Livia wiped away the lingering traces of tears on her face.
What a waste of her tears!
Britney’s lips curled into a smile, one devoid of kindness. "That depends on who I’m dealing with. When it comes to you, this is called self-defense."
She wasn’t foolish enough to let this seemingly fragile yet deeply scheming woman stab her in the back.
"I’d love to see how you defend yourself!" Livia shot a glance at Britney before picking up a fork and stabbing it into a piece of dessert.
"From now on, it’s best if we stay out of each other’s way. That way, I might just let you stay here a couple more days. But if you’re looking for trouble, that’ll be your cue to leave," Britney declared bluntly. She then turned towards the door, grabbed her handbag, and prepared to go upstairs.
"I'm staying at my brother’s house. You have no right to kick me out!" Livia gripped the armrests
The morning sunlight bathed the hillside villa, casting a warm glow over the lush green lawn as a gentle breeze lifted the sheer white curtains.Britneyhad no idea what time she had fallen asleep last night—she only knew that after two nights without any news from Manuel, her sleep quality had been terrible.After washing up, she looked at herself in the mirror. Fatigue was still evident on her face, with dark circles under her eyes. She dabbed on some concealer to hide them, applied a light, refreshing makeup look, and tied her hair into a high ponytail to make herself appear more energetic.She headed downstairs.Considering her usual work schedule, she was up relatively early for someone who didn’t have to go to work. But unexpectedly, Liviawas already awake."Good morning, Miss!" Liviacheerfully wheeled herself around the living room, as carefree as a little bird taking flight.A new environment, a fresh sta
The morning sunlight cast a soft glow on Britney’s calm and composed face, making Liviaboth frustrated and anxious.Who said she was the only one who could act? Damn Britneywas just the same! Truly the most ruthless of women—did she really think Liviacouldn’t hear the hidden meaning in her words? She was clearly warning her that she was just a guest here and shouldn't forget her place!And to make matters worse, that damned woman was born with a face that made others envious!But Liviawas not someone who could be easily defeated..."Remember to come back early. Just because my brother isn't home doesn't mean you can go around freely dating other men! I'll be keeping an eye on you..." Liviatook another bite of her pan-fried bun, speaking as if it were only natural.She had to admit—although Parkerlooked average, his cooking skills were excellent.Her words were sharp and cutting.
"Ah—!"Geovannifelt like he had been trapped in a long, endless dream. He was just about to catch up to that wretched woman, Britney, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a massive truck sped toward him. Before he could react, it crashed straight into him.Then, everything faded into darkness.He fell into a deep sleep until a wave of pain coursed through his nerves, transmitting signals to his brain, jolting him awake.His eyes snapped open. The bright white lights above made him dizzy, and his vision blurred. After a few seconds, things started to come into focus. He glanced around and realized he was in what appeared to be an operating room. Other than the rhythmic beeping of machines, he could hear a doctor giving instructions to someone nearby.He tried to move but found himself completely immobilized. The only thing he could control was his eyeballs. He wanted to open his mouth and ask what was going on, but it felt as if something was
That figure looked familiar!But she hadn’t seen clearly, and for the moment, she couldn’t recall where.Stephaniedidn’t dwell on it any further. She drove into the parking lot, grabbed her handbag, and, in high heels, walked briskly toward Geovanni’s hospital room.Just as she reached the door, a familiar voice made her freeze. She didn’t know how to react. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time...“What did you say? Huh? What did you just say?!” Geovanniroared hoarsely. Lying in bed, he couldn’t accept the reality he had woken up to.At first, he was happy to see his mother by his bedside. It felt like he had been asleep for ages, but now, he was finally awake. But that joy lasted less than a minute before he realized something was wrong. He couldn’t move his body—it felt like something was missing.Throwing off the blanket, he asked, and the answer he re
Although Karsyndidn't get involved in Franklinand his team's work, she knew that Manuelwas out of Goldmoorthese past few days. That meant Franklinwas busy delivering campaign speeches all over the city, packed with a full schedule from morning to night. As his devoted fan, she made sure not to miss a single event, attending every one of them to show her support.Because of that, she completely lost track of time today.Over the past two days, she had been conscientiously bringing meals to Ernestoto make up for her mistake. He, in turn, seemed to have tacitly accepted her actions."Ding..."Karsynpressed the doorbell and glanced at the time—it was already 8:30 PM!She patted her forehead and stood outside, waiting for two whole minutes. Just when she started wondering if he had gone out and was about to press the doorbell again, the door opened from the inside.She saw Ernestoholding a pho
