"What are you doing here, Abby? And why are you taking me away? I have to tell Monica first so that she doesn't come looking for me," said Gin, who did not accept Abby's attitude and immediately pulled him out of the shopping center, while Alice, who had just finished paying for all their purchases, just stood still watching the showdown between the two."You don't need to ask permission or say goodbye, Gin. Come home with me. Now."Abby pushed Gin into his car and asked Alice to take her car. They left the shopping center still fighting."You know what? You've embarrassed me by treating me like a child, Abby.""I don't fucking care, Gin. All I have to do is protect you.""I don't need it. I'm an adult, and I'm a man. You should be the one I protect. Don't you realize that your behavior could endanger us all?""Oh, behavior? Which ones? Didn't I explain to you that everything I'm doing is for our family? I'm doing this to teach that bastard Emerson a lesson, and you, don't get in my w
Alice arrived at her apartment and quickly picked up her phone. Dozens of messages and missed calls were already lined up there. From Jude, who else? She was reluctant to deal with someone who could potentially interfere with her work, but Jude... he had what Alice needed. Some stability."Hey, sorry for ignoring your calls and messages. How are you?" Alice greeted, having no idea that the man on the other side was wearing a big smile when he heard from her."It's okay. I know you must be busy with your work for Abby. I'm good, and I miss you. How about you? Is everything going well? What about Abby's little brother?""Yes, thank God things are going well, although I can't say the search is over yet. New tasks are always ahead. And I still can't stop watching Abby and Gin. You know, they need me.""I know. It must be hard to take in a young man who grew up on the streets.""Gin's pretty easy to manage, except for one thing. He's a brilliant teenager who's managed to fit in the job his
Alice smothered her mouth with the palm of her hand. She had no idea that Jude was serious about what he was doing. Although it seemed strange and silly, inevitably, Alice admired the man's actions. Unfortunately, they were not on the same page now."Jude... why are you doing this?" Alice asked as she sighed tiredly and pushed the man's body away. "I never thought you would do this.""You should have expected it. You had taken my virginity.""Bullshit!" Alice laughed. "Don't bullshit yourself. How could a man like you still be a virgin? Or else... do you really like women?""Are you testing me? After what happened, you're still questioning it?"Alice laughed again. "Alright. I'll get serious now. Why are you doing this?""Because I love you.""Why, Jude? You're not supposed to love me.""Can you explain why? Because I think I'm the one feeling this way, and I'm happy to feel that way about you. Why do you think I shouldn't do this? Do you think it's wrong?" Jude asked rhetorically.No
Zac woke up in the morning and couldn't find Abby anywhere. Abby had stayed at his apartment last night. She was distraught and just cried all night until it was time for Zac to ask her to sleep, but the opposite happened.Abby made love to him, and they spent the night having fantastic sex.Maybe it was his feelings, but he couldn't get enough of Abby. Zac never wanted to be away from her, and just like this morning, finding no one by her side, he chuckled and dialed Abby's cell phone to make sure."I'm already at the office, Zac. I didn't want to wake you up because you looked tired. You must be tired of hearing me cry all night," Abby answered on the other end. "Did you finish your breakfast? I made you a serving of pancakes.""I missed you so much. I'd rather hear you moan when we make love than see you cry. I hope you're feeling better now. And, okay, I'll finish the breakfast. Thank you, baby. Can I see you at lunchtime?""Hmm... I have to check my schedule. I remember today I h
"Did he really say that about me?" Abby asked the middle-aged man sitting across from her."Of course. There's no way I'd lie. A beautiful and successful woman like you doesn't deserve to be an escape for a broken-hearted man like Zachary. Don't you want to move on to another man?" the man asked rhetorically.Abby remained silent, not wanting to give any reaction to the man's statement. Although Zac was her means of revenge, it didn't mean she would easily believe the words of an unreliable person, especially when it was about Zac.Zac was really into her, so there was no way he would say anything wrong about her, his future wife."For that matter, let me think it through. After all, Zac and I are getting married soon. How could I so rashly break off the relationship unilaterally?" Abby tried to respond to all the false information to provoke the man into saying what he meant."You still have time. I have many colleagues who are no less than Zac. How about Mr. Hoffman? You can't possi
"You're buying the assets he's offering?" Zac urged Abby, who was about to straighten her back but had to accept another thing that drained her strength these days.Zac was still insisting that Abby accept his proposal. This time, Abby would answer in the affirmative if he continued to insist."I have to shut him up. What else can I do?" Abby replied calmly. "Are you going to take me to lunch?""Abby, can I say something?"Here we go again..."I don't want you to deal directly with Albert. He's a crooked man, and most of his business deals with humans.""All businesses deal with humans, Zac. It's just that he seems more creative.""Are you kidding me? He sells people, Abby. Turning them into prostitutes, many of them underage.""I know that, baby." Abby leaned closer and cupped her hands to frame Zac's angry face. "Do you think I didn't know that the assets he was selling belonged to his son? I know all about it.""Then why did you buy it?""So that no irresponsible person would buy i
"Yes, Monica?" Zac received the call while he was finishing work. He had to catch up because, in a maximum of one month, he and Abby would be officially married.He had hired the best wedding organizer to take care of everything except the dress, the cake, and the color they would choose for their wedding theme.Abby had rather unique tastes and didn't like it when things weren't up to her standards. So, Zac would leave a few things for them to take care of and finalize together."Where are you?""Shouldn't I be the one asking? Dad said that you didn't come home. What is it again?"There was no answer from the other side for a while, and then the girl just sighed."I don't understand Dad's way of thinking. He forbids me from doing everything I like. He even compared me to someone, and I don't know him.""Who? And what did he say?""I don't know who that woman is. He said I should be a woman like her, with conviction and character. But I just made a small mistake, and he brought it up.
