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
After a vigorous round of lovemaking, Holly Sinclair was covered in sweat. Bryce Gabelman didn't hop into the shower like he usually did. Instead, he hugged her from behind so tightly that it seemed as if he wanted to press her into his body. Holly felt like she was going to melt in his arms. She was surprised, nervous, excited, and also a little disconsolate, all at the same time. They had been married for three years, but this was the first time he had ever hugged her like this. She felt deeply loved. Her heart thumped in her chest, and she turned around slowly. Then she tightly hugged him back with a sweet smile on her face. She was on top of the world. They remained that way for a long time. Bryce let go of her, then got dressed and sat up. He took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer and shook one out in a practiced motion. Then, he lit it and took a deep drag. Smoke shrouded him, and his handsome face was obscured by it. She couldn't see his expression clearly
Holly's emotions were all jumbled up, and she didn't know how to answer him.She turned around slowly and looked at Bryce. He didn't smile often, but he had a gorgeous smile when he did. It was as gentle as a spring breeze, and his eyes were as dark as ink but bright as if there were a sea of stars in them. He must be elated because he was about to be with the love of his life. Holly smiled, too, but hers was the smile of the heartbroken. "I hope you're happy, too," she said. Then, she turned and got into the car. The moment the car door closed, tears trickled out of her eyes. She felt as if old wounds had been ripped open before she could even recover from the newest blow, and it made her want to curl up in pain. The driver put her suitcase into the trunk, got in, and started the engine. Bryce watched the car speed off, and his smile stiffened as the light in his eyes grew dim.… Holly reached the Sinclair residence and entered, dragging her suitcase behind her. Pr
Holly went out. Then, she got in the car and put on her safety belt. After a few days apart, Bryce seemed to have lost weight. His face seemed even more chiseled, and he was so handsome that it was hard to look away. Holly realized that she still loved him very much. It was impossible for her to forget him. "Here. This is a present to congratulate you on starting work." Bryce handed over a beautiful, dark blue velvet jewelry box.Holly took it and opened it. It was an antique protective amulet carved from ivory. Amulets like this were known for driving away evil. The amulet was shaped like an old man dressed in a long robe. Its features were simplistic and rough-hewn. The ivory was warm and elegant and seemed to glow. It was exquisite. Holly held the jewelry box and cocked her head to one side at him. She smiled briefly. "Why are you giving me such an expensive present?" Bryce smiled lightly and looked into her eyes. "You restore ancient paintings. It's inevitable th
Samantha's pale, tiny face looked scarily similar to Holly's. She couldn't pinpoint what was similar about them, but there was an immediate resemblance. It would take a second glance to tell them apart. When she looked closely, she saw that Samantha was the frail, feminine version of herself. She had curved eyebrows, and her forehead was wrinkled slightly. She had a button nose and a tiny mouth, and her features seemed fragile. In contrast, Holly was calm and composed, and there was resilience in her. At that moment, Holly realized that she had always been a replacement in Bryce's heart. She laughed at herself. No wonder he had promised to marry her once he saw her. This was the reason. "Bryce, y-you've come, too." Samantha's mother, Quirina Habel, greeted them with a forced smile. Her gaze sharpened as it swept over Holly. Bryce inclined his head in greeting. Quirina walked over to the bed and patted Samantha's shoulder gently. "Samantha, Bryce has come to see
Bryce was used to seeing Holly's calm, unruffled side, and it was the first time he had seen her so flustered. She looked like a spooked kitten. This was new to him. His lips curved, and he teased her, "You burrowed in here yourself. I couldn't even push you away."Holly's ears reddened. "That's impossible." His smile deepened. "I'll record it with my phone next time so that you'll have no excuses."Holly was deeply embarrassed. She hurriedly turned around and began putting on her shirt. In her haste, she didn't even realize that she had buttoned it wrongly. Bryce watched her slender figure bustle around as she put on her clothes. The image of how she had looked while she was asleep rose up in his mind. He didn't know what she had been dreaming about, but she had curled up into a tiny ball, trembling. He had pulled her into his arms and patted her, but she had murmured with her eyes closed, "Abel…"He couldn't remember how many times she had done it. How much di
The tall and skinny one fell onto the ground with a hard thump. His body seemed to contort like a ragged sack. His legs kicked out, and then his eyes closed as dark blood seeped out from under his head. The dogs in the yard barked incessantly. The bald one was about to escape the commotion when the police surged up and pressed him onto the ground. They snatched the painting from him and handcuffed him.Holly's hands were still pressed to the window frame as she stared at Bryce, who had fired the gun. She had been married to him for three years, but she had no idea that he knew how to use a gun or that he was such a good marksman. In that critical moment, a tiny deviation in speed or timing would have been a deadly blow to her.Bryce threw down his gun and strode over to her. He carried her off the windowsill and carefully took care of the wound on her neck. He hugged her tightly, and his fingers softly caressed her face, which was pale with fright. He asked gently, "You mus
She felt as if she was dreaming. Holly stood there, her mind blank. Her arms and legs felt cold.Bryce immediately sobered up when he saw Holly. He pushed Samantha away forcefully and stood up, holding onto the couch. Samantha turned around and pretended to be surprised as she called out, "Holly, you're here?"Holly suddenly seemed to recover her senses, and her heart thumped madly. She turned and left without even closing the door. Sometimes, things were too shocking and unexpected, so she couldn't react on time.She didn't cry or make a scene, but she just felt herself stumble, and her vision seemed to waver. The cold spring breeze seemed to scrape against her face like ice. Holly became more alert with the cold, and she began to feel angry. Bryce had made the driver call her so that she could come and see him getting intimate with Samantha?She had already agreed to the break-up last time. Why did he still want to humiliate her this way?Could he hurt her however he
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