company has their eyes on him, and they need him to be fair and handsome. I can't even get the tiniest bit of tan."

At the sight of the look of displeasure on his face, Cooper put his arm at the back of the couch and said, "I can't believe our Mr. Faulkner has become someone else's employee now."

Once he was done joking around, he got back to business again. "Why did you choose to use Bruce's identity?"

Cooper always thought that Armand was a meticulous person and that there was no way he would die just like that. He had secretly investigated this and right when he found out that the latter was the boss behind Earlgrandeur Capital Corporation, Steven came to him.

He could already guess that Armand wasn't dead after hearing what Steven had said.

After that, he made an appointment with a producer so that he could meet up with Armand using a collaboration discussion as an excuse. Cooper wanted to find a place where he could hind out everything from Armand.

Who would have thought that both Genevieve and Jane were at the club? That was why they

didn't have thic time to talk at all.

Until now, that is..

"He looked for me on his own. Besides, he signed a contract with Genevieve Orsi Productions. I can be closer to Gency that way," Armand answered as he sipped on his whiskey.

Bruce was from a family of academics, but he got into the entertainment industry because he liked to act. He didn't like the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry, nor did he have anyone to back him up, which was why the shows and movies he was in weren't as famous.

Later on, he auditioned for a role in Jack's "For Elise" and won the best actor award through it. He became famous overnight and managed to get countless opportunities after that.

Bruce got to know Coco when they were shooting for a movie. Not long after, they started to date in secret. The woman was great at manipulating people. Not to mention, Bruce loved her very much, so she had everything go the way she wanted.

However, the temptations of the entertainment industry were just too great. Coco wanted to live a luxurious life and stand above everyone else.

Perhaps it was because she felt that since Bruce's parents were teachers, he wouldn't be able to satisfy her as he didn't have a solid background in the entertainment industry. Nonetheless, she didn't want to leave such a gentle and caring boyfriend. Therefore, she kept him by her side while she went out seducing other directors and producers. A while later, a friend of hers introduced a bigwig from the industry who ended up becoming her godfather.

Bruce started to get suspicious. However, he chose to believe in Coco as they had been dating for so many years. It was only after the media released the picture of the woman being intimate with an older man that he kidnapped and violated her in a fit of anger.

Coco didn't want her godfather to get angry because of this. Hence, soon after the news was released, she turned the situation around by saying that Bruce had been abusing her.

Chapter 658

Bruce was framed by Coco for domestic violence, and the man lost the court case. Once the news was spread on the internet, everyone labycled him as a man famous for domestic violence. In just a few days, he lost his resources und luud to bear dozens of millions of debt.

Bruce decply loved Coco and couldn't forget licr. Knowing that Bruce suffered a lot mentally, his friend recommended a type of medicine called Curb.emotion to him.

It was an emotional inhibitor invented by a rescarcher from Oleigh, a world-class institute for medical research.

The rescarcher was naturally very sentimental, yet not many people liked him. Moreover, he always felt mentally tormented because he often failed to control his emotions. After being recruited by Oleigh, he spent his free time researching an inhibitor that could suppress emotions.

After years of hard work, he successfully invented the type of medicine he needed.

At that time, he had a girlfriend and loved her very much. Given his deep feelings toward her, he decided to inject the medicine into his body to test its effects. Once the medicine took effect, the mood swings he usually had when he saw his girlfriend reduced

He was satisfied and recorded all of the changes in his emotions.

In addition, he realized that he didn't recall most of their sweet memories and could stay composed when meeting his girlfriend.

As such, he thought he had successfully invented it.

Little did he know that after the medicine penetrated his veins, it became a type of poison that hid in his body.

Later, when he fell in love with another woman, the hormones produced by his body were inimical with the poison. In the end, he died due to cardiac contraction.

The professor of the research institute only knew what happened when he read the man's record about the medicine. The poison could erode one's prefrontal cortex, turning one into a retard. Therefore, the professor asked his subordinates to climinate the remaining pills and the related information

However, one of his subordinates secretly took some medicine out of the laboratory after destroying the information,

When Bruce heard of the medicine, he asked his friend to buy it. Unfortunately, he had to wait another two months before receiving the item.

During that time, he suffered a lot and had severe depression due to the non-stop bashing from

netizens. Moreover, he violated the contracts of several projects and didn't have any money to repay his debt.

Somehow, Sylvie knew Bruce had bought the medicine and asked to meet him.

Now that Bruce didn't have any feelings toward Coco, he was more than happy to sell the medicine to Sylvie at a high price to repay his debt.

