Olivia held the check between her fingers. The look in her eyes was unfathomable. "Why?""For personal reasons. I hope you can make it happen, Vanessa.""But I've already told your sister that the chances of success are quite high."Fabian smiled. "An operation is like an exam. It's normal for occasional mistakes to occur, right?""As you wish, then, Mr. Fabian." Olivia filled in the amount on the check.99.99 million dollars."You're okay with this, right, Mr. Fabian?" She was asking for a lot.Fabian only glanced at it. "Sure. Whatever you wish."Olivia put the check away. "Well, then. Here's to a great partnership."Fabian had heard of Vanessa's fame a long time ago. She didn't belong to any hospital, and even when she treated patients, she did it of her own will.He wasn't sure if she would agree to this, but fortunately, she did.Marina had no idea that the person who loved her the most had joined hands with the person who hated her the most.Ethan didn't come too soon
At the dining table, Otto took Ethan's hand and said sincerely, "I don't have much time left, Ethan."Originally, the grandson-in-law I was most keen on having was you, but in the end, things weren't meant to be between you and Marina. Now that things have come to this point, I won't ask for too much."I just hope that you won't attack the Carltons, even if it's just because of the connection between our families. Please give us as much support as you can."When Otto said those words, Fabian gripped the wine glass tightly. But when Otto looked at him, he put on a fake friendly face.Olivia once saw Fabian meeting up with Yale, so he must be on the Yale family's side. Hence, it made sense that he would be upset with what Otto said."Fabian, you should learn from Ethan."Fabian held the wine glass, looking quite guilty indeed. "You're right, Grandpa. Mr. Miller, I'm counting on your guidance."Ethan's gaze swept over him. There was a deep knowing look in his eyes as he said, "I wo
Olivia lowered her voice as she reached out to shove Ethan. "Stop fooling around."In the snowy landscape, Ethan's drunken voice sounded extra suggestive. "Liv, I miss you. That old man won't even let me in the house."When he was speaking, he sounded extra wounded. Even though Olivia wasn't there at the scene, she felt amused when she pictured the situation.He was a powerful man, so he had never experienced such treatment before.Standing on her tiptoes, Olivia gave him a peck on the cheek. "Alright, stop fooling around. I'll make it up to you at night."Unbeknownst to them, someone was standing nearby and had seen everything.Erina was worried that her mother would be bullied by that bad man again, so she came out to look for Marina.She didn't expect to run into that sight.For as long as she could remember, Ethan had always been a very cold man. He was even colder when it came to Marina.She had never seen him smile at Marina before. In the past few years, he never even o
Connor was still receiving training out there, and Ethan was separated from his other three children. This was a decision Olivia had made back then to draw boundaries between herself and Ethan.To protect the children, she didn't even tell Ethan where the children were studying.Even though Ethan had a reason, when Olivia thought about him going so far for someone else's child, she still felt upset about it.Gripping the steering wheel, Olivia quietly told herself not to hold a grudge against a child. But she couldn't stop her mind from thinking.She sped all the way back to the Heath residence.Meanwhile, in the Carlton residence, Marina's body was pinned against the cold mirror as she endured Fabian's outrage. About a dozen minutes later, Fabian finally stopped in haste.Seeing that he didn't take any preventive measures, Marina bit his shoulder viciously. "You jerk! How dare you do that!"Fabian had a crazed look on his face. "I want you to have my child!""In your dreams!"