Alice's efforts didn't seem to be working. Several days passed, and even weeks later, she still hadn't managed to find Gin. Abby was getting upset and wanted to see him herself, but Alice insisted on preventing Abby's intentions.If Abby moved alone, the risk was much more significant, especially after Abby emphasized that none of the media should know that Gin was missing.Although there would undoubtedly be many people who could easily recognize and speed up the possibility of Gin being found, Abby didn't want anyone to know. She didn't want anyone to realize that her family wasn't doing well. She wanted to look flawless, especially in front of the media.Alice didn't know what else to do. Things got even more complicated when she saw the news about Gin's disappearance. Immediately, she called Abby to tell her everything."How did the media find out? I didn't even say anything," Abby said, wringing her hair in frustration. She turned to Zac, who was still enjoying his breakfast, but
Two years later...Abby looked at her and Zac's wedding photo with tears still falling. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She should have left when she first realized she was pregnant or maybe when she first started to feel different vibes in her heart towards Zac.He was too naive to get entangled in Abby's false love, but even when he knew that, he remained unmoved and loved Abby and tried to forget the crime she committed.Zac was a kind-hearted man who was hurt and took things wrong. However, Abby was touched when her father-in-law returned after visiting him. What was that sad look on his face?"What did he say?" Abby asked, curious. It had been so many times that her father-in-law and Gin had come to visit Zac. They even asked many questions, such as whether the case he was facing could be suspended with some bail. However, Zac strongly rejected their intentions."I made a mistake after all. Abby was hurt because of me. So let me serve my sentence as it should be so that I will
Right after her phone conversation with Ashton, Abby felt everything happened quickly. The next day, several police officers came to the Emerson family residence and revealed the evidence they had received regarding the case they had committed against the Anderson family.The only suspect, of course, was Amanda, while her daughter, Monica, was still unaccounted for and had disappeared into thin air.Gin read the headline news with a satisfied grin. Since the beginning, he had known many secrets about Alice, who turned out to be her aunt, then Ashton, who had been like a grim reaper for Amanda and Robert Marra, and Jude, who was the older brother of Tamara—Abby's assistant at the office.That was why they seemed to work together to avenge what had happened to James and Selena, and they became protectors for Abby and Gin.Abby couldn't believe how easily everything unfolded, and now it was time for her to tell Zac the truth. However, the news about his mother had left Zac quite devastat
Abby was still bothered by what Garry had said at dinner. She would get her father's share of the business they had worked on, but that wasn't what she wanted.Luckily, Abby was still an intelligent woman who had foreseen everything she would face. She had recorded the conversation between herself and Garry, and repeatedly listening to it made her feelings worse.This morning, she had been in and out of the bathroom several times, vomiting up everything she ate. Even when there was nothing else she could spit out, the nausea she felt intensified.She became suspicious of what she was feeling at the moment."Al, tell me honestly, did the doctors perform an abortion back then? Tell me if they removed the fetus?" Abby asked Alice who took the time to visit her. However, Alice chose not to say anything.As much as Abby hated Zac and the Emerson family, the fetus should not be victimized."Do you want to hear my words?""Alice, I'm not in the mood to negotiate.""No, you're not. I'm not go
Abby and Zac were already in the dining room with Garry, but she didn't see Amanda anywhere. Abby decided to search but didn't want to show everyone that she wanted to know how Amanda was after finding out her daughter was missing."What the hell did you guys do to eliminate those rats? Now I've lost track of my daughter." The woman sobbed. "By all means, search and find my daughter. I don't care about Sidney. I only want Monica. Are you listening!?"Abby had heard enough. Not from the beginning, but the snippets of conversation between Amanda and whoever was on the phone made her think.It was true that Alice had said that Amanda was the one who was being deceitful. She wanted to have everything and didn't even care about others. Everything was only about her. So, how did Garry deal with it all?How could he endure all this time living with a woman who didn't love him? Even behind his back, Amanda betrayed him and made him a target to get what she wanted.Did Garry do that on purpose
