“He’s ruining all my plans. I’m a good employee. If he fires me, then it’s no wonder his company is going under,” Claire complained. She felt better after ranting to Javier, but she did not notice that his expression had changed.Javier was exasperated. He was firing people who were useless to his company. To her, however, he was a bad boss who fired people on a whim.This was the first time that someone had cursed him to his face!This woman was bold.The warm light of the living room cast a golden sheen on Claire’s face. Her eyes were bright and lively.Javier couldn’t bring himself to be angry at her when she looked like this. All he could do was sigh.He didn’t even notice this change in attitude as he sat beside her on the sofa and corrected, “When a business fails, it’s most likely due to incompetent management by the previous owners. The ones who acquired the business shouldn’t bear the blame for having to fire incompetent workers. It’s actually a good decision to lay off redund
Claire whooped with joy at hearing the news. Ecstatic, she picked Ollie up and kissed him fervently. "Ollie, Mommy finally got a job. I can finally make enough money to raise you. I'm so happy!" Feeling her joy, Ollie felt happy too. Although he was a little dizzy from her kisses, he looked at her with wide eyes and said, "Congratulations, Mommy. I knew you were amazing. How could any company not want to hire you?" Claire was nonplussed. Her son's compliments definitely worked magic on her, and they talked loudly in the room for a while. Even Claire herself thought this was the happiest she had ever been since returning to the country.Downstairs, Javier was drinking coffee in the living room. Hearing the ruckus from upstairs, he frowned and wondered what they were up to. Patty laughed softly and thought the atmosphere in the house was much livelier now. She couldn't help but smile and say, "Mr. Marquez, it's so good to see you have a happy family of your own." Javier glanced towards
Even so, when she saw the profiles of the celebrities signed under Stardust Entertainment, she still got a shock. That was because all of them, no matter male or female, had dashing good looks and did not lose to other companies' celebrities. However, what surprised her the most was the meager resources they were being given! Especially the girls! She had wanted to take a female actress under her wing, but someone look told her that there weren't any good options. They were all better off being extras.Claire couldn't help but sigh. The boss of Stardust Entertainment obviously treated the company like his playground. She had no choice but to look through the male celebrities' profiles. If the boss wanted to hold the girls back, then he should at least treat the guys better, shouldn't he? At the start, she wasn't at all satisfied with what she saw. Some of them had some fame, but they weren't good enough for the big stage. They were C-list actors with plenty of skeletons in their close
Early the next morning, Patty completed Ollie’s school admission procedures. Claire held Ollie’s school application documents and couldn’t help praising how efficient Patty was. “Patty, thank you. As his mother, I wasn’t worried enough. I feel so bad.” Claire sighed.“Madam, how can you say that? Sir and you are busy with work, and I adore Ollie very much. So, I’m willing to do anything for him.” Patty laughed and quickly added, “Plus, Sir was the one who asked me to handle it. Madam, you don’t have to worry.” After getting along with Claire for a few days, Patty could guess what kind of person Claire was. She didn’t want Claire to worry, so she comforted her with those words. Claire felt awkward and said to Javier, who was about to leave. “Mr. Marquez, thank you.”Javier gave a response and left, leaving Claire in a daze. What kind of attitude was that? He was too arrogant! However, Claire was happy that Ollie could attend a good school. Since it was Ollie’s first time at scho
There was a change in the young man's indifferent expression after hearing what David said. He was trying his best to suppress the disgust. However, his body was trembling out of fear.Even so, Thomas stubbornly remained silent and glared at David. He was suppressing his anger with all his might. On the contrary, David felt delighted at his reaction. "You look good even when you're angry. How could I not love you? If you accept the conditions I mentioned last night, I can definitely make you famous, depending on your looks and potential. Then, your terribly ill sister will be able to afford treatment. So, why not go for this chance?" David thought of when he first took a liking to Thomas and found it amusing that Thomas would rather die than submit to him. Back then, Thomas rejected David and was banned by him from taking on any jobs for two years.When his sick sister was mentioned, Thomas' face turned pale, and he was trembling even more vigorously. David was happy and had a smug
Claire laughed as she entered the office. Fearless, she declared, “I’m a new employee. I might need some information from you and your signature too.”She didn’t say anything else, and she assumed David feared the company’s new employees. After all, David knew the actual owner of this company was the one pulling the strings.After hearing what Claire said, David paused, and most of his rage subsided.Like a boss, Claire sat on the couch and crossed her legs. “I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you with this,” Claire snorted and placed the document on David’s desk.David was already mad because his good deeds were interrupted. Now, this new employee’s attitude made him even more furious. But now, his focus was on Thomas, so he had to endure it. He didn’t even look at the documents and sign them. Claire was satisfied. She smiled and said, “Well, thank you.” However, Claire did not leave. Instead, she sat and casually flipped through the documents. Her attitude angered David. “Is the
David’s expression darkened, looking at the ended call. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable. When Claire saw his expression, she knew the matter was settled. She walked to David with a smile and asked, “Since you’ve made the call, are there any further questions? If not, I’ll take him away.” Claire turned to leave. She did not want to see this disgusting man even for another minute.“Miss Weiss, wait!” David stopped her just after she had taken two steps.She looked back, unsure what tricks David had up his sleeves. David was agitated, but he forced himself to speak calmly. “Miss Weiss, I know you want Thomas because he’s talented. However, he’s been under my care for a long time. I’m reluctant to let him go. Why don’t we do it another way? I’ll give you the other celebrity under my name, and Thomas will stay with me. What do you think?”Seeing that Claire was unmoved, David anxiously said, “I can even give you Louie Zimmerman!”Claire raised her brow and looked at David in
Claire had a good feeling about Thomas after learning the basics about him. He was a young man in the making—a diamond in the rough.Then, she asked about Thomas’ schedule and some work-related matters. Surprisingly, Thomas became angry when he talked about this. “I don’t have any schedules recently. David never let me take any jobs for the past few years.”Thinking of this, Thomas was even more furious at David. He wouldn’t have fallen into such a state if it wasn’t for him. Claire was stunned for a moment, and the shock turned into anger. She never expected Thomas’ career to hold up for so long. “How do you manage your living expense?” Claire couldn’t help but ask.Thomas released his fist and gritted his teeth as if trying to suppress his emotion. “I’ve been taking part-time jobs to stay afloat.”Claire frowned. “Why? Doesn’t the company provide a basic salary? These are written in the contract!”Instead of replying, Thomas’ expression darkened. Claire immediately understood.
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