A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Chapter 1438 New Year's Day

Even if it were Darren's double who was arrested, his life was still left in shambles. His actions had caused problems for a lot of people. Not only had he offended the HT Group being led by Jacob, he had also agitated the Ke Family.

The fact that he had recently suffered a major loss with one of his business ventures made it even harder for him to recuperate. The plan had been to buy a massive piece of land and build gorgeous villas that would sell for a high price. Unfortunately, the foundation couldn't even be laid out because of the sediment underneath. If only Darren had known of this beforehand, he would have been in a better state financially.

All of his business partners, whom he had considered dear friends for so many years, withdrew their shares from his company. After some research, Darren found out that most of his partners' departures had been caused by Jacob and the Ke Family.

Additionally, the head of a large construction company called him on the phone and said, "Mr. Xu, I know that we've been good friends and business partners for so long. But I'm sorry to say that we have to cut ties now. Our company's interests are largely focused on making enough money."

Darren was in disbelief about what he had just heard. He tried his best to suppress his emotions and asked, "How much money did they give you? You're withdrawing your investment without hesitation! How could you throw away our friendship just like that?"

"Mr. Xu, please don't joke around. What good is it for me to stay with a company that will soon be gone? I will not waste my entire life's hard work on some silly friendship!" The head of the construction company even mocked Darren. "If you don't mind, Mr. Xu, I can cut you in for a decent price with the deal I have with Jacob. You can take it as a token of gratitude for our wonderful friendship."

Darren's eyes widened in rage. He couldn't believe the things that he was hearing.

'Close a deal together? Cooperate with the man who ruined my life?

The shameless fat bastard must be out of his mind!' Darren thought to himself.

He looked like all life in him had been sucked out. He didn't bother to respond and simply hung up the phone. In a fit of rage, he raised his hand and threw his phone all the way to the adjacent wall. Everyone near his office heard the impact, but amazingly, the phone was still working and only had a cracked screen.

One of the secretaries outside the office ran away in shock. Most of the employees there had been in fear that they would be fired that day. Moreover, more than half of the secretaries in the secretarial office felt like they were at their limit. They simply resigned because they couldn't handle the stress anymore. Most of them walked out with tears in their eyes.

And all of the employees who stayed, especially the ones who were very close to Darren's office, felt extremely unlucky. They were forced to bear Darren's outbursts of anger.

The secretary who ran away a few moments ago went back to her station. She then asked her nearby colleagues if they heard what she had heard. One of them responded in a concerned tone, "Darren has lost his temper more than a dozen times in the past 3 weeks. The company's financial losses have exceeded the limit. Do you think that the company is going to shut down soon?"

"Bah, bah, don't talk nonsense. Go back to your desk and resume your work. If Darren were to hear you right now, he would fire you in an instant!" a man from a few desks away responded.

"Calm down, I was just wondering. Besides, he won't—" The woman who was just talking abruptly stopped herself when she met Darren's gaze that was peering through the glass window of his door. 'What a stroke of bad luck, ' she thought.

With heavy steps, Darren pushed the door wide open. He then announced in a hoarse voice, "I have an important dinner party at six o'clock in the evening. I need someone to accompany me. Tell them to dress appropriately and to not be late!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his back on everyone and left.

"That scared me to death! I thought he heard me. Nevertheless, isn't it someone else's job to notify us of such a simple task?" the woman who had spoke of the company's closure said.

Upon hearing Darren's command, every woman in that office suddenly turned pale. One of them exclaimed in distress, "Not a single soul in here would be willing to accompany him, because he would expect them to drink with him! That's why he has to come out and shout at us."

In the meantime, Jacob was delightfully driving home to his wife and kids. The last few months of the year had been rather stressful, what with the injustice and indignation they had suffered because of Darren. But now, all that seemed quite insignificant. It was like all the problems they had had were buried deep in the snow of this wonderful winter time.

Jacob parked his car right in front of MK Manor. He blissfully watched as his children ran out to greet him with his beautiful wife walking behind them. Jacob hugged his children, and then held Emily's soft hand. Upon seeing her soft smile that seemed to radiate warmth, he felt that every problem he had had to work through was definitely worth it. He then asked Emily, "We should celebrate the new year with the whole family, right?" A gentle smile spread across his handsome face while he lovingly gazed at her eyes. He eagerly waited for her response.

Emily lowered her head and bashfully smiled. Although she was not in the best of moods, she was still very satisfied with her current situation. But before they entered the house, she said to Jacob, "It's a new year and all of us are going to be at home. It's been such a long time since you've spent some

time with the children, so you should play with them for a while. And it would be nice if you let them be themselves. If you're too harsh with them, they won't be close to you in the future."

