Marina belatedly realized that she had walked into Everly's trap. She didn't want to out herself as the mistress, for that'd reveal Olivia's identity as Ethan's ex-wife. She would never do that.So, she quietened and collected herself. Glaring at Everly, she said, "I'm not. It's indecent to discuss topics like cheating at a formal event."But Everly wasn't deterred. In fact, she was emboldened. "The mistress is the indecent woman for sleeping with a married man! I have nothing to fear. But Ms. Carlton, you seem very affected by the discussion. Were you someone's mistress too?""Ms. Hilton," Ethan hissed at Everly with a menacing gleam in his eyes. She promptly behaved. "Oh, right. With a rich husband like you, Ms. Carlton doesn't have to climb into anyone's bed at all! If anything, she'll be getting into your bed all the time!"Even the dumbest person could tell that Everly was taking a jab at Marina. However, only Calvin picked up a minute detail. How did a notable figure like
Keith's declaration of war made Olivia nervous. She knew Ethan was possessive, even after the divorce. He once said that he would never want to see her happy. However, she'd only embarrass Keith in front of everyone if she rejected his advance. She found herself between a rock and a hard place.Everly helped her out with a grin. She said to Keith, "Of course you can! The easiest way to forget an ex is to get a new date! Keith, you're a great guy. Take your time and get to know each other. I really hope Olivia meets someone decent to help her heal. You know, she has been badly hurt by that bastard."Everly made it sound as if Olivia and Keith were a thing. Olivia hurriedly stopped her friend. "Eve!"Blinded by revenge, Everly did not heed Olivia's warning. "Why are you acting all shy? Do you really plan to die alone after the divorce? Keith is different from that jerk! Keith, are you free these days? I'm visiting Mohe Town with Liv, but I'm a little concerned about our safety."
Olivia reached out to the wine bottle. "You're right. I should raise a glass to them."Almost instantly, Keith and Everly stopped her and warned her sternly, "No. You can't drink.She looked at Everly pleadingly. "I'll only take a sip. It's fine."Everly let go of Olivia's hands when she read the determination in her friends' eyes. Olivia poured herself a glass of red wine and made her way to the couple while Keith looked on with hesitation. With a smile, she said, "Mr. Miller, Ms. Carlton, I wish you a happy marriage. I'll drink this toast whether you like it or not. Please consider this my congratulations in advance. I will not attend your engagement party."Then, she downed the glass of wine like the guest before her without looking at Ethan and Marina. Ethan knew she was a lightweight who'd get tipsy from a glass of wine. Marina stood up with her glass and beamed. "Ethan and I will be happy. Thanks for your blessing." In what seemed to be a competition, she poured herself
Marina stared at Ethan's side profile throughout the confrontation. Ethan did not like publicizing his relationship with Olivia, especially after the divorce. However, she noted that Ethan was triggered by Keith's act of drinking on Olivia's behalf.She turned her resentful gaze to Olivia when she realized divorce was not enough. It turned out that Olivia still had a place in Ethan's heart.Meanwhile, Keith was stuck in an awkward situation. A heavy silence hung in the air; none of the guests dared to make a move that might provoke Ethan. Keith knew that Ethan wanted to force him to give up on Olivia. Any man would have buckled under Ethan's threat, but little did Ethan know that Keith had fallen too hard for Olivia. It was love at first sight. She was a wholly different person when they were younger. But he was too occupied with college and studying abroad to make the relationship happen.When he returned to the country, he learned that she had quit school to get married. He wa
Knowing Ethan's character, the Fordhams were lucky to only suffer bankruptcy from their involvement in the death of Ethan's sister. However, Keith might not be as fortunate. Olivia shook her head. "No, that's not it. Keith, you shouldn't get yourself into this mess."As Keith had brought her out from the venue in a hurry, she didn't have time to grab her jacket. Noticing that, he draped his jacket on her and held her firmly at the shoulders. "Olivia, I know he has hurt you a lot. It's not my intention to force you into dating me. I just wanted to keep you company in your final days. So, please give me a chance to look after you, even if it's just as a friend. Okay?"She felt conflicted at his plea. He was nice to her, which made her more reluctant to get him into trouble. "Keith, I know you're doing this out of good faith, but he …"Halfway through their conversation, she saw a figure standing not far away out of the corner of her eye. Ethan was shooting death glares at them a
Olivia freed herself from Ethan's grip after Keith left. She replied flatly, "Oh, I'm doing just fine." After a few days of rest and recuperation, her complexion looked healthier, a huge contrast to her previous sickly self. He mumbled under his breath, "Right. You've always been as fit as a fiddle."She secretly snickered at him but did not attempt to add any explanation. Taking his jacket off, she said, "Mr. Miller, don't worry. I will stick to the terms of our agreement. I shall not remarry."Ethan had poured his heart into drafting their divorce agreement. Even though he gave her wealth, he destroyed her future by adding a clause to the agreement. It prohibited her from remarrying.If she ever did, she would need to pay him ten times the settlement he provided her, which would stand at ten billion. Still, she signed the agreement without flinching because her days were numbered anyway.The alcohol in her stomach made her sick. Attacked relentlessly by the sharp pangs of p
The cold touch of Ethan's fingertips traveled down her cheek like a serpent. It didn't matter what they were fighting over, for he was in one of his episodes again. When they first dated, he wanted her to promise him three things: no cheating, no touching other men, and no leaving.She saw hints of his extreme possessiveness from the beginning. After all, he had killed off a family and turned them into ashes just because they slapped her. He'd also be cross when she shined at school. Once, she fell during sports day, and a member of the organizing committee had to carry her to the health center on his back. It was that night she witnessed Ethan's dark side as he ordered her to wash herself clean. Despite her explanations, he forced her to stand under the shower through the night. Despite his craziness, she was hopelessly in love with him. For him, she took an academic leave to keep herself out of the public eye. She didn't expect his madness to worsen after the divorce. Alth
"What if I died?" Olivia's almost inaudible mumble bounced off the walls of the bathroom, taking him by surprise. "You won't die because you have me."Sure, he might have endless power and wealth one could wish for, and he had access to the top medical resources in the world. But no doctor would guarantee success in treating late-stage cancer. Ethan might appear omnipotent, holding power over the life and death of other beings. But he was a mere mortal at the end of the day and powerless to save her from the hands of the Grim Reaper. She chuckled. "Ethan, since my family owed you a life, shall I atone for that with my death?""Liv, I would have taken your life two years ago if I wanted to. I hate you, but I love you at the same time. That's why I'm keeping you alive to punish you.""Did you just say you love me?" She snorted. "If that's true, you wouldn't have betrayed me. I told you I wanted to build a mega-hospital with express access for the needy. So, you built a hospital wo
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