After sending Annie away, Holly also dismissed Leitia and Cooper for the night. She then called Bryce, confirming that he wouldn't be coming over tonight. Only then was she at ease.It wasn't that she had anything to hide. She was just worried that Bryce might get jealous and suspicious. She would have to coax him then.Coaxing him wasn't a big deal, actually. But she simply didn't want to upset Bryce.…The sky turned completely dark half an hour later, leaving only the streetlamps to illuminate the area. Somehow, the light that usually seemed ordinary now felt as gentle as the moonlight.Abelin pressed the bell. Holly limped over with her swollen ankle to open the door.She walked past the courtyard and opened up the gates. She then looked up at Abelin's face, sweeping her gaze from his eyebrows to his eyes and down to the slope of his nose.She couldn't contain her excitement as she asked, "Are you really Abel?"Abelin's gaze softened as he smiled and replied, "Yes, I'm Ab
The man looked handsome as he stood tall and proud. His well-defined body was accentuated by a fitted black shirt. He looked dignified and elegant.It was Bryce.He had felt something was off when Holly called to ask if he was coming over tonight. She was usually straightforward in her words and rarely asked about his plan.Something had to be amiss behind her unusual behavior. As expected, she didn't disappoint him.With a cold smirk and an icy stare, Bryce stood motionless as he stared at the duo, who were looking at each other, lost in their own world.Even though they didn't hug or kiss, their gazes betrayed their true emotions. Such an intense look was unmistakably one of lovers who were reunited after being separated for a long time.Bryce recalled the way Holly had been calling out for "Abel" in her dreams for the past three years. Abelin had been secretly protecting her and doing things for her wholeheartedly—be it sending her money or paving the way for her. Wherever H
Perhaps Holly had been too young back then because his passing left a massive scar in her heart. It greatly affected her personality.She was originally quiet. She had become even more reserved since then, not even daring to make a single friend.The nightmare of that fire had haunted her since she was ten years old. It had haunted her for a good 13 years. Now that she knew Abel was still alive, she could finally put a stop to that nightmare.It was as if a massive burden had been lifted from Holly's heart. She smiled, yet tears continued to fall down her cheeks. She sniffled and tried to stop her tears, but she failed miserably.Embarrassed, Holly hurriedly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, yet they kept coming. Abelin took out his handkerchief and wiped her tears away.He then coaxed gently, "Don't cry. Listen to me. You'll only get upset the more you cry. That fire happened because of me. I was the one who dragged you into it. It was only right for me to save
Bryce instructed, "Go to Winds Residences now and never leave Holly's side."Annie looked at the darkened sky outside the window and felt lazy. "I don't want to get up when I'm about to sleep. What to do?"Bryce coolly said, "I've sent you a message on WhatsApp. Check it now."Annie felt excited that the man she idolized had sent her a WhatsApp message. With trembling hands, she opened the app.There was a screenshot of 30 thousand dollars transferred to her account.Annie jolted upright and shouted at her phone, "Okay! I'll go! I'll go over now!"A hint of mockery flashed in Bryce's gaze when he ended the call. Annie was quite a perceptive person at times. She knew she wasn't getting the 30 thousand dollars for no reason. It was considered her spy fee.…Annie arrived at Winds Residence half an hour later. All the lights were off, and Holly was already asleep.She gently opened the door to Holly's bedroom and illuminated the room using the light from her phone. She discreet
Bryce eyed Caleb. "Annie is in the private room downstairs. Don't you like her? You should head down and check on her."Caleb was momentarily stunned. "I don't like that Little Orphan."Bryce calmly insisted, "No. You do like her."Caleb was confused, but he was sharp enough to figure that Bryce probably had some ulterior motives.He changed his tune and said, "Fine. I like her. I'll go over now."After bidding his goodbyes to the others, Caleb left for the private room downstairs.As soon as he opened the door, he saw Holly and Abelin sitting together at the table. He understood what was happening now.Bryce didn't send Caleb down to make his move on Annie. He clearly sent him down to keep an eye on Holly and Abelin in order to stop them from flirting with each other.Caleb walked over to sit beside Annie. After a round of introductions, he picked up a piece of ribs and placed it on Annie's plate. "Eat up, Ms. Little Orphan."Annie shivered with goosebumps and eyed him disdai
Bryce stood rooted to his spot. He observed Holly and smirked self-deprecatingly.She really didn't care after all. Her heart was now set on Abel. She no longer minded if he went to look for hostesses or if he was dead or alive.Bryce walked over to the luxury car parked by the side. Holly suddenly opened the door and got out of the car. She caught up to Bryce with a few strides and grabbed at his sleeves.She spoke in a clear voice, "Don't come back to me anymore if you dared to fool around outside, Bryce!"Her tone was a little overbearing.Bryce would have felt happy if it was before—it would have made him feel cared for. But now, he only thought she was being pretentious and trying to cover something up.He coldly shook her hand off his sleeves. He eyed her and said, "Who are you to control me?"Even though no harmful words were spoken, his sentence still carried so much insult.Holly coldly chuckled. "Fair enough. I'm merely an ex-wife. How could I control you? Go on, th
Holly's mind was in a mess. She replied hoarsely, "Abelin is… He's Abel Larsen. He used to save my life—"Bryce asked, "So? Are you planning to choose him over me?"Holly's eyes reddened. "No! I'm not choosing him over you. I just can't keep him at arm's length. To me, he's my savior and my family. I just consider him an older brother!"Despite the pain in his heart, Bryce snorted a laugh. "You think of him as an older brother, but does he think of you as his younger sister? He didn't! He likes you and treats you like a lover!"Holly remained silent. She was beyond conflicted. She wanted to keep her distance from Abelin, but he was the one who saved her life.Back then, she had married Bryce because his eyes resembled Abel's. She only developed feelings for him over time after that.Bryce insisted, "You can only choose one of us—it's either him or me."Holly's heart felt as if it were torn apart.It was truly a dilemma—on one side was someone she loved dearly, while on the othe
Holly's heart started beating erratically. Her eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall.She gripped Bryce's hand and said in a pleading tone, "You're drunk. Please don't make hasty decisions, okay?"Bryce smirked coldly and said, "I'm not being hasty at all. I've had enough of tolerating you for the past three years.""You… You've been tolerating me for the past three years?" Holly was in disbelief.Bryce looked cold and composed. It wasn't a decision made out of spite, but one of careful consideration.Holly's heart went cold. She forced herself to smile and asked, "Do I make you suffer that much?""Yes." Bryce's tone was indifferent, yet his heart was bleeding.Holly lowered her head and struggled to keep her tears at bay. Her gaze landed on his hand. Due to the dim lighting, she only realized now that his knuckles were injured, with a deep red scab already forming.Heartbroken, she hurriedly opened her handbag and took out the tiny jar of garnet cream.Holly took Bryc
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