John froze, unable to come to himself for a moment."What?"Olivia repeated with a straight face. "Did you kill Wade?"John heard her clearly this time and felt a thump in his heart. He was once again overwhelmed with disappointment. He even lost the strength to explain.It turned out she did not come because she believed in him. It was because she suspected he had killed Wade and she came to confront him...What good were his explanations at this point?Would she believe it?When he was silent, Olivia got a little impatient and urged him, "Why are you not speaking? Am I right, so you don't bother to refute it?"John looked up with a lonely twinkle in his eyes and said with a wry smile, "Liv, would you believe me if I said no?"With that said, he said again before Olivia could speak, "Liv, only now do I understand how desperate you were back then, so... If this is your punishment for me, I'm willing to accept it."Olivia's breathing paused. She dug her nails deep into her fle
Her absurd and bumpy life flashed across her mind. Mr. and Mrs. Larson stood at the end of the light, smiling as they opened their arms toward her."Liv, come to me. I miss you so much...""Liv, I've seen how much you've suffered these past few years. Come here. You don't have to suffer anymore."'Do I not have to suffer anymore once I go over?'Olivia did not have time to think about the question and ran toward Mr. and Mrs. Larson.She had missed them in the last four years.She wanted to hug them...However, someone yanked her from behind when she got close."Liv, don't go over. Your life's not over yet."Olivia staggered from the yank and turned her head to glare at the person. "Let go!""Liv, stop messing around!"The man who dragged her was no one but the man she hated most and loved most.Why... Why did he stand in the way every time she came close to happiness?Olivia shook his hand away. "John, the sight of you makes me not want to live another second!"With that
“You…”Before Olivia could even ask, Xavier took the initiative to tell her, “I did not leave Ocean City. I’ve just been on a business trip for some time. When I got off the plane, I unexpectedly received the news that you had gotten into an accident.” Then, he stood up, approached her bed, poured her a glass of water, and handed it to her as he reminded gently, “Careful. It’s hot.”Olivia felt that something was off and looked at him, dazed. She did not take the glass.With a chuckle, Xavier touched her forehead lightly with his forefinger. “What’s the matter? Did you miss me so much that you are stunned upon seeing me?”Olivia shook her head and looked away. She held the glass and took a sip.“I-I’m just surprised.”Xavier did not stand at the ceremony. He sat on the bed and frowned. “I have only been away for a while. How did you get into such a mess? What happened to Fred? Have you gotten a lawyer?”Olivia bit her lip. “It’s... It’s a long story. It’s hard to summarize.”
“Pheebs, calm down and be wary of your injury.”However, Olivia’s mind was so preoccupied with the case that she ignored Xavier’s advice. She still rummaged around desperately.Suddenly, Xavier grabbed her hand.“Your cell phone was wrecked in the car accident. I bought you a new one.”With his other hand, Xavier retrieved a phone from his pocket and handed it to her.“Rest assured. I didn’t read or look at anything on it. Everything from your old phone has been directly copied to this phone for you by the staff in the mobile phone shop.”Olivia had not thought about that at all. She was still stunned as she heard him say this.“Thank you...”After expressing her gratitude, she took the phone and searched for the news. When she saw no new information regarding the case, she dialed Zac’s number.However, she did not expect to hear Zac’s voice sound from down the corridor as he answered the call. “I am at the door. I’ll come in now.”Then, Zac entered in his wheelchair.Befo
Upon hearing that, Zac’s displeasure was written all over his face.Everything was ruined!Everything he had planned was pointless...The most frightening thing was that his image in Olivia’s eyes would be tarnished. She would trust him less now. Anger boiled in Zac, and all he wanted was to discover Xavier’s identity and motive as soon as possible.He had investigated this before but found nothing.“Zac.”Olivia suddenly turned around and looked at him. “Is it true what Xavier said? Will Fred be freed today?”Zac froze for a moment before nodding. “Yes. I came to tell you about this.”Olivia felt relieved when Zac confirmed it. She laid back in bed, feeling less burdened.It was good to be out of the damp, cramped room, although not yet completely innocent.As for the other man...Olivia clenched her fist, trying not to remind herself about him.When he was arrested, he had just escaped death. Would he die of illness after having stayed there for so long?On second thou
The atmosphere in the ward was awkward and suffocating.Noticing Zac’s displeased expression, Olivia bit her lips and said carefully, “Zac, I…”“I know.”Without waiting for her to explain, Zac looked up at her and smiled. “I know you don’t mean that. Let alone...”With that, he lowered his head and scoffed. “I’m useless. I haven’t done any of the things that I promised you. I think I’d deserve it if you were angry and never wanted to speak to me again.” Saying this, he subconsciously gripped the armrests of his wheelchair, desperately trying to hide his inner discontent and resentment.Fortunately, Olivia did not notice this. She only frowned, retracted her gaze, and stared at the quilt.She did not know how to describe what had been happening lately. All she knew was that her mind was a mess and she needed some rest.“Zac, imperfection is what makes us human. There are some things that we just can’t solve, and that’s not a big deal. Anyways, it was good enough that Fred was
Zac froze and quickly hung up the call. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his burning rage. He was careless. Why did it not occur to him that Xavier might have been following him? At this thought, he pinched his thigh hard. Then, he turned to look at Xavier expressionlessly. “Why are you here?”Xavier was annoyed by Zac’s calm demeanor. He stared at Zac coldly and said, “Mr. Quinton, you are indeed amazing. You caused the accident then even pretended to comfort Pheebs.”With that, he approached Zac, bent down, and looked at Zac’s legs mockingly. “Mr. Quinton, are you afraid that Pheebs will leave you? Is that why you planned an accident? To turn Pheebs into a cripple like you?”Xavier intentionally emphasized the word ‘cripple’ as if he was making fun of Zac’s condition.Zac did not know how much Xavier had heard, so he did not retort. All he did was stare at Xavier coldly.“Is your silence an admission, Mr. Quinton? Do you think that I should tell Pheebs? If she knew abo
Just as his feet hit the ground, he walked straight to the table and poured himself a glass of whiskey. Then, he drank it all and walked to the window.Looking out the window at the neon lights, frustration struck him again. He was being deeply dragged into endless purgatory.Suddenly, the veins on his forehead bulged. His grip tightened, and he crushed the wine glass.The glass shattered, and the shards fell through his fingers with traces of blood. However, Zac appeared expressionless, as if he did not feel the pain.He never wanted a divorce. He never wanted Olivia to leave him.She had to be his one and only!Obsession was like a seed. Once it was rooted, it would only grow deeper, eventually engulfing you and making you its slave....The hospital.In the afternoon, after everyone had left, Olivia dozed off.By the time she woke up, it was evening. She struggled to turn on the light and found herself alone.Recalling Zac mentioning bringing Mrs. Simmons and the kids, Ol