"Why don't you go into the kitchen and prepare some drinks for us, Vivi?"
"Pardon? Why do I have to prepare drinks, Mom? He'll be leaving soon after this, so we don't have to prepare drinks for him."“You can't be impolite towards our guest, Vivi! Now go to the kitchen and prepare some drinks for us!”“He's not our guest, Mom! He just came to our house uninvited!”The two women whispered to each other as they sat side by side, but Steen literally caught every word that left their lips. He sat down on the other sofa across from the one the two women were sitting on. At a glance, this room looked like a living room to his eyes, but of course, its size and furnishings couldn't be compared to the living room in his mansion.He could only stay silent and pretend as if he didn't hear how the two women were arguing quietly in front of him, but then he could see how the younger woman got up from her seat, apparently overpowered by her motherThose who knew about her and her mother mostly said that she and her mother were very different in terms of personality. Of course, those people also often talked about how they looked nothing alike, but Vivian focused more on how they often said that she and her mother had different personalities. Those people said that both were like a refrigerator and a microwave. Of course, the one who was called the refrigerator was her because she was known for her cold character. She rarely smiled, and even when she opened her mouth to speak, she tended to say something cold. That was certainly different from her mother who had a warm personality. Even when the woman was sick, she was still a warm person who would share her warmth with her surroundings, and that was why the doctors and nurses who attended to her when she was still in the hospital were happy to have her as their patient. Vivian had to admit that she and her mother were indeed different, but she kn
People said that if we truly loved someone, we would think of that person in any situation, whether we were happy or sad. Just now Steen said that he had good news, and the first person he thought of sharing his happiness with was Vivian. Of course, Vivian was stunned by it, but she pretended as if she wasn't affected by it as she immediately received Steen's phone and started using her eyes to observe the things that Steen had photographed and stored in the phone gallery. Steen said he had taken pictures of everything in his mother's treasure box, and Vivian could indeed see so many photos on the smartphone. She could see every page of what looked like a diary in the phone gallery. Vivian thought that the diary belonged to Patricia Dahl, and Steen carefully captured each page with his phone's camera. In addition to the diary, Vivian was also able to see screenshots of Patricia's chat room with Kate, and she had carefully read every word the two of them
They were two little girls wearing white dresses, looking so young that perhaps they were not even five when the photo was taken, and they were also smiling brightly for the camera, showing their incomplete front teeth. Carefully, Vivian zoomed in on the photo, and luckily Steen had a good phone with an excellent camera so she could get a better look at the toddlers. Zooming in, Vivian could see how both toddlers were brunettes, and it seemed that her opinion was correct about the possibility of them being twins. Their faces were identical, and she could barely see the difference between the two of them. However, as she continued to observe their faces, she finally noticed a difference, and that was a mole under one of the toddler's left eyes. Suddenly, Vivian furrowed her brows again upon realizing it, and even if she didn't say anything, she looked even more interested in the photo so she didn't even let her eyes wander for even a second. Wi
Now, not only was Vivian crying, but her mother was also crying when she opened the door for her daughter. Her bedroom was near the living room, so the woman might have overheard Vivian's conversation with Steen. And even though Vivian's question was quite vague, she seemed to understand the meaning behind it. "I'm sorry, Vivi! I'm very sorry!" The older woman suddenly apologized as her cheeks were wet with tears. She didn't even take a step closer to Vivian, leaving a few feet of distance between them as they faced each other in the front of the bedroom. Steen was still there too, and he looked flustered after hearing the old woman's sudden apology. When he turned his gaze to Vivian, he could see how the brunette girl looked hurt, but he didn't understand the reason behind the hurt expression. “Why don't you tell the truth, Mom? Why did you hide everything from me?” Vivian asked coldly, and she didn't respond to the apology at all. It was obv
That was also what Steen wanted to confirm, and luckily, Vivian asked her mother that question straight away. That was also what Steen concluded from Sarah's story. The woman said that the first time she met Vivian was on a vacation with her husband on their tenth anniversary, and Vivian was right when she said that her mother made absolutely no mention of how she gave birth to her. Thus, Steen concluded that Vivian was not born from Sarah's womb, and Sarah only met the young girl one day while on vacation with her husband. When Steen turned to Sarah again, he could see how frightened she looked after hearing Vivian's question. The fear on the woman's face was clear, even her lips were trembling so she couldn't immediately answer the question. At this moment, Steen could get answers from her silence, and maybe Vivian was the same as him. The young girl could definitely understand the meaning behind her mother's silence. “What happened that day, Mom? How
