Penelope was stunned and speechless. She didn't think Bryce would take it that far. "What? Why would I possibly sexually harass him? I just…" She couldn't say it. Feeling frustrated, Penelope grabbed her hair. "I didn't sexually harass him!"Brandon slowly gave his order, "If we need to see him for work in the future, let Caleb go. You should stop seeing him.""What does Caleb know? He has never worked in the property industry before, and he wouldn't even know if he was scammed.""Bryce called me earlier and warned me solemnly. He said he would cancel the partnership if I let you go again."Feeling aggrieved, Penelope scoffed and said in disdain, "He's really going that far for that woman, isn't he? I can't believe he would dare to offend a business partner for an expendable ex-wife.""Just give it up. Holly is becoming more famous now, and it's only a matter of time before they remarry again. Stop looking for trouble. Getting something by force isn't worth it at all!""No. I
Arthur scoffed. "Don't get too cocky, Holly."Holly elegantly smiled and calmly said, "I could've gone for better choices if I wanted to. I only decided to stay because Bryce was persistent. It would've been a different story if I had cared less. "Who would want to tolerate you if it weren't for my three-year relationship with him?"As she said that, she stood up and arrogantly looked down at Arthur. "If I have my eyes on someone else, you'll have to carry this bottle for an eternity, Mr. Gabelman Senior. "I hope you can be sensible and not do anything to my mom behind my back. Otherwise, I can play way dirtier than you."She spoke with a smile and didn't sound serious at all. However, it was still enough to pressure someone. Arthur felt a sharp pain in his left palm, but it was all in his head. Worried that she might do anything else to him, he stood up and left silently.He looked calm on the outside, but he was actually feeling anxious. Upon exiting the building, Henry a
Suddenly, someone burst out laughing from the side. Bryce finally noticed Annie was in the room as well. He had a bad impression of her, so he asked with a dark face, "Why are you here as well?"Annie shrugged. "I've quit my job, and I'm following Holly around now as her assistant and mentee."Bryce's face fell slightly. "If you want to be her assistant, do a good job at it. Don't bring her to any tombs, let alone trick her into doing some weird things.""Don't worry. I've quit the archaeological team, and I won't make her do anything weird anymore. I'll just raid some tombs with her at most."His face became cold as he said to Holly, "Fire this assistant. I'll get you a new one who won't cause you any trouble."Holly patted his hand and said, "Annie was just messing with you. Tomb raiding is illegal, and I'm not going to do something like that."Annie couldn't stop giggling, her hands covering her mouth. There was nothing impossible in the world. Bryce might be an aloof man, b
Holly wasn't as particular about it as Bryce was. She glanced at her watch and said, "Let's just eat here. Moving tables means we'll have to order our food and wait for it to arrive again. Besides, you have a meeting in the afternoon."Caleb was extremely perceptive.When he heard that, he stood up hurriedly. "Holly, you and Bryce can take your time. We'll move instead."Annie was just beginning to dig in. She whined, "Why do we have to move? It's just a meal. It'll be over in a minute. It's so troublesome having to move."Caleb grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away, getting the waiter to move them to another table.Annie sat in her new seat in a huff. As she waited for their food to arrive, she complained, "What's up with your big mouth? Why do we have to move? I'm starving."Caleb took out a cigarette and put it between his teeth. He lit it and cast her a sideways glance. "I can't believe you've survived for this long with that dumb head of yours. What do you do for work,
The apartments could only be sold once the building was fully constructed. Hence, they decided to let people reserve the units for 20 to a hundred thousand dollars.Tens of thousands of flyers were handed out. It had a picture of the building with a smiling Holly standing in front of it in her white outfit.The project was called Bluerise Bay Fish Market, and the building was named Scholar's Garden.A psychic had given them a list of five names to choose from. Scholar's Garden was the one that Arthur and Brandon finally settled on.The marketing slogan for it was, "A Scholarly Oasis for All".It catered to the old, rich socialites. It looked a lot like something that Arthur and Brandon would like.Holly's photo was displayed in front of the apartment. She looked gentle and quietly confident, the picture of elegance.The advertisement generated a lot of positive responses.The event was crowded with people. People could hardly move about.Just as Bryce had said, Holly's fans we
There was a loud slap.Samantha had slapped the bodyguard across the face. She glared at him and said, "You took advantage of me!""I did not," the bodyguard replied, holding his cheek."Move over." Samantha pushed him away.She looked at Bryce, putting a smile on her face at once. "What a coincidence, Bryce. Are you here for charity work as well?"Bryce's face was tense. He tilted his head toward Holly. "It's my wife who's donating to charity."Samantha was stunned. Her smile froze. "Have you remarried already?"Bryce said coldly, "What does that have to do with you?"He looked extremely disdainful of her. He exuded a hostile air.Holly was satisfied with the way he acted.She grazed his hand with the tip of her finger, expressing her love and praise for him.Bryce held her hand, intertwining their fingers together.He gazed at her with adoration in his eyes.It was like he was glowing with love and affection for Holly.Samantha felt like her jealousy was going to eat he
Samantha couldn't resist calling Arthur. She said, "Uncle Arthur, why did Holly become the ambassador for Scholar's Garden? It's meant to be for the affluent. Why is a nobody modeling for that? Isn't that just going to tarnish the company's reputation?"Arthur replied stoically, "I don't like her, but in terms of branding, she's not bad. Scholar's Garden had a pre-sale event a few days ago, which went really well. It exceeded our expectations."Samantha was upset. "That's because the property is rather prospective, isn't it? It won't have much to do with her.""It kind of does. Our previous buildings were advertised by celebrities, but the responses weren't as good as hers. It's probably because she's on TV frequently and is in the antique industry. "People who dabble in the antique trade have immense buying power. They're the target demographic for Scholar's Garden."Samantha felt so angry that she felt like punching someone.She took a deep breath and said, "Does that mean y
Samantha was dressed in the salon's white robe. She walked out of the washroom, her hair wrapped up in a towel.There was a slight limp when she walked.Their gazes met.Holly pursed her lips slightly.Samantha smiled in disdain. "Well, if it isn't Holly Sinclair."Holly didn't want Samantha to affect her mood. So, she ignored her.Samantha called over the receptionist. Gesturing wildly, she said, "Isn't this the most prestigious beauty salon in Jardington? Why are you letting the commoners in?"The receptionist was dazed. "Could you please elaborate, Ms. Cott?"Samantha pointed at Holly. "She's a country bumpkin. Letting her in is like a slap in the face to important customers like us."Holly was already bristling because of the word "commoner". At the words "country bumpkin", she sneered and flung her disposable cup at Samantha's face.There was a thud. The cup hit Samantha squarely on the nose.The water immediately drenched her face.Samantha was humiliated. She rolled
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