It was Priscilla's voice. Her booming voice, which was polished from her long teaching career, was distinctive and distinguishable.Surprised, Holly hurriedly pushed Bryce away. Yet Bryce remained composed, his arm still wrapped around her waist.He turned to look at Priscilla and smiled gracefully, greeting, "Good evening, Priscilla."Priscilla was covered in sweat as she had just returned from line dancing.She eyed Bryce and coldly said, "Stop taking advantage of Holly when you both have already divorced."Despite her harsh words, Priscilla was actually admiring Bryce's handsome face in her heart.Bryce let go of Holly but continued to hold her hand. Dappled shadows of the leaves reflected upon his face, dimming and brightening intermittently.He smiled chivalrously and replied, "You misunderstood us, Priscilla. I'm currently in a relationship with Holly."Priscilla burst out laughing. She looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.Holly was embarrassed. She
After getting her flight ticket sorted, Holly boarded the plane. She headed toward Isola with her painting materials. She was accompanied by Leitia and a bodyguard.The three of them landed at Isola Airport three hours later. They then took a cab and headed toward Isola Museum.Just as they stepped into the cab, a tall figure took another cab and trailed them from behind.The man had tanned skin and a ruggedly handsome look with a crew cut. It was Abelin.Abelin's phone rang shortly after the car departed. He accepted the call, and a soft yet confident female voice sounded, "I heard you flew to Isola."He said, "You've planted quite a lot of spies around me."The woman asked, "Do you really like her that much?" Abelin hummed a reply."She's a married woman, and it was even to that family. You should just return if you keep being stubborn like this."Abelin paused before replying, "She's now divorced." The woman fell silent.After a while, she said, "You still can't go af
Holly was completely absorbed in her observation for the entire morning. She remained motionless the entire time.She had to rely on her memory since photography wasn't allowed in the museum, and the HD photos online might have color discrepancies. It drained her mentally with the amount of details to note.Beside her, Leitia found it puzzling for Holly to be tirelessly looking at a painting. Wasn't it just a painting?In any case, Leitia found herself restless after watching for so long. She didn't know what was so special about the painting and only found the mountain to be big and sturdy—much more imposing than the ones back in her hometown. Other than that, nothing else was remarkable. Yet Holly remained engrossed in her admiration. Abelin watched her from afar the entire time she stood before "The Traveler". He had a gentle gaze as he watched over her, feeling content.The museum was quiet and serene on a Wednesday. There was a heavy sense of loneliness among the historica
Holly took the bottle over without a second thought. She drank a mouthful before passing the bottle back to Leitia.Abelin asked, "Are you heading back to the hotel? Have you booked it in advance?"Before Holly could reply, Leitia took out an electric fan and interrupted, "Are you feeling hot, Mrs. Gabelman? Let me cool you down."She then turned the electric fan on and directed it toward Holly's face, making her hair fly everywhere.Holly held her hair down and amusedly smiled. "I'm not feeling hot, Mrs. Locke."Leitia replied seriously, "No, you're feeling hot."Holly couldn't win against her, so she let Leitia cool her off with the electric fan. She and Abelin had nothing else to say after Leitia's interruption.They stood in silence before an empty cab drove over. The bodyguards hurriedly called it over.Holly and Abelin ushered each other in politely before getting into the car.…Once they returned to the hotel, Holly had lunch with Leitia and the others. She then too
Holly felt her heart flutter slightly. She didn't know what to say for a moment.Bryce pressed his lips against hers and kissed her in a familiar manner. Suddenly, he bent down to pick her up, kicking the door shut before walking into the room.Holly was instantly swept off her feet. She softly called out, "Put me down!""Wait." Bryce carried her over to the bed and placed her down. His action was gentle, as if he were placing a giant doll down. He leaned down slightly and looked into her eyes, asking, "Did you miss me?"Holly paused before nodding. She had missed him dearly earlier.The longing didn't start just now. Ever since they divorced, she yearned for a warm embrace whenever she woke up from nightmares.Several times, Holly woke up in the night and went to find Priscilla for a hug. But she couldn't feel the sense of security, no matter how much Priscilla had hugged her.Only then did she realize that some people were irreplaceable.Bryce's eyes glinted when he got Holly
Despite Holly's poised and mature demeanor during the day—acting like she was 83 years old when she was just 23—she was rather adorable when she was asleep.At the very least, it looked that way to Bryce. He always thought she looked like she needed love and affection from others.Bryce stared at her closed eyes. He then spoke in a low tone with a hint of threat, "You shouldn't cry out for Abel in your dreams anymore, or else I'll leave you to fend for yourself."Despite his harsh words, he felt softhearted deep down. If he really wanted to leave Holly alone, he wouldn't have flown all the way over in the middle of the night just because he missed her.Bryce leaned down to kiss Holly's lips and rested his forehead against hers for a while. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.Holly slept well that night.…Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing Holly saw was a handsome and unblemished face.Her mind was still groggy from sleep. She only recalled how Bryce had flow
Brandon's expression turned into one of disbelief when he heard Holly. "Really? Did you really capture its essence?"She replied, "Yes! I was almost moved to tears when I looked at it. It was my first time feeling that way after almost 20 years of painting."Holly had always been a modest person. She was never one to boast about herself, but today was an exception. It was more of an honest expression of her feelings than self-praise.Brandon's voice broke out in excitement, "Hurry and bring your painting over! Let me see it!"Holly replied, "I haven't gotten it framed yet."Brandon anxiously said, "There's no need. Just show me the painting. If I end up liking it, you don't have to worry about framing and such."Holly said, "Alright. Where should we meet?"Brandon replied, "Just come over to my house. I'll send the address to your WhatsApp.""I'll be there in an hour."After ending the call, Holly washed up, got dressed, and hastily ate. She then rolled up the painting and got
Brandon was met with Penelope, who had just returned from outside. Penelope tossed her handbag onto the couch and eyed Brandon.Seeing his odd expression, she couldn't help but ask, "What's with you today, Dad? You seem rather excited."Brandon reached out to rub his eyes and replied, "Holly's painting is surprisingly good! I'm getting her a check for the remaining payment."Penelope felt uncomfortable hearing him praise someone else effortlessly.She frowned and said in a rather confrontational tone, "It's just a painting. How good can it be?""It's unexpectedly good! You laymen wouldn't understand," Brandon casually replied before opening his bag and pulling out his checkbook.He picked up a pen and was about to sign it when Penelope snatched the pen away from him.She glanced over to the study before whispering, "Are you stupid, Dad? She's Bryce's ex-wife. Why are you enabling her?"The more outstanding Holly was, the dimmer Penelope's limelight would become. She didn't wa
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