"Samantha!" Abraham shouted, then coldly glanced at Holly before hurrying after Samantha.The yard became tranquil again.Holly reached out and silently embraced Bryce. Her heart was in turmoil, and it felt like something was stuck in her throat.As she buried her face in his chest, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.At this moment, all she felt was reluctance to leave or divorce him.She held onto his waist tightly, feeling powerless despite the strength of her embrace.Bryce lifted her delicate chin when he felt the moisture on his shirt."Are you crying?" he asked.Holly didn't respond. With her eyes red, she pressed her face against Bryce's face again."Don't cry. Your eyes will get all swollen if you keep crying," Bryce coaxed softly, his voice patient.Holly's throat tightened. "Why do you treat me so well?"Bryce raised an eyebrow slightly, a teasing smile playing on his lips."Just because of this one sentence? How are you so easily satisfied, Holls?"Hol
Holly was moved to tears by Sherry's gesture. Unable to reject the older woman, she sat beside her and began to earnestly select a dress.As she preferred a simple and elegant style, she chose a white gown with a slim fit and a long train. It was made of lightweight fabric as white as clouds.Sherry picked up the mouse and asked, "Are you sure you want this one?""Yes, I'm sure. Thank you, Mom.""Alright, then. I'll have someone come to take your measurements. Once we have them, we'll start the dressmaking process tomorrow. It will take quite some time to make the wedding gown.""Okay," Holly replied.While Sherry made a call and summoned her assistant, Holly glanced around the office, which was also Sherry's specious and bright design studio.There were many beautiful wedding gowns displayed on mannequins along the walls.A woman's love for wedding dresses was innate. Even Holly couldn't help but walk over to them.The impact of seeing the actual dresses was much greater than
After changing, Holly walked out of the fitting room. Maria helped her get her measurements and was thorough with her job. After that, Holly sat on the couch and started scrolling on her phone. While in the fitting room earlier, she'd taken a few pictures of herself in the wedding dress. She wanted to keep the prettiest picture as a remembrance, but she looked beautiful in all of them. She didn't have it in her to delete them. Bryce glanced sideways at her and smiled. "Since you like them all so much, you should just do a bridal photo shoot." Holly looked up at him from her phone, surprised. It was a divorce she was going to get. What was the purpose of getting a bridal photo shoot? Bryce reached out to ruffle her hair. "Go for one if you wish to. Don't overthink things," he said. "It's the weekend tomorrow. I'm free in the afternoon. I'll pick you up after I'm done with work."Sherry approached Holly with a glass of milk and handed it to her. "The studio next to our
Samantha's feet were rooted to the ground. She glowered at Holly for a long time before finally deciding to leave the dressing room. When her makeup was done, Holly went to the waiting area where Bryce was waiting for her. However, when she reached the place, she saw Samantha sitting beside him and clinging to him with a smile. She was talking to him with her voice lowered. It was as if the two of them were really close. Holly couldn't hear what they were talking about since she was quite far from them. Her heart dropped, and she quickened her footsteps as she headed their way. Samantha saw her coming and purposely raised her voice to say, "Bryce, aren't you and Holly getting a divorce soon? Why is she still pestering you for a bridal photo shoot?" "I'm the one who wants it taken," said Bryce indifferently. Samantha almost choked on herself. "But I thought you didn't like taking photos." She'd asked him to take pictures together in the past, but he'd always refused an
Holly looked up at him, her pretty eyes gazing deeply into Bryce's.Bryce was always so full of himself. It wasn't every day she got to hear him say something like that. How could she not fall for him? She liked him so much! If she really had to point out something about him that she disliked, it was his short temper. However, he'd been holding his temper back plenty of times around her since last year. Another thing she didn't like about him was that ex-girlfriend of his. Still, he'd been taking her side lately. Ever since she told him she wasn't happy with Samantha, he'd kept his distance from her. Holly's resolve dwindled. She was about to answer his question with a "yes", but someone knocked on the door. The door opened, and in came a young woman who seemed to be the receptionist. "Ms. Sinclair, someone called you using the landline," she said. Holly had put her phone in the locker in the fitting room downstairs when she changed into the gown. "Sorry," she told
Holly wanted to push the umbrella to Bryce's side again, but he gently grabbed her hand and said, "I'm a man. It doesn't matter if I get caught in the rain. However, you're a young lady. You can't catch a cold."Then, Holly felt like crying. She grabbed Bryce's arm and didn't let go. She held on to Bryce until they arrived at the hospital ward. Later on at night, Holly helped Winona wash up. When she saw Winona's wrinkled skin, she felt terrible. Her grandparents, Winston and Winona, had taken care of her when she was young, so Holly was closer to Winona than Priscilla. During nighttime, she lay beside Winona and hugged her from behind. Winona used to be strong and tall long ago, but she had turned skinny and weak.After the checkup she did a few days ago, they discovered that her organs were aging. Moreover, her kidney, which was replaced three years ago, was in bad shape. The doctors didn't dare to operate on Winona because the risks were too high. So, her days were n
After carrying Holly to the parking lot, Bryce opened the car door with one hand and placed her in the passenger seat. Holly was crying furiously, and she seemed to be beside herself with grief. Anyone would feel upset when they saw her. Then, Bryce helped her buckle the seatbelt before he hugged her. He quietly said, "Hang on there. I'll send you to the hospital immediately."Meanwhile, Holly couldn't register what he was saying. She only thought, "Grandma! Grandma is dead."Winona was gone. Bryce drove rapidly to the hospital. When they arrived at their destination, Bryce got out of the car and opened the door. On the other hand, Holly got out of the car and almost fell because her legs were too weak. Therefore, Bryce held her in his arms and quickly strode to the inpatient department.Once they arrived at the hospital ward, they saw Priscilla sobbing into her hands. Winona was lying on the bed. There was a white blanket covering her face. It seemed as if the wor
Under the lights in the room, Holly looked as pale as ivory. Her downcast eyes were filled with palpable sorrow and grief. She had become inhumanly thin. She knelt in front of Winona's coffin, unmoving, looking frail under the lights.During these few days, Bryce's heart ached for her more than any other time. Many years later, this image of Holly would stay in his mind, and his heart would ache every time he remembered it. …In the yard, a rude relative named Miriam Saxon came over and said to Priscilla, "Your son-in-law's legs look perfectly fine. I heard before that he was disabled and wheelchair-bound, though."Priscilla knew that they all laughed at her behind her back because she had sold her daughter to an invalid for money. She gave Miriam a sideways look with her red, swollen eyes. "My son-in-law just happened to be injured. He recovered a year ago."Miriam pursed her lips. "Really? That's a quick recovery.""Of course! He's favored by God."Miriam chuckled. She
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