Chapter 12
After Skylar paid the deposit, she arranged to collect the car tomorrow.
As she was walking out of the car dealership, she received a call from Amelia.
“How have you been, Skye? Why didn’t you come visit me in the hospital?”
Amelia’s voice made Skye remember how she had treated Amelia like her own mom in her past life.
Whenever Amelia had been in the hospital, Skylar had accompanied her. The patients in the same ward had even thought she was Amelia’s daughter.
But in the end, she had found out that Amelia had known that Christopher and Maisy were together.
After Skylar had amputated her legs, Amelia called her and made her break up with Christopher, saying that she wasn’t a good match for Christopher.
She had said that since Skylar was an amputee, she was an even worse match than she had been to begin with.
Her harsh and sharp tone on that call was completely different from how warm and polite she sounded
now.
In Skylar’s past life, she had cried after being hurt by that phone call.
Now, she was numb.
“I’ve broken up with Christopher like you hoped for. Stop calling me.”
“Wh-”
Skylar had already hung up.
Amelia lay on the hospital bed and looked at her phone. She was stunned.
Skylar had been trying to please her and Christopher so much. Why was she so angsty today? Wasn’t she
afraid that Amelia would be angry at her?
She frowned and sent a voice message to Christopher. “I just spoke with Skye. She said she’s broken up with you. She even hung up on me! What’s happening?”
Christopher was enjoying his dinner with Maisy. When he received Amelia’s voice message, he opted to
convert it into text. He started to feel anxious after he read it.
What was going on with Skylar?,
Joe stood looking at the night view of Lindfield at 10:00 pm from the top level of Jubilance Hotel’s presidential suite.
Paul knocked on the door and walked in agitatedly.
Chapter 12
“Mr. Martin, Ms. Sullivan was right! My emerald charm has a tainted past! It’s a stolen good!”
He’d sent someone to investigate, and he was shocked by the results.
The previous owner of his emerald charm had been poisoned to death!
No one knew what poison had been used. After the emerald charm had been stolen, it had turned black and purple. It had only been restored to its original emerald color after some repairs.
After he explained everything to Joe, he raised his arm. “The hairs on my hand are standing, even now!”
Joe raised the cigarette between his fingers to his thin lips. There was a hint of surprise in his unreadable gaze. “If that’s the case, return the emerald charm as she advised.”
“I’ve just sent it out! I don’t want it anymore. It’s caused me bad luck again and again. It’s too scary!” Paul
replied fearfully.
Three days later, Skylar drove her new energy vehicle back from the antique street to Pearlhall Residence.
She’d received a call from Gloria 40 minutes ago. Gloria was feeling unwell.
Skylar gave her car keys to Edgar so that he could park her car in the parking space. Then, she walked into the mansion anxiously.
Skylar saw Joe as soon as she walked in. He was wearing a white shirt. He had broad shoulders, long
legs, and outstanding physical features.
When Joe heard her enter, he raised his head to look at her.
His gaze was warm when he was caring for Gloria. However, when he looked at her, his eyes were void of
any emotion.
Skylar paused when she saw that Joe was frowning slightly.
Skylar belatedly realized that she was wearing a very plain set of casual sportswear. Furthermore, her white T–shirt was clearly spotted with stains. She had rushed to the mansion without changing her clothes before she had left Daniel’s store.
She raised her head again after glancing down at her appearance,
“How’s Grandma?”
Joe replied coldly, “She’s upstairs,”
Skylar didn’t care about Joe’s cold tone or how he treated her. She gave him a nod and went up the stairs.
When she walked past Joe, he stopped her. “Ms. Sullivan, let’s talk about something before you see Grandma.”
Skylar stopped and tilted her head at him. “What is it, Mr. Martin?”
“Grandma’s not feeling well, and she needs company. She wants us to stay at the mansion for a few days.
Chapter 12
“Joe’s gaze turned serious.
Skylar agreed. ‘I’ve no problem with that. I can stay with Grandma here.”
