Michael covered Christina’s mouth and dragged her out. The alley was dark, but Michael had been here countless times and knew the place like the back of his hand. Christina continued to struggle. Her brain was still a little fuzzy under the influence of alcohol, but she knew what was happening now. She did not want to have any involvement with this man again. She kicked him and hit him, trying to get him to let her go. Michael almost let her run away several times and could only pick her up and stride out of the alley. He pulled open the car door and shoved her inside, and then squeezed himself in as well. Christina could not break free and glared at him resentfully. “Michael Larson, what are you doing?!” Michael’s expression was equally gloomy. “Why did you find someone to frame and discredit me?” Frame? Christina was baffled. “Are you sick?” When did she frame and discredit him? “You don’t admit it?” Michael stared into her eyes. “Don’t tell me that those rumors on th
Three years later, Michael heard the word ‘scumbag’ coming out of her mouth. His heart pricked with pain and he almost could not control his emotions. “Christina, I never had an affair. There was nothing between Serena Garcia and me. I’ve never done anything wrong to you!” “Do you take me for a fool?” Christina smiled coldly. Serena Garcia was pregnant with a child, and the pregnancy test sheet had Michael Larson’s signature on it. Did he really think that she was blind and deaf? “Christina, why do you never believe me? We’ve always been suspicious of each other. You doubted me and I doubted you, but in the end, not only did we hurt ourselves, but we also hurt innocent people. We hurt Serena!” Christina instantly bristled when she heard Michael call Serena innocent. If Serena was innocent, there would be no bad people in this world. She knew that Michael was her brother-in-law, yet she still cut in and got pregnant with Michael’s child. She went to their home and forced Chr
Michael stared quietly at Christina’s blushed cheeks and delicate lips. When he looked into her eyes, suddenly, he saw the woman’s younger self. She used to be so lovely and innocent. When they met, she would tip her toes and wrap arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot the purpose of his visit for a split second. His body responded with a surge of desire as a flickering crimson light flashed across his eyes. Michael grabbed Christina by the chin and kissed her forcefully. He could not control himself. The kiss deepened as he was overwhelmed by the softness of her lips. In the past three years, he was greatly saddened every time he thought of the taste of her lips. He could not hold back from kissing her again and again now that he finally had the chance to enjoy this sweetness once more. A strong desire spread across his body. Startled by his action, Christina tried to push him away forcefully but it was to no avail.
With the help of the light inside the car, Michael noticed the tears rolling down Christina’s face. She was truly hurt. The man was flustered. He hurried over to hold her but she slapped him across the face instead. “Michael, what do you really want from me? Will you ever stop torturing me?” He could not care less about the fact that he had just been slapped. His eyes revealed concern as he stared at her ankle. “You’re injured. Are you in pain?” Her face was contorted in agony. Her ankle felt as if it had been severed. “Hold on a bit longer. I’ll send you to the hospital right away!” He carried her into the car quickly. Despite the great pain, she did not want any help from him. She would rather suffer from a broken leg than to see this man again. The pain became more intense. The front of his shirt was dampened by the endless stream of tears. “We’ll be at the hospital soon… not much longer now…” After placing her on the car seat, he drove speedily to the hospital. His he
Michael was not offended. He rushed off to wash his hands before returning to Christina. “I’ve washed them so they’re clean now.” She ignored him because it did not matter if he washed his hands or not. The filth she meant referred to the fact that those hands had touched Serena countless times before. She despised herself for thinking that. They were officially divorced and she had decided to not have any connections with this man anymore. Therefore, who he chose to be with and whose hands he chose to hold were really none of her business. In spite of that, why would the thought of Michael and Serena sleeping together still disgust her and make her uncomfortable? Michael kept his hand near her lips anyway. Eventually, she could not hold it in much longer and bit down on his flesh. He grunted in pain but did not move away. The doctor, who had no idea of the truth, gave him the thumbs up. “Young man, not bad. You treat your girlfriend well!” “I don’t know him and I’m not his
Serena, who was already asleep, was annoyed to be woken up by the incoming call. Impatience took over her when she noticed the caller ID. “What is it?” “I saw Christina at the hospital!” She failed to control her composure. “Why should I care?” Wendy lowered her voice. “She’s injured. It was Michael who brought her to the hospital!” “What?” This made Serena jump out of bed. She instantly lost the intention to sleep. “Did you say Michael accompanied Christina to the hospital? Are you certain of what you saw?”“No doubt. I even took photos! Michael carried her out of the ward himself and they drove away in the same car. Serena, I wouldn’t dare to disturb you at this hour if I wasn’t sure!” Serena clenched her teeth as a shadow veiled her features. “Keep an eye on them. Let me know right away if anything happens.” Wendy was caught in a difficult position, thinking about her injured boyfriend. “They already left the hospital and I’ve no idea where they’ve gone… Maybe you shoul
Sophia became more infuriated the more she spoke. She had been teaching her daughter all these years yet Serena still failed to seduce Michael into the bed. This was a total failure. “You can’t blame me for that. I’ve taken the initiative many times but what more can I do if Michael is too stubborn about touching me?” Serena felt very aggrieved. They finally persuaded John to push forward the marriage date but Christina appeared out of the blue to mess up the plan. This lowly woman participated in the matchmaking reality TV show and claimed to be with a child. She was just playing to the gallery, to provoke Michael so he would return to her side! Serena grumbled and complained incessantly. It was unlike the young lady image she tried to present to the public. Her words gave Sophia an idea. Suddenly, the latter grinned. “My daughter, I’ve got an idea.” “What is it?” “Since Christina’s part of the matchmaking show, that’s where we’re going to start with. By doing this…” A v
Unexpectedly, after half an hour since the phone call, someone came knocking on the door. Matthew rushed inside the second Francis opened the door. “What happened? Why were you injured all of a sudden?” He made sure to leave last night only after sending Christina to the entrance of the alley. “It’s nothing. I sprained my ankle after tripping over something by accident,” she replied. “I’ll send you to the hospital.” “I’ve already been. The doctor said it’s no big deal. I’ll recover after resting for several days.” Matthew was not reassured. He ignored Francis, who was standing by the side, carried Christina into his arms and hurried out of the house for the hospital.Michael waited in his car by the entrance of the alley the entire night. He had just bought breakfast from a store nearby and was about to deliver it to Christina. He was just heading back when he saw Matthew running out from the alley with the woman in his arms. “You look slim but you’re actually quite heav
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