Javier stripped every piece of clothing off of Claire. Her naked body made his expression darken, but he just picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.The bathtub had been filled with warm water, so Claire did not wake up when she was put into the water.However, she did protest feebly at the strange sensation. Javier frowned and went downstairs to call for Patty.When Patty came up and saw that Claire was unconscious in the bathtub, she was taken aback and looked at Javier worriedly. “What’s wrong with Madam, Mr. Marquez?”Javier did not answer her question. He just said, “She’s drunk. Take care of her.”Saying that, he turned and left. His cold expression told Patty that he wasn’t in a good mood.Perplexed by his attitude, Patty had no choice but to help Claire clean herself up.Javier, on the other hand, went to the next room to shower.He could still see Claire’s naked body in his mind’s eye when he closed his eyes.Sighing, he turned down the water temperature to cool his bo
The atmosphere was suddenly strangely silent. Only the sounds of their breathing could be heard.Claire suddenly felt a little suffocated by the atmosphere. Javier had not started the car yet. As she reached out to put on the seat belt, another hand beat her to it.Javier leaned close over her, startling her.The close proximity made her catch her breath. “What are you doing?” she blurted out.A click sounded, indicating that the seat belt was fastened. Javier laughed lightly. Claire could feel his breath against her ear.“I’m helping you with your seat belt. What did you think I was going to do? Kiss you?”“Of…of course not,” Claire answered nervously.At the same time, something flashed through Javier’s eyes. Before Claire could react, he pressed closer to her ear.His breath was warm against her ear.Hoarsely, he said, “That’s what I was thinking.”Then, he kissed her.The familiar sensation stunned Claire. For a moment, she forgot about pushing him away; she just stared at his face
Shawn got up hurriedly. He knew that Javier was always busy, so he shouldn’t be bothering him any longer. “All right, I’ll leave.”He left quickly.Only after he left did Javier feel a little better. Subconsciously, he touched the place where Claire had bitten his lip.Strangely, he wasn’t exactly averse to her kissing him.Had he really fallen in love with that woman?......On the other hand, Claire had run all the way to her office out of embarrassment.She couldn’t stop thinking about the compromising situation between her and Javier in the car, and the blush on her face wasn’t going anywhere.Even after she arrived at her office, her face was still red.When she entered, she ran into Raina.Raina immediately saw that something was not right with Claire.She went up to her and peered at her knowingly. “Claire, looks like you have some news for us this fine morning.”Claire froze and quickly covered up, “What are you talking about?”Raina clearly wasn’t going to be deceived. She kne
At the same time, Javier was in his office looking at some documents intently.Henry stood beside him and placed another document on his desk. “Mr. Marquez, these plots of land now belong to you.”He felt relieved as well. After all, now that the land was under Javier’s name, everything else could be settled easily.Javier nodded. He flipped through the property titles, then placed them to the side. “I’ll entrust this matter to you. I trust that you will do well.”Henry was taken aback by the sudden praise. At the same time, he suddenly thought of something and said hesitantly, “Um, Mr. Marquez, I’m not sure if I should tell you this…”“Speak.” Javier narrowed his eyes dangerously, making Henry tremble.He lowered his head and answered, “I found that these plots of land belonged to Carlyle Jefferson previously.”“Carlyle Jefferson?” Javier repeated, surprised.Henry nodded. “Yes, Mr. Marquez. Carlyle Jefferson was the previous owner of the land. I couldn’t believe it either at first, b
Andy looked at Charles with a strange expression and said, “You’ve met her before, Mr. Yackley. Her father sold her to Nuvola Palace, but Javier came and bailed her out.”Charles blinked. He remembered Claire’s stubborn yet pretty face. So, it was her.“Claire Weiss?” His tone was raised, but it wasn’t a question.He was sure that it was Claire. No other woman would be able to do this.Andy nodded. “Yes, that’s her.”Charles nodded. He was no longer furious. Instead, he looked intrigued.He was already attracted to that woman’s stubbornness when they first met. Javier’s attitude toward her only made him more curious about her.Even more so now that he knew that she was also somehow related to Carlyle’s land.Charles smiled. He was interested in Claire.With that thought, he told Andy, “Go and find out who Claire Weiss is, and what relationship she has with Javier. Dig deep. Do not miss out on any details.”Andy nodded hurriedly. He was relieved that his boss was no longer angry. He ha
Javier came home late that night.Claire knew that it was because he was dealing with the new land, so she wasn’t surprised when he came home late.Ollie, on the other hand, had been waiting for him. He kept asking Claire, “Mommy, when is Dad coming home?”Claire just assumed that he missed Javier, so she assured him, “Your dad is busy, Ollie. He won’t be home until very late, so if you’re tired, just go to bed.”“No, I want to wait for Dad.” Ollie shook his head obstinately.Claire sighed. Ollie could be stubborn when he wanted to be, she knew.After some deliberation, she decided to call Javier.When the call got through, Claire suddenly felt her heart skip.Javier seemed to be very busy on the other end. “Yes?”His voice was hoarse. Through the phone, Claire could hear papers rustling.Trying not to show too much emotion in her voice, Claire asked, “When are you coming home?”Javier chuckled. “Soon. Why? Do you miss me?”Claire blushed. At that moment, she was glad that he couldn’t
The next morning, Ollie woke up early and went to wake Claire up.Claire was sound asleep when she suddenly felt a small hand pushing her. She slowly opened her eyes to see Ollie in a red and white outfit standing in front of her.Claire felt a bit dizzy from looking at Ollie spinning around her. Claire muttered, “What’s wrong, Ollie?”It was the weekend. She thought that everyone should be resting.Suddenly, she remembered that today was the day she promised to take Ollie to the amusement park. She quickly got up and saw Ollie pouting at her. Claire hurriedly comforted him, “Ollie baby, Mommy was still sleepy. I didn’t mean to oversleep. Mommy will get up this instant and we can go.”As she got up, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. Her heart skipped a beat and she exclaimed, “Ja-Javier, what are you doing here?”Javier glanced at her indifferently, not answering. Ollie quickly explained, “I asked Dad to come with us. I was afraid Mommy would oversleep and not wake up.”
