Upon hearing Magnus agree to her plan, Grace lowered her gaze to hide her satisfaction.Irvin had used his favored status with Magnus to threaten her. Well, she would see how well he fared when he had to go up against Magnus instead.Irvin was just her chosen pawn, and there was no such thing as a pawn turning on its master.Magnus had always been a man of action. So, he immediately called Irvin to the room. Once Irvin arrived, Magnus explained Grace's plan.Upon hearing what they wanted him to do, Irvin wanted to laugh. He had always thought of Magnus as one of the better people in this family, but now, he realized he had thought too highly of him."Agatha and Grace created this mess. Yet, they want Emilia to take the blame for it and expect me to be the one to condemn her? What do you take me for, Magnus? A mentally impaired idiot?" Irvin asked derisively.Magnus frowned. "Watch what you're saying, Tim. Can't you see the public's doubts and their effect on Hardwell Group's stoc
"If you refuse to do this, Tim, don't blame me for taking action!" Magnus threatened.He didn't want to deal with me. I was just a young woman, and he felt someone as insignificant as me wasn't worthy of his time. However, if Irvin insisted on being stubborn and believing I was more important than the family's interests, I would then be an obstacle. Magnus had no qualms about eliminating any pesky obstacles."If you dare lay a hand on Emilia, then I will reveal to the world that I'm not Timothy! Then we'll see just how unstable Hardwell Group's stock prices will be and how the shares will be redistributed."We'll also see if your brother, who has been waiting in the shadows all this while, will use this chance to take over. I'm sure you know better than I do what the outcomes will be, Magnus," Irvin threatened back.Magnus knew Irvin was brave, but he didn't realize he was so bold. Not only did Irvin refuse to obey him, but he had also dared to threaten him.Furious, Magnus slam
Grace handed her phone to Agatha."Noah Ashford's grandfather wants him to marry the Charters' daughter to form an alliance between the families. Ms. Charter is also quite fond of him, but he absolutely refuses to marry her. Right now, both Noah's grandfather and the Charters are very displeased with his refusal," she explained.Then, she asked, "If we let them know the reason behind Noah's refusal, what do you think these powerful people will do, Agatha?"Agatha hardly paid attention to external affairs since Timothy's passing. So, she didn't even know who Noah was.Seeing her frown, Grace quickly realized she didn't recognize Noah's name."Noah Ashford is William Ashford's nephew. He is also the only grandson of Mr. Griffin Hull, the sole patriarch of the Hull family. Currently, Noah is the sole heir to both the Hulls and Redwood's Ashfords," Grace explained.Agatha recognized the two families. "Now, that's an impressive background."The Hardwells could rival the Ashfords, but
If only…If only Irvin had hurt me a little less. Then, I would've forgiven him and gotten back together with him without hesitation. That was how much I loved him and how much I desired to grow old with him.However, time and time again, he had deeply stabbed me in the heart. So, despite my desire to love Irvin, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to let go of that pain.Irvin smiled softly at me when he spotted me stepping out."I'll take you to the airport," he offered.Collecting my thoughts, I said, "No need. Didn't we agree back then to avoid seeing each other as much as possible until you can fully drop the guise of being Timothy Hardwell?""Yes, and I will do my best to stay away from you. But today is an exception," Irvin answered.I couldn't help feeling a flicker of irritation as I stared at him. I didn't want to see him because I no longer wanted to feel conflicted toward him."I didn't need you to fly all the way here from Lestoria just to send
Irvin stared at me, feeling lost. He didn't know how to answer my question—and I wasn't alone in my feelings.Sometimes, his memories and emotions would resurface in the middle of the night, and he would jolt awake. And when this happened, he also couldn't help but ask himself the same thing. How could he have done all those things to me?Irvin wanted to understand it himself too. Were his actions born out of habit?Because of all the misunderstandings and hatred between us, he wanted me to suffer as much as he did. So, Irvin had gotten used to abusing me emotionally and hurting me. He had also gotten used to treating me as unimportant.And then, it had eventually become a habit for him."I always felt Julianne was the one you truly loved," I said. "You always had an excuse for her actions, regardless of what she did. I continued, "Plus, you always pampered her, always softened toward her, and always wanted to help her. You never once doubted her, and you still accepted her, eve
I was found by an older man who was fishing early in the morning. When he cast his line, the hook accidentally snagged onto me, and no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't come loose. He got closer and saw me floating in the water. Terrified, he dropped his fishing rod and ran to call the cops.When the police pulled me out of the water, I was barely breathing. The doctors who treated me didn't think I would survive, and my family didn't even bother signing the consent forms for further treatment. Yet somehow, I clung to life and became a medical miracle.The moment of impact when I fell was excruciating, but waking up afterward was so much worse. The pain was unbearable; it felt like my body was punishing me for surviving. Out of the 206 bones in a human body, I had broken 108, some of them shattered into fragments. Every inch of me hurt, and the torment made me wish I hadn't made it.I couldn't move, nor could I stand anyone touching me. Even when the nurse lightly pressed o
