It seemed that Claire had no choice but to stand her ground. Since Sofia was the one who started the fight, it meant that Claire could go all out just to finish it.She smiled at Hattie, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, she drawled while dragging out her words. “When you mention the word ‘future’—”Claire didn’t finish her sentence on purpose. She shook her head at the same time, seemingly feeling sorry for Hattie.Naturally, Hattie understood the underlying meaning of the unfinished sentence. However, Claire didn’t even mention her name, so she could only swallow her anger, seeing as Sofia was right beside her in Javier’s residence.“I’ll punish her later,” she thought angrily.A cruel glint appeared in her eyes. No matter what, Hattie needed to come up with a way to chase Claire out of Diroux Residences.After scanning the surroundings, Hattie looked at Sofia before suggesting in a gentle tone, “Aunt Sofia, I’m a little hungry now. Why don’t we go back and have lun
The more Claire thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She was very sure that her emotions would soon drive her nuts.When Hattie realized that Claire refused to leave the study, she became anxious, seeing as she couldn’t do anything about it.She kept thinking the whole time before ordering a housekeeper to bring her a glass of milk. Also, she specifically requested that the milk be heated in the microwave for a few minutes. Then, the housekeeper was forced to knock on the study door while balancing the glass of milk on a tray.“Madam, I’ve brought you a glass of warm milk,” the housekeeper said with a reluctant expression on her face. However, she didn’t dare to look in Hattie’s direction at all.When Claire opened the door, she noticed Hattie still standing outside the study. She replied in displeasure, “You may leave after leaving the milk here.”The housekeeper grabbed the heated glass and started approaching Javier’s desk carefully.Unexpectedly, Hattie suddenly stru
“You’re the one who did this in the first place. Who gave you permission to cause trouble in my house?”While Javier spoke, his gaze fixed on the necklace adorning Hattie’s neck. Then, he narrowed his eyes dangerously.“Do you really think I’m this easy to fool, hmm? Are you that confident that I’ll tolerate you every time?”Javier slowly approached Hattie, flames of burning rage and icy aloofness burning in his eyes. As a result, Hattie couldn’t help but shiver in fright.She had never seen Javier look so furious in her entire life. Hattie couldn’t care less about everything then. She decided to deploy the same trick that she had used last time on Javier—the art of looking aggrieved while whining coquettishly. “Javier, why are you lecturing me again because of that woman? This is the second time you’ve treated me like this!”“That’s enough!” Javier berated angrily, no longer wishing to waste his breath on Hattie. Instead, he extended his hand at her. “Are you going to give me t
“I want you to—”Javier’s voice floated in the air like a harmonious melody that couldn’t be grasped nor seen, but his subordinate’s expression kept changing drastically as he listened to the former’s instructions.“Do you know what to do now?” Javier asked in a deep voice.The subordinate nodded, not daring to show the slightest hint of playfulness in front of his boss. He replied in a respectful and serious tone, “Yes, sir.”After that, he left Javier’s office immediately.Only after the subordinate had left Javier’s line of sight did he dare to relax and let out a mental sigh of relief.It seemed that anyone who provoked his boss would be met with a fate worse than death.Hattie was definitely in big trouble this time.After Javier had given his instructions to that particular subordinate, he finally felt slightly better. For the first time in his life, he was amused by his tendency to go through rapid mood swings.Then, he went through the pile of work as quickly as he cou
Raina cheered when she saw the food on the table. "What's the occasion, Claire? Why are you treating us to so much food?" she asked as she sat down.Claire laughed. "Come on over. We're all waiting for you."Thomas was a little taken aback when he saw Claire's pallid face. "You don't look very good," he said with concern. "Are you okay, Claire?"Claire put a hand to her face and tried to ignore the uneasiness she was feeling. "I'm fine, Thomas. I think I just haven't been sleeping well. Also, I'm pregnant, so I may have to take some time off work. I'll do the handover over the next few days."She spoke calmly, showing none of her bitterness. She would miss the job.Thomas almost spat out his water when he heard that. "You're pregnant?" he asked, shocked.How did he not know that Claire was pregnant?The shock on Thomas' face was indescribable. He stared at Claire, waiting for her to say that she was just joking.Claire laughed at him and gave him a good-natured glare. "You're a supers
Claire was exhausted. She didn't think she could keep it up anymore.Every time she thought of leaving Javier and how much it would hurt him, she felt as if she had been stabbed through the heart.After crying for a long time, she collected herself. She had to be strong to face what was about to happen next.She called Charles for help. Right now, he was the only one who could protect Ollie.After some effort, she found Charles' phone number and called him. He picked up the phone with a questioning hum.Brightening up, Claire said, "Charles, it's me, Claire Weiss."Charles already knew who she was the moment he picked up the phone."Why are you calling me? You miss me?" He laughed.Claire had no time for Charles' teasing. She took a deep breath and said, "Charles, I need your help. You're the only person powerful enough to help me with this."Charles seemed to already know what had happened. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Okay, but why do you think I should help you? What will
Javier had no intention to let her go, even as she kicked him with her unhurt leg."Why do you keep doing this? The child I'm carrying is not yours, and it's not Charles' either. The father is someone else. Please let me go!" Out of anger, Claire blurted this out cruelly.Javier paused. He stared at Claire in disbelief. "What did you say? Say that again."His expression was terrifying. Even though Claire was scared, she still repeated, "I said, the child I am carrying is not yours. It's someone else's. I can't marry you, so please let me go."This was the only way she would be able to leave him.As she expected, Javier's eyes were burning with hatred. He tightened his grip on her chin. "Do you know the consequences of lying to me?" he asked through gritted teeth.Claire couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes when he was in such a state. Trembling, she said, "I know the consequences. I just hope you'll let me go for Ollie's sake. I won't ever appear in front of you ever again."As
It finally sunk in that Javier had imprisoned Claire. As the days drew closer to the wedding, she began to panic. If she really married Javier, then what would happen to Ollie and the child she was carrying?She wanted to marry Javier, but she couldn't.She couldn't sit still with that thought. One way or another, she had to escape.However, she was locked up in this room without her phone.Not only could she not get out, but no one outside could also contact her either. Trying to calm her racing heart, Claire cursed herself for being useless. How could she be so stupid? She should have learned her lesson from last night.As Claire was frustrated in her room, so was Javier.He didn't know why he was locking Claire up either. He loved Claire and wanted to cherish her, but he wanted to keep her under his eye all the time. Whenever he remembered the way she was smiling when she was calling Charles yesterday, he felt agitated.As for the child she was carrying, he had to admit that he wa
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