Ollie didn’t know how to answer the barrage of questions Claire suddenly launched at him.He thought for a moment, still confused about everything. Finally, he slowly answered, “Mommy, I really don’t remember if I ever got into a car accident, but I wasn’t hurt at all. In fact, I’m very healthy right now, so please don’t worry about me, Mommy.”Claire nodded in response. She was fine as long as Ollie wasn’t hurt.However, she still didn’t know how Ollie lost his memories. Everything that had happened so far wasn’t a figment of anyone’s imagination. It had happened in real life.Ollie thought for a little longer before continuing, “Mommy, I really feel that I’ve forgotten those things. Dad told me that I was just sick and that I would remember everything in the future.”Claire nodded once again. Despite the chaotic thoughts that ran rampant in her mind, she said comfortingly, “Don’t worry, Ollie. You’ll definitely make a full recovery.”Once she whisked Ollie away from Diroux Resi
Henry and the others had already made preparations by slipping sleeping pills into the food of the bed and breakfast’s staff. Everyone should be fast asleep at that hour.On the other hand, Claire was a pregnant woman who kept traveling everywhere, so she tended to sleep soundly every night.That gave Javier an opportunity to slip into her room.He navigated his way to Claire’s room without much trouble. After entering the room, Javier took off his clothes and lay down beside the woman before gently wrapping an arm around her form.She was sleeping so soundly that she didn’t even realize he was there. She would turn to the other side occasionally while sleeping, but other than that, she was still snoozing away happily.Javier was rather exhausted tonight.He had spent the former night staying by Claire’s side, afraid she might suddenly wake up and catch him sitting on her bed. At the same time, he was also worried that the whole thing was nothing but an illusion. That was why he
Claire nodded her head before following the security guard out of the lobby.The surveillance room was located right behind the bed and breakfast, so she had to walk a certain distance before finally arriving at the room.Another guard was stationed inside the room, so the first guard told him something before leading Claire to the computer.“Miss Weiss, do you remember exactly when you lost the item?”Claire thought for a moment. She strongly felt that someone was in her room last night and the night before, so she replied, “Can I check last night’s footage?”The security guard nodded. Soon, he produced the footage Claire wanted to watch from the night before.He seemed to have other things to do, so he gave Claire the basic rundown on how to tweak the footage before leaving the surveillance room hurriedly.Now that the security guard had left, it made things easier for Claire. Hence, she started watching the footage according to the timeframe.She spent a long time scrolling
Hattie maintained decorous conduct for a couple of days before returning to her old ways.Sofia was watering the garden when one of her housekeepers came to her. “Madam, Miss Snyder is here. She’s waiting for you in the living room.”Sofia was delighted to hear that Hattie was visiting her.Leaving her gardener to tend to the garden, she went to the living room with a smile on her face.She was candid about her feelings. Everything they presented would greatly please her if she found herself drawn to someone.In the event that she harbored any dislike toward an individual, then nothing anyone else could say would change her mind.Sofia went to the living room and saw Hattie sitting on the sofa.When she saw Sofia, she stood up and greeted politely, “Hello, Aunt Sofia. I was bored at home and missed you, so I came over to visit. I hope I’m not too much of a bother.”She looked happy to see Sofia.Hearing this, Sofia was pleased. “Of course not. I’m bored at home too, so I’m really glad
After Hattie left, Sofia sat down and began planning her next move.She had never truly stopped strategizing. She had secretly looked into the Marquez Group and determined it to be a starting point for her plans.Soon, she received intel that Javier was about to start on a new project.They couldn’t threaten Claire anymore, so the only way to force Javier into this marriage was through his company.As his mother, she wouldn’t hurt him. If anything happened to Javier’s company, she would definitely help, but that would depend on Javier’s behavior.As she was thinking this, Ken came up to her and handed her a document.“How should we use this new project?” she asked Ken.Ken’s intel had always been accurate, but she had yet to figure out how to use it.“As far as I’m aware, the board of directors still restricts Mr. Marquez’s influence within the company. He does not have full control over the finances, so the project is facing some financial difficulties,” Ken informed Sofia. Javier’s f
One thing Sofia got right was that Javier was struggling with a project, and he hadn’t found a solution yet. But he was confident he could handle it on his own without needing his parents’ assistance.Meanwhile, Hattie had arrived at Javier’s office and was just about to meet him.She had already planned what she would say to Javier to pique his interest in her. Her heart thrummed with eagerness at the prospect of meeting him.However, the security guard stopped her before she could enter. Stunned, she said, “You have to let me in. I'm Mr. Marquez's fiancée. I’m here to see him.”As always, Hattie was haughty when Javier wasn’t around to witness it. She was used to having an air of superiority over Javier’s subordinates.However, she had forgotten that he had once slapped her and warned her to stop her behavior.The security guard recognized Hattie since she had been there several times before. Plus, Javier had explicitly told him to stop her from entering, so he just looked at Hattie
Javier had noticed a change in Hattie since her arrival. The striking similarity she bore to Claire left him feeling conflicted.However, Claire was Claire. No one could replace her.“So what if my mother supports you? If you anger me, you won’t like the consequences,” he warned Hattie with narrowed eyes.Even if Hattie became like Claire when he had just met her, he still wouldn’t give Hattie another glance.If it weren’t for the fact that he still hadn’t found proof of what she had done, he wouldn’t even bother to talk to her now.Hattie was terrified, but she managed to suppress the fear.She knew that Javier was only saying this so that she would back off. For all the things he had done for Claire, how could he allow her to die in vain?“Javier, I’m…It was an accident. I won’t do it again, okay?” Hattie said softly.What happened to Claire was the last straw for Javier. Hattie knew she had taken it too far this time. It had angered Javier, and she regretted it. “Please look at me,
“Do I need to repeat myself? I said, get out!” Javier said as he glared at Hattie. His stance was clear.Hattie did not dare to disobey him, so she left his office.However, she did not go far. She planned to go back in once Javier had finished changing.She counted the minutes down to when she felt he had finished changing, then took a deep breath to calm herself. “May I come in now, Javier?” she asked cautiously.Javier did not answer. Hattie waited for a while, then opened the door anyway. Javier was looking at her with displeasure. The malice in his eyes made Hattie scared.“Javier…” she began carefully, looking at him.“I don’t like you. Do you need me to say that again?” Javier said. If Hattie didn’t have what he needed, he would have killed her already.Hattie was devastated, but she did not dare to talk back to Javier. She just fell silent.The silence between them was extremely awkward.Even though Javier had warned her not to use Claire’s perfume or copy her outfits, Hattie w
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