Citrus and sandalwood. A familiar scent greeted her nostrils, but this time she wasn't just relying on her nose to study her surroundings. Today, she could use her pair of eyes to see what kind of place it was, and that was why she kept her eyes fixed on surveying her surroundings. She was in a spacious room that looked like a living room. There was a set of black leather sofas along with a coffee table, there were two large glass cabinets displaying various items, and everything was so neat and clean that not even a speck of dust dared disturb the harmony. If she could use three words to describe this place, then she would use “simple, classy, and elegant” after she managed to see everything she couldn't see before. "You can rest in one of the bedrooms in this place," Steen broke the silence in the room when he could see how the girl standing beside him couldn't stop looking around her. "Which room?" Vivian replied. "Is that where y
Steen looked taken aback, but he didn't say anything and just took his phone out of his jacket pocket, then he opened the gallery app on his phone. His thumb moved swiftly across the screen to find something, and after finding what he wanted, he used his index finger and thumb to zoom in on the image displayed on the screen, and he was once again dumbfounded when he finally understood the meaning behind Vivian's words. After finding his mother's treasure box, Steen focused more on the diary and phone his mother left behind, and because of that, he paid little attention to the photographs left by the woman who gave birth to him years ago. He thought those photos were only treasured by his mother and wouldn't be able to provide him with any information, and that was why he ignored them and didn't look at them carefully unlike how Vivian did when she looked at the photos one by one with extra attention. Finally, Vivian found something from one of the photo
She looked confused. She looked confused as two pairs of eyes continued to stare at her intently ever since she arrived at this place. "What... what happened here?" Previously she only called Vivian when she had something she wanted to ask, but then Vivian asked her to come somewhere without letting her voice her question. In the end, Elena went to the penthouse, and she was currently sitting across from Vivian and Steen in the living room. She also looked surprised at how Vivian and Steen were together at the moment, but when she could see how the two looked like they had serious matters they wanted to discuss with her, she decided to hold back her curiosity and didn't immediately ask for more explanation on why they could be together at this time. She only asked about what was going on, but she did not immediately receive a verbal answer to her question. Instead, Vivian simply pushed a piece of paper on the coffee table towards her, and she
A name. It was not just a group of letters used to address someone so they would turn to the caller and not ignore the caller. A name had a deeper meaning than that. A name was used to identify a person, used to distinguish someone from other individuals. A name would always stick with a person from the time they were born until the day they last breathed, and even at their final resting place, their name would also be written or engraved to let everyone know that the body buried underground belonged to the owner of the name. A name was indeed an important part of one's life, and that was why one would not feel happy if someone called them by the wrong name. Perhaps that was also the reason why Vivian had returned to wearing a wedding dress today. It was still the same wedding dress she wore months ago when she officially became Steen's wife, but because she was using someone else's name then, she and Steen decided to have another wedding ceremony to announce to everyone that it was
Their next stop was the penthouse at the Golden Roof Apartments, and it might also be their last stop. Only three people entered the penthouse after Elena was sent to her family's residence. After Lily and her family were arrested by the police, the house was empty, and that's why Elena lived there temporarily. Yes, only temporarily because Elena planned to move after finding a suitable place to live. Vivian had actually invited her to move in with her and Sarah in the small house, but Elena rejected the idea, saying that she didn't want to disturb the two of them and that Sarah might be uncomfortable if she joined them to live in the cramped house. Vivian said that Sarah wouldn't feel that way because that woman also wanted to meet Elena and wanted to live with her too, but Elena still resisted the idea. In the end, Vivian only said that she would try to find a bigger house, and if that could happen, the three of them might be able to move in together.
