Most importantly, Trevor was over 80 years old now. He wasn't at all a threat to Bryce.After that, Bryce's hand that was on Holly's chin slipped down from her arm to wrap around her waist. He then gave her waist a suggestive pinch.He leaned closer to her ear and suggested, "Since you're not busy today, and I have nothing else to do, how about we make our time worthwhile?"Holly felt weak all over from his pinches.She purposefully asked, "Who was the one who said that he didn't fly all the way here just for this last night?"Bryce got on top of her to bite the tip of her nose before kissing her lips.He then said distractedly, "That was last night. It's a different matter now."Holly no longer said further. She wasn't in the mood to reason with him now. Her mind was blank from all his kissing, and she felt like she was walking on cloud nine.Bryce planted kisses from her chin down to her shoulders. He then gave it a light bite, making her shudder as his slender fingers gently
Abraham got angrier the more he thought about it. The Cotts and the Gabelmans had been business partners for many decades. This was the first time Bryce had been so rude to him.Even Arthur was obliged to show respect to him. How dared a youngster like Bryce come to his office and point fingers at him?Abraham was shaking in anger. He took his phone up and called Quirina.He asked, "Dracowaist Village. Motel. Mason Newman. You should know what happened, right?"Quirina immediately started panicking. She only forced herself to calm down after a while.She pretended to ask calmly, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."Abraham said irritatedly, "Stop playing games with me!"Quirina acted dumb and said, "I'm not!"Abraham told her directly, "Samantha's left hand was smashed, and her face was swollen from being beaten up. She's now even in the detention center. These all happened because of that Holly!"I know you care about Samantha and want to avenge her, but can't yo
Coupled with Quirina's foxy eyes, she seemed flirtatious and alluring whenever she looked at others. It was rather appealing to some middle-aged men.The door opened to a man in his 40s. He was dressed in dark blue casual wear and had a face mask on.The man walked in and took off his face mask. He was rather handsome, with a rectangular face shape and a clean-shaven chin.It was Ron Spencer—Quirina's lover, as well as the professional whom she was referring to.Quirina went closer to him and hugged his waist.She then said with a honeyed voice, "Bryce suspected that it was either me or Abraham. He went over to Abraham's company to threaten him a few days ago. Have you taken care of everything, darling?"Ron shut the door and gave her lips a quick peck. "You can count on me."Quirina asked, "When would Samantha be released, then? She had lived a pampered life since she was young. She got me so worried now that she has gotten detained.""Don't be anxious," Ron said as he coaxed
Quirina was startled and quickly hit the brakes. The screeching sound of the brakes hurt her ears. She had almost collided with the car.She was shocked to the point of crouching over the steering wheel. Her heart thumped loudly as she clutched her chest, breathing heavily.She was filled with shock and fear and, at the same time, bursting with anger, but the owner of the minivan didn't even show themselves. They were clearly unapologetic.Quirina was in a fit of anger. She winded the car window down and shouted at the minivan in front of her, "Do you know how to drive? Where are you rushing to? Go somewhere else if you want to die!"There was no reply from anyone in the minivan.Quirina was used to being pampered by others. How could she tolerate such humiliation, especially when it came from someone driving a minivan?How dare a minivan owner ignore her! She was beyond livid.Anyone could no longer maintain their rationality under a fit of rage.Quirina was overwhelmed by a
Quirina was lying half-naked by the trash can by the time she was discovered by someone. She looked like a frozen chicken with how deathly pale she looked. Her eyes were filled with despair.She was sent to the hospital and underwent an examination. She had a broken rib, numerous cuts and bruises on her body, and a mild concussion.She refused to let the doctor lodge a police report as she thought it was too embarrassing.Abraham went to visit her in the hospital after receiving the call. His face fell upon seeing her disheveled look. Anger rose within him."Call the police! They must catch those two bastards! I want to skin them alive!" he shouted in a fit of anger.Quirina shook her head as she pleaded tearfully, "Forget about it. I can't embarrass myself further. Things will be blown out of proportion if you lodge a police report. How would I show myself in public in the future?"She just had sex with Ron before all of this happened.When Quirina gave birth to Samantha, she e
Holly finished restoring the silk painting after a week. She then called Annie and asked her to get someone to retrieve it and send it to the museum where it would be exhibited later.She thought of how she would be able to see the painting she had restored in the future whenever she visited the museum. Holly's name would be listed under the restorer column, and the painting would be exhibited for generations. She felt rather honored.It was especially so when she thought about how she could bring her future children to the museum. She could tell them that their mother was the one who restored the painting. She felt a sense of achievement by that thought alone.Holly couldn't help but touch her flat belly when she thought of children. She had been trying to get pregnant for a while but to no avail.However, there was no point in rushing things, as she would be learning ceramic restoration under Trevor soon. It would be a long and challenging journey for her.…Holly asked Hayde
