"I figured. What a tiger you are! Appearance-wise, you're just a shy little puppy. But damn! You're actually a tiger in disguise. I mean, dynamite?"Holly raised an eyebrow. "Are you disappointed?""No. My Holly's incredible. She can restore ancient paintings and ceramics and blow things up with dynamite."Holly corrected him, "We're already divorced. I'm not yours anymore.""I don't care. You're mine," Bryce said in a low, bossy tone.His possessiveness was like a stab to Holly's heart.Her chest ached slightly. She was feeling a mixture of emotions.This man was dangerous. He was too charming for his own good.It was no wonder that Samantha just had to marry him. Penelope was into him, too.Holly thought of the adoring look Penelope had when she looked at Bryce.Holly felt uncomfortable. She really wanted to have him back, but she was afraid of infuriating Arthur.She had to take her time. She had to work hard and make herself worthy of him.Love would have to sit on the
The program required Holly to put on makeup and wear the clothes provided.She sat in the dressing room. After the makeup artist applied foundation all over her face, she began doing her eye makeup.The makeup artist held the brush in her hand and said, "Ms. Sinclair, you're really young and pretty. You don't look like you have much on the male professionals out there. Is it okay if I make you look older?"She was basically calling Holly eye candy.Holly could sense what she was getting at. She smiled. "There's no need. You can just put light makeup on. We don't rely on our looks in this industry."The makeup artist put some mascara and some light lipstick on her, and Holly went on stage.She usually wore clean, practical clothing.To fit the program, she wore a maroon sleeveless dress made of tulle. It revealed her delicate collarbones and her slender arms.Her skin was porcelain white. The maroon of her dress only accentuated that.Her delicate features were elegant and beau
There was nothing to be shocked about.After the filming, Holly wanted to go back to the dressing room to change her outfit.On the way there, Abelin called out to her.He handed her a bottle of water. He looked at her tenderly and praised, "You did really well today. You were confident even though it was your first time on camera."Holly smiled, taking the water. "When I was really young, my grandfather would bring me out to museums. I've seen a lot of influential people. There's nothing to be scared about."Abelin smiled lightly. "That's amazing.""It's nothing much," Holly said, returning the smile."Why did you divorce him?" Abelin asked, lowering his voice.This was what he was dying to know.The smile on Holly's face froze. Her shining eyes dimmed instantly, losing their spark.Abelin's heart ached to see her like that. He wished he could wipe away the hurt in her eyes.He said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."Holly didn't like opening up to people
Holly squirmed her way out of Bryce's grip. "I need to change out of my clothes in the dressing room."Bryce looked at her softly. "Alright. I'll wait for you.""You don't have to. You can go to work. I drove here."Bryce pursed his lips, saying nothing.Holly put the flowers and the juice into his hands. She took his coat off and put it on his arm.It was summertime. The coat was hot.It was just a sleeveless dress. All it did was expose her shoulders and collarbones. Everyone was wearing the same thing.She didn't know what he was being so jealous about.She went into the dressing room and walked in.The makeup artist greeted her and helped her with her hair.Holly took off one of her earrings and put them on the dresser.The makeup artist looked at Holly in the mirror and said, "You're so pretty. It's such a pity that you're not an actress."Holly took out her other earring and smiled. "An actress needs to be able to act and carry herself well. I'm not good at that. It's
Bryce smiled and ruffled Holly's hair before saying, "That's alright. We'll remarry soon."It was as if repeating those words would surely make it come true for good.Holly's heart ached, and she resisted the urge to hug him. They were both adults and shouldn't treat their divorce as a child's play. Lingering affections were too hard to deal with, after all.…They arrived at Jardington Hotel 40 minutes later. Both of them took the elevator to Moonlit Restaurant on the third floor.Bryce's phone suddenly rang when they were at the entrance.He took out his phone to check and told Holly, "You can head in first. I'll pick up the call. It's about work."Holly nodded and opened the door. She was surprised to find quite a number of people in the room. Arthur, Brandon, Penelope, Caleb, and several assistants were seated around the table.Holly had thought she would be having a meal with only Bryce. She never expected this many people to be present as well.She stood awkwardly in p
Arthur's expression darkened even more when he heard Holly's laughter.Penelope, who was sitting near Arthur, wasn't privy to the full story. She saw the way Holly was intently staring at the glass bottle in Arthur's left hand.Curious, she asked, "Is the bottle you're holding made of crystal, Uncle Arthur? Is it very valuable? I heard crystal bottles from the 4th century BC were unearthed a few years ago. They looked similar to the one you have in your hand."Arthur hummed unhappily. Despite his emotionless façade, he was feeling angry deep down. He wasn't holding onto the glass bottle—he just couldn't get it off.He was someone who cared a lot about his reputation, yet he had been completely humiliated by an inexperienced young woman. People had been asking about it no matter where he went.Soon, Bryce opened the door and walked in. Arthur looked at him and jutted his chin toward the empty seat beside him. "Come and sit here, Bryce."Penelope was sitting beside that empty sea
Arthur served a bowl of consommé to Penelope.He then started praising her, "Penelope is the outstanding one here. I heard that she was a top student back in university—proficient in finance and experienced in the real estate industry. She would be a powerful ally beside Bryce."Holly felt disgusted upon hearing those words. She stood up and told Bryce, "I'm heading to the bathroom."Bryce nodded and replied, "Come back soon."Holly hummed softly and got up to leave. Once she was out, she asked a waitstaff for the location of the bathroom. She went inside one of the stalls and came out to wash her hands after she was done.Holly fixed her hair in front of her mirror, feeling rather irritable. She couldn't bear leaving Bryce, but she felt uncomfortable with Arthur's constant provocation.Suddenly, she heard some noise coming from the outside. It sounded like a wooden stick tapping on the floor, approaching her.Holly paid no heed and turned to leave. She soon bumped into a delica
It was a huge bowl of consommé. Even if it had slightly cooled down, it was still hot enough to burn Samantha's face.Samantha was drenched in oily soup. There were slices of mushrooms hanging on the neckline of her expensive silk blouse, and her exquisitely styled hair was littered with assorted garnishes.Her mascara and eyeshadow melted from the consommé, smudging into dark circles around her eyes. Her lipstick had also melted, turning her once cherry lips into a blood-red mess.Samantha's beauty was suddenly ruined by a bowl of consommé. She looked beyond disheveled.Caleb couldn't help but burst out laughing from the side.His laughter angered Samantha even more, and her eyes turned red with fury. Her rationality vanished as anger consumed her, giving way to impulsiveness.She swatted the mushrooms away from her neckline and shook off the hodgepodge on her head. She couldn't be bothered to cry as she picked up her crutch from the side and started hitting Penelope with it."
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