Christina had a violent fight with her own conscience before saying, “Matthew, there’s something important I need to tell you!”She did not dare to meet his eyes. Instead, she kept her head down. “You probably don’t know why I broke up with you last time. It’s because I knew my mom is the woman who made your father abandon you and your mother.”“What?” Matthew stared at Christina with wide eyes.“I saw a photo of my mother and your father in each other’s arms… Matthew, I’m sorry! I’m apologizing to you on my mother’s behalf!” Tears filled Christina’s eyes. “I don’t deserve your love and kindness!”“That’s impossible! How can that be?” Matthew mumbled. “It’s not like you said! You must have gotten it wrong somehow!”“I’m not wrong. I asked my uncle about it, and he admitted the truth!”Matthew gaped at Christina for a while. Then, he shouted abruptly, “Get out! Get the hell out of here!”Michael stood on the balcony of Oak Lake Villa. His vision was trained on a spot some distanc
Blocking his phone number meant that she did not want to talk to him or hear his voice.Michael was fuming. He could not get through to Christina and was not willing to go into Matthew’s office building to find her. This was pushing him to the edge of insanity.He slammed his fist against the steering wheel a few times before calming down. He knew Christina was a stubborn person. She would do anything but give in. It was normal that she did not want to meet him after his behavior toward her the day before.He had to think of something to do that would make her stay by his side without protest.Christina went back to the Garcia residence after her visit to the hospital. She collected a few of her belongings and hailed a taxi to the airport.She thought about how she could not stay here and become Michael’s puppet. He wanted her to submit to being a tool for his sexual needs. He could dream on!She surrendered yesterday just to appease him. If not for her son, she would have never
“Miss Williams sent her son overseas to receive treatment for his illness. Young family’s young master had been taking care of him at the hospital every day. So far they hadn’t found a compatible bone marrow yet.”Michael sat in the car in a daze. His mind was overwhelmed.Christina did not stay by her son’s side even though he was sick but came back to the country and got involved with Matthew? What was she doing? Did she not know that what a sick child needed the most was his mother?Michael was reminded of the conversation he overheard in the Garcia residence. Christina said she was poor, and it had been a long time since she had eaten fruits that were as expensive as bayberries.Right! Travis needed a huge amount of money for his treatment. She was definitely in need of money at the moment!Christina had never stepped foot into the Garcia residence in the 10 years she had known them. There must be a valid reason to explain why she was willing to move there all of a sudden. It
Michael could not focus on his work at hand after he was told that Travis had leukemia. Travis’s adorable face kept appearing in his mind. His heart felt like it had been weighed down by a stone. The pressure was making him hard to breathe.He recalled the phone call Christina made to him in the middle of the night. She said she would get back together with him if he did not get engaged with Serena.His answers to her were harsh and brutal. She called him a couple of times after he rejected her, and he had ignored all of her calls since he thought she was scheming against him. He even turned off his phone eventually.He had always thought she was taking revenge against Serena, but he knew he had it all wrong now that he had time to think about it. That period of time was when she took her son out of the country to seek treatment. That was when she was at her most vulnerable state and when she needed help the most.The fire raging in Michael’s heart was suffocating him. If what Chri
Sean noticed that Christina looked thinner than when she last left them and knew that she had been put through hell. “Christina, don’t give yourself too much pressure. The doctor said Travis’ condition isn’t worsening. We still have a lot of time.”“That’s easy for you to say. How can I not worry about him?” Christina picked Travis up.People often said that a mother shared the same heart as her own kid. Travis was the baby she had carried for 10 months. He had to endure torturous pain at such a young age. She would have taken his place in the blink of an eye if there was a way to do so.Travis was delighted that Christina was back. The hospital room was filled with smiles and laughter again. Christina stayed by her son’s side and played games with him, not caring about the exhaustion she felt.Sean’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Rachel calling him. “Big brother! Grandma wants you to come home for dinner tonight!”“I still have some things I need to do. I’m afra
“Who told you?” Henry asked. “Tell me right now. Is it Molly Williams?” Matthew had a fierce expression while Henry remained silent for a while before nodding. “B*stard! You’re a b*stard!” Matthew scolded Henry out loud. “You’re a coward. You aren’t a man. Why did you marry another woman if you loved Molly so much? Why did you get together with Winona? Don’t you feel dirty? You’re a scumbag!” Henry remained silent. Matthew got even angrier after seeing Henry not saying a single word. He grumbled, “Why did you marry my mother if you didn’t love her? Why did you give birth to me?! Why do I have a father like you? Why won’t you die?!” “Matthew, I’m sorry!” Henry apologized out of regret after seeing his son flying into a rage. “Can your apology change anything? Do you think that saying ‘I’m sorry’ can make up for the 20 years’ worth of pain that my mother suffered as a widow? Do you think that it could make up for the paternal love that I had lost throughout these years?” Ma
