"Up until now, I'm still curious. Why did Olivia just leave your house like that?" Rayyan asked Meizar, his cousin's older brother. The youngest sibling of Ignazio. "Why are you asking me? I haven't lived at mom's house for a long time," Meizar replied curtly. "If there's anything to ask, it's your dad and Zio you should be talking to." Meizar said to Rayyan. "What do you mean?" Rayyan asked back, while his older brother and other cousins—Geremia, Luca, Zello—just sat quietly, paying attention. "People at home say your dad forced Olivia to leave our house. They don't know the reason, but your dad seemed angry when he took Olivia out." "Did Dad say anything to you, Bro?" Rayyan asked his eldest brother. "Dad often discusses things with you; did he never talk about Olivia's issues with you?" Geremia glanced at his brother for a moment before redirecting his attention elsewhere. "Even if there was, it's not my place to talk about it. It's Dad's, Ignazio's, and Olivia's business." Ge
The main catfight between Olivia and the Antony-Claire family couldn't be avoided because unavoidable circumstances arose. It was the marriage of Rayyan Quirino and Elara Fulton. Olivia felt quite surprised to receive a sudden notification that the two of them were getting married. Either she had been too indifferent or too self-absorbed to notice any difference between them. Or perhaps everything just happened too quickly. Olivia knew that Rayyan decided to leave his parents' residence to avoid unpleasant rumors, the same reason Olivia was allowed to leave the Antony-Claire residence, but she didn't expect the original reason was love. "Finally, the playboy has repented too," quipped Falisha, Rayyan's older sister right next to Olivia. Olivia looked at her with a puzzled expression. "If Rayyan gets married, that means there's only one playboy left in our family. And I'm sure he won't take long to repent either." She said with a sweet smile on her face. One more? Olivia asked hersel
TWO WEEKS HAVE PASSED, and Olivia is once again reluctantly attending the party thrown by the Quirino family.Yes, it's Meizar and Lorraine's wedding day. The youngest son of the Claire-Antony couple, Flavia and Ignazio's brother.If only she were allowed, Olivia would avoid the event because she wants to steer clear of Ignazio and also Mrs. Claire, who always makes her heart race in a different way every time she sees her, or whenever they accidentally lock eyes.Olivia wants to come up with an excuse not to attend. But the more she thinks about it, all the reasons she has sound unreasonable. And if she doesn't show up, it will only raise suspicion and discomfort between her and her foster family.At times like this, Olivia feels regret. Why did she run to Flavia's residence? Why didn't she just work in a different city, far away from her foster family, where she wouldn't be under their watchful eyes?But oh well, she can't fix a broken mirror, can she?Olivia sits at a round table w
"Zio isn't Zello," Francisca replied with a slightly stern tone. "He wouldn't casually dip his stick anywhere." She continued with a confident tone. Sara nodded in agreement, believing her eldest cousin's words."Yeah, who knows. People who are disappointed tend to do irrational things, like the unexpected actions he took after Gretta passed away," Falisha reminded again. Her response reflexively silenced Sara and Francisca.Honestly, after Ignazio returned, I didn't see the Ignazio I used to know. The warm and caring Ignazio who always protected his siblings seemed to be gone. Time can change someone, especially after being away for five years. We don't know what he went through, what he faced during that time. In essence, the Ignazio I knew since childhood seems to be missing. Maybe there's still a part of him, but only a percentage. The rest seems nonexistent. I even thought at one point that the Ignazio who returned here was his doppelganger. But after reconsidering, it's impossib
HEARING OLIVIA'S VOICE, Mrs. Claire, who was walking behind her husband, turned around. "What happened to Grandpa?" Olivia asked, worried as she approached quickly. Mrs. Claire looked surprised. The woman in her early sixties seemed uneasy. Her eyes scanned the surroundings before answering. "Nothing, Antony is just tired," she replied, appearing a bit nervous. The driver opened the back door, and the two sturdy men who helped carry Mr. Antony carefully seated him. Olivia couldn't see Mr. Antony's face because it was obstructed by the bodies of the burly men. Olivia again observed Mrs. Claire, who circled the back of the car to enter through another door. Before getting into the car, she said, "Go back to the party. The event is not over." She commanded firmly and without saying anything more, entered the car, which immediately sped away. Olivia remained frozen in place as she saw her stepbrother, Geremia, half-running toward the front of the hotel with his phone to his ear. The
"How's Dad?" "Where's Geremia?" "How's Antony's condition?" Similar-toned questions almost simultaneously came from the Quirino family members. Instead of answering, Olivia became motionless and even stepped back to make way for the people who wanted to enter the treatment room. But once again, before anyone managed to open the door, it swung open, and Mrs. Claire emerged from the treatment room. "Your father is sleeping," she said more to her children. "Why are you all here? What about Meizar?" Mrs. Claire asked anxiously. "Don't worry. Rayyan, Elara, Luca, and Zello are with him," Gilang, Flavia's husband who was also Claire's twin brother, replied. "We made sure Meizar's happiness wasn't disturbed. He thought we came home because we were tired." "How is he?" Gladwin asked curiously. "At first, he fainted, but now he's sleeping because the doctor gave him medicine," Claire replied wearily. "I want to see Dad," Flavia requested, Antony's eldest daughter. Claire nodded and st
"I am crazy!" "This doesn't make sense!" "What on earth! This is not a reasonable request!" Olivia hoped to hear those sentences from the people around her. Unfortunately, what she heard was silence. A rather long silence. As if everyone was immersed in their own thoughts. "If that's the case, just do it." Francisca said, causing Olivia to jerk up from her seat and look at the woman in confusion. "Francisca!" A shout came from Falisha. Olivia and several others now shifted their attention to Falisha. "That's not a bad idea." She said, surprising everyone. Because honestly, Olivia thought the woman would reject Francisca's statement, but she actually smiled and nodded. "Fali!" Now Mr. Altezza addressed his eldest daughter. "What's the matter, Pa?" Falisha looked at her father and asked in a more polite tone. "What Uncle wants is reasonable. What part of it is irrational?" She asked for an answer from her father. "Uncle Antony wants Olivia and Ignazio to get married, that's logic
"We all here know what sins and even scandals we've committed in the past. So don't be offended if I bring this up." Gladwin's statement received a silent response from everyone, and he took it as agreement. "Antony is acting like this because he feels regret. He doesn't want the mistakes of the past to repeat. He doesn't want Gianna to experience the same thing Flavia went through." Gladwin's words made everyone now turn to look at Flavia, who happened to open the door to the care room. "Ignazio and Antony made the same mistake, that is, both abandoned their daughters. And Antony thinks he can redeem Ignazio's mistake by doing the same thing he did in the past, which is to give Gianna a mother. "But Antony didn't consider further that everything—the reasons why Ignazio left Gianna, Gianna's mental state, and the solution Gianna needs—it's different from the way he dealt with Flavia. "Yes, Antony left Flavia when she was still young. Entrusted Flavia's upbringing to her parents, j