“She wants us to stay in a room together.” Joe’s eyes darkened as he looked at Skylar.
sust
Skylar was slightly taken aback. Her long eyelashes trembled. “I… I’ll talk to Grandma-
“You know her health condition. We wouldn’t have gotten married if it hadn’t been for her. The doctor said we shouldn’t upset her too much. So, we can just put up an act when we are in front of her,” Joe said.
“We don’t love each other. This is just an act. Don’t worry, I won’t touch you.”
He went upstairs first after he finished speaking.
Skylar was left stunned on the spot as she looked at his well–dressed figure. She quickly came to her senses. It was just an act. She would do it as long as it could make Gloria happy.
However, Joe had intentionally mentioned that they didn’t love each other. Was he reminding her that it was just an act and that she shouldn’t fall in love with him?
He was worried for nothing.
If he hadn’t left so fast, she would have told him he had nothing to worry about.
When she reached upstairs, she saw that Gloria was lying weakly on the bed. She quickly went up to the
bed “Grandma.”
When Gloria heard Skylar’s soft voice, she pushed Joe aside. “Skye, come over quickly.”
Joe’s mouth twitched; he couldn’t help but feel abandoned.
Skylar came to the bedside and asked gently. “How are you, Grandma? Where are you feeling unwell?”
Gloria shook her head weakly. “I’m alright. I’m just feeling weak. I feel better after seeing you two.”
“Are you having a headache? I’ll give you a massage. When I was in the countryside, Grandma Viola liked my head massages. I’ll go wash my hands.”
Skylar walked out. She’d forgotten to wash her hands before coming up.
Joe raised his brows silently. She was trying hard to please Gloria. He didn’t believe that she had no ulterior motives..
After Skylar left, Gloria turned to look at the cold and unmoving Joe. She snorted inwardly.
What use was he? He even had to rely on his grandmother to get a wife!
When Skylar returned after washing her hands, Gloria shook her head tiredly and said, “I’m tired. I’m going
to take a nap. Skye, Joe has always had migraines. Why don’t you give him a massage instead?”
Skylar froze.
Joe hadn’t expected Gloria to say that either.
“Edgar, observe and learn from Skye. She probably has better skills than any masseuse or physiotherapist
Chapter 12
out there. You can give me more massage sessions after learning from her.” Gloria was sharp enough to ask Edgar to keep an eye on them.
Chapter 13
Edgar understood Gloria’s intentions. He had to obey her instructions, so he smiled immediately and said, “I’ll pay attention, Mrs. Martin Senior
What?
Joe looked deeply at Skylar and said, “In that case, Ms. Su-” Gloria glanced at him.
“Thank you, Skye.” Joe stopped addressing her formally.
Skylar couldn’t help but smile. Many people called her “Skye“, but she felt awkward when Joe did it.
At Williams Residence, Sadie received a call from the hospital. She was notified that Maisy was to g
the hospital the next day and that the blood they had for her was no longer sufficient.
go
to
“Mom, do you think Skylar has given up on saving me? She hates me, so she must want me dead. I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. I’m sick and hated by my sister, and my parents are my adoptive parents!” Maisy hugged Sadie as she cried.
Sadie felt heartbroken when she saw the daughter she had raised cry.
“I’ll call her. I’ve ignored her for three days; she must have realized she was wrong by now. I’ll forget her
past mistakes and ask her to go to the hospital to donate her blood.”
Maisy looked carefully at Sadie. “Will Skylar really go? Will she raise any conditions again? I don’t want to make things difficult for you and Dad.”
“If she makes any excessive demands, she can forget about coming back! The day before, she made her adoptive mother call me.
“Maybe she regretted it immediately after leaving the hospital, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. She must be hoping I’ll say something first,” Sadie said as her brows furrowed.
The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to deny that Skylar was her biological child!
Skylar behaved so poorly. Sadie felt embarrassed by her.
Maisy smiled. The more Sadie hated Skylar, the more Maisy felt superior to the latter.
Sadie took her phone out to make a call.
At the time, Skylar was giving Joe a head massage at Pearlhall Residence under the “supervision” of Edgar.
It was the first time she and Joe had been so close.
Joe had thought Skylar was fooling Gloria and that she knew exactly what Gloria liked.
