"Don't think for a second that I'll be impressed and forgive you just like that..." The voice, coming from nowhere, made Clarissa's face turn pale. "Who is it? Is that you, Jordan? Show yourself!" As Clarissa looked around frantically, she was shown a video call from the screen of her laptop, now facing her. Jordan... "What do you mean?" Seeing Clarissa's reaction, Jordan's figure in the video call burst into laughter. "You can't even guess, let me tell you." He deliberately paused his words, making people curious. "I'll make your fate the same as the condition of my company now, I'll even make you live in the underworld!" His words were so cruel! Jordan was still grinning and continued. "And you have to know, that tomorrow you will face hellfire!" Clarissa slid back, trembling incessantly. On the laptop screen, she saw a man with sharp facial features. His eyebrows and eyes, which were the reason why she could like Jordan, but was there no hope for her now? Clarissa looked at
Clara stepped into the familiar yet foreign elite mansion, her two sons at her side, their presence drawing curious stares from the gathered crowd. The atmosphere was starkly different from six years ago, when she was greeted with cheerful smiles by the servants and even the housekeepers. Lara quickly brushed aside the memories of the past and opened her eyes wide, taking in the scene of mourning that mirrored her own grief. A casket stood in the center of the room, its occupant, the man who had been a pillar of support throughout her childhood, now laid still and lifeless. Clara's tears flowed freely, Lucas and Louis mirroring her sorrow. Jessica, standing beside her with a scowl, broke the silence. "Finally, you're back. I wonder if you only returned after Grandpa passed away." She said, arms crossed over her chest. Clara took a deep breath and looked at Jessica, trying to remain composed. "It's been a long time, but you're still the same. Are you twisting the facts? Don't start
"Raisa, you came too? How did you know I was here?"Catching her breath, Raisa replied, "We can talk later. Come with me for a moment, let's talk outside..."Without Clara's consent, she was pulled out of the house. Raisa looked at her seriously. "I came to tell you some bad news!"Her serious expression piqued Clara's curiosity. "News?""Yes, Clarissa... Clarissa has just been..." Raisa was too distraught to continue, but she couldn't bear to leave Clara hanging. "...found dead. Suicide.""What?" Clara narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "You're not making this up, are you? A woman like her wouldn't do something so foolish."Raisa sighed, her face etched with grief. "You don't believe me? Her body was found at the bottom of a ravine. Authorities concluded it was suicide.""What?" Clara was shocked and curious. "Why would she do something so drastic?" Clara raised her voice.Raisa shrugged. "I don't know. I'm surprised too. A prominent businesswoman like Miss Clarissa, found dead at the
"Mr. Jordan Halle, I've been hearing about the embezzlement scandal that Clarissa committed. And your company was one of the victims, yet you look fine. Maybe there's something going on between you two…" "Whatever you say, but after the competition winners are announced, I'll hold a press conference…" "But CEO Jordan, your credibility will fall." Raisa spoke up after listening to their conversation. "No! The press conference must be held." After speaking, Jordan stood up from his chair. "Coincidentally, I agree with you," Simon smiled mysteriously, "I hope your name is on the list of competition winners." Before leaving, he glanced at Raisa. If you think about it, Jordan did look relaxed and carefree. Could what Simon, the musician, said be true? Raisa was lost in thought. "Hey, what are you thinking about? Let's go." Raisa obediently followed her boss back to the competition venue… From the front row seats, Simon saw two people who had just arrived sitting side by side
As the murmurs of agreement towards Raisa's words filled the room, Emma lowered her head. Raisa was right; Jordan was indeed unconscious in the video. The people started to curse at her with harsh words. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Get out of there before the reporters arrive!" Emma looked hesitant and stiff. She looked at Simon, hoping for protection, but the man remained silent, realizing his plan to bring Jordan down had completely failed. "Mr. Simon Alexander, where are you going?" Emma tried to stop her boss and partner as he walked away. Unfortunately, the man didn't respond. He hadn't been paid for his work. After all, he worked for money! Jordan, although this incident had been troubling, was relieved by Raisa's defense after clearing his name. He looked at Emma coldly, with no sympathy left as he ran out of the building with a pale face. Tringg… The ringing of a call came from Jordan's phone. "Mr. Halle, a woman is causing a commotion in the office lobby." Jordan mon
Emma cruelly produced the exact same badge as the one in Emily's photo, unsettling Jordan. "This badge... where did you get it?" Jordan's voice trembled, a stark contrast to Emma's sinister laughter. "It was found near Miss Clarissa's body at the cliff edge where she was discovered dead." "Impossible! This is a trap. You're setting me up, and besides, this isn't admissible evidence. Do you know why?" Jordan argued, seemingly finding unexpected courage. "Every object has fingerprints." Emma's gaze sharpened. "Not evidence? Then how do you explain the badge, Jordan? That badge is only worn by members of 'Black Eagle,' a notoriously ruthless group involved in various crimes. This means you're one of them, am I wrong?" Jordan fell silent. The 'Black Eagle's' reputation was abysmal. His past membership in the group was a mistake he deeply regretted, a mistake threatening to destroy his life. "I... I've left the group," he whispered. "Left?" Emily scoffed. "Do you think we'll believe
Jordan emerged from the tense situation, his face slick with sweat. On his desk sat a small box of ready-to-eat meals. He glanced at the wall clock; it was 1:00 PM. A little late for lunch, but seeing his empty cup, he felt a twinge of annoyance. "Raisa, where is she? Did she forget her duties?" He immediately called Raisa. "Yes, sir..." "Raisa, you haven't yet replenished…" "I'm sorry, sir, but Miss Raisa took the day off to take Mrs. Clara and her two sons home." "Home?" Jordan repeated, frowning. He remembered Clara had won the competition yesterday. No wonder she could afford the fine and had offered to take responsibility for getting him out of the case. Jordan smiled pessimistically. "Wait! Why didn't she tell me? Leaving without contacting me, taking the day off without my permission…" "I'm sorry, Mr. Halle, but I believe I left a leave request on your desk." Jordan touched his forehead, then checked his desk drawer and found a brown envelope addressed to Raisa. "Mr.