The man frowned when he saw the shards of glass on the floor, his cold, arrogant demeanor becoming even more intimidating. "Throwing tantrums and breaking things in the hospital? When are you going to grow up?"I stared at him, completely confused. I wondered, "A tantrum? Breaking things? Who's this guy?"He looked like he had more to say but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he scowled and said, "Lianne is refusing to leave the hospital and go home because of your antics."She's upset and talking about leaving. No matter what, you're going to apologize to her today and convince her to stay."He stepped forward and reached out to pull me off the bed. Instinctively, I recoiled from his hand and shouted, "Who are you? I don't know you! Don't touch me!"Although I could move now, my injuries hadn't fully healed, and the thought of someone touching me terrified me.He frowned, clearly annoyed. "Emilia, what are you doing now?""What am I doing? I don't even know who you are! Yo
Suddenly finding out I had a husband made it impossible to fall asleep, so I decided to call my best friend, Cordelia Lowell. I hadn't reached out to her for months because I didn't want her to worry about my injuries. Thankfully, she hadn't contacted me either. If she had, she definitely would have found out how badly I was hurt.But the moment the call connected, I couldn't help but feel a little bitter as I said, "Cordelia, you're so mean. I didn't call you, so you decided not to call me either? It's been over two months! Not a single call or even a text. Are you serious?"I expected her to hurriedly explain that she had been somewhere remote, buried in research, with no signal or way to contact me. Instead, there was a long silence on the other end before she finally said, "Emilia, we're not friends anymore. Did you forget we cut ties?"Her words hit me harder than the revelation about my mysterious husband. I was completely stunned. Cordelia was my best friend in the world—
Irvin stared at me, feeling lost. He didn't know how to answer my question—and I wasn't alone in my feelings.Sometimes, his memories and emotions would resurface in the middle of the night, and he would jolt awake. And when this happened, he also couldn't help but ask himself the same thing. How could he have done all those things to me?Irvin wanted to understand it himself too. Were his actions born out of habit?Because of all the misunderstandings and hatred between us, he wanted me to suffer as much as he did. So, Irvin had gotten used to abusing me emotionally and hurting me. He had also gotten used to treating me as unimportant.And then, it had eventually become a habit for him."I always felt Julianne was the one you truly loved," I said. "You always had an excuse for her actions, regardless of what she did. I continued, "Plus, you always pampered her, always softened toward her, and always wanted to help her. You never once doubted her, and you still accepted her, eve
If only…If only Irvin had hurt me a little less. Then, I would've forgiven him and gotten back together with him without hesitation. That was how much I loved him and how much I desired to grow old with him.However, time and time again, he had deeply stabbed me in the heart. So, despite my desire to love Irvin, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to let go of that pain.Irvin smiled softly at me when he spotted me stepping out."I'll take you to the airport," he offered.Collecting my thoughts, I said, "No need. Didn't we agree back then to avoid seeing each other as much as possible until you can fully drop the guise of being Timothy Hardwell?""Yes, and I will do my best to stay away from you. But today is an exception," Irvin answered.I couldn't help feeling a flicker of irritation as I stared at him. I didn't want to see him because I no longer wanted to feel conflicted toward him."I didn't need you to fly all the way here from Lestoria just to send
Grace handed her phone to Agatha."Noah Ashford's grandfather wants him to marry the Charters' daughter to form an alliance between the families. Ms. Charter is also quite fond of him, but he absolutely refuses to marry her. Right now, both Noah's grandfather and the Charters are very displeased with his refusal," she explained.Then, she asked, "If we let them know the reason behind Noah's refusal, what do you think these powerful people will do, Agatha?"Agatha hardly paid attention to external affairs since Timothy's passing. So, she didn't even know who Noah was.Seeing her frown, Grace quickly realized she didn't recognize Noah's name."Noah Ashford is William Ashford's nephew. He is also the only grandson of Mr. Griffin Hull, the sole patriarch of the Hull family. Currently, Noah is the sole heir to both the Hulls and Redwood's Ashfords," Grace explained.Agatha recognized the two families. "Now, that's an impressive background."The Hardwells could rival the Ashfords, but
