The memories before she lost consciousness flooded Olivia. She could only remember the sudden pain in her neck before she fell into a swoon.When she finally regained her composure, she realized that the room seemed familiar."This is…"She didn't feel well as she had just woken up, especially her head. It felt heavy, clouded by a weight of grogginess."We're at Alora Village. You've been cursed, so I was wondering if Madam Wendy could help us out." Ethan hugged her gently. She nestled her head in his arms. "Is it a powerful curse, Ethan? Can she lift it?"Near-death experiences were not new to her, hence her relatively calm voice."It's a troublesome one, Liv. Your life and Jacqueline's are bound together. It's either you live or die together. Madam Wendy is at her wit's end. Only the witch that cast the curse knows what can be done.""I see. Did something happen to Jacqueline? I felt like I was suffocating.""I think so." He then cooed, "Don't worry, Liv. Jacqueline is just
Olivia looked at Wendy. "What happened?""Jacqueline asked someone to cast a Lifebond Curse on you. The curse settled in you within 24 hours, and now, your life is bound with hers. From now onward, you'll share the pain. But I didn't know that you'd feel the pain so vividly. The witch is powerful," Wendy recounted.At this moment, Wendy thought it was so fortunate that she didn't get ahead of herself by breaking the curse for Olivia. This wasn't any ordinary curse; it was a refined one. Just like how science would improve every day, the abandoned minority curses had been cast to oblivion. Only a few people still sustained the practice—the powerful witches.Jacqueline rested against the rim of the bathtub with an expression of a winner. "I'm glad you know. It's not only our lives; she can feel anything that I do. If you want her to suffer with me, you're welcome to torture me."Olivia did feel unwell when she woke up. She brushed it off as soreness from the long hours of sleep. It
Olivia looked at Jacqueline. "Grab something to eat first."Now, it wasn't only Olivia's and Jacqueline's lives that were bound together; the same went for their body condition.Despite their deep-rooted resentment, everyone had to treat Jacqueline well for Olivia's sake.Nevertheless, Olivia's eyes carried tranquility. She acted so differently from others, who were grappling with hatred. She even told Ethan to ask someone to tend to Jacqueline."Okay." He didn't have any opinion about it. With one look from Ethan, Brent began treating Jacqueline's wound. After finishing her meal, Olivia even instructed him to treat the wound and tie the bandage more neatly.Fury was boiling within Kelvin. "Mrs. Miller, why are you being so nice to her? She has caused you so much harm! If it were me, I'd want to tie that bandage as tightly as possible."Olivia studied Kelvin for a while before smiling. "It's been so many years, and you haven't changed one bit. Still jumpy as before.""Yeah,
Leia had tortured Jacqueline so cruelly and almost drowned her just a while ago. Jacqueline and Leia were the same kind of people—cruelty ran in their blood. This was a chance for Jacqueline to avenge herself.As Olivia's enemy, Leia knew that this wasn't a difficult condition for Olivia. Leia meant nothing to Olivia. The glint in Leia's eyes turned cold when she heard that condition. But she could only rein her anger in for Olivia's sake. After all, she owed it to Olivia.Clenching her fists, Leia tried to keep her cool.Ethan frowned upon hearing that. But Ethan shared the same notion as Leia—they owed Olivia. That was why he stayed silent, agreeing to the condition alongside Leia. "No," Olivia rejected, and everyone looked at her.No one saw it coming. "Why? Think about what she did to you. Are you feeling sorry for her?""This is a different matter. Settle your scores with Leia yourself. This is between you and me. I don't have the right to drag someone else into this."J
Olivia hugged Willow. "Willow, I know you're doing this for me. But I'll never put you in danger no matter what happens."Jacqueline's record was far off the scale of cruelty. Plus, she hated Olivia the most in the world. How could Olivia let her daughter be the hostage with peace of mind?Willow shook her head, trying her best to convince Olivia. "I'm not afraid, Mom."Olivia tightened her arms gently around her. "But I'm scared, Willow. I risked my life to bring you to this world, baby. You're my precious daughter. Since I've brought you to this world, I should be responsible for you. No matter what the future holds, I'll never let you face the consequences."Ethan finally knew the reason behind his children's bright personalities. It was because Olivia would never give up on them. She was determined to protect them, and they grew up loving her.Love should never be a one-sided thing.Olivia comforted Willow before looking at Jacqueline. "No one can be your hostage. I can onl
Olivia lured Ethan into the water. Some flashbacks came to his mind. It was the time when he was visually impaired and Olivia kept by his side to treat him.Now that they were back at the same place, it felt different and special.The water rippled as Olivia began removing his clothes.Her hands rested on his body. She whispered into his ear softly, "Relax, Ethan."Olivia could tell that everyone was on edge ever since she was cursed, especially Ethan. Perhaps it didn't affect her that much due to her past near-death experiences. She should've died three years ago, but she managed to survive such a malable! Every day thereafter felt like a steal to her. Furthermore, she was able to find her true family. She didn't have any regrets in life anymore. The future no longer concerned her. All she wanted to do was to enjoy the present.The long-lost joy kept Ethan's worries and anxiety at bay. He tightly hugged Olivia's body as if trying to be one with her. The deeply rooted fear i
Olivia could feel the pain, but it wasn't a ten out of ten. Still, the pain was unbearable. No one knew how painful it was for Jacqueline.The excruciating pain reached every part of Jacqueline's body. Like a pair of invisible hands, something was tearing her heart."Save me! Help me!" She rolled on the floor while scratching the uneven surface. The fact that her nicely manicured nails were ruined didn't bother her because it didn't hurt as much as the turmoil in her body.Meanwhile, Leia was watching the scene by the side. Her eyes held no emotions.She neither added fuel to the fire nor helped Jacqueline.Jacqueline mustered every strength in her to crawl toward Leia. "Leia Miller, save me! It hurts so much!"Leia crouched before her, grabbing her chin. "You had this coming, Jacqueline. We gave you a chance, but you didn't take it.""That old hag has the antidote, doesn't she? Tell her to give it to me! Olivia won't have it better anyway." Jacqueline mentioned Olivia, trying
Compared to Jacqueline, who was in agony, Olivia appeared to be fine. Her face was even glowing.Jaqueline couldn't believe her eyes. "How are you fine? We share our senses. If I'm in pain, you should be too.""Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not that painful for me. I heard that you had it rough last night. You almost broke," Olivia retorted.Jacqueline wasn't buying it. That person clearly told her that he spent years inventing the curse just for Olivia.This was her trump card. If her identity was exposed, she could take advantage of the curse that bound her with Olivia. However, it seemed like Olivia wasn't affected by the curse one bit. Jacqueline was losing confidence.Olivia continued, "From now onward, you'll be experiencing the same pain on every full moon. And it'll hurt more every time it gets you. I don't mind. I can play along with you for the rest of my life. Let's see how far you can go."Jacqueline dreaded the thought of going through the same experience again.
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