But when her soft hands pressed accurately on each acupuncture point around his head, it was like magic. He’d always had problems falling asleep, but he was feeling sleepy now.
Since Gloria had urged him to do so, Edgar was genuinely interested in learning. He understood that with
Chapter 13
every change in technique, Skylar was targeting a new acupuncture point.
Even though Skylar had explained each point to him, he couldn’t remember it!
Forget it. Gloria wasn’t serious about him learning from Skylar anyway.
Someone’s phone rang at an inappropriate time.
Edgar saw that it was Skylar’s phone. “Someone’s calling you, Mrs. Martin.”
Skylar finished up her massage session and walked over to pick up the call.
“Hello?”
“So now you know how to pick up a call, huh? Is it because you know you’ve made a mistake?‘I can forget what happened a few days ago. I can teach you how to behave properly if you don’t know how to. Come back right now so we can go to the hospital tomorrow,” Sadie said condescendingly.
Skylar glanced at Joe, who was sleeping lightly on the couch. Then, she walked out with her phone.
Once she walked out, Joe opened his eyes and looked at her icily.
He could vaguely hear the scolding Skylar was receiving from her phone.
Were the Williamses treating Skylar that badly?
Sadie saw that her call was still ongoing, but Skylar was not responding. She was already in a bad mood,
but now it was worse.
“When did you become mute? Say something!”
“Are you asking me to go back and resume being Maisy’s blood bank?” Skylar asked.
Skylar’s lukewarm voice made Sadie frown. Something felt off. “Blood bank? Maisy’s your younger sister. You’re just donating some blood; why do you have to make it sound that bad? Come back now. I’ll give you a new room that is as big as Maisy’s.”
Skylar laughed.
Sadie got the false impression that Skylar was laughing happily because she’d achieved her goal.
She frowned and said impatiently, “Go with your dad to the company after the hospital visit tomorrow He’s set up a position for you as a clerk.”
“Are you done, Mrs. Williams?” Skylar stopped laughing sarcastically..
Sadie’s true colors were too ugly.
“What did you call me? I’m your mom! How dare you address me as Mrs. Williams?” Sadie was furious.
“Does a mother like you exist? Strangers would think I’m your enemy.” Skylar sneered.
In her
onevious life, she had been put in the smallest room in the whole villa. She had barely seen Sadie
once in two weeks. Whenever Sadie had seen her, she had despised her for being a cripple.
What a wonderful mother! Maisy could have Sadie all for herself.
“What are you saying?! Have you been hearing things from others? Is that why you’re speaking to me so rudely?
“The money you’re spending is ours. Your dad has canceled your credit card. If you don’t want to be poor. and homeless, come back and admit your mistake now!” Sadie thought she’d misheard Skylar.
Skylar had moved her phone away from her ear before Sadie could reply. When Sadie finished yelling. Skylar picked up her phone again.
“Neither you nor Mr. Williams are that old. I don’t think you have Alzheimer’s yet. Ever since you took me in, I’ve never spent a penny of yours. 1
“Ask Mr. Williams to check his credit card records. You’re always in the hospital with Maisy anyway. Why don’t you get a CT scan to check your brain?”
With that, Skylar hung up.
She knew there was a vineyard at Pearlhall Residence, so she headed there.
After the call ended, Sadie’s face was full of disbelief.
Skylar hadn’t spent a single penny?
That was impossible!
People from the countryside were liars. Skylar hadn’t even worked after she had graduated. It was impossible that she hadn’t spent their money.
“What did Skylar say? You seem angry.” Maisy was very observant. She scoffed, Skylar was no match for her!
If she became Joe’s girlfriend, Skylar would have to look up to her.
Sadie threw her phone angrily at the couch. “She’s not coming back. How dare she talk back to me? She even said she didn’t spend a penny of ours. How did Janine raise her? How could she lie so ungratefully?”
Maisy’s eyes flickered.
She knew that Skylar wasn’t lying.
Christopher had said that Skylar spent her high school vacations working. She had also worked in her spare time when she had been in college. It wouldn’t have been hard for her to save up some money.
