The perfect sheet of glass was now lying scattered on the floor in a thousand pieces.The worker was stunned.He extended an arm toward Arthur. "You need to pay for that!"Arthur was in anger and pain. He pointed at his leather shoes from Indalia and roared, "You need to pay for my shoes!""You crashed into me. Hurry up and pay for it. My client is waiting for Pete to install the glass. Now I have to go cut another sheet."Arthur scoffed and walked toward his car. His leg was in extreme pain. He hobbled as he walked.His stern features were now twisted in agony.When the driver saw him, he immediately got out of the car and escorted him in.The worker ran up after him and pulled on Arthur's sleeve. "Pay for the glass! You're dressed all fancy. How could you be such an ass?"Arthur was raised in a rich and noble family. He was treated like a prince from a young age.Everyone was polite to him. No one dared to so much as raise their voice at him.And yet, this worker was being
Did Abraham think Levi and Bryce were garbage men?However, the Gabelmans and the Cotts had been allies for years. Arthur couldn't straight up refuse him. "Quick, get into the house. We'll talk there."He pressed the doorbell. The maid opened the door.They all went in, sitting in the living room. Then, the maid poured them cups of water.Abraham drank his water. "Samantha is at the lowest point in her life. You have to figure out a way to help her."Arthur said unhappily, "Why?""The doctor said that a great surprise would excite her. She might return to normal after that. We need to stimulate her with serotonin."Arthur was stunned. "How is that possible?"Abraham narrowed his eyes. "You can ask the doctor yourself."Arthur could see through Abraham's intentions. The talk about serotonin was made up. Abraham was here for Bryce.Before this all happened, Arthur would have been willing to let Bryce marry Samantha.But now that Samantha had done the deed with Levi, even Arthu
Arthur trembled in anger. "How dare you say such disrespectful things? Samantha is like a daughter to me!""You shouldn't be offering other people your leftovers. Why should I take her if you won't?"With that, Bryce turned to leave.His footsteps were firm and decisive.Samantha stared blankly after his handsome silhouette, watching as he left the house.Her eyes gradually filled with tears.Abraham's heart broke when he saw Samantha cry.He quickly wiped her tears off with a piece of tissue. "Don't cry. A heartless man like that isn't worth your attention."She cried even harder. Her tears were like a river. Abraham couldn't wipe them all away.He was upset and angry. He turned and glared at Arthur. "You watched her grow up. Now, both your sons have destroyed her. We'll never let this go unless you fix this!"Arthur's red face grew even redder."Now you're being irrational, Abraham. I feel bad for Samantha, but you can't force love."Arthur was in a terrible mood.He was
Staring at the familiar string of numbers, Holly hesitated.She thought of Arthur.However, Bryce kept calling her.The fifth time he called, she picked up.Bryce said in a low magnetic voice, "I heard you're looking for a house."Holly was bewildered. "How did you know?"Bryce said mysteriously, "I have a third eye.""Quit joking around."Bryce said seriously, "I have an empty house in Winds Residences. It's already been renovated to your liking. I meant to give it to you as a birthday present. But since you need it now, I'll give it to you early."Holly was taken aback. She considered it, then said, "We're already divorced. I can't take anything from you anymore."Her words couldn't convey the emotions stirring in her heart.Bryce said, "It's in your name. It was bought with your identification."Holly remembered that Bryce had asked for her ID during springtime last year, on the day he could stand again.She hadn't thought much about it, so she gave it to him.She wo
Bryce smiled in exasperation. "Money destroys relationships."Holly said honestly, "I don't want to owe you anything.""Ex-spouses are still considered family. I have the right to be good to you."Holly burst out laughing. "'Ex-spouses'? Come on. Husbands and wives are family. Once the marriage is over, everything's gone."Bryce said in a deep voice, "I only want to be good to you."For whatever reason, Holly's throat felt clogged up.They said nothing.The door was ajar.Suddenly, the sound of familiar footsteps could be heard. They were coming closer and closer.Holly opened the door.She saw a tall, muscular silhouette coming up from the stairs.He was in a dark suit. With a gentlemanly air around him, he was a familiar, handsome sight.It could only be Bryce.Holly was stunned. Though she was happy, her heart was also in pain.She looked at him with a mixture of emotion. "Why are you here?""I was meeting up with some clients nearby. I just happened to pass by." Bryc
This was common in the business industry.One of the companies would provide the space, and the other would provide the resources necessary to flip the area and use it to earn money for the shareholders.What Caleb and Bryce had signed that night was an agreement for both companies to work together.When Bryce arrived, Brandon was already there.With him were Caleb and Penelope Zeller.Penelope was Caleb's twin sister. She was only a few minutes older than him.They looked nothing alike. They carried themselves differently, too.Caleb gave off the air of a flirt. He had a witty tongue. Although he looked snobbish on the surface, he was actually a really friendly person. He could build rapport with anyone.On the other hand, Penelope was like a manager. She had short hair and dressed herself professionally. She rarely smiled and was cold and standoffish.After sitting down, they exchanged a few pleasantries.The food was soon served.Bryce took out the report he had prepared
As Holly chatted with Abelin, she felt a cold glare coming her way.She looked in the direction of the glare and caught sight of Bryce.She was taken aback. On instinct, she explained, "A TV station has invited Zorro Auctioneers to host an antique appraisal show, and he wants me to be on it. I think it's a good opportunity…"Then, she trailed off.They were already divorced. Why was she saying all these things?Bryce said nothing, merely standing there coldly, watching her.Although his face was relatively expressionless, Holly knew that he was angry.She scrunched her nose slightly, feeling uncomfortable.Before, she would go up to him to hug him and comfort him. Then, everything would pass.But now, they were divorced. Things were trickier now.There was a creak. Someone pushed open the door behind Bryce.A short-haired woman dressed in a professional suit walked out. She was holding a black purse.She exuded a regal presence. However, she was smiling lightly. She looked
Bryce rolled his tongue and deleted the message.He gripped his phone hard. After standing there for two minutes, he left.When he got downstairs, he sat in his car sullenly, smoking cigarette after cigarette.After talking to the TV staff, Holly walked out of the main entrance and went into her car.Bryce snuffed out the cigarette and told Simon to follow her.They sent her home in secret. It was only then that the uneasy feeling in his stomach went away.By the time Bryce returned to Crescent Lane, it was almost midnight.He went into the yard instead of the house.A tall pear tree stood in a corner of the yard.Three years ago, Holly had planted this tree.The tree would grow flowers in the springtime. It was a beautiful tree.He went under it and stood there, looking at the small mound on the ground below the tree.This was where their child rested.That child was the defining moment of their relationship. It was his hope.He stood under the tree for a long time.The
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