Javier's lips lingered on hers as if he were savoring a rare delicacy. Claire's mind went blank, but she suddenly remembered her past with Javier, and the kiss he forced on her when she was drunk today. All of this made her puzzled. She didn't know why he was doing this to her. Was it because he really had plans to be with her for a lifetime and wanted to make it public? But that was impossible. Javier was too mysterious and too hard to read. Lost in thought, she completely forgot that he was still kissing her, allowing him to take advantage of her for no reason. After a while, Claire finally snapped out of her shock and quickly pushed him away. "That's enough!" Claire's face turned red with anger and embarrassment as she glared at him.Javier was secretly overjoyed that he managed to tease her; even in the face of her anger, he didn't show any sign of annoyance."You taste delicious," Javier commented while wiping the corner of his mouth.Claire's mind went blank again at his act
The morning sunlight was particularly elegant, streaming in through the full-length windows, casting golden rays onto Javier’s body and face. It was as if he had been coated in liquid gold, making him look quite handsome.Undoubtedly, this man was the center of attention no matter what he looked like.Claire was infatuated with Javier’s appearance. Javier was already exceptionally attractive, having very distinct features. Now, with the addition of the sunshine, he looked even more ethereal.Claire felt a softness in her heart and suddenly had the urge to kiss Javier. This was the moment her heart skipped a beat.She quickly suppressed this scary thought, and seeing that Javier was still sleeping peacefully, she felt relieved.Suddenly remembering that Javier had said he wanted to eat the breakfast she made yesterday, Claire almost instinctively got up to fulfill his wish.After freshening up, Claire went to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. It was still early, so Patt
"Claire, you can return to your previous office," the supervisor said as he introduced a man standing in front of Claire.The man’s demeanor was icy, and he simply nodded his head. His handsome features were devoid of any expression as he looked at Claire."Mr. Bjorn, look forward to working with you in the future," Claire said politely.She knew that the company had undergone major changes after she had left. The previous manager had been dismissed by Javier, and Claire knew that the new manager had been appointed by him. She felt guilty about the trouble she had caused. Despite this, she felt grateful to this new manager who asked her to return to the company. She extended her hand in a gesture of goodwill."Sure." Hugo Bjorn shook her hand briefly and did not say anything more, seemingly indifferent to her.Claire withdrew her hand, feeling the coldness of Hugo’s grip, and thought that he was a strict and aloof leader.Between her thoughts, she heard Hugo say, "I heard that
Thomas’s attempt to appear strong so that Claire would not worry did not escape her eyes. What Thomas did not know was that the longer he pretended to be strong, the more worried Claire became about him.Claire felt increasingly guilty in her heart. If it weren’t for her departure, Thomas would not have been subjected to such treatment. She also realized that she had been too kind to David, allowing him to repeatedly bully Thomas.She vowed in her heart that now she was back, she would not let such a thing happen again. She would settle accounts with David later.With these thoughts in mind, Claire’s expression softened as she patiently said, "Thomas, you’ve been through a lot recently. Now that I’m back, I promise nothing like this will ever happen again. Your only job now is to focus on filming ‘Traverse 2’, and leave the rest to me. Don’t worry."Thomas nodded, feeling moved and almost overwhelmed with emotions. He managed to suppress it and let out a light sigh before flashing
As soon as David heard her words, his last bit of reason was gone, and now his only thought was to teach Claire a lesson. So, he immediately started cursing at Claire, "You slut, you think you’re something special now that you’re back? Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson and make sure you remember it."Because his voice was very loud, some colleagues around them raised their heads to look at them. When they saw David’s violent appearance, a look of surprise appeared on their faces. Although David’s reputation in the industry had never been good, he never behaved like this. Was this still the Mr. Zimmerman that they know? How could he treat a female colleague this way?However, David did not care about these things now. The only thing he wanted to do was to tear Claire apart. After he finished cursing, David did not feel relieved. Instead, he raised his hand and was about to slap the woman.The people around him were startled when they saw David getting ready to hit Claire. They w
In the depths of Morrow’s heart, he felt himself sink into oblivion and there was a stir of emotions flowing out. He walked toward Claire almost as if he were possessed, and suddenly, he had an epiphany. This realization caused his whole body to shudder, and he immediately snapped out of his trance. His expression turned dark, and he withdrew his gaze, cursing inwardly.Glancing at his watch, he realized it was time to clock out. The office was empty except for Claire, who was still there for some reason."It’s already time to go home; you’re not leaving?""What time is it?" Claire raised her head at the sound of the question and answered.When Claire looked up and saw that it was Morrow, her eyes showed a hint of disdain and disgust. But she quickly concealed it before Morrow could notice. She had just returned to the company and did not want to make more enemies that would give her a hard time.Claire glanced at her watch and realized that it was really late. She quickly packed
As the car pulled up nearby, Morrow’s expression became even more difficult to read.He looked off in the direction that Javier’s car had left, a faint expression on his face. In his eyes, there was a hint of malice.It turned out that Claire was really something else, she was actually Javier's woman.The thought sparked a hint of interest in Morrow’s eyes. The whole situation seemed to be getting more and more interesting.Meanwhile, Claire knew nothing about his schemes. She sat upright in the car the entire time, feeling nervous because she was worried that Javier would be angry and question her.However, Javier didn't say much on the entire ride, and he didn't show much emotion on his face either. It wasn't until the car turned a corner that he faintly withdrew his gaze from the rearview mirror. A hint of gloom was mixed in with his expression, leaving her wondering what he was thinking.Even after the two of them returned home, Javier still didn't say anything. Claire was re
Claire was shocked and hadn’t had the chance to push Javier away when Ollie barged in. They were still in the same position as before on the bed, not knowing how to react and what to say.Upon seeing the scene in the room, Ollie widened his eyes, but quickly reacted and turned around, covering his eyes.“Dad, Mommy, you guys continue. Ollie didn’t see anything. I just came to call you guys for dinner. I’ll go first.” Ollie rambled on and on, still not daring to look at his mommy, and quickly ran out of the room.“Ollie…”Claire pushed Javier away in a hurry, but Ollie had already disappeared from her sight. Feeling helpless, Claire broke free from Javier’s embrace and gave him a resentful glare.“Now what do we do? Ollie saw us, and he’s still just a child.”After saying this, Claire remembered what happened just now, and her face blushed even harder.Javier did not show much emotion on his face. On the contrary, he smiled ambiguously, looked at her, and said, “I’m with my own w
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