Claire was already on the verge of a breakdown so when Charles came over, she leaned on his shoulders for support without even looking at Javier. She was about to break under the pressure and wished he could just leave her alone."Claire, I’m not leaving without you," Javier was adamant. He was determined to take Claire away no matter what. Even if she ended up resenting him, he would not let her leave him. "Charles, let's go," Claire turned around and said to Charles, avoiding Javier. All she wanted was to escape this place and break off all involvement with Javier even if it wasn’t what she truly wanted in her heart. "Javier, you really surprised me." Charles turned dark, and his heart was overwhelmed with mixed emotions when he saw Claire in such a state. All he could do was take her away. "Let’s go, Claire." He grabbed her arm without any hesitation and tried to leave. Charles was very quick to act, and anger consumed Javier when he saw Claire being so intimate with Charle
It was hard to describe what he felt at the moment. Charles could only stand there watching the both of them speechlessly. Claire was already in despair the moment Javier wiped away her concealer. Her heart hardened, and she didn’t say a word, but instead, looked at him with fury. It was some time before Claire felt that she could speak again, but her voice came out weak and hoarse, "Javier, are you really willing to risk the lives of Ollie and our child?" She asked softly, but in the end, she couldn't ask anything more. She didn't know what to say. She would rather everything be fake."Javier, I'm telling you clearly, if that's really the case, I will also die. Will you be happy then?" Claire looked at him dejectedly and spoke coldly, paying no notice to the bruises on her neck.Javier also felt uneasy inside. His heart hurt to see Claire’s look of determination, but he concealed it and remained calm, looking at her quietly. "Claire, you can only be mine," Javier declared.Cla
Everyone watched Claire and Javier nervously, even Charles fixed his eyes on Claire with mixed feelings. She might seem cold and indifferent on the surface, but he could read her as clear as day. Claire could feel herself trembling and the gun was slipping out of her hands. However, she told herself to stay strong so as to not let Javier see through her façade. "I knew you wouldn’t hurt me," Javier said gleefully. He thought that he was right since so much time had passed and Claire had yet to make a move. After all, she was too kind-hearted to do so. Just as Javier thought that Claire would never hurt him, she made a cruel decision. Claire quickly switched the gun from one hand to the other and then hit Javier on the head. Javier didn't expect Claire to make such a sudden move, and he was completely taken aback and immediately passed out.Claire let out a sigh of relief at the sight and gradually let her guard down. She didn’t know she had the strength to knock him out. Javier clea
"Charles, I still feel like this is all a dream. It seems so unreal to me," Claire said softly, gazing out of the window. After some thought, she couldn’t help but feel she had overreacted, which caused her to be awkward around Javier. However, she didn’t want to fool herself anymore."I want some time alone. I’ll be going now." Claire did not say anything else and got out of the car without even turning back.Charles was left confused and dazed, as he watched her leave. He didn't know why he had done so much for Claire, or why he still felt unhappy even after seeing Javier humiliated. He sat in the car the whole time, neither leaving nor trying to persuade Claire to stay. He felt like he needed time to try and clear his mind. For some reason, the whole situation became complicated and difficult to understand. After leaving, Claire did not go back home, but instead, she went to the bridge. It was cold under the bridge, causing her to tremble slightly. However, she did not stop and
He cried silently, and tears streamed down his face. Javier felt a painful twist in his heart—so painful that he could barely breathe when he saw Claire crying alone, calling out his name over and over again. He also witnessed Claire hugging herself, looking lonely and helpless. However, he could only watch her from afar without the courage to even let Claire see him. He was afraid of the insults she would throw at him if she did. He hated himself as much as she did. If it weren’t for him, Claire would probably be much better off now. He had no right to stand before her—much less wipe away her tears. In the end, he could only watch her as she cried her heart out and left after sitting alone for some time. Javier knew Claire was about to leave, but he was worried since she was alone, so he secretly followed her from behind. Claire strolled along the road slowly. She knew she should get home, but she didn’t want to. So, she just walked and reminisced about everything between her and
That night, Claire tossed and turned in bed alone as she fell deep in thought, but in the end, she couldn’t escape the memories of Javier. Whenever this happened, Claire would desperately tell herself that this would be the last time she would ever think about Javier again. After tonight, she really had to start her life anew—she had to start a life without Javier. Before falling asleep, Claire couldn't help but gently stroke her slightly swollen belly. At least, there was still something in her body that belonged to him. Meanwhile, Javier had been staying close to Claire, not sleeping at all and watching her upstairs. He planned to leave after Claire returned home, but he couldn’t bear to leave after seeing her so upset. In the end, Javier saw her room lights switch off, but he still had no intention of leaving. He really didn't want to part with Claire, and her recent state had made him very worried. He watched her from downstairs, recalling their past together with a heavy heart.
Claire couldn’t help but feel relieved that she was blessed with such a good son to accompany her and helped her through all the lonely times. Even the food didn't seem so unpleasant at this moment. After finishing the food in just a few bites, Claire looked at Ollie, who had finished eating, and lifted her plate."Ollie, look, Mommy finished all of it!" Claire said happily "What surprise do you have for me?"Ollie saw that the plate was indeed empty and smiled at Claire with satisfaction. "Mommy, I'm going to prepare a surprise for you now. Sit on the sofa and wait for me." Ollie put on his slippers and ran toward the bathroom. Claire was puzzled by his actions and asked curiously, "What are you going to do?""Just sit on the sofa and wait for me. I'll be back soon!" Ollie didn't directly answer, but said without turning his head, "Don't follow me."As soon as he finished speaking, Ollie ran out of Claire’s sight. The room they were in didn't have a direct view of the bathroom
There was a long silence before Claire asked carefully, "What are the consequences?"Although she had made up her mind to not leave on her own again, she still wondered what Sofia was talking about. Sofia glanced at her and scoffed, "I don’t want to hurt your child. If anything happens to him someday, remember it was you who forced my hand!" She was furious at the thought of how Claire ruined Javier’s engagement party with Hattie and was even more displeased with her. This threat shocked Claire. She could hear how much Sofia despised her although she had already gotten used to Sofia’s attitude toward her. It might be her own problem that she couldn’t find favor in Sofia’s eyes, but Ollie was so young and sweet. Why did she have to threaten her with his safety?Claire was extremely upset, and tears filled up her eyes. She wanted to protect Ollie, so she had no choice but to compromise. "Sofia…" Claire began to plead but received a cold glare from Sofia due to the way she addre
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