In the hospital, Jeff was lying on the hospital bed as always. Every day, he survived on nutrient solutions and various equipment.His body had weakened at a noticeable rate. His limbs had begun to shrink.He was like a flower that had lost its vigor and was clinging to the last bits of nutrients in the soil. He was barely hanging on.Olivia hadn't visited him in a while. Every time she saw her father like this, she would feel even worse.Jeff's face was already sunken. Olivia's tears dripped onto the back of his dry hand."Dad …"She wished that a miracle would happen one day, and Jeff would wake up and look at her. She yearned for just a glance from him, and maybe a few words too."Don't be sad, Olivia."Colin patted her gently on the back. Olivia lowered her head, not wanting anyone to see her at her weakest moments.Sobbing, Olivia covered her face. When she looked up again, she saw Colin listening to Jeff's heartbeat with a stethoscope."Colin?"Putting the stethoscope
Colin sent Olivia to her apartment. He had the innocence of a youth, but he also had the gentlemanly air of an older man.He opened the car door for Olivia. Then, he wrapped the scarf he just purchased around Olivia's neck."It's okay, I'm not feeling cold," Olivia said."This is a new scarf. You should keep yourself warm," he explained."Alright. Take care on your way back. Thanks."Colin was still smiling. "The snacks tonight don't count. You still owe me a proper meal, Olivia.""Oh, you." Reaching out, Olivia caressed his head. "You've never changed since you were young."She once promised to give him a present back then. He remembered it and would keep asking her for the present from time to time."Let's meet up sometime.""Sure."Olivia watched as the car drove away. Then, she turned around and got into the elevator.Colin was right. She shouldn't be so pessimistic.She looked at the snacks she was holding. She never thought that Colin still remembered her preferences
Olivia smiled. It was an extremely mocking smile.She pried Ethan's fingers off her. "Mr. Miller, I've never wanted anything from you. I can even let go of the title of Mrs. Miller without any issues."Under Ethan's gleaming gaze, Olivia smiled faintly. She said calmly, "In the past, I thought that nothing could rival you. But then I stood still, waiting."I waited as leaves budded, then cicadas started crying in the summer. The leaves then turned yellow in fall, and lastly, the wind began to howl in winter."I couldn't wait any longer, so I had no choice but to drag my tired body forward. Then, I realized something."The spring breeze, the summer cicadas, the leaves in the fall, and even the winter snow …. All those things are better than you."She lifted her hands, her slender fingers touching the face she used to love with all her heart."Ethan, I admit that I haven't completely forgotten about you. Maybe I won't be able to wipe you from memory even after many years."You'll
Keith and Olivia chatted a little about what was going on in their lives. Olivia had always felt guilty for the fact that Ethan had banished Keith because of her.Keith's voice was as gentle as always. He was studying overseas, and he had already gotten used to the new surroundings.He even got himself a nice girlfriend. When he returned in a few years, he would take over the position of head of the hospital. So, his studies weren't entirely a bad thing.He arranged a stomach check-up for Olivia tomorrow."Olivia, I'm truly glad that you can move on and start life anew.""I'll try my best to live a good life, Keith. Be it a day or a month, I'll welcome tomorrow with hope."A woman's voice sounded from the other end of the line. "Keith, I messed up again …"Smiling, Olivia ended the call. "Go ahead, Keith."That night, she finally relaxed. She went and took a bath.She even poured out some wine for herself after that. Standing on the balcony, she listened to the sea breeze as s
As soon as Olivia entered Team C's office, everyone greeted her enthusiastically.Seeing this, Olivia felt that it was quite amusing. If they knew that she no longer had a backer, would they still be smiling so brightly?Even Sophia didn't mind her taking on the project alone. Patting her shoulder, Sophia said, "Give it your all, Olivia!"Norma hastily pulled Olivia to the side. In a deserted place, she reported her findings to Olivia."Ms. Fordham, Jackson hung out with a woman from his department last night. He had a lot of fun.""And?"Norma replied, "Fortunately, I'm quite close to that woman. She helped me ask him a few questions."Jackson said that you look pretty and have a nice figure. Your skin is great too. He said that one day, he would … Well ..."She didn't relay the indecent words that came after that.Norma concluded, "Other than that, Jackson doesn't have any grudges against you. He didn't behave as if he knew you before this."Olivia frowned. "Then the photos
It wasn't that Olivia couldn't dodge it. Instead, Chloe was simply too fast. Olivia also didn't expect her to do that in public.Olivia was stunned by the slap.In her memories, Chloe was a distant person who had always been cold to Olivia.No matter what, Chloe had received lessons on manners since she was young. How could she hit Olivia in public?Olivia covered her face, taking a deep breath to suppress the rage in her heart."Mrs. Carlton, I think you owe me an explanation.""If I had known you would turn out as shameless as this, Olivia, I wouldn't have given birth to you. I'm very disappointed in you!"Chloe's slap had ruined Olivia's good mood for the past two days.Olivia's colleagues looked on curiously. Olivia couldn't handle the embarrassment."If you have something to say, let's talk outside."Chloe swept her hand away. "What's the matter? Are you scared that I'll expose what you did? I have no idea how your father raised you. I can't believe you've resorted to su
Olivia couldn't understand what Chloe was thinking. She didn't know why Chloe abandoned her and went overseas back then.She had been gone for many years. Now that she had come back, shouldn't she make it up to her poor daughter?If Chloe ruined Olivia's reputation, it would have a bad effect on her reputation as a mother too. What was she trying to do?Chloe was stunned for a moment. Then, she became even fiercer. "Olivia, I told you to be a blameless person. Aren't you scared of the consequences when you do these things?"Blood was oozing out of Olivia's clenched fists. "Why should I be scared? She's the one who should be scared …"Before she could finish speaking, a calm man's voice rang out. "Mrs. Carlton, the CEO wishes to see you two."News of this incident had already reached the CEO's office. Brent, who was standing respectfully at the side, led the two away.Olivia lowered her head, staring at Chloe's back. The sight wasn't much different from what she remembered. She
Ethan's words struck a chord in Olivia's heart. He knew the expectations Olivia had of her mother.Chloe was the person Olivia had longed for, after all. But when Chloe came back, this was how she treated Olivia. Ethan knew how sad Olivia must have felt.But Chloe didn't.She didn't like Jeff, so she treated his daughter coldly as well.Marina wasn't quite respectful to her, especially when Chris wasn't around. Marina had plotted against Chloe many times.Human nature could be terrible. People would usually show their gentlest sides to outsiders, but they treated their closest relatives with anger and hatred.Over the years, it had become a habit of Chloe's to try and please Marina.Likewise, she ignored Olivia out of habit. She didn't care about Olivia and even abandoned her without consideration.Ethan's words didn't make her reflect on her actions. She said stubbornly to him, "I only know that you're getting engaged to Marina today. Your relationship with Liv belongs to the
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