Filed to story: Disdained Son-in-Law, Destined Riches >>
Loreen looked Joe in the eyes and said sternly, “Don’t lie to me! Zachary has already told me that this pebble is yours—it’s the rare, one and only peace and wealth pebble!”
Joe pursed his lips and looked away, silently cursing Zachary for spilling the beans!
Since Loreen had grasped the conclusive evidence, Joe could only confess with a reluctant nod, “Okay, fine, I’ll admit that I was the one who rescued you at the Aurous Bistro, but I was simply around the neighborhood when I saw you! Please don’t tell Claire!”
He fell silent after confessing. They stumbled upon an awkward silence for a while.
Joe felt quite embarrassed and awkward. He didn’t know how to face Loreen since his great effort of concealing his identity had been exposed to Loreen.
Loreen, on the other hand, felt a surge of turbulent waves crashing inside her. Her mind was chaotic with complex and troublesome thoughts.
Loreen stared intensely at Joe. Her mouth gaped and shut several times and she was unable to blurt a word. Finally, she mustered up the courage, took a step forward, and stood about a fist away from him.
“Joe, I… I like you!”
Joe twitched his lips in shock. He took a step back and said, “Loreen, I’m your best friend’s husband, you…”
Loreen gritted her teeth and uttered, “So what? I know you and Claire don’t have any feelings for each other! You guys got married purely because of her grandfather. So, I’m not stealing my best friend’s husband—technically, I’m stealing her fake husband.”
Then, she grabbed his hand, placed it above her heart, and said in the most loving and passionate tone, “Joe, I’m equally as beautiful as Claire is, my body is also quite hot compared to hers, and better still, I’m the eldest daughter of the Thomas family. I love you more than she ever will and I’m willing to do anything for you.”
Joe snatched his hand away and said, utterly shocked, “Loreen, it’s absolutely impossible for us to be together, I can’t betray Claire. Besides, I believe it’s just a momentary impulse. Don’t have your mind on me, it’s not worth it.”
Hearing the rejection, Loreen said in a stubborn voice, “No, I had a thought about it all night. Joe, I fell in love with you since you saved me the first time, and I’m hopelessly in love with you after the second time!”
Then, she screamed loudly, “I like you! I love you! Believe me, if you get together with me, I’ll never let anyone look down on you! I’ll be the companion who is always by your side and I’ll support you forever!”
Joe managed a bitter smile upon her remark.
The only thing Loreen knew was that he was her savior, but she didn’t know that he was the chairman of Emgrand Group and the young master of Eastcliff’s Smith family. If he didn’t want to be looked down upon, he could immediately reveal his identity. The whole world would bend their knees upon him and worship him.
However, he couldn’t care less about a tacky life like that.
Besides, he couldn’t say it out loud either. It would hurt Loreen too much and risk exposing himself unintentionally.
Loreen kept a stubborn and affectionate gaze on him. “It doesn’t matter if you reject me now, but I won’t back down. I’ll prove to you with my actions that I love you more than Claire, and I’m a more suitable partner than she is! I’m willing to follow you forever even if I can only be your secret lover!”
Joe sighed helplessly. “Loreen, you aren’t thinking straight right now. I think you’d better think about it carefully. I need to go now, I have some cooking to do at home. Bye.”
Then, Joe quickly started his electric scooter and rode away like he was running away from a venomous snake.
He figured that she was traumatized by the shocking incidents that had happened to her recently that induced such an unbelievable hallucination inside her head. As soon as he kept himself away from her for two days or so, she would drop that thought like a hot cake.
However, Loreen’s eyes were still serious and firm as she watched him leave. She said to herself, “Loreen Thomas, don’t back down, you can do it!”
After returning home, Joe threw the encounter with Loreen out the window.
However, after calming down, he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t refined the medicine he had promised Anthony Simmons and the Moore family.
For them, the medicine was simply the most amazing medication the world could provide.
But in Joe’s opinion, it was merely one of the most common medicines in the Apocalyptic Book. If he could refine and produce the more powerful and magnificent medicines recorded in the book, he wondered if it could bring back the dead or even make someone immortal?
Despite its possible miracle, those magnificent drugs required a lot of exotic and rare ingredients, some of which he hadn’t even heard of. Most importantly, a lot of them were primers that needed reiki to refine into usable materials. He was just a beginner in producing medicine and there’s still a long way to go. Hence, he needed to tread slowly and cautiously.
Nevertheless, Joe was willing to refine and produce medicine for them because he wanted to accumulate more experience in this department and enhance his skills.
He didn’t have the ingredients for the medicine in his hands, but it was the Moore family’s responsibility to look for them since they wanted him to do the job. Thus, he took out his phone and called Jasmine.
Lately, Jasmine had been contemplating how to keep in touch with Joe and spend more time with him.
Her grandfather had stated that whoever was lucky enough to have Joe as their son-in-law would have the family prosper and be successful. It was nothing but a huge waste for Joe to be with an insignificant family like the Wilsons.
The best way was to make a powerful and extraordinary pair. Only the most prominent family in society was eligible for a son-in-law as extraordinary as Joe.
How could a godlike figure be with a menial commoner?
Her grandfather’s words lingered in her mind. The more she thought about it, the stronger her passion towards Joe grew with a tinge of longing.
She wanted to call Joe more often, meet each other more often, and also keep in touch more often, but she was afraid that Joe might notice her too-obvious actions.
Jasmine had always been a proud and elegant lady. She could be regarded as the noble princess that was everyone’s focus in Aurous Hill. The daughters of other families were dull in comparison with her existence. She was beyond the reach of all the men in Aurous Hill.
Jasmine had never had any feelings for any man until now—Joe was the first.
Unfortunately, he was a married man, a live-in son-in-law.
Jasmine found it to be very ironic. She was uncertain and doubtful as to how to make a move on Joe and develop something passionate out of it.
This time, Joe’s face occupied her mind. Just as she was daydreaming about Joe, he received a call from him! She shrieked excitedly like a child getting candy.
She answered the call and her voice was slightly shivering when she asked, “Hi, Master Smith, how can I help you?”
Joe chuckled softly and said, “Miss Moore, I plan to start refining the medicine tomorrow but I need some ingredients. I hope you can help me out with it and send them over to me.”
Jasmine was absolutely thrilled when she heard that Joe was finally going to produce the medication.
The Moore family had been eagerly waiting for Joe’s miracle medicine, but they hadn’t heard any news from him and they dared not to urge him. After all, he had promised to give it to them for free, how could they rush him albeit his generosity?
Jasmine quickly said, “Don’t worry, Master Smith. Send me the list and I’ll immediately find them, the best quality of them all, and send them over to you!”
“That’s great, thanks!” Joe said with a smile. “Remember to prepare more of them, I have other uses for them.”
Joe had all the money in the world for those ingredients but he needed a reliable channel to get them from. Good medical ingredients are like fine pieces of antique relics that are not easy to come across. For things that were precious, money was not the main issue, but a legitimate way to get them was instead.
His foundation in Aurous Hill was very shallow compared to the Moore family’s influence and power in the city. They would have their trustworthy resources in every aspect here.
As soon as Jasmine ended the call, she received a list of medicinal ingredients from Joe. Immediately afterward, she called Graham Quinton.
Although the Quinton family was not as prominent as the Moore family, their main trade and business revolved around antiquities, cultural relics, and Chinese herbal medicine.