Ch. 901..910

Chapter 901

Jay could not wait to pick up the phone on the coffee table, but when he saw Zayne's phone number displayed on the phone screen, Jay then became uneasy for some reason.

As soon as he picked up the phone, he heard Zayne crying horribly. "President Ares, I'm sorry! I lost Baby Robbie."

Jay tightened his grip on the phone abruptly, his white nails almost pinching into the phone case. His fingers were the color of blood as he was using too much force.

"How did this happen?" Jay could not contain the trembling in his voice.

While blaming himself, Zayne told Jay about Baby Robbie's kidnapping. He finally cried and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, President Ares. I really tried my best. I've traveled all over the streets of S Country these few days, but I still can't find Baby Robbie."

Through Zayne's tired and haggard voice, it felt possible to imagine him crouching around while looking for Baby Robbie amongst the empty streets. It was that helpless and terrifying.

Jay asked, "A mysterious man?"

"Yes, it was a very tall man with incredible fighting skills. He caused a bleeding Storm's internal organs

with his Tempest Fist, and Storm is still currently lying in the hospital." Zayne had described the man with a tone of awe.

The voices had leaked out from the phone's microphone, and Finn's face was distorted in surprise. "He beat Storm into the hospital with just one move?"

Storm was champion of the mixed martial arts category in the global martial arts competition.

He had always thought that there was no such existence of a person who could subdue Storm in one move.

Good God, who was that person?

Jay gave Zayne an order, saying, "Come back and take care of Angeline. Tell Storm to continue looking for Baby Robbie after he has recovered."

He then gritted his teeth and issued a death order. "If he can't find Baby Robbie, tell him not to come back."

"Okay," Zayne responded while crying.

After he hung up the phone, Jay's face appeared upset.

He was entirely unable to face the news of Baby Robbie's disappearance.

Moreover, he did not know whether Angeline could withstand such a blow if she knew of such bad news.

For Angeline's sake, he decided to lie to her.

"Finn, go back and warn Zayne that he must conceal the news of Baby Robbie's disappearance from

Angeline."

After hesitating for a moment, he finally thought of a way to comfort Angeline whilst using the great wisdom that he had accumulated over an entire lifetime. "Tell Zayne that the man who used Tempest Fist on Storm was someone arranged by me."

Finn's handsome face was filled with sadness.

He hoped that this white lie of President Ares could soothe Angelinas battered heart.

"Yes, President Ares."

Zayne had returned from S country the next day, but he did not dare return to Swallow City to face Angeline.

As such, he hid in a bar in Imperial Capital and got drunk.

All the money he had on him had been used up to look for Baby Robbie in S Country. The bar owner thought that he was here to drink for free, so he sent someone to beat him up.

Josephine, who was getting drunk at the bar, recognized Zayne and paid for him. Then, she took the unconscious Zayne back home.

Zayne was muttering in a daze as he occupied Josephine's bed.

"Zayne, you're a loser! You like Josephine, but you dare not admit it. You want to revive the Severe family, but you lost all your property. You want to protect your sister, but you lost her son. "Zayne, what do you live for? You don't deserve to live."

Josephine was walking toward him with some water when she heard his unclear voice. Her entire body was as if it had just turned into stone.

Tears came out of her eyes.

At that moment, she became like a beast that was out of control, suddenly rushing up to punch and kick at Zayne. "Why did you say it out loud? Why did you have to say it? You like me, but if you're not willing to be with me, then you should have just hidden it for the rest of your life! Why did you have to say it? You make me feel so dissatisfied."

Zayne frowned. He was too drunk.

Chapter 902

Chapter 902

As in thoroughly, utterly drunk.

He remained silent and stoic as Josephine continued to hammer at his chest.

Exhausted and dry of tears, Josephine dropped onto the floor and stared blankly into space.

"Josie!" Zayne called out to her again and again, his voice thick with hurt.

However, Josephine only fetched out a strip of doublesided tape to shut his mouth.

Then, she stood by the headboard. She stared down at Zayne Severe like a predator who had caught sight of its prey.

"Zayne Severe, you b*stard," she spat out.

"You ruined my life. I can't fall in love again anymore because you've spoiled me for everyone else. What am I supposed to do now?"

