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
Holly watched the hearse until it disappeared from her sight. She cried until she lost her voice. On the way back, she kept throwing up. Bryce wiped the vomit from her lips and reassured her gently. She could hear his voice in her ears, but she failed to hear clearly what he was saying. She just knew that the person on the hearse was Winona, who was going to be cremated in flames.She would lose Winona once and for all. She would no longer have a grandmother. After Winona was cremated, her remains were delivered back to them. The day her remains were to be buried, the sky was dark and cloudy, and it was drizzling. The wind blew on the muddy paths. It was so cold that they shivered. Bryce helped Holly along as they went to the forest of willow trees behind the village with Priscilla and her other relatives. They were going to bury Winona's remains beside Winston's. It was dark and gloomy inside the forest, and it was freezing cold even during the day. Winston was buried
Holly's view was blocked by the umbrella, and she couldn't see the way ahead. The umbrella was leaning heavily toward her, while Bryce's clothes were already soaked with rain.She raised her hand and pushed the umbrella over to his side.Bryce instinctively looked over to the collapsed bridge. The man called Abel had disappeared. He was as mysterious as a phantom and always seemed to appear out of nowhere, like an apparition. Bryce secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Holly toward him. At that moment, he belatedly realized that he had been afraid that Holly would be snatched away from him.It was the first time he had ever had this feeling, and it surprised him, too.By the time they returned to Winston's house, it was already noon.The two of them had a quick meal.Holly was tired and sleepy, so she went into the bedroom and undressed to take a nap.She had been mourning for Winona for the past few days, and she hadn't had much sleep. Bryce followed her. He to
His phone rang all of a sudden.A cigarette dangled from Bryce's mouth as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Samantha.He frowned and hung up without answering. After a few minutes, his phone rang again.Arthur was calling him this time. He picked up.Arthur asked, "When are you coming back?"Bryce said expressionlessly, "Holly's grandmother was buried today. We'll be going back early tomorrow morning."Arthur sounded reproachful. "Why did you stay for such a long time? It's been almost four days.""She's very upset by her grandmother's death. I can't leave her here alone.""Doesn't she have her mother and her relatives?""Priscilla's very upset, too, and she can barely take care of herself. Her relatives? Well, they're just the way they are. The only one she can rely on right now is me."Arthur snorted. "You're about to get divorced. Why are you still treating her so well? Just give her more money. Your time is much mor
Holly was startled. She didn't know why Bryce was kissing her on the mouth all of a sudden.It was nighttime, but there were still people passing by.People in the village were more conservative than those in the city, and it would be embarrassing if someone saw them.Besides, Winona had just been buried. It seemed a little inappropriate if they were seen being lovey-dovey at this time.Holly reached out to push him away.However, Bryce held both her wrists in one hand, refusing to let her move. Holly wasn't as strong as he was and couldn't push him off. All she could do was close her eyes and let him kiss her.He kissed her so hard that it was almost aggressive, unlike how gentle he had been in the past. It was as if he was doing it in defiance of someone.Holly thought about what he had said on the phone just now. He must have been talking to Arthur.She thought that he was doing this in defiance of Arthur.Bryce only let go when she was beginning to lose her breath. He re
Frowning slightly, Holly texted back, saying, "Arthur doesn't approve of us."Priscilla's reply came soon after. "Parents will always give in to their children. You and Bryce just need to work harder to convince Arthur. You'll regret it if you give up before you try." After a brief silence, Holly replied, "Okay."At 10:00 pm, Bryce and Holly arrived back at the house on Crescent Lane.After taking a shower, Holly picked up the hairdryer to dry her hair. Bryce, who had showered in another bathroom, came over to look for her. When he saw what she was doing, he took the hairdryer from her and dried her hair for her.Smiling, Holly said, "My left hand is almost fully recovered. I can do it myself."Bryce remained expressionless as he sat her down on the couch before replying, "I just want to take good care of you."It was such an affectionate thing to say. Paired with his reserved and stoic manner, it conveyed just the right amount of romance.Feeling touched, Holly said, "Thank y
Bryce's deep, alluring voice sounded like music to Holly's ears. Her heart started racing as she stood frozen.How could anyone think straight after hearing such sweet words from someone they loved?Smiling, Holly looked up at Bryce and said, "Thank you for doing your best to make me happy."Snorting, Bryce nudged her cheek and eyed her teasingly. "You know, I'm beginning to realize that you don't have much of a romantic bone in you."Holly's smile faltered slightly. With a sheepish chuckle, she said, "I am rather unromantic. Yax once said that about me."Bryce smiled and asked, "What did he say?""He said I was a nice person, but I was too nice, so I also seemed rather boring. He told me to be more forward and provocative with my actions and behavior—that I should know when to be coy or docile. He said I needed to be shameless enough to resort to tricks if I had to."After a brief pause, Bryce said, "If you want to be more provocative, go ahead, but only when you're with me. Fe
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