Claudia froze momentarily before her voice immediately morphed into a tearful tone. "Nick, don't you know?""Explain it clearly! What am I supposed to know?"He tightened his grip around my waist as he lost control, oblivious to the fact that he was hurting me. I felt my heart drop, and I felt sligh
Suddenly, I lost all desire to explain myself. In his eyes, an explanation would only turn into me admitting my mistakes.Nicholas sounded somewhat hurt as he said, "Ariana, do you know what the cruelest thing about you is?"I glanced at him calmly without an ounce of emotion. If I could truly be fu
I had heard such cruel words often and had slowly grown immune to them. I clenched my hands tightly into fists and forced myself to calm down. "Although you aren't my biological mother, I've treated you like my own mother for four years—"Before I could finish speaking, Frances interrupted me and s
I was exhausted, so I decided to close my eyes and rest. But in my mind, there seemed to be the scent of blood lingering in the air.It felt like there was an air of bloodthirstiness coming from someone. Just from a slight sniff, I knew I had to get away. I massaged my temples painfully as Yasmine's
There was already a fine layer of sweat on my skin after I got dressed. When I walked past the mirror, I was shocked by my pained and pale expression.I quickly calmed myself down. I knew I couldn't show up in front of these people who hated me and let them see me in such a state. That would be no d
When I arrived at the hospital, Claudia was lying in bed fiddling with her phone. She looked much healthier compared to Nicholas' pale complexion yesterday.I straightened my posture and called out to her solemnly. "Claudia!"She had been focused on her phone and immediately sat up in fright when sh
I took a photo of Claudia as she was being brought away by the police and sent it to Yasmine.I had asked her to report the progress of the case in real time under the name of Jay Caldwell & Co. I wanted an explanation for myself as well as for the people following up on my case.All of the women wh
"Oh, my God!" Jasmine shyly pressed the document toward her chest, only to find it inappropriate, and quickly hid it behind her. "Mrs. Hawk, please don't misunderstand."It was clear to me that she was just trying to deny the obvious. I pretended not to care as I entered Nicholas' ward with my back
Claudia had left, yet it still felt like someone was standing there. The tension of a silent standoff stirred something deep within me. But under the cover of darkness, whatever I couldn't hide would still remain unseen."Was it you?" Nicholas's voice carried no hint of emotion, and his gaze was unr
The journey from Jay Caldwell & Co. to Coral Villa wasn't long, taking less than half an hour.I kept refreshing the webpage, watching the situation unfold. The trending topics about Claudia and Nelson continued to drop in popularity. Someone was clearly working to bury the story."Tell the PR team
In Nicholas's mind, it seemed like I still loved him because I had his child.I could clearly feel that from the moment I revealed that Tabitha was his daughter, he became much softer."We're here," Douglas reminded me in a low voice, snapping me back to the present.Today, I was meeting with Yasmin
After finishing lunch, I asked Douglas to take me to Jay Caldwell & Co. I needed to discuss a few things with Yasmine.Nicholas stopped me in front of the car. "Can't you spare me just half an hour?"The wind was stronger today, and my words carried a coldness as I spoke."I think you should make th
Just as I was about to turn Nicholas down, the waiter knocked and brought in the dishes I ordered.I frowned. "Did you bring the wrong dishes? This isn't what I ordered."I was starving and had ordered butter-poached lobster tails, seared scallops, sous vide short ribs, and king crab legs with herb
I got into the car and saw Nicholas outside through the window, kicking at a patch of grass with a gloomy look on his face.Douglas glanced at me. "Ms. Jones, did you and Mr. Hawk make up?"Upon hearing that, I lifted my gaze and caught the confusion in his eyes through the rearview mirror. I shook
Christopher trembled as I stepped toward him. Although each of my steps was graceful and unhurried, they seemed to fill him with dread.At that moment, I felt like I was some kind of demon. Why else would it take so many bodyguards to hold Christopher down? I did not doubt that, if they let him go,
"Christopher?" I gasped.I had planned to slip away quietly, but Christopher's desperate cries were so loud they drew a crowd. It was then I realized Coral Villa looked the same as before, yet it had changed in so many ways. Otherwise, where did all these people come from?A guard in black kicked C
Nicholas needed some time alone, and my mood did not ease from the heavy pain as I pushed open the door.Just a door between us, and we were each steeped in our own pain."Ah! Ah!"The sound of a little voice pulled me from my thoughts. I practiced my smile twice before I leaned over the railing. "