Josephine turned around, feeling more despondent the more she droned on. Pulling another bottle from the wine cabinet, she opened it and chugged directly from it.

Without realizing it, Josephine's life had intertwined too deeply with alcohol.

Perhaps it was the countless lonely nights where only

alcohol could drive off her insomnia. Slowly but surely, Josephine had turned into an addict who lived off alcohol.

Bottle after bottle Josephine gulped, hoping the alcohol would chase away the indignance she was feeling. Alas, her indignance only grew, turning into ants that fed on her every thought. Unease was itching unbearably at the back of her mind.

She walked over to the bed, a dangerous glint that came from her irritation flashed in her enchanting pair of eyes.

She then tore off Zayne's clothes roughly...

Pain joined the chaos that was her train of thought.

Looking at the messy room, Josephine jolted up.

She had made a grave mistake by sleeping with a married man.

Good Lord, what had she done?

Immediately, she helped him back into his clothes and cleaned up the evidence of her crime. Last but not least, she sprayed on her favorite perfume... The one that smelled like roses.

Her heart thumped loudly in her ears despite having gotten rid of every smidgen of evidence.

She was disgusted with herself. How could she do such an immoral thing?

Regret consumed her as she thought of the Severe's gentle and dignified Shirley Thomas.

Suffering the consequences of her conscience, Josephine tugged hard on the strands of hair on her head. She wanted nothing more than to tug them out strand by strand, shifting the pain in her conscience to physical discomfort.

After a long while of regret, Josephine's mind finally came up with a way to repent-she would keep it a secret forever.

Zayne slept the entire night away. When he blinked his eyes open, Zayne frowned at his headache-a sign that he was hungover.

Josephine lay on the sofa on the side. Setting his eyes on her, Zayne jumped off the bed as if he had seen a ghost.

"Why are you here, Josephine Ares?"

He looked down to inspect his clothes. Making sure that nothing was out of place, he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Josephine stared at him with exasperation in her eyes. "What are you... What's the meaning of this, Zayne Severe? Do I look like someone who would take advantage of you just because you spent the night here?"

There was no confidence in her tone.

Zayne merely smiled goofily.

"As if. If anything, I was worried that I would take

advantage of you while under the influence of alcohol."

Josephine replied, "Relax. You slept like a log last night. Nothing happened."

Chapter 903

Chapter 903

Zayne stood, the ache in his bones having him suck in a cold breath.

Folding his sleeves, he found his forearm littered with bruises and a long scratch, most likely from someone's fingernail.

Zayne stared suspiciously at Josephine. "Did you take it out of me when I was drunk?"

Josephine was a little guilty. "Don't accuse me of something I didn't do. You were the one who went into the bar and got beaten up by the boss for mooching. I was the good person who brought you back." "What about this scratch, then?" Zayne's gaze fell on Josephine's long nails.

Josephine stared at the long scratch with a secretive glance. She had no idea whether the shocking wound was left behind when she hit him last night, or when he rolled vigorously around the bed.

"I may have accidentally scratched you when I dragged you back," Josephine said.

Zayne scratched the back of his head. "You dragged me back? Why don't I remember anything?"

"You were wasted."

Remembering why he went to the bar to drink himself silly in the first place, Zayne's face turned sullen.

"Josephine, I lost Robbie."

There was no need to hide his feelings in front of her.

His hands went to grip his hair while heartbroken tears trickled from the corner of his eyes.

Josephine replied, "I know. You apologized 100 times to Sis Angeline, then 200 times to Jay, followed by another 300 times to Baby Robbie when you were drunk."

Zayne stared at her, stunned. "You've got to be exaggerating."

Josephine responded, "You spent the entire night apologizing. I was upset as well, but I know that you didn't mean it and that it was an accident. Rather than stewing here blaming yourself, wouldn't it be wiser to use your time and energy to find Robbie?"

Enheartened, Zayne broke out of his daze of selfblame.

"You're right. I have to get my act together. I have to find Baby Robbie."

Josephine's eyes glistened. Robbie was still so young. She dared not imagine what would happen if he was kidnapped.

In addition to Robbie, Josephine found herself worried for Zayne as well.