"If you refuse to do this, Tim, don't blame me for taking action!" Magnus threatened.He didn't want to deal with me. I was just a young woman, and he felt someone as insignificant as me wasn't worthy of his time. However, if Irvin insisted on being stubborn and believing I was more important than the family's interests, I would then be an obstacle. Magnus had no qualms about eliminating any pesky obstacles."If you dare lay a hand on Emilia, then I will reveal to the world that I'm not Timothy! Then we'll see just how unstable Hardwell Group's stock prices will be and how the shares will be redistributed."We'll also see if your brother, who has been waiting in the shadows all this while, will use this chance to take over. I'm sure you know better than I do what the outcomes will be, Magnus," Irvin threatened back.Magnus knew Irvin was brave, but he didn't realize he was so bold. Not only did Irvin refuse to obey him, but he had also dared to threaten him.Furious, Magnus slam
Upon hearing Magnus agree to her plan, Grace lowered her gaze to hide her satisfaction.Irvin had used his favored status with Magnus to threaten her. Well, she would see how well he fared when he had to go up against Magnus instead.Irvin was just her chosen pawn, and there was no such thing as a pawn turning on its master.Magnus had always been a man of action. So, he immediately called Irvin to the room. Once Irvin arrived, Magnus explained Grace's plan.Upon hearing what they wanted him to do, Irvin wanted to laugh. He had always thought of Magnus as one of the better people in this family, but now, he realized he had thought too highly of him."Agatha and Grace created this mess. Yet, they want Emilia to take the blame for it and expect me to be the one to condemn her? What do you take me for, Magnus? A mentally impaired idiot?" Irvin asked derisively.Magnus frowned. "Watch what you're saying, Tim. Can't you see the public's doubts and their effect on Hardwell Group's stoc
At the time, Grace was already more than five months pregnant.So, even if she hadn't wanted the child, she still shouldn't have gone as far as using her body to frame me in this way. Hence, if she really did intentionally try to frame me, there had to have been a reason behind it.Additionally, Irvin and Timothy looked identical. Because of this, many people couldn't help speculating and suspecting that Timothy was the twin who had died, whereas Irvin was the surviving twin. And since Irvin wasn't her husband, that was why Grace had tried to frame me in such a risky manner.On top of that, in all the photos Grace had taken of us, it was clear Irvin was the one who had initiated intimate contact.People could tell he was the one who had embraced me first and behaved affectionately toward me. And in every photo, it was evident that I had no intentions of seducing Irvin. This only further reinforced people's belief that Timothy had died, while Irvin was still alive.Hardwell Group's
William's gaze deepened as he smiled at me. "I'm glad I have you. Otherwise, I might've had a hard time finding out the truth."He reached out once again to pat my head.But then, we heard someone call out, "Emi! Uncle Will!"William's outstretched hand froze at the sound of the overjoyed voice.Snapping back to reality, he quickly retracted his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. His already deep gaze now seemed so dark that it was like the vast deep space.I reflexively turned toward the direction of Noah's voice when I heard it.He had grown so much in the past year. He no longer had a youthful air around him and had now transformed into a full-grown adult. So much so that his image no longer matched the version of a younger brother I had.Noah had changed a lot, but the one thing that hadn't changed was the burning intensity in his eyes whenever he looked at me. He had been walking toward us at a brisk pace. But when our gazes met, he lost his composure and practically jogg
"Your mother believed Julianne's father would've continued to pine after her if she didn't have you with her that day. That was why, after that, she couldn't bring herself to treat you well, even though you were her own flesh and blood," William concluded.I was floored by this information.Seeing the dumbfounded look on my face, he couldn't help but gently and sympathetically pat my head again."So, forget about your mother. She's not worthy of your care," he advised.I was still at a loss for words.Fortunately, I had already given up on Mom long ago because I had become fed up with being disappointed by her. That was why, no matter how absurd things got with her, I could accept it. Hence, I was able to get over my shock quickly."And Julianne…" I started to ask."She can't move right now. Because of her frail health, your father administered many different drugs to boost her immune system in the past," William explained. "However, even he doesn't know what exactly he gave J
In this world, many mothers didn't love their children, and oftentimes, it was without reason. However, these mothers usually only loved themselves and not anyone else, let alone someone else's child.So, when a mother only loved her adopted daughter and not her biological one, there had to be a reason behind it.Mom answered William's question in a dazed state. William had encountered many strange things in life, but her answer still rendered him speechless.…That same evening, I had given Grandma a sponge bath and watched her until she fell asleep.I was about to go over some data when I received a message from William, saying he was in the hospital's garden.Figuring he had gotten the information he needed, I grabbed my down jacket and rushed downstairs. I was anxious to know what William had learned.As soon as I saw him, I asked, "What did my father say? Did he conduct any drug trials on Julianne?"William stared at me but didn't immediately answer. There was a hint of pi