But…
“Skylar has dad’s credit card. How could she naively think that her lies wouldn’t be exposed? Mom, don’t let her get to you.
Sadie got even angrier after listening to Maisy. “She’s outrageous!”
After hanging up on Sadie, Skylar went to Pearlhall Residence’s vineyard to harvest grapes with the workers. After that, she went to pick strawberries.
Chapter 13.
She was squatting there, picking strawberries, when Joe showed up.
Chapter 14
She looked up at Joe.
His white shirt was tucked into his high–end trousers. He looked tall and towering with his long legs. He exuded a noble air inside out, and he looked cool and handsome under the evening sky.
Skylar blinked. She had to admit that Joe had a very handsome face. He was even more good–looking
than her favorite movie star.
Everyone appreciated beautiful things. She was no different.
Joe looked at Skylar as he said, “Grandma is awake. Let’s go have dinner.”
He couldn’t help but grimace when he noticed that she was looking at him like other women did. Had
Skylar and Gloria set him up with that head massage?
Was Skylar trying to make him see her strengths?
He had known that she was a scheming woman when Gloria had made him marry her.
Skylar stood up. “Alright. I’ve picked some grapes and strawberries too.”
She’d tasted them when she’d picked them. They were very sweet and tastier than the ones she bought
from the supermarket.
The workers said that this year’s weather was good. There was enough sunlight, so the produce was
sweeter than in past years.
After Joe realized that Skylar wasn’t a simple woman, his attitude turned cold. He merely hummed in
response.
Skylar didn’t mind. She didn’t think much about it either.
Seeing that Gloria was awake, Skylar walked over with the grapes and strawberries.
“You picked them yourself?” Gloria smiled as she asked.
Edgar had informed her that Joe, who’d always had sleeping problems, had fallen asleep after Skylar’s
massage.
Joe would know Skylar’s strengths soon.
Skylar treated others sincerely. Ten years ago, when Skylar was still young, Viola had told Gloria that the little girl was kind–hearted. Skylar had often spent time with Viola because she felt that the latter might feel lonely
“Yes, I’ve planted grapes and strawberries before when I was in the countryside, but they were always not sweet. Some of them were even astringent.
“Now I know it’s because of the seed quality and the light they receive. The place I planted them had very little sunlight. I’ll go wash these, Grandma.” Skylar always had a lot to say to Gloria.
Chapter 14
Maybe it was because Gloria was like Viola. They both doted on her sincerely.
Gloria chuckled. I’ve heard about it from Viola. She said you’ve always liked going to the fields. You could farm from a young age.” She felt like she could see the scene in her mind as she said that.
A small child working on the fields like a little adult would have made a cute and heartwarming scene.
Viola had told Gloria that Skylar had always been a sensible child. She had gone to the fields to share the
burden of farm work with Janine, Steven, Charles, and Harvey.
Joe raised his handsome brows when he saw that Skylar and Gloria had completely forgotten about him during their chat.
A weird feeling arose in his heart again.
Skylar looked pure and pretty, but she thought too much. She had been staring at him at the vineyard, but
now she seemed to be pretending to ignore him.
After dinner, Gloria smilingly urged Skylar and Joe to go back to their room.
“With the two of you accompanying me here, I’ll recover quickly! But it’s late now; you should enjoy some husband–and–wife time. Get some rest early.”
Skylar and Joe could only go back to their room.
When they saw that the door of their room had a huge “married” sign, Skylar was stunned.
Gloria must have asked someone to put it up. It looked celebratory, but it was not suitable for her and Joe.
She looked at Joe. “Who’s taking a shower first?”
She’d been busy all day. She’d been so focused when she’d been restoring the paintings that she hadn’t even taken a break during lunch. Now that it was quiet, she felt slightly tired..
Joe glanced icily at Skylar. “Have you forgotten what I said? We don’t love each other. This is just an act.”
“Mr. Martin, have you been thinking too much? Don’t you shower before you go to sleep? An act is an act, but I have to shower before I sleep,” Skylar replied.
Joe was speechless for a moment.
