Chapter 22- gift
Appreciative and approving gazes lingered on Charles for a few seconds before shifting to the white figure standing nearby. At that moment, Terrence released his hold on Zixi and stepped forward to embrace Janet warmly. "Long time no see, Janet—you just keep getting more beautiful!"
The heartfelt compliment was thick with genuine affection and concern. It was that wide, warm embrace that instantly brought tears to Janet’s eyes. She hugged tightly back at Terrence, who stood a solid six feet tall, nodding as she said, "Bro, you’re finally back!"
Janet had spent ten years with the Louis family, but hadn’t spent much time with Louis Terrence himself. Later, when he went abroad to study, they kept in touch from time to time. His messages always carried care and fondness—he truly treated her like a younger sister. Well, more than that—they shared half their blood; they were siblings by blood.
When Charles heard the name Zoey, his sharp eyes narrowed slightly. His cold and distant gaze seemed to pierce through mountains and rivers as he carefully appraised the charming, mature woman before him. The thin curve of his lips lifted into a captivating, yet enigmatic smile. Undeniably, the moment Zoey saw Charles, her heart churned wildly. Charles—those three letters burned into her memory like an indelible shame. She could never forget how, as his former fiancée, she had been deceived and toyed with by him.
"What a coincidence," Zoey said smoothly, extending her hand to Charles with a composed grace. Her big, seductive eyes sparkled with a mixture of admiration and resentment. After her engagement was broken off by the Elwin family, she had met Terrence in France. Though he was a fine man, he was just another wealthy playboy living life extravagantly without the unique charisma of a self-made man. Compared to Charles, Terrence clearly paled in comparison.
"Zoey really is everywhere," Charles sneered, offering only a mocking handshake, brushing his fingers over the back of her pale hand with a disdainful glance that betrayed his true feelings.
Zoey’s cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment—she hadn’t expected him to be so cold and disrespectful. Had she not been tangled in rumors and dumped by the Elwin family, she might already have been the woman by his side.
Terrence had just returned to the country and only recently learned that Janet was married—but Anila had kept that from him. Janet had been forced to marry into the Elwin family in Elvira’s place. Now, looking at the handsome, elegant man standing before them—with his dangerous charm—Terrence’s affectionate gaze rested on Janet’s serene face. Then, noticing the charged exchange between Charles and Zoey, he asked with some curiosity, "Did you two know each other before?"
"Zoey’s a world-famous supermodel—everyone’s heard of her," Charles said with a faint smile before Zoey could even speak. Without making it obvious, he gently pulled Janet—who was in Terrence’s arms—into his own embrace. His inscrutable gaze told Janet right away that things were far more complicated beneath the surface.