"Are you busy today? Mom and Dad asked us to come over for dinner. But if you don't want to, it's fine if we don't come," Zac said as he shaved while Abby cleaned up his work clothes that had just been washed.Something she'd never done before—cleaning up after herself. Even though several servants were ready to help or do everything for her, for now, she felt like doing everything, even taking care of Zac's needs at home and work.Abby's movements stopped when she heard Zac's words. Instantly, she remembered what happened on her wedding day. She shouldn't have been afraid and asked Garry what made him so sure of his words. It could be that this was her chance.The other thing that makes Abby do it is Gin's statement, which says everything that happened to their family resulted from Sidney's father, Robert Marra. If that was true, then what role did Garry play? That was what she needed to find out.One way was to get close to the head of the Emerson family."Okay, no problem. We'll go
Alice was relieved she had good instincts, especially regarding her best friend. If not, who knew what would have happened to Abby by now? It could be worse than this. She felt terrible when she learned that Abby had asked her to take her to a suspicious location. She had heard many things about the district. High crime, looting, robbery, even murder. Another one that worried Alice was the high abortion rate.Abby probably wouldn't do it, but what if she did?Alice followed where her friend was going, and when she entered a secluded alley, she knew her instincts were right. She was now pointing a gun at men dressed as doctors and medical staff—Alice wasn't sure if they were actually in the profession. There was no way a doctor would sully his title for the immoral deeds they were doing now."I'm Detective Denver. Let her go, or I'll take you to jail," Alice said firmly, gun in hand. The others raised their hands, allowing the convincing-looking woman to take Abby away.Alice left no
According to some, including Zac, everything was going well, and he was living a beautiful and passionate married life. However, he had no idea that a time bomb was about to explode. He only envisioned a life of love with Abby, who showed the same towards him.For Zac, Abby's attitude was getting better, and Abby didn't understand what she was going through. She became very attached to Zac and was reluctant to let him go to work or the slightest distance so that she would sulk."Al, do you know what I'm experiencing is very strange? How is it possible, who has been reluctant to get close to Zac except to attract attention and ensnare him with a love trap so that he falls into my trap for revenge, now everything seems to be reversed? I hate being apart from him." Abby wrung her hair in frustration while at the office and received a visit from her best friend. "Is there something wrong with me?"Alice held her chin and looked thoughtful. She had never experienced the same thing; even th
A fierce duel was inevitable between Jude and the man standing guard, along with some of the men who eventually moved to all sides to confront Jude's friend, who had managed to fend off the criminals attacking them outside."Jude, come in; I'll deal with them. Save Alice!" commanded one of them, who seemed to be the most elegant among the others and had been trying to block the attack on Jude.This time, however, the gang's boss would not let Jude go. He insisted the man stay there to fight the last drop of blood. Jude didn't mind doing that and still faced him, but his friend didn't let that happen. Again, Jude protected his position so he could immediately enter the room where Alice was. He managed to break down the door, which was already rickety and saw Alice trying to free herself by scraping the broken glass on the rope that bound her. Instead of breaking the rope, it was her hand that was scratched by the object, and she was helpless except to grimace in pain as the blood con
Not many expected this, including Gin when one of Zac's confidants, who he said was one of the men he could rely on to help find Alice, was a familiar face to the Genovhia family.Gin's eyes almost glazed over as the man entered the room and removed the distinctive brown hat and coat he always wore, even when meeting Abby."Mr. Thompson?" muttered Gin, still unable to believe what he saw. Did this mean the man had betrayed his sister?"Hi, Young Master Genovhia," the man greeted when he saw Gin in the room with the others. Gin was the only one he recognized, so to the others, he only bowed slightly. "What can I do for you, Mr. Emerson?"The man was immediately quick to ask the task Zac was going to give him. Meanwhile, Gin, who felt trapped in this, immediately grabbed the shirt collar of the man who had not yet sat in his chair and dragged him out of the room regardless of his brother-in-law's call.He was on the verge of throwing a punch if Mr. Thompson didn't stop him immediately.