Henry's mention of Sophie left Tina laughing coldly.Such was the difference between love and callousness.Henry loved Linda and was meticulously doting on anything that concerned her.Tina certainly remembered the time when Rory was brought back to the country, and Linda had lost her in the mall.Within minutes, Henry sent every connection he had into that mall to search for Rory, rocking the city.At that moment, everyone knew Henry was no longer single, even having a daughter.And with that, Rory was acknowledged as Henry's daughter, even though Sophie had never been since her birth.What about Sophie? Had he ever cared for her?He had every right to blame and doubt Tina for what happened, thinking her a pathological liar for drugging him.That was why he doubted her claim that Sophie was dead, stubbornly insisting that Tina had hidden her somewhere.In fact, he could think whatever he liked—Tina no longer cared about what he thought of her!But when it came to Sophie…I
Henry knew that Tina loved Sophie dearly, and controlling Sophie meant that he could control Tina.It was certainly a well-thought out plan, even meticulously calculated, and not once was Sophie's feelings on the matter considered.Looking Henry straight in the eye right then, Tina growled through her teeth slowly and clearly, "You listen well. I'm not yours, and Sophie is not your leverage!"Even so, she could barely stop her pain, and she could not stop the tears welling up in her eyes as she continued, "What did Sophie do to deserve a father like you?" Sophie was five, but this was the first time Henry had ever said that he missed her—and not because he had not seen her for a while, but so that he could use her like a tool!Nonetheless, Henry snorted, his intimidating presence unfurling. "What, finally realizing that I'm terrible, so you want to get Sophie a new daddy? Have you asked her? Did she say yes?"He stared Tina in the eye, wondering if she really liked John and want
Both Linda and Irene smiled as they brought Stan his presents. Stan was at once on his feet, showing utter respect to Linda. "Thank you, ladies."Linda looked around, as she had expected Henry but did not see him there.And after what had happened with Martin, Irene was even more keen to suck up to Linda, asking Stan without needing Linda to tell her, "Where's Henry?"However, Stan remembered that Henry had left chasing after Tina.He had no idea what madness had overcome Henry—the man used to hate the very mention of Tina, but today, the same thing only got a strange reaction out of him.That was not all either—he even dragged Tina into another clubroom, and there was hardly any disgust or spite that was spoken about in rumors.If anything, he looked like he cared too much…Still, glancing at Linda, Stan decided to cover for Henry."He left to take a phone call," he said and cheerfully changed the subject. "Come, come! Have a drink with this birthday boy!""Okay." Linda did
Irene struggled to get to her feet, but even before she could stand, Tina picked up a bottle of red wine from the table and poured it over her head."Argh!"Irene dropped to the floor again, clutching her head on reflex and hiding her face as she screamed.On the other hand, everyone else in the clubroom could not react in time as Tina had moved so quickly, even pouring the entire bottle over Irene."Touch me. Just try it," she growled. "And don't worry, I'll pay for the red wine."None of the people in this room were anything good.Nonetheless, Stan glowered at Tina for causing such a mess. "That's why Henry doesn't love you.""And you think I care?" Tina scoffed."What are you doing?!" Henry appeared and snapped right then.He was going to smoke in the opposite room to quell the irritation he felt from Tina's cold attitude.He had wanted to use Sophie to keep Tina in line and stop her from hooking up with John, but it was also true that he wanted to see Sophie too.He had
Linda deliberately mentioned what happened five years ago because in Henry's mind, Tina had drugged him precisely to steal him from Linda.That was not all either—Tina had forced Linda to go abroad, subjecting her and Rory to every kind of torment abroad.And it was the chip on Henry's shoulder that he could never shrug off, and the reason why he absolutely loathed Tina.That was why Linda mentioned that—to make Henry remember, and to make him furious.And once Henry was furious, he would not be bothered by Irene working with Martin to drug Tina, and Tina would have to take this loss in silence.How frustrating that would be for Tina, and how delightful it would be for her!And though Linda despised Irene, she always took Irene's side for appearance's sake.It was necessary, as on one hand, she refused to let Tina win in any way.On the other hand, Irene was dumb as a pig, but Linda could wield her like a knife.Even though she had failed to destroy Tina though that blind date
Henry's face contorted in rage as he snarled icily, "Your mom has really spoiled you rotten! Working with a scumbag using a date rape drug?! And not only do you refuse to admit your mistake, but you're still running your mouth here?! Apologize!""I don't need her apology. If she has anything to say, she can tell the cops." Tina snorted, not appreciating Henry's support at all as she savagely whipped out her phone, ready to call the police.Henry watched her coolly but did not stop her, which in turn left Irene panicking.She really did not want to end up in jail—she would not be able to take it!And with Henry being as principled as he was, he would also stop her mother from bailing her out, insisting that she pay for her crimes!However, she could not bring herself to beg Tina either and was left standing there, helplessness overwhelming her.Still, as if by instinct, she turned toward Linda as Linda started toward her.But seeing that Henry was really furious, Linda cursed Ire
