Taken Away by Another Man
Joey took the initiative to pick up Elise’s bag before handing it over. “Here.”
“Thank you.” Elise reached out to retrieve it. Then, upon thinking of something, she said, “By the way,
how did you come?”
When Joey heard this, she bit her lower lip and lowered her head. “I’m sorry. Actually, I secretly followed
you as that man did.”
“What?” For a moment, Elise was taken aback. “When did you start following me? Why didn’t I notice?”
“After you exposed your identity on TV, many fans said they would stalk you. I was worried that this kind
of situation would happen, so I secretly protected you.” Joey’s tone was sincere as she explained
earnestly. “As for why you didn’t notice, it may be because you have a lot on your mind right now. I saw
that you were constantly in a daze, so I did not dare to relax. It’s a good thing I came in the nick of time.”
Elise was at a loss for what to say when Joey had unintentionally hit the nail on the head.
It seemed that before she even realized it, she had been in such a terrible state for the past half month to
the point where she didn’t even notice someone with skills as mediocre as Joey following her, let alone
those who had ill intentions toward her.
Joey mistook Elise’s silence for disgust, so she quickly elaborated, “I just want to protect you. I don’t
mean to interfere in your life. So, I’ll be leaving now.”
Elise finally came back to her senses and hurriedly grabbed Joey’s wrist, then replied with a wry smile,
“You are my sister, and you even saved me. If I just chase you away, how am I supposed to face Papa in
the future?”
“Then, you’re… not angry?” Joey blinked and stared at her in anticipation.
“Why should I be angry that one more person loves me?” Elise exclaimed.
“This is great!” Joey hugged her enthusiastically. “Elise, you have no idea how much I like you. I like you
so much! I really do!”
“I know that now.”
It had been a long time since Elise hugged someone—family members included, so she felt gratified as
well.
Kenneth joked. “It seems like I have multiple love rivals.”
Elise rolled her eyes at him, so he quickly shut his mouth before changing the subject. “Let’s go. I’ll send
both of you home so that nothing else happens along the way.”
“Elise, I’ll go back to school with you. I want to stick by your side.” Joey transformed into a koala, clinging
onto Elise and not releasing her.
“How are two people supposed to sleep in a single bed in the dormitory?” Elise sighed and looked at
him. “We’ll have to trouble you to send us to the villa where the filming was done previously.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Kenneth brought out his car keys, then made a chivalrous gesture to allow them to
pass first.
…
Since Elise wasn’t saying anything, Kenneth was afraid to hang around her stubbornly and was about to
go home after sending them to the door.
However, Layla happened to come out, and as soon as she saw him, she dragged him into the house, so
he had no choice but to stay.
When he entered, he found that Owen was there too.
“Joey, Miss Sinclair, you’re back.” Owen greeted them conscientiously, directly ignoring Kenneth’s
presence.
“Owen,” Joey responded politely.
Elise gave a slight nod as a greeting.
There was a faint smile on Owen’s face, but his smile became mysterious when his gaze met Kenneth’s.
“Don’t just stand there. Come and join us for dinner.” Layla called everyone over.
Elise didn’t have much appetite, but she was rarely able to accompany Quentin and Layla for dinner, so
she was cooperative and ate with them.
Intentionally or otherwise, Quentin made Owen the sole focus of his attention after having a glass of red
wine. “Owen, I heard that you recently participated in an international financial conference?”
“Yes.” Owen nodded. “After previously meeting Miss Sinclair in Landred City, I went abroad. I just
returned home a week ago. The new company’s benefits are excellent and they’re doing well both here
and abroad. At the conference, I briefly talked about the tricks of doing business.”
“You really are a promising young man.” Quentin looked up and deliberately said to Elise, “Setting your
father aside, you’re close to catching up to me with the assets you have under your name, right?”
“Mr. Fassbender, you’re an elder, so how could I possibly teach fish to swim? It’s just a game involving
numbers,” Owen responded modestly.
“What’s the use of making so much money?” Layla placed some food on Kenneth’s plate, absent-
mindedly refuting, “Ken, eat this. As a man, career success is just a bonus. The main point is whether he
has a sense of responsibility and knows how to love and respect his partner. Am I right?”
“You’re right, Mama.” Kenneth agreed.
Quentin tried hard to signal her with a look as he was frustrated that Layla was interfering with his plan.
Can’t this woman see that I’m trying to set Elise and Owen up? So, why is she purposefully making
trouble for me right now?
Layla deliberately looked up and raised her head haughtily, looking unconcerned and seemingly holding
herself with high regard.
So what if Owen knows how to make money? He’s wearing a suit and tie, and he’s even wearing gold-
rimmed glasses and pretending to be a gentleman. No matter how she looked at him, she found him to
be distasteful, though.
She still preferred Kenneth. He was handsome, humorous, and most importantly, he was thoughtful, as
he would often call her to ask about Elise. It was obvious that he genuinely cared about Elise.
Only a man like that would be worthy of her goddaughter!
The husband and wife each had their own plans, so they were secretly competing at the dinner table.
Only Joey noticed that Elise wasn’t taking sides at all, and she obviously wasn’t thinking about anything
related to relationships.
When she saw that Elise barely had any appetite, Joey thought to give her a bowl of soup to warm her
stomach.
However, as soon as she reached out, she noticed The Blue Feather diamond ring Elise was wearing.
“Elise, your ring… is exquisite,” Joey said euphemistically.
Elise recovered, then looked down at the ring on the ring finger of her left hand and smiled ruefully. “Yes,
Alexander gave it to me.”
At the mention of the ring, she thought of Alexander.
Why was this happening?
When they were dating, they would stick together all the time, unable to go a moment without meeting.
But now that they were married, they were growing further and further apart. It was no wonder people
said that marriage was the grave of love. Was their love about to be buried by formalism?
No, perhaps she had buried it herself.
When it came to matters of the heart, no matter how many problems both people had, both parties could
solve them. However, once a third person was involved, their existence would complicate the situation.
Yet, she had personally brought the third person into their relationship.
“Elise.” Layla set down her cutleries and asked solemnly, “Your ring… Is it what I think it is?”
She had previously heard Quentin saying that Elise had a fiancé, but his conditions weren’t ideal beside
his good looks. Layla hadn’t even met him in person, yet the two youngsters were already married?
“Yes, Mama.” Although Elise was distracted, she had heard their conversation earlier. So, in order to
avoid causing unexpected troubles, she simply admitted, “Alexander and I have already registered our
marriage. I’ll bring him here to meet you when he’s free.”
As soon as she made the announcement, the entire dinner table fell silent.
Quentin and Layla exchanged looks, both looking as if their hopes had been shattered.
While they weren’t paying attention, their beloved goddaughter had been taken away by another man!
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