From that angle, Claire's cheeks seemed rounder. Her large, doe eyes nestled on her pouty face, making her appear more pitiful.Javier studied her with dark, smoldering eyes as if he wanted to etch the way she looked deep in his mind.Facing such an intensely focused Javier, Claire's mind went blank; she forgot all about struggling and stared back at him instead. A flurry of conflicting emotions erupted in her heart. In truth, she often dreamt of Javier these past few days, making her restless each night. Despite longing for him, she had no choice but to suppress her feelings and refrain from acting on them. At that moment, she stood before the man she had missed for days but dared not reveal how much she yearned for him. Claire feared that if Javier did anything to move her again, her heart would soften, and her plans to leave would get compromised. Not wanting that, Claire firmly met his gaze while enunciating, "Let's end whatever this is before things get to the point of no return,
The two froze on the spot once that happened.On Javier's end, he couldn't believe he had just spanked Claire as punishment. Yet, when he saw the red handprint on her butt, his gaze darkened with more desire. He felt an oddly satisfying sensation coursing through his veins; it was as if he had total control of that situation, and it pleased him.Meanwhile, Claire was furious beyond words. Anger and humiliation tainted her cheeks red as she scowled at Javier. The state Claire was in—with her behind pointed up at Javier, giving him full access to slap it—made her flush. She never imagined Javier would spank her as punishment. It was far too mortifying for her. Not caring how unkempt she looked, Claire glared daggers at Javier and tried to get up.It was too bad for her; Javier had gotten a taste of power and wasn't planning to give it up soon. He knew Claire wanted to escape, so he pressed her back down with one hand, snapping, "Stay put and behave! You're not to move even if it hurts. Y
Claire froze on the spot, and cold sweat immediately beaded on her forehead. She dared not look behind her as she could imagine how furious Javier was at that instant. Eventually, she heard Javier getting out of bed and picking up his clothes. Claire sighed in her heart before forcing herself to turn around with a smile. "I-I was only going to take a shower."She flashed innocent, puppy-dog eyes at him after saying that.Javier withdrew his gaze calmly, suppressed his urge to ravage her again, pointed to an adjoining room, and said, "You're going the wrong way. The bathroom is over there."All color drained from Claire's face as she never imagined Javier would believe her excuse. She was so baffled that she couldn't utter a word; instead, she obediently headed to the bathroom. Once inside, her jaw fell agape at the massive bathtub with intricate carvings down its sides. She thought, "I guess presidential suites are truly something else. Gosh, it's like a whole other world in here—wait.
Never in a million years did Claire think Javier would do such a cruel thing. She inwardly blamed herself, thinking, "It's all my fault for trusting him so much! Great. I'm the world's biggest idiot for putting myself in this position!" Despite how mad she felt, Claire took a deep breath and steadied her turbulent emotions before suggesting, "Calm down, Javier. Why don't we negotiate a common ground?"She figured, "It can't be bad to try a more polite and meek approach—especially since my aggression earlier hadn't worked. Besides, I doubt Javier would be so cruel as to reject me completely.""Fine," Javier immediately agreed, nodding while lazily lounging on the couch and pulling Claire into his arms.The sudden twist left Claire flabbergasted. Plus, she was now so close to Javier that she could feel his warm breath. Yet, amidst her body stiffening and looking around awkwardly, she realized Javier's cold demeanor had softened significantly. She cheered in her heart that the battle was
"No," the hotel employee asserted, "This meal was specially prepared for the lady in this suite. I must assemble the dish in person to ensure the ingredients' freshness.""How troublesome. Aren't you aware of the strict security protocols for this suite? Just forget it! Leave the meal here and go."Claire's heart dropped when she heard that, so she tried her best to speak normally. "I only ever eat freshly made dishes. Clearly, your boss knows this and insisted that the hotel complies with my standards. I suggest you let her in, lest I refuse to eat and starve. If that happens, you'll all get punished."She deliberately acted like a spoiled heiress, hoping to intimidate the bodyguards into letting her have her way. As expected, the bodyguards shared tense expressions. While they had no clue who Claire was, they knew she meant a lot to Javier as he cared a lot about her. Hence, they frowned at each other, unsure of what to do. The lead bodyguard contemplated for a few seconds and scru
Javier had deliberately finished all his work for the day before rushing back to check on Claire. For some odd reason, he felt uneasy whenever he couldn't see her for extended periods; it was as if having her by his side 24/7 was the only way to soothe his mind. Not wanting to spend another second apart, Javier took his private elevator up to the 28th floor and marched straight for his suite. "I can't believe Claire's been so obedient this whole day. I thought she'd surely kick up a storm with the bodyguards or start trouble to distract me from work. What's gotten into her today? Has she finally realized I'm not the enemy?" A subconscious smile curved across his face when he thought of that. Seeing the serene atmosphere outside his suite, he glanced at his uniform line of bodyguards and asked, "How is she? Did she kick up a fuss?"The lead bodyguard felt the insults Claire hurled at them earlier weren't severe enough to be a fuss, so he shook his head. "No. The lady ate her meal on ti
Claire wanted nothing more than to rip Charles' smirking face into pieces and stomp hard on them. Huffing exasperatedly, she responded, "Fine! If that's how you wanna play, I'll tell Javier you kidnapped me. Since you won't help me, I'll take you down too! We can suffer together!"Although venting her anger on Charles felt great, her heart still raced in trepidation for Javier's arrival."Chuckling, Charles turned to his subordinates and said, "You heard her threats. Men, lock this woman up! Don't let her escape, or nothing good will become of us when Javier arrives."That was enough to stump Claire, who realized what was happening; Charles planned to use her as cannon fodder in his vendetta against Javier. Finding herself stupid for making a deal with a demon like Charles, Claire's insides writhed with disgust. She spared no time turning to run, but Charles' subordinates were quick enough to subdue her and tape up her lips.Lips curving, a satisfied Charles looked into Claire's fiery
One corner of Charles' lip curled upward as though pleased with this outcome. "Perfect. You're as frank as they make you out to be, Mr. Marquez. I won't beat around the bush anymore, then—give me the land to the east of the city."Almost immediately, everyone stiffened and gawked at Charles. That was especially true for Henry, whose eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. He mused, "The nerve! How dare he demand Mr. Marquez to hand over such an important piece of land? He may as well try to steal it from us!"Despite his shock, he couldn't help peering worriedly at Javier, wondering, "There's no way Mr. Marquez will agree to this, right?"…Claire was more shocked than anyone else by the scene. Only she knew how much effort it took to transfer the land ownership to Javier. Not to mention, Javier had already made such an exchange in the past to save her. Claire never imagined she would become bait for Charles to threaten Javier again."What a shameless, wretched piece of shit!" Cla
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