"Does my brother know about this?" Josephine felt that with how much Jay Ares loved his children, he would shred Zayne to pieces for having lost Robbie. Zayne nodded.

Surprise flashed over Josephine's alluring features." Did my brother not give you trouble?"

It was not like Jay to let Zayne go with all limbs still intact. Especially not the Jay Ares now whose ruthlessness surpassed the person he was from before.

Zayne's thoughts were everywhere, coupled with his lack of caution against Josephine, the words came out of his mouth before he even registered them. "I'm pretty sure your brother is in too much of a pinch to care about me right now."

Josephine's pupils contracted.

There was too much to unpack from Zayne's words.

To think that Jay Ares, a man who dealt with any difficulty with ease, was held back to the point that he could not help in the recovery of his missing child?

"Is my brother in some sort of distress?" Josephine asked shakily.

Unease filled her mind. Indeed, Jay was not the kind to turn ruthless for no reason.

Josephine's question threw Zayne off balance. Rooted in place, franticness flashed in his eyes.

"No-not at all."

To cover his own panic, Zayne emphasized hyperbolically. "He's the kind of person trouble evades, not the other way round. What could he possibly be distressed about?" The more he explained, the more it seemed like something was wrong.

Josephine's expression had already turned into one of incredulity.

Nervous, Zayne stood up. "I should go."

Chapter 904

Chapter 904

Josephine drilled holes into Zayne's frantic expression with her sharp gaze alone. This man could never lie even if it would cost him his life. The frequency of his blinks increased every time he lied. "Zayne!"

Already at the door with his hand on the knob, Zayne paused and turned when Josephine called out for him.

Josephine casually walked over with her arms crossed.

Out of the blue, her hand pinched Zayne's ear. She was fuming as she demanded, "Tell me the truth. What trouble is my brother in?"

Zayne chupsed in pain. "How would I know? It's your brother."

"My brother broke up with Sis Angeline, then forced her into inducing labor. Why are you condoning his ruthless ways?" Josephine shouted furiously.

Despite not understanding why Jay would induce labor on Angeline, Zayne believed that Jay Ares would only have done so with good reason, for Jay valued Angeline's life more than anything, even his own. Josephine's suspicion grew as she read Zayne's understanding for Jay from his face. "You would always jump at the chance to attack my brother

whenever he showed even the slightest sign of mistreating Sis Angeline, yet you seem to be absolutely fine now even when Jay's about to force her into a deep end. What are you hiding from me, Zayne?" Josephine grew agitated.

Not knowing how to defend himself, Zayne could only escape.

He yanked his hand out of Josephine's grip and bid her a rushed farewell. "I have to go home, Josephine. Shirley's waiting for me."

The name Shirley had Josephine defeated.

Josephine let go and could only watch Zayne leave.

By the time Josephine snapped back to reality, the bubbles of suspicion within her had begun to overflow.

What secret was Jay hiding from her?

Josephine decided to find out for herself.

With her acting schedule freed up, Josephine hailed a cab to Jay's usual residence-Garden Of A Diary.

Arriving at the gates, she was stunned. Garden Of A Diary looked completely different.

What was once a pastel grey tone had now become a happy-go-lucky pastel pink. It signified the change in ownership of the property.

After a while of yelling at the door that ended up to no avail, Josephine decided to climb in from the carved gates.

While she could not enter the villa itself, she decided to take a walk around it. Through the glimpses between the floor-to-ceiling curtains, Josephine felt her heart sink at how empty the inside was. Her instincts told her that something big must have happened to Jay.

Otherwise, he would never leave Garden Of A Diary like so.

Especially not when it was his favorite property.

He had taken part in everything he could to build Garden Of A Diary, from designing it himself to personally supervising its process. Even the materials used were chosen by Jay himself. Garden Of A Diary was somewhere he planned to live for life.

Not to mention that it did not make sense either to move all the furniture out and switch its decoration style just because he decided not to live there for the time being. Josephine's mood grew grim.

She spent the day running through major locations of Jay Ares' life.

She went to Grand Asia only to hear from the staff," The president hasn't come to work for quite a few days already."

She arrived at Horizon Colors only to realize that it had met the same fate as Garden Of A Dairy-splashed

anew.

