The moment Javier noticed Hattie, his expression instantly became icy.Cold sweat started rolling down everyone’s backs when they noticed their boss’ expression.Anyone present would have sensed that Javier was enraged by Hattie’s presence.Soon, a massacre might break out in the office.When some employees noticed Javier’s expression, they shot Hattie looks of sympathy while thinking that she was in big trouble.Then again, Hattie deserved it. After all, she was the one who had acted like an arrogant queen who thought everyone should bow at her feet.As expected, Hattie was stunned when she noticed the change in everyone’s expressions. However, she quickly returned to her senses.The look of rage faded away instantly. She giggled softly before turning around to face Javier, having previously had her back to him.“Javier, you’re back. It’s torturous for me to spend such a long time waiting for you.”Hattie had already switched to an innocent and harmless expression at that tim
That slap was just a warning. Had Hattie chosen to control herself, her relationship with Javier was still salvageable.If she weren’t able to do that, Javier wouldn’t hesitate to be cruel to her.Even after knowing her for many years, the man still felt that he didn’t quite understand how manipulative Hattie was.Meanwhile, the woman reluctantly averted her aggrieved gaze once Javier’s silhouette completely vanished from her line of sight.She felt nothing but boiling rage.After sweeping her gaze across the crowd who had been enjoying the drama, Hattie spoke up in a warning tone that was lowered on purpose.“What are you all looking at? Don’t forget who you are. If any of you dare to utter a single word about today’s incident to anyone else, I want you to remember that I’m still the future Mrs. Marquez. Don’t blame me for dropping this reminder in advance.”Hattie had spent such a long time building her image. If this incident were to get out, her reputation would be ruined.
“Miss Snyder may be a vengeful woman, but she doesn’t seem bold enough to exact revenge on your secretary at a time like this.”The day of the wedding was almost here. No matter how enraged Hattie was, she wouldn’t be so stupid as to cause another scene.Javier put away his phone, his cold expression quickly replacing the melancholic one.“I want to achieve two goals. First, I want to ensure Ellie’s safety. Secondly, in the event that Hattie should act impulsively, I’ll be able to find out who’s the one backing her up. Once she makes her move, her weakness will be laid bare. Do you understand now?”Realization dawned on Henry once he heard Javier’s explanation. “I get it now, Mr. Marquez. You’re killing two birds with one stone. You’re as intelligent as ever, Mr. Marquez. That way, we won’t have to worry about not being able to find Hattie’s weakness.”As long as Javier was able to trick Hattie into revealing her true intentions, he wouldn’t have to marry her anymore. Perhaps Clai
Then again, since Sofia was still in Snyder Villa, she felt that she shouldn’t be raging at Javier over the phone. All she could do was lower her voice and repeat herself. “Javier, why are you being so problematic at a time like this? Have you forgotten that I called you this morning and told you about our plans to visit the Snyder family and discuss the marriage details? How could you forget about what I said?”At the same time, Sofia hoped that Javier could finally settle down and have a family of his own so that she wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.Upon hearing Sofia’s words from the other end of the phone, Javier was caught off guard. He quickly remembered that his mother did call him earlier that morning.At that time, he had just exited Ollie’s room and had found everything irritable. As such, he simply responded by saying that he was too busy and wouldn’t be visiting the Snyder family.Unexpectedly, Sofia and Pedro still ended up going to Snyder Villa.The feeling
Pedro and Sofia rarely visited Javier after hearing that he had brought a filthy woman home.Now that the woman was gone, the elderly couple wasn’t stressed anymore.When they walked into the mansion, a housekeeper immediately recognized them and bowed respectfully. “Mr. and Mrs. Marquez, you’re here. Please, come in.”Sofia harrumphed lightly, already putting on airs as the lady of the Marquez family.Her actions and behavior depicted her noble lineage and the mannerisms instilled within her.Soon, the housekeeper led Pedro and Sofia to the living room respectfully.The environment was still very familiar to the duo. Even though Javier’s mansion was furnished grandly and luxuriously, the whole place still looked empty and lifeless.Pedro and Sofia sat on the main couch reserved only for the head of the house as they waited for the housekeeper to serve them tea.Patty was playing with Ollie in his room, so she didn’t know that Pedro and Sofia had dropped by for a visit.When O
Ollie knew who Sofia was in the past, but now he had no idea who she was. Patty didn’t know how to convince Sofia and Pedro that she was telling the truth.At the same time, she also didn’t know what to do if Javier blamed her for what happened.When Sofia noticed Patty’s conflicted expression, she immediately knew what the latter was worried about.The older woman’s expression darkened on the spot before she harrumphed coldly, “So, do my words not carry weight in this household anymore? Ollie’s just a child! Are you insinuating that I’ll hurt him?”Fear overtook Patty’s expression instantly. She quickly bowed her head while saying appeasingly, “Please don’t get mad, Mrs. Marquez. That’s not what I meant. It’s just that Ollie’s scared of strangers. I’ll coax him later, I promise. It’s best if he agrees to come downstairs later. What do you think, Mrs. Marquez?”Sofia replied with another grunt, but she didn’t say anything else. In a way, she agreed to Patty’s suggestion.She was
After Javier placed Ollie in his room, he didn’t say much, even after noticing the latter’s confused expression.Instead, he headed downstairs right away.Meanwhile, Sofia and Pedro sat on the couch stiffly. Both of them had solemn expressions on their faces.The former glanced at the staircase, soon realizing that Ollie didn’t follow Javier down the stairs. Then, she whispered to her son, “Javier, do you really want to keep the child with you? Don’t forget that you’re about to marry Hattie. Don’t you think she will suffer a lot after joining our family because of that child?”Javier responded by raising an eyebrow while gazing at Sofia quietly. He didn’t bother providing her with a verbal answer.Sofia couldn’t help but feel anxious when she noticed Javier’s quiet demeanor. She started urging, “Javier, why must you act this way? Did I spend all these years raising and educating you just so you can make me angry whenever you want?”Finally, a spark of emotion appeared in Javier’s
It was as if Javier could still caress Claire’s face.Javier missed Claire greatly and couldn’t help but wonder where she was.Meanwhile, the aforementioned woman had just placed a takeout order in Cloud Inn. After her food had arrived, she went on to finish her dinner.Ollie had been missing for a couple of days. The longer the days went by, the more anxious Claire became.If it weren’t for being pregnant, she wouldn’t have the mood to eat.However, she needed to eat. Otherwise, her baby wouldn’t be able to survive.After dinner, Claire took out her phone and quietly searched the Internet for clues.There were many messages on WhatsApp, and most of them came from Javier.That man kept pouring out his feelings of anxiety, longing, and worry for her.The more Claire read, the stronger the urge she had to cry. However, she didn’t dare to reply to any of those messages.It took so long for her to decide just to leave Javier’s side, so she couldn’t allow herself to repeat the sam
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