Holly replied, "You refused to let me meet people, and I can't even go on business trips. You're too overbearing. It'll suffocate me."I'm an individual that needs to work and have normal social interactions. I can't possibly center myself around you like how I used to."Bryce fell silent. He smiled faintly before replying, "I'm very open-minded. I didn't disallow you from being Trevor's mentee."That was because Trevor was already over 80 years old.Holly couldn't help but laugh. "Alright. You're handsome, so whatever you say goes."Bryce replied, "I've postponed my evening engagement, so I'll come pick you up later. Hurry and eat up."Holly hummed a reply before ending the call. She then went to the reception to foot the bill before returning to the room to continue eating.No sooner after she started eating, Bryce had sent her a WhatsApp message. There was no text, only a smiley face emoticon.He never was one to send emoticons. He rarely sent WhatsApp messages as he would c
Holly woke up early that morning. James drove her to Trevor's Pavilion, which was located in the antiques city.Trevor's Pavilion was an antique store operated by Trevor. It mainly dealt with porcelain, gold artifacts, and glassware, as well as calligraphies and paintings.Today was the day Trevor would officially take Holly in as his mentee. He was seated on a vintage parlor chair in his office.Upon meeting Holly, Trevor pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. It was his monetary gift for her.Holly was mildly surprised. She wasn't expecting him to give her a monetary gift even though he was taking her in as his mentee."Thank you, Mr. Habel," she thanked him before politely accepting it.The envelope was rather thick. She then placed it into her handbag before pulling out another envelope and handing it respectfully to Trevor.It was a credit card prepared by Bryce before she came over. The credit card contained one million dollars, and the password had been written on i
Sitting by Bryce's bed, Holly softly held his slender fingers as if such a move would keep him safe.She must have been exhausted or emotionally spent, as she soon fell asleep by the bed. She then suffered a nightmare, in which Bryce stood in front of her, covered in blood from head to toe. Forcing a smile, he said to her, "Holly, I can't stay by your side anymore. You need to take care of yourself and be strong."After that, he turned into wisps of smoke and vanished right in front of her eyes. She frantically reached out to hold him, but she was clawing at the air.She waved her hands madly to take hold of him and run after him. Her voice was hoarse from all the yelling. "Bryce! Bryce Gabelman!"Her shouting was futile. Jolting awake, she gasped for air. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, and her eyes were wet from crying.She noticed that she was lying in the caregiver's bed. Someone—perhaps Bryce—had carried her to the bed.Bryce managed to get out of bed and lay by her
"You're injured. Don't stay on the floor—it's cold. Get up now!" Holly cautiously pulled Bryce up from the ground.He was speechless at her response. Any other woman would have happily accepted the ring and put it on.Perhaps, the woman he loved was different from the others.Going on one knee, Bryce refused to get up. He tenderly stared at Holly. "I'll get up after you agree to remarry me.""Get up now, and I'll agree to it."Defeated, he stood up, held her hand, and tried to put the ring on her finger when he was overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness. He lost his balance and collapsed forward onto her.Holly quickly held him and asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"Bryce's lips parted. He wanted to reassure her that he was fine, but he couldn't utter a word. Soon after, his fingers that grasped the ring went numb. The large diamond ring dropped to the ground, spinning and clattering until it came to a stop.Panicking, Holly patted his cheek. "What's going on?"However, Bryce didn't
Looking at the man in Holly's embrace, Abelin turned his attention back to his phone. He asked inquisitively, "Who are you?"The person on the other end of the line was filled with anger. "I'm Bryce. I called her phone, but it was switched off."Abelin replied honestly, "She lost her phone.""Where is she right now?" Bryce questioned indifferently.After Abelin told him the villa's address, Bryce hung up.Abelin once again glanced at his phone before looking toward the dazed-looking Holly. "Holly, I think this man might not be Bryce."Holly shook her head. "You don't need to comfort me.""I just got a call from Bryce. He's on his way here."Holly thought he was lying and refused to believe him. When Abelin wanted to pull her away from the corpse, Holly got triggered and pushed him away. "Don't touch him! He'll be in pain!"Seeing Holly in such a dazed and abnormal state, Abelin felt a sense of pity for her.A tall figure emerged from the door about 45 minutes later. He was we