This was Javier’s first time going to the amusement park, so he was not familiar with the place. Claire found a place for Javier and Ollie to settle down. She then went to buy the tickets.Initially, Javier requested the driver to get the tickets for them but was stopped by Claire. She felt it was essential to experience the entire process themselves now that they were out to play. Queuing up and waiting was also one of the processes.Soon, Claire got the tickets and met up with them. She considered Ollie’s tender age and said to him, “Ollie, you’re still little, so you can’t play any rides that are too dangerous. Mommy will bring you for some safer rides.”As soon as she finished speaking, Claire thought that Ollie would obediently listen to her. However, Ollie pouted and was dissatisfied. He said, “No, Ollie really wants to play those rides. Can we play together with Daddy?” He pointed to the roller coasters and other rides in the distance.Claire felt helpless. She knew that Jav
Hattie looked extremely sincere in her pleading. However, when Sofia did not answer or even look at her, she began to lose confidence. Sofia's face was impassive. "Hattie, I've known you since you were a baby, but I can't help you with this. Please leave." She did not want to discuss the other stuff with her yet.However, Hattie was obstinate. She looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Aunt Sofia, please, please help me. I know it's not much trouble for you, but it can save our entire family. You've always been so kind to me. I promise that the Snyder family will repay you for your kindness!"Hearing this, Sofia felt uncomfortable. She raised her head and gazed at her coldly. "In this case, Hattie, I'll tell you why I won't help you," she said impatiently. "Do you really not know what you've done? I won't say it, but I know exactly what you've done to Ollie. You deserve everything that's happening to you now."Hattie widened her eyes, partly in shock and partly in disbelief when she h
Javier paused outside the door and waited until Claire left before giving his subordinates a look. They understood perfectly and grabbed Chantelle at once.As Javier had ordered, they were to send this woman abroad as far away as possible and leave her to fend for herself.Outside the hotel, Claire looked up at the sky blankly. She felt like a huge burden had been taken off her shoulders; for the first time in a long time, she felt relieved of all the hurt that she had suffered five years ago. Turning back, she told Javier, "Thank you, Javier, for allowing me to face my fears. I feel so relieved now."Javier's expression fell when he heard her thank him. He tapped her on the nose fondly in exasperation. "What are you talking about? Of course, I won't let those who hurt you get off so easily. They have to pay for what they have done."Claire was touched to see him so protective of her. A surge of warmness spread in her chest as she gazed at him fondly. "I'm lucky to have you, Javier."T
That was all Armand could think of.In just a few minutes, Chantelle admitted to everything she had done to Claire over the past few years.From drugging Claire out of jealousy and getting a stranger to assault her to getting Liam to banish her abroad, she admitted to everything. Claire knew some of them, but not all; only now did she know the extent of her crimes.When she was finished, everyone in the room sported conflicting expressions. Liam looked especially hurt and remorseful. It turned out that his younger daughter had always been evil, and he had wrongfully blamed Claire for all these years.Armand, on the other hand, didn't know how to feel about all this. He glanced at Claire and Javier. He felt that he really didn't deserve Claire, after all he had done. He had thought Chantelle to be kind and naive and had trusted her blindly to the point that he almost married her.Thank goodness the wedding didn't happen. Even so, he had lost Claire thanks to this. It made him regret eve
If Chantelle told Claire the truth about what happened that night, then there would be nothing stopping her from having a happily-ever-after with Javier.Back then, driven by jealousy, she had drugged Claire and put her in Javier's bed without their consent. She had planned all of this out herself meticulously. She had gotten Armand to catch Claire in the act so that he would call off the engagement and be with her instead. Liam banished Claire abroad to fend for herself. However, if she had known that the random stranger she had arranged to assault Claire was Javier, she never would've done it.Even so, it was a perfect plan worthy of a blockbuster film. Claire and Javier never found out the truth, nor did they know that Ollie was actually Javier's son.It took them two years of skirting around each other only to find out that they were meant to be in the first place. Now that the truth was out, Claire would not settle for prison as a punishment for the cause of all her suffering. Sh
