“It’s a show of respect. You must drink!” Ariel placed the glass in front of Michael. “If you don’t drink much, then President Larson will have to drink on your behalf!”This was a toast to Michael and Serena. The assistant, who knew better than to drink on their behalf, stood by the side as watched on with unease. Serena appeared pitiable, as if full of grievances. She could not drink much but she did not want Michael to drink more either. Smiling, Christina placed the spoon down and dabbed the corners of her mouth with the napkin. “Ariel is right. You can’t refuse a toast to happiness. Miss Garcia, get President Larson to drink on your behalf if you can’t finish it all!” A hint of despair flashed across Michael’s eyes. Just as he was about to say something, Serena grabbed the glass and emptied it. Her cheeks turned red instantly. “Nice one!” Christina rose to her feet, applauding. “I heard that President Larson and Miss Garcia are going to be engaged soon. It’s a coincidence
Christina held firmly onto Ariel’s arm. “Stop it. Let’s go.” As they walked along, Ariel learned that Christina had not pretended to fall earlier but was tripped over by Michael. It was also him who deliberately spilled wine onto Serena. “Why did he do that? Is he out of his mind?” “I don’t know what his intentions are either. In short, we shouldn’t provoke him. He sought payback from you last time, remember?” “Only the losers are afraid! Worst case scenario, I’ll be out of a job!” Christina grabbed her by the arm in a comforting manner. “I know you’re not afraid of him but there’s no need to lose your job over him. He’s only a passerby and he’s not worth it!” Michael’s car had not driven away from the hotel before he noticed Matthew’s car approaching and had pulled up next to his. The newcomer winded down his window and looked at the other man provokingly. “President Henderson, you’re out late huh?” “I don’t have a choice. I don’t have interest in doing anything when m
The wine spillage accident utterly embarrassed Serena tonight. Perhaps she could have saved some face if Michael had accompanied her and sent her home personally.Instead, he had sent his assistant to send her home. The assistant had gotten slightly drunk and dared not drive in that state thus the task was delegated to the designated driver.Serena became angrier the more she thought about the humiliation she had suffered tonight. Enraged, she began throwing things around the room when she got home.Sophia stepped into the room upon hearing the commotion. “What’s gotten into you?”“It’s all because of that stupid Christina!” She told everything that had happened at the hotel last night in a tone full of grievance. “I thought she was genuinely wishing happiness for Michael and me but really, she was just digging my grave. Ugh!”“Why did you go there in the first place?” Sophia glared at her. “You’re asking for trouble if you’re too controlling over your man.”Tears began rolling d
Through the interactive games in the third section, Christina and the male participants were given a chance to impress one another.The rules of the game required the blindfolded male participants to carry Christina on the back and walk through a path full of obstacles in a limited time. She would be in charge to lead the direction.This game could test the cooperation between her and the participants to see if they could work well together. Bill quickly studied the obstacles to grasp a basic understanding. His swift movements seemed like he could reach the finishing line in no time.The host and the audience began to cheer them on.Suddenly, just when he was almost completing the test, he lost his balance after stepping on a rock and fell to the side. Michael sprung to his feet instantly.The stage was covered with obstacles. Christina would be doomed if she fell over.Something unexpected happened just when he was about to rush up to the stage. Although Bill lost his balan
Bill’s father had cheated on his mother when he was a child and walked out on them. His mother could not accept the hard blow and committed suicide by cutting herself on the wrist. Suddenly orphaned, Bill grew up under the roof of his relatives. It was through the help of a kind soul that he had received a university education.During his time in university, he met a young lady from a wealthy family and the two of them fell in love. After graduation, they had gotten married without their family’s knowledge and went on to live a simple but happy life.Bill had worked diligently but the company’s business was declining and so he was dismissed from work. His in-laws, who were not satisfied with him since the beginning, coerced their daughter to divorce him. The two of them were forcefully separated.There was great sadness in his voice. “I was poor at the time, so even the marriage application was paid for by my father-in-law. Thus, I left the marriage with nothing in my pockets. I own
Michael’s face fell instantly as he did not expect Christine to pose this question. She had certainly slapped him in the face.She had once asked him the same question too. “Michael, the doctor said I’m infertile. You’ll never have a child of your own if you choose to be with me. Will you still want to marry me?”He replied with an affirmative yes.What an irony that their marriage had eventually failed because of this exact issue.Did she bring up this old grudge only because he was present? He glanced at the woman on stage subconsciously, only to find out that she was looking at Bill seriously. She did not even look in his direction.Bill turned silent for several seconds before lifting his head to look at Christina in the eyes. “Miss Williams, you’ll probably think I’m not taking it seriously if I say I don’t mind. Therefore, I wish you could give me time to prove it with my actions. I promise to give you all the happiness in the world even without a child!”Christina nodded b
John would probably be highly against Christina’s choice. Perhaps he might step forward to stop her from going out with a man of this quality.“Just wait and see. If your dad’s involved in this, then it’s none of our business even if something goes wrong in the future. We can stand on the side with our arms crossed as Christina falls to ruins.”“If something goes wrong? What do you mean?” Serena’s interest was piqued.“It remains a secret for now. You’ll figure it out soon.”“Mom, just tell me already…”Once John returned home, Sophia told him everything about the matchmaking success, not forgetting to describe Bill as a completely worthless loser.He was so infuriated that he could not enjoy dinner. “This is wrong. Christina is too young and reckless to make decisions like this.”Sophia rubbed his shoulders. “I agreed that she’s too impulsive and I’m afraid she’s going to suffer in the future. That’s why I brought this up with you.”After a brief consideration, John said, “Don
Just another ordinary couple, Bill Hunt and Christina Williams usually went to the movies for their dates, occasionally going for food hunts or strolling around the mall. The more they hung out with each other, the more that Christina realized how caring and flawless Bill was. There did not seem to be a single trace of imperfection in him. Making up her mind to pick Travis Larson up in a few days time, Christina decided that it was time for Bill to meet her son. If all went well and the two got along, she would consider applying for the certificate from City Hall.That night, as the two walked out of the cinema after a movie, Bill informed her about his friend’s birthday party. It was also a get-together and Bill intended to bring Christina along. Christina had a feeling that Bill wanted to introduce her to his friends, and agreed to it without much thought. The next day was rather gloomy as Christina took the bus on her usual route to work. Like the weather, things were not any
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