The tears Fiona had been holding back finally broke free, rolling down into the cold palm of Mrs. Solomon's hand.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to eat well from now on!" Fiona said through tears, maintaining her gentle smile.Mrs. Solomon's breathing became labored as she nodded with difficulty, "Good... good...""Do you remember telling me about the black sand beach? I went there to see the stars. It was beautiful. There was even a meteor shower that night, but I forgot to make a wish."Mrs. Solomon looked at her, her eyes filled with tenderness. For the past seven or eight years, she had been mostly confused.But on the rare occasions she was lucid, she understood all too well how much her grandson had troubled this beautiful young woman."Fiona..." She breathed faintly, "I didn't raise Darwin right, and it caused you so much distress..."Mrs. Solomon was gasping for air."Mrs. Solomon!" Fiona exclaimed in shock.But Mrs. Solomon clung to the haDarwin massaged his temples."Ah, just filled the tank when I got in the car.""Which building are you in? I can drop you off downstairs.""Building 2," Darwin replied.Fiona started the car, pretended to search for direction, then steered the wheel toward Building 2.Building 2.The building she had lived in for five years was also Building 2. She prayed he wouldn't tell her that he'd been living there all these years. The media even captured Darwin and Lilian emerging from a villa at Emerald Pool. Paparazzi. Exceptionally good at framing a shot. That day, the garden was bursting with life under the brilliant sunshine, making the couple in the photo look as sweet as fairy tale characters.All of a sudden, a strong urge surged in Fiona's heart. Whatever Darwin's reasons were for bringing her here, she wanted to go up and see for herself and expose whatever game he was playing, see through his clumsy attempt.But... reason overruled this childish and p
Fiona's thoughts were in disarray. Somehow, she and Darwin ended up tangled together on the master bedroom's bed. It wasn't until he started to unbutton her blouse that she snapped back to reality."Stop!!" Fiona fought desperately.But Darwin, who had feigned weakness just moments before, deployed his considerable strength now, easily overpowering Fiona's desperate resistance.Her blouse was swiftly undone, exposing her to his gaze. Darwin's advances halted abruptly, however, when he saw a faint scar across her lower abdomen—a scar reminiscent of one he had seen in his childhood on Anniston, who had explained to him that it was left by the C-section that brought him into the world."Get off me!" Fiona lashed out fiercely, her foot meeting Darwin's chest.Thrown off by the force of her kick, Darwin tumbled off the bed, his head hitting the wall with a thud."Oh my God!" Fiona gasped, startled by the noise.The back of the head was particularly vulnerable.
When Fiona first met Mrs. Solomon, her health was already in decline. The company’s leadership were gradually handed over to Darwin and the then-rising star, Anniston.Despite having heard about Mrs. Solomon’s many callous deeds while by Darwin's side, and because Mrs. Solomon had always been kind to her. Despite this, Fiona’s perception of Mrs. Solomon had remained relatively positive.But in that moment, as Darwin unveiled his origins, Fiona began to grasp why Mrs. Solomon ended up alienated by the Solomon family.And Darwin… he had known about his improbable roots since he was eleven. His thinking had been skewed towards this dogma of maximizing benefits, which influenced him for many years to come.“This sort of secret should have been kept by Mr. Solomon, not shared with anyone,” Fiona mused, struggling to articulate her thoughts.Darwin looked at her, waiting for words of comfort and guidance that never came, and his heart ached even more. In the past, even
"It's just a pretend date.""There won't be any real connection.""How could I ever let you marry that kind of man?""What could you possibly lose?""The Shaws have always been good to us, helping us through our hard times. We can't just refuse to do them a favor. That would be ungrateful."These were the voicemails Maria sent after Ashton had refused. Listening to them left Fiona absolutely fuming.She was fiercely protective of her friends and had zero tolerance for abusive jerks.On the same day, she decided to dig into the guy's background.What she didn't expect was to be completely taken aback by the findings.This guy was a real piece of work—his rap sheet was long enough to put him away for good, multiple times over.But thanks to his family's tight grip on local influence and their deep pockets, his sordid past had been conveniently wiped clean.Fiona wasted no time in leaking every dirty secret to the internet, unleashing a
Fiona had to admit, although harshly, that her encounters with Darwin brought her more joy than pain.He had skills, unsettlingly good ones.But to wound a heart to its core, you'd find any excuse to pick apart what's left."I thought you enjoyed it," Darwin said, his brow knitted with concern.Congratulations, Fiona mused, you got it right. But her facade remained icy."Let's preserve some dignity for each other, Darwin. The moment you decided to end our child's life, you destroyed any potential future we might have had."After those words, she averted her gaze and brushed past the stunned Darwin. No need to feign unfamiliarity here anymore. She went to the dressing room, her eyes briefly welling up as she saw her neatly arranged clothes still in the closet. Time relentlessly marched on.It seemed like Darwin was trying to cling to something in this place, but delusions remained just that.She casually changed into a correspondingly fitting set
As Ashton's phone rang with suddenness, her brows furrowed in bewilderment. It was rare for Justin to reach out first, and she had a hunch as to why. After a moment's hesitation, she ended the call."What's up?" Kenny's voice was soft, his presence steady beside her.Ashton shook her head, "It's nothing, Mr. Kenny, please."He caught her eye, said nothing more, and with a gentle hand on her back nudged her forward. "You go ahead."Ashton couldn't help but notice: his hands were massive.Just a few steps later, her phone buzzed with a message from Justin. She glanced at it, and froze."Ashton, you need to come to the First City Hospital right away. Your mom passed out at home, and we're taking her there!""Guys, something's come up at home. I won't be able to join you for the site visit," Ashton quickly informed the others. To Kenny, she added, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Kenny, I...""No worries."Kenny turned to the lawyer at his side. "Mr. White, ple
Ashton realized that her mother had changed during their second spring with the Shaw family.She had given away her beloved cloth doll—a gift from her father—to a child in the Shaw family.That night she had cried so hard.Yet her mother had said..."We must behave differently here in Mr. Shaw's home than we would in our own. You have plenty of dolls your father bought you, missing one isn't the end of the world. You need to be a good girl."Later, when she visited that relative's home...She saw the doll again.Her beautiful doll, torn and neglected in the corner, it broke Ashton's heart.But...She always held her mother's words close to heart. They lived in someone else's house, which meant they had to be good, sensible, and obedient. The doll, though she felt a deep guilt for leaving it behind, remained there nonetheless. In the years that followed, this sort of thing happened far too often. The thing she feared most when s
Leaving the hospital, the outside world greeted them with blinding sunlight. Ashton turned to Kenny, "Mr. Kenny, I need to make a call.""Sure," Kenny responded with understanding and stepped aside.Ashton found a bench, sat down, and called Fiona. She summarized the situation and then spent the next fifteen minutes sobbing uncontrollably. After she had cried enough, her voice shaky and eyes still wet, she sniffled, "Babe, I stopped crying.""Yeah," Fiona replied, her voice supportive. "Good timing, the rugrats just left. Tonight, I'll get your favorite braised dishes, and we'll have a proper drink!""Tonight, huh?" Ashton stuttered, her gaze drifting towards Kenny standing at a distance, a thought crossing her mind that Kenny was too clueless to wait in the car."I have dinner plans with the lord of the manor who’s selling his land.""Is it going to take all night?" Fiona muttered. "You better save some room for when you come back to drink with me.""Got