"Instead of keeping the pain to yourself, why don't you tell me about it? Maybe I can help you find a solution as well." Zorro leaned over and looked into Merope's eyes with an encouraging gaze as he held her hands.Her eyes shook, and she felt touched for a moment. She wanted to get her revenge on Arthur so badly that she would even dream about killing him. She opened her mouth, but her words were stuck in her throat. She couldn't say anything.She would've her revenge if she killed Arthur. However, his sons would never let her go. She didn't mind since she was tired of living. But she had to think about Abelin. The revenge would never stop with her, and she didn't want to risk Abelin's life.Merope forced out a smile. "No, thanks." Zorro was slightly disappointed. He gently sighed and patted her shoulder. "After all these years, you still don't see me as your family." She looked a little guilty. "You're Abelin's only father. And he'll always be your son.""Abelin is a good
Abelin wanted to say it felt nice to have her worrying about him. Holly said, "I don't want any of it. I just don't want anything to happen to you. You have to stay safe." He secretly felt joy and was touched. It was blissful. Abelin smiled silently and said, "Bryce sure is a lucky man."Holly was stunned. Then, he added, "Tell me if he bullies you. I'll punish him for you."Holly felt her eyes tearing up. She grew up with her grandparents and never had any siblings. Ever since her dear Abel passed away, she didn't have many friends. However, Abelin made her feel like she had a brother. If it weren't for his looks, name, and different identity, she would've thought he was Abel."Take care," she said.…Upon returning to the Fox residence and getting out of the car, she saw a tall figure standing a few feet away. The man looked even more noble than usual as the moonlight shone on his dashing face. It was Bryce.He wore a neat-looking suit, and there were no wrinkles on
Hearing that the national committee had a task for her, Holly suddenly sat up straight and turned serious. "Please go on, Charles.""Well, there was a fire at a museum in Erendale a while ago, and a lot of the paintings were destroyed. Most of them were from our country, and the people there didn't know how to restore them. So, they've asked for our help. You should go."She became upset after hearing it was in Erendale. "They stole those paintings from us. Restoring them will only infuriate me. I'm not going. You should ask someone else."Charles chuckled. "You're being close-minded, aren't you, Holly? It's true that they've stolen those paintings. However, they are precious arts left by our ancestors. If we don't restore them, a piece of our history will be gone."Holly was still unwilling to do it. "My patience gets tested whenever I think about how they've greedily stolen from us.""We've negotiated with the museum. If we get someone to restore the paintings for them, they'll
"It's a proposal ring." Bryce grabbed the ring and wiped the frosting and saliva off it with a napkin. "I had this custom-made, and I just received it."When Holly heard that it was for a proposal, she fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't want to remarry him. It just wasn't time yet. Arthur despised her and didn't think highly of her at all. They would return to square one if they got married again at that moment.Bryce got down on one knee, ring in hand, and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Holly, will you marry me?" Holly frowned slightly, studying his handsome face. It wasn't that she wasn't moved. Instead, she simply thought too much.After thinking for a while, she said, "Let's talk about it next time. It's not the right time for that yet." Worried that he might lose her, Bryce just wanted to tie her to his side. "When's the right time?""When we have the blessings of your whole family."His heart sank a little, and he smiled coldly. Then, he got up from the ground. "My d
The origins of most of these paintings could be tracked easily.There was "Cottage of the West", painted by Daryn Talbott, one of the four greatest artists of the Monclair era. Then, there were Zenith Howard's creations, including "The Ten Bamboos", "Great Compendium of Life", and "Scroll of Injustice".Zenith was also a painter and a seal carver from the end of the Monclair Era, and "Scroll of Injustice" was one of the earliest scrolls recorded in history. King Gandall once treated it as his most cherished treasure, and there were his stamps of approval on it as well.During a war, these priceless treasures were violently snatched away by foreigners. They would burn those they couldn't take away, and it took them three days to destroy them all. It was an unbearable scene.They even managed to scam the locals and buy the fresco and linen painting used to hide the hidden passage at the Mongrux Cave of Duntall for a low price. Even though there was consent, the people couldn't hide
After a month of restoration, the scroll was finally restored. While Holly was restoring it, she asked the museum staff to build a special cabinet for it. The temperature and humidity inside the cabinet had to be controlled, and the lighting inside it couldn't be too bright.When "Scroll of Injustice" wasn't being displayed, it had to be kept in the cabinet.The damaged ancient scroll became as good as new after she had restored it. It would have no issue lasting for another century.After spending three months at the museum, the team finally completed their tasks. Holly managed to complete a third of the restoration by herself. As for the elderly experts, they restored two-thirds of the paintings together, despite having more than ten of them.Although Holly was the youngest on the team, her efficiency and restoration work were the best. She performed better than the rest of the team and was able to do more than the other team members combined.Looking at how the once-damaged pai
Holly returned to the hotel with the team of veteran experts.The next day, they received an invitation from the museum staff in the early morning. The queen of Erendale wanted to meet them. It wasn't that surprising. After all, they made a great contribution to Erendale Museum.If it weren't for them, the priceless treasures would've been destroyed forever, and the cost of the damage would've been unfathomable.Holly researched online to see what she had to watch out for when meeting the queen. After all, she would be representing her country. So, she couldn't humiliate herself with her words and actions. If she did, she would drag her country's reputation through the mud along with her own reputation.However, she couldn't find much information after researching for a long time. There wasn't a lot of detailed information on the topic. Instead, people were mostly joking more about it. Those who could meet the queen were probably too busy to reply to online discussions.Holly
Soon, it was time to meet the queen, and Holly arrived at the castle with the team of veteran experts.The castle was ancient and majestic. The grounds were spacious and elegant. The tall, pointed building appeared vintage, and the interior had been beautifully renovated. It was Holly's first time seeing a real castle, and it was similar to what she had envisioned.From what she had heard, the queen usually worked there, and the castle was often open to the public, garnering some money by selling tickets. It seemed to her that the royals in Erendale were adept at business.After passing the strict security check, Holly and the veteran experts finally met the queen.The queen wore a blue dress and a hat of a similar color. She might've been old, but she was extremely graceful. The queen was an elegant, elderly woman. Holly followed Bryce's instructions as she shook the queen's hand and had a brief conversation.She formally thanked Holly's team for restoring the painting for their
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