Seeing that someone hadn’t moved for a while, Ernestoreminded her. He had always thought that women would be somewhat intimidated by his body, given the tattoos and scars covering him. But from this woman’s eyes, he couldn’t see even a trace of fear.Was he overthinking things?Ernesto’s voice snapped Karsynout of her trance—she had been staring at his body absentmindedly. She let out two awkward chuckles to cover up the thoughts running through her mind. “I was just a little excited!”Even though her heart was completely devoted to Franklin, that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate a good-looking man’s physique, right? She was just looking, nothing more... That shouldn’t count as betraying Franklin, should it?Convincing herself, Karsynreached out and carefully removed the gauze covering Ernesto’s wound.Compared to last time, her movements were much more ski
The lights in the villa flickered a few times.Unlike Livia’s obvious panic, Britneyremained exceptionally calm in the face of such an unusual occurrence."Mr.Turner, what's going on?"Having followed Manuelon many travels, Parkerhad seen his fair share of strange situations. Just as he was about to voice his suspicions—A steady, mature male voice interrupted from the TV, which had been playing commercials in the living room.“We now interrupt with an urgent news report. After verification from multiple sources, at 21:31:08 on May 23, 20XX, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck. The epicenter was located at the border between Riverdaleand YorkTown in RosewoodDistrict, Goldmoor, approximately 140.8 kilometers northeast of Goldmoor. According to the ChiosiaSeismological Bureau, the surface wave magnitude of this earthquake reached…”Britneystood frozen, unable to recov
The night sky twinkled with countless stars.Britneyheld her phone, but her heart felt unbearably heavy.“No way. I promised you—we'll contact you as soon as we find Manuel!” Even though Raidenunderstood Britney’s worries, he couldn't afford to gamble with her life.“I’ll keep my word!”Britney’s gaze had never been as resolute as it was now.Manuelwas her husband. If anything had happened to him, she needed to know immediately.So, she had to go find him...Even if the path ahead was uncertain or filled with danger.A moment later, Raiden’s voice came through the phone again. “Alright, but if anything happens along the way, you have to listen to me! If I tell you to come back, you must come back!”“Okay,” Britneyagreed without arguing.“Then get ready. I've already sent Bryantto buy the necessary supp
Skyler had fallen asleep, but her mind remained alert. After all, Raiden had left a psychological scar on her today.As soon as Raiden mentioned being hungry, she couldn't help but complain to herself. He hadn't felt hungry earlier, and now, suddenly, he was.But despite the resentment in her heart, she didn’t dare voice it. After all, he was the young master, and she was just a servant..."Should I heat it up for you?" Since this "ancestor" had called for her, it was clear he wouldn’t do it himself. And it was late, so the other family members had likely already gone to sleep.Sure enough, the young master kicked his feet and said, "Should I do it myself?" If he was going to do it himself, why bother calling her? The real reason was that he couldn’t sleep and, seeing her sleep soundly beside him, a psychological urge stirred within him.If he couldn’t sleep, neither should she. It was a kind of unhealthy mentality.He wanted to wake her up
Skyler finally had the chance to observe the entire room. The decor was simple yet refined.A large sky-blue bed, a desk with a desktop LCD computer, and some model decorations—all expensive just at a glance. It matched his unruly personality well. However, it was clear he didn’t come home often; everything here still looked brand new."Where are you sleeping? Why are you asking me?"Since his father let her move in, he must have arranged a place for her."Do you have an extra blanket? I’ll sleep on the floor."The bed was big enough for two people, and she had slept with him before—otherwise, how would she have gotten pregnant? But at this moment, she didn’t dare sleep with him. She hadn’t forgotten the way he had looked downstairs, as if he wanted to devour her alive.She didn’t dare provoke him again, afraid that if she shared a bed with him, she might not even know how she died.She knew t
"Do you think you've found yourself a backer now? Is that why you feel so important?"Raiden’s tone was full of sarcasm.He looked exactly like a little kid afraid of losing his father's love.It’s often said that women mature faster than men, and Skyler was one of those women. She could see exactly what Raiden was upset about, and a smile tugged at her lips."No, Mr.Calderon! My biggest backer is you," Skyler admitted her mistake.Like hell he’d believe that! The innocence she had before was completely gone now.Raiden let out a cold snort and sneered, "Skyler, I didn't expect your appetite to be this big. First, you took my house, and now, in the blink of an eye, you've managed to squeeze a fortune out of my dad. Did your brain suddenly become enlightened? You’re making money at an impressive speed!""Mr.Calderon, I did go back on my word in this matter. I’m sorry! Here’s the key to the house you
Every parent, when talking about their child, always wears the kindest smile. Frankie was no exception. And when he thought about the fact that he would soon become a grandfather, his mood improved even more.Feeling good, he couldn’t help but chat a little more with Skyler.As Frankie flipped through old photos of Raiden’s childhood and talked about his younger days, Skyler truly saw how adorable he had been as a child.Uncle Calderon wasn’t lying—Mr.Calderon had been handsome since he was little.Big eyes, double eyelids, a high nose bridge, rosy lips, pearly white teeth, and fair skin—all combined with that charmingly arrogant expression…Skyler subconsciously placed her hand on her belly, wondering if the baby inside would be just as good-looking. If it were a girl and took after Mr.Calderon, she certainly wouldn’t be unattractive."Master, dinner is ready!" a servant came forward and announced.
