In the end, she let go.She slowly turned, leaning against the door.She would rather wait, as if time would make the truth hurt less.The pain would grow less sharp.She hadn't slept all night. Despite her heavy head and the throbbing ache in her temples, she wasn't tired. She was too tense for that.James saw that she was as pale as a sheet and that her eyes were bloodshot. In a low voice, he said, "Do you want to sleep in the room next door?"Holly shook her head lightly. "There's no need.""Should I wake him up?"Holly glanced at her watch. It was already past 6:00 am. In another hour or more, Bryce would walk out.If Samantha were in the room too, she would be following him out.She'd rather see them clothed, anyway."No," she said resolutely.James dared not disobey her.This was a trying time. He couldn't message Bryce to let him know they were there.Bryce wasn't someone he could go against. On the other hand, despite Holly's gentle demeanor, she had a lot of pers
Holly still wasn't convinced. She looked through all the rooms once more.Bryce could guess what she was thinking. Stopping her would only deepen the misunderstanding, so he let her be.He watched her from behind with a hand in his pocket.She was never one to rush through her tasks, but today, she bolted around the suite like a headless chicken.As he watched, a mix of emotions swam in his chest. It ached pretty considerably.When Holly finally stopped, Bryce went to her side and asked softly, "Who are you looking for?"Since Holly hadn't had a proper night's sleep, her reflexes weren't as sharp.She wasn't planning on hiding it. So, she said bluntly, "Samantha."Bryce smiled in exasperation. "Do you think that I slept with her last night?""Yes."Bryce was amused. "If I still had feelings for her, I would have divorced you to marry her. Why would I go through all the effort to sleep with her in Haryndale?"Holly watched him quietly. "But when I called you at around 10:00 p
Bryce's words were harsh even toward himself.Samantha bit down on her lip, seemingly holding back from speaking. She looked like she was suppressing her grievance.Bryce couldn't care less about her and mercilessly said, "I lost my appetite with you sitting here. I'll call the bodyguards to kick you out if you're still not leaving."Samantha couldn't take it anymore. She took her plate and walked off.No further from them, Arthur walked in with his assistant, Henry Denver. Arthur sat by the window while Henry went to get food for him.Samantha's eyes lit up when she saw Arthur. She hurriedly walked toward him and placed her plate down. She sat opposite him with her head hung low, looking pitiful.Arthur saw the tears in her eyes and handed her a tissue. His usually stern demeanor appeared soft when he said, "Wipe your tears."Samantha took it and wiped her tears as she quietly wept.She looked naturally pitiful, with teary eyes and cherry lips. Her delicate features made her l
Holly fast-forwarded the surveillance video. She looped it thrice before finally clicking it shut, smiling in relief as she placed her phone down.It was fortunate that she had rushed over overnight. The misunderstanding would have escalated otherwise.She recalled Samantha's aggressively provocative behavior last night and found it repulsing.Holly felt relieved with the burden finally lifted from her. She then took a shower in the bathroom before going to sleep.…Bryce ended his meeting three hours later. Just as he was about to leave the expo, he sent Samantha a message. "See you at the basement parking lot."Samantha was shocked when she received his message. It had been too long since Bryce last took the initiative to message her.She felt nervous wondering what he wanted from her, but at the same time, she felt hopeful.Women in love often enjoyed harboring fantasies toward their beloved. They couldn't help but go back to them as long as their loved ones beckoned, no mat
"That's me being lenient," Bryce said casually before flicking away nonexistent dust from his sleeves. The flair of his action failed to hide his disdain.Samantha felt as if she had fallen from heaven to hell in the blink of an eye. She took a long time to process such a huge change.She felt so much resentment while cupping her cheeks, yet she feigned ignorance as she said, "Why did you slap me, Bryce? What exactly did I do wrong?"She started feeling aggrieved the more she spoke. Tears pooled around her eyes once again."You knew what you did last night. You won't be only getting a slap if this happens again," Bryce said before turning around indifferently.He then opened the car door and settled into the seat. James and Tobin appeared soon after and got into the car.James started the car. The car's exhaust fumes streamed mercilessly onto Samantha's calves before the vehicle sped away. Samantha was left standing there, looking grimy and disheveled.After closing the car
Samantha chose to mention what benefitted her and left out the rest. She omitted the part where she answered Bryce's call without his permission and deliberately lied to Holly to create a misunderstanding.Arthur felt sorry upon seeing her aggrieved look. He looked down to study her face.Half of her face was swollen with a clear imprint of Bryce's hand. It was evident how hard Bryce had struck her.A flash of anger crossed Arthur's face.Samantha said tearfully, "My ear is ringing, and I couldn't hear you properly. I wonder if my hearing would be affected. I'll have to go get it checked in the hospital later."Arthur erupted in anger instantly. Someone as careful with his image as him now had his sleeves bunched up and his hands planted on his waist. He exclaimed in anger, "That little rascal has gone too far! How dare he slap you over such a trivial matter? I'll have to teach him a lesson!"He picked his phone up to call Bryce but was stopped by Samantha.She took his phone
The word "divorce" hit Arthur like a bolt from the blue. He was stunned at once.He had long honed the ability to remain unruffled either by honor or disgrace after years of being in the business field. However, he was panicking deep down at that moment.Despite this, his expression remained sharp. He snapped, "What kind of joke are you playing at, Sherry?"Sherry coldly smiled as she replied, "I'm not joking. I'm informing you in all seriousness."Arthur was in disbelief. "We've been married for so long. Even our son has been married for three years, and now you're asking for a divorce? All just because of such a small thing that happened today? "I accidentally spilled kombucha on Samantha. Isn't it only natural for me to help her clean up?"Upon hearing her name, Samantha quickly got up from the couch. She pursed her lips habitually and said in an aggrieved manner, "You've misunderstood us, Aunt Sherry."Sherry detested her pitiful appearance the most. Samantha was clearly at
Sherry's lips curled into a smile as she patted Holly's shoulders.She then praised, "My lovely daughter-in-law is becoming more beautiful every day."Holly felt shy from all the praise and replied, "You're the beautiful one here, Mom. Your complexion is getting healthier, and you're looking younger day by day."Sherry burst out laughing. "Look at what we're saying now!"Holly smiled and said, "I'm just telling the truth. With how energetic you are, people would even think you're in your 30s, Mom."Sherry had a wide smile as she said, "Even though it sounds a bit exaggerated, I like what you're saying."She then walked over to sit on the couch and placed her handbag on the coffee table. "Where's Bryce?"Bryce was currently working on his laptop in the bedroom. He walked out upon hearing the commotion.He then asked, "How did things go?"Sherry shrugged and replied, "It's exactly as you predicted. Samantha was crying when I walked in, she probably had been complaining to your d
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