On the day Olivia Fordham was diagnosed with stomach cancer, her husband, Ethan Miller, was taking care of his first love's children. In the hospital corridor, Keith Rogers said grimly while holding a biopsy report, "Olivia, the results are out. If the surgery is successful, the five-year survival rate for a 3A malignant tumor is 15 to 30 percent."Olivia gripped the strap of her sling bag tightly with her slender fingers. Her petite face was pale and solemn. "Keith, how long do I have left to live if I don't do the surgery?" "Six months to a year. It's different for everyone. In your case, it's better to do two rounds of chemotherapy first before the surgery. It will prevent the risk of the tumor spreading or undergoing metastasis."Olivia bit her lip while forcing out, "Thank you.""Don't thank me. I'll arrange for you to be admitted to the hospital right away," said Keith."There's no need. I don't plan to receive treatment. I won't be able to get through it," Olivia said.
In the dark of night, Olivia stood alone in the bathroom. The hot water chased away her chills. She rubbed her swollen red eyes and walked to a room. When she opened the door, a warmly furnished children's room lay before her. She pressed a button lightly, and mellow music from a music box filled the room. The room was lit with yellow lights. The atmosphere was undoubtedly homely, but Olivia wept unstoppably.God must have decided to take her life because she had failed to save her baby's. She climbed onto the cot that was barely more than three feet long and curled up into a fetal position. Tears from her left eye flowed to her right eye, down to her cheek, then finally wet the children's blanket she was lying on. She hugged a plushy tightly while murmuring, "Sorry, my baby. It's all my fault. I failed to protect you. Don't be afraid. I'll be with you soon."After losing her baby, her mental health had deteriorated. Olivia was like a pretty flower slowly wilting away. She ga
Marina wore a white cashmere coat. Her white pearl earrings made her look gentle and charismatic. Just the shawl around her neck was already worth more than a thousand dollars. The salesperson went up to her and greeted her at once. "Mrs. Miller, is Mr. Miller not here today to pick out jewelry with you? There are some new arrivals. Each one of them would suit you great, Mrs. Miller. The emerald piece you asked me to reserve for you is here. Try it on later. I'm sure it would suit your complexion very well."The salesperson punctuated almost every sentence with "Mrs. Miller" just to butter Marina up even though she and Ethan weren't legally married yet. Marina looked at Olivia with a smile and a proud look in her eyes that showed off her victory. Everyone knew that Ethan treated her like the most precious treasure, but they did not know that Olivia was his legally married wife. Olivia clenched her hands into fists. Why did she have to bump into the person she least wanted to see in
Chloe Parker had left when Olivia was eight.It was Jeff's birthday, and Olivia had been in high spirits, eager to return home and celebrate her father's birthday with her family. She never knew that what awaited her was her parents' divorce. Olivia had chased after her mother, scrambling down the stairs and falling. She did not even realize that she had lost her shoes. All she cared about was clinging onto her mother's legs and crying, "Mom, don't go!" The graceful woman bent down, stroked Olivia's cheeks, and said, "I'm sorry." "Mom, I'm first in my grade. You haven't seen my test papers yet. You have to sign them. Don't leave me, Mom. I'll be a good girl. I promise I won't go to any more fun fairs. I won't make you mad. I'll listen to you. Please …" Hastily, young Olivia blubbered everything she could think of in hopes of making Chloe stay. In the end, Chloe simply told Olivia that her marriage with Olivia's father was not a happy one and that she had found her true happiness el
Chloe looked at Ethan with a puzzled gaze. She never knew that he was married. "Mr. Miller, we stayed overseas for many years and are unaware of what goes on here. What does my daughter have to do with you?" Ethan's eyes were calm. His expression remained indifferent as he said, "Even if there was something between us, it's already in the past. I'm settling my divorce soon." Olivia never thought that he would take things so lightly after all their years of marriage. She had given him her heart, yet this was all she got in the end. Needless to say, she was furious at him. However, she felt more disappointed than anything else. It was the disappointment of finding out just how blind she had been to treat trash like him like something precious. Olivia took out the ring box and hurled it at Ethan's face. "Fuck you, you scumbag! My deepest regret is marrying you! See you at the City Hall tomorrow! Whoever fails to show up is a coward!" The box hit him squarely on his forehead
The wind blew bitingly cold on her face. Olivia was frozen to the core, but she pushed herself up and continued chasing after the car.She overestimated the current condition of her body and only ran for a couple of feet before crashing back to the ground. The car door opened. She saw a pair of shiny, tailored leather shoes halt before her. Slowly, she moved her sight from the shoes and up the trousers until she met Ethan's cold and unnerving gaze. "Ethan …" Olivia muttered weakly. A pair of slender hands reached out to her. In a trance, Olivia thought she caught a glimpse of the young man she had fallen head over heels for all those years back. She could not help but stretch out her hands to him. Just as their hands touched, Ethan pulled back, extinguishing the light in her after giving her false hope and causing her to fall once more. She had not injured herself before this, but when she slipped this time, she cut her palms on the pieces of shattered glass on the ground.
Olivia sounded unnaturally calm when she said this. It was as though she had thoroughly let go of Ethan. However, Keith knew that letting go of someone you once loved was not as simple as this. She was like an injured animal that would hide her wounds in front of others but tended to them when no one was around. Still, Keith did not probe further about it. He tried changing the subject. "I know you haven't paid for your father's surgery. Since we're friends, I'll lend you some money for now. You can pay me back in the future."It was not a simple matter for Olivia to obtain such a large sum of money. He had offered help multiple times before this, but she always refused. Today was no different as Olivia shook her head and said, "No, thanks." "Olivia, your father's condition is serious. Would you rather be humiliated by that scumbag than accept my help? I have no conditions. I just want to help you. My family might not be as wealthy as the Millers, but this sum isn't much to me
Olivia looked at the paper in her hand. It was the address of a cemetery. Was Ethan's sister dead? Even so, what did her father have to do with her death? If anyone were to know what kind of person her father was, it would be Olivia. And she knew he was not one to harm others, let alone a young woman.She knew that Brent and Kelvin would not disclose more information and decided to stop probing them. It was silent all the way to the Millers' residence. Olivia had mixed feelings when they arrived. Brent politely asked her, "Mrs. Miller, would you like to go inside?" "No, thanks. I'll wait for him here." This was the final time she would meet him, and it was only to settle their divorce. She did not want to cause more trouble for herself. Besides, every single thing in there would remind her of their time together, and she refused to reminisce about the past. He was to blame for cherishing her so much back then. Even though he had become colder and more indifferent to her
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