…Haley sat on her apartment couch. Beside her was a bag of popcorn and in her hand was her phone as she read through the netizens’ comments online. “Isn’t the Nash Family too heartless?”“This is a huge revelation.”“So Desmond Nash has a skeleton hidden in his closet.”“What did that poor homeless girl do?”“Would he gain anything from killing her?”“I heard Desmond Nash has anger issues, is it true?”“By the way, who is that girl?”“Probably one of the servants from the Nash Mansion.”“Tsk! Indeed, they're heartless!”“Never am I rooting for that mean old couple again.”“It's surprising though… isn't Leah supposed to be their daughter-in-law?”“Right! Why would she kick Vera on the leg?”“To frame that young lady whose back was to the camera, duh!”“How cruel! I bet Vera doesn't care about her life as long as she gets her selfish desires.”“Same goes for that entire family!”“Well, I have a feeling that lady in the footage might be the same girl Desmond is after.”“What else can
…Liam pressed on the accelerator, racing his car down the city.His nerves rippled with rage and his hands gripped the steering wheel.Beside him, his phone rang constantly. Not once, not twice… every single moment, his phone was ringing.Liam smashed his palm on it finally, turning off the phone.If he hadn't received news that his mother was in a worse condition, he wouldn't have stepped out of the Villa.The Nash Family was currently under the spotlight.Indeed, the paparazzi and every gossip media would target him.Damnit!Liam couldn't believe it.It had to be his imagination.But he couldn't get that image off his head… the image of Leah kicking the back of his mother's leg.Why did his father tell him a different thing?Desmond demanded he seize that footage from Haley, claiming it would make his mother look like a fool.But it turned out the footage had much more to tell.Not only did it make his mother look like a fool, it also exposed his mother and Leah.So Haley had been
The voices floated through one of the doors in the hallway.Merely whispers, it was difficult to recognize them at first.Liam paused in front of the door, frowning at their words.Leah and his father.What were they discussing?What plan?And why were they in his parents’ room instead of downstairs?As the voices continued speaking, an uneasy feeling settled on Liam's chest.“Don’t worry, Leah…” His father continued. “As long as I'm here, no harm will come to you.”Leah sounded frustrated as she replied, “Well, are you also safe? Aren't people dragging you online?”“It's Haley's fault! I'll make sure she suffers for it!”“Forget about Haley!” Leah scoffed. “There's no way we can frame her this time.”A moment of silence passed by. Then the middle-aged man's heavy sigh resounded through the walls. “You know how much I love you, Leah… Don't think too much about this tiny issue. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you.”“I'm just afraid Vera will see that footage,” Leah murmured, her
…At The Woods Mansion.Sitting on the bed inside her room, Haley stared into nothingness. Her heart was filled with all emotions except happiness,Why?Wasn't she supposed to be happy?Finally, her wish had come true.Finally, she was back home.However,What if her parents found out the real truth someday?What if they realized she lied?What if they found out she only did that to the Nash Family because of her personal feud with them and not because of what happened between them and her family?What if they found out someday that she'd been their daughter-in-law and Liam had been her husband?Haley's gaze wandered across the bedroom, taking in the familiarity, her thoughts returning to the past.Her pictures were no longer here.Neither was her things.They must all be lying under a heap of dust in the storage room.Indeed, her parents must have wiped out all her memories from the mansion.Now that she'd returned…Haley felt like a complete stranger.She couldn't believe she'd bee
Haley's heart skipped a beat.It was too late to turn back.Too late to go back to the car and remain sitting there, wishing he'd disappear.Coming face to face with Liam, she came to a screeching halt, the shock immobilizing her.Liam's expression mirrored the same shock as his eyes widened in astonishment.Then he glanced from her to her parents, suspicion flashing in his eyes.Haley couldn't tell what he was thinking, neither could she tell the assumption in his mind.A sudden look of suspicion flashed in his eyes, followed by betrayal.He stood there, his lips parted but didn't say a word.“Hmph!” Haley's mother scoffed, breaking the momentary silence.Liam was blocking their path, and the woman grabbed Haley's hand. “Let's get out of here.”Without another word, they nudged past him, her mother bumping shoulders with him in fact.But the woman didn't care.Her rage towards Liam was all evident on her face.After what he and his mother did to their family, it was hard to speculate
Haley instantly became the center of attention, all eyes turning in her direction.Her mother's question hit her, chasing away the distraction.Damnit!Everyone gave her confused looks including Lana who'd been the cause of her distraction. In the heat of the moment, she'd forgotten the conversation they were having in the room, even mentioning Liam's surname, Nash.Of course, Haley would never suggest that name to anyone even in her sleep.The last name on her mind, she detested hearing it or someone mentioning it.How could she ever call her nephew that name?Clearing her throat, Haley let out a nervous laughter. She addressed her mother's question, “No, Mum, you heard me wrong. I mean Ash, not Nash… Ash as in Asher.”Haley's lie hit home.Everyone nodded in understanding, the confusion disappearing from their eyes.In fact, her parents looked relieved, and so was her brother.They must have been suspecting the same thing,That she mentioned the Nash Family's name intentionally.
~She paused, her shoulders tensing up. Her back was facing him, and Liam couldn't tell her expression.He could only guess that she looked as shocked as he felt right now.Never did he expect those words to be so easy to say.The words which had been weighing heavily on his heart.He'd thought it'd take decades before he would finally be able to say them.He was sorry!Indeed,He shouldn't have mistreated Haley.Of all people, he shouldn't have distrusted her.The only people whom he trusted happened to deceive him.His mother… his father,And Leah!He shouldn't have pushed Haley away when she so desperately wanted him by her side.Now that she was pushing him away…Liam wasn't himself!He'd never been himself ever since he realized his mistake. He should have protected her from his parents' bullying earlier.If he hadn't turned a blind eye to it from the beginning, it wouldn't have led to this.It wouldn't have led to Haley taking this measure to get his parents off her back.Liam
Liam squeezed the reports, hands trembling, rage coaxing through his nerves.What did his eyes just see?Leah got pregnant earlier than she reported.That filthy woman was pregnant way before they went on that business trip.Yet, she only told him after a few weeks of returning from the trip that she was pregnant, pushing the responsibility onto him. She made him believe he was the only man who had ever touched her.Thinking about it now…Did Liam even touch her?From start to finish, he couldn't remember a single thing.The only thing Liam could remember was waking up next to her.They were both wearing almost nothing, so he concluded something happened between them.Leah affirmed that, crying in grief that he forcefully made a pass at her.So she made it all up!The baby wasn't his.Somehow, Liam was relieved by this revelation. It meant his hands were clean and his morals were intact.However, Who was Leah's baby's real father?It mustn't be his father, right?Desmond and Leah w