Olivia returned to the Heath residence gloomily. Molly still hadn't gone to bed, and a warm light flickered in her room.Tatiana let Molly try on the scarf she had just knitted. "They fit just right. I'll knit gloves and a hat for you tomorrow.""Thank you, Mom." In just a few days, Molly had gotten much better. Her cheeks had plumped up a little."Come on, you don't have to thank me. I'm your mom, after all. In the future, I'll make it up to you even more, so please get well soon."Olivia knocked on the door and went in. Molly trusted Olivia very much, and her eyes lit up when she saw Olivia."You're back, Olivia. Where did you go?""I checked in on a patient. Are you okay?" Olivia's originally foul mood got better as soon as she saw Molly."Yes, I'm alright. My stomach stopped aching, and my appetite has improved a lot compared to before. Your medicine is quite effective."Molly was like the sun. She was sad about losing her child, but she would force a smile in front of ever
Ethan seemed to have guessed that she would be coming over, so he stood under the streetlights. That way, she would be able to spot the white snow on his figure right away.If her heart ached for him, she would come downstairs.Olivia was in her bathrobe, holding the gift he had sent her as she looked down at him.Right after that, she lowered her head and typed something on her phone. Then, she raised her phone and waved it, gesturing for Ethan to check his phone.Ethan lowered his gaze, thinking that Olivia did indeed care about him.But when he unlocked his phone, the smile froze on his face."Thanks for the gift. The roads might be slippery in this weather, so take care on your way home."Seeing that Ethan had checked his phone, Olivia turned around and went back to her room. She even drew the curtains, firmly blocking her figure from view.In his exasperation, Ethan smiled bitterly. He remembered when she was still in school and she came out in her pajamas despite the snow
Ethan looked at Olivia's figure against the bleak snow. He felt like he had messed up again.Instead of plots and schemes, he was more intent on seeing her.With Mason between them and since Olivia had to take care of Molly as well, it had become quite a pipe dream for him to see Olivia.He knew that Olivia had surgery to perform today, so that was why he kept waiting here. He wanted to see her as soon as she got out of the Heath residence.He recalled back when he returned from his missions, she would always have some soup ready for him if he informed her beforehand. She would stand at the entrance in her apron, looking out for him.White snow drifted around her, covering her hair and clothes with a layer of white. She looked as pretty as a picture.He just terribly missed the past.Ethan sighed. He had somehow made Olivia mad again. Stepping on the gas pedal, he went after her.The surgery today would be performed in the basement of Olivia's villa, which was equipped with the
Ethan had always been a powerful man, but at that moment, he was extremely humble. "I was picking out the bunnies for you last night, and I decided to get something for Erina while I was at it."Liv, I treasure you, and I care about our children as well. It's almost New Year's, so can you give me a chance to see the children?"He was especially concerned about the tender Willow. They had only spent a short time together in the village before Olivia left with Willow.Olivia sighed. "Alright, just don't do it again."He nodded in agreement. "I won't."Olivia poked at the stubs on his chin. "Go upstairs and wash up.""Sure." Taking her fingertips, he planted a kiss on them. "Have you really calmed down?""Yes, absolutely."It was only then that Ethan sighed in relief and went upstairs. Now, he felt like he was walking on thin ice around Olivia.He had finally contacted her again after a painstaking process, so he was sincerely worried that he might lose Olivia again.Pride and f
Warren's pale face showed a hint of pleading. "Olivia, we've gotten to know each other better in the past two years. Have you ever loved me?"Hatred was evident in Olivia's cold eyes. "Never. I pray for your death every single second of my life.""I knew it." He smiled at that embittering answer. Karma had always been there. Another sound of a gunshot surprised the birds. A pool of blood splashed over the flowers. Warren stared at the picture on the gravestone. "Mona, I've returned everything that I owe you…"Olivia's gaze alternated between the two bodies. Her heart ached as she began crying. "It's finally over, Mona. Please rest in peace."She had been waiting for this day to come for too long. When the revenge was finally over, she felt hollow on the inside. …Yarrows reached their peak of beauty during the season, dancing along the wind. Willow was chasing after Zack, her bells ringing briskly. He teased, "You can't catch me!"After weaving a garland, Alicia bec
Warren was so blinded by love that he didn't realize that Olivia had spent the last two years setting this up.The moment he saw Olivia nestling in Ethan's arms, he knew that his identity had been exposed since the beginning.It was time to end all of this.Although the Fordham family had won the fight, they sustained heavy casualties. Brandon and Deborah, together with Jacqueline, had hurt and killed countless people. Quinn became a sacrifice, never waking up again despite her young age. Olivia placed a bouquet before Quinn's gravestone. "Rest in peace, Quinn. I'll take good care of the family. Don't worry."The breeze carried a leave before it landed on Olivia's shoulder, as though trying to respond to Olivia.Douglas reunited with the family, and Natalie was finally buried in peace. It was a private funeral, but Mason paid a visit. Mason and Douglas looked at each other. They were both important to Natalie, and they finally met each other after her death. With reddene
"Avery, what happened?" Olivia inquired.She had no clue what was happening and didn't dare to go anywhere close to Louis. The only person who she got close to was Avery."Stay away, Olivia! It's too dangerous!" Avery yelled worriedly. Louis shifted his gaze to Olivia. "My experiment is going to be successful soon. That's Natalie's descendant. She has Natalie's genes in her…"Olivia's eyes widened as she finally realized why Louis had been taking special care of her. Back then, she simply assumed that it was due to her health and talent, but it turned out that he had known her identity all along!The purpose of the human modification project was to resurrect Natalie! The thought of it gave her goosebumps.To think that he had made so many preparations just to resurrect Natalie…Even Olivia was deceived. She took the human modification project at face value; she didn't think much about it! "Let Natalie go, Louis. She's been gone for years. She could be watching us from up