"Would you like a drink?" Although she wasn't thirsty, seeing Jordan's attentive care for the twins, Clara agreed. Especially since Jordan was offering her current favorite drink. Clara was surprised he remembered her preference. "Thank you," she murmured. Clara took the drink from Raffaele, though a row of beer bottles stood before her. Jordan assumed Clara enjoyed the drink, but while he was occupied with the twins, no one suspected Clara would replace Jordan's offering with a bottle of beer when they weren't looking. Clara wasn't usually a drinker, but she craved it intensely. She glanced at Jordan before taking a sip, their closeness causing her to smile as she drained the clear green glass bottle. Unconsciously, she enjoyed it and wanted more, regardless of the consequences. "Mommy, wake up!" Lucas's small cry startled her, but Clara was already asleep, overcome by the alcohol... THE NEXT MORNING... "Mommy, why aren't you awake yet?" The twins' whimpers roused Clara, but
The next few days were a blur of tender care and cautious optimism. Raisa recovered remarkably well, her strength returning with each passing hour. Jordan, usually a whirlwind of activity, found himself strangely content in the quiet routine of caring for his wife and their newborn daughter. He named her Anya, a silent tribute to the woman whose selfless act had saved Raisa's life.One evening, as Anya slept soundly in her bassinet, Raisa stirred, a flicker of unease in her eyes. "Jordan," she whispered, her voice still weak, "I had a dream... a strange dream."Jordan sat beside her, his hand gently stroking her hair. "Tell me, my love.""I was in a place... dark and cold. A woman was there, her face obscured by shadows, but her voice... it was familiar. She was speaking of a secret, a terrible secret that must never be revealed."Jordan listened intently, his initial dismissal of it as a postpartum dream slowly fading as Raisa described the dream in vivid detail. The woman’s voi
dessy absorbed her friend's words, until unconsciously her tongue clicked. "Are all men the same? This is the first time I've heard Aldi like that. After all, as far as I know Aldi is so insistent on being with you." She then looked at Anna. "Sorry Anna, I don't want to interfere with your problem, but what if you listen to him talk sometimes." "You're defending him?" "N-no, I m-mean... It's best to make sure of the real thing first, if it's true that Aksi is guilty, I'll punch him immediately." *** "Anna..." Aldi quickly chased away the drunk thugs who had just bothered his girlfriend. "What are you doing outside at this late hour?" Anna took a breath, adjusting it to be stable. Luckily Aldi was in the right situation, if not, who knows what would have happened to her today. "Thank you, again I'm bothering you, I'll be careful in the future." Aldi sighed, "Is that enough?" Anna realized that she was so selfish,
The dinner was over, Randy and Dessy were still watching TV, while Anna chose to sit on the patio and busy herself with her phone."Anna..." Aldi followed her there, and Anna greeted him with a sour face, accompanied by a piercing question. "Why did you do that?"Unconsciously, his voice was a little hoarse. Aldi moved his mouth, trying to explain. "This is a misunderstanding, I don't know that girl at all, I don't know why she was so reckless..."Anna could see the honesty in his eyes, but her heart still hurt, so a word came out of her mouth. "For now, it's better if we don't meet for a while...""Why?"Aldi couldn't accept hearing the short sentence that seemed to pierce his heart, his eyes looked at Anna's face with a dull gaze.While Anna deliberately looked away, "I just want to be alone, so don't bother me for now."Aldi tried to get closer to her, but she immediately moved away. "Just because of what happened earlier?"His expression seemed like it was a trivial matter, Anna w
"Why is Anna taking so long?" Aldi repeatedly checked his watch, even getting in and out of the car to wait for his lover. His eyes stared at the box he had just bought as a surprise for Anna. "I hope she'll like this beautiful cake." However, it was almost dark, and Aldi had been waiting for hours in front of the fifteen-story building, but the one he was waiting for hadn't shown up yet. Suddenly, a group of beautiful girls appeared, just coming out of the building, and actually pointed at Aldi with their whispers. "You didn't see, there's a handsome man there." What a bunch of flirty girls!Although Aldi heard them, he deliberately turned his face away, too lazy to respond to the girls dressed formally but scantily clad. This was far different from Anna's appearance, who wore a hijab. In the midst of his thoughts, one of the girls dared to approach him. "Hi, I'm Kiran. Can we get to know each other?" She was in her tw
