A blush of shame soon appeared on Heather’s face. “Michael, what did you hear?”“Mom, don’t you feel tired of pretending in front of me?”She was unhappy about it. “Since when did I pretend? I just don’t want you to be with that evil woman. Is there anything wrong with it?” “Mom, I just want to let you know that it’s not Christina who keeps pestering me. I’m the one who keeps pestering her shamelessly. Don’t bother her anymore.”“Why do you want to pester her?”Michael laughed. “Mom, you should know the reason very well!” Heather was momentarily stunned. “Michael, that’s all in the past. Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay? Serena has spent many years waiting for you. She loves you so much, so you must not let her down!” Micheal gave a self-deprecating laugh. “You’re the one who has let Serena down, not me. You planned everything back then, didn’t you?”“I just did it for your own good. If you insist on being with that evil woman, the Larson family won’t have any descendan
‘What a terrible woman who’s always taking days off! She went to date her lover yesterday and consequently didn’t show up at work today. How awful of her!’Matthew was enraged for no apparent reason. There were several times when he felt like calling Christina, but he thought that doing so would cause him to lose his dignity. At last, he got Fred to call Christina. After trying to make a call, Fred told Matthew that Christina’s phone had been turned off. Stomping his feet, Matthew thought, ‘That woman must be busy dating her lover. She doesn’t want anyone to disturb her, so she turned off her phone.‘Watch out, Christina! I’m going to give you a lesson.’Matthew behaved grumpily all day and criticized everyone he met at work. Even Fred, who just quietly minded his own business, got criticized by Matthew. Fred began to look glum. When Matthew was finally done for the day, he drove to the old town only to discover that Christina and Francis were not around. The house was empty and
Ariel winked at Christina and added, “Exactly, Christina. What President Henderson said is right. You didn’t have to harm yourself because of that scumbag. It’s fine to break up. I’m sure you’ll find a better partner.”Christina looked down in silence.Noticing that Christina remained silent beside him, Matthew continued to lecture her. Then, he cheerfully picked up his phone to give Fred a call. “Christina is sick. Based on her skin and face, I can tell that she’s suffering from malnutrition. Get some tonics and bring them here right now!” Fred seemed puzzled after he hung up the phone. Just the day before, Matthew had called her an evil woman and had wanted to give her a lesson, but within a day, his attitude toward her had changed.Not only did President Henderson sound cheerful, but he had also asked Fred to buy some tonics and bring them to the hospital. What a drastic change in him.Speaking of the Garcia family, Sophia was under the impression that she would receive what s
Having confirmed that her plan had succeeded, Sophia did not doubt Ninth Brother when he called to ask for money. She just transferred the remaining amount to him straight away.Only now did she realize that it was too early to pay him. She should have paid him after she received what she had requested from him earlier.Once she had parked her car at the empty space outside Hoover Alley, she walked into the alley. She would be able to find out what had happened once she saw Ninth Brother.She arrived at the courtyard effortlessly before she pushed open the door and entered the house. Inside sat a man with sunglasses holding a pipe. “Brother Davis, it’s been a while since we met.” Sophia took the initiative to greet him. Removing his sunglasses, the man sat upright and glanced at her in astonishment. “What brings you here, mayoress?” She walked toward him. “Brother Davis, I’m looking for Ninth Brother.”Brother Davis asked, “Why are you looking for him?”“For some personal re
“Nightingale, why are you here?”Sophia glanced at him and she looked extremely annoyed. She did not want to bother him initially, but when she thought about her intention of coming here, she suppressed her annoyance and asked, “Where’s Ninth Brother?”However, the man did not mind her poor attitude. “Ninth Brother got into trouble, so he ran off two days ago.”The news left Sophia in shock. ‘Why would Ninth Brother run into trouble so suddenly? And more so, at this critical period? What actually happened?’“Nightingale, why are you looking for Ninth Brother?”It was not convenient for her to tell him her motive. “Just inform me once you know his whereabouts. I have to settle a score with him!”“He won’t return anymore. I heard that he has traveled to Europe.” ‘What a bastard!’ Sophia finally understood that she was cheated by Ninth Brother. Her furious expression tickled the man’s interest. “What’s going on between you and Ninth Brother?”“Nothing much!” Sophia could not reve
John could no longer focus at work so he left home early with a made-up excuse and he was in the study, blaming himself.He walked out of the study upon hearing the sound of a car engine approaching the house. By chance, he overhead Serena demanding something from Sophia. The latter mentioned she was scammed for hundreds of thousands.Sophia was startled but she quickly smoothed over the surprise and regained her composure. “John, I’m sorry!”“What’s wrong?” The indifference was evident in his voice. He was already in a terrible mood to begin with.It was not his initial plan to be with Sophia. Back in the days, Sophia and his wife, Molly, were good friends, so he only got to know the former through his wife.Never did he think that he would get drunk that day and sleep with Sophia.Sophia did feel guilty afterward as well, thus both parties took a step backward and it ended there. He almost forgot that this even happened. It was not until a few years later that Sophia suddenly r
“That’s right! Bill is a horrible man to have tricked Christina like that. He deserves a good punishment for what he did!” Sophia echoed. In actuality, she became more concerned. If the police had really caught Bill, then her scheme with Ninth Brother would come to light too.“John, did they get the man yet?”“Not yet! Those useless rubbish in the police station still couldn’t find a lead after three days. It’s so frustrating!”Sophia felt slightly reassured after hearing that. Ninth Brother mentioned that those people held multiple identities as Bill Hunt was a fake identity too. Hopefully, the police would never find out the truth or catch the culprit.Christina could have left the hospital after one night but Matthew had forced her to stay for two more just in case.She felt fine physically but mentally, she was scarred. Her terrible experience with men before made it difficult for her to trust men but this time, when she had finally put the past behind and opened up, she was
Christina tried again with patience. “Alright, Matthew, why are you calling me at this hour?”“Can’t I just speak to you?”“Fine! Speak away, I’m listening.”“Why don’t you do the talking and I’ll listen?”“I don’t know what to say to you,” she replied.“Tell me something that makes me happy!” He was being unreasonable.“What’s the matter with you? For drinking so much?”“I did drink, and I drank a lot…” He burped. “Christina, I like you. Do you know that I like you…”She rolled her eyes. This guy was evidently too drunk that his talkative side had taken over him. “Christina, I really like you. Why don’t you like me back? Why?”She refused to reply, and on the other side, he did not know if he should laugh or cry. “Christina, I just want you to show me a glimmer of hope. I don’t mind that you’ve had a divorce before, I don’t mind anything…”“Matthew, you’re drunk. Go to sleep!”“I don’t want to sleep. I want to hear you say that you like me. I want you to like me…” His voi
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