From what he could remember, Matthew’s mother was a gentle and kind woman. She was a different person than the cunning and malicious person that Henry was describing. On the contrary, Henry’s heartless image had been engraved in Matthew’s heart. Henry had to have made up that lie, so Matthew refused to believe him. He wanted to personally ask his mother. Matthew did not care whether his body was weak as he insisted that he wanted to return home. As such, Fred booked the plane tickets and accompanied Matthew back home. After a ten-hour flight, Matthew and Fred were tired when they arrived at the Hendersons’ residence. Matthew went straight to see his mother in the courtyard without meeting the old master beforehand. A middle-aged woman was wearing white-colored clothes while reading the Bible in the courtyard. She raised her head in shock after noticing Matthew’s arrival. “Why did you return?” Matthew walked toward her. He originally had many questions to ask her, but he could n
“You’re such a disobedient child. I think that Rachel is a fine lady, and I like her. Furthermore, she loves you deeply.” The woman did not know what her son was thinking about as she kept thinking of ways to persuade him. Matthew suddenly spoke, “Mom, I met Henry yesterday.” There was a glint of hope in the woman’s eyes. “Your father… Is he doing well?” “He’s fine!” Matthew hesitated for a while before voicing out his concerns. “Mom, do you know Molly Williams?” The woman’s facial expression immediately changed after hearing that name. It took her quite some time to calm herself down. She then nodded. “I know her.” “Were you involved in her death?” The woman’s hands could not stop shaking. “Matthew, did Henry tell you anything about that?” “Yes.” Matthew did not hide anything. “He said that you asked someone to kill Molly on purpose.” The woman’s face turned pale in an instant. Her body started to shake uncontrollably. “He… said that?” “Mom, is it true?” Matthew coul
In fact, Matthew was the one who planned this entire thing. He had been keeping a close eye on Rachel since she returned.He could let bygones be bygones if she was willing to settle down. However, the woman did not learn from past mistakes and once again partnered up with Serena to plot against Christina.Matthew went along with their plan. He even found someone to set this up to lure them into the trap.Christina’s due date was approaching after Rachel and Serena were taken care of. Michael began making preparations for Travis’ transplant operation.He hired the best hematologist and gynecologist before arranging for both Christina and Travis’ operation to take place in the same hospital.The delivery went smoothly. Christina gave birth to a baby girl, and Heather was over the moon.Everything had gone well, and it was about time to start on Travis’ operation. Christina was accompanied by Matthew and Rachel whereas Heather stayed close by the baby’s side. Michael comforted Chri
Besides, even if the plan failed, intentionally causing a pregnant woman to miscarry was not considered homicide by the country’s criminal law. The punishment was less serious as the behavior would be categorized as an assault occasioning bodily harm.Assault and criminal homicide were two completely different crimes.Rachel agreed to the suggestion. Scarface was indeed a ruthless man. He came up with this vicious revenge that would put Christina in pain forever.Upon agreeing on the details of the plan, Scarface and his friends from the streets proceeded to kidnap Christina. Rachel and Serena were told to sit tight and wait for the good news.Scarface had a well-thought-out plan and got his hands on Christina before long. Her head was covered with a black cloth as they forcefully pushed her into the van.Serena and Rachel were already at the agreed-upon location when Scarface instructed Christina to step out of the vehicle. The latter’s belly was round, and both of her hands were
Serena lost everything. She had no choice but to work as a bargirl to survive.Scarface was the person in charge of the bar she worked at. The ruthless man had pretty much slept with every woman who worked at his place. Naturally, Serena could not escape from that fate either.Serena was different from other bargirls. She came from a prestigious family and was highly educated. Even in dire straits, she still maintained a certain grace that made her stand out from the crowd.Scarface spotted her on her first day at the bar. He ordered his men to drag her into the private room and tortured her the entire night.She resisted in the beginning. However, without anyone to depend on, she had no choice but to give into Scarface’s tyrannical abuse.Several times later, he found himself attracted to her. Every night, he would ask for her instead of other women.Serena, who could not escape from him, gave in eventually. She even ended up becoming his lover.By doing so, she found someone t
