Suzy Miller was crying so hard that she could not speak.As if she had been struck by lightning, Winona Harris sat there rooted to her feet. The emerald pendant before her eyes had been a gift her mother had left for her.A few years ago, she ran out of Hoover Alley in the dark of the night with a baby girl in her arms. As she handed over the baby to a man with a hunched back, she went back to the alley only to realize that her pendant was gone.Despite all this, there was one thing that Winona could conclude. The woman in front of her had been the baby girl she had sent away for adoption. Now that she had come to find her relatives, Winona did not know if she should admit if she was her mother or not. On one hand, Suzy would never leave her alone if she did, and on the other, Sophia Kendrick would never let her go if the truth of her daughter’s identity had been revealed.Winona did not know what to do as she panicked.Suzy was still in tears. If Suzy could find her, that meant
“Be honest with me, Christina. Do you really have no feelings for Michael anymore?”“Do I look like I have the time to think about that, Ariel?”“I think it’s time that you consider this issue seriously.” It was rare to see Ariel acting so serious in front of her. “It’s not just about you anymore, you know? If you become pregnant again then you’ll be having two of his children. Do you want them to grow up without a father?”“I’ve thought about this before. I’ll find Travis a father after he recovers from his disease.”“That’s not the same! How can a birth father be the same as a stepfather, Christina? Although I’ve never liked Michael, I think that you should consider being in a relationship again with him for the children’s sake.”Christina was stunned to hear this even though she knew that Ariel was doing this for her own good.No matter how nice your stepfather was, it would never be the same without a biological father. After all, the care that a stepfather gave would never b
Michael felt that he was a terrible husband and it was no wonder that Christina would keep things to herself. If he had been more caring towards her, perhaps Christina would have been more open about her past.If Molly Williams’s mother remarried Martin Harris’s father, then Martin would be Christina’s uncle. Although they were not bound by blood, it was only fair that she called him that out of respect. However, he still did not understand why Martin Harris would pretend to be Francis Williams. After a long time, Michael finally mustered his courage to ask, “Besides Uncle Francis, does your mother have any relatives, Christina? What I mean to say is, did she have any other siblings back then?”Christina took a moment to think. “Nope.” She only had one uncle for as long as she could remember.Christina remembered asking her mother about this when she was young. Why did the other kids have their grandmother’s place to go to, but not her? Her mother replied by saying that her gran
Michael Larson thought about it for a while and decided not to tell Christina Williams anything yet. It was better if he decided what to do after investigating the truth.On the other hand, Suzy Miller was crying her eyes out after she had finally met up with Winona Harris. Winona put up an act as she explained the reasons behind her actions back then. She told her that she had no choice. Although she was raped before her marriage, she did not have the heart to abort her child and chose to give birth to Suzy instead.Suzy did not suspect anything about it and told Winona what she had gone through all these years. Honestly, Winona did not care about her past at all. What she wanted to know more was how Suzy had managed to find her.Winona was shocked to learn that Michael had been helping Suzy out all along, she was even more surprised to learn that Christina had the same emerald pendant with her. Based on Michael’s abilities, it was not hard at all for him to find out about the trut
Heather started to worry. “Michael doesn’t even listen to me at all now. He hasn’t been home in days and I can’t even see him. What can I do?”“What do you mean? He’s your son! That explains a lot about you as a mother if you can’t even control your son.” Winona intentionally tried to provoke Heather.Indeed, fury started to burn in Heather’s heart as she thought of something in the midst of her anger. “What if I pretend to fall sick so he could come home?”“That’s a great idea! By then we could finally create an opportunity for Serena and Michael to be alone and leave the rest to fate. If Serena gets pregnant, then you need to get them married, but if she doesn’t, well at least you’ve tried your best.”Heather took some time to think. “That’s not a bad plan.”Now that Heather had fallen for her tricks, Winona finally felt at peace. After all, she needed Heather’s help to create an opportunity for Michael and Serena to be alone. If that happened, she could definitely make Serana p
Christina’s mother had never mentioned anything about her grandma’s marriage to another man.“Your grandma fell in love with a merchant, but no one knows his actual name. We only know that his last name is Harris, and your grandma left the Williams family after that.”“Where did Grandma go after that then? Why didn’t Ma tell me any of this?”“Your Ma and I were still very young back then. It was so long ago that I can’t really remember much about what happened...”Christina finally understood why talking about her grandmother had been such a taboo to her mother. All this while, her mother had never even spoken about it and even said that her grandmother died.It turned out that her grandmother had abandoned her children and ran off with another man. The remarriage was the reason why her mother hated her grandmother for many years.Frowning, Christina let out a soft whisper, “How cruel of grandma.”Francis wanted to explain but ended up saying nothing at all. He knew that if he t
Michael gave Christina a call, saying that he had to return home as it was Heather’s birthday the next day. Unable to keep her company, he told her not to wait for him and could only let her go back to Oak Lake Villa alone.Michael initially planned to bring Christina along to celebrate Heather’s birthday, but he was afraid that they would be at each other’s throats and it would eventually mess up Heather’s birthday feast. In the end, he did not invite Christina along.With Christina’s arrogance and his mother’s adamant attitude, the two of them would always have a blazing row each time they met. Afraid that it would lead to a terrible mess, Michael thought about getting Christina to meet his mother sometime in the future instead.By the time Michael arrived home, the house was already crowded. He began to look slightly impatient when he caught sight of Serena.Earlier, Michael had called Serena many times to ask her out, yet she replied that she was too busy to meet him as she was
Just as Serena was ready to enter the room, she heard the sound of the car engine from the Larsons’ courtyard. Logan came in and said, “Old Madam Larson, something came up in the office, so I’m here to pick up President Larson!”Heather went into a panic. “What could possibly happen at this time of night?” She immediately stood up and held him. “Michael’s drunk. He has just gone to bed to have some rest. You’d better come the next morning instead.”Logan firmly replied, “Old Madam Larson, it’s a really important matter.”“No means no! Michael is already asleep. Leave now and come again the next morning!” Heather was unhappy with how a mere assistant had the audacity to talk back to her.“Sorry, Old Madam Larson, but…”“No buts!” Heather flew into a temper. “You’re just an insignificant assistant. How dare you speak to me this way?! You don’t mind losing your job, do you? Trust me, I’m going to ask Michael to fire you tomorrow!”“You can fire me, but before you do so, I’m still Pr
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