Skylar went to the wardrobe to find some clothes. Edgar said he’d prepared Skylar’s and Joe’s clothes, so they didn’t have to go back to Galaxy Villa for anything.
There were all sorts of clothes in the wardrobe.
Edgar had been very meticulous. He’d prepared everything.
Skylar picked out a nightgown. “I’ll go first, then. Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.”
Very soon, Joe heard the sound of bath water coming out of the bathroom.
It was the first time he’d heard a woman shower.
The sound of water irritated him. Joe was just about to walk out when he met Edgar at the door.
Chapter 14
Edgar had a bowl of soup in his hand. “Mrs. Martin Senior asked me to prepare this tonic soup for you. She said it’s good for your health,”
“Tonic soup?” Joe frowned helplessly.
Had Gloria been watching too much television? Why was she doing all of this?
He couldn’t believe she’d gotten Edgar to bring him tonic soup.
“Give it to me. I’ll drink it inside.” Joe took the tonic soup from Edgar and closed the door with a slam.
He heard the sound of water from the bathroom again. Joe’s eyes darkened. When he saw the tonic soup in front of him, he regretted bringing this disaster upon himself.
His head had started to throb again.
As he held a hand to his head, he recalled Skylar’s soft hands on his head before dinner. Every point she had pressed on had made him feel good.
Just then, he received a WhatsApp text on his phone. He checked it and found that it was Paul.
“Mr. Martin, can I message Ms. Sullivan on WhatsApp?”
Joe glanced at the bathroom and replied, “Yes.”
hy are yo..
After that, he felt weird about it, so he asked, messaging her? Are you interested in her?”
Paul’s
eyes widened as he looked at the two WhatsApp messages. Interested in Skylar?
He wouldn’t dare!
Even though he knew that their marriage was fake, he wouldn’t dare fancy his boss‘ official wife!
Paul replied quickly, ‘Absolutely not!!! I just wanted Ms. Sullivan to take a look at an emerald charm I’m interested in. I don’t know if it’s a good buy. I’ll only buy it after Ms. Sullivan sees it.”
He hoped Joe would notice the three exclamation marks.
Joe replied, “Okay.”
After Pual received Joe’s permission, he saved Skylar’s number and messaged her immediately.
When he woke up, he thought it was still midnight. He was stunned for a moment when he saw a ray of sunlight seeping through the curtains,
insomnia for no reason.
He was good–looking. He looked less cold today since he was well rested. “You look like you’ve had a good night’s sleep!”
night’s sleep was more than you had in a week, right?”
Gloria couldn’t stand his cold face. He’d slept for almost ten hours, but it was just “not bad“?
Only then did she notice the WhatsApp text message she received. She hadn’t had the time to check her
Paul had just checked in at work. When he saw Skylar’s reply, he replied immediately, “I need a favor from you. Are you free now?”
Paul quickly sent over a few photos of emerald charms. He’d spent a lot of time choosing them last night.
Paul said, “I’ve gotten rid of my old one. I returned it to the person who gifted it to me. Could you help me take a look and see which of these emerald charms are suitable for me?”
Skylar looked at the time. It was 8:55 am. She replied, “I’m busy now. I’ll let you know tonight.”
He suspected that there must be a reason why she’d agreed to marry him suddenly. Something must have happened to motivate her to approach him.
Before Paul had met Skylar, he’d suspected that she had an ulterior motive for marrying Joe. However, after meeting her, he didn’t think that Skylar cared about Joe that much.
He asked hesitantly, “Mr. Martin, do you suspect that Ms. Sullivan and Christopher are still together?”
If that was the case, Skylar was really a deceptive person!
Daniel gave him a monthly salary of 3500 dollars. It included meals and covered basic welfare and
Caleb was young, and he liked being on live broadcast. As he was handsome and spoke well, he sold goods online through live broadcasts. He was popular.
have stew?
*Concentrate on your broadcast this evening. You’d better sell all the new items from the last two days.”
Skylar smiled lightly. “I need to go home to be with my grandma. She’s sick and needs some company.”
*Alright.” Caleb still felt disappointed upon hearing that they would be sharing a meal with Daniel. He’d
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Flash Romance With the Richest Mogul