"She should take a good look at herself! She doesn't want to marry me?" Raiden shouted.Who did she think she was? And who was he? Since when did a woman have the right to reject him?Since he was old enough to understand things, he had been surrounded by countless women, all vying for his attention. Which woman didn't want to marry him?Raiden sneered internally. This woman was definitely playing hard to get in front of his father, trying to win his favor so that he would pressure him into marrying her.I didn't see this coming.Skyler, so you dare play tricks on me!Skyler shivered slightly under Raiden’s sharp gaze. Was it a crime now to not want to marry him?Frankie stepped forward and kicked his own son. "And you should take a good look at yourself!"That kick wasn’t light. Raiden gasped in pain and quickly pulled his leg back to clutch it.Damn it!He was almost thirty, yet his old man still kicked him with
When Raiden walked in, he actually found that woman in his house!Without a word, he rushed up to her, grabbed her wrist, and started dragging her outside with large strides."Mr.Calderon, what are you doing?" Caught off guard by his strength, Skyler’s wrist throbbed in pain as she frowned and couldn't help but cry out."Don't ask, just come with me!"As soon as Raiden received a call from the person he had arranged to take Skyler to the hospital, he rushed back immediately.He had sent her to get an abortion, and she was already on the operating table—yet somehow, the old trickster in his family had intercepted her! Just thinking about how the plan was almost completed but was suddenly interrupted made him incredibly frustrated.How could he not know what that old fox was scheming?For the past few years, every time he returned home, the old man would pester him about marriage. Eventually, he got so fed up that he outrigh
Frankie was setting up Skyler, but unfortunately, she was too young and inexperienced to realize it. She had never encountered such schemes before, let alone faced an old fox like Frankie.At first, Skyler had no idea who had decided against her abortion. It wasn’t until she had spoken with Frankie for a while that she finally understood—it was the old master himself who wanted to keep his grandchild.She had already promised Raiden that she would terminate the pregnancy, and she had struggled internally for a long time. But in the end, her heart leaned toward keeping the child.“However, I have three conditions.”“Go ahead, go ahead…” Frankie was so delighted that she had agreed that he would have accepted a hundred conditions if necessary.“First, after the child is born, I want to be able to visit them whenever I wish. But you can rest assured—I will only be visiting the child and will have
Raiden’s Father...Hearing Frankie's words, Skyler couldn't help but look up. He wasn’t like what she had imagined. The middle-aged man in front of her was well-maintained, looking energetic and full of vitality. His smile was warm and friendly. There were indeed some resemblances between him and Raiden—he must have been quite a charming man in his younger years.Seeing her subtly relax, Frankie chuckled, “What do you think? Not quite what you imagined, right?”Having her thoughts seen through so easily, Skyler blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed. “It’s a bit different from what I expected,” she admitted.“Sit down and talk. I’m not used to looking up at people while speaking.” Frankie deliberately said this, knowing that otherwise, she wouldn’t sit down.Just as he had anticipated, Skyler realized that standing while talking to someone like this was somewhat impolite. Beside
Skyler looked at the cold, sterile operating table, her steps heavy as she walked over and lay down with the nurse’s help. Staring at her still-flat stomach, she silently whispered to the tiny life inside her, "Baby, I'm sorry."He had been so well-behaved. She had heard that during the first three months of pregnancy, morning sickness was common, sometimes severe enough to make one feel like the world was spinning. Yet, she hadn’t experienced any of that—she felt just like a normal person. She knew her baby must be a very obedient child.Unfortunately, she had no ability to keep him. If she forced his birth, he would only suffer alongside her.So, I’m sorry. It’s because I’m not brave enough…She had never intended to keep this child, but that didn’t mean she had no feelings for him. He was, after all, her own flesh and blood."Miss Oneal, we’re going to administer the anesthesia now. Try to r