Someone was standing in the middle of the mansion's stairs. With teary eyes, he looked at the people standing in the living room one by one. His eyes were not only filled with tears, but the two of them were also filled with fear and confusion. He looked lost and lonely even if he wasn't alone in the big building. Maybe the adults in the living room kept talking about Stanley before, but they probably forgot that the kid was also in the mansion the whole time, and they also weren't aware of the possibility that the innocent boy had heard everything from the second floor. But maybe Steen was aware of the possibility, but he simply didn't care at all. That was why he looked away from the boy before saying, "Let's go." Both words were aimed at Vivian and Elena, like how he had suggested the three of them leave the mansion immediately. But neither Vivian nor Elena moved from their positions even after hearing the order, and they both focused their
Steen somehow could not directly answer his father's question this time. He was still grinding his teeth to suppress his anger, but no words could come out of his mouth at this moment. Recalling the disgusting memory, he remembered how he did not find any used condoms in the hotel room, and it was easy to tell that he had done it without any protection the night before. He wasn't even sure if it was because he couldn't think straight when he did it or maybe it was Kate's intention, but he was sure there weren't any used condoms in the hotel room at the time. He wasn't stupid, and that was why he could see the possibility of her being pregnant after they had a such activity that night, and it was also the reason why he hated that kid called Stanley so much. Even if he didn't try to find evidence that Stanley was indeed his son, he could see the similarities the boy had with him, and it had the power to terrify him. Because of that, he had alway
Kate had been dragged from the mansion by the police, and even the man named Peter had also been caught by the police. Hence, only four people were left in the living room after Marlon also left the place. There were only Steen, Stefan, Vivian, and Elena in the living room. Everyone still ignored the presence of plush sofas in the living room as they preferred to remain standing rather than sitting comfortably. They all even continued to stand like statues. Even Steen who previously looked the calmest of them, now looked shaken after hearing what Kate proudly said before being dragged away by the police. "I always knew that the child was not mine," Stefan muttered breaking the tense silence in the living room. “I always knew about it, but I didn't expect the child to be yours, Steen. How are you going to explain it to me? Do you like your stepmother? You have treated her coldly all along, but you even got her pregnant with your child. I didn't expect yo
“Recently, that bitch doesn't dare to touch her phone because her phone is haunted by my mother, right? Ah! Even her fear should be enough to tell that she was scared because she had done something to my mother in the past, but I know that such a thing wouldn't be enough to prove that she was indeed a criminal. That's why I focused on finding something on her phones that were ignored by her out of fear in the past week. On one of her cellphones, I found enough evidence to land her in jail.” When everyone was speechless, it was Steen who continued to speak. Turns out that was his real plan. He didn't plan to pressure Kate so she would kill herself just like his mother did years ago, but he just wanted her to ignore her cell phone so he would get a chance to touch it. Yesterday Kate left the mansion without her cell phone, and Steen took the opportunity to look for more evidence in the cell phone. Finally, he found what he was looking for in one of her cell phones.
"SHUT UP! DON'T TALK NONSENSE IN MY HOUSE!" Kate immediately shouted at Peter, but even her voice sounded unsteady as she looked nervous as hell. Her voice was shaking, her pupils were trembling, and even her breathing was ragged. All eyes suddenly fell on the blonde woman, and it was finally Stefan who opened his mouth to respond to the woman, "Are you sure what he said was just nonsense?" Stefan also looked surprised after hearing what Peter had just said, but he still had time to ask the woman that question. At this moment, the woman no longer glared at the kneeling man, and instead, she stiffly shifted her gaze to Stefan. Stefan was her husband, and he was known for his strict and assertive personality. Many people were afraid of him, even Kate was afraid of him before they got married years ago. But today she somehow looked scared again when she had to face the old man even if the man was her spouse. “D-don't listen to what that
Steen had revealed everything. He had disclosed how Vivian and Elena were actually part of a family living far away from Haston City, but Elena was kidnapped by Lily and her husband two decades ago. At that time, the twins' parents died in a car accident, and little Vivian was found by a couple after the incident, and she was raised by the couple into adulthood. Steen deliberately did not mention how Sarah had purposely taken Vivian as her daughter instead of returning the child to her relatives, nor did he mention the name of the family Vivian and Elena came from. He didn't think that the information was necessary, and that's why he kept it a secret. And maybe Stefan really didn't need that information, and the story Steen had just uncovered had shocked the old man enough. His pair of eyes widened as he looked at the twins, but he still didn't say anything as he still couldn't overcome his shock. Steen could see how his father was stunned by
It was Marlon who had just entered the mansion, but this time he was not alone. His hand was holding another person's arm, and that person's hands were tied with a rope behind his back. After arriving at the living room, Marlon forced the person to kneel in front of the five people. One person looked confident after seeing the person's appearance in the living room, while three other people looked shocked and confused, then one person looked scared as her eyes widened when she saw the person who had just arrived in the living room with Marlon. "So, he's the person, Marlon?" It was Steen who looked confident upon seeing the person's arrival in the living room, and although his question was directed at Marlon, his eyes were glued to the figure kneeling in front of him. “Yes, sir,” Marlon immediately answered his boss's question. “His name is Peter Ford, and he works in a bar in town. He's the one who posted that anonymous article about you, sir.”