"Okay! But there still should be some limits. Otherwise, they're going to be spoiled brats. They might even climb up onto the roof and remove the tiles like monkeys!" Jacob replied with a chuckle. Even though Jacob wasn't like a typical tyrannical father, he still felt the need to discipline his children. He was a soft-hearted man and felt like he owed his children, but still chose to remain somewhat uptight and show a tough demeanor in front of them.

Suddenly, his firstborn came back and happily called out to him to ask for permission. "Dad! Can I go outside to take some pictures? The teacher said that I need to learn how to appreciate nature. And I have to submit this assignment when we go back to school."

Jacob was a bit worried, because the wind outside the house was quite strong and the snow was pouring heavily. The view was actually breathtaking and worth taking photos of, but it was not worth letting the children go outside and have them running around in the snow.

The couple exchanged glances and knew exactly what the other one was thinking. It could be a bit worrisome, but they still chose to allow the children to go out.

"You have one hour. If you're not back in the living room before lunch, I promise that you won't be allowed to set off firecrackers during the Spring Festival," Jacob firmly replied. He always had his own way of disciplining his children. Upon hearing his words, the kids' happy mood decreased a little. However, they were distracted by the thrilling prospect of playing around in the snow, so they still ran away with big grins on their faces. With joyful cheers and laughter, they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At noon on New Year's Eve, the Ke Family's big house was bustling with noise and excitement. It was filled with relatives, friends, and random visitors. Everyone had a warm smile on their faces.

Lunch was filled with all kinds of delicacies. The two kids ate until their stomachs were full. After that, they didn't hesitate to head out to play once again. Laughter from the yard could be heard all the way inside.

After a while, Emily sat with her three children. Holding her youngest child, Baron, in her arms, she couldn't help but tease Bowen. Then, she leaned close to her daughter, Beryl, and talked about menial family affairs with a happy smile on her face. On the other hand, a rare occurrence was taking place. Jacob had put his work aside to play chess and drink tea with his father-in-law. He needed to lose so that his father-in-law wouldn't feel so bad on this wonderful New Year's Day. However, it took him some wit to let his father-in-law win without him noticing.

Meanwhile, Louis contemplated deeply about why none of the kids wanted to play with him. He pettily thought that there must be something wrong. After some time, he came to a conclusion. "Oh, I haven't bought a gift for my niece and nephews yet! I need to give them something before this day ends. Otherwise, I'll be in deep trouble. I can't imagine how the three kids will react when they come to my bed tomorrow morning and I show up empty-handed."

Jacob heard Louis' mumbling and glanced at him. He couldn't help but laugh at the man. He then told Louis, "My children aren't spoiled brats. Besides, if you just give me a big red envelope full of cash, I promise they won't ask for gifts from you." NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

Louis didn't pay attention to what Jacob said. He continued to casually change his shoes and pick up the car key. With a slight grin on his face, he replied, "Don't you know that there's a difference between a gift and a red envelope? A gift is something that comes from the heart, while a red envelope full of cash is just for the heartless. Do I seem like that kind of a person to you? If it isn't clear by now, I love my dear niece and nephews very much."

As Louis was stepping out of the house, Emily curiously looked at him. She couldn't help but tease him. "Aren't you just using the kids as an excuse to leave? I'm sure that even if they weren't at home, you

would still think of some excuse to leave the house, right? Something like going out to buy some food for New Year's Day. I promise they won't disturb you tonight. But if that still isn't enough, you can just come back tomorrow morning. Please don't use them as an excuse!"

Louis's face turned red. This time, he was a little embarrassed by what his sister had said. He whispered, "If I haven't found a suitable gift, I will give each of my niece and nephews a big red envelope each when I come back!"

Everyone in the house knew that Louis couldn't let go of a certain someone and might not come back that night. So, the only thing they could do then was to bid him good wishes while he left the house.

As expected, Louis went straight to the department store and embarked on a huge shopping spree. When he was done, it wasn't easy for him to fit all of the things he had bought into his small car, but he managed to do it anyway. He was so excited to bring everything he had bought to Taylor's house. All this effort was surely going to make her happy. But when he got there and was about to press the doorbell, his joyous expression was replaced with a very serious one. He even took a deep breath and quietly thought of a plan.

He then said out loud, "That's right. I must use this Baymax stuffed toy in order to win Amy's approval. After that, I can ask her for help and finally win over Taylor's heart."