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All But a Dream
All But a Dream
Author: Blank Space

Chapter 1

Author: Blank Space
Claudia Hepburn had seduced his fiancé, Arthur Maxwell, ninety-nine times. However, he was still into her sister, Fione Hepburn.

Not only was he nowhere to be seen on the day of the wedding, but he even went ahead and registered his wedding with Fione instead. Claudia was turned into a laughingstock after that.

While she was drowning in despair, Arthur's brother, Brett Maxwell, showed up and took her into his arms. He confessed that he had been secretly in love with her for ages and beckoned her to turn to him.

Enchanted by his devotion, she decided to marry him instead.

Even after five years of marriage, Brett still doted on her endlessly. That was until a shipwreck took him away.

On the day of the funeral, she was so heartbroken that she felt the urge to smash her head against his coffin to end it all right there.

It was only when she found she was pregnant that she gave up on the idea of ending it all. She decided she would live on and grieve her late husband for the rest of her life.

Just when she was expecting the rest of her life to play out that way, she happened to eavesdrop on a conversation between her ex-fiancé and his friends.

“Brett, your brother was the one who died in that shipwreck, but here you are pretending to be him. Did you do it so you could be together with his wife? Aren’t you worried about someone finding out about this?”

“I can't be bothered to worry about all that now, I’ve loved Fione from the beginning. I had to endure so much humiliation and marry Claudia just so I could prevent her from ruining Fione’s happiness. Now that God has given me such a perfect chance, I will not sell myself short anymore!”

Claudia felt like her heart had broken into pieces.

This entire time, they were all in love with her sister Fione.

This entire time, Brett loved Fione more than his brother Arthur did.

He had to “endure so much humiliation” back then to marry Claudia.

And now, he would go as far as to pretend to be Arthur just so he could be with Fione!

It was devastating news that she could not bear to accept. She ran into the rain and cried her heart out.

The next morning, she hobbled into the hospital completely drenched in rain.

“Doctor, I want an abortion!”

“Miss Hepburn, your fetus is already four months old and it’s going to be a pair of twins! Your pregnancy is progressing very well, are you sure you want an abortion now of all times?”

Claudia felt more anguished than ever when she heard the doctor’s advice. No sane mother would have willingly aborted her own child, she would never have wanted to do this unless she was desperate.

Ever since “Brett’s” passing, the entire Maxwell household had been drowned in grief. This was why she had not told anyone of her pregnancy yet.

This meant that Brett was also unaware that she was already pregnant with his child even before he assumed Arthur’s identity to be with Fione.

Claudia decided there was no need to tell him about the pregnancy since he was so head over heels in love with Fione.

“I am sure, doctor. Let’s get on with the operation.”

After a three-hour operation, Claudia's face was horridly pale by the time she stepped off the operation table.

She slumped against the wall and allowed her weight to collapse onto the bench in the corridor. The entire time, she felt a mild throb of pain in her lower abdomen. Suddenly, she heard a round of commotion somewhere in front of her.

She saw a familiar figure show up carrying another person in his arms. Shortly after that, the same person hurried past again, fixing his eyes on Claudia.

This time, she recognized the man.

It was Brett.

“Quick, come with me!”

He proceeded to grab Claudia’s arm after that and dragged her in the direction he came from.

Claudia had just stepped out of an operation and was still recovering, and her face was pale as a sheet of paper now.

However, it was clear that Brett was not paying attention to the state she was in and could not tell she was feeling upset.

It was only when they reached the blood donation room that he finally stopped.

“She has the same blood type as Fione, use her blood!”

Claudia frowned on instinct and wanted to object but it was too late. Brett had pinned her into the chair and instructed the nurses to hurry up and draw her blood.

Throughout the entire process, Brett never even bothered to explain the situation to Claudia. As soon as he saw the syringe injected into her arms, he anxiously ran off again to check how Fione was holding up.

“What's going on? Why is Mr. Maxwell so riled up?”

“Why else did you think? His wife was bleeding a lot. They came here right from the bedroom, those two must have been going at it.”

“My, he must love his wife very much. They have been married for five years but it looks like their passion hasn’t died down yet.”

Claudia observed the way the nurses threw suggestive looks at each other and pieced together what had happened.

So that was it…

Brett was going at it with Fione and ended up getting so rough that she started bleeding!

When the hospital’s blood reserve ran out, Brett happened to notice Claudia who was trying to catch a break after the operation. He proceeded to grab her and forced her to draw blood for Fione.

Upon realizing what happened, Claudia felt as if someone had torn her heart out. The pain was so agonizing that her entire body screamed with pain.

Little did Brett know, Claudia had aborted their child while he was seducing the woman he had been longing for.

If Brett had cared about her even the slightest bit, he would have noticed something off with her.

And yet, he did not.

He only had eyes for Fione.

Claudia laughed until she cried.

'Very well, Brett. Since you love Fione so much, I will grant your wish.

'From here on, you will never see me again!'

After leaving the hospital, she put on some makeup so nobody could tell there was anything off with her before returning back to the Maxwell household.

This time, she did not retreat to her room to grieve for her late husband.

