The more Bryce looked at Yoel and Holly, the more he thought they looked like father and daughter. However, Yoel tampered with the DNA tests repeatedly, and Bryce found that suspicious.He clenched his fist and brought it to his lips before clearing his throat softly. Holly finally realized he had returned, so she put down her book and stood up. Then, she quickly walked to his side. "You're back.""Yeah."She helped him take off his coat and habitually undid his tie. That was a habit she had picked up in their three years of marriage. Since she was used to it, she didn't think too much about it.However, Yoel felt uncomfortable when he saw it. He wanted to pamper her and give her lots of love. He didn't want her to serve others. Even if Bryce was her man, he still didn't like it.Realizing what was on his mind, he faintly shook his head. Yoel had never been a father before, and he didn't expect himself to be so immersed in the role in such a short time. It was natural for a fath
When Bryce entered the bedroom upstairs, he saw Holly sitting on a bench against the wall while toying with an exquisite-looking diamond brooch. When Holly saw him, she smiled and said, "Why did you have to make me leave the living room? What did you two talk about? You're so mysterious."Bryce sat next to her and held her waist. Then, he pulled her to sit on his lap and softly said next to her ear, "We were giving you praises."She chuckled. "I'm sure you were making fun of me. By the way, I've promised Grandma I would remarry you."Bryce stayed silent for a moment. "Dad wants to wait a little longer.""If you're not in a rush, then I'm not in a hurry, too.""It's just a certificate, and not remarrying now isn't going to affect our relationship." He pulled her shirt out of her pants and reached his hand in to feel her soft waist. His palm was warm, and wherever it went, it would feel nice.Holly suddenly felt excited, and she grabbed his naughty hand. "My dad is downstairs
Moses bent down to pick up a ball. "Oh, you. Since you're engaged to Levi, there's no reason for you to fight with Holly anymore. You should learn when to let go.""She stole my beloved Bryce. How could I possibly let it go?"Moses couldn't understand why Samantha was so stubborn. "You were the one who wanted to break up. That was why they got married.""I don't care. Bryce is mine!"He couldn't comprehend her way of thinking. "But you're already engaged to Levi.""We're just engaged because we had no other choice. Besides, I did it because I was mad and wanted to get closer to Bryce."A stubborn person could never be persuaded, so Moses sighed. "You should see a psychologist one day. If you don't fix your mindset soon, you'll lose everything. By the way, when did your depression go away without any treatment?" Samantha rolled her eyes at him.Suddenly, she saw a dashing figure coming from the entrance. The man had well-defined facial features, and his jaw looked sharp. He w
"Don't worry. I've got strong mental health. Even if the whole world goes crazy, I'll still be fine." Samantha harrumphed and walked away.She dressed herself up nicely that day. Underneath her coat was a soft green dress with stockings. She was also wearing a pair of high heels and earrings with gems on them. Besides, her makeup made her look more fabulous than a celebrity.Clearly, she wasn't there to bowl that day. Instead, she was there to look pretty for Bryce.When she left the building, it was almost dark outside. The sun was hanging low with a soft red glow. The breeze felt cold, and Samantha tightened the coat around her. It was the end of the year, and it felt chilly during the winter.The gentle wind felt like razors as it blew away. Since she was wearing stockings, she was trembling nonstop.Her driver drove the car to her. Just as she was about to get into the vehicle, a black luxury car approached her. When the door opened, she saw Levi's face. "Get in." He looked
After a moment of silence, Levi replied, "You moron! Why didn't you tell me earlier? You're more trouble than you're worth. I ended up getting scolded by my dad. He even said that I'm trying to stir up internal conflicts!"Samantha laughed scornfully. "I wanted to tarnish Holly's reputation through you. I didn't expect you to be a paper tiger that's all bark and no bite as well."Levi pinched her plump bottom hard. "I'll show you who's all bark and no bite, bitch."Samantha asked warily, "What are you trying to do?"Lust clouded Levi's gaze as he flippantly replied, "Fuck you."Samantha became all hot and bothered by his teasing. "We shouldn't be doing that when we're not married yet."Levi mocked, "Why are you acting all pure when you've already had and aborted a child before? It's not even your first time with me."He then instructed his driver, "Go to the riverside."Samantha got a little scared. "Why are we going to the riverside?"Levi lifted his hand up and took a sniff.
After Levi sent her home, Samantha drank some cold remedy and took an hour-long hot shower. Only then did she regain her warmth.She lay on the bed, unable to sleep as a profound sense of emptiness befell her. The greater the satisfaction her body felt, the emptier she felt deep down.Humans were funny creatures. They wouldn't love something easily attainable and would only love something impossible or something they had lost.Bryce was someone Samantha had lost and couldn't get. The more unattainable he was, the more she missed him.After some contemplation, she took her phone and changed to a temporary SIM card. She then sent him a text message. "I still love you, Bryce."Bryce was currently in the shower. His phone was on the bedside table. Holly reached over for it and unlocked it with her birthday date. She was instantly disgusted upon glancing at the message.It didn't take Holly much to figure out that it was Samantha. There wasn't anyone else so despicable other than her.
Bryce got out of the shower and saw Holly sitting on the edge of the bed. She was holding his phone in her hands. He could feel that she was upset despite her stoic expression.He walked over to sit beside her and reached out to pinch her cheek. "What happened?" Holly returned his phone to him. "Look what your ex-girlfriend sent you."Bryce took it and glanced at his phone. He didn't find it strange, knowing that Samantha had always been cheesy.He replied without much expression, "Next time, don't reply to her and block her immediately. I'll block her every time she changes her number. I couldn't get rid of her no matter how I tried."Holly casually placed her arms on her lap. She asked nonchalantly, "Why did you like her back then?"Bryce replied, "It's not that I liked her that much. It's just that our families were friends. My dad and her father have been collaborating ever since they took up their family businesses."My mom and Aunt Queenie have always been close to each o
Holly hesitated. She didn't know what to do.Bryce calmly replied, "You should just go. I trust you. Nobody could take away what belongs to me."Holly smiled and replied, "Alright."…Holly, Yoel, and Abelin arrived at the reserved private room in the hotel on time the next day.Holly briefly introduced the two to each other.Abelin reached out to shake Yoel's hand. He was studying Yoel with a steely gaze. Yoel was also scrutinizing Abelin with the same, steely gaze.Holly had pre-ordered the dishes. They were served soon after all of them sat down. Holly was seated on Yoel's left, while Abelin sat on his right.As both Holly and Abelin were people of few words, Yoel was the one who livened up the atmosphere.No sooner than they started eating, Holly received a message on her phone. She glanced over and saw that it was from Bryce. His message read, "Is the food good?"Holly smiled before replying, "We're just at the Jardington Hotel and Restaurant. Their food is alright
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