Josephine's thoughts ran wild. 'Could the Ares family have forced Jay into bankruptcy?'

She shook her head. The thought seemed too farfetched.

It made more sense for the Ares family to force Jay into a corner before bankruptcy.

In the end, Josephine decided determinedly. To Tourmaline Estate it was.

Chapter 905

Chapter 905

Without a car of her own, Josephine could only hail a ride to the rural Tourmaline Estate.

Standing at the intersection, she hailed a cab.

After getting in the car, another figure suddenly approached from behind the car and pulled open the door. They climbed in to sit next to Josephine.

Josephine stared at Zayne with confusion in her eyes. "Are you stalking me, Zayne Severe?"

Zayne's neck stiffened. "Who, who, who's following you?"

He spared Josephine's curvy figure a disdainful gaze and gulped. The words he spoke were the complete opposite of the thoughts in his mind. "Who would want to stalk a flat-chested woman like you?" Josephine raised a fist and began to hit Zayne. "I'm a D cup! What's this condescending look you're giving m e?"

"D cup?" Zayne asked doubtfully. "I'd say C cup at most."

The taxi driver grew uncomfortable. "Cough cough, where would you two like to go?"

"Tourmaline Estate." "Eminent Limited"

Josephine glared at Zayne. "Be a gentleman. Ladies first."

Zayne pulled a face and pleaded, "But I'm in a rush. Can't we go to Eminent first?"

Josephine relented. "Alright."

The car made a turn back toward Eminent Limited.

20 minutes later.

The taxi arrived at Eminent Limited.

Zayne pulled Josephine out of the vehicle with him by her hand. "Come down with me. I'll drive you to Tourmaline Estate when I'm done with the things I have to do."

Josephine hesitated, the voice in her head reminding her that Zayne was a married man and that she should keep her distance from him.

Yet her body seemed to move and follow him before she knew it.

Walking into Eminent, Zayne's easy-going expression grew thoughtful. The easy-going mirth on his handsome features shifted into a look that was sterner than a veteran's. Looking around Zayne's Eminent Limited, Josephine found that the company was in a state of being closed.

There were no employees at work and the offices were cleared as well as emptied.

"What happened to your company, Zayne?" Josephine asked in shock.

Zayne smiled heart-rendingly. "The company went bankrupt."

Josephine felt her heart clench at the melancholic and nostalgic look in Zayne's eyes for Eminent. She attempted to console him, saying, "So what if you've gone bankrupt? What was the saying again? It's better to lose the saddle than the horse. This might just be a small price to pay to avoid greater misfortunes. Who knows, maybe everything will go smoothly from here on out."

She added with a mischievous tone, "Though I suppose you would be rather broke now."

Zayne was despondent. "I would rather die."

"To live is better than to die." Josephine glared." You're not a child anymore. Being broke doesn't warrant death. There's nothing to be ashamed about being broke."

With a dark expression, Zayne marched toward his office.

Josephine followed after him.

Zayne's office was empty with not even an office table in sight. There was only the rather new-looking English bed at the corner of the room.

Next to it was a standing hot water dispenser.

On the opposite wall was a projector along with numerous CDs and DVDs on the television cabinet.

It was a homebody set-up.

Josephine could not help but tease, saying, "I see they don't call you the spendthrift of Swallow City for no reason, Zayne. There's not an item of work furniture in your office. Instead, all I see are recreational ones."

The pupils in Zayne's eyes darkened as he stared at Josephine in shock.

Everything here was prepared for her.

Josephine took a walk around the room. Turning around, she found Zayne staring at her with an unusual glint in his eyes. With a terrifying expression, he approached her with his hands behind his back. Uneasy, Josephine backed up against the wall and questioned him, fear apparent in her voice, "What are you doing, Zayne?"

Chapter 906

Chapter 906

Zayne kept walking without saying a word.

Josephine then fled.

Zayne's footsteps hastened the moment she ran off.

Tears of fear began to form in Josephine's eyes. "What are you trying to do, Zayne? Stop, you're scaring me."

Perhaps it was the lack of calm that had Josephine accidentally kicking the edge of the bed while she was fleeing, making her flop onto it.