Instead, she walked straight into the study and knelt ceremoniously in front of Phillip Maxwell.

“Grandpa, I have decided to move on from Brett and leave the family!”
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  • All But a Dream   Chapter 25

    “Claudia! Claudia, wait!”Their cries were mixed with exhausted panting. Claudia turned around and was greeted by the sight of her parents.Before they even had the chance to speak, she declared, “I will not forgive her and I’m not going to withdraw the lawsuit either.”Mrs. Hepburn became flustered and tried to explain why they wanted to speak to her, “Claudia, that’s not what we wanted to talk to you about. Back when we disowned you, we were very upset and let it get to us in the heat of the moment. “We spoiled Fione too much, that’s why we were caught blindsided when she did something like that, we are sorry…”This time, Claudia was the dumbfounded one.It was the first time that her parents ever apologized to her.She lowered her head and stayed silent. Her prolonged silence only agitated them further because they did not know whether she wanted to forgive them or not.They were afraid to lose their only daughter.After a while, Claudia looked at her phone and realized

  • All But a Dream   Chapter 24

    Modium Hotel.This was the first time Fione had taken a nice, relaxing bath in five years. After the bath, she put on a bathrobe to cover the scars riddled across her body before carefully settling into the couch.This used to be an average day for her, but now it was an immense luxury.She no longer had the energy to be hateful or jealous, the only thing that ran through her mind was confusion.When she was first brought into the basement, she tried to formulate an escape plan and even tried to seduce the bodyguard to let her escape. She figured that if she had to weigh between her life and her chastity, her chastity was expendable.After that, she also tried to plead with Brett to release her. There were countless times when she would snap awake from a fantastical dream where she was lying in her cozy bed, coddled by her parents and husband.Eventually, she began to fantasize about her freedom. Since she had been missing for a long time, she thought people must be looking f

  • All But a Dream   Chapter 23

    Did Claudia hate Fione?She certainly did.Just like how Fione hated her since they were mere children, it was the same the other way around.Their parents' indifference toward Claudia since she was a child was enough to make her loathe her sister. When Fione took her fiancé away, she could not help but wonder if Fione simply liked taking anything that belonged to her.When Brett appeared, he was the only thing that resembled a harbor in her life.In the end, she found out it was a lie all along, Brett loved Fione as well. Fione had taken away her fiancé, then her husband. To make matters worse, Fione had repeatedly tried to get her killed. Claudia’s hatred for Fione was warranted.Still, it did not mean that she wanted to see Fione chained and tortured in a basement, to exist merely for Brett to vent his rage.Besides, Fione did not owe the Maxwells anything. If anything, she owed everything to Claudia.The source of Claudia’s sympathy was not pointed at Fione but more

  • All But a Dream   Chapter 22

    The villa looked normal on the outside. The housemaids were occupied with their respective tasks and when they saw Brett, they stopped briefly to greet him.The impression of the place changed when he pushed a secret door which creaked as it opened. It showed a dark stairway that led into an underground basement. The way ahead seemed to extend endlessly into another dimension.The moment Claudia saw it, countless insidious thoughts came to her mind.Fortunately, Brett proceeded to flick on a light that significantly tamed the horrific impression the passage produced.He led the way down while Claudia decided between leaving and following him. In the end, she stuck it out and walked after him.As she made her way down, she surveyed the area.The ambiance of the basement was a sharp contrast to the regally decorated villa above. It was meant as a storage for miscellaneous items, all of which were piled in the corner and had accumulated a thick layer of dust over time.Ther

  • All But a Dream   Chapter 21

    Midway through the conversation, Brett and Claudia opened the door and stepped into the ward.Phillip was dressed in a hospital gown and had his back facing the door. When he heard the door opening, he turned around with great effort to inspect his visitors and that was when he was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Claudia trailing behind Brett."Grandpa.”She went up to him and greeted him with a gentle smile.Phillip immediately became emotional and chased Brett out of the ward. He tenderly held Claudia's hand as he gazed at her affectionately. “You've lost weight! These last few years must have been hard for you.”Claudia shook her head and gently patted his hand to assure him that she was fine.She did not suffer much in the last few years. When she left the Maxwells, she was given assets worth billions. She spent a significant portion on purchasing the private island. After that, the resort on the island brought her a modest amount of income.Even if she remai

  • All But a Dream   Chapter 20

    Claudia did not speak and proceeded to push the suitcase inside the room.After shutting Brett out of the room, she finally had time to herself to properly survey the room.She looked at the wedding pictures on the bedside, the jewelry on the cabinet, and an array of pictures they had taken together all framed on the wall. Then, there was a pink hyacinth placed on the windowsill that looked well cared for. It was swaying gently in the wind.She found herself in a state of trance. It was as if she had been transported in time to five years ago.That was before everything came crashing down when the room was still filled with traces of their romance.With the passing of time, what has happened cannot be changed anymore. No matter how hard they tried to fix things, they could never go back to the way they once were.After the long journey, a wave of fatigue came over her. She briefly washed up before settling into the bed.The scent of ebony nested deep inside the mattress swarme

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