Samantha's gaze lit up with renewed hope when she heard Levi's words. But she recalled the way Bryce had been giving her the cold shoulder for the past few days.She said dejectedly, "I've lost all confidence since Bryce hates me now."Levi dug his phone out and started typing: "Give him a taste test."Samantha stared at the words in his phone, puzzled. She looked up and asked, "Can you just be straightforward and tell me what you're trying to say, Levi?"Levi smiled intriguingly and replied, "Give him a taste of yourself, and he'll get hooked on you. How naive of you not to understand such simple truths."Samantha widened her eyes as she looked at him in disbelief, asking, "You're telling me to sleep with Bryce?"Levi hurriedly pressed his finger against her lips and whispered, "Keep your voice down."He looked around and was relieved to find everyone still focused on Bryce and Holly on the stage.Levi scooted close and whispered to Samantha, "Trust me on this. You'll definite
Bryce had similar reactions whenever he got drunk in the past. As such, he wrote it off as consuming too much alcohol and soft drinks at the same time.He lowered his hand under the table and pinched his thigh hard to sober himself up.Bryce then turned around and instructed Tobin, "Head downstairs and get me a room. I'll get some rest and sober up before heading home."He would've had to wake Holly up if he were to head back drunk. She would even have to take care of him.More importantly, he would become extremely clingy and horny when he was drunk. He couldn't do that to her now that she was pregnant.Tobin replied, "Alright, Mr. Gabelman."He then helped Bryce to his feet and informed the crowd of their departure before taking the elevator downstairs.…After the room was ready, Bryce took off his shoes and lay on the bed.Tobin got him some warm water and placed it on the bedside table. He then said, "I'll head upstairs now, Mr. Gabelman. Just call me if you need anything
Bryce recoiled from her touch and shook her hand off. His aversion toward Samantha remained unchanged despite being intoxicated and delirious. He opened the door and pushed her out indifferently. Everything went quiet at once.Bryce tightly gripped the door handle as his body continued to burn up. There was an intense itch beneath his skin, and his blood vessels felt as if they were about to explode.He slowly made his way to the bathroom and turned the tap on. He then splashed his face with cold water to lower his body temperature.The doorbell rang again after what seemed like a long time. Bryce walked out and opened the door while thinking that it was Samantha again. He shouted without even looking at the person. "Leave!"Tobin was stunned before saying, "It's me, Mr. Gabelman. I'm here to take you to the hospital."Bryce felt relieved and let go of his hand when he heard that it was Tobin. He then let Tobin help him into the elevator.Samantha was hiding in a corner of th
The person Levi had hired was efficient. The news of Bryce's affair was spreading everywhere on the Internet like wildfire within an hour.It was especially so on X. It didn't take long for the topic to be trending after spending some money to buy a spot on the trending chart and getting some marketing accounts to help spread it.The netizens were most interested in the rich's melodrama. They were extremely excited to dig up more detailed news everywhere.Even though the eyes of the involved parties were censored, it wasn't enough to deter the eagle-eyed netizens. Soon enough, someone managed to dig out photos of Samantha and Holly.It was easier to find Samantha's photos as she was verified on X and loved to be in the limelight. A bunch of her photos showed up as soon as her name was searched.Holly was more low profile. It took the netizens some effort to find her photos. It was a commemorative photo taken together with the other veteran experts when she helped restore Stanley W
Holly's heart was beating erratically, and her hand that was holding onto her phone was trembling slightly. She found it difficult to breathe as if she was being strangled.Never had she thought that she would one day become the protagonist of such melodramatic news—and it was even one about two women vying for a man!The more she thought about it, the more she felt heartbroken. Just two hours ago, she even thought she was the happiest woman in the world. She didn't expect reality to hit her hard so soon.Holly finally managed to calm down after a long while. She took in a deep breath before picking her phone up to call Bryce again. She couldn't accept it until she got an explanation from him.After the call was connected, Tobin replied apologetically, "Mr. Gabelman really can't take your call now, Mrs. Gabelman. Is it okay if I get him to call you back later?"Bryce was currently undergoing gastric lavage in the hospital ward. It was an uncomfortable procedure. As such, he couldn
Holly felt a bitter pang in her heart. She slowly reached over to caress Bryce's pale cheek, asking, "Why didn't you let Tobin be honest with me?"Bryce held onto her cold fingers and said, "I don't want you to worry. I'll be able to go home after some rest."Holly said, "I'll be even more worried if you don't tell me anything."Bryce took her hand over and kissed it. "You're sensitive when you're pregnant, so you can't be stressed. I didn't expect that someone would secretly take photos and blow things out of proportion."Holly fell silent. She then asked, "Why did Samantha enter your room?"Disgust flashed in Bryce's eyes as he replied, "She's crazy. I kicked her out within the two minutes she's in."Holly asked, "Who spiked your drinks?"Bryce's gaze darkened. "I've already got Tobin to arrange for someone to check the hotel's surveillance cameras. No matter who plotted against me, it's definitely linked to Samantha."Holly was hit with a strong wave of disgust. She never ex
Bryce's gaze hardened as he blurted out, "I would kill the man!"Holly replied, "Now you know how I felt."She had been heartbroken when she saw the scandalous news out of nowhere.Bryce saw how gloomy Holly looked. He reached over to place his hand behind her neck and pulled her close, resting her forehead against his.He then whispered, "I'm lucky to have someone like you who cares so much about me."Holly was stunned. The way he said it made her feel as if he had loved her too humbly when she should've been the humble one instead."You should get some sleep," Holly said before gently pushing Bryce away and tucking him in.However, he couldn't fall asleep as there were still chemical residues lingering in his body. It would take at least a few days to fully flush them out.His mind was unusually alert despite feeling exhausted, especially with Holly sitting beside him. He couldn't resist her alluring scent, and his already feverish body felt even more heated up.Bryce strugg
Holly found herself in Bryce's embrace when she woke up early the next morning. Her head was resting on his arm.There were two beds in the VIP ward. They had been each sleeping on their own bed last night.Holly rubbed her eyes and looked up at Bryce. "How did you end up on my bed?"Bryce replied, "I was worried that you might roll off while sleeping and hurt our baby, so I stayed to protect you."Holly laughed and caressed his chin, asking, "Are you feeling better today?"Bryce replied, "Yes. I feel much better now."Both of them helped each other up from the bed. Bryce was worried because of Holly's pregnancy, while Holly was worried about Bryce's weakened body.Holly burst out laughing and said, "We were only in our 20s, but we're acting like an elderly couple now!"Bryce smiled faintly and said, "I should die before you in the future.""Why?"Bryce pulled her into his embrace and replied, "I'll miss you if you die before me."Holly laughed before caressing his lips, say
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