After a lot of persuasion, Claire and Sofia finally managed to get Ollie to agree to stay in the hospital for another three days.Of course, three days weren't enough. Sofia and Pedro tried everything they could to convince Ollie to stay in the hospital for as long as possible.However, Ollie was smart enough to see through their ruse. He felt guilty when he saw them trying to cajole him into staying, so one day, after another attempt, he spoke up hesitantly, "Grandma, Grandpa, I'm glad that you're trying to keep me happy, and I'm touched that you're concerned about me, but I've been in the hospital for too long and it's making me sad. I promise that I'll listen to the doctor even when I'm at home, okay?" Under his bright, clear gaze, Sofia's protests died in her throat, leaving only exasperation and wordless sorrow.Ollie was too mature for his age. How could they not love him?Therefore, Ollie got his wish and was discharged three days later. In order to take care of Ollie, Sofia an
Hearing this, Javier narrowed his eyes. He felt like he was on the verge of grasping something, but the feeling passed too quickly for him to register it. Softening his tone, he said, "There's no need to be scared, Ollie. We're all right here with you. We'll protect you no matter what happens. Can you tell me what you remembered?"Ollie might have regained his memories from before he'd been drugged.Buoyed by the encouragement, Ollie thought hard for a moment and said with a frown, "I … I remember a lady beating me. She locked me up and didn't let me eat anything while saying bad things about me and Mommy all the time. I wanted to fight back, but I was too weak. After I tried to run, she caught me and beat me up some more and forced me to eat food off the floor." Toward the end of this, Ollie burst into tears.Claire's heart hurt for him. She wanted to hug him, but Javier got there first."Tell me, Ollie, do you know her name?" Javier's voice was thick with tears as well. "Do you remem
With that, Henry threw a glance at the rest of the employees and hurried them out. He also dragged Raina and Thomas out with him, leaving only Claire and Javier's parents to keep him company.Since it was only a small procedure for Javier, he did not get a lot of anesthesia. He tried to wriggle his body a little. Realizing what he was doing, Claire quickly helped him sit up.Javier did not look like he had just come out of surgery. Thanks to his strong physique, he looked fine.Seeing this, Sofia finally eased up a little on her worries. "How are you feeling, Javier?"Javier shook his head. "I'm fine, Mom. I just need some rest. How about Ollie? Did they say when he'll wake up?" He already knew that the surgery was a success, so he wanted to know when he would be able to see Ollie."Randy said that Ollie will be out for some time, but he's fine," Claire replied. Javier nodded. He, too, finally eased up on the tight knot of worry that was weighing his chest.Once he was sure that Javie
The surgery took three hours.As time went by, Claire got more and more anxious. However, there was nothing she could do but wait.In the end, Sofia was the first to crack. She went up to Claire and said anxiously, "Claire, are you sure that Dr. Xenos is good? It's been three hours, why aren't they out yet? I have a bad feeling about this."Claire wasn't exactly relaxed either, but she didn't show it. She gathered her thoughts and comforted Sofia. "Everything will be fine, Mrs. Marquez. Randy is a well-known surgeon, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Don't worry." She wanted to reach out to comfort her, but in the end, she just sat there with an awkward expression. This was probably how their relationship would be in the foreseeable future—awkward and distant.Pedro watched their interaction with an air of knowingness. "Stop crying, Sofia," he said. "They're fine, you don't have to cry about them. Claire's still pregnant, don't upset her."Sofia was about to get angry about his admoni
At that, Javier narrowed his eyes dangerously.The Weiss family wasn't in a stable condition right now, so it wouldn't be hard for him to take revenge on Claire's behalf. Now that he knew the truth of what had happened, he had to find a way to punish the perpetrators.The news that Ollie was Javier's biological son quickly spread, especially after Sofia held a party in celebration. In fact, it made headlines the day before Ollie's scheduled surgery.Javier wasn't surprised about it. He had been looking for an opportunity to announce it to the public so that there wouldn't be unsightly rumors that would affect Claire. Claire, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable about the announcement. After all, she had always been a private person; she didn't want anyone to disturb her peaceful life.After a while, though, she got used to it.The most important contributor to this was that it benefited Ollie. From now on, he wasn't a fatherless child anymore. He could tell anyone who would l