One day, Bruce stayed overnight in a lotel while Jack was coincidentally on the same floor as him. When Bruce came out of his room, he saw a hotel staff passing something to Jack.

Bruce recognized the box and could guess what was in it.

A few days later, Bruce took the initiative to call Armand.

After chating with him, Armand realized that Genevieve's attitude toward him was upended, not because she was upset by his words. On the contrary, it was because of the medicine. Cooper was surprised by the dramatic turn of events after Armand explained it to him. "I guess Sylvie bought the medicine to use it on you."

Armand grunted in affirmation and said, "She couldn't get a chance to do it and eventually sold it to Jack."

"What did Jack give her in return?" Cooper was bewildered.

"I don't know." Based on Bruce's explanation, Armand investigated it and confirmed that Jack bought the medicine from Sylvie. However, he failed to get any clues about what Jack offered her in return. Cooper pondered about it for a while but remained clueless. "Why did Bruce tell you all this?"

"Because he was about to die." Armand lighted a cigarette, puffed on it, and continued, "His mom took her own life because Coco's fans and the reporters kept bashing him. Also, his dad was fired by the school management. Later, he was admitted to the hospital because he passed out on the street. It turned out that he had cancer, and the cancerous cells were spreading fast." "Is the body in the aviation accident Bruce's?"

Armand nodded and said, "All he asked for from me was to let Coco taste the pain he had experienced."

Chapter 659

Armand wouldn't have known anything about Curb.cmotion if Bruce didn't reveal it to him. When Sylvic used the Zcigler family's influence to force Armand to submit to her, he planned his fake death with Sicven.

Even though he had to lide, lic secretly found the rescarclicr from the institute to inventan antidote for Genevieve.

As Armand explained everything, Cooper couldn't help but feel sympathetic toward Bruce.

After all, he loved Coco, a scumbag who would do anything to achieve her goal, and died because of it.

Later, Cooper told Armand the information lic obtained and his arrangement. "Coco is about to be engaged with Old Mr. Zeigler's grandson, Miles."

When Armand heard about the time they went to the art gallery, he couldn't help but frown deeply: "Did you idly watch as she acted recklessly?"

Immediately. Cooper sneered, "Armand, how dare you criticize me! You knew Genev's condition but still stayed by her side every day. You almost took her life!"

Armand's guilt caused him to stay silent.

Cooper poured a glass of Whiskey for himself and sighed. "Anyway, I pity you because you can't hug your two kids even though they are by your side. Moreover, you can only ask me to deliver gifts to Mandy on your behalf."

When Genevieve returned from Dartan and was always by Armand's side, Cooper thought they would get back together.

No one could have expected the dramatic turn of events in just a few months

"I'm already satisfied just from having the chance to chat with them occasionally." Genevieve and the kids were all by his side. Hence, he had time to wait until the researchers invented the antidote. Then, Armand gazed at Cooper and said, "I'm sorry about what happened to Jane."

Cooper's smile faded away, and his cyes darkened. "It wasn't your fault. After all, I'm the one who made the iness."

Jane could've lived a long life if he had been cruel enough to reject her.

The new year had officially arrived when the bell outside rang,

Looking at the beautiful fireworks display out the window, Cooper stated, "I had initially planned to accompany Amanda to play with firecrackers. Since Steven has gone abroad, I was worried you'd feel lonely in the new year and decided to come here instead."

ked glasses with Armand. "I hope you and your daughter can reunite soon in the

new year."

Armand put on a faint smile.

After putting down his wine glass, Armand said, "There is something related to Jermaine that is not convenient for me to investigate. Can you do it for me?" "He's already dead. Why do you want to investigate his matter?" Cooper asked curiously.

Armand flashed him a smile and replied, "He's not dead."

At General Hospital, Timothy was exhausted after conducting a surgery that lasted almost five hours.

The new year had arrived just when he walked out of the operating room. The nurses on duty gave him some presents and wished him a happy new year. "You too. Happy New Year." Timothy forced a smile while tiredness filled his eyes

After marrying Johanna, they would go home for a reunion dinner on the eve of every new year. Then, they would stay in their room and make new year wishes together. Unfortunately, many things happened this year. As Johanna lay on the hospital bed and hadn't woken up. Timothy wasn't in the mood to usher in the new year. "Dr. Jensen! Dr. Jensen!"

A nurse shouted at Timothy excitedly once she exited the elevator and saw him. "Ms. Joule has woken up!"

Timothy hadn't reacted to it, for a buzzing sound filled his head.

