It was a dreary day with constant rain.Yvette Snyder stood at the entrance of the hospital, her body frail, clutching a pregnancy report in her thin hands. Three words on the report stood out: "No pregnancy detected"."You've been married for three years. How are you not pregnant?" Her mother, Yara Cadwell, demanded, jabbing a finger in Yvette's face disappointedly. Yara was dressed lavishly and wore high heels. "Why are you so useless? If you don't get pregnant soon, the Lanes are going to kick you out of the family. What's going to happen to our family then?"Yvette looked at Yara blankly. She had a lot to say, but the words were stuck in her throat. In the end, all she could manage was, "I'm sorry.""I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to give birth to Xavier's child. Do you understand me?"Yvette's throat felt tight; she didn't know how to answer Yara.In their three years of marriage, her husband, Xavier Lane, had never slept with her.How could she ever have his ch
Everyone in the private room looked over at the door. For a moment, the room was eerily silent.Yvette immediately caught sight of Xavier in the middle of the room. His eyes were clear and bright. He was clearly not drunk.She knew that she had been tricked by Daphne.When Xavier saw Yvette, his pupils constricted.Everyone else in the room looked awkward, including Tristan, who had been the most vocal in getting Xavier to accept Daphne's confession earlier.Yvette shouldn't have gone there.Daphne was the first to break the silence. "Please don't get the wrong idea, Yvvy. Tristan was joking. Xavier and I are just friends."Before Yvette could answer, Xavier stood up impatiently. "There's no need to explain it to her."Then, he stalked over to Yvette. "What are you doing here?""I thought you were drunk, so I came to take you home," Yvette answered truthfully.Xavier scoffed. "You really didn't retain anything I told you, did you?"Lowering his voice, he said softly so that
Yvette's voice was calm and impassive, as though divorce were a menial matter to her.Xavier's pupils contracted. "What did you just say?"Over the last three years, no matter what he had done, Yvette had never brought up divorce.In truth, Xavier knew that Yvette loved him.Her eyes, which were usually dull and empty, were clear and bright now. "I'm sorry for being a burden over the last few years, Mr. Lane. We should get divorced."Xavier clenched his fists unconsciously. "You heard what I said earlier, didn't you? Snyder Group was already failing; it won't matter whether I buy it or someone else does. What are you trying to do by bringing up divorce?"Is it because you want money? Or a child? Or do you want me to leave Snyder Group alone?" he asked coldly. "Don't forget that I don't love you. Your threats won't work on me!"At that moment, he seemed like a stranger to Yvette. A lump formed in her throat as her ears began throbbing. Even though she was wearing her hearing aids
Even Yvette's hearing aids were stained red.Her pupils contracted, and she quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe her ear. Then, she stripped the bedsheets and washed them.She was afraid that Viola would worry about her if she found out that her illness was worsening. So, she cleaned up the mess and found an excuse to bid goodbye to Viola.Before she left, she placed a part of her savings on the bedside table without telling Viola.Viola walked Yvette to the bus stop and waved goodbye reluctantly.…After Yvette left, Viola couldn't stop thinking about how thin the former was. Unable to just sit by, she called Lane Group.When the secretary heard that Viola was Yvette's nanny and wanted to speak to Xavier, she transferred the call to Xavier's line.It was the third day after Yvette had left Xavier. It was also the first time in three days that he had received a call about her.Sitting behind his desk, he felt exceptionally pleased. Just as he had expected, Yvette wouldn't be a
Yvette watched the news and saw the press conference held by Lane Group. It was an announcement that Xavier had successfully acquired Snyder Group. James' company no longer existed in the world.…Things on Xavier's end had been extra pleasant lately. He had acquired Snyder Group and gotten his revenge."The Snyder family finally got what they deserved for tricking you into that marriage three years ago." Tristan chuckled. Yet, he changed the topic in the next instant. He asked Xavier, "Xav, has Deaf Yvvy approached you during the past few days?"Xavier froze halfway through signing a document. He didn't know why, but people around him kept mentioning Yvette these days."No," he replied coldly.That shocked Tristan. After all, how could Yvette not do anything when something this massive had happened to her family? With that in mind, he spoke again. "Could it be that she's finally come around? I heard her family has been looking everywhere for her. Nobody knows where she's gon
Yvette felt like all the blood in her body was curdling. She couldn't believe what was happening. Although she wanted to refuse and fight back, it was no use. Xavier only seemed to calm down at the very last moment when he finished screwing her.By then, the sky outside had already brightened.Xavier glanced at Yvette, who was all skin and bones, then at the jarringly bloody spot on the bed. He didn't quite know how to describe what he felt.Just then, Yvette reached up to slap his handsome face. That slap also crushed her hopes and dreams for love. Her heartbeat was so loud that she could hear it in her ears. It prevented her from listening to what Xavier said. So, she interrupted him. "Get out!" Xavier didn't know how he left. All he could think about was everything that had happened last night.After Xavier got into his car, he called Mark. "Find out about all the men who are acquainted with Yvette."Mark was baffled. Yvette had only ever interacted with Xavier after marr