Zayne pounced on her, his hands coming from behind him to take the cut straps on the bedsheet.

"What are you trying to do? Have you gone mad, Zayne?" Josephine kicked and fought back.

Unshed tears began to well in Zayne's reddened eyes.

After he had tied both of Josephine's hands only did he finally let out a sigh of slight relief.

Zayne lit himself a cigarette and took a long drag, puffing out a cloud of smoke that danced in the air. His tone was pleading when he turned to look at Josephine who continued to kick about. "Just relax for a moment, Josephine. There's something I need to tell you."

Josephine could not relax, not when the fear was driving her to a mental breakdown.

"Untie me or you can forget about talking." "If you're not going to listen, Josephine, I will have no other choice but to tie your legs up and tape your mouth shut."

The horror she felt had Josephine at a loss for words.

Though her alluring pair of eyes did drill angrily into Zayne.

Zayne looked greatly distressed. "Don't look at me like that. I don't like having to do this any more than you do."

Feeling as if the Zayne she knew was returning, Josephine's fear slowly mellowed out.

"What do you want with me? I'll let you sleep with me if that's what you want. You don't need to tie me up for that."

Zayne's gaze swept over her opened collar before he turned away in embarrassment. "It's not like that."

"So it's not for sex. Then what is it for?

"Money?"

Zayne replied, "A struggling nobleman is no better than a peasant. Why would I rob you? Stupid."

"So it's not for sex and it's also not for money?" Josephine was confused. "Do you want my life, then?" Zayne jumped up in frustration. "Why on earth would I want your life? I'm trying to protect you here." Josephine was shocked.

Zayne had so much to say, but he did not know where to start.

Should Josephine come to know that the Ares family threw her out to protect her, that the Ares family had a horrible storm that was destined to go their way, and that all her relatives were about to lose their lives, Zayne was afraid that she would really go mad.

"What are you protecting me from?" Josephine asked, stumped.

"Your brother wanted me to pass a word, Josephine." Zayne raised both his hands to rub his face, his mind sobering from its exhaustion and muddled thoughts.

"What did he say?" Josephine's expression showed resistance and fear as if she already knew what would come.

"He said, maybe your father had no other choice but to throw you out of the Ares family."

Josephine Ares froze.

"How could that be? Why would Jay defend my father? My father tried to marry me off to Hiroshi and oppressed Jay however he could. After all the wicked things he has done, what do you mean maybe he had no other choice?" Josephine refused to believe him.

Zayne smiled bitterly. "Your father must really regret not being more ruthless with the both of you now."

Josephine felt that there was more to his words than met the eye. "What do you mean?"

"Your father did everything he could to hurt you in hopes that you would hate him and leave Tourmaline Estate."

Josephine scoffed. "Exactly. That way, he would have full control and ownership over Ares Enterprises."

Zayne shook his head. "You've misunderstood your father, Josephine. Yes, your father doesn't want you back at Tourmaline Estate, but that's because there's a n impending doom fated to befall the estate." Josephine cracked up, choking on air as she stared suspiciously at Zayne. "Do you need to see a psychiatrist, Zayne? I don't think you're doing very well."

 

Chapter 907

Chapter 907

Zayne was speechless. "I'm fine."

Josephine continued, "Most mentally ill patients also say that they're fine. You've already gotten to the point of auditory hallucinations. Any more and you'd be suicidal." Zayne,

To stop Josephine from seeing Zayne as a mentally ill patient, Zayne needed to feed her something solid.

"Josephine, have you heard of the Bright Moon Village tragedy?"

Josephine shook her head.

Shock flashed through her enchanting features. "Did you go through some sort of psychological blow or something? You've gotten sick beyond the point of treatment." Josephine was close to crying.

At the end of his rope, Zayne began to mutter to himself, "Ah, right. I forgot you've been busy acting as a side character these days. You've probably been too busy to care about the outside world." Stunned, Josephine immediately fired back in indignance. "So what if I'm just a side character? I'm proud of my job."

Josephine was used to others' contempt and them rolling their eyes at her, for she had been looked down on by many ever since she started acting.

However, it hurt when Zayne was the one doing it.