After standing still for a few seconds, he rushed toward the nurse and asked in a shaky voice, "Who has woken up?"

"Your wife!" the nurse repeated. "I saw her opening her eyes,"

Timothy ran into the elevator before the nurse could finish.

Once the elevator door opened, he rushed toward Johanna's ward but slowed down when he was almost there. His fingers trembled, and he was afraid to go in. Deep down, he was scared that Johanna only woke up temporarily, and everything remained unchanged.

After going through mental torment for several minutes, he finally pushed the door open and walked toward the bed slowly.

Upon seeing that Johanna's eyes were closed, Timothy's heart sank. Eventually, he collapsed onto the chair in dejection.

Chapter 660

'limothy put Johanna's hand on his forehead and said disappointedly, "Darling, when will you wake up? It's already the new year. Dr. Gibson has arranged your surgery for the seventh day after New Year's Day If you still don't wake up after the surgery. I'll look for a stepmother for our baby

Before Timothy could finishi, al hoarse voice sounded above luis head. "Try it, and you'll know the consequences." Timothy quickly looked up and saw that Johanna was lowering her head and staring at him coldly.

When Genevieve wanted to prepare breakfast for the first day of the new year, she received Timothy's phone call.

Genevieve was shocked and delighted upon knowing that Johanna had woken up. She stopped preparing the food and quickly woke her children up in the room. When they were about to leave, they bumped into Jack, who had just gotten out of bed. Hence, she briefly told him about it and left.

Amanda felt a little confused while on the way to the hospital. She rubbed her eyes and asked. "Mommy, where are we going?"

"Your Aunt Jojo has woken up. We're heading to the hospital now."

Mandy exclaimed and said smugly, "See, Aunt Jojo wakes up after I gave my good luck to her!"

Genevieve flashed her a smile and nodded. "Yes, Mandy is indeed our lucky star."

When they arrived at the ward, Genevieve saw Johanna lying on the bed through the half-closed door. At the same time, Timothy was wiping her hands and face.

After a while, she pushed the door and knocked on it.

A glint flashed across Johanna's eyes once she saw Genevieve. She lifted her hand and waved at Genevieve. "Genev, I missed you so much!"

The next moment, Timothy held her hand and continued to wipe it with a warm cloth. "Darling. you must avoid overstretching your arm since you've just woken up. Besides, Genev heard you when you called her name."

Meanwhile, Genevieve could finally put her mind at case when she confirmed Johanna was awake. Soon, tears streamcd down her face. "We've waited for you for so long."

linawake now. Don't be so melodramatic like Timothy." Johanna ylanced at Timothy and continued, "He cried in front of me when I woke up last night. Furthermore, his tears even dropped into my eyes!" She put on an exaggerated expression when she spoke.

Timothy explained calmly. "I couldn't control my tear glands back then. Anyway, what's wrong with you? Shouldn't you fecl touched when a man like me cries for you?" Johanna rolled her eyes at him and mocked, "Why should I?"

As the husband and wise bantered, Genevieve couldn't help but chucklc.

After they finished, she took her kids closer to the bed. "Mandy, this is your godfather, Uncle Tim."

Without hesitation, Amanda greeted, "Uncle Tim, Happy New Year!"

Even though Genevieve had brought the kids back for some time, Timothy was busy working in the hospital and hadn't met them.

Timothy's heart melted when he saw Amanda's dainty face.

He held her up and kissed her face. "How adorable. What's your name?"

"Mandy!"

He murmured a response and asked, "Why are you called Mandy?"

"Well." Amanda rolled her eyes and flashed him a sweet smile. "Uncle Tim, I wished you a happy new year. Aren't you supposed to give me a gift?"

Timothy burst into laughter. "I thought you wouldn't remember to ask for it."

"Of course, I remember!"

Timothy didn't have time to prepare gifts in advance, for he was busy looking after Johanna. He thought of asking for some cash from his colleague later as a monetary gift. Moments later, Timothy gazed at the cold Lucian, who stood beside Genevieve.

"If my memory serves me right, Jack has a pair of green eyes." Timothy thought the kids didn't inherit Jack's looks.

While staring at Lucian, he narrowed his eyes and gave it some thought. "Your face seems to resemble-"

Lucian interrupted expressionlessly, "Jack is not my dad."

"Well, who is your dad then?"

Johanná chortled at Timothy's bewildered expression and shot him a disdainful glance.

Timothy, I wonder why you can't recognize Armand's son even though you guys have been friends for so many years."