Claire couldn’t help but frown. “I have nothing to do with Javier now. So please stop calling me Mrs. Marquez. Just call me by my name.”Henry was taken aback and was unwilling to do so. However, he didn’t have any choice and nodded. “Okay, I’ll follow your orders, Mrs. Mar…Ms. Weiss.”After some thought, Henry tentatively asked, “Ms. Weiss, I don’t know what happened between you and Mr. Marquez, but please save him. Although he’s alive, he’s really depressed. He’s been taking in more work than normal, and I don’t think his health can handle it.”Claire was indifferent, so Henry continued, “I feel really distressed looking at him. I know that you love him. I bet you feel distressed too, right? Please don’t be so cruel to him.”At this moment, Claire only felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart. She might be expressionless, but her fists were clenched tightly. “What does it have to do with me? We have nothing to do with each other anymore,” Claire replied indifferently.He
At this point, Henry knew nothing he said would change anything and fell silent for a moment. He realized his words would be futile and sighed as he stood up saying, “Well, Mrs. Marquez, I’ll be leaving for now. I still have to deal with some matters for Mr. Marquez. You should rest well and take care of your baby.” Claire nodded, but she secretly hoped he would’ve left sooner. She was finally able to make up her mind and was afraid that she would change it if Henry said one more thing, and her heart would soften. If that happened, all her efforts would be in vain. If it really came to that, she was afraid she would never have the courage to choose to leave Javier again.Because she was too eager to hide her emotions, Claire did not realize that Henry called her Mrs. Marquez again. The title was already engraved in her bones. Henry saw that Claire still didn't say much and knew that she intended for him to leave. He felt dejected as he slowly stood up and left. Before leaving, he to
It was only now that she finally realized this fact. Charles watched as Claire left, his eyes burning with mixed emotions. He thought he had a lot to talk about with her, but the words were left hanging in his mouth. Now, he felt uncomfortable all over. Was it because he regretted the words he said to her? Charles had never done anything he would regret. But why did he feel so upset and heavy-hearted if he didn’t? The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he was. Charles couldn't help but clench his fists before he slammed them on the coffee table. The coffee table shattered, and the frightened staff immediately lowered their heads, afraid to make a sound."Mr. Yackley, please calm down," the butler said, trying to console him. "You haven't had dinner yet. Don't let your anger affect your health."Charles became even more angry at the mention of dinner and snorted coldly, saying, "I don’t want dinner!” He stormed off to the study, unclear of what he was upset about. The st
"Huh, what do you mean?"Upon hearing this, Hattie couldn't help but laugh mockingly at herself, and her facade instantly fell apart. Her face twisted into an ugly frown, and she said hoarsely, "Do you have to be so cruel to me? We grew up together. You weren’t like this back then. You didn’t avoid me like you do now!"Hattie could no longer keep her emotions in check. Her dainty makeup was now ruined by her tears, and she grabbed onto his sleeve, unable to control herself any longer. Her tears flowed like a waterfall; her pain was evident. When Javier saw Hattie in this state, instead of feeling pity for her, he felt irritated. He frowned and glanced at her, then coldly shrugged off her hand that was on his sleeve. "Enough! Stop bothering me like this. I have to go to work. Take care of yourself."After Javier said that, he was already prepared to turn and leave.Hattie couldn't help but feel worse when she saw that he didn't want to stay here for even a moment longer. She put a
Patty stood up to greet him when she saw him enter. "Sir, you're back." Javier grunted softly in response and focused his gaze on Ollie, who struggled to get up when he saw Javier, but he quickly held him down. "Lie down, Ollie. I’m just here to see you. Are you feeling better now?" Ollie listened to him and laid back down, but he held onto his sleeve tightly and said, "Dad, I’m feeling much better now. It doesn’t hurt as much. Don't worry about me, and don't frown so much. It makes you look ugly." He felt unwell a few days ago, but he was much better now. Seeing that Javier was still looking at him with worry as if he was still concerned for him, Ollie repeated, "Dad, I'm much better now, so don't worry. I’ll be fine. The doctor you got is great. I’m not badly hurt." Javier held Ollie's hand and looked at him tenderly. "It’s good that you’re feeling better." Although Ollie still felt unfamiliar with his father, he accepted that this man was his father after all, espec
At the Yackley manor, Claire had just taken a nap, and when she woke up, she noticed that her phone screen had lit up. She had received a text message. She felt a mixture of emotions, but she forced herself to pick her phone up. Lately, she had been feeling very tired, probably because of her pregnancy. Her heart instantly warmed up when she saw it was a text from Ollie. She was relieved to know that Ollie was getting better, otherwise, he wouldn't be sending her messages. At this thought, Claire quickly replied, "Ollie, I’m here. I miss you so much. What are you doing?"Ollie replied, "I’m thinking of Mommy.""Me too. You must be a good boy, okay?" "Mommy, I’m very good. But when are you coming to pick me up? I can't wait any longer."Claire was at a loss after seeing this message. Suddenly, she didn’t know what to say and started to feel conflicted. Since Javier was about to marry Hattie, she had to pick Ollie up soon. Claire hesitated for a moment before sending him a reply. "O
His subordinate only vaguely thought of this possibility and dared not speculate further, quickly lowering his head as if he were startled. Charles also had this thought, and his face darkened when he heard this. He gritted his teeth, saying, "We can only find out if we ask Chantelle. That woman must have something that she’s not telling us."His subordinate immediately understood and said, "When do you plan on meeting her? I'll make the necessary arrangements."Charles glanced at the time. He had an important meeting in the afternoon, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be at ease until he cleared this up. So, he said, "Let's make it this afternoon. I heard she's at the hospital. That would be perfect, so I don't have to go out of my way to meet her again."The man nodded respectfully and went to check which hospital Chantelle was in.Charles was left alone in the room, holding the documents in his hand. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. It could not be su
Charles had long since lost his patience when he saw her pitiful act and interrupted her, saying, "Chantelle, I don’t like to repeat myself. It’s better for you to put down your act. I’m not that easily fooled." Upon hearing this, Chantelle felt a sharp pang in her heart, as if the pain in her body had intensified. She clenched her fists and looked at Charles with a wounded expression, asking, "Charles, what do you mean by that? Why did you come to see me today?"Why give her a glimmer of hope, just to destroy it mercilessly? He was simply too cruel! Charles looked at her with amusement. He was someone who was very callous, especially toward the ones he didn’t love; he had a desire to humiliate them. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction at the sight of Chantelle hurting. He gradually lost interest when she stopped crying and explained disdainfully, "I came to ask you a question. As usual, if you answer honestly, I won't make things difficult for you. But if you insist on hiding
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