“Just a little while ago.” Sean came closer. “Christina, we need to talk.”She nodded and followed him to the garden. He helped her to get comfortable on the bench. “Do you believe in fate?”She shook her head, unsure where this was leading. “I didn’t either as I’m a firm believer that hard work always pays off. But now I do.”He looked her in the eye. “I’ve been lost and struggled a lot since that incident, unsure how to face you. After considering this seriously for the past few days, I’ve finally mustered enough courage to meet you again.”A sigh escaped her lips. “Sorry, Sean. It’s all my fault.”“No! It has nothing to do with you, Christina. It’s my fault that my love is not strong enough. I discovered that Suzy is really great after spending the past few months with her. She’s just like you. She’s gentle, kind, pure, and adorable. I realized I’ve fallen in love with her.”This was not what he really thought.He loved Christina since the beginning of time and believed he
“That’s old history. We think Michael is actually pretty good.”“We? Who do you mean?” Christina teased.Ariel and Matthew had been spending a lot of time together lately. Christina went through that herself and understood the passion in her friend’s eyes. This silly girl was actually in love. She could not be happier for her.“Who else? Matthew, of course!” Ariel glared at Christina.“I say whatever’s on my mind, unlike you, who always keep everything to yourself and get stuck in dilemmas. Every good opportunity slips past you because of your indecisiveness!” “How can I not be? I promised to marry him but I’m now trying to convince him to marry someone else. Is this really the best thing for him? Will he be happy?”Ariel questioned after a brief silence, “Christina, let me ask you this. Who do you care for more? Michael or Sean?”Christina asked herself the same question too. She naturally cared more about Michael in the past, but she also started to develop a strong feeling f
The following morning, Serena hurried to the police station to file a report.The police treated this with high importance and warned her to be careful of Darren Cain as he was a vicious gang member who had served over a decade in prison.She became more frightened after hearing that. Immediately, she moved out of that house and rented a place somewhere quiet. As she was terrified, she stayed indoors for the next few days.Much of Christina’s stress was relieved without having to deal with Serena’s pestering.“Christina, John was at the last stage of cancer. It was lucky enough that he lasted until he did. This is his fate, so try not to get too upset.” Francis comforted the dispirited woman. It did not make any difference even though he was not the real Francis. He had long adapted to the identity after assuming it for so many years. Most importantly, Christina was still willing to treat him like a real uncle even after finding out the truth.“Don’t worry, Uncle, I’m fine.”
The harassment continued after the funeral. Serena went around spreading accusations and threatened Christina to give her money. Otherwise, she would report John to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for private corruption.If reported, the antique art collection would be seized and no one could get it!Christina became more frustrated after hearing that.She never expected John’s leniency toward Serena would cause her such a big problem. Matthew was infuriated by Serena’s unreasonable behavior. He suggested they could shut the woman up by teaching her a lesson. Sean shook his head. “That’s not going to solve the problem. Serena must’ve come prepared if she dares to stir up trouble. This is a lawful society. We can’t do as we wish.”“Are we actually going to pay her off then?” Ariel asked, “I think giving her money isn’t going to put an end to this. She’s certainly going to keep threatening for more!”Michael scoffed. “Why should we give her money? She can go
“I will, Dad, don’t worry. I’ll listen to Sister,” Suzy replied.“Christina.” John grabbed Christina’s hand in his own. “My greatest regret in this life is failing to take good care of you and your mother. I’m going to meet your mother soon. I hope she’ll forgive me!”Tears rolled down Christina’s cheeks. Men would speak kindly in the presence of death. She was unsure if Molly would forgive him, but she had long forgiven her father.He strained to pull Suzy and Christina’s hands closer together as he looked at them with pleading eyes. “The both of you must live peacefully together. Suzy, listen to your sister, and Christina, you must take good care of her on my behalf.”Christina looked at Suzy before nodding quietly. Then, John shifted his glance to Michael.“I’ve done many wrongs in this life. I betrayed my wife and disappointed my daughter. I hope you’ll do better than me. I’ll hand over Christina to you now. I’ll come back to haunt you as a stubborn ghost if you dare to wr
Suzy felt guilt-ridden and knew she was not in the position to demand anything from Christina. However, her mother had gone mad. She did not wish to see Christina continuing the fight with her mother.At a loss for what to do, she cried her heart out while in Christina’s arms.Sean felt a heavy feeling in his chest. He knew Christina too well after all the years they spent together. She was a soft-hearted person behind her stubborn facade. Seeing others in sorrow was her greatest weakness.There was no doubt she would choose to forgive Suzy and accept her as her sister.If that was the case, then the marriage between them was destined to fail. Christina would reject him for the sake of the child in her sister’s belly.At this moment, he was thinking of how everything was falling apart at this moment even after he had consistently pursued her all these years. He stood there in a daze for a long time before finally heaving a sigh.Perhaps this was their destiny. Suzy cried for a