Being insulted left Irene even more furious. "Who are you calling stupid?!""You, of course." Tina shrugged. "Why shouldn't I laugh, when you're right there being all sisterly with the one person who watched as you were dragged to hell without doing a thing?"Irene was stumped for a moment, not quite following.The one person who watched as she was dragged to hell?She turned in reflection toward Linda, who at that moment remembered how she did not stop Martin when he dragged Irene into his hotel room.Naturally, she deliberately avoided helping because she wanted to see Irene being destroyed.Still, she soon calmed down and did not let it show.She had long since made some calls to have the security footage of that moment deleted, while John came to take Tina away, and she was drugged.There was no one else there, so Tina must be trying to trick Irene.And having quickly done the math, Linda turned toward Irene with a look of innocence and confusion, shaking her head.Then,
Tina knew that she could not stop Henry anyway—there was no way he could bear seeing his beloved being abused.As she caught her balance, she watched coolly as Henry strode up, grabbing Irene's arm even as she kept slapping Linda, pulling her off firmly. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Stop!"However, Irene was seeing red.Even as Henry pulled her away, she was still hitting Linda with her hands.And when she was pulled well away, she kicked Linda instead. "You bitch! You ruined everything for me! I'll kill you!"Though Henry had quickly separated them, Irene still managed to land a few good kicks.Fueled by inconsolable rage, Irene's strength was explosive—every slap and every kick was a ton worse than what she could usually dish out.Linda's cheeks were left red and swollen, her lips pale in agony while a dull hum filled her ears.She lay miserably on the tea table, unable to get up for a while.On the other hand, as Henry threw Irene on the floor, she went limp as she ha
Henry did try to force Zach to give up the alleged evidence he had against Linda and even put him through pain that only professionals could endure, let alone a normal person.But since Zach did not give up, he simply presumed that Tina bore a grudge and framed Linda, all because Linda had stolen the kidney meant for Sophie, allowing Rory to survive while Sophie died.If the truth was what Tina had claimed, however—that Rory was not even a match for the kidney transplant meant for Sophie—then that could only mean that Linda had meant to murder Sophie in the first place.Everything she said—that she loved Rory too much and did not want to lose her, and that she felt guilty from picking her own child out of selfishness… Those were all lies!On the other hand, tears were welling up in Tina's eyes as she felt as she was brought back to that day."Linda never meant to let Sophie live from the start. And she didn't just steal the kidney meant for Sophie—when Sophie's condition turned te
Tina glared icily at Henry as she snapped, "What's the point of kneeling here?! You don't even get to apologize as long as you have yet to avenge Sophie!"Henry's burly figure clearly cringed from Tina's words.His lips parted but he had no idea what to say, because he had a hand in Sophie's death too.If he had not told Eric Sandler to prioritize Rory if there was a donor match, Linda would not have been able to steal the kidney meant for Sophie, and Sophie would be alive.Even if he did not know, he was still the reason Linda succeeded, and that made him the chief culprit of Sophie's death."Tina…" He tried to speak despite the difficulty, only to stop.However, Tina knew what he was going to say, seeing the look on his face, and was absolutely seething as she stared daggers at him. "Are you going to tell me that Linda has already suffered for it?! That she's lost her legs and now a hand—""No…."Tina's outburst certainly reminded him of the dastardly things he said to defend
The instant Tina tapped on the notification, she found Henry kneeling outside her door, motionless.She swiped through her phone and saw that most notifications were from Henry, with the first of many being sent at three in the morning.That meant Henry had driven straight to her place after leaving Rose Garden and knelt outside her door for almost four hours.But Tina remained unaffected.Remembering the video John had sent earlier, she had a hunch that Henry was outside after he became aware of Rory's true nature.She soon tapped out of the notifications and kept chatting with John since she found herself in a good mood first thing in the morning.When John said he had yet to have breakfast, Tina could read between the lines and did not play dumb, telling him that she would cook extra portions for him when he came over.John replied: [Already on my way.]Tina could not resist a smile. [Drive safe. See you soon.]After putting down her phone, she went about her daily routine—