"Here's your order, you get a bonus of one exclusive Swiss-made handbag."Dessy reappeared, carrying three packages ordered by her customers. While they were chatting, Anna distanced herself from them. This was because she was texting Aldi, walking around the apartment with her eyes glued to her phone, not paying attention to where she was going. Brukk!Unfortunately, Anna was so careless that she bumped into someone. She immediately bent down to apologize. "Wait!"She hadn't had a chance to see the person she had bumped into. They were facing each other, and it felt like she recognized this person. Anna mustered up the courage to touch the mask covering their face and quickly removed it. "Aldi?" Anna was shocked to see her fiancé standing in front of her, smiling. "Since when were you here? Didn't we just..." "Right, this is a surprise, isn't it?" Initially, the man wanted to avoid this, but since he had been c
"Anna, you have a visitor..." In Dessy's apartment, Anna sat leaning back, exhausted after a long journey. "But I'm very tired, Dessy. Why don't you just..." But her friend had already dragged her out to the terrace. Even though she put on a grumpy face, "Who is the visitor anyway..." Dessy didn't seem to mind, but Anna was silent when she saw a familiar figure standing behind her. "Who is that?" The person in front of her suddenly turned around. "Ayunda...?" Anna couldn't believe that the woman had come to see her. Ayunda seemed surprised too when she realized that the person she met was not a stranger, and they just stared at each other without a word. Why was the atmosphere so awkward? "How are you..." Anna tried to act nonchalant, as if nothing had happened. She invited her guest inside and acted friendly, forgetting the time when they argued in the past.
"Honestly, I feel sorry for her..." Aldi and Anna both turned towards Dessy. "Why?" "Apparently, after her company went bankrupt, her mother took Hanif's two children with her." "They're his grandchildren too, so she must be feeding them," Aldi said, trying to stir the pot. Anna, who had been silent until now, finally commented. "How do you know?" "It's all over the internet, and the worst part is Ayunda..." Dessy shook her head and clicked her tongue. "She's getting worse." "What do you mean?" Anna frowned. "She's become a PRN* star, it's a job that... God forbid, I hope all my descendants are free from such things." Anna became curious. She realized that she had to listen to her friend's gossip now. However, she had to get the right information since she had already been told. "How do you know so much?" Dessy widened her eyes in annoyance. "I saw it on
Clara hadn't left her apartment since the previous night. She had hired several people to renovate it. It seemed that not only Joe was impatiently awaiting the next day, but Clara was also eagerly anticipating their wedding day. Her unwavering smile became a topic of conversation among her neighbors, curious about her busy day. "Mrs. Lara, are you sure you want to replace all the decorations in this room?" A worker felt sorry for all the furniture and everything visible in the apartment. Everything was still new, they couldn't bear to throw it away. As if understanding the workers' thoughts, Clara smiled faintly. "I just want to change the scenery in this house, you can take any old furniture or anything else you like." "B-but ma'am? Are you sure?" Clara nodded amidst their busy work. "Of course." "Hey, you know what, Doctor Joe has a complete and unbeatable job. I didn't expect him to be able to do it, his activities at the hospital are always busy." *** "Replace all my sche
Four Years Later, "Let's go in." The click-clack of high heels echoed through the white building as a new figure stepped out of the car. All eyes were drawn to the dress that fluttered in the wind, its owner possessing a clear and serene face. This was Clara, the owner and ambassador of a world-renowned cosmetics brand. Clara was invited to an exclusive event for a fashion brand, celebrating the grand opening of their new building. As an ambassador, Clara, surrounded by a life of luxury, had captivated the world. Just a week ago, her cosmetics factory was expanded, and her workforce grew. It was strange, her fortunes had improved since becoming a single mother. "Lara..." a man called out, causing a moment of awkwardness. "Joe? Why is he here? I thought..." "Mommy, why are you spacing out? Let's sit over there..." Lucas called out, gesturing for Clara to stop lingering. Though curious about why Joe and her two sons were there, Clara continued towards them. The event began. The