The young doctor changed his serious tone and spoke casually, making the mood less grim."That's great news! Rascal! I almost lost my life! Why did you scare me?" The old man breathed a sigh of relief. Then he complained while poking his son's head. "It's good that it's nothing serious. Claire, don't be in a hurry to leave. You should recuperate for a longer time. Think of your child." The old lady also relaxed."Yes. I'll stay." Claire smiled. She was still scared after hearing what the doctor said and was worried that she might have some serious problem. She was touched because this family was so kind to her. They saved her life."I really don't know how to thank you guys." Claire sobbed and felt even more upset. They were strangers, but they treated her like family. How could she repay them?"Hey, don't say that. It was fate that let us meet. We feel happy to see that you're getting better. So, don't cry." The old lady comforted her. She quickly hugged Claire."Don't cry. I
Hearing that, Sofia also put down her cutlery and kindly said to Javier, “Yes. There’s nothing much to deal with at the company anyway. Why don’t you accompany Hattie to pick out her wedding dress? I’ll call her after breakfast, or you can call her.”Javier ignored his parent. He elegantly finished his meal and got up. “I’m done. You guys can continue eating.” Then, he walked upstairs. Pedro slammed his fork on the table when he saw Javier’s attitude and shouted, “Get back here and sit down!”Seeing how angry Pedro was, Sofia quickly said, “Javier, sit down; let’s discuss it, okay?”Javier knew it wouldn’t be easy for him to leave this table. So, he sat down expressionlessly and was silent. Then, he said, “I have a meeting this afternoon, so I won’t accompany her to pick out her wedding dress.”“No! Listen up, Javier. No matter what, you’ll have to accompany her today!” Pedro demanded without giving him any chance to refuse.Sofia added, “Javier, what could be more important tha
Javier wasn't in a good mood. The moment he saw this, his gaze turned cold, and he turned to Henry. "What's the meaning of this?"Henry was helpless and told him truthfully, "Mr. Marquez, this was done by Hattie."Hearing that, Javier frowned and didn't know what to say. He felt conflicted, but to put it bluntly, he was extremely unhappy. How could he never expect that Hattie, a vain, pretentious woman, would do such a thing? He should've guessed it and stopped her. Now that the deed was done, there was nothing much he could do."Mr. Marquez, do you want me to deal with this?" Henry asked when he saw Javier's expression. He didn't have a good impression of Hattie anyway. To him, she was an arrogant, rude, and selfish woman who loved to use her status. If she wasn't rich, who would bother with her?"Forget it. Let her be," Javier said, as there was no point in stopping it now. He decided to just ignore it. He didn't want to interfere with what she wanted to do as it only irritat
That subordinate definitely would not let Hattie know she had joined the gossip group and even secretly leaked some rumors. She felt happy. When she witnessed Hattie looking deflated, she wanted to laugh.“Get it checked out! Right now! Find out who spread these malicious rumors and order them to be suspended!” Hattie was furious as she never thought she would become such a joke. Those people were acting arrogantly. This made her feel like everyone would be laughing behind her back once she walked out of the company. However, when she turned around, everyone would look serious again.Hattie didn’t know if it was her imagination or if the world was going against her. No matter what, she would find out who that person was. It was too much! How could they put the blame on her and spread out such negative rumors? “Go and investigate it right now!” Hattie was pissed off and ordered her subordinates to take action quickly. After all, she felt she was on the verge of going crazy and eve
"Can I really find my child?" Claire was unsure and looked at the young doctor."You'll definitely find him!" He quickly comforted her. "He'll be fine. I believe he's a lucky kid. Plus, with current technology, it'll be easy to find him. So, don't be sad." This seemingly silly young doctor said so much for the first time to comfort Claire. "Yes!" Claire felt touched. Before Claire and the young doctor could speak more, there was a noise outside, and it turned out to be the old couple. "Come on!" The old lady said while the old man panted behind her. Claire was touched by their appearance and wanted to tell them to slow down."Claire, I heard that your kid is missing, and you want to return to the city?" the old man panted as he asked Claire."Yes," Claire answered. Although she was reluctant to leave, she had no choice."Then, I'll send you to the city with my tractor," the old man said. Then, the old lady knocked on his head."Ouch! What's the matter with you?" The old ma
Claire breathed a sigh of relief as she knew Javier had never liked Hattie. It had always been Hattie’s one-sided love. So, she thought that this was unverified.With a smile, Claire continued reading. “However, Javier never listened to me, and I had to announce the news. He told me it would make me happy if we could get everyone’s blessing. This will also let the people who like him give up.”However, the news of Javier and Hattie’s wedding was spread everywhere. Javier would definitely come out to clarify this if this wasn't real. It seemed he had not come forward to make any declaration. Was that his way of agreeing?The more Claire thought about it, the more upset she was. In the end, she threw away the newspaper, squatted, and hugged her head. “Why is this happening? Why did he arrange a wedding while I was gone?” Claire muttered. Although she knew Javier and Hattie had to get married sooner or later, it was too soon. Moreover, this was announced when she had gone missing.A
After walking for an hour, Claire reached the place where she almost lost her life. She looked at the road where the accident happened and felt mixed emotions. At the same time, she was scared.What if the people who captured her discovered she was back? Or what if Hattie’s men were still there? She was conflicted but soon made up her mind because she had to find Ollie. Even if the chance was slim, she couldn’t give up.Claire was in a dilemma for a moment before going to ask where Ollie could be. Then, she saw a grocery store nearby and felt she could find some clues there. So, she quickly walked over. “Hello, I just have a question. Did you hear about an accident a few days ago?” Claire asked directly because she was worried for Ollie. The lady in the grocery store didn’t speak at first. When she heard her question, she quickly looked away and said, “Accident? When did an accident happen here? I don't remember anything. If you don’t plan to buy anything, just leave. Don’t disru
Claire wasn’t sure how far she’d walked. She only knew she’d walked a long way. Eventually, she came to a halt, overwhelmed by exhaustion, feeling that the distance to her destination was too great to continue.Continuing on the journey was not an option for her. She was aware that pushing herself any further would not only drain her strength but could also affect the well-being of the baby growing inside her.However, Claire felt warm at the thought that she wasn’t alone. As she looked up, she spotted a bed and breakfast where backpackers and travelers could stay and experience the charm of country life.Unlike a typical hotel, this establishment did not demand identity cards from its guests. Claire sensed that this was a refuge where she could remain undetected, at least for now. Though she couldn’t quite explain it, she had an inexplicable sense that she would be safe here. Claire took a deep breath as she decided to stay at the bed and breakfast. Yet, just as she was on the
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