When Michael entered the room, he happened to spot the notification for Matthew’s incoming call on Christina’s phone screen light up.He glanced at the bathroom door which was shut tight, but he could hear Christina and Travis singing while bathing.Michael was disgusted with Matthew’s behavior. Matthew was already engaged, so why was he still calling Christina?Hiding his bitterness, Michael swiped his finger on the screen to pick up the call.Matthew began to speak, not knowing that it was Michael who answered the call. “Christina, Michael that b*stard went to America to disturb you, didn’t he?” The corner of Michael’s mouth twitched, and he replied angrily, “What makes you think that I came here to disturb Christina?”Matthew got the shock of his life as he did not expect Michael to pick up the call. “Why are you the one answering the call? Where’s Christina?”A thought struck Michael after he threw a sideways glance at the bathroom door. Curling his lip upwards, he replied,
Rachel was snuggling idly on the couch in her room. When she saw Matthew’s name pop up on the notification on her phone, her heart leaped right away.Matthew rarely called her on his own initiative. He did ask her about Christina’s affair yesterday, and it made her feel very uneasy. Even so, she feigned enthusiasm when reporting Christina’s and Travis’s condition to him. She had also told him that Sean and Christina were getting married so that he would stop having feelings for Christina. At that time, Matthew’s tone was very cold. Rachel knew that he was upset about Christina’s upcoming marriage, but time would heal everything. She believed that he would forget about Christina in no time and be ready to marry her. Michael should have just gotten to work at this time and since he was calling her, could it be because he had given up completely after finding out that Christina was getting married? Which prompted him to think about his fiancée and how well he wanted to treat her?R
Matthew felt a growing sense of unease the moment he hung up the phone, and he immediately called Sean to ask about the matter. Based on Sean’s explanation, Old Madam Young was afraid that Michael would escalate the matter, so she made him stay in the Young family’s house for the time being. Moreover, Christina had no intentions to get together with Michael again nor allow him to acknowledge Travis.Upon hearing Sean’s words, Matthew finally let out a sigh of relief. “Sean, please take care of Christina and her son. Don’t let Michael hurt them.”Sean knew that Matthew always had Christina in his mind. “Don’t worry. With my presence, no one can hurt them.” Matthew gave the matter some thought. “The biggest problem now is that Christina will undoubtedly lose to Michael in a child custody battle, so we have to come up with a solution as soon as possible. The best is to immigrate Christina and Travis to America, then Michael won’t be able to do anything about it.”“Don’t worry about
“Sean, you must keep a watchful eye on Rachel. She’s envious that I like Christina, so she’s thinking about harming her. Since she has done it once, she’ll definitely do it the second time. You must protect Christina well.”Sean remained silent for a moment before he replied, “I got it.”After all, Sean and Rachel were a family. No matter how bad his cousin was, he could not bear bad-mouthing her in front of Matthew. Even today, he still dared not tell Matthew about the previous incident where Rachel secretly called the police and caused trouble for Christina.If Matthew found out about affairs like this, he would definitely cancel his plan to marry Rachel and never forgive her. Meanwhile, Heather was lying on the couch watching television alone. The house was getting quieter, but if she had a child to keep her company, she would not be leading such a dull life.Serena then crossed Heather’s mind when she was thinking about the child. Heather wondered if she was able to get pregn
Furthermore, Serena had already gotten together with Michael. If she had successfully gotten pregnant, Heather would have another grandson which meant that Michael would have to marry Serena by then.If it was a choice between Serena and Christina, Heather would prefer Serena to be her daughter-in-law.Heather deliberately asked, “Since Christina has gone to America, doesn’t this mean that she’s not willing to remarry you?” Michael replied, “As long as you treat her well in the future, she’ll remarry me.”“Let’s talk about this later. Now go and bring Travis back first! As the grandson of the Larson family, he needs to acknowledge his ancestry immediately.” Heather had quite a few doubts about the matter. After all, she knew Michael’s character very well. He could do anything for Christina. If he really did lie to Heather for the purpose of remarrying Christina, Heather would be rejoicing for nothing. She would not be completely relieved until Travis returned from overseas and
Never did Michael expect that Heather would be so desperate to come all the way to America. However, this matter was not as simple as Heather had thought. She would not be able to come and take Travis away just like that. Michael then found a hotel for Heather as her temporary accommodation. The moment the two of them met, Heather asked anxiously, “Where’s Travis? Why didn’t you bring him along?”“Mom, you’re viewing the matter too superficially. Travis still doesn’t know that I’m his dad and that you’re his grandma.”“What do you mean?” Heather was dumbfounded.Michael described the matter to her in a simplified manner. Upon hearing it, Heather flew into a rage. “Christina is planning to bring my grandson along to marry another man? No way. I don’t approve!”Michael became irritated at Heather’s agitation. “Mom, just stay in the hotel for now. I’ll solve this issue.”“This is such an important matter. I have to look for Christina in person and bring back my grandson.” Heather w
Heather wanted to run her mouth at the sight of Christina, but she saw Travis before she could open her mouth and her eyes were instantly fixed on him. Heather did not know that he was her grandson before this. Now that she did, she felt that he bore a resemblance to her son in some way. She was quite certain that he was the Larson family’s flesh and blood even without doing a test.She could not help but walk toward Travis, wanting to touch his face. However, Sean, who was carrying Travis, turned his body to shun her hand. “Old Madam Larson, what are you trying to do?” “I’m the one who’s supposed to ask you that. Travis is my grandson!” Heather was unhappy with these people for treating her like a thief. They kept a watchful eye on her and refused to let her approach Travis.Christina walked toward Heather coldly. “You’re wrong, Old Madam Larson. He’s my son, and he has nothing to do with the Larson family at all.”Christina could still deal with Michael sensibly, but with Hea
Travis furrowed his small eyebrows as he shook his head at her. “You’re not my grandmother. You’re a baddie who argues with my mother!” Surprised, Heather then stood up and glanced at Christina with eyes filled with hatred. It was all Christina’s fault. She gave birth to Travis in secret, then taught her child to hate Heather and Michael. Christina was too wicked. Meanwhile, Christina was heartbroken to see that her son was protecting her. She had wanted to give her son a peaceful life, but things turned out the opposite of what she wanted. Not wanting her son to see Heather making a fool of herself, she walked towards Travis and lifted him in her arms. “Behave now. Mommy is going to bring you upstairs to play!” “What are you doing? We still haven’t settled the issue regarding the child!” Heather got anxious the moment she saw Christina carrying Travis upstairs. “Old Madam Larson, please have some self-respect. Please leave if you don’t want to embarrass yourself. Let me tell
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