At Dewberry Manor, Xavier lounged on the living room couch after returning home and didn't bother turning on the lights.He was so worn out that he massaged his temples while resting. Yet, his eyes soon snapped wide open as he abruptly woke from his sleep. It was odd because he'd had another nightmare. Not to mention, it was about Yvette. He couldn't believe he had dreamt about Yvette dying and that it had felt so real. When he looked at his phone, he realized it was only 4:00 am. It was the end of their cool-off period, and they agreed to finalize their divorce together today. Xavier couldn't help but text Yvette. "Don't forget that we're finalizing our divorce today."Yvette was on the brink of losing her consciousness when she received that text. Even so, she forced herself to send a voice message in response. "Sorry, I might not make it… But don't worry. We'll definitely get a divorce."Her death naturally meant their marriage would no longer be in effect.Xavier inex
"Got it." Terrence approached Claude, intending to snatch Yvette away from the latter.To his shock, he had just reached out when Claude kicked him onto the ground with immense force. With a loud thud, Terrence landed on the ground, far away. It hurt so bad that he clutched his chest, struggling to speak.Seeing that, Yara hastened to help him up. She shot a fiery look at Claude. "How dare you kick my son!"Claude carried Yvette while his eyes exuded a frosty, hostile stare. Rainwater dripped from each strand of his hair as he approached the mother-and-son duo. It was as if he had transformed into a demon.He growled, "Do you have a death wish?"Yara and Terrence were terrified of him. They didn't dare utter a word.As Claude carried Yvette away, he turned to remind Yara of something. "Yvvy's will mentioned a recording she kept. In the recording, you promised you would have nothing to do with her from now on. I hope you haven't forgotten about it."Yvette would rather die th
Yvette saw that the call was disconnected and decided not to worry about Xavier anymore.…On the other end, Mark stood outside the ICU ward. Up until now, Xavier still hadn't woken up.Tristan came over and checked all the indicators. "There's nothing wrong, so why hasn't he woken up yet?""Mr. Shaw, do you think Mr. Lane might never wake up?" There was a look of concern in Mark's eyes as he asked that. He couldn't believe that the person he had always followed would leave in such a way."Don't overthink it," Tristan said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.Suddenly, there was a noise from the outside."Who are you? This is a private hospital. No one else is allowed to be here.""How can you resort to violence?"There was the sound of things clattering, followed by the cries of pain from those in a fight.Tristan frowned. "Who is it? Do they have a death wish?"Mark was also in disbelief. Shortly afterward, they finally saw clearly who was approaching them.Jeremiah was s
Over at Snyder Residence, Yvette was woken up early by Kiki, who also informed her that there were negative rumors about Zoey circulating online."Yvvy, see, I told you that the media wouldn't easily let Zoey off the hook."Yvette read through them again.However, these news stories disappeared not long after they were published.While eating breakfast, Kiki frowned and said, "The speed at which trending articles change is just too fast.""That's the benefit of having money," Yvette said.Even the children knew about the trending articles being removed.Zachary had originally wanted to hack in further to make Zoey's news trend more frequently. Unfortunately, it seems they had figured out about the hacking attempts, so they fortified their firewall and posted someone to monitor the situation.If he hacked in again, there was a chance he might expose himself.Zachary decided to back off and settled for teaching Zoey a small lesson.…Yara was to be laid to rest today.Yvette
"We've found her, and we're currently figuring out how to obtain her biological sample," Elijah replied.Zoey was really anxious. She said, "Great. Once you've got it, come back as soon as you can.""Okay."Zoey hung up the phone and laid down to rest, but she just couldn't fall asleep.If Xandra really was Gemma's daughter, given Gemma's doting and overprotective nature, she would want to give half of everything she owned to Xandra.No, it wasn't just half. By then, Zoey might end up with nothing, and everything would go to Xandra.Zoey had a rough night and didn't sleep well, but fortunately, Elijah sent a message saying everything had been arranged. They were coming back today, so they could move forward with the examination earlier than planned.Just as things got settled over at Zoey's, online articles started trending elsewhere."Zoey Yandell is suspected to be the biological daughter of Yara Cadwell.""Zoey Yandell is unwilling to acknowledge her biological mother in or
"Fine, then. What a pity," Kiki said as she put down her phone.Yvette reassured her, saying, "There's nothing to feel bad about. What happened today was a warning to Zoey that I'm not someone to be messed with."Kiki nodded, saying, "Yes."They all understood that as long as Zoey was the Zelnik family's daughter, she would always have someone to protect her.Kiki said, "Gemma treats her adopted daughter so well. If she had her own kids, they'd definitely be happy too.""Yes, indeed."Yvette admired Zoey for having such a supportive mother who stood by her no matter what happened.Kiki asked, "Yvvy, have you ever thought about finding your biological mother?"She suddenly realized that many parents who abandoned their children might have done so because they had no other choice, or perhaps they did so for other reasons.Yvette shook her head. "I don't want to be disappointed again."Parents who could abandon their daughter at the orphanage probably didn't love her very much.
