Yvette was startled. Before she could react, Xavier sat back down on the sofa and looked at her. "I'm unwell. Stay here and take care of me.""Will you let my friend go if I take care of you?"Xavier grunted in agreement. His voice was hoarse and raspy."Alright," Yvette agreed. She wanted to approach him anyway, so this would tie in well with her plans.Xavier leaned back on the sofa, and his stomach ached slightly. He hadn't eaten anything since going abroad last night."Ms. Snyder, you haven't forgotten how to cook, have you? I'm hungry.""I'll order some food for you." Yvette took out her phone.She was about to place the order when he frowned and stopped her. "I want to eat your cooking.""If I cook, you'll have to wait for at least an hour or two," Yvette explained."I can wait." Xavier's intense eyes looked intently at Yvette without looking away. Yvette felt very uncomfortable under his stare. "I'll go and cook now then."Xavier looked at her slender figure, and he
Xavier was in no mood to continue eating. He was too annoyed. How had he never realized how sharp-tongued Yvette was?The sky outside had grown dark, and after a low rumble of thunder, lightning flashed in the sky.Yvette turned on her phone to see that it was already 8:00 p.m. Usually, she would call Viola at this time and also check in on Zachary.A tall figure blocked the light in front of her. Xavier had suddenly appeared behind her. "What are you looking at?"Yvette immediately put her phone away and turned back to look at him. Xavier's complexion looked much better, but his eyes were still sharp."Have you finished eating? Can I go home now?""Why are you in such a rush to get back? Did Claude contact you?" Xavier asked in a measured tone. Yvette felt like he was hinting at something. "What do you mean by that?He was speaking so strangely today. Why did he keep mentioning Claude? At that moment, Yvette's phone rang. She glanced at it and saw that it was Claude calling.
"Is it fun to toy with me? Did Claude teach you this?" Xavier asked, his eyes reddening with each word.As the heavy rain poured outside, Yvette's ears grew damp. She could hear a slight rumbling.She stopped pretending to have amnesia. "I just wanted to say goodbye to the past and start anew."Xavier laughed. He tightened his grip on her wrist and moved closer to her."You wanted to say goodbye to the past by faking your death? Did you ever think about how I would feel?" Xavier touched her cheek with the other hand and found her trembling. "Are you afraid of me?"Yvette bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood before she finally spoke. "I'm begging you, Xavier. Give me my son. He's not yours; he's mine and Claude's son. I beg you, give him back to us."Something seemed to snap in Xavier's head when he heard Yvette say Noah wasn't his son."If I remember correctly, it had been less than a month or two since we decided to divorce when you got together with Claude, right? "Did
It wasn't just because the Snyder family had tricked him into marrying Yvette, but also because Yvette had faked her death and spent the past years abroad with Claude!Yvette's eyes were filled with pain as she uttered, "You know the incident back then had nothing to do with me.""But you were one of the people who gained something from it, weren't you?" Xavier's voice was laced with anger.He was furious that Yvette only thought he was angry that she had taken advantage of him through their marriage. She never mentioned faking her death, Claude, or the children. Yvette couldn't find the words to respond.After a prolonged silence, Xavier went to the balcony and lit a cigarette again. In the cold wind, he couldn't stop coughing as his eyes reddened and he grew warmer.He himself didn't understand why he was doing this to keep Yvette with him.Perhaps it was out of resentment.He felt resentful that he had spent four or five years searching for her, only to find that she was wi
Not wanting to listen to Xavier anymore, Yvette slammed her cutlery on the table. "I'm full." She stood up and started to walk away.Only then did Xavier realize that she was mad. He quickly got up and grabbed her wrist. "Why are you angry?" he asked.Yvette pulled her hand away. "I'm not angry. Mr. Lane, you're absolutely right. My friend and I are the ones who lack skills. Otherwise, your people wouldn't have been able to throw her in jail for a day."Clearly, she was angry.Xavier had to lower his pride and explain, "I didn't know that the lawyer Daphne had mentioned was your friend."Yvette listened in silence.For the first time, Xavier was at a loss for what to do. He could only try to placate her. "Tell me how I can make up for her being locked up. Should I have someone apologize to her?"Yvette was surprised to hear this but didn't get a chance to respond as a cough came from the door.Mark was standing there with shock written all over his face.The air around Xavier
"My apologies, sir." Mark had always known his place. He had only spoken up this time because he didn't want Xavier to have any regrets in the future.After all, he was the one who knew best just how much Xavier had changed during the years Yvette had been missing.Xavier didn't blame him. After Mark left, Xavier returned to the room.Yvette had just received a call from Kiki, who informed her that she had been released late last night."Yvvy, did you meet up with Xavier?" Kiki asked. She had sensed that something was off since Yvette hadn't answered her calls the night before."Yes, I talked to him about it yesterday," Yvette admitted without hiding anything."Did he give you a hard time?" Kiki asked anxiously."He didn't." Yvette saw Xavier coming back into the room. "I'll talk to you later." Then, she hung up the phone."Who called?" Xavier asked as he strode into the room."My friend, Kiki," Yvette replied. As she stood up, she looked at Xavier and asked, "Where's Noah? I
"You mean Xavier brought Noah here?" Kiki was stunned when she heard about Noah."It's true, but I don't know where he's taken Noah." Yvette's eyes were filled with worry. "And he already knows I was faking my amnesia. I'll be living at his place from now on, so I need you to take care of Zac. You mustn't let Xavier find out about him.""Don't worry, I'll make sure to hide Zac well," Kiki confidently assured her.Suddenly, she thought of a possibility. "Yvvy, do you think he's fallen for you? Why else would he want you to stay at Dewberry Manor?" she asked.Yvette was taken aback but quickly dismissed the idea. "Daphne was right about one thing—if someone doesn't love you, they never will. Why would he start liking me just because I was gone for a few years?"Kiki mulled over it for a moment, still feeling frustrated. "Xavier is such a jerk. He doesn't love you, yet he's keeping you tied down."Yvette patted Kiki's hand. "Let's not talk about this anymore. It's Friday today; le
Malcolm's disdain for Daphne likely stemmed from his mother constantly telling him that Daphne wanted to have Xavier's child and compete for the future head position of the Lane family.Zachary put down his book and looked over with his beautiful eyes. "What's the plan?"At that question, the two other boys looked at each other, wide-eyed.Malcolm moved closer to Zachary, pouting slightly. "Zac, what do you think we should do?"Zachary knew they didn't have any plans at all. However, he had already thought of one.He leaned in and shared his plan with the two boys, who listened intently, getting more excited by the minute.Just then, a little girl came over to the trio. "Zac, what are you guys talking about?"Malcolm gently pushed her aside. "Go away. Don't disturb us men when we're talking business."The little girl pouted, almost on the verge of tears.…Meanwhile, a minivan drove down the road. Daphne had just finished touching up her makeup when her assistant, Laura Win
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