Zayne apologized. "I should have phrased it better. I'm not looking down on you."

Josephine's expression was dark as she muttered," Who gave a mentally ill patient like you the right to look down on me?"

Zayne was exasperated. "Would you please shut your mouth before I hit you, Josephine? Let me finish, okay?"

Josephine shot back. "Not okay."

Zayne stood up to take a roll of tape from the drawer. He huffed, saying, "You asked for this!"

Josephine regretted it. "I'll shut up, I'll shut up. Zayne, no, don't tape my mouth up. Mmm, mmm."

Zayne taped her mouth shut with the yellow tape in the shape of an 'X' on her mouth. Glaring at Zayne, Josephine looked almost comical.

Zayne walked over to turn on the projector. Tapping on a few keys, a piece of news was pulled up on the screen.

It was the news of the tragic decimation of Bright Moon Village.

Josephine's anger deflated as she read the news. The anger in her eyes shifted into unadulterated fear.

Zayne switched off the projector.

"Do you see now?"

Josephine nodded. Her eyes were filled with doubt as she stared confusedly at Zayne, waiting for him to continue.

Her heart was thumping in her ears. She wanted to know what the correlation was, what tied this Bright Moon Village tragedy to the Ares family. However, Zayne only fell silent once again. Josephine lifted her free leg to kick his behind, hard.

Zayne replied, "Give me a moment. Let me think about how to start."

"Mmm, mmm-"

Zayne exhaled deeply and began to talk.

"Your brother came to look for me a few days ago. That was when he told me a secret within the Ares family.

"His mother, Chloe Yorks, the daughter of Doomsday Commander Noel Yorks, died at the hands of the Ares family. This man also happens to have found a mysterious organization after the world war. This mysterious organization has already arrived at Imperial Capital. Their only goal is to annihilate the Ares family and avenge Chloe Yorks.

"The decimation of Bright Moon Village was a warning since one of the Bright Moon Village's elders played a part in the murder of Chloe Yorks."

Chapter 908

Chapter 908

Josephine was dazed.

She was stunned while her mind was blank. She was too shocked to react for a very long while.

Zayne waved a hand in front of her, but Josephine did not seem to react to that either.

Zayne reached out to pinch hard at her earlobes. The pain from this pulled Josephine's consciousness back to the present.

She stared blankly at Zayne. "What about my brother?"

Jay Ares had always been the pillar of hope for the Ares family. In the face of such misfortune, it would make sense that he was the first person Josephine thought of.

Zayne replied, "He's back at Tourmaline Estate now that he has ensured Angeline and their three kids would be taken care of. He has resigned to sharing the Ares family's fate with Grand Old Master and everyone else."

Josephine's complexion paled. Jay must really be out of options to go so far as creating a path for Sis Angeline and the three children to escape.

"Then... when is this disaster due?" Josephine prayed and hoped that the day would come later.

Zayne was upset. "The Signal of Death D13 has already

appeared on one of Tourmaline Estate's towers. 13 represents the deadline, and it's four days from now."

Josephine's eyes widened....

A heart-wrenching scream echoed in the room. "No!"

It was followed by a strong struggle against the shackles around her hands. She began to shout, "Let me go, Zayne. I want to go home, I want to go home."

Not knowing what to do with Josephine's sudden emotional outburst, Zayne began to console Josephine with all he could. "It'll be alright, Josephine. Stop, please."

There was no way Josephine could quiet down, not when her body seemed to be possessed by some prehistoric monstrous creature. She was struggling and yelling with everything within her.

"I have to apologize to my father, Zayne. I've misunderstood him. Please, let me at least see him one last time. Let me apologize."

"No. You can't contact anyone from the Ares family, Josephine, or this evil organization will place you on their blacklist too."

"So what if I die? At least I'll be dying with the Ares family. Please, Zayne, I'm begging you. Let me go."

"No, Josephine. I won't let you kill yourself like this."

Josephine shouted and yelled, "Who are you to stop me from killing myself, Zayne? You were the one who took away my will to live. Do you have any idea how

many times I've stood at the edge of a building with the thought to jump and end all this suffering and pain? Why are you stopping me now that I can finally end my life with my family?"

The corners of Zayne's eyes reddened, dyed so by the bloodshot veins inside.

