Arthur rubbed his arm, which was hurting from all the beating. He then leisurely replied, "They divorced long ago, and Holly was the one who asked for it. So, you shouldn't worry too much about it."Olivia was stunned. Her gaze turned sad, regretful, and heartbroken at once. She looked lost and bewildered. It took her a while to regain herself.She planted a hand on her hips and glared at Arthur. "Surely, you were the one who forced Holly to get the divorce!"Arthur replied sarcastically, "Oh, it wasn't me this time. She was the one who came and asked for a billion dollars in exchange for leaving. You didn't see just how happy she had looked."Olivia paused, seemingly in disbelief. Despite this, she insisted, "With a wicked father-in-law like you, I'd take the one billion dollars and leave, too!"Arthur scoffed and said, "I don't get you. She's clearly a vain and materialistic woman. Why would all of you be so protective of her?"Olivia's anger erupted once again as she shouted,
Samantha was sitting on the living room couch in the Cott residence.She was staring unblinkingly at Holly, who was appraising antiques on the TV. Her gaze gradually grew sinister, as if she were looking at an eyesore.Quirina brought a plate of sliced honeydew over to her side and placed it on the coffee table.She picked up the remote control to turn off the TV. "Stop watching it. You've been on it for the whole day. Are you hooked?"Samantha didn't respond to her. She sat unmoving with a darkened expression.Quirina used a fork to pick up a piece of honeydew and stuff it into Samantha's mouth. "Have some fruit."Samantha begrudgingly chewed on the fruit and said angrily, "How could a woman from some valley be better than me? Why is she on TV?"Quirina snorted and said, "Isn't it easy for you to get on TV? Get your dad to sponsor some shows and book you in if you want."Samantha said, "What fun would there be?"Quirina gave her a sideways glance and asked, "What do you want,
Bryce tentatively asked, "You didn't go online, right?"Holly shrugged and said, "Are you talking about the trending topic? I already know about it."Bryce paused before reaching out to ruffle her hair gently. He comforted, "Someone is just stirring up trouble with those scandals. Don't take it to heart. "I've already sent someone from the PR department to contact the relevant parties to remove the trending topics."Holly laughed and said, "There's no need for that. It's a free advertisement. Why waste money to delete them?"Bryce raised his brows. "Free advertisement?"Holly replied, "Yes. It's originally a rather average antique appraisal show with a small audience. Only those who are interested in antiques would watch it, so the rating was quite low."But now that it's the talk of the town, it has caught everyone's attention. The audience grew bigger, and the rating shot up." She continued, "I'm sure the TV station will invite me back for another episode soon. It's such a
Holly arrived at the TV station at the appointed time. She went to the program crew to plan the episode together with the director, screenwriter, producer, and other staff.She was there to draft out the show together, as this episode would be centered around her.Holly was merely a side character seated among elderly veteran experts during the previous episode. She was only there to brighten up the somber mood of the show.They didn't give her many scenes during the antique appraisal segment, and her lines were scarce. After all, she was too young and kept a low profile most of the time.But this episode would be centered around her. Holly was now the female protagonist of the show, and the initial veteran experts were now her side characters.It was all thanks to those trending topics that stirred up attention for three days straight. Even bad publicity was good publicity in this modern day and age.The previous episode focused primarily on antique appraisal, but the new episod
Holly expertly covered the crane-filled sky with a flat coating of cobalt blue. The roofs of the castle were meticulously lined, presenting a majestic painting of cranes soaring in the sky over the towering castle.The painting gave off a lively and meticulous impression. Not only did it capture the mysterious brilliance and grandeur of royalty, but it also embodied an ethereal and graceful charm.Finally, Holly meticulously dotted the eyes of each crane with raw lacquer. Their gazes were rolled back and lifelike.The entire painting was brought to life—vivid and full of depth. It could be called a masterpiece with how she expressed the essence of life within.After she was done, Holly placed her paintbrush down and turned around. She then smiled at the on-site audiences, who were gaping in awe.The entire studio fell silent instantly. Everyone was astonished by her painting speed and skills. She had produced a flawless painting within mere hours.Other individuals who could perf
The applause finally subsided after it went on for the longest time.That woman scoffed again. "What's so great about knowing how to replicate paintings? Anyone with some artistic foundation could easily do the same. "Try painting something on your own if you're so talented. You're only skilled if you can develop your own style of painting."Holly didn't know who the woman was, but she knew someone had to be pulling the strings behind the scenes.It didn't matter who was behind her. They were all side characters who would only serve as her stepping stones. It was ironic how they still thought they were the center of the world.Holly calmly smiled and addressed the woman, "Honestly, I find it easier to create my own artwork since I can just paint as I like."But when it comes to replication, you have to put yourself in the original painter's shoes. You need to understand his mindset, find out what he was trying to express, and grasp their style."She continued, "As for why I rep
After changing, Holly walked out of the dressing room and found herself surrounded by a crowd, asking for her autograph.It was the same group of younger audiences from earlier, consisting of males and females who were predominantly younger women.Holly might look unapproachable with her unprecedented beauty, but in reality, she was incredibly modest and down-to-earth.She was smiling as she took over the pen and gave each of them her autograph. Her arm hurt from signing for a lot of them, but she didn't complain about it.That was because these people truly adored Holly, and she wanted to repay them with her sincerity.She also willingly took photos with those who asked for them.Most of the younger women were still students. They were lively and adorable, and they generously showered Holly with praise."You're amazing, miss!""You looked so cool when you were painting earlier, miss!""How did you manage to paint so well, miss?""Do you think I could be as outstanding as you
At the same time, the pointed-face woman dejectedly left the TV station. She then got into a car parked by the roadside.Samantha, whose arm was in a cast, was sitting inside the car.The woman was Jennie Spencer. She was Samantha's high school classmate and Ron's daughter.Quirina and Ron had hit it off at Samantha and Jennie's PTA conference. They felt an instant connection the moment they laid their eyes on each other.Since then, they had started their shameless lives of colluding and having an affair with each other. It went on until Ron was jailed.Jennie dejectedly told Samantha, "That Sinclair woman is too cunning, Samantha! I raised two questions following our previous arrangement, but they were both deftly defused by her. She's really getting on my nerves!"Samantha was blowing her top off. She had spent close to one million dollars to buy up three days' worth of hot trends. She even paid so many influences to share scandals about Holly faking her work.She had put in
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