After dinner, Old Madam Young brought Christina back to her room.After the old madam took out a velvet box, Christina opened it and saw an exquisite emerald ring in it.“What’s this?” Christina looked at the old madam in confusion.The old madam stared at it and replied slowly, “This is our family ring. It’s no treasure, but it must be passed on to the daughter-in-law.”Christina already understood what the old madam meant even before she finished her sentence. “But, I…”She looked at the old woman in disbelief. She remembered how opposed the old madam was back then and found a question lingering in her head. What made her change her mind now?The old madam nodded her head in assurance, looked at her, and said, “Travis is a good boy. I hope that he’ll have a complete family. I’d love to see my grandson happy. We’ve all misunderstood you in the past, but I’ve decided not to make a fuss about it anymore. I don’t care who he marries as long as he’s happy.”Christina did not know h
Sean was standing there in a clean-cut tuxedo, his face smiling as he held a bunch of roses in his hands.“Marry me, Christina. Let me take care of you for the rest of my life.”Christina was obviously stunned and instinctively took a step back.Bitter tears started to well up in her eyes. She was moved, but there was more guilt and remorse. Without realizing it, she had already placed her hands above her belly where a baby laid within the safety of her womb.The father of the child was not Sean.“Marry me, Christina. I’ll make you happy.” It was something Sean intended to tell her years ago. He still thought the same years later. Christina walked over slowly and stood in front of him. “Do you really not care about the child in my belly? Don’t you care about my past?”Sean gave a soft smile as he replied, “I don’t. You know that I only care about you, Christina.”As her tears quietly made their way down from the rim of her eyes, Christina looked at him with wet eyes as she nod
Sean had never talked to Rachel that way before. Now, because of Christina, he told her off like that for the first time in her life.“I’ll never let you get what you want, Christina!”On the other hand, Michael had woken up in a hospital ward. The first thing he saw was white. Then, the pungent smell of disinfectant drifted into his nostrils.Serena knew he had woken up the moment he moved, so she ran to his bedside. As she looked at him with care, she asked, “Are you awake, Michael? Is everything okay?”The edge of Michael’s eyes flashed with annoyance the moment he saw her face. He only gave a curt reply, “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”“Suzy said that you fainted suddenly and asked me to be with you here. She’s dealing with the application process to go abroad, so she couldn’t stay with you here.” Serena had rushed over as soon as she heard that Michael fainted.As she thought about how Michael had fainted out of grief because of Christina’s departure, she could not help
Rachel continued to blabber. “You must definitely find it weird how Christina started a relationship with you after she came to Australia and then left out of the blue.”Indeed, Michael had found it weird and never understood how Christina’s attitude changed that quickly.“The whole reason behind Christina’s return is because of Travis’ leukemia. She wanted to get pregnant with your second child as she could save Travis with the umbilical cord blood.”As he was a calm man, Michael could always hold in his frustrations no matter how big the issue was, yet he was completely dumbfounded this time.He knew that umbilical cord blood could be used to cure leukemia, but only if the second child had the same parentage as the first.The phone in Michael’s hands fell on the floor with a loud smack.“What’s wrong?” Serena noticed the look on Michael’s face and realized that something had happened again. Michael ignored her and did not say a word before rushing out of the hospital ward.Ser
Sean had walked over by then and noticed Michael as well.When he came back to his senses, he walked over and held Christina’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m right here.”With her pillar of strength next to her, Christina’s heart calmed down as she straightened her body and looked at Michael. “What are you doing here?”The fury in Michael’s eyes rose. He could not wait to burn her into ashes. “I’m here to ask you just one thing. How many things have you been hiding from me?”One sentence was enough to make her lose her composure. As her facial expression paled, she tried her best not to fall on the floor.He knew everything!As Sean stood behind Christina, he stopped her from falling down and faced Michael calmly instead. “It’s an honor to the Young family to have someone like President Larson to visit us.”Rachel stood behind them with a smug look on her face while she gloated over the incident. Although Sean looked calm and polite, she knew that it was actually nothing but the peace
“Tell me, Christina! Who’s Travis’ real father?”Christina looked at Michael calmly. “He’s dead.”Michael no longer believed in such baseless explanations. “I want to have a DNA paternity test done with Travis. I’m sure that the truth will be out as soon as the results of the test come back.”“I’m against it.” Christina objected. “He’s my son and I don’t agree with it. What gives you the right to bring him for a paternity test?”“Are you scared?” Michael gave a cold smile. “Are you so afraid for me to find out the truth, Christina?”“I’m not scared. I just don’t want Travis to go through all that pain. After all, he’s still weak from his disease.”“Fine, let’s not talk about Travis now. What about the baby in your belly? Are you going to say that the child has nothing to do with me again? I’ve already found out about everything, Christina. How long were you planning to hide things from me?”“What’s a DNA paternity test, Mommy?” Travis looked at Christina in confusion.“Uhm… It’
“Of course, it does! I’m his father!”“What makes you think you deserve it? You were, after all, the one who kicked us both out of the Larson family and left us to our own devices. Ever since that divorce, you’ve lost all your rights to be his father!”Michael gripped his fists so tightly that his veins seemed like they would pop anytime. Whenever someone mentioned what had happened back then, Michael’s heart would ache as if they had been stung by a billion needles.“I’ve already explained what happened to you already, didn’t I? I had no choice!” Michael had been blaming himself and living in regret ever since that day.“So what? Do you think that all our misery would vanish after saying that?” Christina tried her best to control her emotions, yet her temper still flared.“I know I was wrong, Christina. I’ll change for the better. Heck, I’ll even use the rest of my life to make up for what I’ve done. Can’t I do that?”“No!” Christina outright rejected him. “Not every mistake can
“Since he has come all the way to the States, he’ll never go back without putting up a fight. If we don’t act appropriately, things might take a turn for the worst and backfire on us instead. Let him stay for a while, then we’ll come up with a solution in the meantime.”The old madam was just an outsider to the story and could see the incident in a clearer picture. “After all, he’s Travis’ father. You shouldn’t make things harder now for the child’s sake.”There was still something else on her mind, but the old madam chose to keep it to herself. Although the Larsons had no power in the States, there was nothing the Youngs could do if Michael insisted on bringing Travis away. Christina made her way back upstairs only to realize that Travis was already sleeping. As she sat by his bedside, she lowered her head and stared at her son’s tiny face while she got lost in her thoughts.Since Michael had learned of the truth, she was sure that he would never give up so easily. Judging from h
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