"I'm sorry, Josephine. I am so sorry..."

"What's the use of you saying sorry now? You act as if you don't say it all the time. You've completely killed off every lingering thought I had for you now that you have a wonderful wife waiting for you at home. I don't want to live anymore. I want my parents and I want my brother. I want the people who actually love me." Josephine wailed, her sobs coming from the bottom of her heart.

Zayne held her tight against him, afraid that Josephine would free herself from the ties.

Josephine's words had cut deep into his heart, stabbing into it mercilessly like knives.

"Of all the people, you're the last person I want to hurt. Yet I end up hurting you anyway and I hate myself for it. I'm so sorry, Josephine."

Exhausted, Josephine fell onto the bed and stared blankly at the white ceiling above.

Slowly, Zayne loosened his grip as well. Both their bones and muscles ached as if they had been pushed into an intense game of tug-of-war.

Zayne crashed next to Josephine, his expression looking lost. "I know it hurts, Josephine, I know. But you're not the only one in pain. Such is life. We've been brought to this world, and your only job is to live. That's the only meaning of life, to live. There is no such thing as an easy life."

"Live, Josephine. You have to live." He begged.

Sorrow swam in Josephine's eyes as tears trickled out of them against her will.

She missed her parents, her brother, and her grandfather. She missed everyone in the Ares family.

If only she had been more forgiving. If only she had not up and left them so impulsively.

Chapter 909

Chapter 909

Josephine was more worried about Angeline, for she would live forever in regret should she come to know of the truth behind Jay's ruthlessness with her.

Angeline had always been the one to stubbornly give her heart in the name of love, after all.

"You have to tell Sis Angeline, Zayne." Angry tears shone in Josephine's otherwise empty gaze.

Zayne replied, "Genius as he is, your brother has gone to great lengths just to force Angeline to leave him. Do you have any idea how much it hurt him inside when Angeline misunderstood him? We call him coldblooded, but I watched him cry like that was all he had known. I watched his frosty eyes turn bloodshot with veins like spider-lilies blooming in the whites of his eyes. Even a man like me felt the pain he went through. Would you dare throw all that hard work out the window? Because I can't."

Josephine felt the words get lodged in her throat." How could I not know how much my brother loves Sis Angeline? Sis Angeline has been the only thing he cradled close since he was 18. He had such a great track record throughout this path of love, yet he made the gravest mistake at the end of it.

"Does he not know that Sis Angeline is the type to follow through with the vow 'til death do us part'? How could he leave Sis Angeline alone in this world to

fend for herself? How could he when death would hurt her less than the torturous days to come?"

Zayne was lost for words.

"Give me the phone, Zayne. I have to tell Sis Angeline."

"I can't..." Zayne hesitated.

"Give it to me!" Josephine roared.

Zayne climbed up from the bed. "You must be hungry. I'll go get you some food." Then, he fled from the scene.

"Zayne..."

The autumn wind blew, rustling the yellow and red leaves while forcing them into a ruthless swirl.

Leaves clung onto their trees, reluctant to fall away.

Zayne sat against a trunk with his head drooped. Lighting a cigarette, he began to go through the box of it soon enough.

Leaves danced in the wind before finally settling by Zayne's feet.

Surprised by the rarity of their color, Zayne picked up a bright red leaf.

The sight of the leaf reminded him of Jay Ares.

Returning to the land it came from was the red's fated end. It was its destiny to sacrifice itself, to be one with the soil beneath.

Jay Ares' fate was no different.

Dropping the cigarette to the ground, Zayne stomped to extinguish its light.

Then, he walked into the biggest French restaurant chain with the red leaf still in hand.

Personally, Zayne had no preference when it came to food. The dandy habits of rich kids never grew on him despite having grown up in a wealthy environment.

A simple meal from food stalls was usually enough.

However, now that he was buying food for Josephine, Zayne found himself putting more effort into picking his meals.

Inside the large French restaurant chain were quite a few customers, sitting together in twos and threes.

Entering through the revolving doors, Zayne's eyes caught sight of Angeline sitting in the half-partition room by the glass windows. Donned in a white lace dress, she sat in front of Cole Yorks. The man was in a white suit of his own.

