Both Annabelle Winters and John Cookg turned around at the same time.
After a rush of footsteps, Grace Gordon stormed in, bristling with anger.
“Annabelle Winters!”
“You’ve really made something of yourself! Quit my company, run off to play canary* for someone else, and now you need me to rescue you!”
*A 'canary' refers to a beautiful woman kept as a mistress by a wealthy man.
Annabelle Winters instinctively wanted to retort—she never expected him to come save her.
But this wasn’t the time to start arguing.
She held her tongue.
“Grace Gordon! You’re trespassing.”
“You’re wrong. I’m here with the police. The officers received a report from Annie Winters—your brother—saying his sister was missing. We tracked you here using surveillance.” Grace Gordon didn’t mention that Olivia Young had tipped him off.
There was no reason to drag Olivia Young into this.
The policemen behind Grace Gordon rushed in. “Don’t move! You’re under suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful confinement.”
John Cookg just laughed.
Wait a minute... Is this normal???
Since when did the police become so efficient?
Annabelle Winters had only been here for four hours!
The police cuffed John Cookg, who still looked calm and collected.
“Wanwan, I’ll come see you again.”
“Don’t! I’ve told you before—I don’t like you. No matter how you force me, I’ll never like you!” Annabelle Winters frantically waved her hands. “You’re just a former classmate to me. Nothing more.”
Grace Gordon stood by coldly. In his eyes, John Cookg was just putting on a farce.
He said, “Come with me.”
“Annabelle Winters! If you’re willing to be someone’s stand-in, why won’t you stay with me? What does he have that I don’t?” John Cookg roared in frustration. “Why him and not me?”
“You’re wrong. I don’t want to be anyone’s replacement. I’m leaving, but not to go with him—I want to leave for myself.” Annabelle Winters waved at Grace Gordon. “Mr. Gordon, thank you for calling the police tonight and helping to save me. I’ll remember this favor.”
Grace Gordon: “???” Remember it?
“Annabelle Winters, what do you mean by that?”
Annabelle Winters strolled down the basement hallway, leaving only her chic silhouette behind. “Mr. Gordon, you know what I mean. I once loved you, and I don’t regret it. In a long life, a few scumbags are just part of the experience! Besides, I’ve run into two already!”
Not just two.
Grace Gordon. John Cookg.
And her dad, her grandpa, Hugh Hart…
Grace Gordon smiled faintly. “Alright, you don’t have to come with me. I’ll have the driver take you home. The police will call you in for a statement.”
“Thank you.”
Meanwhile…
Inside Lakeview Villa, Frederick Fairfax wrapped himself around Olivia Young from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. “You’ve been glued to your phone, furiously typing. Who are you chatting with?”
“Annabelle Winters.”
“What’s there to talk about with her?”
Frederick Fairfax didn’t care much for Annabelle Winters.
If it hadn’t been for Annabelle Winters, Olivia Young wouldn’t have been kidnapped last time and almost forced to marry someone else.
“It’s important. Very important. It concerns our future.”
When Olivia Young first returned to the country, she’d been tied to the plot. But as she made her own choices, the story began to drift.
With her—the villainess—out of the way, the narrative just found someone else to fill that role.
To keep the novel’s plot on track.
After the last kidnapping, she noticed Annabelle Winters had changed a lot from her character in the original novel.
If the original villainess could escape the plot, maybe Annabelle Winters could, too.
She wasn’t that pitiful side character anymore—now she could make her own decisions.
That’s why Olivia Young had a bold idea: speed up the plot and help Annabelle Winters break free.
Annabelle Winters hadn’t let her down.
In the novel, it took fifty chapters before John Cookg snatched Annabelle Winters, and Grace Gordon only found her after a lot of crazy drama. But in real life, Olivia Young had wrapped the whole mess up in a day.
Perfect!
Olivia Young clapped for herself.
Frederick Fairfax didn’t understand. How could a little Annabelle Winters affect their future?
But if he didn’t get it, that just meant trusting his wife.
“So, are you done chatting?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Olivia Young set her phone aside, her mood bright. She bounced onto his lap, her smile dazzling as sunlight on water. “I’m so happy!”
“What did you two talk about that made you so delighted?”
He’d never seen Olivia Young smile at him like that.
Annabelle Winters had been her stand-in. If not for Annabelle Winters, Olivia Young would have just married Grace Gordon herself.
Olivia Young didn’t resent Annabelle Winters. They’d actually become friends?
Girls’ friendships could be pretty strange sometimes.
“Not telling. Not telling you, not… telling you~”
Frederick Fairfax pulled her in for a few kisses. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll just keep kissing you.”
“Go ahead!”
No one’s ever heard of a pretty little wife dying from too many kisses by her husband.
While he kissed her again and again, Frederick Fairfax toppled back onto the bed. His wife was awfully enthusiastic tonight.
He might not like Annabelle Winters, but if she could make his wife this happy, he was willing to let them hang out.
The next morning.
The shrill ring of a cellphone broke the bedroom’s quiet. A hand shot out from the covers, silenced the ring, and tossed the phone into the nightstand in one swift move.
Frederick Fairfax hugged Olivia Young tighter and burrowed in to keep sleeping.
“Who was that~?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t look.”
Nothing deserved to ruin a cozy morning in bed. Today, he just wanted to lounge with his wife.
His cool lips pressed against Olivia Young’s shoulder, eyes still closed, savoring her softness. The phone rang again—so persistent!
Frederick Fairfax’s temper flared. He grumpily yanked open the drawer and saw ‘Annabelle Winters’ flashing on the screen.
He instantly regretted letting the two women be friends yesterday.
Annabelle Winters really didn’t know her limits!
“Annabelle Winters!”
His resentment could fuel ten evil swordsmen.
Olivia Young picked up the phone with her right hand and patted Frederick Fairfax’s chest with her left to comfort him.
Annabelle Winters’s gentle voice floated from the phone. “Miss Young, I thought it through last night and discussed it with my brother. I agree to your proposal.”
“Great! I’ll arrange for everything to get processed as soon as possible.”
“Thank you. Could we meet? I’d like to thank you in person.”
“Of course.”
After the call, Olivia Young cuddled up to Frederick Fairfax. “Cheche, I need to head out today.”
“I heard.”
But Frederick Fairfax’s handsome face was written with pure grievance. “Come back early! The baby and I will be here waiting for you.”
“Okay~”
He pulled the covers over himself with a heavy sigh, laying perfectly straight with his eyes closed—like a corpse who’d just passed away.
She wasn’t even leaving yet. Was he really this dramatic?
Olivia Young mischievously reached down and pinched his waist.
Dog man—his muscles were rock hard.
“It’s the weekend, and you’re not even staying home with us. Now you want to pinch me, Olivia Young, you…” Frederick Fairfax dragged her under the covers with him.
“You’ll pay for that!”
“Frederick Fairfax! Go easy with the biting—”
“Mmph~”
“You jerk!”
She’d only pinched him once, but this wolf of a man sure knew how to hold a grudge.
She didn’t know how many love-bites would be left on her soft, pale skin before he was done.
Outside the door, the nanny carried the sniffly little baby, figuring the young madam clearly wouldn’t be up early today.