“Of course, I do,” Serena replied matter-of-factly. “She has only left for America for a few months. How did you get to know her?”Rachel made up a lie instead of revealing Suzy’s memory loss. “I accidentally bumped into her in the library last time. After a brief chat, I came to know that her name’s Suzy and she’s also from Perth.”Serena did not suspect anything. It was not impossible for Rachel to bump into Suzy. It was a small world after all.“So why did you send me a photo of her?” Serena questioned.“This… Um…” At a loss of what to say, Rachel cracked her head for an excuse. “It suddenly occurred to me that she looks a lot like Christina, so I sent the photo over to you.”“Ah, I see.” Serena believed her words. “Suzy does resemble Christina a lot. If I didn’t know them both to begin with, I would’ve suspected that they’re sisters.”Rachel played along. “That was my first thought too. I didn’t expect two non-related people would look so much like each other.”“It’s exactly
“What if Suzy decides to pursue Michael relentlessly? That’ll certainly affect my relationship with him. Besides, he has already fallen out with Christina, so there’s no need to create more issues.”Rachel tried hard to stop herself from shouting at the treacherous Serena. She spent all day trying to convince the latter but it was to no avail. Feeling impatient, she spoke more rudely.“Miss Garcia, I want to use Suzy to destroy Christina and Michael, not steal him away from you. What are you worried about? His love for Christina is unusually deep, hence it’s highly likely for the ashes of their passion to burn once more. Besides, what if Heather comes out of the coma? You’re too naive.”Serena was shocked upon hearing that. Indeed, she was also worried that Heather might regain consciousness. When that happened, Michael would learn that the devil was not Christina but Winona and Sophia.When that happened, he would not blame Christina anymore and instead be incensed at Serena. This
Back then, Winona told Sophia the reason she sent Suzy abroad was to prevent the latter from exposing their evil plan of setting up Michael and Serena.Sophia would not have figured out that Winona thought Serena was her birth daughter and Suzy Sophia’s. Winona only had the motive to murder Suzy for fear of the fact that she exchanged the babies at birth all those years ago would be discovered. Serena replied, “I didn’t expect that too but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Rachel’s also planning to bring down Christina. It would save us some troubles with her over there influencing Suzy to continue helping us.”A frown formed between Sophia’s brows. “Can we trust Rachel? I can’t help but be worried as she’s Sean’s sister after all. What if she tells him about this and he passes it on to Christina?”“Mom, don’t worry about that. Rachel’s Matthew fiancée, you wouldn’t know how much she hates Christina.”Sophia agreed after a brief consideration. “You’ve got a point. Indeed, we need
The driver led Sophia into the villa, and only upon seeing Miss Laura standing in the living room was she relieved.The latter greeted her. “Madam, Mayor is in the study room.”Sophia nodded before heading upstairs to the study. John was sitting by the desk, staring right in the direction of the door with a stern expression.She tried to calm down before stepping forward. “Johnny, you should have a lie down if you’re not feeling well. Let me help you to the bedroom.”“No, I can’t rest well either way.”“Is something troubling you? Has something gone wrong at work?” She came over to rub his shoulders.He suddenly turned around to look at her face. “Sophia, how long have we known each other?”She did not know what he was getting at. “Probably over twenty years.”He nodded, looking as if he was deep in thoughts. “Yes, it’s been over twenty years since I impulsively got into your bed. I’ve always been a disciplined man but why would I lose control on that particular night?”The wo
John was terrorized at that time because he was afraid that he could not hold his position as the mayor, and thus, he chose to keep it to himself.John had kept the murderer of his wife beside him for decades, and he even mistook Sophia as a good wife and mother. How ridiculous.He then took out a letter from the drawer and read it thoroughly. After that, he lifted his head and asked, “Molly has passed away for so many years. Have you ever felt sorry for her?”“Of course, I do.” Sophia’s heart trembled, but she quickly concealed her emotions. “I know the things that happened between us had let Molly down. I’ve felt guilty all these years, but we cannot save what has already happened. John, we need to look forward and live our life.”“Your only guilt is that you had sex with me back then?” His gaze was sharp. “Don’t tell me there are no other things that you feel guilty of?”Sophia realized something had gone wrong. “John, you… I don’t get your point?”“You don’t get me? See for y
“John, I didn’t covet anything from you? If you insist on saying that I have bad intentions, then it must be that I love you too much. I want to be by your side forever because I love you.”“Shut up!” John’s words were like a slap on Sophia’s face. “Do you think I’m a fool? Love? How does bi*ch like you deserve to talk about love?”“John! I know you’re too mad right now to believe in what I said. It’s okay. I’ll make you believe me, and I’ll move out with Serena immediately. I’m leaving!”Sophia backed away to the door while she spoke. The way John looked made Sophia so afraid that she uncontrollably felt a chill in her heart. She needed to get out of there as fast as possible!John did not react when he saw her back away, and Sophia could not care less as she opened the door and was ready to run out of the room in a panic. Yet once she got out of the room, she saw the chauffeur and Miss Laura standing at the stairwell, looking at her with a smirk on their faces.“You heartless b*
On the other side, in the nightclub.Yvonne urged Benedict to send a letter to the Garcias. Then, the both of them waited for them to reply, but nothing happened even after a few days.Benedict started to get curious. Was Sophia not going to care about such an important affair? As such, he went to Judy and asked about the situation.Only then did he realize that Sophia was not at home. She had gone overseas a few days ago and had yet returned.Benedict felt like he was really unlucky because he could not even scam some money from Sophia. Sophia just had to travel overseas at a time like this!With that, he went back to the nightclub and told Yvonne about it. Yvonne too had a feeling that Sophia had definitely received the letter and because she felt guilty, she ran to another country to hide. It was good enough as long as Sophia was frightened. She could hide but not forever; she would come back sooner or later.After having gone through this period of time together, Benedict b
After Sean got off from work, he went to his countryside villa to get Suzy back to the Young’s residence for a meal with Old Madam Sean was slowly getting to know about Suzy after interacting with her these days. She was quiet and shy. Sean was worried that he would scare her off if he were to tell her that he wanted to invite her to dinner at his house, so Sean used an excuse to get Suzy out.If Old Madam liked her by then, she naturally would request Suzy to stay there. That way it would not be too intentional.As long as Old Madam Young expressed her preference after meeting with Suzy, Sean would immediately suggest Suzy move in and stay at the Young’s residence. Sean would want her to accompany Old Madam Young under the pretext of taking care of her.Sean believed that with her kind and gentle behavior, Suzy would be more than happy to take care of Old Madam and would be a very good one at that. He purposely took a cab instead of driving there.Suzy was surprised to see him
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