A young woman couldn't help but laugh at that, which made everyone else laugh as well. Shawn ignored them and walked into Javier's private room.Javier had informed him yesterday that he was bringing Claire out to look around, so he had gotten everything ready for them. In the room, the first thing he saw was Javier pouring a glass of water for Claire. They were both quiet, but the familiarity around his actions clearly showed that they were close. Shawn lowered his eyes so that his emotions were hidden. This was what Hattie had dreamed of all along. All she wanted was a little bit of gentleness from Javier, but in the end, she got nothing. Making sure that he wasn't showing any emotion, Shawn walked over and sat beside them."I'm glad that you're here with Claire, Javier," he said with a smile. "Let me give you a toast. I know Claire can't have alcohol, so she can toast with some juice instead." He raised his glass and downed it in one gulp.The conversation flowed naturally after th
After a while, Shawn finally found his voice. "Javier, what do you mean?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably. He was very surprised. Agreeing to any condition he wanted in exchange for evidence of Hattie's wrongdoings was hardly beneficial to Javier.If he wanted, he could've gotten more and better evidence than what he had, at which point he wouldn't even need to approach Hattie; all he needed to was get the person behind her. Why did he get this honor?"Javier, are you sure about this?" he blurted out in fear. "Are you really going to agree to any condition I set? How does this benefit you? Why are you doing this?"Javier laughed. He knew what he meant, but it didn't concern him. "I know what I'm saying. If I'm talking to you, that means I've given it enough thought. You don't have to worry about it." Gently swirling the wine in his glass, he pressed, "Are you taking the deal or not, Shawn? If you don't want to, then forget it. But don't say I didn't warn you." He downed the wine. He h
Javier ignored Claire, took a pail of water, and threw it over Morrow.Morrow screamed and woke up when the cold water hit him. His voice was scratchy and unpleasant to the ear. He had clearly been hurt badly before this.When he woke up and saw Javier standing in front of him, he cowered in fear. "Javier, what … What do you want from me? You can't do this. Let me go!" His struggling intensified as Javier drew closer to him, but he could do nothing but shout threats at him."What do I want?" Javier glared at Morrow insidiously. "I want to torture you, then kill you."Claire was also angered by Morrow's threats. Thinking about how he had tried to hurt her, she rushed up to him and slapped him across the face with all her strength. The force of the slap threw Morrow to the ground. His face went red, and blood trickled from his mouth.Claire did not stop there. She pulled him up and slapped him again and again, venting all her anger, until Javier couldn't stand by any longer."Claire, don
"Let me go, you twats with shit for brains! I am from the Marquez family. Lay a finger on me and I'll kill all of you!" Morrow roared hysterically. "Claire, save me! Please save me! I see my mistakes now. Please forgive me. I won't do it again!" he begged, staring at Claire beseechingly."Don't bother," Javier said coolly. "She won't save you. You don't deserve it." He turned to look at Claire, who was standing stiffly beside him, head lowered and expression blank, as if none of this had anything to do with her. "Javier Marquez, I'll kill you!" Morrow screamed."If only you could," Javier snorted before giving the doctor a look.Morrow watched in terror as the doctor injected him with a sedative. "No," he whimpered, twisting his body away. He didn't want to be castrated. "Hurry up, he's too loud," Javier said in disgust.Morrow twisted and turned every way to get away from the doctor, but the sedative kicked in. Soon, he found his strength depleted. "Javier Marquez, you'll burn in he
"Javier Marquez, do you think the Marquez family will allow you to do this to me without consequences?" Morrow taunted. If looks could kill, Javier would've been dead a hundred times over. "You're a despicable man. The Marquez family will not allow you to hurt your blood relatives. They won't!""So what?" Javier's eyes flashed coldly. "Are you sure you'll be able to make it out of here alive?"Morrow trembled in fear at the look in his eyes and swallowed the curses that he was just about to throw at him. Despite his fear, he still glared at them.After a while, he got tired and began to lose consciousness. At this point, he was in no condition to resist. Claire knew that he would die if they just left him like this. Even though she did not pity him, she didn't exactly want him to die either."Morrow, do you want to die?" she asked softly. "I'll give you a chance to save yourself, but you have to tell me the truth, okay?"Morrow's eyes were glazed over, but he nodded in acknowledgment.
Claire knew that a shitstorm was waiting for her. She had put it off for long enough in the hopes that she would never have to face it.Even if she hated Morrow, she never wished this on him. But what happened had happened, and there was nothing she could do about it.Claire had to admit that she felt guilty. The guilt seemed to consume her, leaving her gasping for breath. What happened had happened, but it still didn't stop her from feeling bad about it.In his study, Javier was working hard. There was something he had kept from Claire, that is he was in some trouble.Beside him, Henry was still in shock. He still hadn't gotten over the shock of hearing what Javier had done to Morrow. After some hesitation, he asked cautiously, "Mr. Marquez, what you did to Morrow … he may have deserved it, but he's still a Marquez after all—your cousin, in fact. How would your grandfather …" He trailed off, not daring to finish his question as he glanced at Javier timidly.Javier was silent for a whi
The disappointment was a small matter compared to what happened next. They would never have ended up in this situation if it wasn't for it.Javier laughed at that thought. When had he become so compassionate? He must have spent too much time with Claire, and her kindness had rubbed off on him.Javier's heart softened at the thought of Claire. For the first time in his life, his emotions were affected by another person. He used to be an emotionless weirdo who only had work on his mind—yes, a weirdo. That was how Claire had described him before. He didn't know it then, but he had to admit that he was a weirdo in the past.Thinking that, Javier replaced the photo into the drawer, just as he had often done before, and stood up. Slowly, he made his way to Claire's room.She was already asleep when he came in. Even in her sleep, she was curled up into a tight ball, indicating her insecurity.Seeing this, Javier felt his heart soften. He took his place beside her on the bed and pulled her int
Claire blinked, taken aback by Javier's sudden kiss. She didn't know what to do.Javier's kisses used to be lustful and invasive, but this time, it was gentle and loving. Claire remained stunned until Javier pulled away slightly. She blinked, wondering if she was still dreaming. "Javier, what's wrong?" she asked.Javier hugged her tightly, his eyes filled with wonder and fondness. "I can't believe you think that too, Claire. I'm so happy."Claire couldn't help but laugh. She gave him an exasperated look. "Do I look like such a cruel woman to you?" If she could feel pity for mere animals, how could she not pity an actual human being? Claire felt that no one, not even her or Javier, had the right to take someone's life. She wasn't a saint, but she refused to be an executioner.She was as kind as ever. Javier pulled her into a tight embrace. "Claire, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."Hearing this, Claire felt something warm and fuzzy in her heart. She closed her ey
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