Kiki nodded and said, "Yes, it's them. They're incredibly arrogant. Just thinking about it still makes me really angry."Yvette picked up her phone and made a call. A bodyguard that was stationed nearby answered her.Kiki overheard her telling the person on the phone to isolate a few of them and beat them up."What do you mean?"Kiki still didn't understand what was happening.The driver started the car and drove them to a secluded location.Kiki then realized that all the people who had previously pushed her were now being cornered and beaten up."Yvvy, this is...""I can tolerate it if they bully me, but I can't stand it when they bully you," Yvette said, enunciating each word clearly.Kiki felt moved. She hugged Yvette tightly, saying, "Yvvy, you're amazing! My true love!"Yvette couldn't help but laugh. "Dummy. You're my best friend. You stood by me, so of course, I'll stand by you."She was no longer the person she once was, with nothing to her name. Yvette now had weal
Zoey never imagined that Yvette had secretly recorded their conversation back then.She immediately told the approaching reporters, "Stop taking pictures."However, even if the reporters didn't take photos, the guests who attended would take pictures and record videos."With this whole mix-up between the real and fake daughters, is Zoey actually from the Yandell family or the Snyder family?"Lawrence was upset and said, "My daughter, of course, took my last name.""Ah, so Yara was having an affair..."The people who came to attend the funeral on behalf of the Snyder family were instantly displeased."Are you kidding? Yara has been with you all along. Do you think us Snyders are a bunch of nobodies?"The members of the Snyder family and the people from the Cadwell family suddenly started arguing fiercely.Yvette looked at everything happening before her and just felt a deep sense of sadness.Kiki was supporting her upright, fearing she might get unintentionally caught up in th
The people present whispered to each other, confused about what Yvette was trying to do."Yvette, we were in the wrong before. Please don't take our words too seriously."The ones who previously criticized Yvette were now pretending to say nice things, fearing retaliation from her.Zoey and Lawrence stood among the crowd, unsure of what Yvette was going to do or say.Yvette ignored the person speaking and instead pulled out a report. "This is a paternity test. I am not Ms. Cadwell's biological daughter."She spoke about it boldly and bluntly.Everyone present was stunned to hear that, including Zoey and Terrence.Terrence never imagined that the sister he grew up with was not actually the daughter of the Cadwells."Yvette, don't joke around," Terrence said while forcing a laugh.Yvette looked at Terrence and said, "I'm not joking. To avoid anyone thinking I'm faking it, I've undergone tests at several major hospitals. I'm definitely not a daughter of the Cadwell family or the
The corners of Jeremiah's lips curled into a faint smile. "It seems like things aren't looking good for him."Tristan was immediately infuriated upon hearing those words. He grabbed Jeremiah by the collar and demanded, "What nonsense are you spouting?"Jeremiah looked calmly at him and said, "You're not very good at lying."Tristan was indeed that kind of person—he had no hidden agendas or schemes."You're Xav's own brother. Do you really hate him that much? Do you want him to die?"After hearing this, Jeremiah's expression remained unchanged. "You and Xavier are supposed to be best friends. Can you guarantee that you're not jealous of him and have never thought about making him disappear?""Of course not," Tristan affirmed confidently.When he was younger, he indeed felt jealous of Xavier and was unhappy about always being overshadowed by him. But as he grew older, he realized that everyone had their own strengths and that there was no need to compete with others over everythin
The members of the Cadwell family looked at each other in confusion, and then they began to apologize to Yvette and Kiki."Yvette, I'm sorry. Please forgive us. We're old and unwise.""Yes, yes, we're unwise. We're sorry.""Miss, please forgive us. We'll cover all your medical expenses."They all apologized at once, but only they knew how sincere the apologies actually were.Kiki tugged on Yvette's hand and asked, "Yvvy, what do you think we should do?"Yvette had already figured out how to deal with them. She said, "Since they already realized their mistake, let's just let it go.""Okay." Kiki, seeing that Yvette wasn't bothered by it anymore, agreed as well. "Just make sure you don't bully others by abusing your power in the future.""Right. Yes."Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had narrowly escaped a crisis. They didn't realize that Yvette had already planned on how to deal with them.This was, after all, a funeral parlor, and some media reporters would s