As soon as the plane landed, Javier went home immediately.It was already late at night and the city was quiet. Most of the staff at Diroux Residences were asleep, except Patty, who heard the sound of the door opening and went downstairs to check. When she saw Javier, she was surprised."Mr. Marquez! We weren't expecting you to be home so early," she said as she took his suitcase from him. "I would've arranged something for you if I had known."Javier's expression was impassive as ever. "There's no need for a welcoming ceremony. We can talk tomorrow morning." All he wanted to do right now was deal with Claire.Javier did not look like he was in a good mood. However, before Patty could question him, he disappeared upstairs. Patty watched as he ascended with a worried look on her face. Shaking her head, she sighed. She really couldn't understand what these young people were thinking.In the bedroom, Javier stared at Claire's sleeping form with rapt attention. Fast asleep, Claire looked s
All Javier could think of right now was how Claire had been with another man. Jealousy and rage simmered through him, eliminating any possibility of rational thought. This was only exacerbated by Claire's refusal to explain herself. Before she could say anything, he picked her up.Claire had a bad feeling about this. Seeing his scary expression, she tried to push him away. "Javier, stop this! I'm still pregnant!" She didn't dare struggle too hard as she was afraid of hurting the child she was carrying.She sounded close to tears, so her voice wasn't as assertive as she wanted it to be. Javier said offhandedly, "Don't worry. It's my child too, I won't hurt them." Despite his rage, he was still careful to handle Claire gently.He ripped her shirt apart and grabbed her breasts roughly. Thanks to the soft bed beneath her, Claire did not get hurt, but she still felt dizzy by the stimulation. "Javier, stop that! Calm down!"With her hands now free, she tried to push herself up and leave. How
Claire's naked body was alluring under the soft light of the room. She shivered and opened her eyes to glare at Javier.Right now, she was tired and disappointed in Javier, so she did not want to talk to him. Even so, her nakedness forced her to look for cover.She knew what Javier wanted. After what happened earlier, she had no desire to indulge him.After taking his fill of her naked body, Javier leaned down and picked her up. He brought her into the bathroom and placed her in the bathtub, which was already filled with water. Claire hadn't expected this turn of events; when she came in contact with the water, she was dazed and couldn't formulate a reaction immediately.Javier splashed the warm water over her gently. After a while, Claire felt a little more invigorated. She was still angry, but not as emotional. Unfortunately, her cleared mind began to notice more of what her body was feeling, which made her uneasy.So, when Javier's hand grazed over her back and her neck, she grabbed
Claire had to admit that this was the first time she had heard Javier speak so romantically. She was so touched that she stopped being angry."Don't be so weak-willed," she chided herself in exasperation. Sadly, she was still the same person she was in the past, after all.Javier was relieved when he saw Claire's expression soften. "I was wrong for what I did to you, Claire. Please don't be angry. I promise this will never happen again," he said. He couldn't even forgive himself for what he had done, so he would definitely never do it again.Hearing this, Claire laughed. "If it really happens again, I don't think I want to be with you."Javier's heart sank. His expression became stony as he pulled Claire into a tight hug. "Don't you dare leave me."His tone was severe, but even though it was a threat, Claire did not feel uncomfortable about it. On the contrary, she liked it when Javier got like this. It made her feel wanted and loved. "I know you aren't happy that I went out with Charl
Claire did not sleep well that night, even though Javier was right beside her. She felt safe with Javier, but nightmares still plagued her, plunging her into a pit of chaos that made her feel lost. All she knew was that she was terrified.In her nightmares, she just kept running, running, and running, unable to make any sound. The same dream kept repeating itself, making her feel confused and scared. Just as she was panicking, cold sweat drenching her forehead, a voice sounded. "Don't be scared. I'm here."She didn't know whose voice it was, but it made her feel safe.After another dream about falling off a cliff, Claire jolted awake with a scream, breathing heavily. "Nightmares again?" Javier asked in concern.Claire's mind was blank as she nodded stiffly. She now knew where the voice in her dreams had come from. For a second, she felt stifled, as if her heart had been replaced with a piece of heavy marble, constricting her chest and leaving her short of breath.All of the grievances
Javier began working as soon as he reached his office. Claire also did not sit about idly. She went back to her office and met Brian at the door."Good morning, Mr. Lucas," she greeted, doing her best to sound perky."Morning," Brian answered. "You look like you didn't sleep well last night."As a manager, he was normally good at keeping their personal and professional lives separate, so Claire was surprised by his concern. She raised her head and replied, "I'm fine, thank you. Probably just a little tired. No need to worry about me."Brian gave her a deep look that conveyed his disbelief, but he didn't say anything much before going back to his office. Javier had given him a lot of tasks to do after he came back.As usual, Claire busied herself with the issue of the workers. The prognosis wasn't good, but she did receive a surprising piece of news—the developer's lawyers had just rejected the case.At first, she was surprised to hear that, but after some thought, she understood why. C
Claire was still pissed off when she left the Anderson Group. Having decided to return to the Marquez Group right away, she was about to flag down a cab when she saw someone heading her way.It was a woman, to be more accurate. Moreover, she was a woman who Claire was very familiar with.An idea popped into the latter's head as she stopped in her tracks and quickly slipped into the shadows in order to conceal herself.There, she witnessed Hattie getting out of a luxury car and slowly sauntering toward the company which she had just left.When Claire witnessed that scene, she couldn't help but feel suspicious.Could it be that the man known as Mr. Newton had something to do with Hattie?Besides, Hattie never showed up in public recently. Perhaps something occurred behind the scenes.As Claire pondered about her latest discovery, she could feel some sort of emotion that was similar to either rage or hatred surging from her heart. She clenched her fists tightly in order to suppress
Claire shook her head stubbornly. "Nope. There won't be justice in this world if everyone is afraid of taking down evil."Brian was amused by the woman's faux serious expression. He looked at her, suddenly feeling that she was a very interesting woman.However, the man suddenly remembered something. With a stoic expression on his face, he warned, "The people from the Anderson Group seem quite fishy. You must be careful from now on. Let me know right away if anything happens."Claire nodded in response, feeling her confidence starting to charge her up after receiving Brian's words of encouragement.Since she didn't have anything to do for the time being, she decided to go to the construction site and console the workers there.Most of the workers were already exhausted thanks to the incident, not to mention it had yet to be solved. The Anderson Corporation had already noted the number of years the workers needed to work for them on their contracts. That was why no matter how reluct
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