When Kayla slowly rose from her seat, Ethan realized that she was wearing robotic legs right from her knees underneath her coat."Your legs …" He was slightly surprised.Her striking red lips beamed into a smile. "Is it weird? You should've known that anything could happen the moment you abandoned me."He wasn't happy with the way she put it, but he was too lazy to correct her. He asked indifferently, "Tell me, what do you want?"Kayla didn't expect him to be this indifferent after noticing her legs, hence the unhappy glint in her eyes.Suppressing the upsetting emotions in her, she smiled. "I know that you're loaded with cash, so I don't want anything material. I want you to sleep with me."Ethan's fingers, which were holding the photo, froze. He thought he heard it wrongly. "What did you say?"She didn't show a hint of awkwardness at all. Her eyes seemed crazed instead.Abruptly, she hugged him from behind him. Frowning, he shoved her away.Since her legs were disabled,
It happened a long time ago, but Kayla could still feel the agonizing pain in her bones.She was hospitalized for six months, and Ethan left her.Even after threatening that she would give up on her studies, he merely replied, "Have it your way."Then, he blocked her contact number.Kayla spent her days and nights crying. She also married Diego Welsh, who was older than her by 20 years, out of revenge.He didn't look down on her even though she had lost her legs. Instead, he married her and treated her well.However, he messed around with some non-famous celebrities because Kayla gave him the cold treatment.Little did he know that the person in her heart was Ethan. She had been keeping an eye on Ethan, and she was more obsessed than before.Kayla was overjoyed when she learned the news that the engagement between Ethan and Marina was called off.Kayla was confident that he wouldn't fall in love with any woman that easily, thinking that no one in this world deserved him.That
Ethan shut his eyes in the car, taking a break. Cyril noticed that the air in the vehicle was so silent that it creeped him out.Thus, he took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Miller, did the negotiation go bust?""It's not that. The negotiation was impossible in the first place. She's ill." Ethan covered his forehead. "It's been so many years, yet she hasn't changed at all. She's even become worse than before. I shouldn't have softened up and saved her back then."Ten years ago, he saw the suffering Kayla by coincidence when he was passing by a village in the mountains.Her family favored sons over daughters.Her brother went to a high school in another area, and her family wanted her to quit school to marry her off to an old man in the village.They were planning to sell the wedding gift so that they would have the money to send her brother to school. Kayla fought for herself through reasonings only to be beaten up by her parents.Ethan never showed kindness to random people. It
Ethan sat in the main seat without uttering a word.Usually, his gaze alone was enough to scare one. But everyone was gutsy enough to tell him off today."Ethan, you've never let me down with your capabilities. That year, everyone agreed to the idea of handing the company over to you. And you didn't disappoint us. You've been managing the company well."But how could you make such a big mistake? It's not only the share price, but our reputation and company have been ruined overnight. Our ancestors worked so hard to build them up. As the president, you should give us an answer to this."With a cold expression, Ethan said briefly yet confidently, "Wait.""Wait? Wait for what? Do you know how many people are waiting to see us fall to rock bottom? And how many people are biding their time to make things harder for us so that someone else can replace us?"Honestly speaking, even someone who doesn't mingle around much in this industry is aware of how important the PR department is. It'
Ethan's slender finger tapped on the table. Finally, Gary had shown his true colors.As soon as Gary finished speaking, all eyes were on him.Some of them understood the situation, while some of them were furious and questioning what he was doing.On the contrary, Ethan, the main character of the issue, appeared calm. His finger was making tapping sounds rhythmically. Ethan wasn't frantic, but Gary became jittery. The latter's forehead was sweating as he was on tenterhooks.Anyone in Ethan's shoes would've become nervous and scared after Gary made such a proposal. However, why was Ethan so calm as though he had foreseen this situation?"He must be testing the waters!" Gary thought.As an afterthought, Gary recollected himself. He tried to calm himself down so as to not give the game away.Ethan said to Gary indifferently, "I'm more curious about who you'll suggest to take my position after dismissing me.""There are a lot of capable young men in the family. There will be some
Ethan was very busy during the short period of break.Since Brent and Kelvin weren't around, Ethan had to handle a lot of things himself.Cyril was transferred over at a last-minute notice. Thinking about the shareholder voting that was going to commence half an hour later, Cyril wasn't afraid of it.He felt sorry for Ethan instead."Mr. Miller, you've poured so much effort into the company, and that's why it could achieve such achievements. How could they repay your favor by trying to dismiss you from your position?"Ethan lit a cigarette. "This might not be a bad thing. I've long noticed someone plotting something behind the scenes. I can use the opportunity to lure the rat out.""Are you trying to clear the decks, Mr. Miller?""It'll happen sooner or later." Ethan exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I'll make him know what's the consequence of coveting something that doesn't belong to him."Cyril took his phone out and glanced at it. "As you've expected, Kayla met a man after you l
The two men were half-brothers of the same father. One of them owned all of their father's love, spending his childhood that was pampered with parental love.The other person was born without receiving love from anyone, yet he owned 80 percent of the family's assets.They were born on the same day, month, and year. They were born earlier than the expected due.Ethan was born five minutes earlier than that man, but their status was that of the sky and earth.Kenneth Miller—their father—stayed outside the delivery room the whole time, waiting for the child to be born.But Ethan hadn't received love from Kenneth since he was born. His grandfather granted him a name, yet his biological father didn't visit him once after he was born.Meanwhile, Kenneth gave Darrell Miller his name. As his name suggested, he was his parents' dearly beloved son.Ethan looked forward to his birthday when he was three because he heard from his grandfather that Kenneth was going to celebrate his birth
Ethan's grandfather was strict with him, but the older man protected him well.His grandfather didn't tell him the truth, simply saying that Kenneth was busy with work, so he didn't have the time to come home.At that time, the innocent Ethan believed that Kenneth was working to feed the family, not knowing that Kenneth actually had a family out there.While Ethan knew nothing about it, Darrell knew Ethan like the back of his hand.Darrell and the other kids joined hands, smearing cake over Ethan's face, arms, neck, and body. Every part of Ethan's body was dirty.They laughed at him, and laughter jared into Ethan's ears. Still, he was unbothered by it as he stared at Kenneth in a daze.Ethan thought that Kenneth would be in pain watching him getting bullied and carry him or stop the kids from laughing.However, Kenneth just stood over there indifferently like a passerby.Darrell said the most hurtful thing with his angelic face, "Ethan, you're like your mother. You should
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