Liam’s heart ached for his daughter as he saw her miserable state, feeling heartbroken but helpless. He could only stand there with a calm face, feeling immense pain in his heart. However, he also couldn’t help but feel irritated at the sight of Chantelle sobbing non-stop after she was completely demeaned. To be honest, he secretly blamed her for being so helpless all due to a man.He wanted to stay with her for a while longer, but faced with the hysterical pair, Liam couldn't help but stand up, and say impatiently, "Alright, I have things to take care of. You can stay here and watch over our daughter. I'll go first."Upon hearing this, Jeanne, who was already feeling resentful, became even more agitated. She stood up and finally had the courage to look at Liam."Do you really have no conscience? Our daughter is still recovering in the hospital, and you're just going to walk away? You always say you're busy with work, but how busy could it be? Your lousy company is about to go bankr
After all, people like Morrow were known for sleeping around, which was an established fact in the entertainment industry. As for Claire, she was never meant to be a part of the Marquez family. If Chantelle couldn’t be happy, she would stop others from being happy as well. At this moment, there was a treeifying glint in her eyes.When Liam left, he coincidentally ran into Claire. Upon seeing her father, Claire was momentarily stunned as she never expected to see him in this place. This man hurt her again and again. He was the man she wanted to hate but couldn't bring herself to do so. Liam was also surprised to see Claire, and he looked at her uneasily. They were family, but at this moment, they stood opposite each other in silence, neither of them saying a word. After so long apart, Liam had become even thinner and looked exhausted, as if he had aged more than ten years in just a few days. Knowing the temper of her stepmother, she must have caused him a lot of suffering. Claire could
He couldn’t even bring himself to voice the apology he owed Claire. With this in mind, Liam quickly composed himself and gestured to Claire, "It's been a long time, I don't know if you’ll like the food, but please enjoy yourself." Claire nodded and began to eat, suddenly flooded with memories of the past. Ever since she was young, her father showered her with love and affection more than anyone else. But everything changed when her father brought Jeanne and Chantelle back home. Claire forced herself not to dwell on the past and quickly calmed down. During the meal, Claire was overwhelmed with bittersweet feelings. It seemed like it had been a long time since she'd had such a lavish lunch. It had been so long that she couldn't even remember.Liam was also at a loss as he looked at Claire and saw the resemblance between her and his previous wife. He felt like a thorn was stuck in his heart. Amongst his daughters, he was always aware of Chantelle’s arrogance and jealousy. Between the t
After that, Liam got up and left with a scowl on his face. Claire was stunned, but instead of stopping him from leaving, she just watched as he walked away. Liam looked especially distressed as he fled, and Claire felt a chill run down her spine. His overreaction was enough to tell her everything she needed to know. It seemed that this matter was not as simple as she had imagined. Her mother's death was definitely not an accident, and Liam must know something. She had to get to the bottom of this matter—even if it meant she had to leave the city. She couldn’t let her mother suffer this injustice. At this thought, Claire’s face darkened menacingly.She had always thought that as long as she could maintain a kind heart, she would definitely receive kindness in return from others. But now, she could not hold onto that belief any longer because this matter had reached the point where she would be hurt even if she turned a blind eye to it. Her mother had always been the best to her. She co
Charles watched her with amusement when she wasn’t looking. After a while, he murmured, as if something crossed his mind, "Come to think of it, there's one thing I've always wondered; won't Ollie look for his father?' Claire was initially slightly confused, but upon hearing his words, she was stunned. As if she had suddenly realized something, she couldn't help but look at the man in front of her with suspicion. "Charles, don't you think you're acting strange today?" she asked. He always asked her about things that didn't matter, teasing her, and leaving her completely puzzled. Charles rubbed his nose, feeling a little embarrassed. He rarely acted this way, which surprised Claire even more. "You must be hiding something from me. Spill it," she urged. But Charles didn't want to say more and changed the subject, saying, "You're wrong about that. I'm not hiding anything from you. I'm just bored and curious." Although Claire still doubted his explanation, she couldn't point out
However, Charles immediately understood what she was trying to ask and laughed lightly. He had an infectious kind of laugh that could put anyone at ease. Claire couldn't help but stare at him, feeling a little confused. She quickly returned to her senses, and said, "I was asking you a question, why are you laughing?"Charles played with the cigarette in his hand, and answered calmly, "I went to the hospital today."He didn’t give her any further explanation. Claire wanted to ask more, but the words were stuck in her throat. She couldn't possibly ask him who he met at the hospital; it would make it too obvious. Her disappointed expression immediately sparked an interest in Charles' heart. He knew that Claire was curious about something, so he continued, "I went to the hospital to see someone you know. Do you want to know who it is?"Claire was slightly stunned when she heard this, but she quickly caught on to what Charles meant."If I know them, is it...?"She didn't finish her
The man on the other end of the call seemed busy, and he answered impatiently, "What’s up, Chantelle?" Hearing the ruckus on the other end, Chantelle's face immediately turned cold. "Armand, where are you? Why is it so noisy over there? Are you cheating on me and fooling around outside?"Armand seemed to have left the noisy location, and his voice was much clearer as he patiently explained, "Chantelle, what are you talking about? I'm just out for business."Although they were already engaged, Armand and Chantelle had yet to get married due to recent complications in the Weiss family.Feeling guilty for being here, Armand lowered his voice and asked, "Why are you calling so late? Do you need something?"Although they rarely talked these days, Armand still tried his best to satisfy Chantelle's requests if she had any. Feeling unhappy, Chantelle started to whine, "I thought you were really busy, but it turns out you're just out socializing. You didn’t even come to visit me. Did you
At the hospital, the doctor allowed Chantelle to be discharged, but she refused, saying, “I still feel dizzy. Should I stay a bit longer for observation?”Jeanne was worried and checked her over. “Chantelle, are you okay? Where do you feel bad? Tell Mommy, hmm?”The doctor was taken aback since the report stated that she was completely fine. However, the person in bed looked pale. So, he hesitated and said, “If that’s the case, it would be best if Ms. Weiss stays in the hospital for a few more days.”Chantelle looked perplexed. “Okay.” Although she seemed to be in a dilemma, she was extremely happy and almost jumped out of bed. Then, the doctor prescribed some medication and examined her again before leaving.Once the doctor left, Jeanne looked at Chantelle’s strange expression and asked in confusion, “Chantelle, what’s the matter? Why can’t the doctor find out anything wrong?”If the doctor wasn’t skilled enough, she would ask Liam to get another one. Chantelle shook her head
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