Ethan left, and Olivia was depressed.Mona noticed that the faint glint of light in Olivia's eyes vanished. Olivia sat by the window silently. The swell on her cheek finally finally subsided.Her face was pale, and her eyes were glazed over as she looked at the rain outside."Olivia, you must be hungry. The maids have made something. Didn't you say you want some noodles? Why don't you give it a try to see if it's the taste you were craving for?""Leave it. I'm not hungry.""Even so, you gotta have some. Do it for the babies, at least." The babies were the only leverage they could use over Olivia's head. Mona saw that Olivia's fingers moved and hurriedly passed the cutleries to her."Eat it before it gets cold. I tasted it for you without them knowing. It tastes good." Mona stuck her tongue out. "Sorry. Mr. Miller informed us that your meals should be tested before they're served to you."Mona initially wanted to compliment Ethan. But the thought of what had just happened m
Although Olivia managed to keep her babies, Ethan stripped her of the last ray of hope in her life.Now that he knew that he was the father, he wouldn't let her go that easily in the future.However, she was sick of this game.As if she was trapped in a big net, there was nowhere to escape.She neither knew how to take revenge nor saw hope.She couldn't do anything during her pregnancy. The only thing she could do was stroke her belly again and again, praying that it would be a smooth delivery.Olivia's low spirits didn't go unnoticed by Jeff.He could already wander around at home because his legs got better. He didn't need others to support him.It was the early summer, and the temperature was rising. Lying down under a tree, Olivia was getting sleepy and fell asleep.When she woke up, there was a blanket over her. Jeff was waving a fan to shoo the mosquitoes away as he always did when she was a child.Her mother passed away when she was younger, but he gave her all the l
Jeff was in disbelief, which turned into shock and, subsequently, joy. "R-Really?"Jeff became visibly more relaxed. He had thought the relationship between Olivia and Ethan was irreparable. It seemed like he had been overthinking. The two of them were having a child, and it was a good thing. "Why would I lie to you? I'm a little over a month pregnant, with twins, too."Jeff said excitedly, "Great! That's wonderful." Olivia had already lost a child when he was hospitalized from the traffic accident. Even though Olivia would always wear a smile when she visited him, she grew more frail as days went by. It was only natural that Jeff was concerned. He could relax a bit now that she was pregnant with Ethan's babies, and they had been together for a long time. "What has been going on between you and Ethan? Why is he visiting less now that you're pregnant?"Olivia resisted the urge to tell him the truth. After all, the Fordham Family was bankrupt, and Jeff was still recove
Jeff fanned himself and raised his head to look at the sky. "Let me ask you a question. What would I get if I forced her to stay?"Olivia fell silent. Jeff added, "All I would get is resentment. She wouldn't yell at me for it, but she'd ignore me and hate me for the rest of her life. She'd lament the unfairness of the world. Her eyes would become lifeless, and her lips would never smile. "Even if I had her with me in person, I'd never have her heart. The relationship would look fine on the surface but would actually be in ruins. That would've resulted in you having to walk on eggshells during your childhood."I'll never forget how you tried so hard to make her like you. You were still so young. Kids your age had no worries, but you were trying your best to win her favor. And despite your efforts, she still didn't warm up to you. "Sooner or later, you would've become like her if we had remained a family torn by such internal conflicts."A peacock is only beautiful because it ha
First, it was Leia, then it was Jodie. Both times, when Olivia thought she had grasped the truth, she was wrong. Jeff didn't know what had happened. His memories stopped a few years ago. "Olivia, do you have so little faith in me? If I wanted a baby, I would've married her and asked for your permission. I'd only have a baby with her if all the conditions were right. I'd never take having a baby so lightly." If Jeff hadn't told her, Olivia would have held onto the misunderstanding forever. She thought the unformed baby in Jodie's womb was a Fordham. "I thought she liked you. Why would she have someone else's baby, then?"Sighing, Jeff said, "This is why I say young people are too emotional. She was resentful when she left me. So, she went to a bar, got drunk, and did it with someone. Later, I found her and told her how I felt. We found out about the pregnancy shortly after we got together.""What did you think about that?" Olivia asked while looking at Jeff."I won't deny the
Jeff continued, "Olivia, you've been sheltered by me from a young age. You don't know how cruel people can be. Some people will do anything to get status and wealth. When it comes to this, gender doesn't matter.""I know that now.""Back then, I was the one who spent the most time with her. I was the ideal target. I didn't have any bad habits, and I was a dedicated man. She wouldn't have to worry about other women if she married me. Most importantly, I was much older than her. She could inherit my wealth after I passed."She only gave up and tried pursuing another man after I explicitly turned her down. Olivia, do you know who she set her sights on that night?"Olivia felt a chill down her spine. "Who was it?""It was Ethan."Olivia was dumbfounded. "How could it be him?""Jodie was a proud woman. She was probably discontent that she wasn't able to get together with me. Your relationship with Ethan wasn't public, and no one knew he was married. Naturally, there were a lot of wom
Jeff noticed that Olivia was deep in thought and realized he had gone off-topic. "Look at me. I was talking about you and Ethan but ended up talking about myself. Olivia, don't worry. Ethan is a good man. He won't mess around when he's away from home. I had him looked into when you married him. He's always done a good job of keeping his distance from other women." Olivia didn't want to talk about Ethan. "Dad, how much do you know about Jodie?"Jeff wanted to drop the subject but saw that Olivia cared about it. So, he said, "In the beginning, I thought she was a bright and obedient kid. Then, I realized I only saw the tip of the iceberg after I saw what she did. Why did you ask? Did you know her?"Olivia came back to her senses. "It's nothing. I was just curious about your love life, Dad."Jeff smiled gently. "It's all in the past. I want nothing else but to see you happy every day."Jeff seemed to think that Jodie's death was an accident. He knew nothing about what Ethan did
Jeff set down his carving knife when he saw Olivia's troubled expression. "What's wrong, Olivia? You don't have to keep it to yourself. You can tell me anything.""Dad, we're only living here temporarily. I'm thinking about where we should live after the kids are born." She wanted to say that she wanted nothing to do with Ethan anymore. But how could she get away from him with the kids in tow? Where could she even go? Sighing, Jeff said, "Ethan told me he had bought the Fordham residence back. Maybe we could return there?" "I'll think about it. There's no rush. We still have time."Olivia picked up the carving knife and said, "Teach me how to do it, Dad. I want to make something for the babies, too." "Sure. I'll teach you."Mona saw this warm moment between them from afar. She took a picture of it and sent it to Ethan. Ethan was picking out a suit at the bridal shop. He spaced out after looking at the photo Mona sent him. In the photo, Olivia was holding a carving knife wi
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