Olivia arrived on the island. She noticed the change in the atmosphere this time around.It was the same old scenery, but the robots that once filled the island to the brim were gone. She expected to encounter some inspection robots upon arrival, but there weren't any.Ships were docking in lines by the seashore, and most of them belonged to private foreigner organizations and mercenaries. People were coming to the island!What happened?Was Louis in danger?Although Louis wished to transform her into a cyborg, she hoped he could live regardless. No matter what field it was, no one would come before an outstanding scientist like him. It would be a huge loss to lose him.Olivia grew worried. "Calm down, Liv. A lot of people came to the island, but I don't think it's a big issue for now," Ethan reminded her.He bet that the ships were loaded with ammunition. Still, the buildings on the island were intact, and nothing seemed to be destroyed. She disagreed, "No, there should
Mason and David had a long discussion by themselves. No one knew what they talked about.But it didn't matter because it was just an extra member joining the Fordham family anyway. That was it.On the other hand, Tatiana was a little worried. If the whole Fordham family were to be added to the family registry, would her children inherit less from the Heath family?Humans were born selfish. When the event actually came to pass, everyone would be thinking about their own benefit. However, the result of the discussion between David and Mason surprised everyone.Even though David wasn't acknowledged as one of the Fordhams, he wasn't planning to change his surname to Heath.He saw himself as a Fordham because his mother married Douglas.Nevertheless, he didn't mind his family being relatives with the Fordham family.Mason was a little disappointed, but he still respected David's decision because he knew how well Douglas treated David's family.Mason asked the Fordham family to sta
Olivia and the others returned to the Fordham family. Everything was going back on track under Avery's management. Sean's leg was recovering well. He could walk like a normal person, and he didn't have to pretend to be a cripple anymore. Troy would need more time to heal, but he was making progress.David clearly seemed better than he was before Olivia left. Everyone could still hardly believe that Jacqueline almost killed everyone in the family all by herself. When Olivia returned, David asked with concern, "Olivia, Avery said that you were cursed. How are you feeling right now?""Don't worry, Dad. I'm all better now. But we think that Jacqueline's dead in the sea," she assured.He hugged her. "It's alright. Your safety is all I hope for."It broke her heart to see how time had chipped away at his physique. It hadn't actually been that long since the family was in trouble. "Any news about Mom's whereabouts?" asked Olivia. "Avery found something, but he's still trying to
Alan brushed it over, but it was enough to leave Wendell in shock. Wendell imagined what kind of life Wayne had led before this. Growing up in a slum where all kinds of people lived… People like them had never really owned anything anyway, so they wouldn't feel the pain of loss…Ever since his wife passed away, Wendell didn't really care much about Alexander's upbringing. Wendell was merely generous when it came to spending money on Alexander. But once he reunited with his son, he realized how much it could hurt to be a parent. If that marriage arrangement was Wayne's wish, Wendell was hell-bent on making it happen.…Olivia was watching the sunset painting colors to the horizon by the seashore. Although Jacqueline was dead, Olivia didn't feel happy, not even one bit. So what if the mastermind was dead? The Fordham family was still in disarray, and no one knew where Shana was.Olivia sighed softly. "You're too young to be sighing like that." Wayne suddenly appeared next
Wendell felt helpless. He was seriously down on luck.Instead of his son, he thought that he had found himself a bossy superior. It was a heartfelt reunion after 30 years of separation, and yet the first thing Wayne talked about was an announcement about his marriage rather than expressing words of concern for his family. If it were any ordinary woman, Wendell wouldn't have minded it. But the person he insisted on marrying was none other than Olivia! She was a divorced woman with four kids!On top of that, Olivia's ex-husband was Wendell's nephew! The divorced couple was somewhat entangled with each other too.Ethan and Wayne were both dear to him. What should he do? Wendell was at his wit's end. Ignoring Wendell's dilemma, Wayne handed him a cigarette. But Wendell refused, "I quit it."Wayne lit a cigarette and squatted on the ground. Instead of a ruler of a land, he appeared more like a construction worker. Wendell massaged his forehead at that. How had his son grown
Wendell had been frail all his life. He never imagined that his biological son would have been missing for so many years. What surprised him more was that Wayne had grown up well despite hardships. Still, there seemed to be something off about this son of his.They were father and son who had been separated for years. Now that the truth was revealed, shouldn't they be hugging each other in tears of joy? Why did Wayne show no joy in reuniting with his father but seemed interested in his identity as the son of the Procter family—or more precisely, the marriage arrangement between the Procter family and the Fordham family?""Son, things are a bit complicated right now. We need to take our time to discuss this thoroughly—""Am I not your son?" Wayne's restless temperament was exactly the same as his mother's. There was no chance of dissuading him. There was only one thing in his head. He felt fortunate that he had run a background check on the ties between both families. Otherwise