Abelin wanted to follow through with the protocol, but Holly refused.Realizing they weren't locals, the police decided to let them be. Thus, Abelin sent Holly and the corpse back to a villa their family seldom stayed in.Upon arriving at the villa, Holly did nothing but hold onto the bloodied man dazedly. Her heart felt heavy and chaotic. She was filled with regret and self-blame.Did she regret breaking up with him? The answer was no. Instead, she regretted not being firm enough with her decision. If she had been more resolute and didn't give him any hope of reconciling, he wouldn't have flown to Calria to find her. Correspondingly, he wouldn't have gotten into a car accident and died.Death was such a dreadful word. Bryce was gone, forever disappearing from this world. Holly would never hear his voice or see his smile and face. It was all gone.She would never see him again. She would rather he had lived, no matter who he ended up with in the future. She just wanted him to
The driver pressed the pedal, made a U-turn, and accelerated. When Holly arrived at the address Tobin sent, she saw two deformed cars at the crash scene. However, she didn't find anyone there.Holly's heart skipped a beat. She could only call Tobin repeatedly. However, the call didn't go through.Bryce and the others didn't own a car, only renting one after they got off the plane. Thus, Holly didn't know which car belonged to them.The driver continued driving a bit further until they came upon a collision between a car and a truck. The car's front end was completely obliterated. The driver was cut in half at the waist, and the person in the back seat was so badly mangled that his face was unrecognizable.A loud roar echoed in Holly's mind as it went blank. Her gaze fell on the man's blood-soaked suit. This was the deep-colored suit that Bryce always wore. The man had long legs. The wrist that was hanging out of the car wore a Patek Philippe Celestial watch.Holly remembered the
The moment Bryce reached Calria and got off the plane, he received a call from an unknown number. He took the call with furrowed eyebrows. "Hello. Who are you?"Zenia fumed. "I'm Zenia. Holly and Abelin's wedding is today. Your woman snatched away the man I loved!" She hung up the call after that.Bryce didn't believe her. He tapped into his messages, and several wedding photos came into view. Although the images were not high resolution, one could at least make out the newlywed's features.The groom wearing a suit had striking facial features, and Bryce recognized him as Abelin. Meanwhile, the woman was dressed in a fitted floor-length gown and wore a white veil. Under the thin veil, Bryce could make out her defined features. The woman was none other than Holly.Bryce felt like he had been struck by lightning. His mind went blank, and the hand holding the phone turned cold.He could feel his heart sinking and his blood going cold. Instantly, he felt he got toyed and betrayed
Michelle was gravely ill, with her vision and hearing failing. Thus, they should be able to deceive her.While Abelin let out a sigh of relief, Merope threw daggers at him. She couldn't believe he was stupid enough to let go of such a good opportunity. She wondered why someone as smart as her would have such a dumb son.As it was almost time for the wedding ceremony, Merope wheeled the sickly Michelle out. Michelle's complexion seemed better than a few days back, perhaps due to the joyful event or the effects of terminal lucidity. Her dull eyes were shining when she saw Abelin and the fake bride on the red carpet.Michelle pursed her lips and asked Merope, "Is he really getting married to Holly?"Merope replied unwillingly, "Yes.""Bring me over to have a look," Michelle ordered. When Merope wheeled her over to the fake bride, Michelle took her reading glasses from her pocket with trembling hands.Abelin held his breath as Michelle eyed the fake bride up and down. He was fear
Merope pleaded earnestly, "Abel, your grandmother is on her last breath. Please try to fulfill her last wish for her."Abelin didn't seem to reject this plan as much as before. "Wedding arrangements are already in place, and I've notified a couple of cousins. I'll try to make the entire wedding as genuine as possible."Merope was overjoyed. "Why did you suddenly change your mind? Is Holly the bride?""No. I found a woman who looks quite similar to her. Grandma is old and has blurry eyesight. I doubt she'll recognize her."Merope rebuked, "Your grandma isn't blind!""Well, that's all." Abelin then hung up the call.…Three days later, many relatives gathered at the Gabelman residence. The brightly decorated courtyard was filled with people. Abelin hired a professional wedding team in advance, making sure the officiant, red carpet, circular arch, fresh flowers, and bridal bouquet were all in place. A professional violin team was also playing the wedding march.Although it was a
Abelin called Priscilla's bodyguards, and they arrived at the Calria police station together.The bodies were stored in the morgue. Since they weren't Calrians, the police couldn't find any information on them or confirm their identities.However, they were sure that the two bodies had something to do with Priscilla because one of the bodyguards left a long scratch mark on one of the culprit's arms. At that moment, the mark was rotten due to being submerged in the water. The skin was peeling, and it was a horrifying sight.Clearly, the person behind the culprits was worried they might get caught and expose their employer's identity. So, someone was sent to silence them right away. It was easy for someone like them to kill a person.After giving a statement, the police told Abelin that they were going to do an autopsy on the bodies. Once they had news, they would call him again.After coming out of the police station, Abelin got into his car and called Bryce. "The two guys who hu