Christina had been pregnant for quite some time now, so Rachel thought this was already a piece of common news. It appeared that Heather had kept Serena in the dark. “Miss Garcia, Christina’s expecting again. If this baby is brought into the world, then she would have two children with Michael. Are you following me?”Serena was dazed for a long time, trying to digest the news of Christina’s pregnancy. This was shocking. She was still overjoyed about her own pregnancy when suddenly this news hit her like a bombshell.‘Christina, why do you always have to go against me?’Rachel smiled at her. “Miss Garcia, I come here today to discuss a perfect solution with you.”“What do you have in mind?” Serena was brought back to reality. Her cheeks burned from having embarrassed herself in front of Rachel earlier.She was not experienced enough in comparison. Rachel was about the same age as her but she was already an astute, sly fox.First, she had to verify if the news of Christina’s preg
“Winona?” Michael was taken aback.He had suspected that Winona could be Suzy’s mother, but Suzy denied that herself. If so, why did she stay in touch with the woman so often? There was something fishy about this.The more Michael thought about Suzy ringing up Christina to lie to her, the more uneasy he felt. He tried suppressing his emotions as he described what happened the night Suzy invited him out for dinner. “What do you think?”“Suzy did that?” Logan was evidently surprised. He spent quite a fair amount of time with her in the past and had a good impression of her. He found it difficult to believe something like this happened out of the blue.“Christina doesn’t lie. Suzy must’ve rung her up. What do you think her motive is?”“Is it possible that Suzy… was bribed by Madam?” Logan asked tentatively.“That’s what I thought too, but what’s the reason she forced me to get drunk? To provoke Christina so she would leave?” Michael reckoned that was too much fuss if it was just for
Michael and Logan left the company immediately, hoping to find an answer from the driver back then. In the end, the hotel management told them they did not have a staff who matched their description.Michael was completely astonished. Suzy was the one who hired that driver that night. Evidently, she had been plotting against him since before the dinner started.Since he already discovered someone was intentionally scheming against him, then there was no point to continue searching for that driver. He left the hotel without a word.“President Larson, what should we do now?” Logan realized the seriousness of the issue.“Let’s go home!” the man replied.“Madam is not well…” Logan was worried that Michael would argue with Heather at home, so he reminded him about her condition. Michael shook his head. “There’s no point arguing anymore. I just want to go home to find out what happened that night.”“It’s unlikely Madam will tell you anything if she’s the mastermind behind this.”“Some
Winona did not feel like she could trust Heather. The latter was an untrustworthy person who only cared about immediate benefits. It was possible she might go back on her words anytime now that she had already acquired the stadium construction project. “Umbilical cord blood can be used to cure leukemia, but it’s not a sure-proof solution. You’ll have to see if it’s a match.”Heather was taken aback. “What? What do you mean by that?” She did not know much about these medical terms.“The umbilical cord blood of a sibling from the same parents only increases the chances of being a match, but it’s not guaranteed.”Frustration rocked through Heather. “What should we do, then? What would happen to Travis if the child Christina’s carrying isn’t a match?”“Don’t get too worried for now. I’m just talking about a probability. I didn’t say it’s definitely going to fail. Besides, Serena’s also expecting Michael’s child. If Christina’s baby doesn’t match the boy’s, then we can try Serena’s.”
Michael’s brain was teeming with a whole tangle of emotions. Too many things that happened today challenged his previous knowledge and assumptions. Suzy, who he had been sponsoring for many years, turned around to bite the hands that fed her. The gentle and demure Serena turned out to be calculative and manipulative.Winona participated in the entire scheme. What devastated him the most was his irrational mother who had collaborated with outsiders numerous times to frame him!He felt disgusted at the possibility that he might have slept with Serena when he was unconscious. His eyes darkened gradually as an overwhelming feeling of shame and fury filled his heart.“President Larson, perhaps things are not as bad as we thought.” Logan suggested. “You were passed out then. A man wouldn’t do that kind of thing in that condition.”Michael remained silent. The women determined in framing him would not have let him off without taking any actions. He was unclear of what happened during th
Michael was still Travis’ father no matter what. Christina could not let the boy live on with hatred. Michael had been trying to compensate for lost time lately. She could not allow the boy to despise him because it was unfair to Michael.She brought up the topic with Travis before he went to sleep that night. “Don’t treat your father impolitely in the future like you did today.” “Mommy, he’s a liar and a bad person. I don’t want him to be my father.”Travis had always wanted a father since young, but little did he expect his father to refuse to be with him and his mommy. This deserved a death sentence in his little mind. The man was a liar and he hated him for it!“You can’t scold him like that, Travis. He did what he did compelled by circumstances.”“What does that mean?” he asked.“It means he did that for a reason,” she explained, “Your father got engaged to that aunty for a reason.”“Is the reason because he wants to marry another woman?” The image of Michael and Serena an
It seemed unrealistic to expect Travis to change his opinion instantly.Heather called out several times on the other side of the door, but Michael refused to answer. He was devastated with his mother. All the respect and love he had for the woman were whittled away by her irrationality. If he had the choice, he would not have chosen a mother like her. He sat in the study for a long time before finally rising to open the door.She complained the second she saw him. “What were you doing in there? I’ve called for you all day but you didn’t answer me.” Then, she turned around to shout at Judy, “Hurry up and serve dinner!”“There’s no need for that. We’ll eat out.”Michael was definitely not in the mood to have dinner at home. Even Logan was not feeling like it.Heather questioned incessantly if he had lost his appetite. Perhaps he should see the doctor. He replied he was fine and left the house with Logan.She shouted from the back, “Michael, where are you going?”He was in a ter
Winona remained silent for several moments. “The last resort would be telling John about Serena’s pregnancy.”“No! No way!” Sophia would not agree to that.“Tell him that Serena will never have children again if she goes through an abortion. No matter how cruel he is, he’s not going to let his daughter live the rest of her life all alone.”“He’s not going to believe this lie!”“This isn’t a lie. It’s true.”Winona heaved a long sigh. “There’s something I’ve been keeping from you. As a matter of fact, it’s not easy for Serena to conceive in her condition, which is why I suggested IUI instead of the natural way. Actually, I didn’t have high hopes about this operation, but fortunately, luck is on her side this time. She’ll never be able to have children again if she goes for an abortion.”Therefore, it was mandatory that Serena gave birth to the two babies.Sophia was stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”“What could you do about it?” Winona smiled bitterly. “Serena was p
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