Upon descending, Javier came upon a scene where Ollie lay in peaceful slumber while Claire’s eyes were bloodshot, and her face was damp with tears, indicating she had recently been crying.Javier felt a twinge of irritation at the sight of Claire’s vulnerable side. He approached the door silently, intending to push it open. However, he paused before doing so, considering that Claire might not want to be seen in such a state since she always tried to appear strong. With that in mind, he turned around and left, unwittingly taking the initiative to look out for her. Unaware of Javier’s presence, Claire felt a sense of relief as her tears dried up. She had been feeling very depressed lately, so crying had been a much-needed release. Afterward, she covered Ollie with his blanket and lightly kissed his forehead before leaving the room. As she stood at the door, she couldn’t resist looking back. It wasn’t until she saw that Ollie was sound asleep that she began to feel better. After a
Javier leaned against the door, drinking from his water bottle, as he observed Claire bustling around the kitchen.The warm kitchen light lent her skin a radiant glow. Although she was a mother, she had a youthful appearance. Javier couldn’t help but wonder who Ollie’s father was and how he could abandon such an outstanding woman.Quickly shaking off his thoughts, Javier let out a laugh. He and Claire were only in a contractual relationship. Her past had nothing to do with him. Claire was startled by the sudden sound of Javier’s laughter and looked up to see him standing by the door. Feeling nervous, her hand trembled. “Ah!” Claire shouted. Only then did she realize her hand was bleeding. She wanted to find something to wrap her hand, but before she could, Javier strode toward her and took hold of her hand to wash the blood off. “How could you be so careless?” scolded Javier.“Come on. You were the one standing there without a sound. Won’t I feel scared? Honestly, it’s your f
On the second morning, Claire personally took Ollie to school. She needed to get an explanation from the principal today, no matter what. She had been preoccupied with work and had neglected Ollie’s care. She couldn’t help but feel even more guilty when she thought about it.Javier’s car suddenly pulled up in front of them as she was about to take a taxi to school. For a moment, Claire was shocked. Usually, Javier would already be on his way to work at this time. Before she could even react, Javier spoke up, “Get in the car with Ollie. I’ll send you two to school.” Ollie cheered and rushed to open the door, embracing Javier. “Dad, I am so happy you can take me to school! I feel like all my injuries are completely healed!” Ollie playfully hugged his father’s arm. Javier didn’t say much and held Ollie in his arms. Then, he looked indifferently at Claire. Claire lowered her head as she climbed into the car. She started to get jealous. How could Ollie become like this when he saw
Everyone’s expression changed, especially Angelica, whose face turned pale as she looked at Claire with resentment. As for Claire, there wasn’t much expression on her face. She only felt distressed for Ollie after watching that video. “Mr. Matthew, now that everyone has seen the video, it is evident that Ollie was deliberately pushed down the stairs and injured. He was even slandered. Please provide us with an explanation of how this situation will be dealt with,” Claire said unhurriedly. Despite the harm done to Ollie, she was not being unreasonable, aggressive, or complaining. Instead, she used the most civilized way to seek justice for Ollie.The principal couldn’t help but secretly admire Claire, and with a hint of flattery, he smiled, “Ms. Weiss is right. Since this happened in kindergarten, I will definitely provide an explanation. Ms. Kendall, your child has been expelled. Let’s go over the formalities later at the Academic Affairs Department.”Once this was announced, all
Everyone who saw what happened today was pragmatic. When the principal did not hesitate to offend the Kendalls and apologize to Claire, they began to suspect that someone powerful was behind Claire. Otherwise, even if the Kendalls did something wrong, the principal would not take such a big risk.The answer became clearer in everyone’s minds after they saw Claire climbing into a luxury car and the child addressing the man as his father. The person who was backing Claire up didn’t care for the Kendalls. He couldn’t be your typical guy. The parents exchanged glances, and they were all eager to befriend Claire.Claire was no fool in the car. The principal’s attitude and wariness toward her suggested that someone had likely pulled some strings in the background. She was well aware of her position, so Javier must be the culprit.Claire sincerely said, “Thank you for today.”If Javier didn’t help, she would have gotten ridiculed by the Kendall siblings!Javier leaned back against the se
Claire couldn’t help but use Thomas’ Twitter account to reply to fans.“I’ll definitely work hard. Please don’t stay up late. Staying up late is bad for girls.”After replying to a few comments, Claire exited Twitter and decided to continue later. She knew engaging with fans could generate more traffic to the account and bring joy to those who received a response. They might even share their experience with others by taking screenshots and retweeting. It was already noon when Claire finished her work. She was hungry and decided to take Thomas to lunch. After all, one’s health was critical to success.Just as she reached the door, Claire saw someone walking over. Upon closer look, a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes. That person was David. When David noticed Claire, his face darkened. He was enraged after seeing the news. He knew Thomas could easily become a hit with his own qualities, which was why David had kept him in the dark for so long.He had overestimated Claire. Thoma
Claire finally understood the parent’s intention and felt irritated. However, she patiently replied, “No, he’s busy. If there’s nothing, I’ll leave first.”After that, Claire got in the car and left. She felt ashamed. Sure enough, a guy like Javier would attract a lot of attention! The next morning, Claire finished breakfast and prepared to bring Ollie to buy her evening gown. So after bidding farewell to Patty, they left. Patty was puzzled as Claire usually stayed home on weekends and never went out. She asked, “Madam, where are you bringing Ollie?” Patty was worried when she remembered Claire climbing over the wall the night before.“Patty, there’s a party at my company. I need an evening gown, so I thought I could bring Ollie to shop with me,” Claire replied honestly. Patty immediately laughed, “You don’t need to pick your own evening gown. I’ll have someone send it to you. Madam, let me know your body measurements, and I’ll take care of the rest.”Patty was clueless abou
Javier had been looking at Claire since she walked out. He thought she was pretty attractive, especially if she put more effort into her appearance. So, Javier did not skimp on his praise like usual and sincerely said, “You look pretty.” Claire’s face turned red, and she lowered her head as she sensed the sincere admiration in Javier’s eyes. She had no idea that her slightly shy appearance made her even more appealing, and Javier couldn’t take his gaze away from her.Meanwhile, the store manager was lost in her own world, admiring her impeccable taste in selecting the perfect gown for Claire. Then, she thought, “Something doesn’t add up. The kid called Mr. Marquez his Dad. Does that mean Mr. Marquez has a child? With this woman?” Eida widened her eyes in shock and looked closely at Ollie. Although he resembled Javier, he seemed too hyperactive to be his father’s son. After some time, Claire returned to the changing room, removed the gown, and changed into her regular clothes. Si
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