The bodyguard rushed toward Everly and was able to grab her hand in time. "Ms. Hilton, please don't do this. We won't be able to answer to Mr. Synder if you die.""Fuck off. I don't care about that. I'll never be his match when I'm alive. I'll definitely haunt him and all of you after I die."Everly's voice was very loud. It didn't sound like she was a dying person at all. "I'm even wearing pure white clothes. I'll turn into the scariest ghost there is. Boy, you better not wake up at night, or I'll scare you to death."The bodyguard was rendered speechless. "It was supposed to be a serious situation, but he almost burst out in laughter. Why was Everly so funny even when she was trying to die? "Laugh if you want to. You don't have to hold it in.""Stop joking, Ms. Hilton. I will not let you die.""Young man, do you know what's one thing you can never control?""Death?"Everly said with a composed expression, "No. Stocks.""Ms. Hilton, that's not a very funny joke.""Wha
Everly glared at the bodyguard. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Why would you think I need you to recount everything she said?"The bodyguard complained inwardly. It was so troublesome trying to communicate with Everly. Olivia noticed something was off. "Eve, where are you? Who are you talking to?"Everly didn't know how Olivia came back to life. But since she was still alive, Everly decided that life was worth living again.At least she didn't want Olivia to worry about her."It's nothing. I was just talking to my new bodyguard. "Liv, you may not know yet, but I've been living the high life since you were gone. I bring eight bodyguards wherever I go. "All of them are very well-built." "I'm glad to hear that. I'd hate it if your life were miserable.""Of course. Life is good. I'm staying at a villa and driving around in expensive cars. I finally got a taste of the life of a rich person."Although Everly was talking with a smile, Olivia could still sense it."Are you crying?"
Everly rushed toward Olivia even though she was wearing heels. Then, she wrapped her arms around Olivia."Liv. I was so worried about you! I thought you were really—""Sorry. The circumstances were dire at the time."Everly hugged her tightly. "Why have you lost so much weight? Have you been eating at all? You're all skin and bones."Olivia pinched Everly's cheek and said, "I lost weight? What about you? You're so skinny, too. Have you been busy with work?"A hint of awkwardness flashed in Everly's eyes. "That's for sure. I've moved up the corporate ladder. Surprising, right?""I've always known you could do it."They remained in each other's arms for a while more as they reminisced. Then, Everly finally turned her attention to Alicia.She didn't need an introduction from Olivia. It was clear that Alicia resembled Ethan. "Hi, Auntie Eve," Alicia greeted her obediently. Everly's heart almost melted when she looked at her. "Good girl! Come, let me give you a hug."Alicia
Upon meeting again, Olivia seemed more cheerful than before. She would even crack a joke or two. Everly patted her on the head. "You've finally put that relationship behind you. I'm so happy for you.""That's right. I used to feel like my life was a living hell. Every day was torture for me. "Ever since I was reunited with my child, it was like a fog had lifted. Life was worth living again."Everly stared at Olivia with envy in her eyes. "That's nice.""You're not getting any younger. Have you not met anyone you wanted to date?"Olivia asked that question because she noticed that Everly seemed like she loved children. She seemed to sense that Everly felt uneasy when she brought that up. Everly would try to change the subject quickly every time. "Although I'm as beautiful as ever, and countless people want to be with me. But I'm too busy. I have no time for relationships."Olivia smiled. "So, should I be honored that a busy person like yourself took the time to meet with
Olivia and Everly drank tea, walked around the mall, and watched a movie. It was just like old times. They cherished the time they had together. Alicia yawned when the movie ended. Joshua drove an Audi A8 over and asked, "Ms. Fordham, do you want to head home now?"Olivia looked at him in confusion. "Where did you get the car?""I rented it. It's pretty cheap for such a good car. Ms. Alicia is falling asleep. I figured that it would be troublesome for you to take the bus. "Hurry up and get in. It's very cold outside."Olivia beckoned for Everly to get in the car. Alicia had already fallen asleep in her arms. Joshua placed their bags in the trunk and asked, "Where is this lady headed?""I …" Everly replied hesitantly. Olivia asked, "Are you still living at Azure Oasis?""Yeah, same place." Everly nodded."Alright. Sit tight."The snow was getting heavier outside. There were fewer people on the street. Olivia noticed that Everly would often space out, but she would s
Olivia remained silent on the way back. She kept thinking about the days when she and Everly were students. If they had known what would happen to them, would they have cherished their happiness more? Joshua helped carry Alicia out of the car when they got home. Olivia didn't head indoors straight away. She stood under the streetlamp and looked at the swirling snow while deep in thought. "I know you're here."A person walked out from behind the streetlamp. Ethan looked at her from afar and said, "I told you I won't disrupt your life."They looked at each other in silence. Olivia tried to look into his eyes, but she realized she couldn't discern the emotions within. "Thank you for that night."It didn't matter what happened between them. If he didn't find a way to get the money to save her, she would be doomed if she fell into the hands of those people. "It was my fault for letting them get to you, Ms. Fordham."He seemed to have stood there for some time. There was
Olivia went back to her room. Alicia was already fast asleep. She wiped her down with a warm towel. As she left the room, she noticed Logan standing under the streetlamp. He stood there like a fool, looking in her direction. Why would he do something so pointless?The longing for unrequited love would always cut deep. The frustration of love lost was soul-wrenching.Olivia drew the curtains after glancing at him. Since she could promise him anything, she wouldn't give him any false sense of hope. Joshua slowly walked to Ethan and said, "Mr. Miller, you should go. Mrs. Miller is already asleep.""I'll stay a little longer."Ethan stood in the snow and lit a cigarette. He stood still as the snow rained down on him. He left after the cigarette reached its end. The following day, Olivia entrusted Alicia to Joshua and went to the bank alone to make the transfers. She was prepared for the possibility that she won't even be able to leave the bank.The staff were very polite to
The innocent boy didn't know what happened in the past few years. Olivia said gently, "He's out doing business overseas. Did he visit you frequently in the past?""In the first two years, he would help me with my homework personally and look at my paintings. I haven't seen him much in the past two years. "He must've been busy. The last time I saw him was around six months ago. He lost a lot of weight."Norman scratched his head. "About that, Ms. Olivia. I don't know how you feel about Mr. Miller. At first, I thought he was the worst person in the world. "After I got to know him, I realized that he didn't like to talk much, but he is a thoughtful and responsible man."Olivia didn't want to talk about Ethan. So, she brought up the reason for visiting. "Has Jack ever contacted you?""Jack has always been elusive. He visited a few times when I started school, but I haven't seen him since then.""Are you able to contact him?"Norman shook his head. "I have his old number, bu
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