It was an especially long night, and every passing second was especially gruelling as Henry stayed on his knees outside Tina's door, like his heart was being stabbed.-When Tina woke up, she noticed that John had just texted her a minute ago.[Are you up?]Tina smiled ever so faintly as she replied: [Mornin'.][There's a video you should watch.][Okay.]While waiting for the video to be sent to her phone, she noticed many notifications from her alarm system.It was the first time this had happened since she moved in, and she was about to tap on it when John's file was downloaded.Tina tapped on the video first and immediately recognized that it was taken outside Rsoe Garden when she tapped on it.A familiar car was outside Linda's villa—it was Henry's.Tina's gaze cooled as she looked on.Yesterday was Sophie's death anniversary and also Rory's birthday.And given how much Henry doted on Rory, it was not hard to see that he went to the Rose Garden after visiting Sophie's
As Henry's car soon disappeared in the night, Rory was left behind and too exhausted to give chase.She lay sprawled on the ground, watching as Henry left her, and her body's warmth slowly faded.Her gaze was endlessly horrified and helpless.Was he really going to leave her?-After leaving Rose Garden, Henry drove straight to Tina's apartment, having paid a hefty sum to buy the adjacent units to hers after finding out that she had moved there.He drove into the car park but stayed downstairs.The apartment complex was very quiet as it was three in the morning, but his heart could not quiet down at all.After all, he had been horrified since the moment he exposed Rory's two-faced nature.It was so obvious, but he just did not see it!He really was too overjoyed from the reunion when Linda showed up, passing herself off as Orange.The delight of the lost and found was just too much, and he cared even more for Linda when she told him that Mama Orange was dead, and how much su
It was such a horrible sight that Henry eased his foot off the gas pedal before he knew it, and his car clearly slowed.To Rory, it was a ray of hope—just as she thought, he loved her and could not really bear to leave her.He must be heartbroken to see how much she loved him and chased him until she got hurt.With that thought, her utterly discouraged spirit was once again soaring.So what if Sophie was his real daughter?! She was dead! And all a dead person could do was lay six feet under, unable to do a thing!But Rory was different—even if she was not connected to Henry by blood, she was alive.That meant she could sweet-talk him, whispering nice words to cajole him.And what could dead Sophie do about that?Hence, Rory found renewed strength despite being exhausted and started crawling toward Henry's car, bawling as she did.She had a clear objective and did not care that her hands and knees were scraped through."Daddy… Look at me… It hurts so much… Daddy…"As Rory g
Henry paused as he turned and suddenly turned toward Rory.Despite her leveling a miserable look at Henry with her eyes swollen from tears, he was still not relenting.In fact, he was endlessly cold as he glared at her with a cool look that cut to the bone."I'm telling you one last time—don't call me Daddy, you hear?"Rory had only seen him give Tina and Sophie that look before and had never expected him to look at her the same way now.She was left trembling endlessly, her lips parting as she really wanted to call out to him and sweet-talk him like she always did.But that icy glare left her speechless, and she could only watch as Henry turned and strode off, his footsteps soon fading into the distance.Did he really hate her now? Was he leaving her?Even as the thought struck her, she shook her head repeatedly!No! Henry could not leave her! She could not lose him! "Daddy!" She finally called out again as she leapt out of bed and started running without putting on her sho
However, was Rory really innocent?Henry might have believed Linda if he had not seen what Rory did with his own eyes—how malicious she looked when she cursed Sophie, and how vile the words she breathed were!Just remembering the sight left him shuddering.Not even a normal adult should have been capable of such vile words, and Rory was only seven!But what frightened Henry the most was how she was once again the good girl Rory as soon as she turned and saw him.She could switch between her personalities as if it was second nature, just like what Linda always did behind his back.The phrase 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' really came to mind!Why could he not just see that from the start?!Rory had grown up by Linda's side, and Linda was a mother who was so immaculate with her pretensions.With such influence, would Rory have been all that different?"Adopt Rory, you say?" Henry breathed so quietly that no one could tell what he was really feeling just then.But s
Linda already had some choice words in mind for Rory after Henry never showed up today.So, her eyes were flaring in annoyance when she opened them, as Rory made such a loud ruckus past midnight, waking her up.She was ready to give Rory a beating as she moved from her bed to her wheelchair and headed to the next room.That was when she heard Henry's voice.She did not rush inside, however, and eavesdropped outside, cursing Rory's incompetence when she realized what just happened! Rory could not even do one thing right and had to let Henry catch her cursing that brat!At this point, Linda was well aware that any chances she had of getting back together with Henry depended entirely on Rory, so she must not let Henry become disappointed in Rory.Rory was her trump card. And if she lost her trump card, she had no shot of getting Henry back.And how could she accept something like that?!She had stayed by his side, putting up an act for years! How could she just allow herself to