A handsome man with a beautiful woman. What a match made in heaven.

Cole's smile was gentle as he passed Angeline a side dish.

A welcoming smile for Cole settled on Angeline's fair and small face.

Zayne's gaze then fell on the man standing by a stone pillar behind Angeline.

The man was tall and his back was straight as he held himself with a sense of dignity that befit a prince. In black sunglasses and a hoodie, the man hid behind the stone pillar.

Jay Ares?

He could stand already?

Zayne walked toward him. Stopping in front of Jay, he spoke in a low voice, "What am I supposed to do? Praise you? Because congratulations, you've succeeded in driving my sister away into the arms of another man."

Jay's clear voice bled with sorrow. "What else was I supposed to do? Let her die for me again?"

Zayne could not refute him.

"Still, you didn't need to go so far in forcing her to leave you," Zayne reprimanded, "Someone told me you forced her into induced labor. Are you stupid or are you dumb? Why can't you just accept it if she's willing to give you a son? I mean you'd have another one to visit your grave when you die, right?"

Jay took off his glasses, the ferocious glint in his icy eyes piercing into the other man.

Chapter 910

Chapter 910

Zayne shivered. Perhaps he had taken it too far.

"It was an ectopic pregnancy," Jay told him.

Zayne was lost for words.

"Oh."

Jay was never ruthless, not when the man merely chose to hide the truth behind protecting Angeline.

Zayne felt his heart tighten and clench. "You idiot."

Jay almost seemed overprotective of Angeline.

Despite her being the mother of three kids, he still saw her as a little girl who would always need him.

Zayne walked over to Angeline and Cole, forcing himself between the duo.

"Hey, Angeline. Why can't you choose a better spot to go on a date? Look at how many people there are here. Have you no shame?"

Cole smiled elegantly. "Indeed. I'll make sure to choose a better spot next time. Perhaps under the moon and the stars?"

Zayne,

Zayne felt like he had gone for wool but came home shorn.

"Could you stop spending time with my sister for the

next few days, Cole? She's a little busy..."

Zayne merely hoped that Jay could leave the world happy.

"I'm not busy." Angeline cut through his lie.

Zayne's eyes widened.

"Don't forget, Angeline, that you're a divorced woman with three kids. Looking for a man is no longer the issue of you alone. Your children should have a say in this."

He spared Cole a glance. "Especially when he'd be filling in the role of a stepfather. I have a feeling your children will reject someone of his caliber."

Cole was speechless.

Was he that bad?

Zayne pressed on. "After all, with how big a difference there is when you compare him to their biological father, I'm afraid the kids won't take well to the gaping difference." Cole, "..."

He was still rather pissed about Carson pointing out how inferior he was in comparison to Jay Ares.

He had not expected Zayne to be so blunt, explicitly stating how big a difference there was between him and Jay.

Cole was hit immediately with a sense of defeat!

It was a sense of shame only Jay Ares could bring onto him.

The desire to win surged within him. He would prove to the world that Jay's presence would be like an ant's to him.

As he spoke, Zayne picked up an expensive bottle of cocktail to pour himself a cup.

Angelina reached out to block the top of the cup, turning the spotlight to him. "Why are you back? Where's Baby Robbie?"

Zayne's smile froze. As he was too caught up in Jay's feelings, Zayne had impulsively rushed out and forgotten about the missing Baby Robbie.

He had dug his own grave.

"Jay Ares sent Storm to join in the competition Robbie's in, and because I don't want to see his botox-injected emotionless face, I came back early." Zayne brushed her off guiltily.

Angeline replied, "Why are you back here? Do you have nothing better to do? Would it hurt you to be a good uncle and stay in S country with Robbie?"

A hand came up to hold her abdomen. Angeline's eyes reddened as the topic shifted. "Jay Ares doesn't care about his own family anymore. What gave you the idea that he'd care about his child?" An awkward and bitter look surfaced on Zayne's expression.

Jay was standing right behind her, and Zayne wondered how much it must have hurt him to hear Angeline's words.

"How could he not love his own son?"

Angeline's expression was indifferent. The topic of Jay Ares sent a searing pain to her chest, splitting it open.